Day 15 - Ms Denmark

Wow, backup the truck. Where is day 13 & 14 you ask? Well, the first bad weather hit in Pismo Beach. Two solid days of rain kept me mostly indoors. I used some of the time to organise the trailer, and working on the blog.
Onto Day 15. I had planned on staying at Gaviota State Park near Santa Barbara, but unfortunately it was closed for the winter for renovations. Of course there is no mention of the website, and no mention of it on the recorded phone message. So, backtrack to the sleepy little town of Buelton. Not much here, but it was cheap. Checked in for two nights. Figured I could always tinker with the bike for a day.

Reason for being so cheap: nobody there except long-termers.  I had this massive field all to myself.  Picture taken from the furthest point of the field.  Yes, there is a HUGE amount of space behind me.  AND I'm parked smack dab in the centre of the field.  This place must be crazy mid summer.

What I didn't realise, until firing up the wifi, is that I was only a few miles from the Danish settlement of Solvang CA.   This was on my 'bucket list', as I had to "find Ms Denmark".

Easy peasy.  Let's go.

Threw some stuff together into a backpack, loaded it on the moto, and headed out.  The town is only about three miles from the campsite, so I was there in no time at all.  Parked the bike on one of the main streets, and off I went.  I hadn't researched the city a great deal, so first stop was a small park in the middle of town.  Were the Danes nuts about Christmas, or just the Danes in this town?  Either way, you couldn't avoid it if you wanted to.

Had a nice seat in a gazebo, Checked Google Maps, and found a brewpub within two blocks.  My lucky day :)  Also checked a few other places to visit while in the park.  It was a beautiful day, why not stay outdoors a while.

Within 3 minutes of leaving the park, the brewpub was in front of me.

Quick check of the hours before entering.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  Of course, today is Wednesday!!!

Stick a pin in that.  I'll be back later.  Promise.

So, off for an early lunch (I left the campsite around 10:30).  There was a promising organic market on the far East side of town that was touted as a 'must visit' for vegetarians.  Didn't look far on the map, so walking was the chosen mode of transport.  Turned out to be almost a 30 minute walk.  No big deal.  Nice day, good exercise.  And if I hadn't walked, I wouldn't have seen these things.

Courtesy of the Santa Ines Mission

Saw this spider just off the main road.

You just don't see craftsmanship like this any more

Had a $7 veggi sandwich and $4 salad.  Both were excellent and, believe it or not, worth the price.  Mapped out my next destinations over lunch - the Motorcycle Museum and the Elverhoj Museum (history of Solvang).

The motorcycle museum turned out to be a bust.  $10 admission fee, one very small room, and only open on the weekend.  No thanks.  I could have seen a better collection in my uncle Terry's garage.  Admission - $0, and he'd throw in a beer.  Onto the Elverhoj.

This was a great little place.  Suggested donation of $3 - otherwise no entry fee.  I gladly threw three singles into collection box, and handed in my backpack to the front desk for safe keeping.

There were plenty of photos and pieces from the turn of the century, and a room of current artwork from local painters and photographers. 

A room filled with turn of the century household items.  Some of them coming over from Denmark with immigrants, others hand made in Solvang.  The rocking chair/stool front centre was an especially nice piece.

And, what's a trip to Solvang without meeting Ms Denmark.

And Ms Denmark 2.0

Ilsa (second photo) had moved to Solvang just a few years ago - directly from Denmark.  All her family was from Denmark, so she was touted as 'a true Dane'.  Thanks ladies, the museum was fantastic.

The day was now getting on (was looking to get back before dark - 5:00), but I still had about 30 minutes to kill before the pub opened.  Just in time to visit somewhere I found last night by chance.

About 15 miles north was a place that both intrigued me and gave me the creeps.  Had to go though.  You'll understand the above in a second.

Once I arrived, I saw 'Private Property' and 'Property Under Survailance' signs all along the fenced property.  Someone didn't want you in here.  At least not uninvited.

Not sure if this sign was just for shock value.  Wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't.  There was a CC camera just to the right of it.

And here is about all you can see of the place from the road.  A gated fence with a guard shack and two SUVs.  More keep out signs as well.

If you haven't guessed, this is Neverland Ranch.  Michael Jackson's estate - when he was alive.  You can read more at the above link if interested.  I was not.

Raced back to the pub, and sat down to their "Odin's Stout".  An excellent beer and well worth the $5 price.  However, I was there during happy hour.  1/2 price for me :))  Swapped stories with three ladies at the bar, and off I went.  Still had to ride home, so it was only a one beer stop.  At 6.5% one was definitely enough.

Back to the campsite just after dark.  Glad the headlight on the bike was working.

Day 12 - Moar

Last night's campsite wasn't ideal - no services, no phone reception - so I headed out early-ish. Today would be another lazy drive down the coast, stopping for photo ops. The night's destination was Pismo Beach, a mere 60 miles away. Let's see if I can get there in the daylight.
First stop was within a mile of the campsite in the town of Cambria. More seal & seascape viewing.

But first...the cliff-top was full of this bright green brush and ground squirrels.

Cormerants aren't just a Canadian thing, though they were in the minority on the Cali coast.

