"What
way do we turn? What street should I look for? I asked the Lady when we entered
San Luis Obispo.
"Nothing
looks familiar. It's like I've never been here before!" The Lady was
genuinely bewildered. "And there's so many people!"
We figured
it was 15 years since our last visit. It was busy with people, understandable
with the warm weather, holiday weekend, and this was Valentine's Day morning.
We were able
to find the historic downtown and found a near empty parking lot that didn't
start charging until 1:00 pm. Things were looking up. It was a glorious morning
and SLO is a very picturesque city.
I've always
enjoyed the old mission.
We both felt
like we were back in the 4th grade where the California Missions are mandated to
be covered in history lessons.
I'm reminded
that history has many layers and can be very painful. My sister-in-law is a
Miwok. I know she has a very different view of recently sainted Father Serra
and especially our more local John Sutter, more than understandable with the
earth shattering effects European contact had on their population, lands, and culture.
We continued
our walk downtown.
Many of our
friends also attended Cal Poly, including Barking Spider. Since Cal Poly SLO has
a large agriculture school, Barking calls it "Alfalfa Moo!" McLintocks
is where he first dined on "Turkey Nuts", a
story recounted and enjoyed several times, as in "over and over". The
conversation always moves on to my story about how my uncle got me roped into
cleaning a five gallon bucket full of "Rocky Mountain Oysters" for
a family reunion he was hosting in Deadwood, South Dakota.
The Old
Cigar Factory is now gone, replaced by another restaurant.
The Lady
paid for her college years by waiting tables in restaurants. We were
going back in time with memories and stories. She recounted her very short time
as a cocktail waitress, complete with the sexy, slinky dress. A male patron was
not a gentleman and received a full platter of drinks, on him, not on the table, fully appropriate to the
occasion in the Lady's eyes. Management quickly decided serving guests
meals remained the Lady's forte and she returned to tables, but she did receive a large tip from the fellow's wife who enjoyed the episode immensely and thanked the Lady "for having the guts to put the jerk in his place."
Knee deep in
stories we continued wandering the downtown area.
Back in the truck, we drove to the corner of Mill and Toro. The house where the Lady
lived with the football team is still there.
The Lady talked of all the long
bike rides and runs she use to do. Bent on nostalgic recreations - well
at least in the truck - we headed down to Avila Beach. That was a mistake. Shock with the growth and change, we
made it out of the congestion without losing life or limb and headed
to Morro Bay. The power plant always amazes me, in such a dominate central location.
We easily
found a parking spot on the bay and walked. Otters floated in the bay.
Gulls posed
for pictures.
We walked
out to Morro Rock and around to the jetty protecting Morro Bay. The surf was rough.
Waves were
breaking over the jetty, yet people still climbed out into harm's way.
Morro Rock
itself is a marine preserve. I wondered if the gulls knew they were perched on an
ancient volcanic plug?
The beach to
the north of Morro Rock was crowded with happy people on a beautiful Sunday
afternoon busy with all sorts of fun.
Returning to the truck, we stopped
and snacked along the water's edge and watched the small Harbor Patrol boat speed out into
the bay. It was soon followed by the U.S. Coast Guard. We figured someone had
been washed off the jetty.
They soon
returned with victims aboard, being treated on the stern of the ship.
San Luis
Obispo County medic units were waiting at the dock and soon sirens filled the
air as the victims were transported. We later discovered the high waves had capsized a small boat in the bay. Two adult males, one adult female, and her eight year old daughter were rescued from the water. The story can be found here - Boat Capsizes in Morro Bay.
"I rode
my bike out to Cayucos," the Lady said as we idled in Morro Bay traffic.
Cayucos would be our next stop.
"Well I
never thought I'd ever run into you two here!" Our friend Slim towered
over everyone else on the crowded Cayucos Pier. "In the middle of nowhere
maybe," Slim went on, "but never here!"
Slim
introduced us to his in-laws - the reason for his visit - and the usual quick
greetings and stories commenced. It was nice to see Slim.
"Well,
if you're at Montana de Oro you have to see the tide pools at Hazard
Canyon," Slim easily fell into the role of tour guide. "You going
back up highway 1? Take the Old Coast Road up from Big Sur. You come back out
at that famous bridge."
"The Bixby Bridge?" I asked.
"The Bixby Bridge?" I asked.
"That's
the one! All you need is good tires and I know you have good tires."
Cayucos was
busy with people also. There were surfers in the water.
Although it
was crowded and the area had changed, we did have a very nice day. We picked up
a couple items at the small market in Cayucos and returned to camp. Our camp
companion was there to greet us in the afternoon light.
We headed
back out to the bluff for the sunset.
We passed
the old Spooner Ranch House...............................
.........................and
reached the bluffs just as the sun slipped into the water.
Everything
was darn near perfect. A wonderful end to Valentine's Day.
It was wonderful
to see so many others out to view this beautiful sunset. Proving there are good things
and good people in the world.
We stayed
out as the light dimmed. It was hard to pull away.
A woman
twirled lighted hoops as we slowly walked back to camp.
We waited
until the stars were out before we returned out to the bluffs. We again
found ourselves alone. To add to the night, I thought I'd try some long exposures to smooth the
surf. I hoped the moon was bright enough to help with the effect.
It was a
Valentine's Day evening to remember.
Our
adventure continues in Part
Three -Please Click Here
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