The Pacific Coast: 3 Days In Morro Bay
“My name is Claudia, I live here”, says the elderly, stooping lady, “I’ll show you to your room”, and leads us into a room which looks rather like an attempt to recreate an English country house, with deep pile carpet, fussy wooden furniture and a bed which needs a step ladder to climb into.
Michaela says she’s back in Auntie Marjorie’s house. All I can think of is an English comedy show, The League Of Gentlemen – “this is a local hotel for local people”. It’s clean and it’s very welcoming but we’re in 1950s England rather than the thrust of modern America: we have to stifle our laughter as we unpack our backpacks. It’s a bit like sleeping in a lovingly kept museum.
“In the morning you will find scones, yoghurt and granola here, on the table, in a basket” says Claudia, “but you must put the empty basket back in the same place”. Yes Claudia, of course we will.
Just as we feared, the fog hasn’t dispersed by morning and Morro Bay is still cold, the Pacific still hidden behind a thick bank of swirling ha. Frustratingly, this is purely coastal fog – you only have to travel a couple of miles inland to find blue skies and sunshine, and now and again we can even see where the fog barrier ends and the sun kiss begins.
Yet despite all this, Morro Bay is a charming little fishing town with a bay teeming with wildlife and a lively and foodie seafront. It’s a bit like taking a Cornish surfing town (say Perranporth), mixing it with an upmarket fish restaurant town (say Whitstable) and dousing it in American culture. Trouble is, the comparison with England includes the weather.
The curving bay, with stretches of land in midwater and the burgeoning rock which gives the town its name, is unusual in shape, with natural spits and islands forming what are almost separate bodies of water.
Ships have been wrecked and lives have been lost entering the narrow neck of the harbour entrance which, it seems, can be suddenly battered by raging seas as storms well up out of nowhere without warning. A touching memorial to the families of fishermen stands at the water’s edge, depicting those praying for the safe return of loved ones.
In today’s fog, the sound of barking seals travels eerily across the shrouded water from the concrete island which they have adopted as their cramped home, huddling together in the mist. A huge flock of pelicans occupy the bay, occasionally all taking to the wing but mostly idly riding the waves. Ground squirrels scurry around the rocks completely oblivious to the close presence of humans; an osprey swoops overhead searching for prey. To our absolute delight, a sea otter puts on a swimming display in the harbour waters, rolling in the water to its heart’s content, apparently smiling as it does so. You can watch the little fella here……
Clams, a restaurant specialty here, live in their millions beneath the sand, although many of them end up in the delicious chowder served at the waterfront restaurants. The seafood here is a delight in all its forms.
Exploring the coast either side of our current base, we first venture southwards to the town of Pismo Beach, a seaside resort town which is, dare we say, rather more tacky than Morro Bay, though there is no arguing over its impressive golden sand beaches. A little further south is Oceano where huge sand dunes lie behind the beach, though unfortunately the fog is so thick on our visit that the dunes are all but invisible.
We’re learning about this fog, and it turns out not to be an unusual event, but is in fact a predictable June effect. Known as the “June gloom”, this huge bank of thick fog which clings to the shoreline is caused by the very hot air from inland California meeting the cold Pacific air and forming large amounts of condensation. Moses, the barman at the “Three Stacks And A Rock” brewery bar, grew up here, and tells us that summer is always like this. A far cry from the Beach Boys/endless summer/wall-to-wall sunshine/California Dreamin’ pictures we had in our minds before we arrived.
Friday though brings respite in the form of warm sunny patches between the fog belts – to tour different destinations is to play a game of fog dodgeball. We do it well, seeing Morro Bay in morning sunshine for the very first time, then taking in the absolutely charming little town of Cambria with its picturesque wooden houses and quaint cafes, and strolling along the path above the delightfully named Moonstone Beach.
Beyond Cambria and north of San Simeon, the fog rolls out to sea and leaves us with an afternoon of clear blue skies and striking blue-and-white shoreline, providing some classic and beautiful coastal views. And just here, at a point known as Piedras Blancas, is our most thrilling sight of the day, a colony of elephant seals wallowing in the sand.
