Monday 4 August 2014

Ben Lomond to Pismo Beach

After our excursion to Santa Cruz we crashed out back at the Fairmont Manor Bed and Breakfast for a solid nights sleep and arose at about 0800 in time to have a nice cup of tea before breakfast.



The landlady, Gail, had done a really tasty Artichoke Frittata with mushrooms and side orders of blueberry bread and cantaloupe melon. It was delicious and we scoffed it while chatting to the other guests, all eight of them attending a family wedding.



We packed our bags and loaded up the car, stopping for Victoria to put some postcards in the mailbox. We picked up Hwy 9 and were soon on Hwy 1 the California Coastal Route.



Bugger, just outside Carmel the tyre pressure warning light went off. We pulled over and checked and did not seem to have a flat, so we pulled into the next gas station (see I am going native) and checked the pressures. All seemed ok but the warning light stayed on.


The weather was rather overcast and misty at first, as you can see in the photographs. There are many places you can pull in along the highway to take in the sights, both out over the Pacific Ocean and inland over the Big Sur range. Some fantastic rugged terrain.





We eventually arrived at The Big Sur Bakery and Resturant, one of Victorias targetted stopping places and shared a rather delicious Apricot Strudel. They have a recipe book available and if they turn out half as nice; Victoria is having a copy.



The weather was now getting a lot clearer And we made several more sightseeing stops along the way including one to take our ubiquitous 'here are our feet' shots.




We eventually arrived at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery where dozens of Elephant Seals can be found basking on the beach.




Back on the highway, we missed the Hwy 1 turn in San Luis Obispo but after a short detour around town we were back on the highway and were soon in Pismo Beach after about 200 miles of travelling. Google maps had a bit of a brainfart on final but we eventually found the Best Western Shelter Cove and were checked into our room.

The hotel is a wonderful location and the rooms look out over the Pacific Ocean. We planned to spend the evening on the balcony enjoying the sights. Popping into town we picked up pizza, olives and snacks for our evening fare. We also had the bottle of Piedra Sassi 2013 Central Coast that we had picked up at the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco - this was very nice, I suppose it should be at $18.00/bottle. I also grabbed one of those monster 25oz tins of Budweiser they have here.


We had a wonderful evening watching the whales and the sun going down over the Pacific Ocean and getting a bit tipsy for the first time of the trip - probably not the last.



What a wonderful evening, how romantic. To top it off, the hotel maids make towel sculptures.























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