2-LINCOLN AND PISMO BEACH, CALIFORNIA

We stopped in Lincoln, California, near Sacramento specifically to see Steve and Linda Campbell, old friends from way back. When I say “way back,” I mean WAY BACK!

Don and Linda went to school together from 5th grade on. Steve and Don met when they were high school sophomores. Don’s brother, Dave, worked for Linda’s Dad at one of his first construction jobs.

While in High School, Steve was the guy (for those of you of that age) with the white T-Shirt and the pack of cigarettes rolled up in his sleeve. Don was the goody-two-shoes so they did not socialize much.

Don and Steve ended up working together a year after high school for about two years.  By that time Steve was no longer the ruffian and Don had also changed. They became fast friends. They both went back to college together for one year and then ended up in different universities.  

During that time there was work, play and study. From what I have heard, since I met Steve and Linda, there was far more play then work or study. The three of them, Linda, Steve and Don love to reminisce about those old times. As you can see they have a long history together.

The Casino parking lot where we spent that night was huge with almost no one else there. It made it really easy to maneuver the motorhome. Steve and Linda didn’t have much trouble finding us in the middle of acres of concrete. We chatted for a while and then found a great Mexican restaurant for more talking between chips and salsa. Steve has two private planes and promises to fly up and see us one of these days. We are going to hold him to that commitment.

Between the Oregon state line to down near Morro Bay we drove a lot of hours on the boring I-5 freeway.

There’s not much to look at besides the highway and big trucks. I more or less helped Don drive by pedaling.

OK, I was no help at all, but I have a small folding recumbent bike that I can use as we drive to help keep the new knees moving. At least it gives me something to do during a very boring drive.

The next morning, after leaving Lincoln, we drove to an actual RV park in Morro Bay. The first order of business was to go to nearby Avila Bay Pier for salmon.

When we lived in Simi Valley a number of years ago, we would make periodic trips to Avila Bay specifically to buy salmon off the pier. There was a young couple who had a fish business in an outdoor area directly above the water. They had three kids who were also running around when they weren’t in school. The junior high aged daughter baked and sold chocolate chip cookies to her parents fish customers.

 
It was kind of a shock to find that the parents are now semi-retired and the daughter (now 21) and her younger brother run the fish business in a very mature and efficient manner. There are no more chocolate chip cookies.
    

It was a beautiful day to be at the  Bay.

A group of sea lions argued and barked among themselves on some type of barge in the water. We were tempted just to hang out there.

We took our two salmon back to the motorhome, vacuum packed them and put them in the RV freezer for later dinners.

Friends Kurt and Cathy Olson live in Pismo Beach (actually Shell Beach) but since it was the New Year’s holidays, the closest RV park available to Pismo Beach was in Morro Bay. 

We have known Kurt and Cathy for, we think, about 18 years. We all lived in Southern California in the Thousand Oaks area and went to the same church. We did better at figuring out how long we have known each other than we did at trying to figure out how long it has been since we have seen each other. We think it has been about 10 years or so. Whatever, it was great time to see them again. Oh, the joys of getting old!

Kurt and Cathy’s son, daughter and spouses along with two grandkids were at their cute little beach house for the holidays. They were already crowded but were kind enough to squeeze us in as well. We talked a lot, ate a lot more and played games till late at night. It was a great time.

Don and I walked the block or so from their house with Cathy to the beach late in the afternoon. It was drop dead gorgeous!

 

The tide was out and very low. There were lots of people exploring the tide pools.
 
The next day we drove a few miles south to Oceana where there are sand dunes. They also let you drive on the beach during low tide.

We were surprised to see literally hundreds of RV’s on the beach. Many carried ATV’s that they drove on the sand dunes. We can only imagine what New Year’s Eve must have been like down there.

Someone did a good job at sand sculpture with an octopus and a dolphin.

As usual there were lots of shore birds ignoring all the people.

There were also lots of tiny shore birds clustered together as tightly as they could get. I have no idea what kind they were or why they were so jammed together.

No trip to Pismo Beach is complete without going to Splash Café for the clam chowder for which they are so well known. There is always a long line of people down the street waiting to get lunch. It’s just a little place with lots of fun murals on the walls, both inside and out. The murals show “clams” as people doing fun things at the beach like this one.

One (that I couldn’t photograph because of space) showed clams sunbathing at a nude beach. The clams were nude…they had taken off their shells. It was pretty funny and very clever.

This morning we went to the Apple Farm for breakfast in San Luis Obispo. This was one of Don’s parent’s favorite places.  We came here with Don’s brother and wife and Don’s dad not long after losing Don’s mom. It was one of those times of the family gathering around Dad at a very tender time and one we all fondly remember.


The Apple Farm is a beautiful restaurant, hotel and gift shop. It has been here for many years and was designed to be reminiscent of the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego.


One of the other special things in this area is the Monarch Butterfly Grove in Pismo Beach.

Every year between September and February, hundreds of thousands of Monarch butterflies come here to mate and birth the next generation. They crowd together on the limbs and leaves in this eucalyptus grove.

Look at this picture closely. It is almost solid butterflies. Most of them have their wings folded leaving only a tan color showing.  It’s only when they spread their wings that you see the orange color.

After checking out the Monarchs we headed south to Santa Maria to do a bit of wine tasting. This entire Central Valley of California is a premier wine growing area.

Vineyards cover the hills for miles and miles in this area.

We headed for the Rancho Sisquoc Winery that is miles back up a valley on a road that gets narrower and narrower the further you go. Finally, at the very end of the road, you find this small, rustic tasting room surrounded with picnic grounds where we had lunch.

So that finished our day and our visit here. We did a lot and loved seeing friends. 

Tomorrow we are driving and will visit an old live ghost town to have one of the best chocolate malts that you have ever tasted. Saturday we will arrive in Indio. We will be there for about a week and a half.