Santa Maria to Morro Bay

This journey has certainly brought to light the enduring beauty of humanity and our duty to explore this world we live in. Throughout the trip we have  been privileged to meet a variety of people we easily hold now in esteem as friends and family,  who inspire and uplift. I want to send out my eternal thanks to those who have called out to strangers, turning them quickly to friends.  In small instances, and sometimes even spending hours or days with people our perspective and knowledge is stretched and expanded.  I consider these thoughts as I review a span of  time where we dropped from our hidden camping spot outside the "mountain" hamlet of Casmalia to the town of Santa Maria and then journeyed up the coast through Guadalupe. Los Osos, and up to the cozy community we write from now, Morro Bay.  We dipped from Casmalia into the valley and had our found a farmer outposted at a remote intersection with his shaded tent of fresh fruits and vegetables and Spanish sweet treats of which I know not the names, but totally enjoyed.  He in broken English and we in broken Spanish, labored our way through a conversation with lots of smile and goodwill towards purchasing the biggest avocado I've seen in my life (for a dollar!)  and a bunch of other fresh veggies.  Within a half hour a Santa Barbara County Sheriff swerved off the road to check out some suspicious folks with big packs.  We ended up having a great chat and gleaned local knowledge and safe travel advice from the portly sheriff.  That evening we ate some great food at a natural foods cafe and were greeted by tiny people that smiled a ton.  The next day another tiny lady helped us at the post office, with smiles and laughter bigger than she was.  The list goes on and on.  The experiences pile and pile, the intrigue into our journey brings curious questions and encouragement, serendipitous encounters are amazingly frequent and hopefully received in gratitude by us. 

On the road from Guadalupe up to Oceano a man photographing flowers in full bloom greeted us across a raging Highway 1.  Would we like a lift a few miles?  Where were we going?  What brought on the journey,  etc...  So enters Ron Williams, pictured here snapping flowers in  

full force along the highway.  Ron took us to nearby Oso Flacos Road which led to a massive set of dunes.  We learned that he had traveled north from Santa Barbara in search of favored flowering subjects while his wife spent the evening cramming for tomorrow's book club discussion.  We were very glad he did if only for the opportunity to meet and chat about the area, the country, the world, political stances,  nature, family, and many other topics.  We really enjoyed our brief time with him among the dunes, lakes, and flowers.  We arrived late in Pismo Beach and met groups of high schoolers from other parts of Cali and Klamath Falls Oregon camped in Pismo for their Spring Breaks.  We all shared slight alarms and then laughter as the Park Rangers dealt with the yelling vagrants howling at each other in the dark on the far end of the campground.  The kids were top notch, offering excitement, support, BUG REPELLENT, and quick quips and comedy, and music.  

The next morning we walked a short distance to Oceano North and learned that we'd again have to detour 23 miles from the coast to avoid the PG & E Nuclear Power plant at Diablo Canyon.  At Oceano North a ranger gave us a break on the camping costs and we settled into another campground, greeted over and over by the friendly RV crowd and their 4 legged companions.  See the theme?  Kind people, kind people, and more kind people.  We dropped into bed early to get ready for a long throttling day northwards to Los Osos, and hopefully past Los Osos to Ron's recommended can't miss spot, Montana de Oro (pronounced Moan- tawn-ya day Oar-oh meaning "mountain of gold").  We plugged along and nearly made it.  We snuck into a dried creek bed in Los Osos around dark and woke for the final leg to Montana de Oro.  After fun conversation with locals at the 50's throwback coffee shop and grocery stores we made our way back down the coast to Montana.  And what a beauty! We are very fortunate in our timing. The yellow mustard and orange poppies are in bloom, and the hillside is blanketed in golden blooms. The Los Osos locals were all very proud and excited to share their love of this testament to color and magnificence right outside their doors. As they say, "Hawaii has nothing on us!!!"

Camping in Montana De Oro is primitive, meaning there is no electricity and no flushing toilets. We walked down a gorgeous eucalyptus lined road to our campsite.

 The waves that crashed against the bluffs sounded like gunshots! The volume of water and force that exerts is mindboggling! 

Reuben has a special gift of asking his questions of the perfect person to answer them. While cooking dinner, we saw our neighbors pull up in their spiffy sprinter motor home. Now, as a side note, I must comment on the efficiency of these homes! 24mpg! 

Reuben and this gentleman  stuck up a conversation about the campground and Reuben asked why nuclear power stations are located on the water. "Well, you've asked the right person there. I'm a nuclear engineer!" Our new friend is David Hodgdon and his dynamic wife Barbara. 

David had told as about the power company PG&E opening up a coastal hike on certain days that was otherwise closed to the public. Security is very tight and positive ID is required to enter. As we were finishing up breakfast, they told us they were going to that hike. They were kind enough to wait while we scrambled for this opportunity to join them. What a lovely day we shared! They were from Santa Barbara and were in the same camera club as Ron! What a small world. If this small sample of the residents of Santa Barbara is any indication of the community there, we will be moving in pronto!