Friday, September 20, 2013

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We’re taking a day off the bike to walk around Morro Bay and Cayucas. We begin the day with breakfast at Carla’s Country Kitchen on Beach St. My standard daily breakfast at home and in the RV is very simple; a bowl of plain steel cut oatmeal and lots of fresh fruit and a cup of tea. So, this big plate of bacon & eggs, hash brown and toast is a big splurge! At least I get to walk it off later.

We head down the hill and walk along the Embarcadero; on a weekday, it’s very quiet with minimal cars and tourists. You can check out the public display of the retired Avalon Submarine and the Coast Guard Boat at the future site of the Maritime Museum on the waterfront.

The South “T” Pier is a working pier with sports boats and fisherman unloading their daily catch. It has great views of Morro Rock and Morro Bay-even the pigeons like it!

Continue north on Embercadero and you’ll find the standard type waterfront seafood restaurants with gorgeous bay views. This working harbor also has places to rent paddleboats, kayaks and charter boats. They also provide public facilities for transient boaters complete with coin operated showers.

Walking towards the south end of Embarcadero leads us to the “touristy” area similar to Fisherman’s Wharf. Giovannis’ Fish Market has people standing in a long line to eat their fresh fried seafood, tacos, burgers and platters.

The mini pier along the shoreline has a few harbor seals sleeping and sunbathing along the rocks. Anchor Memorial Park has just that-a big anchor with a lawn area and a few picnic tables.

Further down the street, you’ll come across the T-shirt shops and boutiques, souvenir stores, galleries and restaurants. The knick knack places sells items with an ocean motif and of course birds. Kids can go to the Aquarium to view the different sea life. There’s plenty of colorful outdoor murals and statues of mermaids, sea captains and anchors. There’s even a trolley that can take you around Morro Bay to the business district and State Parks.

Tidelands Park is located at the south end of Embarcadero; there’s plenty of free parking and a popular pirate themed playground for the kids. The park benches are located in prime spots with views of the gorgeous bay.

We walk up the steps to Main St through the residential neighborhoods with fantastic bay views. Main St and Morro Bay Blvd has a funky atmosphere with its local coffee shops, resale boutiques, galleries and salons.

We head to Coleman Park on the north end of the Embarcadero with public access to the beach area and to the Morro Rock State Preserve. This beach is very popular with tourists, surfers and local teenagers, the high school is located next to the beach! A wild guess would be that kids cut school to hang out here. Morro Rock Preserve is also home to the endangered peregrine falcons.

Next stop for us is Cayucas; it’s a 10 minute drive and 6 miles north of Morro Bay. Cayucas is a gorgeous small beach town with no traffic and no background noise except for the sound of the rolling ocean waves along the beach.

For lunch, we stop at Ruddell’s Smokehouse for their popular smoked fish tacos-the smoked albacore is really good, it comes with a lightly seasoned lettuce mixture with diced celery and apples for a delightful crunch. They’re located right off the beach next to the corner liquor store.

The walk around the business area is very short, this is a very small town with the majority of business and shops within 3-4 blocks of each other. The restaurants are located all along N Ocean Ave and the majority of motels are just a bit further south.

We stopped at the Brown Butter Cookie Company to sample their famous cookies-they’re really expensive at $1 per small cookie. But they do taste pretty good with a nutty salty flavor. The standard large cookies they sell are pretty plain and just as expensive. Stick with their namesake cookie.

This concludes our trip along California’s Central Coast, we’ll be heading home tomorrow. I hope some of these photos will encourage you to get out and enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of these two beach towns-you’ll love it!