February 5 – 11. 202
The first day of the week was spent examining the aftermath of the storm by taking a long Cayucos beach walk. The waves were rough and foamy. I did a little research; the foamy waves are called sea foam and are caused by the breaking of the waves and dissolved organic material such as aquatic plants and plankton. After the walk and a little more rest, we treated ourselves to dinner at one of the more expensive places in town, Schooners.
We figured we’d let the trails dry out a little, so we headed up the coast to Cambria and Moonstone Beach. We started out on the Leftingwell Landing Trail and then transitioned to Moonstone. We pretty much walked the entire trail. It was nice with crashing waves and ocean bluffs. We crossed a picturesque little white bridge and viewed a lagoon then headed back to the car.
On Wednesday the 7th I took the risk and attempted to walk along Estero Bay. Of course there was quite a bit of mud so I didn’t get far. As a group we walked Cayucos beach. I watched the birds resting after the storm on the rocks. We headed back and ate at Duckie’s.
We were tired of waiting for trails to dry so decided to risk the mud and go on a hike. We chose the Cerro San Luis, one of the middle morros. We first made a stop at Avila Valley Barn. I had read about the place and thought it might be interesting. It was not. We then drove to the trailhead and parked. There was a little water and mud but not too much to make us change our hiking decision. Our goal was to hike the ‘M’ trail. A large ‘M’ on the morro made of painted white rocks is visible from San Luis Obispo. Now I doubt anyone can guess why a ‘M’ and not a ‘S’ is created by the rocks. The town name starts with an ‘S’ and the morro is named San Luis. But the Catholics seem to have gotten everywhere first in California after the Native Americans of course. The ‘M’ stand for Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School. I do think is easier to make a ‘M’ instead of a ‘S’ out of rocks on a hillside. The trail was very green and pretty with views of SLO. We crossed bridges made for bikers walked through forests and a lemon grove. After the hike we headed to downtown SLO for a stop at a camera store, a short walk and dinner at Antigua Brewery. The brewery is one of our favorite restaurants in SLO where they play the blues while you eat.
Friday it was back to the beach for a walk. We noticed that the Cayucos pier was closed until an engineer inspected it for storm damage. My visitors and Cayucans (I’m not sure that’s the term used for those who live in Cayucos but it has a nice sound) enjoy walking the pier for their morning exercise. The closure definitely got the attention of the town.
Saturday we decided to hike another one of the Morros, Bishop Peak. We chose the Felsman Loop in the Ferrini Ranch Open Space as we had no desire to use extra equipment in our adventure to reach the actual peak. The hike is a fantastic 3 mile loop. It runs along the base of the morro providing views of the peak and the town. It may be one of my favorite SLO hikes. The trail passes through sage brush and oak trees. It had a little surprise stream crossing with an entirely different environment near the end of the loop. After the invigorating hike we walked to the Sea Shanty for dinner. I was able to take a few sunset pictures on the walk back.
Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday so we had to arrange our time accordingly. We parked at the northern end of Estero Bluffs and started our walk back toward Cayucos. It was a pretty, sunny day that helped prepare us for the afternoon to be spent indoors watching the game. We ordered sandwiches from the Cayucos Sausage Company. A very good choice and a good game outcome.
Los Angeles Excursions 