Inaugural Trip

My first "Traveling by Chance" trip was an adventure.  I worked some kinks out of the rules, and plan to revise them as I do more trips.  I didn't travel too far out of my own neighborhood today, but that was actually a good thing.  I discovered many little spots that I didn't know existed.  I cut the day a bit short because of the rain and was getting dark early.

I started my travels early, around 7:15 or so.  Breakfast was my first priority, and I threw the die several times to end up on Main Street in North Morro Bay where, luckily, there was an open coffee shop.  It is called the Blue Bean Espresso Bar and I was happy that they offered some food products as well as coffee.  I parked and was greeted at the door by a pup named Rouge!!  In addition to the yummy treats the shop offers a nice view of the Pacific Ocean, as well as free Wifi for patrons.  The owner waited on me, toasting my bagel while she brewed up an iced mocha.  The mocha was tasty, they use Illy espresso, but I wish I had remembered to ask for whipped cream!!  The bagel was toasted just right and the schmear of cream cheese was just the right amount, she even remembered to give me a knife to spread it with.  When she found out I was local she offered me a frequent buyer card, which I will definitely use in the future.

From breakfast I journeyed north on Highway 1, towards Cayucos, stopping at several beaches and campgrounds.  I had always heard that there was one beach that allowed dogs to run off-leash but hadn't been able to find it.  It is located on Highway 1, just north of Morro Bay at Toro Creek Rd.  I really enjoy watching dogs run free on the beach, cavorting with each other.  And it amazes me that when dogs are allowed to run free they hardly ever have any "issues" with each other, unlike most people!!

I also discovered a public beach access trail that was located in a cute neighborhood.  The garden path was darling and it led to some steep steps which ended at a shallow beach where people were walking their dogs. 

The Morro Strand State Beach campground is a popular site, half of the campsites butt right up against the dunes that lead to the beach.  It is mostly concrete, but the fact that it is so close to the beach is a plus for campers.

I stopped to use the public restroom at the trail head of some more dunes and beach areas.  The endangered Snowy Plover gets a bad rap around here because people and especially their dogs are prohibited from the beaches and trails where the birds nest.  They are ground-nesters with no actual nest, just a depression in the sand.  They are camouflaged so well that people can step right on the babies, and of course the dogs love to chase and catch them.

Along Highway 1 there is an area with a building and the sign reads "Chevron Estero Marine Terminal".  I have often driven past this and wondered what it was all about.  My die send me onto their little street and I investigated as much as I could.  There were tons of signs posted about the danger and no trespassing, etc., but the building appeared to be abandoned.  A truck arrived and the driver explained to me that they were working to remove the contaminated soil from the site for Chevron.  Later that week on the local news there was a story about the Marine Terminal.  Apparently for many years this was the site where tankers would come to get their oil on the Central Coast.  There were tanks of oil up on the hills and a long pipeline would gravity-feed the tankers while they waited in the ocean below.  There were actually two of these (don't know where the other is) and only this one was being cleaned up.  I wonder what the land would be used for once Chevron has it cleaned up?

By far my favorite discovery was the Cayucos-Morro Bay District Cemetery!!  I had been hoping to find a local cemetery and had prepared for it by purchasing several sprays of fake flowers at my Dollar Tree store, cutting the flowers apart, and bringing a Phillips head screwdriver to dig the holes.  I walked through about a quarter of the cemetery (amidst the sprinklers) and left a flower at gravesites of children and people with one of my family names.  Most of these people probably don't have any descendants to do this for them and it made me feel good.  On the way out of the Cemetery I noticed that it is across the street from a dog park!!

After the cemetery my die brought me to a little beach with picnic tables on the sand!!  I met a nice woman here and saw some interesting birds.  People were walking, walking their dogs, fishing, and relaxing here.  I will definitely come back here if I want a place to sit down and work on the tables, as long as it is not too windy!!

After leaving the South Cayucos area my die led me back (again) to North Morro Bay, where I discovered a wonderful park, the Del Mar Park.  There is a little creek running through it, some fantastic trees, a great playground, and nice picnic area.

Another darling area I found was at the base of the hills, running along the Chevron fence was a garden with a view, maintained by the neighbors.  The most thorough was called "Yvonne's Garden", and contained vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  It even had some cacti along a pathway that was lit-up with solar flood lights!!  There were three different steps up to the pathway, and one area had a white plastic Adirondack style chair which was set in the perfect place to take in the sunset.  The street-level gardens were also well-maintained and sported little decorative elements such as the ubiquitous pink plastic flamingos!!

After I left the little neighborhood garden I discovered the Estero Community Garden.  This garden is right across the street from the local Latter Day Saints church and behind the local elementary school.  Community gardeners rent the plots and grow mostly vegetables, but some flowers as well.  A compost area is set up and there is even a little chicken coop with a spunky rooster!!  I met an amazing man here who told me lots of stories about his life, including that he had a machete from World War II Japan!!

It was past lunchtime and I was lucky when the die finally took me by a restaurant!!  I even had a coupon and it is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Morro Bay.  Located at the Cayucos-end of Main Street in North Morro Bay, Lolo's Mexican Restaurant is almost always full.  Their take on Mexican food offers many unexpected treats.  Fresh salsa and chips daily start you off, and I always get their taquitos.  Luckily their lunch special was four taquitos, I got beef and chicken.  They are always so nice here and they offer free refills on my soda, which I always appreciate.  I ate my lunch while I wrote down all the stories of the fascinating man I met at the community garden.  It was a nice relaxing lunch, with a view of Morro Rock!!  I will always return here, especially for their taquito meal which includes 3 taquitos, a salad, beans, rice, and tortillas!!

After my late lunch I ended up down by Morro Rock, where a man had his scope set up to view the Peregrine Falcons that nest on the south side of the rock.  He is almost always at the Rock, showing the visitors these magnificent birds.  I walked a bit toward the breakwater rocks, but didn't have the right shoes on for climbing over them.   There is a shallow beach area to the south of the Rock, where people kayak, surf, and paddle board in the Bay.

My die took me down to the other end of the Embarcadero where I checked out the launch facility.  The day was stormy so there were not a lot of people putting their boats in the water today.  There is a nice playground called Tidelands Park and this is where people gather to watch the Independence Day fireworks.

I was happy to finally make it out of North Morro Bay onto Highway 41, headed to Atascadero, where I discovered a mobile home community/RV park, some curious donkeys, and a rutted dirt road where I had to switch into four-wheel-drive!!  By this time the rain was coming down pretty good so I called an end to my day of adventures!!

To check out more of my trip, check out my Facebook photo album.

© 2010 Traveling by Chance