Parting Shots

The time has come.  Beth is enroute from Springfield, MO to join me for our cruise home. She will hit the central coast of California just before midnight and we will turn around and hit the road before the sun comes up after a few short hours of shut-eye.  But...before we go, I had a few days with Betty and some time cruising around town on my bike.  Here are some parting shots of Morro Bay...

I am a softy for animals behind the wheel.

These VW Westfalia's (Westy's) are all over the place, the older the better.

The Presidential election is around the corner, but that also means my sister's run for Mayor of Morro Bay is coming up as well.  Through the grape vine, she seems to have a good chance...stay tuned.

One of the flyers Betty is taking door to door.

Here, she is about to go on the air with the Dave Congalton talk radio show in SLO.

Walking the neighborhoods with Betty, I got to see such different landscaping.  Some crazy looking flora and I couldn't relocate some of the craziest, but here are a few.

This one could be a Missouri bloomer, but I am into my water drops on flowers.

My last Morro Bay day I cruised around town before the sunset, had some fish and chips and chowder, and saw some witches on the water.

The jetty protecting the bay saw some bigger wave action and drew the tourists
out for photo ops...not me but other tourists.

Since Betty kept me full, I had to get a kids meal for dinner.  I went to the best
place on the embaradero.  I knew this because it said so on the side of the building!
It was very good!

After dinner I cruised the shops one more time
and saw this in a window.
(Thought of you KS!)

So I'm minding my own business, walking down the embarcadero, I look out to the bay and notice a black spot in the distance on the water.  I waited and waited and finally the hair in the back of my neck raised and I got chills as if a cold wind blew right through me and the following pics tell the story...

The black spot on the water turned into a witch on a stand up paddle board.

They multiplied...

Then they came after me and I went the other way!  I don't mess with witches.

The "Rock," being the last of the "9 Sisters" (or first depending on your orientation) is the "plug" that gets most of the attention of the sisters.  It is just such a unique landmark and I couldn't stop taking photos of it, so here are my final shots before placing my lens cover on last time while visiting the west coast...for now.

Okay, this does not have the Rock in it, but it's just out of the frame to the left.

So long Rock, plug, Sister #9 (or #1?)...til next time.


My Zen from the Road:  My time here started with the thought that this is a good place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here.  Why you might wonder?  The water, the surrounding hill, the sunsets, the fresh produce that is EVERYWHERE...  It is just so different from what I am use to...the architecture (lots of flat roofs), the landscaping (lots of succulents), and the sand that seems to be everywhere and in everything.  Well, after six weeks, this place has grown on me and my attitude has softened.  I could live here.  What has kept a for sale sign from popping up in my front yard in Missouri, is a small-ish house in my sisters neighborhood, that would most likely sell for $90,000 in MO, goes for half a million here in the Golden State!  That, I can't wrap my brain around.  But I am glad I was able to open my mind a bit to consider the possibilities.


Bonus...
There seems to be no one that my sister does not know here (almost).  I can only associate my sister's time here with my time as a teacher.  After that many years teaching, its hard to go out around town and not see a former student.  Anyway, one of Betty's neighbors down the street, had a limb that fell from a tree next to their house and we went down to help them clean it up.  It turns out that this couple has been in the area longer than Betty, by a fair amount.  It turns out they have some property up in the hills around Cayucos, just north of Morro Bay.  We were invited to take a quick jaunt to check it out.  Along the way, as Betty and Bill visited about the goings on around town, I was schooled on some of the history we were touching as we headed inland a bit.  Both properties had great views of the water and relatively close to town.  The photo below was from the peak of their larger property.  It was breath taking and the photo does not do it justice.  But what was cooler to me is that Bill, was the catalyst that began stand up paddle boarding back in the day.  I've not rubbed elbows with too many people (none) that were at the beginning of something that "took off," but since it involved something that I am into, it made it that much more special to have crossed paths.

The Rock is left of center, in the clouds.