So, Where Are The Elves? Hiking the Elfin Forest in Morro Bay

Today's breakfast at Dorn's was a more simple plate of eggs and some crispy hash browns. Just enough for some energy to go hiking.

We're tackling a new trail today in nearby Baywood Park, a twin city to Los Osos at the southern end of Morro Bay...the estuary, not the town.

Visiting Morro Bay in the past, we've driven the road to neighboring Baywood Park, Los Osos, and Montaña de Oro State Park. I've noticed the sign to the Elfin Forest and often wondered about it. Now that I've got Tim interested and enjoying hikes, I looked up to see if there were any trails in the area we could take a wheelchair on. Happily, I found that the Elfin Forest...a preserve on the edge of the bay...had a one mile boardwalked trail we could go on.

While the 90 acres of the preserve are owned ay the San Luis Obispo County Parks and Recreation Department, it's Friends of the El Moro Elfin Forest who do the work of running it. Browsing their  website (elfin-forest.org), I see that the 16th Street trailhead is the accessible one.

It's a 10 minute drive from our hotel to that trailhead which is not in the city of Morro Bay but the next town south, Baywood Park. The estuary itself is still called Morro Bay so we can still say we're there.

There are two designated handicapped parking spots at the trailhead and maybe a half dozen more regular parking spots in the dirt lot. The ramped boardwalk leads to the trail loop from here.

The short spur from the parking lot soon joins the main trail. A sign lets us know it's one way and to go to the left.

Signs along the boardwalk's edge have QR codes to scan on your mobile phone, pointing out features, different plants, and other interesting tidbits.

It's scrubby and sandy landscape is a poor provider of nutrition and we soon find out that the little shrubs that line the trail are actually fully grown live oak trees but, since the conditions are so poor, they only grow a few feet tall. These are the "elves" of the Elfin Forest.

Later in the trail, where theres a patch of better ground, we find a grove of more fully developed trees that grow up to 20 feet tall.

There are two spurs that lead to views of the large bay. You can get great ocean views and even spot Morro Rock sticking out of the ocean like a big thumb a few miles away.

After an hour or so, we're back where we started.

Back in the town of Morro Bay it's time for my wife's pick for dinner, the Great American Fish Company that sits at the north end of town next to the wharves that the local fishing fleet uses.

She gets a nice mixed seafood platter while Tim gets his go-to dish of fish and chips. It's all very good but my landlubber's tri tip sandwich was not anything to write home about.

It's time to rest up in the hotel, relaxing in front of the TV with our Oreos, chips, and candy before driving a few more hours in the morning to go home.

Darryl Musick
Copyrigh 2022 - All Rights Reserved

Rocking a Post Pandemic World: Morro Bay After Covid

It felt like time to get out of the house for a few days so it was back to one of our favorite beach destinations, Morro Bay on California's Central Coast.

While the Omicron variant of the Covid virus is causing rising cases, it appears to be peaking and not as dangerous as other variants have been. With most of the population vaccinated, firm prevention measures, and more available testing and treatment, the state is staying cautiously open.

It's tough to get a good, accessible room in the waterfront area of Morro Bay when you're more than two people. Either it's a room for two or it's back in a lonely part of the hotel with no view. I've search high and low and have found exactly three rooms with beds enough for the three of us and with a bit of a view.

There's the 456 Embarcadero, a fireplace room with two queen size beds with a decent view (low season discounted rates can be found a bit under $200 a night in 2022 - you can read about our stay there here), the Anderson Inn, a very nice and very expensive waterfront inn, and our hotel for this trip, the Blue Sail Inn where a partial view with two queens went for $152 for the three nights we were there.

Partial view meant we could see a bit of the strand between the old defunct power plant at the north end of town and the landmark Morro Rock, although we couldn't see the rock itself unless we stepped out onto the little patio attached to the room.

Two comfortable queen beds, plenty of space for Tim's wheelchair, and a large bathroom with a roll-in shower that unfortunately...like many hotels these days...was not built with water retention in mind.

Tim did like the channel lineup on the TV that featured most of his favorite sports networks.

Morro Bay is like a well worn pair of comfortable slippers for us. It's a favorite spot to unwind and visit some cherished spots. This time, since there's three of us and we'll be here for three nights, we all picked a favorite restaurant where we would dine one at a time for the three nights we'll be here.

