Morro Bay (6)

We have much to be grateful for, and in particular, we are thankful to have gotten out for a trip this week. Our original plan was to go visit our camping BFF, Linda, who now lives near Carson City, Nevada. We had reservations lined up that were made many months ago, back when the weather was hot and we were thinking, “How cold could it get in Nevada in November?” Well, it turns out it can get quite cold actually. A big storm rolled through over the weekend we were supposed to be heading over the Sierras, and there was no way I was going to try towing through the snowy pass. So we regretfully bailed on that and set our sites on a familiar destination, farther to the south. I made, and cancelled, a couple of different reservations, adjusting to weather forecasts. But then, Richard got sick, and I got sick, and our kitty got sick, and we were both adjusting to the idea of a Thanksgiving at home.

It was a pretty last minute call to go out and head down Wednesday. But, by that time clouds were clearing, fevers were breaking, and kitty (with the help of $1600 worth of vet visits) was eating again. Our daughter stepped up to be the kitty caretaker, and we got to enjoy a favorite place for four beautiful nights. We’ve done Thanksgiving week here before, and I could easily see this becoming a regular tradition.

It’s a little less than a two mile walk from the state park campground to downtown, so after a long drive, that was a perfect way to stretch our legs. We treated ourselves to ice cream at Sun & Buns Bakery, picked up a cup of raw (but safe to eat) cookie dough at The Dough Connection, and got a quick dinner of chili, clam chowder, and Juju’s roasted potatoes and House of Juju. Their potatoes are a favorite, and come with a selection of incredible dipping sauces. The chipotle sauce is worth a five hour drive all by itself. We basked in a beautiful sunset over the bay as we made our way back to Dory, feeling so thankful we had made the trip happen.

The next day was overcast and windy, but not rainy, so we got on our bikes and rode over to the little town of Cayucos, which is about eleven miles from the campground. As expected, pretty much everything was closed on Thanksgiving, but we made a plan to end up at the Brown Butter Cookie Company the next day after a big ride. We had a relaxing Thanksgiving dinner, with cornbread muffins baked in the Omnia stovetop oven, and Turkey Chili topped with cilantro and shredded cheese. We had brought Trader Joe’s Apple Blossoms to heat up in the Omnia for dessert, but we were both stuffed.

The next day we headed out on our bikes early to do an ambitious ride up Old Creek Road to the top of Green Valley Road. This is one of Richard’s more challenging rides. I have an e-bike with a backup battery, so … you know… no worries. He got in a serious workout. I moved my legs around all day and Strava thinks I got in a big workout too. I’ll happily take the calorie bonus, cause there was ice cream later. The ride up Old Creek is pretty and goes past a reservoir. It is a climb of around 2500 feet over around 16 miles. Once you are at the top, you get to careen down Highway 46, also known as Green Valley Road. Whether you are on a bike or in a car, it’s a thrilling ride where you’d better trust your brakes. The clouds somewhat obscured the spectacular coastal views on the way down, but not so much that I didn’t marvel. Once you reach the bottom and intersect with Highway 1, it’s kind of a slog to go the ten miles back to Cayucos. But there are cookies waiting for you, to keep you pedaling. All told, the ride was 47 miles, with 3,209 feet total elevation gain. It took us 4 hours and 9 minutes of riding time to do the whole loop. I used both my batteries and was glad to have the backup.

The one thing that was unpleasant about the ride was the wind. We had headwinds seemingly the whole time, regardless of what direction we were going. That also made the descent down Green Valley scary in places, where you feel you might get blown over. I will say, the thicker wheels and heavier frame of an e-bike make me feel more confident in windy conditions. It didn’t let up until we got all the way back to Morro Bay. To celebrate, we went to Kelli’s Candies. Their mint chip is really excellent and is locally made in San Luis Obispo by Cowboy Cookie and Ice Cream Company. Richard got “Motor Oil,” which is a rich chocolate ice cream swirled with a rich fudge sauce.

On our last day, we hiked from the campground up to the top of Black Hill. From there, you get views of huge Morro Rock and the soon to be demolished smoke stacks. If you turn around, you can see the vast and winding waterways that make their way through the marsh lands and out to the bay. And behind you, you will spy a number of other morros, or volcanic plugs, lining up and forming “The Nine Sisters.”

We set out intending to do a big hiking loop around the hill, but after going to the top and looking down at the waterfront, we remembered how good the ice cream was. So we decided instead to just walk directly to the downtown area and go to Kellie’s.

We got in one last promenade up and down the boardwalks. There were sea lions barking away from a barge out in the bay, and a mama sea otter showing off her fuzzy baby in an area they call the “sea otter nursery zone.” The baby was indescribably fuzzy, and mama was just holding its little head above the water as she rolled around and around. She drew a crowd, but everyone was being quiet and respectful of her space. Lastly, we walked over to the big stacks to see if there was some kind of exhibit or information about the removal project. There wasn’t, but we understand they plan to take them down this spring, as they have not been used as part of the power plant since 2014.

We returned to Dory and got ready to dump her holding tanks. We could have made it another night, but we wanted to get a really early start heading home the next day and didn’t want to be towing with full waste tanks. This way, we could live it up with showers on our last night and wait to clean out the rest at home. The downside of doing this is that you have to pack up to tow over to the dump station. It doesn’t really take that long to do, and since we were coming right back, we left our step, chocks, and jockey wheels on the picnic table, rather than put it all back in the car. Dumping was uneventful, but when we came back, all our stuff was gone! I might have been worried it had been stolen, except I got a call from the park ranger before I could even wonder who on earth would have wanted our stuff. Apparently, the people in the site next to us saw us leave, saw our stuff, and assumed we’d forgotten it. They called the rangers. The maintenance people wasted no time collecting it, bringing it all to the entry kiosk, and calling to let me know I’d left it. We had to walk back and explain so we could get our stuff back. We were only gone for about twenty minutes, so they are very efficient there!

We had a lovely four days, deeply grateful for the sunsets, views, sweet treats, and coastal charm. This is a special place that reminds one of all the good things in life. Gratitude is easy to find in Morro Bay.

Total miles: 231.9, 4 hours 51 min, 17.7 mpg. Site 59 no hookups. Excellent cell for both. Good solar. Nice site, except everyone walks through it because it’s at the end of the loop and there is no other walkway. Good dump for $10.