Morro Bay, California

 We have spent the last two weeks in Morro Bay, California, which is about halfway up the coast between Los Angles and San Francisco. Some of our winter friends told us we should visit here and we are glad we did. The city of Morro Bay is dominated by Morro Rock that stands at the entrance to the harbor. Another feature at the mouth of the bay is the old power plant with its three smokestacks. The plant has been inactive for 5 years and they are not sure what they are going to do with it but many of the locals think they should keep the stacks as it has been part of the landscape for so long. The weather here is determined by the wind direction. If it's on shore it's cold and foggy from the cold Pacific waters and if it's off shore it gets warmer. You can drive only ten miles inland and the temperature can be 15 to 20 degrees higher.​ 

​One day we drove up the coast to Elephant Seal Beach. There were many seals on the beach but the largest of them the "Beach Masters" were out to sea feeding and will not be back till August. Many of the five and six year old bulls were on the beach and they were sparing with each other, getting ready for their turn to be a Beach Master. It may look vicious but they were only sparing and no blood was drawn. The young bulls and the younger males and females will stay on the beach for three to four months and not eat during that time. We passed the Hearst Castle on our way up the coast, but we have toured it before and did not stop in this visit. We did see many of the zebras that were left over from the herd that Hearst had during the heyday of the castle. Later that afternoon we went down to the waterfront by Morro Rock and watched the sea otters and their young frolic in the kelp beds. A few days later we drove south to Montana Del Oro State park where after checking out a scenic cove we walked down to the beach which only had four other people on it. When we returned to the Jeep we were met by a begging California Scrub-Jay. 

​There are many seafood restaurants along the waterfront and we ate at many of them. We had shrimp, fish and chips, halibut, and salmon.

There was a Skateboard Museum on the waterfront that has the world's second largest skateboard and also one owned by John Lennon. The owner was a very knowledgeable fellow who knew just about everything about skateboards. He even knew of the skateboard park at Mt. Trashmore in Virginia Beach. 

We drove over to San Luis Obispo one day for a Summer College league game, It was funny to see the players do all the grounds keeping before the game. Josie and I brought out the umbrella in order to stay cool. After the game we visited Bubblegum Alley. They say there are over 2 million pieces of gum stuck on the walls of this alley. Josie could not resist and added her own wad to the wall. It was kind of gross. 

 I played a round of golf at the Morro Bay Golf Club, which is billed as a poor mans Pebble Beach because of its scenic views. I was paired up with two locals and one of them owned a local bar and music venue called the Siren. He invited us to drop in and check it out and a few nights later we did just that. Besides great entertainment they also had great food and drink selections.

I did get out a few mornings and do some birding, and was able to get a few good pictures. Including a Snowy Plover and her chick, and a mother Great Horned Owl and her two owlets.