Elephants (seals) Clams, and beaches!

Blog Jan 2

We left Monterey in the rain and headed south.  Rained all the way to Paso Robles.  The RV park (Wine Country RV park) is rated as one of the top 100 RV parks in North America and deservedly so.  Nice grounds – two tiers (both with clubhouses, pools, etc), 2 dog runs, nicely kept……..and we got upgraded!!

Arrived and got settled then off to see what Paso Robles has to offer.  Area is full of huge wineries and vineyards can be seen for miles in every direction.  The rains are starting to slow but we have showers throughout the night.  By morning the clouds are breaking up and we are promised good weather.

We travel over to Hwy 1 and onto Hearst Castle.  We were a little skeptical that this may be a tourist trap…….how wrong we are.  VERY impressive grounds, extremely informative guide, and the castle defies description.  William Randolph Hearst knew how to build some mighty impressive homes!!!  Suffice it to say, we will be back for some of the other tours (we had the general overview tour, now we want to get to know some of the sights in depth). 

Throughout the tour we had heard about the village of San Simeon so decided to take a gander – quiet, quaint, cute.  Off north on the road toward the old lighthouse ………… only open Tues, Thurs, and Sat.  BUT wait a minute, just down the road from the lighthouse entrance is an over flowing parking lot.  There is a sign – “Elephant Seal Viewpoint” and people are streaming into this lot.  So, why not……..we parked and walked along a boardwalk high above the beach.  We look down this sandy beach to see what seem to be huge logs littering the place……but they aren’t logs, they’re moving!!!  The beach is a elephant seal refuge and the place is crowded with these massive beasts for at least a couple of miles.  We watch as young pups cry out to their mothers to be fed, other females lie basking in the sun (yes, we have some sun finally), some young males are seen sparing with each other, and massive bulls raise their heads every once in awhile to see if their harem is still together.  They all heave their weight this way and that to get settled in the sand.  When they get a bit warm they plow into the sand or use their flippers to cover themselves with sand much like an elephant will use their trunks to cover themselves with dust.  And we are but 30 feet away (and 25 feet above) from all this.

Back on the road and heading south toward Morro Bay – cute city featuring a massive rock in their harbour (el morro).  It is a fishing and tourism town.  Find a couple of cute t-shirts and a great restaurant – Ed had fish and chips (with a bowl of clam chowder); Ross had shrimp skewer (and a bowl of clam chowder) all from the senior’s menu.  By now the sun (yes, we still have that burning orb in the sky and it is supposed to be with us for the next week or so) has gone to bed and we need to make tracks home………laundry night!!!

In the morning (Jan 4) we headed off to explore San Luis Obispo.  As we drive into the city Ross was a little confused why any business would actually name their place – SLO Bank, or SLO furniture…………..it took an embarrassingly long time to realize that SLO was San Luis Obispo!!  Found the info centre but no parking so Ross hopped out of the car and walked into the centre while Ed drove around the block.  First question was if they had a city map………”Right behind you sir….only $3.00”.  OK, so next question is how to find the mission……”Go out the door and walk up the street about ½ block – you’ll run right into it”.  Ed drove up to the centre at that time and Ross hopped in.  We found a place to park, and walked back to the info people…….where to find a Bank of America, etc.  Also were trying to find a cute little winery recommended to us by Sandra Oldfield (vintner and wine master for Tinhorn Creek in Oliver, BC – and a Facebook friend of Ed’s).  The winery is called A Pithy Little Winery and the storefront is right next door to the info centre……but they were closed for inventory.  Had a walk around the city – quaint, treed, sort of like Granville Island (BC) or Newport Beach (CA).  We want to explore more of this city next year. 

We then headed over to the beach……Pismo Beach.  Great little village that is tourist oriented ++ and found a great little café that has (according to them) the world’s BEST clam chowder…….and it was!!!  Then back to the motor home and a soak in the hot tub.  We leave tomorrow for Bakersfield and hope the weather holds for us.

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