Morro Bay (7)

And last, but not least in our Spring Break campground trio, comes the ever dependable Morro Bay State Park. We got perfect weather the whole time we were there and, though we brought the generator, we never had to use it. Solar kept up just fine. We even felt confident enough to run the rarely used inverter to heat up some leftovers in the microwave for lunch. We don’t use the microwave often, but every time we do, we declare it to have been a ‘worth it’ accessory.

We had plenty of time to get caught up on internet things before walking over to ‘downtown’ Morro Bay where we met up with our friends for drinks and dinner at Giovanni’s. Beers were consumed, stories told, and ice cream followed at Kelli’s Candies. We had to say farewell to Marcy and Steve, who were heading up to Sunset. Man, it is so nice to connect with Alto friends, especially when they live far away. We have started scheming when we might next be able to get out their way.

Saturday was a busy day. April 5th was a designated national day of protest and I’ll be damned if I’m going to skip out on any of those, traveling or not. While driving all the way to the capitol in Sacramento was more than I could commit to, it turned out there was an event planned by Indivisible.org in San Luis Obispo. This meant we could ride our bikes to it, since that is definitely our preferred transportation mode when there is the potential for crowds. We rode up Los Osos Valley Road most of the way, and that’s not especially nice. It has a shoulder for bikes, but it’s kind of a wind channel and you are passed by cars pretty nonstop. Eventually, we turned off onto Foothill and that was immediately nicer. Once you get to Chorro Street, you can easily follow a bikeway into town. Just follow the green “sharrows” and you’ll be fine. And in fact, there was a free bicycle concierge tent set up, in part to facilitate the protest event. Well done, SLO.

The crowds were an absolute inspiration. I could not see the end of the people filling several city blocks in front of the courthouse. There were some kind of speeches going on, but we couldn’t hear a thing. It didn’t matter though. The energy was exactly what I needed and only grew as the event progressed. After the inaudible speeches, we spread out to surround the city block and bring out the honks. I heard estimates of 4-6 thousand people attending. I have utterly no idea how to estimate crowd size, but it was great, whatever the number. There were honks, and people driving by with flags and signs, and I think I only spotted one person flipping us off. As reports came in from across the country, it felt like a lifeline. I deeply, deeply appreciate seeing the push back to these f*cked up mfs. This is exhausting, but witnessing the rising up of so many good people gives me hope.

Hard protesting work earned us a stop at SLO a la Mode. I ordered “This $&@! Just Got Serious” on a waffle cone. Partly, the flavors sounded good, but mostly, the name seemed appropriate for the moment. We then took a little tour of the mission. It has been nicely restored and there are some interesting displays. Richard decided he is going to become a California history expert. He always notes how much he loves California. The problem with learning about history though, is that it is always bleak. Like learning about missions is right away going to make you learn about the California Genocide. Bleak. But, on the upside, history reminds us that things have always kind of sucked, so maybe this sucky period in history is just one of the many. Full of rebel spirit, ice cream, and the perspective of historical massacres, we biked back to the campground. This time we took the cutoff on Turri Road. That was lovely, albeit still pretty windy.

That night I tried making biscuits on the grill. We had bought mix a while back and used the Omnia to bake them. The recipe is easy- 1/2 c dry mix, 1/4 c sour cream, 1 tbs water, and a handful of shredded cheese. I put them on an oiled aluminum drip pan, which I place on top of an upside down drip pan. I timed 16 minutes, but they didn’t seem done, so I let them go for about another 4 or 5. They turned out perfect! Crispy brown bottoms and cooked through. We will definitely try that again!

On Sunday we rode over to visit the Elfin Forest in Los Osos. This is like a pygmy forest, where the vegetation has found itself rooted on land that does not make it easy to pull nutrients. So the trees stay small, even when they are very old. We saw lots of examples of Live Oak that normally grow twenty feet, contained to shrub size. There was an abundance of other California native plant life. I saw the Fuchsia Flowered Gooseberry, whose name I am getting better at remembering. The problem with learning new facts once you are of a certain age is in the retention. I am usually recognizing things and saying, “Oh look! It’s the something flowered, something berry!” But slowly some of them are getting committed to memory, just through the repetition of Googling the same thing so many times. The trails through the forest are only about a mile or so, so we then rode around Los Osos. Richard found the most impressive porta potty he’s ever seen. Apparently, this complimentary public rest area is maintained through community donations and is kept pristine, complete with a hand washing station and little decorations.

That night we had an absolute blast inviting Rich and Kathy over to try out our experimental Thanksgiving camping dinner. We also picked up Toni, another Altoiste who actually passed us on the trails back in Montaña de Oro. She and her husband Vince were out there and she thought she recognized me. She told herself, “Nah, can’t be,” but messaged me later. We had a themed dinner of turkey hot dogs, cranberry sauce, gravy (sort of), Brussels sprouts, and stuffing. Everyone brought other things to share as well, so it was a genuine feast. We all sat around the campfire and talked well into the night. It doesn’t get any better than that.

For the last full day of break (and actually this was an extended break because we took two days off!), we hiked up Cerro San Luis Obispo. There are nine named morros in this area, all formed by volcanic plugs and lava domes twenty million years ago. This was a fun hike because you could see the city of San Luis Obispo down below. We tried to identify all the places we had been from up above. You can also see all the way out to both Morro Bay and Pismo Beach to the south. It was steep, but worth it, with just a little scrambling at the end. I will note that if you get to the peak and want to touch the ‘made it’ pole, take the path on the left. It’s easier.

One last sleep before the long drive home. We got dense fog in the evening, but went out for a stroll and determined that the wooden boardwalk in this park wins this trip’s “Who’s the Best Boardwalk” competition. In other contests, Dolly’s Donuts wins for the crumb cake and the glazed old fashioned. Our own Jonny’s still holds the title for the lemon, and for the raised chocolate glazed. Pink Box is undefeated for its chocolate old fashioned. I win the prestigious Duct Tape award for my fix it job on the Fantastic Fan cover when the second of its two flimsy tabs holding onto the uppy downy arm finally broke. That stayed put the whole time and the fan was completely operational. Because I also win the “Who is the Most Over Prepared” award, we do in fact have a replacement cover in the car’s roof box. However, looking up how to fix it makes it seem like I’m going to have to get on the roof. And that is a trick best attempted at home where we live very close to paramedics.

This was one of the best spring breaks we can remember. However, we always say that. Or at least I think we do. I can’t remember. The drive back was expectedly long, but we got an early start and Richard ran up and down the Black Hill Trail before we left. We got home around two thirty and I was struck by just how beautiful my very own yard is. For all the pictures I have taken of California natives, I have some awfully nice specimens thriving in my yard right now. My magnolia and my red and lace leaf maples are just stunning. And we’ve got our very own Pacific Coast Native Irises blooming like crazy. And it’s always good to see the cat. All is well. Vacations are good. Life is one crazy ride.

Total miles from Montaña de Oro: 12.6, about 30 min. Site 109. Great solar. No hookups. Great cell service. Good dump $10.