San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach

On my way to San Luis Obispo I stop I detour to the town of Lompoc which turns out to be a very interesting town, I had no idea. They call themselves city of murals and they have about 30 of them all around town, I probably saw about half.  Also a few miles outside of town is the reconstructed La Purisima Mission.  This mission was originally established by the Spanish in 1787 within the current city limits but was destroyed in an earthquake in 1812.  It was decided to rebuild the mission in a better location where it now resides.  This mission was neglected for decades after Mexico took control of this area from Spain in 1823.  California then became part of the US in 1850 and in the 1930’s a CCC project was started to totally rebuild the Mission and adjacent Presidio.  They did an amazing job, it’s really hard to comprehend how they rebuilt this with such detail and craftmanship .  So, this unplanned road exit that I expected to take a few minutes turned into a 3 hours learning experience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Purisima_Mission

Lots of agriculture surrounds Lompoc

Mural depicting the local Indians in their impressive canoes 

These motel signs were great

Mural celebrating local hardware company

Wine is another large attraction here

Great old Lompoc  Theater slated for restoration

The La Purisima Mission 

Interior view

Inside the Presidio where the soldiers lived

Route 1 takes you through a lush fruit and vegetable farming area.  I stopped to buy cherries and strawberries as they are now in season and local grown. I then stop at the small town of Guadalupe where I suspect half the population works in the fields.  I capture a couple of good photos and then continue on to Pismo Beach.

Nice to see some open green space again 

In this town you are really getting genuine Spanish

The Far Western Tavern famous for its Bull's Eye Steak
steak but now closed

I had been to Pismo Beach once before back in 1969 on a epic cross country NJ - CA trip with friends, another story, but only remember the drag races we attended out on the sand dunes. It looks more like my kind of town, single story wood frame buildings, nothing upscale, no traffic jams, easy to park and a great beach.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pismo_Beach,_California

Pismo has more of a traditional California surfer look it

Finally to my destination of San Luis Obispo and my motel.  It’s only about 2 PM and there is the historic San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Mission right in the nearby downtown area.  The Mission is very beautiful but not as interesting to me as others. It just doesn’t look or seem that ancient as it was never abandoned and left to decay as most others were and was well maintained over the years.  It also doesn’t have any surrounding land, gardens, fields which I expect was taken over by the growth of the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Luis_Obispo_de_Tolosa

Interior view 

Flowery patterns on walls is different

Downtown San Luis Obispo has a beautiful downtown with many shopping and dinning options.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Luis_Obispo,_California

Many tree lined streets

The beautiful Fremont Theater

The County Courthouse

The old Carnegie Library 

This is my second motel on my journey, it's time for me to get cleaned up again, Twinkles says I must.  The Motel is very nice, clean and everything works.  I find driving and parking in the downtown annoying and difficult, end up parking anywhere I can find and then walking.  There are many dining choices in the downtown area, but I end up at a burger chain place to save time, I need to get back to that motel to soak up that space. 

In the morning after another shower and the continental breakfast, I’m off to do laundry and then the library to finish my last blog post, its getting to be like work.   I then travel back to the Pismo Beach area where I will spend the night.  It’s a beautiful day, so I take an alternate route along the coast to the nearby town of Avia.  It’s another beautiful quaint beach tourist town.

Another great view

Nice beach

Then back to Pismo Beach, look around the boardwalk shops and then Fish and Chips dinner.  I end up parking on street in downtown adjacent to a motel,I like doing that as it looks like overflow parking.

Great Pismo Beach view

Loved this mural in town

Nice old Hotel

Bought a cheap tee shirt of course

The usual California beach pier

On the following day I go for a hike to a seaside cave starting at a small parking area off a millionaires neighborhood, possibly even billionaires row of mansions in the hills overlooking the coastline.
At the end of the development you come to a natural open area where you go around the gate and walk another quarter mile to another parking area.  In it were several vehicles, many of which were campers and homeless types with lots of trash laying around.  New age homesteaders ?  They give my kind of camper a bad name and they are eventually going to ruin it for themselves and everyone by drawing negative attention from the local residents.  I guess they just don’t think much ?
Anyhow, there is a trail heading off form there which splits into hundreds of smaller trails leading to beautiful scenic viewpoints of the coast.  I ended up on one trail that lead steeply downhill to a nude beach area.  Eventually I found the actual cave which is really a large hole in the rock where it appears quite a lot of party activity has taken place.

That's the setting if you can afford it

This huge house was under construction

Of course the house commands this view

The fog rolling in seems to a constant here

Watch for nudists, I looked, but saw none

This seemed to be the infamous cave which has a
great rocky surf ocean view 

Lots of incredible wild flowers everywhere

Another side trail leads to this view being careful not to slip as it drops straight down

I have an Arizona motor vehicle insurance coverage issue on my 38 Dodge that must be addressed which causes me to stop at the cute small Shell Beach library to get on the internet and call my insurance carrier.
The coast line at Shell Beach is very scenic as well, everything is here.  A group of people returning from a kayak tour were coming into the cove as I arrived.  I watched the outfitter guys struggle to carry the kayaks up the adjacent stairway. I then went down the stairway for a close up view.

That looks like fun

Hoping a big wave does not come 

I thought there might be some musical action at Pismo as they have Harry's Night Club and Beach Bar on the boardwalk, which fills with tourists at night.  I went for about an hour on Saturday night, the band was poor, the crowd was obnoxious and I could only take an hour of it, I've getting old.

Doesn't live up to it's legend, or is it me ?

The following morning however before leaving Pismo Beach I went to Penny's Cafe for breakfast which was great. I always try to leave a town on a high note.

Great food and service

   

Next stop is Morro Bay, California