Day Trippin @ Morro Bay. 23 June 2011

Truman had to go to the doctor so he could get some more shots (3 of 'em, poor guy), and we thought we'd make the most of the trip and do a little exploring. After Tru got shot up, I turned the wheels west on to state route 46 and we made our way up the rolling hills of San Luis Obispo county to the coast. We passed by a few beautiful vineyards with their large and majestic homes that the girls would call castles. We came to the end of 46 and had to decide whether we head north on the Cabrillo Highway toward Cambria and check out Hearst Castle or head south and explore Morro Bay. In a last minute decision I cut the wheel left and head to Morro Bay. Driving down highway 1 with the pacific ocean to our right we take in the scenery and it doesn't take long before we can see Morro Rock, a huge rock right off the coast, and we know we're close. We arrive at the state park and wish we had brought some kayaks with us from Utah. The water in the bay was calm and there were all sorts of birds flying in and out and there was all sorts of shoreline to paddle around. We explored a little of the museum/giftshop at the campground. The girls wondered around the museum and Truman was fascinated by all the stuffed animals they had (he's easily fascinated these days, lots of oooh's and pointing). As I was browsing the free literature about the park and surrounding areas the kind lady at the gift shop told me about the sea otters that hang out around Morro Rock and the harbor seals that follow the fishing boats in to the harbor. Thanks kind lady! We drive out to the rock and parked right next to this behemoth. Its huge. It is on the tip of a little peninsula, on one side is the beach with the big waves and long sandy beach and on the other side is the bay. This is where the fishing boats come in and people were kayaking and stand up paddle surfing. It was also where the sea otters were. You could see them, floating on there backs in the water and eating, right from where we parked. There was a decent amount of people there and judging from the abundance of seagulls and the chubbyness of the squirrels, this was a popular place. The kids were more interested in the obese squirrels eating from peoples hands and coming up to them begging for food then they were about the sea otters. We had enough of the pudgy squirrels and annoying birds so we made our way to the beach to play in the sand for a bit. We walked the beach, dug holes, played in the water, looked for sea creatures and watched the surfers. Beaches are fun. Then we left to check out a thrift store we had passed on our way to the rock. Nothing too exciting. We did find some little princess camping chairs for the girls and the girls both picked out a book. The real score was a bead store we walked passed on our way to the thrift store. The beads weren't that exciting, it was the quaint little garden that they had in the back. It had all kinds of flowers and herbs in the garden and for sale, a little koi pond and a small room with blown glass balls that they were using and selling as hanging planters. Amanda ended up buying two mint plants, one peppermint, one strawberry mint. Score. Earlier we told the girls we would get some ice cream so we made our way down to the harbor and found a parking spot on the street that just happened to be in front of an ice cream/pastry shop. Bonus. The girls got their ice cream and Amanda and I got delicious pastries and Truman had a little of everyone's. We crossed the street and found a nice sitting area to eat our treats and look out over the bay, past Morro Rock and out to sea. Priceless. Once our treats were successfully devoured we walked around the harbor looking at the shops and restaurants, the boats in the bay and searching for the harbor seals I heard about. After a few minutes we found one poke his head up to breathe and disappear under the water. I thought that was all we were going to see of any harbor seals, but a little farther on our dock walk we run into him lying on the rocks, watching everyone watch him. The kids got a kick out of it. They also liked the open pool of crabs one of the restaurants had. By now we had worked up an appetite and Ava was wanting to eat some fish. We find a place with a good view of the bay and eat some delicious seafood while watching the sunset. A splendid finish to a great day. Morro Bay has become my new favorite place and I can't wait to come back.