Morro Bay, Otters and Sea Lions

I always had a spare day at the end of the trip in case I needed it. So, with a night to use up and a tip from guys at the model club. I decided to go to Morro Bay via back roads. It was a nice drive. I did a couple of passes through downtown Fresno first. It is VERY quiet on a Sunday morning. The next part of the journey was driving past a LOT of mega farms. Huge areas set up for stone fruit, nuts, citrus, grapes, diary, cattle feed, eggs, etc. Also, extensive irrigation canals to water it all. So out of this massive farming valley, over another range into another valley that seemed to be diary and vineyards and winerys.

I went to a locality called Harmony. It was a diary farm settlement abandoned in the 50s and is slowly renewing as an artisan icecream provider and art centre with food and coffee. It was a nice stop. Good to see these places being revamped.

Not long into the next drive, I saw the Pacific Ocean again, soon after I was at Morro Bay. It has a 700ft high volcanic plug next to its harbour. It is now a bird sanctuary. I was a bit early to check in, so I had a late lunch at a sea food grill on the dock. While sitting there, I watched a thing moving in the water. It was a sea otter swimming on its back. I was a bit too slow getting an image. When I got to the hotel, I could hear bellowing. It was the local colony of sea lions. I could see them in the harbour. My room has an ocean view and a balcony. This was a nice spot to watch the sun set. I could have been perfect but a sea fog started brewing on the horizon. Still a very nice view.

Went to the wharf for an early lunch. Got closer to the sea lions. No otters near this area as the sea lions predate them. In Oz, lots of gulls every where. Here, there are lots of pidgeons.Read more