Here in Morro Bay

We moved from San Mateo Campground to Morro Strand State Beach last week.  Morro Rock is a volcanic plug that sits in the bay, a landmark for miles around (named by the explorer Cabrillo in the 1600’s.)  The campground kiosk has a great view, as there is the campground, a sand berm, then the ocean!  We hear its roar, especially at night (it’s like the ambient noise of a freeway, still getting used to it!)

All winter I practiced bicycle riding for the Wildflower Century ride, which was 2 days after we arrived at Morro Strand.  Of course, I was practicing at sea level, and the ride was in the mountains east of San Luis Obispo, so I had a tough time with this ride’s elevation.  Also, I never expected freezing temperatures in the morning and arrived not only wearing bicycling shorts, but also no socks (just sandals) and short gloves!  I was so cold I was wondering how long it would take for my fingers and toes to become frostbitten, but I soldiered on.  After the sun came up in earnest and after the first monster hill, I warmed right up though.  The hills were very steep and came often, and the downhills were all too short and full of potholes.  The 20 mile straightaway had a 20-30 mph headwind so after lunch I dragged into the finish, taking 8 hours to ride 71 miles.  Not a very good record, but hey, I did it!  Here’s a picture of the several thousand cyclists eating lunch:

We have spent the week training for our job, getting familiar with the area and seeing a few sights.  Ron and I visited the Morro Bay State Park Visitor Center, which is an awesome discovery center that teaches about the natural history and resources of the area.  Hearst Castle is the State Park headquarters for this area, so after we completed our new camp host paperwork in the office we were treated to the movie and tour.  Beautiful gardens, fancy architecture and lavish furnishings are featured in this castle.  Here’s some pictures:

On the way home we viewed the elephant seals lounging on the beach.

And we walked the pier by the little town of Cayucos and Ron bought a cookie in the cookie store which featured this picket fence:

The next day we visited Montana de Oro State Park.  The flowers were in full bloom, the day was hot and the view was magnificent!  The blue flowers are huge 3-4 foot lupines and the yellow flower is so bright it hurts – I think its a variety of iceplant. The park features many hiking, horse and mountain bike trails as well as 7 miles of beach.  It is to the south of the Morro Rock, so here’s the view looking north towards the Morro Strand campground.

I joined the local bike club and took a ride the other day and Ron is back at the beach metal detecting, and we’re both having a ball!  This morning I joined the several hundred walkers/runners who were going by our campground on the beach to raise money for a charity, and got my workout for the morning!

This place is full of so many things to see and do, and we are working with an amazing group of people.  We are really looking forward to our adventure working here!

Test of Sunsets

I am testing a new way to insert pictures into my blog.  I took a bunch of sunsets last month.  Enjoy!

 

This is a picture taken at Surf Beach in January.  Note the log seat!  The surf there is known by the name of “Old Man’s”, which I still am not sure why that is.  Maybe the old surfers control it?

 

 

        

Ron at Surf Beach                                    Doheny Sunset                                  Wild Doheny Sunset

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Okay, blog followers, I admit. I've been neglecting this blog! But we have been so very busy, and those of you who look at Facebook have seen an occasional picture from me. (Let me know if you want to be my friend on Facebook - I'm not too active there, though). So I'll catch you up to date with some pictures.

We love our gig here at San Clemente. The weather has been amazing this winter! We hear how bad its been in South Dakota and Lake Havasu, smile and tell each other how glad we are to be here! The job has been interesting. Here's a picture of our campground from the hills to the north, looking off towards Camp Pendleton and the ocean. San Mateo Campground is on an access road to Camp Pendleton, but in December we had torrential rains which did so much damage with sinkholes and such that the road got closed (my bike is leaning on the concrete barricade). So no base traffic all winter!

Then two weeks ago a holding tank for the sewer exploded - this 1 ton concrete vault lifted up a half foot into the air, sending the asphalt flying. So camping has been restricted to about half capacity because of the sewer problems, making our job to check the campground quicker!

I volunteer at the San Clemente State Beach visitor center, which is only a couple of miles from here and the center office for this area. One of my jobs was to put together a powerpoint show on the role of the Civilian Conservation Corps here, and another group of shows on what's in bloom. They are shown at the Visitor Center. I found music to play in the background and had one of the campground hosts narrate the CCC show from the script I wrote. I have been taking pictures of flowers, identifying them (with their Latin names) and finding out if they are native or not to Southern California, then putting them in the powerpoint show. Now those of you who really know me, know this has been a wonderful project for me, since I love wildflowers!

