Morro Bay, CA

When we got to Bay Pines RV park in Morro Bay, it looked really full and we were concerned that we wouldn't get a spot.  Not only was there a spot available, it was the most perfect spot in the park.  Our door opens right to the grassy barbecue area.  I still had a lot of work to do, so I took advantage of the grass, sunshine, and wi-fi and graded outside.  I also ducked outside so that I could work in peace.  The kids had been climbing all over me inside and I just needed some silence to think.  That lasted about two minutes until they both followed me outside and climbed on me there.  Ahhh, home office.

After work, we headed to town to explore our new home.  The road to town goes right through a state park.  It was a beautiful drive.  We stopped to take in the sights.

Then we went home for some quite time.  The dogs basked in the sun, Sawyer napped, and Mark and Judah watched Scooby Doo.

I decided to go back in to town and hit up some of the thrift shops we had seen. I scored an awesome shirt for J.  He loved it.

Morro Bay is cool because there is the calm bay side, which draws a lot of beautiful birds and acts as a harbor, and a choppy ocean side that has waves, surfers, and sandy beaches.  Judah (and I) were very excited to go check out the beach. 

He liked to pretend that he was a dog and dig holes with his paws.

Beans and I read messages in the sand.

And we all walked in the water and looked for shells (except Mark--it has to be well over that evening's 60 degree weather for Mark to brave the ocean).

Judah found lots of cool rocks and shells, and we both found tons of sand dollars.  We even found a live one!  We checked out his little cilia moving like waves on the underside of his body before we threw him back in the ocean.  It was really cool. 

As the sun began to set, we decided to head home for some warm dinner.

The boys had a bath and then Judah snuggled up to watch Thomas on the computer while Mark and I caught up on the office.

It had been awhile since Judah's hair had been washed.  It was starting to look pretty shaggy, but I thought that if I washed it, it might look better.  I was sorely mistaken.  After the wash, it looked even dorkier.  Since it would be another six plus weeks before Katie would be able to work her magic on his mop, we decided to go ahead and try a chain haircut place. And with that, Judah experienced his first on the road haircut.  It was what it was, but it is definitely an improvement, and he no longer has to do the Justin Bieber head twitch to get his bangs out of his eyes.

After the haircut, we went home to do some cleaning.  Mark did the laundry and I cleaned the bathroom, floors, and kitchen.  Then the boys took a music break.

There is a night time market in nearby San Luis Obispo that I had been stalking.  I was so sad when I realized that we wouldn't be here on a Saturday night, when I assumed it would be.  Imagine my excitement when I found out that it was a Thursday night market.  It was downtown.  Probably about five city blocks just crowded with local produce, raw milk, food carts, djs, singers, and hot firemen.  I was in love (with the market, not the firemen).  I have been to a lot of farmers markets, this one was definitely my favorite.  Judah and I were both thrilled at the prospect of fresh strawberries in November!  And they were the sweetest strawberries I have ever tasted.  We bought three baskets of them, and, less than 24 hours later, they are almost all gone.  And it wasn't just the strawberries, we got local grapes, avocados, and the most beautiful beets in existence.  We got every single produce item that we needed, locally grown, at that one market.  Did I mention I was in love?  It is going to be really hard for me to leave...  

Friday was pretty gloomy.  It was chilly and rainy. We spent the first half of the day just hanging out in the RV.  We made some pancakes and laid around hoping to catch a glimpse of those wild pigs who are purported to graze in the field across the street (I am kind of obsessed with seeing a wild pig).  After Bean's nap, we headed into town to get out of the house for a bit and run a few errands.  

Judah fell asleep in the car on the way home. When dinner was ready, Mark brought him in, but he just fell back to sleep on the couch.  While he was unaware, Sawyer climbed up him and swiped his stickers.  

When he woke up he was sad, but a few bowls of cereal cheered him right up.

I really wanted to stock up on strawberries before we left, so Judah and I hit up the Saturday market.  While we were there, Mark got things ready to go. He is excited to be checking out the LA auto show on Sunday and I can't wait to get to San Diego on Monday!!!  That being said, I am really going to miss Morro Bay/SLO.  And I never did catch sight of those pigs...

Salinis/Monterey, CA

Mark was really excited to get to our next destination because we were staying at Laguna Seca Recreation Area.  It is home to the famous Laguna Seca Mazda Speedway.  Not only was the park right next to the racetrack, it was also fabulously beautiful.  I picked a woody site that overlooked the hills.  Mark claimed that the site was too unlevel, but I insisted on staying there.  It was a double site and we opened our door to a grassy play area with lots of awesome climbing trees.  

Beans was not impressed...

After exploring the park on Friday, we spent Saturday at Big Sur.  It was beautiful!  We decided to take a hike to a waterfall in the hills.  Judah was a great hiker.  He brought his own backpack full of snacks and was ready to go! 

Beans was into it too.

Judah found a hiking stick that accompanied him the whole way.  It was mostly used to hit things on the side of the trail, but I think it helped him up the hills, too.

When we finally got to the  waterfall it was beautiful, but a little anticlimactic.  Plus there was a big family of jerks sitting in front of it so no one could really take any pictures.  But we had a nice lunch and then headed back. 

Beans was pooped.

But Mark was full of energy.  While Sawyer slept, Mark took Judah on a bike ride to check out the racetrack. 

And the infamous corkscrew

Then we went into town where Judah found a fire truck (and some hot firemen--seriously, the firemen in California are exceptionally hot).

When we go home I made dinner...and Holden cleaned up.  Naughty.

After dinner, Judah was completely captivated by Wheel of Fortune.  He is really excited for next week when he gets to watch it with Jen. 

Then the boys and I read in bed for a bit before we crashed.

The next day we went to  Monterey, which was right down the street.  We checked out cannery row, which was an old fishing/canning district and the area about which Steinbeck wrote Cannery Row.  Dan Burke, I thought about you the whole time. Apparently JS is from Salinis--where we were staying--and hung out in Monterey a lot.  There were signs about him everywhere. 

Judah was really into the scuba divers...

and the pirates, although he was a bit dubious about this guy.

There was a glass elevator that he really wanted to check out.  I held on in terror as we ascended the three floors to a bar and then had to go right back down.

When we got home, we just hung out and played.  This is the view out of our back window.  Beautiful, right? 

I got out some toys for the babies...

and climbed trees with Judah.  Mark took a picture just as I looked down and shouted "It's covered in ants!".  It really was covered in ants.

Mark and Judah vacuumed out our filthy car...

while Saywer comfort tested Judah's car seat...

and the dogs sniffed stuff.

Then we went for a walk and watched the sun set. 

When we got home, Judah helped me make dinner.

By this time, I was ready to concede, that we were at an extreme angle.  The back of the RV was hanging off of the hill and we were sleeping with our heads well below our feet.  I think this caused my spine to compress.  Although I don't think I got any shorter, I did wake up every morning with crazy back pain.  So on our final night, we busted out the couch and table beds and had a slumber party in the living room.  I slept with my head on the elevated side and it was amazing.  Had Sawyer not woken up every half hour to nurse, Judah coughed until he threw up, and, later, fell out of bed, it would have been a fabulous night sleep.

v

  

On Monday I had papers to grade, so I headed to Starbucks to work while the boys got the RV ready to go.  By the time I got back, it was check out so we unhooked water and electric, dumped, hooked up the car, and headed down the coast.