6.01 Arrival in Morro Bay, Central California

"Just when you thought we had disappeared"

We are very fond of this little coastal town some 300 miles north of San Diego. It is renowned for the Morros, the large, rocky outcrops in the bay and the surrounding area. The 'sleepy' little fishing village experiences cool weather with much cloud cover, not forgetting to mention, many tourists that enjoy the refreshing atmosphere. In fact, for a moment while we walked along the harbor we thought we were in Netanya again. No. There were no Israelis about, just so many Russians.

Before arrival, we spent almost a week, a delightful one at that, with Ellie in San Diego, while her parents took off some time. Apparently, they were at a resort and ‘failed’ to undertake even a solitary hike. Go figure! We now understand the reason for young parents. Their existence, inter alia, is to take care of their children for the benefit of grandparents. It is a wonderful system (for grandparents). After each day with Ellie, we slept like babies—through the night but without diapers, of course.

We should have been en route to Switzerland and Italy by now. However, we postponed the trip and decided to continue enjoying the wonderful Western United States. Throughout May, most of June, parts of July and August, we have been based in these parts, including Hawaii which we termed the ‘far West’. The thrust of this trip, which takes us through the period before Rosh Hashana, is to visit the Mount Shasta area. We were ‘knocked out’ by that fabulous mountain when we climbed part of it on the way home one afternoon last year. The intention is to experience that part of the world in some depth and time permitting, ‘pop’ across the border into Oregon, another favorite. It would appear that everything is a favorite with us. Perhaps that is why this adventure is so exciting, stimulating and rewarding. We live in a beautiful physical world. How we choose to behave is another matter.

Once you get past Los Angeles, the scene changes, especially with the decreasing motorized traffic. We think that will choke us one of these days perhaps even before the ‘ruling class’. While travelling through wine country around Santa Maria, the vineyards impressed us greatly. More particularly, we could not help but notice the new plantings. The trees or vines stand in straight lines that attest to the use of geometry in modern husbandry. It is quite a sight. “What about stopping for some wine tasting?” we asked our editor while she knitted. We are hoping the mittens are not for our attempt of the ‘half-dome’ climb. Whew! That would be embarrassing indeed—both the wearing or telling her as such.

“Why would you want to go wine tasting? You don’t eat cheese nor do you drink wine.” Sometimes her logic is impeccable. We really hate it when she doesn’t know when to stop though. “But how are we going to become ‘sophisticated and suave’ if we don’t indulge in activities such as wine tasting?” we retorted.

“Maybe they’ll have some grape-juice and a cracker for you, Big Boy.”

“Got Milk?”

Cloud cover 'sitting' on ocean surface as viewed from summit at Cerro Alto

A peek from Ridge Peak. The ocean is completely covered in cloud whereas the sky is clear

Cheers,

Jenni and her 'Wino'