This colony, or rookery as it’s correctly called, was believed to have almost reached extinction when a group of about fifty were found on an offshore island. Migrating to the beaches around this area only in 1990, the rookery bred with enormous success and there are now thought to be more than 15,000 based here.
These are huge beasts, so cumbersome and ungainly on land, so graceful in the water. Watching them haul their huge bulk in short bursts across the sand and then taking a necessary breather, flicking sand over their bodies, young males mock fighting, is all mesmerising. It’s a wonderful wildlife watching experience.
And so we return for our third and final evening in Morro Bay before we move further upstate. We can see the fog from two miles away – this very pleasant town is once again choked by sea fog even though we’ve been enjoying sunshine just half an hour away.
Claudia greets us, knowing we’re checking out tomorrow.
“I’ll be sorry to see you go”, she says, but adds, rather pointedly, “by eleven o’clock very latest if you don’t mind”. Yes Claudia, we’ll be gone.
36 Comments
Heyjude
Fog is well known along that coast in the summer, but at least you could see something of Morro Bay! When we drove in that area it was raining most of the time (Feb). I have to ask if you had one of the famous olallieberry pies? And please say you visited Hearst Castle? As for your accommodation, we stayed in a similarly decorated room in Vancouver once, we were terrified we’d break one of the many knickknacks in the room and the dining room and breathed a sigh of relief when we left. Big Sur next then?
Phil & Michaela
I’m afraid the answer to both of those is no. Regarding the pies, we’ve seen them but not tried one..neither of us has a sweet tooth and it never seems to be the right time to eat sweet foods, we never want to “spoil” a nice meal with a dessert and we don’t seem to ever opt for sweet if we have a snack. And then we realise we forgot to have a local speciality! Not the first time it’s happened. Hearst Castle – we did have it on our list (and it had been recommended) but by the time we’d studied the elephant seals and other wildlife we ran out of time to do it justice. And yes, we’re heading north up Route 1 along the Big Sur today…
Heyjude
I believe we had the pies for breakfast with a cup of coffee, they are fruity so not so sweet. If you pop into Duarte’s Tavern, Pescadero up near Honeymoon Bay you can try them there, as well as artichoke soup and crab cioppino – that’s if you are travelling up the PCH
Phil & Michaela
Actually ignore my last comment, or at least half of it. We changed plans today and visited Hearst Castle on the way up – will be in next post.
Heyjude
Oh, good. Glad you changed your minds and I will look forward to the next post. We had shocking weather on our visit but still enjoyed it.
Gilda Baxter
Seeing the Elephant Seals must have been amazing. Did you manage to get quite close to them? Claudia sounds like quite a character and her B&B very chintzy. Beautiful coastline, I am enjoying following along.
Phil & Michaela
Yes it was, Gilda. You view them from the roadside whilst they are on the beach down below. Pretty close but not so close as to disturb them.
Annie Berger
What a great if foggy wander you had along the coast! Enjoyed the photos of the elephant seals and your description of the wannabe English home.
Alison
Morro looks very pretty and love the description of Claudia who sounds like a typical B and B landlady of 1960s English seaside towns
What a treat seeing the otter giving a display
Phil & Michaela
Claudia was precisely that!
Julie Davis
Actually there are a lot of Brits living out n Morro Bay as wells as Portuguese and Swedes. Or at least there were when I was growing up there. I always thought the fog a mysterious blanket hiding the secrets of the bay. Yes I know I was a fanciful child and loved my home.
Phil & Michaela
Hi Julie, thank you for dropping by and commenting. We really enjoyed Morro Bay, as you could probably tell!
Alison
Sounds like a wonderful childhood
Linda K
I actually think the fog adds to the coastline and is very pretty in the pictures you have here. The Pacific Coast is beautiful in all seasons…enjoy those views 🙂
Phil & Michaela
Well… it’s definitely spectacular to look at as it wraps itself around the coast..maybe not quite so much fun if you’re trapped beneath it. But the coastline is beyond fabulous and we are loving our time here.