First up, since the weather's nice and the dining is outside, is Tim's choice of Giovanni's Seafood Market and Galley.

He had a hankering for the calamari and chips here, which he proclaimed excellent. Letty had a delicious poke bowl, while I had a forgettable cheeseburger that they serve for those who don't like seafood like me.

The beer was nice, cold and delicious and the sunset view over the rock spectacular so I took solace in that.

A delicious breakfast of pancakes and eggs awaited me the next morning at Dorn's Breakers Cafe, the hilltop restaurant with a view nextdoor to the hotel. Fortified, the three of us set out for a two part walk to burn off calories and get some exercise.

Part one would be a hike up Morro Bay Boulevard to the traffic circle leading to the freeway of highway 1 where Letty could hit every thrift shop on the north side of the street...with a quick stop to one of my favorites, Central Coast Music shop...and then crossing over to get to the shops on the south side.

At the top, we'd all enjoy shopping at our favorite leather shop, Finn's Leather Shop, where Tim bought himself this stylish hat.

After a short bathroom break back at the hotel at the bottom of the hill, it's on to walk the waterfront and Embarcadero.

Starting at the south end, we stop at what used to be the Morro Bay Aquarium, a very old-school tourist attraction where you could spend a quarter on a bag of fish to feed the sea lions.

Now, a brewery is going in, Three Stacks and a Rock. The name refers to the exaust stacks of the old power plant at the other end of town and the big rock in the water that the town is named after. The former sea lion tank is being converted into a small beer garden with a view of Morro Rock.

From here, we can wind our way along the wharf where the waterfront is always available to the public, even if it means going through a restaurant's dining area. It's also about 90% accessible, only blocked in small portions on this trip by construction.

We can't pass Rose's Bar without stopping for a drink with a spectacular view at their completely wheelchair accessible, boat-shaped bar with friendly bartender Jack supplying the chatter and even loaning you his binoculars for a better view. He also shows us pictures on his phone that he snaps of the local wildlife that he sees from his unique office view.

Outside, we find the local fire department tearing into a neighboring building with their axes and saws. I ask one of the firefighters when the fire was. He told me the building was being demolished tomorrow and their just getting some training in while they have a chance.

Tonight's dinner is my choice, the Morro Bay Hofbrau where I get one of their delicious beef dip sandwiches that is carved to your order right in front of you, plus a pitcher of delicious German lager to split between the three of us.

Again, like almost anyplace else here, our dinner comes with a knockout view of the bay and rock.

We finish off this day at Anchor Memorial Park at the north end of the waterfront where we catch a great sunset with some otters playing in the water before retiring back to the hotel for the night.

Tomorrow, we'll set off on a hike on a trail we've never tried yet.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2022 - All Rights Reserved

California's Central Coast - Morro Bay and Avila Beach

While strolling along the commercial fishing wharf in Morro Bay, we encountered a couple from Germany and got to talking.  We talked about our love of Munich and Bavaria and then asked what they thought of this little town.

“It is very beautiful,” they replied, “but what is THAT?”

Watch the Video!

They were pointing at the one thing that keeps this little seaside town from becoming a real tourist mecca, the large power plant that mars the view on the north end of the bay.  They were aghast, mostly because they thought it was a nuclear plant plopped right into the middle of town.  Not to worry about that, I told them, it’s just a conventional plant that’s been there for half a century…I think they were confusing it with the Diablo Canyon nuclear generating station, which is located several miles south of here.

The Power Plant is Hard to Miss

Ignore the plant and you have a great, scenic, and reasonably priced seaside getaway.  It may just be because of that plant that the prices here are as low as they are.

Morro Bay lies due west of Bakersfield on California’s Central Coast.  This is the section of the state’s coastline that extends roughly from Santa Barbara on the south to just below San Francisco on the north end.  Many of the state’s gems lie along this route: Big Sur, Hearst Castle, Monterey, and Santa Cruz just to name a few.

We start off in Bakersfield and take Highway 46 over the coastal hills.  This is a lonely, scenic road and is historically one of the area’s more dangerous roads…it was nicknamed “Blood Alley” for the large number of head-on collisions.  About halfway over the hills, in a pretty little valley is the intersection with highway 41, is the spot where the most memorable of these crashes occurred.

