California Adventure: San Luis Obispo

We had a wonderful time in San Luis Obispo. Jason's aunt Marcie opened her home to us, making us feel so comfortable and welcomed. She and Cal invited all of their family over our first night too, for a big family dinner around the dining table. It was so good to catch up with everyone and introduce them to Natalie and Gavin. I love family dinners, with everyone passing dishes of delicious food, laughing, multiple conversations going on at once, the kids nearby at the kids' table goofing around and getting to know each other.

 Cousin time watching TV

 Gavin and Rocco

Natalie and Tahlia

Day Five
Our fifth day in California started out so relaxing. We slept in a little, took our time getting breakfast and just hung around the house. Jason wanted to take the kids on a walk around the neighborhood but after talking with his uncle Cal, he decided to drive to one of the nearby mountains (Bishop Peak) and do a hike up one of the paths. Somehow I missed this entire conversation, which seems to have included information about how at least one hiker each year needs to be helicoptered off the mountain. But he took the kids and Dwain and headed out the door. I stayed back to have another cup of coffee and visit with Marcie and Benita.

Bishop Peak (viewed from Marcie's deck)

Some time had gone by and I finally decided to call Jason. At this point, I still thought he was walking in the neighborhood. He let me know that they drove to a mountain and were hiking up a path. Everyone was having a great time and they were being cautious. (He is an Eagle Scout.) We hung up and expected him an hour or so later.

A couple hours later Natalie comes running into the house. "Hurry! Grandpa is bleeding," she calls.

Oh my.

Dwain walked into the house smiling and mostly OK, but he did have a bloody gash on his forehead, already swelling into an egg. Both of his pant knees were ripped and his knees were bloody too. He headed off for a shower while Jason filled us in. The hike had gone well until Dwain lost his footing on the way down. He tried desperately to stop, but momentum took over and he fell. Jason remembers him doing a full somersault, hitting his head in the process.

Thank goodness he's fairly nimble for 75. He cleaned up the cuts, iced his forehead and he was fine. Well, other than the enormous black eye he developed over the next couple of days. The black eye lasted for several weeks too, prompting him to retell the mountain story many times.

After Natalie wiped out on the driveway that evening, scraping up both knees, I had to take a photo of the injured. Gavin scuffed up his shins on the morning hike. What a day!

Falling down a mountain didn't slow Dwain down. We piled in the van after lunch to tour downtown San Luis. We walked through the Mission, one of 21 established along the coast of California. We bought ice cream and strolled past pretty shops. We also stopped in at cousin Tom and Rosa's store to say hi.

 Marcie, Benita, Gavin, Natalie, Jason and Dwain in front of the Mission Church

The Mission has beautiful gardens around it and typically a stream that runs behind us in this photo. The area is a year into a drought, so there was barely a trickle of water.

Picking out ice cream with Grandma

To wrap up the evening, we drove out to the beach, stopping first at a large pier to see the ocean, boats and sea lions. Some of the sea lions were just a couple feet from us, resting on the beams of the pier.

Another Natalie shot of us

This sea lion was just below us, within petting distance. (We didn't. Don't worry!)

Party barge!

Then we headed to Avila Beach to let the kids finally experience the Pacific Ocean. The waves were strong, so we let them carefully wade, though Gavin still managed to soak all of his pants. They ran, splashed and played as the sun set on the horizon. I can't even describe how peaceful and gorgeous it was. I could picture myself coming there often with the kids, spreading a blanket on the sand and looking out at the enormous ocean.

 Sunset

 The sand and water were freezing, but it was still worth it.

 Avila Beach

Gavin could have stayed for hours.

Finally, it was time for another seafood dinner at a restaurant along the beach before heading to cousin Vic and Lalla's house for a quick visit. Poor Gavin was exhausted and fell asleep in my arms.

Day Six
We were up and out the door early to drive to Hearst Castle, about 45 minutes north of San Luis. Built by publisher William R. Hearst in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s near San Simeon, the castle is as extravagant as the ones you find in Europe. With 127 aces and 165 rooms, the castle has entertained many of the rich and famous. Hearst important many treasures from Europe and Asia to build the castle, with skilled artists working to build new materials to match the old. He collected wild animals to build his own zoo on the grounds too.

Now a state museum, tours are offered year round. Jason, his parents and aunt had visited before, but really wanted to go again. We booked one of about a dozen guided tours and rode the bus up to the top of the hill. I'm glad we did. The castle was striking and very interesting. (Though I am disappointed we didn't see any of the zebra that still roam with the cattle.)

The outdoor pool with marble from Italy

One of 165 ornate rooms

The indoor pool with gold flecks in the floor and a diving platform. At one point, it contained a separate area for sharks. Don't ask.

The view of Hearst Castle from the bottom of the hill.

After the tour, we headed another 10 miles North to see elephant seals. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, maybe a few dozen animals up on the beach? I couldn't have been more wrong. Hundreds of enormous elephant seals lined the beach. Moms nursed their young pups. Others slept. Still more argued with their neighbors. And the males! They were so much bigger than the females, more than 4,000 pounds with the trademark bulbous noses. They blubbered their way around the beach and we even watched as two fought, slapping each other with their giant heads. One finally retreated to the ocean

I love seeing animals in their natural habitat. These seals were part of a colony of 17,000 that beaches for up to three months each year to have pups, raise them, mate and then head back to the ocean. We came at the perfect time of year to see new pups with their moms. I won't ever forget it.

Look at how many! And this was just one small stretch of beach.

This pup was really little compared to the others. So sweet!

One of the females kept fighting the mothers. We were wondering if she wanted one of their pups.

Epic male battle! Jason gives me a hard time for wishing I would see one of these before we left. But elephant seals are known for their fierce fights and I didn't want to miss out. We didn't!

On the Road
By morning it was time to hit the road again. We loaded up the van, said our goodbyes and took 101 North to San Francisco. We stopped a couple of times along the way, eventually stopping for lunch right outside the city. Desperate for any restaurant, we finally found a steakhouse. It looked normal enough on the outside, but it turned out to be the fanciest restaurant on the entire trip and the number one rated restaurant in the area. Thankfully, the kids were well mannered and received cotton candy on the way out.

Alexander's Steakhouse

After a half-day in the car, we simply settled into the hotel. The kids swam, we munched appetizers for dinner and rested up for a day of touring.