Pismo Coast Village RV Resort
Did you know wild turkeys can fly? We didn't until we came upon six or seven on the trip here. As we neared them in the rig they up and flew to the other side. They were quite large, yet quite graceful. I guess we are so used to the "Thanksgiving" turkeys with their clipped wings we just don't expect the wild ones to fly.
Did you know we can't get near the west coast until it's going to be cloudy and rainy? That's how we are beginning to feel. We planned this weekend to spend a little time soaking up the sun while listening to the Pacific surf. We were even signed up to do an ocean kayaking tour through the "Dinosaur Caves" but cancelled because of the weather. I do hope we have lost this cloudy, rainy curse before we hit San Diego for the holidays!
We managed to catch some decent weather for a trip down to the beach to visit the Pismo Pier. Originally built in 1881 as a commercial venture to reduce freight fees, it gave way in 1890 during a heavy storm. The new pier that replaced the original was built in 1924 and was much longer than it is today so that Navy ships could tie up and the men could come ashore. It had sustained damage several times, but a major storm early in its existence took about 500 feet off the end of the pier. It was never put back and in 1983 a major storm washed out most of what was left. It was rebuilt in 1985-86 to its present 1,370 feet and is used primarily as a fishing pier.
The area is very popular with the surfers. There was one out there who was close to Ken's age... must be a friend of the Beach Boys! Notice the wet suits...the water temperature is only 55 degrees.
We also met a local pelican. He certainly didn't get nervous around people. To top it off, there were a couple of kids sightseeing with their parents and they were dressed up in Halloween costumes and it didn't phase Mr. Pelican at all!
We even managed to get over to the Monarch Butterfly Grove before the weather got too bad. Th
e butterflies begin to appear in October with the first chill of fall and the decline in nectar signal the need to migrate south to escape the cold of the northern winters. The butterflies can come from as far away as Canada to seek protection in the groves of Monterey pine and eucalyptus. The scents walking through this Grove were amazing. Because of the rather warm fall the numbers were down during our visit, but it is estimated up to 225,000 butterflies will occupy the grove from November thru February.We leave here tomorrow for Thousand Trails - Rancho Oso in Santa Barbara. I will stay long enough to get Ken settled and then I hop on a plane to go home to see how much the grandkids have grown in the last four months. Look for plenty of pictures in the next blog!!
2 comments:
Your camping on the west coast sounds like our first year with the camper, always raining!!! :-)
Last winter we had 2 flock of wild turkeys living in our back yard and in our neighbors back yard. Sometimes they'd send "signals" to eachother indicating where they have found food, so then we would see them running and flying accross the street to meet with the other flock! Not only were these turkeys big, but their dark feathers stood out against the white snow that covered our landscape here in NH all winter long! I hope you are enjoying the West Coast! Can't wait to see Mom on Tuesday!!! Dad and Barney, I MISS YOU!!!
Post a Comment