Here on September 30, 1955, actor James Dean…on his way to race his Porsche Spyder at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey…crashed head-on into a truck that crossed into his lane.  He died a short time later when he was taken to the War Memorial Hospital in Paso Robles.

Just up the road is a small diner where a memorial to Dean sits in the parking lot.  Walk around the back…signs warn you to watch for rattlesnakes…and you’ll see a line of trees.  That is the spot where the San Andreas Fault cleaves the state in two.

Driving carefully over the rest of the route, we arrive at Highway 1 just north of Harmony and turn south.  Somewhere in the hills to the left, another black day in the state happened when fired airline employee, David Burke, burst into the cockpit of PSA flight 1771 and shot the pilots dead.  The plane dove into the ground at full speed, killing all 44 aboard including the supervisor who fired him.

After this tour of gruesome California history, we see our destination shrouded in fog up ahead with Morro Rock poking through the low-hanging cloud.

Our hotel for this trip is the Best Western San Marcos Inn, just two blocks from the waterfront.   Barrier-free rooms with two queen beds are available and the hotel serves a free light continental breakfast along with a wine and cheese mixer every evening in the lobby.  There is no pool but instead a large hot tub with views of the bay.  Just about everything in town is within walking distance.

After checking in and taking in the view from our room, we head down to the water to have a look around.  Weaving in and out around the buildings on the wharf is a walkway where everyone can walk along and drink in the gorgeous ocean views.  The town has gone one step further and made this entire walkway wheelchair accessible.  It’s not a straight line, but you can stroll along the entire waterfront from the huge Morro Rock in the north  to the marina at the south end of the bay.  It is a very common site to see sea lions and otters frolicking in the water along the way. 

And the rock?  It’s the town’s signature feature.  A morro is a volcanic plug where the surrounding mountain has worn down exposing the rock underneat.  There are nine of these ancient domes in the area, Morro Rock being the most famous, spectacularly sitting between the town and the waves.

Dinner tonight will be at the Hofbrau where you can get a delicious beef dip sandwich, custom carved right in front of you.  There are a few German beers available, along with the usual suspects on tap.  We get some of these delicious sandwiches and sit next to the windows overlooking the water.  It’s a very inexpensive, good restaurant with a view.  That’s pretty rare.

The next morning we have a delicious breakfast of omelets and pancakes at Dorn’s, a nice restaurant sitting atop a small hill overlooking the waterfront.  After eating, we head out to the rock. 

An unpaved, but fairly smooth path allows wheelchair to get a little ways around the rock toward the ocean.  Soon, however, the path will get too rocky to allow access all the way to the water.  For birders, looking up will reveal hundreds of nooks, crannies, and little caves where gulls and peregrine falcons nest.  We came upon a small group of watchers with telescopes set up on tripods who allowed up to look at a mother falcon guarding her brood.

A drive across town leads us to Morro Bay State Park where another morro, White’s Point, sits next to the visitor’s center.  A path leads around the rock but the last hundred feet or so to the top is too steep to make wheelchair accessible.  Back at the visitor’s center, several spectacular views of the bay are barrier free.  The center is also undergoing a makeover to make it more accessible to wheelers.

Back in town, we take a bay cruise on a boat with windows under the water.  It’s not wheelchair accessible but Letty and I take a quick ride to get pictures for Tim.  Another cruise operator at the north end of the wharf, Chablis Cruises, offers accessible tours on a more traditional boat.

After the cruise, we stroll around looking at the shops.  A garden center across the street has quite an array of custom fountains.  I come close to buying one for the yard, but decide not to when I think of how I will get it home.

Today is the Morro Bay Music Festival and several bands are rotating through the main stage set up in a parking lot across from the wharf.  Up on the hill in the downtown section, there’s a great farmer’s market with more live bands…seemingly playing in every bar and corner.  It’s a very musical day here in Morro Bay. 

I buy some fruit and cheese for a lunch snack as we sit back and listen.  An orchid greenhouse nearby provides a quiet getaway from all the action on the streets.

Dinner tonight will be at Tognazzini’s, an out-of-the-way restaurant nestled in with the commercial fishing fleet at the north end of town, based upon a recommendation from the skipper of the tour boat.  We are not disappointed with the fish and pasta dinner that we have.  

Afterward, we stroll along the fishing fleet as we take our last sunset views of the town.

