Morro Bay, CA

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Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 17-11-2008

The trek to our next destination, Morro Bay, included a ride along famous Highway 1. We could have taken the far less curvy 101 but Ken has become a bit of a dare devil and wanted to go for it! It is easy to see why Highway 1 is a favorite among so many in the world. The views of the Pacific Ocean stretch out behind the horizon and the cliffs are breathtaking. We drove past Big Sur and saw the devastation left by the fire not long ago. We stopped at a beach which was home to hundreds of Elephant Seals. What a big bunch!  So animated and funny!!  They made me feel so skinny! 
We arrived at our campground just outside Morro Bay in the late afternoon. The Santa Ana winds were starting to kick up and the days were unseasonably warm and clear. The campground was just 10 minutes from my mom’s house in Los Osos which was great fun. (The kids don’t call her “Silly Grandma” for nothing!) This was the first time in the last 5 months where I felt “home” and not like a visitor or tourist. This area is so special as, in comparison to the counties north and south, it is lightly populated and you can count on never getting into a traffic jam! The rolling hills can be seen for miles and are free from housing developments. The energy around this area is wonderful as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is nestled in the hills and the energy of young people infiltrates all the towns.

We found many excuses to visit one of the wonderful little coffee places ON THE PLANET in Baywood.  It is nestled among the pines and right on a beautiful bay.  Ken and I started many a morning here, sipping coffee and reminiscing about the months gone by. 

One morning, Andrew and I woke up early to walk the cliffs of Montana D’Oro.  This is a heavenly place, untouched by humans and home to many paragon falcons.  Our mission was to find some of these wonderful birds.  Andrew has dreamed of seeing one in flight as they are the FASTEST thing alive on earth!  While we didn’t encounter any falcons, we saw a heck of a lot of vultures which were quite fascinating.  We walked along  a dirt trail, with the long sea grass  blowing in the light warm breeze.  We looked on as the sun rose over the mountains in the background and watched as the ocean changed colors from dark blue in the shadow of the sun to a bright tealish blue in the bright morning sun.  A very memorable walk indeed.

One day, my mom, the girls and I went into the great town of San Luis Obispo (SLO.  This town has just the right balance of funk, fun and fashion.  We passed a little pet store and at that moment, we decided my mom needed a CAT!!   Her wonderful husband, Jim, passed away on October 3 and my mom has been in need of companionship.  Dear Jim was always deathly allergic to anything with hair so my mom never had the option of having a pet.  Nikki, Lauren and I took my mom to the local animal shelter where she visited with four different cats.  Finally, the bond was cemented when my mom met “Mr. Lucky” as we call him.  We first were told he was a girl and mom named “him” Lucy but after finding he was a male, my mom changed his name.  He is a wonderful 3 year old cat that looks a lot like “Morris”.  My mom loves having him hang around, even if he does push the pen out of her hand for more attention!

After a week of being on our own, our Canadian friends joined us.  We are so fortunate to have found this wonderful family.  They are really great and we all get along famously!  After their arrival, Ken and I didn’t really speak any words to either Nikki or Lauren as they were off on their own, so happy to have buddies.  Andrew was having a bunch of fun being the only boy in the pack.  Helene and Roch had us over for dinner one evening while the kids all camped out in our RV watching movies.  We had such a wonderful evening of wine, delicious food and great conversation.  

All the girls, (Helene and her two daughters and me with my two daughters) went for a day of shopping that was such fun!  It was a whopping 90 degrees in SLO,  the warmest I ever remember. We all bought some fun t-shirts ($5 a pop!) and had fun walking in just about every clothes shop in town.  My how girls can shop after being in the woods for so many months!!  Of course we all had stick our ABC (already been chewed gum) on the side of “Bubble Gum Alley!”  Poohnut wanted SO badly for her gum to be “unique” and stand out so she could recognize it next time we visit.  Seconds after she placed it on the mushy wall, she lost sight of which one was hers.  Oh well!! 

We also enjoyed warm days on Pismo and Avila Beach.  The kids ALL went in the ocean and laughed so hard as they tried to hold onto each other, forming an amoeba of sorts.  One morning, Ken made his world famous cinnamon buns and found a new lifelong customer, Roch.  I think he will follow us anywhere to have these buns on a regular basis!!  Our last night included a picnic on Morro Bay with my Mom and our Canadian friends.  Ken cooked up a BOAT load of mussels, full of garlic and lemon juice.  Oh how yummy!   My mom was her usual humorous self and impressed our french speaking new friends with her fluency in the language.  After asking “voulez vous couchez avez moi ses soi?”  (loose translation – “Do you want to sleep with me tonight?”), she was a hit with all! 

We left Morro Bay with so many great times and our memory banks full.  We look forward to coming again one day and relaxing at this wonderful area of the central coast of California!  

Monterey, CA

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Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 03-11-2008

We left our hearts in San Francisco as we love the whole feel of this wonderful city. Our excitement was mounting though as we were anxious to stay in Monterey and visit their famous aquarium. The campground was spacious and very expensive but allowed us to walk to the beach and the big sand dunes which was a lot of fun. We arrived on Halloween and we weren’t sure how to handle this holiday on the road. The kids still like to dress up and I was so happy they were all willing to use what we had on hand instead of going out and spending $30 each on a cheesy witch or batman costume! We were surprised to see the RV park was trick or treating and we joined in with the bunch. It was a very humorous endeavor to say the least as my two daughters (one dressed as an old woman who appeared to have osteoperous and the second one as an fit old woman who taught aerobics) and my son (dressed as Arnold S (inspired by our trip to Sacramento no doubt!)) trudged through the RV park with a bunch of kids under the age of 4. They scored with a nice variety of marginal quality chocolate to add to their premium Ghirardelli lot!

We awoke to Andrew exclaiming, “It’s today! It’s today”, today being of course our trip the Monterey Bay Aquarium. My dear old boss from my careers days of long ago (Kevin Lewand) has a son who is the “shark guy” at the aquarium. We arranged to meet Kevin Jr. and he took us on a behind the scenes tour. We got to see how jelly fish start out and how they transport the big sharks to the aquarium. It was super cool and Andrew was so inspired to meet a man who is living his dream of being a marine biologist. Kevin urged Andrew to go all the way with his schooling so he would have many options available to him in his career.

The next morning, Ken and I snuck off for Carmel, to enjoy a walk and a cappuccino. Strolling the streets of Carmel is like being in a small quaint town in Europe. Carmel is very special and rich in color and architecture. I love this town where Clint Eastwood was mayor and could easily see us living here, if we inherited millions (and billions) of dollars!