Central California Coast Mini Vacation - 2

I just could not stop taking pictures at Spooners Cove--so full of unusual geologic formations and crashing waves.

Can you see the five birds just above the water's horizon?

We were able to stay in the home at Morro Bay courtesy of our friends, the Lees.  Here is Kent standing on the uneven, rutted, rock surface.  He had no problems negotiating rocks, and even climbed up on one of them and thought of jumping.

Jump, Kent, jump!

North of Morro Bay and north of Cambria, a lovely town where we ate at the Black Cat Bistro and shopped, and just north of San Simeon, is a beach known as the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse Rookery.  It is the birthing place, rest stop, mating area, and molting place of literally thousands of elephant seals.  These seals are not adorable ones; in fact, they are the largest, and arguably the ugliest seals of the species, and the males are known by their long snouts--thus the name.  The lower picture shows a female cooling herself off by tossing sand on herself.  They were on the beach this day resting and molting.

Near the town of San Simeon is the spectacular set of buildings known as Hearst Castle.  The publsihing magnate of the early 20th century called this his "ranch", and called the hill on which it sits the Cuesta Encantada, or Enchanted Hill.  Politicians and movie stars frequented this amazing place. We took a tour in the evening (highly recommended) and were delighted by the many, many volunteers who sat or stood, inside and out, in 1920s or 1930s clothing, to give us a flavor of what it must have been like.

There are two wonderful swimming pools, one inside, and the outside one below.  It was drained for repairs.  The last of the three pictures was one of the numerous, elegant meeting rooms. Supposedly Mr. Randolph would lay out all of his publications on the floor of this room and read and make corrections.

This was a wonderful trip to an unknown area.  I loved its natural and man-made beauties and hope to come back again and again.  The Central Coast is just delightful.

Central California Coast Mini Vacation - 1

I recently went on a mini vacation to the Central Coast of California.  Going north from Los Angeles, along Highway 101, you encounter the towns of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. Leaving Highway 101 and taking Highway 1, you find the town of Morro Bay.  Our friends, Kent and Kathie Lee invited us to spend time with them at a home in Morro Bay that belongs to a member of our Stake Presidency.

Using Morro Bay as a base of operations, so to speak, we spent time in Morro Bay, walking, kayaking, eating, and having a pleasant time, but also visited nearby towns.  We went south to Los Osos where we came upon Spooners Cove, a lovely and interesting geologic place.  We also traveled north to the town of Cambria where we ate a wonderful meal and did some shopping.

Still north of Cambria, we visited a stretch of beach where thousands of elephant seals congregate (I believe they are the largest in the seal family).  Not far from the seals is the famous Hearst Castle, built in the early twentieth century by Randolph Hearst, a publishing magnate, and we went on an evening tour there.  Besides seeing the wonders of this castle which Hearst called a "ranch," there were people both inside and outside of the buildings in period costume (1920s-1930s), giving it a sense of how it must have been.

Because this blog not only serves as a showcase for pictures I take, but also as an historical document, I wanted to share my trip.

Morro Rock in Morro Bay in the Morning

Another view of the Rock

Look closely at the seals on the dock on the right in the above picture and on the left of the picture below.  What a racket they made!

Yet another view with a slightly different hue

It was very interesting to me how "soft" the Rock looked early in the morning, and that as the day wore on and the sun got higher in the sky, it seemed to me that it became "hard."  You can see the slightly different hues of the Rock in the three pictures.  I just was mesmorized by this monolith and kept taking pictures on different days.

A little bit closer to the noisy seals!

The day after we arrived at Morro Bay, we found Spooners Cove, and after doing a little hiking nearby, we explored this fascinating place.

Looking down at part of Spooners Cove

Another part of Spooners Cove

Part of the wonder of the Cove is the geologic formations

See what I mean?

As I explored the geologic aspects of the Cove, I was continually fascinated.  I want to learn more about its geologic history and obtain greater understanding as to why these formations occurred as they did.  For me, it was pure wonder!

Wow!

More wow!

Still more wow!

So much texture

Not only were there such interesting formations on many of the walls and ground, but there were so many rocks that had washed ashore.  They were usually worn flat (great for rock skimming!) and varied in their compostion and color.  I took a few pictures of them because they fascinated me.

Skimmer rocks to last a lifetime!