We have been busy here at Avila/Pismo Beach KOA. I have been painting the Men’s Bath House along with doing my regular duties of pool cleaning and garbage patrol among other things. Victoria has been hard at work keeping our guest happy in the office while taking reservations and fielding phone calls.
The weather has been a bit on the nasty side. We have been getting a lot of rain and the temperatures have been a bit colder than we would like. We really can’t complain though, temps in the 50’s and 60’s are better than a lot of the country is having.
Hearst Castle
On our days off we have been lucky and the weather has been cooperative on at least one of our two days off a week. We have been venturing out to see the local sights on those days. On one of our trips we went to The Hearst Castel. It is one of the homes of the late William Randolph Hearst. The estate is now owned by the state of California and open to the public (for an admission fee).
This is a spectacular place set high on a hill overlooking the coast. We took a shuttle bus 5 miles up the hill side. We toured the main house which consisted of a walkthrough of several of the 150 or so rooms. After that we explored the grounds which included two way over the top swimming pools. There are also several guest houses were guests such as Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin stayed. Victoria really enjoyed the gardens that offer all types of flora and a verity of fruit trees.
Back at the visitors center we watched a movie about the castle and then headed down to the coast. We stopped in a local little restaurant that has been there forever. It is called Sebastian’s and we had one of the best burgers I have ever had. Trust me; I have had a lot of burgers. And for six buck you can’t go wrong.
We ended the day with a great west coast sunset.
Solvang
While at Hearst Castle we saw some advertising for the town of Solvang. It is only about an hour away from us so we decided to check it out. It is a little community that was established by the Dutch. The whole town is built to resemble a town back in the old country. It is mostly shops of all types and restaurants.
Victoria and I walked the streets and enjoyed the architecture. Victoria checked out several shops while eyed all of the treats in the bakeries and candy shops that seemed to be at every third or fourth door. We settled on a bakery to have a cup of coffee and a local bake good before heading home.
Morro Bay
Morro Bay is a seaside town that we passed by on our way to Herst Castle. It is hard to miss due to the Morro Rock that is a huge chuck of land that towers over the town and appears to rise right out of the ocean. It is actual attached to the mainland and there is a road out to the rock.
We really enjoyed Morro. The bay is lined with shops and restaurants and there is a walk way that is built right over the front of the shops that wined along the bay front. We walked the boardwalk stopping every so often to enjoy the views of the dozens of boats moored in the harbor.
As we walked we could hear the barking of Sea Lions and we followed the ruckus to discover three of the sea dogs begging for treats as a local fishing boat off loaded its catch of Anchovies. We stood and watched the show for a good half hour or so. One of the best things about our lifestyle for both of us is seeing all the different wild life of the areas we visit.
We wondered down the walkway saying hello to all the dogs (and there people) we met along the way. At the end of the walkway was a harbor side park with a sidewalk that completed this very enjoyable stroll.
We hoped back in the truck and drove out to the rock. It creates one side of the inlet to Morro Bay. We stopped and watched several surfers catching waves on the ocean side before heading out to the end of the road on the opposite side of the rock. There we gathered with the growing crowd to watch another spectacular Pacific Coast sunset.