Checking out in the morning, we head south to the town of Avila Beach.  Formerly a run-down, funky ocean side enclave of hippies, fishermen, and surfers…the town is undergoing a renaissance thanks to a huge settlement and remediation given to them by the Union Oil Company whose oil facility leaked hazardous waste under the town for decades.  The oil company demolished a huge part of the town, removed the tainted sand, and rebuilt from the ground up.  Still funky but no longer run down, the waterfront is a sparkling jewel sitting on a beautiful beach.

We have breakfast at my favorite omelet place in the world, The Custom House.  The previous incarnation here had a patio out back overflowing with plants and exotic birds in cages.  With the new building, the birds are gone and the new patio, while still beautiful, seems a little sterile without the birds.  The food is still great, however.

Nearby is the Harford Pier, built in 1873, where another local restaurant…Fatcats…sits on the hillside.  Many people, including my parents, swear by this little diner.  It is very good, but the linguica omelet at the Custom House always beckons me.

Being one of the very few piers in California that actually let you drive on it, we head out to the end where we find a handicapped spot and unload.  A nice but pricey dinner house, The Olde Port Inn, sits atop a bustling little fish monger shop.  At the end is a large platform where people set up to fish, no license required.

When I was a kid, we had a family reunion type party here and the several of us fishing caught 250 red snapper and netted dozens of crabs for the boilers we set up on the camp fire.  I don’t think there’s that much to catch anymore, but it’s still a nice place to drop a line.

Down below on the boat dock platform, a dozen sea lions lounge on the wood.  Off of the pier, several more of the illiterate animals sit on a platform with a sign begging users to close the gate to keep the sea lions off.

Refreshed and relaxed, we climb back into the van and head south along the ocean on Highway 101 back into L.A. and home.  It just dawned on me that I haven’t thought about that damn power plant at all since we talked to that friendly couple from Germany…just soak up Morro Bay and you’ll put it out of your mind too.

The Far Side of Morro Rock

Darryl

Copyright 2010 – Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

It Could've Been a Contender...Actually, It Is: Morro Bay's Waterfront

Morro Bay's waterfront walk...a mishmash of sidewalks, parking lots, and decks...is almost completely navigable by wheelchair. It's not a huge wharf, we can walk from end-to-end in about five minutes, but it packs a decent punch in that area between north and south.

Warby Parker's Free Home-Try-On Program

At the north end is a defunct power plant, it's three smoke stacks like a giant picket fence, separating the small fishing fleet from Morro Rock. The south end, just beyond the Embarcadero Inn, is bordered by the pleasure marina, boat ramp, and a large parking lot.

If you were to spend a day exploring, you'd better be hungry and thirsty. A good starting point for a loop would be the Coffee Pot restaurant at the north end where Embarcadero merges with Front Street. It's a solid spot for breakfast featuring all the classics...omelets, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy...with a lot of items on the menu taking advantage of it's location next to the local fishing fleet's wharf.  Benedicts can be had with shrimp, crab, or the catch of the day. Seafood can also find it's way into your omelet.

It's owned by Gordon Lu, an orphan immigrant from Communist China in 1969, who came to America poor and made his way with this little cafe in Morro Bay. He's even got a book out about his exploits. Be sure to check out the large collection of coffee pots lining the walls while you're there.

Out back, you can check out the catch in the tanks along the docks. Morro Bay's fishing fleet may be small but they still bring in a lot of the sea's bounty each day. Several restaurants are on hand to buy what they're selling.

Going south from the Coffee Pot, you'll pass a small park with a large anchor. That's a memorial to the local fishermen lost at sea over the years. At the first building, you can go left to walk along the front of the shops on the Embarcadero or go right, like us, to walk over the water.

In a few feet, you'll come to one of our favorite Morro Bay cheap eats with a slight German accent, the Hofbrau. Here, you can get very juicy roast beef sandwiches, cut to your specifications at the carving bar, along with German and local craft brews.

It's very filling and you get a ton of food for your money.  You can also sit on the outdoor deck, or avoid the weather inside. Either way, you've got a great view of the bay.

After the Hofbrau, there's a deck for taking in the view, then...if you've the money...the Anderson Inn. The wheelchair room here is pretty spectacular but it comes with a price.  

