734 February 23, 2022 Montana De Oro

What an absolute pleasure to go out the door and onto the beach for a morning walk!

We asked the camp host yesterday what we should see while we are in Morro Bay. He suggested that we drive to Montana De Oro and hike. He said that this state park is a well kept secret and that the hiking there and the scenery was unbelievably beautiful.

A look back at Morro Bay.

We drove the short distance to the park through a forest area. Workmen were clearing all the brush from the forest floor; we think as a fire retardant method.

We hiked the Hazard Peak Trail first. The ocean views were breathtaking.

We drove further to the Badger Trail and hiked the Bluff Trail…spectacular! I could take 1,000 pictures and they would still not capture the magic of this place…come and see!

We have said that California is very different. We have noticed that there is NO trash…not along the roadsides and NONE on the beach…it really makes a big difference! There is a charge at every store if you need a bag. There is an extra charge for everything you buy that comes in a plastic bottle. There is an abundance of solar panels and wind farms. Californians are very proud of this place and it shows! We have a neighbor here in the campground who is traveling with a goat. This evening, we saw a man pushing a baby stroller with a large black and white rabbit in it. Only in California!

This evening we drove to town for dinner. We ate at Dutchman’s Seafood House. We both chose something we have never had. Tim enjoyed sand dabs, mild white fish in a piccata sauce. I ordered the cioppino, a San Fransisco favorite, that features a savory tomato broth filled with calamari, shrimp, clams, mussels, fish, and crabmeat. We talked about how we are working to step outside the box…or outside our comfort zones to have new experiences. Tim really doesn’t like the idea of a box or barrier of any kind. We do always want to be open to trying new things!