Also, Ron and another camp host got together and made these awesome boxes for the visitor center (one of my ideas, got it from Custer State Park, I think) where you put your hand into the hole and feel whatever is in there and identify it for sure by lifting the lid. We've been putting in starfish and sea shells. Kids (and adults) love it!

Another thing I got to do was lead a nature hike down this trail, which required a lot of preparation on my part since I had to learn what the names of the plants and such were that we were looking at! And Ron gets out to meet the campers by picking up trash when we are on duty.

I've included some pictures of the critters we see here. The squirrel is not as innocent as it looks, and is really a pest here. The seagulls on the beach also freak me out when they all take off at once, like in this picture of Ron detecting (probably because I watched Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" when I was too young). And this egret (I think!) was so graceful out there dancing in the waves. The gulls obviously can't read very well at the fish cleaning station.

We have had the opportunity to get with family while out here. Saw David and Joanna (but no recent picture, sorry), Rhonda (again, no recent picture), my niece Becky and her family, Mark and Jan (we're eating out in the middle of winter on the restaurant's deck overlooking LaJolla beach!), and John and Elizabeth with William in Vegas. Also, we have sure had a blast meeting new folks and making friends! All of these times we cherish so much!

And of course, some amazing and beautiful sights are all around us. The statue is at Dana Point, picturing the seamen who came here in the 1830's and swung cowhides over the cliffs we were standing on to the trading ships below. The arches are from a hotel begun in the early 1900's that was never finished because of the Depression. My bike is at the overlook at San Onofre State Beach just a few miles from our campground looking north towards the nuclear power plant (you may have heard about it in the news). I feel so privileged to be here and enjoy this place. Wish you were here!

Delectable Pathways is DONE

Many of you know that I have been working on this quilt now for over 2, close to 3 years. I am very happy to say, it is DONE! I put on the label last night, took pictures today, and am just about ready to put it on our bed - which, alas, even though I am a quilter, has never had a quilt on it and just a humble brown comforter has covered it all these years.

I made it as follows: First I hand embroidered some of the vines. I made the thicker vines by cutting the fabric into slices on the bias, putting pins on the ironing board and folding the raw edges of the strips under, pulling the strip through the two pins and ironing as I went. Then I hand sewed all the vines and flower applique pieces on. Next I tackled all those little triangles - I went to the copy store and made 112 copies of the pattern, then machine sewed right onto the copies in order to get those little triangle pieces perfect. I sewed the bigger triangles very carefully, trying not to handle them too much because they all had bias edges that stretched like crazy, so I cut each one just before I was ready to sew it. I laid it all out on 5 big tables in Lake Havasu at the club house of the camp and started to assemble it. It was a challenge not to turn the pieces around and mix them up as I sewed them together. The fun part was machine quilting it - I used my home sewing machine and after I stitched in the ditch along the straight seams, I dropped the feed dogs and did the free motion quilting.

What a feeling of satisfaction I have to get this quilt finished! It was really a challenge for me. I'm still not sure I really like it, since its so bright, and it's got a few goofs here and there. But I am glad its done, and I am happy that Ron finally gets a quilt on his bed, after all these years! Yayyy!

Life in San Clemente

The beach is moody; one day beautifully lit by the warm winter sun, the next all gray and sullen with rain. Lots of rain. As you might have heard, we had a whole week of it! But the rain sure has been making things grow. Buttercup Oxalis, the yellow flower that looks like its coming out of a clover plant, turns out to be a bad weed. The Matilija Poppy is a papery white flower with 6” flowers on a huge plant that gets up to 8 feet tall. Its very impressive and growing by the kiosk entrance into our campground. I’ve included some beach scenes including the fishing piers, surfers, and paddleboarders. Also, I’ve included pictures of the damage from the flooding, including the new river that sprang up by our campground (see the amphitheater?) and Doheny Beach by San Juan Capistrano that features a washed up octopus and tons of debris scattered all over the beach that was pure and clean the week before the rains. At the campground we are at war with the ground squirrels and mice, who prefer our truck and camper to their own houses. So the current remedy is based on the theory they like dark places – we spring the hood on the truck so the sunlight reaches it, and at night we turn on the floodlights to illuminate the engine. So far the truck has been rodent-free. But we keep catching mice in the camper, although we’ve kept the squirrels at bay by spraying Lysol all around. For Christmas we enjoyed Christmas Eve with Mark and Jan and had a wonderful Christmas Day dinner with David, Joanna and her family. I enjoyed the best dinner and even included a picture of it for you – fish tacos with a wonderful , light, non-fishy flavor. So here’s a picture of Ron and me to all of you – May you all have a wonderful new year filled with blessings and joy!