Motorhome Trip During the Pandemic
August 24, 2020, Pismo Beach to Morro Bay, California
Please click here for video of our day to Morro Bay.
After our first relaxing night in the RV on this trip, we woke up to a beautiful morning by the beach. Check-out time for Pismo Coast Village is set at 11:30. By the time we got up and had breakfast, it was close to 10:00. We thought we had enough time to take a walk over to Monarch Butterfly Grove for a short visit before heading out of the campground. We did not realize that there is a gate not far from our site that can take us to the main road so we walked around all the way to the front entrance which took quite some time. The walk was pleasant but we soon found out that the state park right next to the grove was close and we were not sure how far we had to walk to get to the main entrance of the butterfly grove instead of taking the short cut. Looking at the time constraint, we decided to skip it and walked back to the campground. On our way back we noticed the side gate and son was able to use the code for easy access back to our site. We had just enough time to unplug everything and left the campground before check-out time.
We still wanted to see Monarch Butterfly Grove but not sure if there would be parking for RVs now that the State park is closed. Fortunately, we were able to park across the street which was spacious enough for the motorhome.
There were just a few visitors there that morning and that suited us fine. This is not the season for Monarch butterflies and we only saw a couple of them while we were there. I would think it would be quite a sight during October to February when swamps of Monarchs would gather there. The walk was still very pleasant though, with trails leading up to the beach. Seemed like it's a favorite dog-walking path for locals since entrance is free.
Story boards about monarch butterflies.
What a view with part of the state park and the beach.
This state park would be a good spot for camping if they are opened.
We did not walk too far off, just stopped short of being near the dunes.
Got to take off our masks for a minute with nobody around.
So refreshing just being out and about.
As we were leaving Pismo Beach, we were looking for the Dinosaur Caves Park which is suppose to be a top attraction in the area. It was easy to locate this beautiful park at the edge of town with Shell Beach right next to it. Parking was easy even for our over-sized vehicle.
Apparently there is an interesting history about Dinosaur Caves Park on the Pismo Beach website here.
There are a few concrete sculptures like dinosaur eggs, etc. near the playground area but there were quite a few people with kids there so we just skipped that.
A gorgeous space on this glorious morning.
This park sits on top of some ragged bluffs along the coast.
Lots of pelicans on the huge rocks off the shore.
Pelicans
This is the Shell Beach Coastal Conservancy Preserve.
Pretty seagull, calm and fearless.
After having lunch at the parking lot and then a short drive about an hour away, we made a turn at San Luis Obispo then took Hwy 1 towards Morro Bay. We arrived at our campground for the night. It was a foggy and cool day in Morro Bay, quite different from the sunny day we had in Pismo Beach. Morro Dunes RV Park is a very popular destination for RVers. Travelers booked early on to get the dates they want and very difficult to get a site during summer and weekends. We were only able to have one night reservation even on a week day. This is also a huge park with over 200 sites. We were surprised that they gave us a big, pull-through site which was fenced off like a little piece of private property. Much nicer than the smaller sites near the gate.
A nice, flat site that was spacious for our RV.
All hooked up!
Time to take a walk to Embarcadero! It's quite a walk but doable. As we walked along, we noticed Morro Rock was half hidden in the fog.
Walking trail near Coleman Park by the bay.
Another icon of Morro Bay, the stacks of the power plant that is no longer in use.
Bay near the T-Pier.
Carefully tended garden at the pier.
For dinner, we decided on some fish and chips from the famous Giovanni's. This is an order of their local albacore for $12.99. Cheaper than their regular fish and chips of cod and much more tastier.
This reminded me of Bowpicker fish and chips in Astoria, Oregon, which also serves delicious fried tuna.
Son opted for a fishwich, which he said was good. MOR also had a bowl of clam chowder for $5.99 which I did not take a picture of.
We also ordered two whole live local dungeoness crabs to go. They cooked and cracked them so it was easy for us to munch on back on the motorhome. These were $12.99 per pound. Not exactly cheap but since we haven't had fresh crabs for so long, it was to settle our cravings.
The way back to the RV park.
Back to our site.
The 'fence' made it felt like a private yard.
After resting a little, we decided to walk out to the beach to see how it is like behind the dunes.
Just across the street from the front entrance of the park.
We were greeted with a spectacular view of wild flowers and sand dunes.
This is such an easy access from the RV park.
To the long strip of sandy beach.
Looking back at the campground.
It was cold and windy with just a few people near the water.
Back to our 'home' for the night.
"So that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other." -- Isaiah 45:6
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