Monday, January 26, 2009

SLO to San Simeon

Friday afternoon, after finishing up at Cal Poly, we set out for Hearst Castle at San Simeon.
It was raining like mad as we drove through Morro Bay so we didn't stop or see much.
We did stop in Cayucos however for lunch at the Sea Shanty. Cayucos is one of my favorite little towns in California and how could I pass up dining at The Sea Shanty? 
Cayucos is a funky little beach town off of the beaten path and the Sea Shanty is a somewhat funky little restaurant. Unfortunatly it was still raining and cold so we ate inside.
After Cayucos we journeyed on to the town of Harmony. Harmony bills itself as the smallest town in California with a population of only 18. It was still inclement but we still stopped and prowled the pottery and glass shop for a half hour.
And then we went on to Cambria which is what I refer to as Laguna North. Lots of artsy shops and coffee places, but relatively reasonable. For the coffee at least. The Farmer's Market was pretty good and I bought three baskets of berry along with the obligitory nuts and cookies. I bought strawberries, raspberries & blueberries. The berrys were, in a word, delicious. Much better than the supermarket variety.  I read years ago that the strawberries grown for the supermarkets were bred for size, shelf life and external color. That left flavor as a secondary consideration. These strawberries were defiantly much more flavorful. After Cambria, we went directly to the Elephant Seal haulout north of The Hearst Castle. These are truly memorable animals to see up close in the wild. The males are about 5,000 lbs. and about twenty feet long. By comparison, a Toyota Prius is about 16 feet long and weighs less than 3,000 lbs.
Next blog, Hearst Castle.

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