After a refreshing swim in the estuary, my little jog around Morro Bay was a lot of fun. This is a classic laid back California beach town, with the balance just about right between traditional commercial fishing and tourism. And I could hear the barking of the seals in the harbor over the music in my headphones. Meanwhile, Darren explored a bit further on his SUP.
The cloud theme continued for the weekend. Saturday afternoon brought a walk from the campsite by the beach (at least I think we were by the beach, we could hear the surf even if we could barely see the sea) to the nearby brewery.
Prime spot!
The brewery is called Three Stacks and a Rock. Which just about sums up Morro Bay, from a distance at least. The Three Stacks refers to the trio of smokestacks towering over the power plant, oddly situated right in the center of town. And the Rock is the iconic volcanic rock that stands nearly 600 feet high at the entrance to the harbor. That said, we had yet to see the top of the Rock on this trip. Makes you even wonder if there even was a top… (like the Magic Faraway Tree with a whole world of different lands swirling around).
At least Darren was happy: warm enough to sit outside and tuck into a steak cooked on the bbq, but cold enough to warrant having a campfire.
Sunday morning brought no more insight into whether Morro Rock did indeed have a top. After a leisurely breakfast in the Basecamp, we headed to nearby Montana de Oro State Park for a hike. Again the weather came into play – not much point in hiking up a hill/mountain into the cloud. As always, Darren had a Plan B. The Bluffs Trail.
The Bluffs Trail skirted the coast, meandering through pretty moorland, with dramatic rock stacks littering the ocean. I was mightily impressed with this section of the coast, so much so that we cut the walk short and I changed into my running gear instead. The air was heavy and humid, but the scenery just breathtaking as I ran from one rugged bay to the next.
As we headed back towards Morro Bay, a promising patch of blue sky appeared and by the time we reached the harbor, it was almost sunny. And so it was back out onto the water, this time in a rented double kayak, for another look at the seals, the sea lions and the adorable otters.
Aha… finally, we get to see the top of the Rock
Enjoying a paddle and checking out the otters
The view from the pub is actually quite similar to the view from the kayak!
Back at camp, we had a chilled out evening in our little home on wheels. Along came the blue sky we’d been waiting for all weekend, and we strolled along the water’s edge at the beach, with egrets, curlews and flocks of arctic terns for company.
Happy that the sun had made an appearance, revealing Morro Rock in all its glory, it seemed only right as the sun dipped low in the sky that we could see tomorrow’s cloud already gathering on the horizon. The fog would be back tomorrow for sure, but for now, we made the most of it as the sun set into the dark line of cloud above the ocean.