A few of the locals were about taking advantage of the morning surf, and playing with the seals.

Seagulls were always present, but didn't garner much attention. Except this little guy. Didn't beg for food, just happy to hang out.

And of course the favourite - pelicans

Down on the beach now, saw and interesting rock formation

...and a curious seal

Large balls of tangled kelp littered the shore.

Rare sighting of an egret. 

I've only seen a couple so far on the trip.

More seals frolicing in the surf

Spent a good hour plus there, then jumped in the truck and headed further down the coast. Found another spot to pull-off the road that looked promising. A large natural spit jutted into the ocean just a kilometer or so in the distance.

Took a few pictures here, then decided to see if I could check out the spit itself. Sure enough, just down the highway was a large parking area. It was about 400 meters from the shore with a large open field inbetween. The field was bare except for about 10 snow geese. What was really interesting is they were completely spread out. No two geese were within 100 feet of each other.

The shore line here was a misture of sand and rocks, with a 30-40' high cliff. It was an impressive sight.

There were just a few moderatly easy access points to the beach. I found one near a rocky area, and headed down the cliff side. Thousands of hermit crabs called this area home.

From the hoards of empty shells on the beach, you could tell they were a favourite of the resident sand pipers.

A seal kept watch while I combed the beach for crustations.

A bit further away, a nice section of beach awaited.

Decided to take of the shoes & socks and wade in a bit. Cold, but nice.

Just before leaving, a pelican flew within 10 feet of my head. He was gliding along the top of the cliff searching for food - or maybe just taking in the view. I was lucky enough to snap one decent picture.

By the time I arrived in Pismo Beach, it was after dark.  Got some shopping done, gassed up, then headed for one of the local state parks for the night.  I was planning on staying in the area for a few days, so paid for two nights and got settled in.  There is an OHV area here on the beach.
Would be nice to finally get on the moto.

sin communicado

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I'm currently in Baja and have little access to wifi. Hope to be back shortly.

Feliz Navidad

Day 11 - GO!!!

Last day in Monterey.  Start the day early.  Pack a few things away, breakfast, throw some bike tools, camera & water into a backpack, then head out on the road bike.  The morning plan was a ride up the Monterey bike path.  I wanted to be back for noon, so however far I got by about 11-ish would be the return point.  It's not a long route, but stop a few times for pictures and you can easily drag it out to 4-5 hours.

After a quick descent to the waterfront, I head northbound on the bike path.  Leisurely pace through town, dodging the morning walkers, casual cyclists, and about 200 divers putting on wetsuits.

A lone pelican preens alongside the cormorants

Once free from the 'tourists' I pick up the pace and dash through a straight flat section, then climb a steep switchbacked hill, and down the other side to the first section of beach.  Within 20 minutes (including pictures/sight-seeing), I'm clear of Monterey proper.

Bike path in the foreground

The next section was a bit of a grind.  Most of it slightly uphill with a double crossing of highway 1, after which you enter one of the the former Fort ORD training sites.  Most of the structures were long torn down, but a few gems still exist.

In one of these storage bunkers was a group of women from Santa Cruz.   They'd parked their bikes outside, and were single Christmas carols inside.  You could here them from about a hundred feet away.  Their attempts to enlist a tenor fell on deaf ears (badda bing).  Though inside the acoustics were amazing.

I'm sure the above area was used for beach maneuvers, but just a few miles further told a different story.  This section was off-limits for soldiers due to the unstable steep terrain.

More pelicans

Quick check of the watch and it's past 11.  Time to double time it back.  Gotta get out of town and down the road.

Loaded the truck and headed to the airport to pickup the trailer.  The access is by code, and available 24/7.  Most people are storing their RVs and trailers for the winter.  Not me.  Gotta get moving.

< took some pictures of the RV storage at the airport, but can't seem to find them :( >

Hooked up the trailer in record time and off I went.  I was heading again down the road to Big Sur.  Today's destination was San Simeon State Park, about 100 miles south of Monterey.  Sooooo glad I already drove this section, or there would be no chance of getting even 30 miles down the coast by nightfall.  All the sites have been seen.  All the pictures taken.  Except....

Well, one more.  Took a few shots here, but none really turned out that good.

Just before dark I come across a what looks like another typical sea-side pullout to take yet more of the same pictures, only this one is packed with cars and a couple of RVs.  Odd, this time of night, when most of the others were empty or had just single vehicle.  Just before I turn my eyes up the road and hit the accelerator, I see something very interesting.  Hard brake, signal, turn, stop, grab camera, go towards hoards of people, come back to trailer to get a sweater because I'm wearing shorts & a t-shirt and it's FREEZING....

A large group of Elephant Seals were settling in for the night.  Very cool.  The entire area was fenced and signed to protect the seals.  This is a regular nesting ground for them, and has been for likely more years than people have been around.  More info here.  There were about a hundred here and another 50 or 60 a little further down the beach behind the above camera spot.  I snapped pictures and watched them until the light was nearly gone.

This one just stared at me until I walked on.

A penny for your thoughts?

The size difference between the pups and bulls was immense

The campground was just a few miles up the road.  Pulled in after dark.  I was only staying the night, so it was an easy set-up.  What a great day.