In Santa Barbara this classic icon welcomed us into the harbor
In the 2 weeks since we departed from Half Moon Bay on October 11th, already much has happened. The first leg of our journey from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz we had smooth seas, it was a pleasant uneventful trip. We arrived in Santa Cruz just hours ahead of a big storm that kept us weathered on the docks at the Santa Cruz Yacht Club http://www.scyc.org. While there we dined at the club Sunday evening when they have their White Table Cloth service and Wednesday which is more casual fare served family style. They have a great selection of wines and Greg Haws, the clubs manager looks after visitors requests such as, in my case, finding the closest yoga studio, and highlighting local places of interest including restaurants on a city map. The rains kept us from exploring too much, which means we will have to plant to spend a little more time there on the return. We did make it to Whole Foods for some light provisioning. It was tough to leave but once the storm broke we pushed on to Morro Bay.
We departed on Wednesday evening and that night Captain Korbey had some fierce seas to manauver. It was a long trip, which ended with a Coast Guard escort through the entrance to the Morro Bay harbor. We rafted up in front of the Morro Bay Yacht Club http://www.mbyc.net next to Rot Kat, a big Catamaran headed south for the Baja Ha-Hahttp://www.baja-haha.com/ . While we were in Morro Bay we dined at The Galley http://www.galleymorrobay.com which featured fresh local seafood. We enjoyed a bottle of 2005 Red Zepplin Black Zepplin from Paso Roles. We were detained in Morro Bay due to a starter issue on the port engine, which gave us a chance to sample some more local activities…I took a couple of yoga classes at Holistic Movements http://www.holisticmovementcenter.com. I would highly recommend this studio to any of my fellow yogis…the Sunday morning Yin class is not to be missed. Of course, there was wine tasting on the agenda…we sampled an award winning Cabernet and Primativo in the tasting room of Aaron Hill Vineyards http://www.aronhillvineyards.com/. Mikel Olsten shared stories about the local harvest challenges, with 9 inches of rain in one day which forced them to harvest the more delicate Primativo grapes earlier than preferred. Later that day we stumbled upon Morro Bay Wine Seller http://www.morrobaywineseller.com/, where for $5, we tasted some great local and international wines in a beautiful ocean front tasting room. One of my favs was the Clayhouse Malbec from Paso Robles! Sunday morning we had breakfast at Frankie and Lola’s http://www.frankieandlolas.com/. Korbey had the Corn Beef Hash and I had the Potato Zucchini “Pancake”. One word – YUM!
Monday, October 19th was my birthday! The Pink Flamingo Challenge had been met but Korbey was a little concerned about finding a suitable place to celebrate. With the help of the owner of the wine shop he made a reservation at Shawns on Main http://shawnsonmain.com/. This local gem serves amazing small plates accompanied by a great wine list featuring mostly local wines. The highlight of our meal, besides the food and wine was our lovely server, Gretchen. She greeted us with a smile and promised not to sing Happy Birthday (a promise she kept) – she was a delight. After dinner, we meandered back to the boat, stoppping in at a few restaurants along the way for a night cap but each one we entered informed us they were closed – it was barely 9pm! Morro Bay’s sidewalks roll up early! As we approached the yacht club we noticed lights on and much to our surprise 2 very engaging members Paul and Drew invited us in for a cocktail. We weren’t surprised by the friendly, warm approach these 2 had for life. It was great fun to learn that they have a band, Zongo All Stars http://zongoallstars.com which plays Afro-Cuban tunes. We look forward to hearing the band next year when we make our way back up the coast. Tuesday our new starter was installed and we headed off to Santa Barbara that afternoon, or so we thought…
quintessential california a bug and a surf board...
Frankie & Lola's restaurant up behind the boats. A local not to be missed breakfast or lunch spot.
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