As I sit here in my Krazy Dazy room and think back over this day, I am quite pleased. It has been a day of surprises, scenery, and satisfaction. I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it.
It started out with a huge surprise. I went down to the beach in Cambria very early in order to collect some more rocks from the beach and through the ever-present haze I spotted harbor seals lying on rocks less than 100 yards away from me! I took the pictures and videos below at great peril as I crawled around on slimy rocks, got caught by the incoming tide, and struggled through piles of rocks in flip flops. I hope you enjoy my attempt at nature photography! Following the seal clips you will see pics of all the other species of animals I saw throughout the day.
After leaving Cambria, I headed south to Morro Bay. I had been told to buy gas there because it was 75 cents a gallon cheaper than in Cambria. TRUE! As much as I researched before my trip, I still get surprised by things that I should have read about. Do any of you know about Morro Rock? I noticed a huge mountain-like mass as I was putting gas in the car and so I made my way towards it, looking it up on my phone to find out what it was. Morro Rock is a volcanic plug, which is "a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano." It is an ancient plug and not in danger of erupting. There are actually 7-9 of these rocks in/near Morro, depending on how you count them. Morro Rock itself is more spectacular because it is right at the beach. I worked hard to get some decent pictures (while also collecting several sand dollars), but it was difficult because of that same ever-present haze. None of these pictures really do it justice, but I wanted you to see it.
Continuing south I soon arrived at San Luis Obispo. The strangest thing happened there: the sun finally came out. This is a big deal because for the past two days, ever since I finished Big Sur, I have been in a perpetual cloudy haze. It was therapeutic to finally see the sun and to feel the heat that came with it. I bought some chicken salad at a grocery store and had a little picnic at a park I found. I got another surprise -- a gorgeous botanical garden. (I have been saving all the plant pictures from my trip to put in one post at the end but am including just a couple from the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden here, just to whet your appetite for later.)
These flowers below are where capers come from. The capers are the flower buds, usually pickled!
Next I made my way downtown to the San Luis Obispo Mission. This mission was founded in 1772 by Father Junipero Serra, 25 years before San Juan Bautista which I visited earlier. Downtown San Luis Obispo is really happening. It was probably the most active and most commercialized downtown I've been in since San Francisco. There is lots of shopping, local and otherwise; several restaurants; many antique stores; and a yarn store for me! Buying some special yarn on this trip was one of my goals. I found Yarns at the Adobe online, but it is closed on Tuesdays. A man who worked in a real estate office saw me looking in the door of the store, considered my case a yarn emergency, and opened the store for me. Then he left me alone in there to browse at my leisure; I was shocked. When I told him thank you for trusting me, he said he trusts everyone. 😊I bought some beautiful yarn so now I can start planning what to make with it.
The kind man also told me that this store is one of the two oldest structures in town besides the mission. It was originally made with adobe.
Okay, if you follow me on Instagram, you know what is coming next. If not, you're in for a surprise too. Tonight I am staying at Madonna Inn! It is a huge splurge for me. You can ask Kathryn, I usually cut financial corners in my choice of hotel. I am satisfied if there's a bed and a bathroom and it's clean. This place is way over the top for me. If you are used to staying in high-end hotels, please bear with me; I have to gush a little. The hotel was built by Alex and Phyllis Madonna and opened in 1958. They wanted to provide elegance, comfort, and hospitality. There are 110 rooms which are all decorated/designed differently. There's also a rock waterfall, several buildings, a garden, a pool and hot-tub, a spa, a restaurant, a cafe, a bakery, and more. You really just need to look it up here: Madonna Inn.
I am enjoying the luxury for this one night but dreaming of a girls' trip here some other time. Who's interested????
I ate dinner in the cafe. I got this delicious southwestern steak salad and then a small hot fudge sundae for just $23 before tip. That is a much better deal than I've gotten in some other restaurants on my trip.
Tomorrow... Solvang!!!
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