Toonsarah
That weather is very reminiscent of what we ‘enjoyed’ in San Francisco! That would have been late June so I guess was part of the June Gloom phenomenon. But I do think it adds to the atmosphere of your photos of the rock 🙂 The sea otter is a delight to watch and I’m glad you got to see the elephant seals too. And I see from your exchange with Jude above that you went to Hearst Castle which is something I was going to ask you. I found it rather astounding!
Phil & Michaela
It’s atmospheric when it’s light but a bit frustrating when it’s dense and steals the views!
Joe
For our first month-at-a-time travel adventure back in February 2016, we stayed a month in a single-wide trailer on the beach in Oceano/Pismo Beach. It is wonderful to see you visiting some of the places we enjoyed so much. Glad you had a little but of sunshine in Morro Bay.
Phil & Michaela
Morro Bay was such a lovely little town. Loved it!
Phil & Michaela
Did you!? Wow. Yes Morro Bay was such a nice little place even if the cold was a bit of a shock!
grandmisadventures
Beautiful piece of California to be sure, even with the June gloom. What a treat seeing so many sea lions out there on the beach basking in the sun 🙂
wetanddustyroads
“No backpacks in the Rose Room” … what do you mean with Claudia didn’t mentioned this 😉?
Oh, I feel a little bit drunk in my head after watching that sea otter – my word! Great pictures of Morro Bay (despite the fog) – that’s coastal life for you!
Phil & Michaela
Ha yes she was a bit like that. Hey we’re glad to hear from you guys, our first reaction on hearing of the tavern horror in East London was to hope to God you weren’t there. Of course we now know the victims were all under age drinkers but nevertheless, glad to hear you weren’t part of the tragedy. We’re trying to follow the story to see the outcome but it seems sketchy at the moment.
wetanddustyroads
Thanks, it’s much appreciated that you thought of us. It’s such a tragedy … my heart goes out to those parents who lost their children (the youngest one only 13 years old). It is suspected (at the moment) that they died of carbon monoxide poisoning. But like you said, details are still sketchy, so we are not sure what exactly happened there on Saturday night. So sad …
giacomoasinello
Wow! That room! Straight out of Tweebury-on-the-Nice! But I would love to spend a few days there – with Claudia and all!
Phil & Michaela
Oh yes, she, and it, were classic. Classic what, we’re not sure. Gave us a story to tell though, as ever!
WanderingCanadians
That’s too bad about the fog, but it looks neat in your pictures. Either way, Morro Bay still looks beautiful. I love all your pictures of the elephant seals.
Phil & Michaela
Yes it was a lovely little town and a great place to start the coastal part of our California journey
Dannion Cunning
So surprised to read your thoughts on Morro Bay’s Marina Street Inn. From your description of the Inn and the fantastic Innkeeper Claudia, it is obvious you have no understanding of true hospitality. When visiting Marina Street Inn you are a guest in a home so unique and special. I have been a tourism professional representing Yosemite National Park and Lake Havasu’s London Bridge. I have stayed at more 5 star properties than I can count. I will stay with Claudia Foster as my first choice anytime.
Phil & Michaela
Oh dear, oh dear. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry and upset we are that we have caused offence. We absolutely never want to cause offence to anyone on our travels and hopefully we normally achieve that without even thinking. Sadly this was an attempt at humour which has badly backfired, mostly I think because we failed to realise that something which wouldn’t be seen as offensive (or even critical) back home would be seen differently by our non-British readers. Lesson learned. It’s not a mistake we will be making again. At the moment we are feeling saddened by our own error but hopefully all other posts on this trip will reflect more accurately just how much we are loving California.
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
Beautiful post. Brings back great memoirs! Cheers!
Phil & Michaela
Thanks guys
Linda COOPER
Looks like lovely accomodations! Would love to sit back in that wingback chair with a cup of tea and a scone and watch the fog roll in with a good book from our favorite bookshop Coalesce in Morro Bay! So glad for your post!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Linda – this has been a fabulous tour of California so far.
kestrellandscapes
Great Post! I am lucky enough to be able to work in morro bay regularly with the landscaping company Kestrel Landscapes https://kestrellandscapes.com/. It certainly can be foggy!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you!