Coastal California Dreamin’

We have returned from a 2 ½ week RV trip to the California Bay area and the Central Coast over the Christmas holidays. While we are currently dealing with the Southern California wildfires, it is healing to reflect on the beautiful places and unique animals we saw just a short time ago. (The bolded headers are all song titles that relate to our trip activities.)

Ventura Highway – Our short journey began in Ventura along the Rincon Parkway, where we enjoyed a campsite overlooking the Pacific Ocean, including some amazing sunsets over the Channel Islands.

Ojai – While at Rincon, we repeated a bike ride from two years ago, riding from Foster County Park to Ojai and back (20 miles round trip).

Heading out on our 20-mile bike ride to Ojai and back

Solvang – We next returned to Buellton and Solvang, where we hiked the Hans Christian Andersen Park and spotted acorn woodpeckers and a red-tailed hawk.

Along the Hans Christian Andersen trail in Solvang
Acorn woodpecker
Red-tailed hawk

(Ballad of) Davy Crockett – After picking up sandwiches at Bob’s Wellbread Bakery in Alamo, we took our lunch to the Fess Parker Winery and enjoyed a picnic lunch on their patio.

Enjoying our picnic lunch at Fess Parker Winery
A beautiful picnic setting
White-crowned sparrow

Oakland – Heading up to the Bay Area, we spent a few nights at the Dumbarton Quarry Campground in Fremont, using that as a base for visiting family in the East Bay. Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Boxing Day gave us lots of great food, time with my brother Brad, his friend Jennifer and her kids, and our nephew and niece, Jay and Leah. The rain was heavy at times, but did not dampen our very positive time.

Christmas dinner at Brad's
A delicious Boxing Day lunch at an East Bay icon (where niece Leah is HR Director)
Camping near San Francisco Bay
A Christmas morning sunrise

Monterey – Our next stop was Moss Landing off of Monterey Bay, where we walked around the Salinas River State Beach and enjoyed being out of the rain.

Moss Landing Harbor
Exploring the Salinas River State Beach--we found several dead sea lions 🙁

Sea, Sea, Sea Otter – Next morning, we headed to Kayak Connection to rent a closed-deck double kayak on an extremely calm morning. It was such a high tide that we were able to paddle into areas of Elkhorn Slough we had not been able to access in the past. We were delighted by the sea otters, harbor seals, and seabirds that were also enjoying the sun.

Launching our kayak to head into Elkhorn Slough
Pelicans and cormorants were frequent greeters as we paddled.
A Forster's tern showed us the way.
Sea otters are what we come to see!
Snowy egrets in the slough
A mama otter cuddles her baby.
Great egrets are always stunning!
Harbor seals lined the banks of our route.
The American avocet is not a common bird for us to see.
This pair of sea otters stayed well-connected.
Black-necked grebes (eared grebes) enjoyed the slough as well.

Point Lobos – The rains came back and we had to cancel our whale watching trip on Monterey Bay the next day. So, as the rains tapered off in the afternoon, we headed to Point Lobos State Nature Reserve, where we did a drizzly hike around the Point Lobos Loop, enjoying glorious views, some wildlife, and cool fungi.

One of many beautiful views at Point Lobos
A sea otter lunches in the kelp.
Fungus on a tree
A banana slug on our path
A black-tailed mule deer grazes by the road.
Beautiful fungus on the trail
Lots of fungi!

Piedras Blancas – We headed south the next day to Paso Robles, where we were joined by friends Kim and Suzie. Our first activity was driving to Piedras Blancas on Highway 1 to check out the elephant seals who routinely visit this beach for mating and giving birth. We saw several newborn seals and lots of adults—it’s always a treat to come here.

Several beaches on Highway 1 provide a temporary home for northern elephant seals to mate and give birth.
A male elephant seal bellows at his harem (or possibly a rival).
A face only a mother could love
A newborn elephant seal pup
Another newborn
A male makes his way back to the ocean.

Paso Robles – That field trip was followed by a stop in downtown Paso Robles to view their beautiful Christmas lights in the town square—absolutely stunning!

Enjoying the beauty of Paso Robles' Christmas decorations

Next day, we drove out to Sculpterra Winery and Sculpture Garden, which is one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever visited for wine tasting. Numerous sculptures made from iron, bronze, and granite are scattered around the vineyards.

Wine-tasting and then exploring the sculptures at Sculpterra

On New Year’s Day, we enjoyed our annual cinnamon rolls (this time store-bought) while we watched the Rose Parade, and then headed to our next campsite in Pismo Beach.

Pismo Beach – A walk to the Monarch Butterfly Grove did not yield too many sightings. This has not been a good year for the butterflies, but we saw a few, plus a red-tailed hawk, and a beautiful yellow bird called a Townsend’s warbler.

Only a few monarch butterflies today
Townsend's warbler
A red-tailed hawk in the butterfly grove

A sunny walk on the beach capped off this relaxing day.

Enjoying Pismo Beach

Avila Beach – After a short drive north the next day, we hopped on our bikes to enjoy the Bob Jones City to Sea Trail into Avila Beach. Then on to Harford Pier, where we often see sea otters. Today there was only one otter, but the sea lions and surf scoters gave us a lively show.

A surf scoter near the Harford Pier
California sea lions hang out near the pier.
Avila Beach

Los Osos – Our last day to explore took us first to the Los Osos Monarch Butterfly Grove, where we completely struck out—no butterfly sightings at all.

Bluff Trail – We went on to Montaña de Oro State Park to enjoy one of our favorite hikes, the Bluff Trail. It did not disappoint. The surf was high and gave us beautiful coastal views. And the sea otters were out in force!

Black oystercatcher
The views at Montana de Oro are stunning!
A turkey vulture over the Bluff Trail

Morro Bay – Next stop: The T Pier in Morro Bay, known as a sea otter nursery. How blessed we were to see two mom/baby otter pairs for an extended time. Also, a male interloper came through a few times, once with a large crab for his dinner. And a pied-billed grebe hung out with the otters. What a great way to end our road trip.

Mama and baby otter in Morro Bay
I think Star Wars creators got the idea for Ewoks from baby sea otters!
A pied-billed grebe
A male otter finds his dinner--a large crab.

Cat’s in the Cradle, What’s New, Pussycat? The Year of the Cat – The next day we headed home and got settled back into Marina del Rey. Unfortunately, our 14-year-old kitty Leilani was not doing well and passed away four days after we got home (from kidney disease). We’re dedicating this blog post to Leilani and her brother Danno (whom we lost in July to cancer). These beloved cats traveled over 70,000 miles in the motorhome with us over the past nine years. What other cats have traveled across the United States twice, up to Alaska, and through several Canadian provinces? How many cats get to come face to face with an elk or view a grizzly bear through the RV window? Danno and Leilani brought us so much joy (and a few hassles 😊) over the 14 years they were with us. We greatly miss them, but are thankful we have such positive memories.

Leilani, who left us on January 8, 2025
Danno, who left us on July 15, 2024
A Pismo Beach sunset

Peace to all who are facing evacuations or losses from the SoCal wildfires. We are praying for you. 

4 thoughts on “Coastal California Dreamin’”

  1. beautiful photos. I know many of these places well. You saw the best, and experienced them in such a fun, immediate way. I am so sorry for your loss of Leilani. This will cause a big hole in your hearts.

    All best,
    Diane

    Reply
  2. As always the photos are amazing! Sorry to hear about the passing of Danno and Leilani. They certainly were great companions for many years.

    Reply
  3. Such great photos! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am sad to hear about your cats.
    Thank you for sharing your travels!
    Peace and blessings,
    Cindy & Dan

    Reply

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