Point Mugu, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, and San Simeon California (on average 65 degrees, blue skies, occasional fog)
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| Pismo Beac |
Smell the sea,
and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
Van Morrison
California is so beautiful. It's even more beautiful than I imagined. We have been full timing for eight years now but have only seen a small part of it. This time we are driving up the coast and loving every minute of it.
Our first stop was a Navy military campground in Point Mugu. Our site looked right over the beach and as we walked out to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean we saw this little guy. We gave him lots of space but he sure was a great greeter.  |
| Sea Lion Pup |
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| Surf Scoter |
The next day we walked the beach and just relaxed. John found his 400th bird for his Life List. It was a really cool Surf Scoter. Later on we saw huge Harbor Seals across a bay. They were very loud.
The campground had some issues with electricity and the sewer line and wyfi was broken. But, it really didn't matter because the beach was so lovely and private.
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| Harbor Seals |
After a short stay here we headed to Pismo Beach and stayed at an Elks Lodge. It's a very friendly place and very social with evening meal service and happy hours. It's only a short walk to the beach and you can even drive your car on the beach if you dare. It was spring break and being a tourist town it was very busy. We ate out a couple of time and I ordered clams. It's the specialty around Pismo and so delicous
John got up early each morning in search of a few new birds. He found this beauty across from us at the State Park. It's not new for him to see but isn't he spectacular. |
| White-tailed Kite |
Our neighbor at the Elks Lodge recommended a drive out to Morro Bay to get away from the crowds a little. There is a small State Park there for camping and hiking and your first views of Morro Rock.
Later on as we arrived in town it was surprising to see you could drive out to the rock. We hiked around most of it and were amused by some floating otters out sunning themselves. We watched surfers trying their luck with the waves. It was a really enjoyable day. 
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| You can barely see the castle in the distance |
We really enjoyed getting to know our neighbors Jim and Debbie and decided to go the next day to Hearst Castle. They suggested taking two tours - Grand Tour and Upstairs Tour. You park way below the castle and can only see it far away in the distance. A bus take you up a long, winding road for the remaining five miles. The castle sits a top of 220,000 acres. Our guide met us there and for the next 90 minutes told us about what it was like to be invited to this magical place by William Hurst. It was one big party.
William Hurst began the building of the castle in 1919 and he frequently revised it ...sometimes dramatically. The architect he selected was a women by the name of Julia Morgan. What a splendid place they built. It is now managed by California State Parks.
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| Indoor swimming pool |
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| Hurst owned the land as far as you could see in all direction |
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| Decorations were elaborate |
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| Many items came from European castles and homes |
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| His "office" where he worked each day directing 29 newspapers |
You can wander around the grounds for as long as you like afterwards. We really thought the upstairs tour was the most interesting. Both of our guides were excellent. They sure need to know an enormous amount of information.
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Afterwards we drove another 20 minutes to the "end" of Hwy 1. It comes to an abrupt end due to a rock slide a couple of years ago and reconstruction of the road continues. A huge fog bank came in as we drive along the coast. Our friends were disappointed we didn't see the coast line but the fog had it's own kind of magic. We also saw some huge elephant seals which had taken over a beach area.
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| Linda and Jim |
We really enjoyed meeting Linda and Jim and appreciated all their advice on what to see in the area. We hope our paths meet up again soon.
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| Elephant Seals |
Our visit to Pismo Beach was lots of fun. We highly recommend the Elks Lodge if you are a member. It's a great location and there are lots of beautiful places to see. Next stop ...wine country and a get together with Debbie and Evan from our Newmar Fulltiming Klub. Happy Easter to all!
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