Moving on, the Otter Rock Cafe has a good lineup of local musicians at night to enjoy while sipping on a cocktail. Next door, at the Boatyard complex, you can pop out the walkway to get some taffy or browse the clearance racks at Best Kept Secret for a cheap souvenir T-Shirt to remember your visit.

Back on the water, look across the bay for any empty wooden docks or tie downs. You're likely to see and hear the local sea lions lounging in the sun.

In between this building and the next is a small garden patio to relax in. On the water, you can take a tiki bar cruise around the bay with Lost Isle Adventures.  

Next up, the Libertine will take care of your thirst for a craft beer lust with their 48 taps, including their own brews made at their brewery in nearby Santa Maria. Across the next viewing platform and parking lot is our favorite, Rose's Bar. Down the ramp you'll find this boat-shaped 100% wheelchair accessible bar with spectacular views of the bay and the rock with friendly bartenders to pour your drinks.

After Rose's, you find another little plaza to relax on, maybe enjoy some ice cream and browse the cheap clearance racks of Dolphin T-Shirt Company for some more cheap souvenirs.

Back on the waterfront, you'll cross a larger parking lot before banking to the right of a large, wooden building. Before going on, you'll want to take a peek into the Morro Bay Skateboard Museum. 

You'll see some great exhibits on the history of sidewalk surfing along with artifacts such as one of the fastest skateboards ever made and the 2nd biggest skateboard ever made. It's also a bargain as it's free.

If you're hungry, back on the waterfront side of the building Blue Sky Bistro on the Bay is an excellent stop for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.

After this building, you'll need to detour back to the Embarcadero because the walkway is blocked here by docks.

On the corner is the old and kitschy Morro Bay Aquarium where you can feed sea lions and view tanks of native sealife in the back.  The Aquarium works with Cal Poly to house and feed injured sea lions that can't be returned to the wild and keep live specimens on display for use in research.

It's a very cheap (less than $5) and retro attraction but you better hurry, it's closing next month. A new and more modern facility is being planned to replace it, more along the lines of a smaller version of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium than the old facility sitting there now.

After the aquarium, you can head back to the water where you'll find a yoga shop and another restaurant among the views of the rock and sea otters.

Grays Inn, a small, two room hotel and art gallery sits before you reach a wide expanse of walk without any buildings until you get to a kayak rental facility. If you're able, you can rent one to explore this massive bay.

The Morro Bay Yacht Club, Estero Inn Hotel (with a great but expensive waterfront wheelchair accessible suite) and another art gallery make up the end of the businesses along the water. 

Across the street is the 456 Embarcadero Inn, our usual choice for lodging in this town.  Beyond that, a waterfront park and a large parking lot lead to the boat ramp where a large billboard with a picture of a boat trying to navigate a huge wave advertises the dangers of launching out of this particular inlet.

Going back, you can return via the waterfront route you came on or go down the other side of the street on the Embarcadero. This way, you can see a couple of places you missed by being on the water.

Past the Chinese buffet nextdoor to the 456 Embarcadero Inn, you'll see the yacht club's storage facility and maintenance yard. Another block will put you in front of the Shell Shop, an authentic beach town souvenir shop specializing in...what else?...shells and shell related merchandise.

One of my favorite shops to stop at comes next, the Garden Gallery, where you can see hundreds of beautiful fountains in operation. The prices aren't bad either...if you have room in your car, you just might want to take one home for your patio.

After the Garden Gallery is the biggest parking lot along the Embarcadero.  It's a good place to find a spot unless it's being used to house the annual Morro Bay Harbor Festival in October.

Next is a small park with a giant chess board where you can play with life-size pieces.  After all that game play, you might want to rejuvenate with dessert at Sun 'n Buns Bakery which also features a fireplace in the dining room for those colder Central Coast days.

A large empty lot separates the bakery from a couple of surf shops, then you're back where you started.

It might be dinner time when you get back so how about some local seafood?

If you're on a budget, get something from the big and varied menu of Giovanni's Seafood and eat on their waterfront deck.

Got some money to splurge?  Keep walking another short block and have something off of the mesquite grill of the Great American Fish Company or the long-time Morro Bay favorite, Tognazzini's...both places get their dinners from the fishing boats parked next to the kitchen. Tognazzini's even has their own boat.

It doesn't get any fresher than that.

Don't forget to make a little time to watch the sun set over Morro Rock.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2017 - All Rights Reserved