After arriving back in Las Vegas we picked up Moho who had a great rest and fine tune up and we headed west back to California. With jet lag and still feeling the emotions of our trip home we did not make it very far on the first night. Actually we got to Primm about 40 miles west of Vegas. The one and only RV park had closed and we resorted to a Casino parking lot with a few other travellers. I will add that we were too tired to spend a few quarters inside.
A good night sleep gave us energies to hit the desert again. We found an ideal camping spot with its own Ghost Town - Calico. Though it's population in 2001 was 8 people, at it's peak in 1887 it had 1200 and was a flourishing silver mining town. It also has a famous cabin constructed from bottles.
The next day was interesting driving as we passed Edwards Air Force Base (space shuttle's second home), 100's of windmills, California City (a planned city with paved roads and no houses that never quite made it) and Bakersfield (the end of the road for many migrants from the east during the depression) finally arriving in Santa Maria to commence the Pacific Coast Highway. We made a few pitstops along the way. The first being Trader Joe's (Don's new best friend and favourite supermarket) and Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo. Bubblegum Alley is a narrow laneway and major tourist attraction where people have been sticking their chewed gum for many years.
We finally arrived in Morro Bay and decided to break for a few days as we try to stay off the roads on weekends. The park was small and the couple who were the owners were energetic and busily replacing most of the concrete pads with interlocking bricks. We took the opportunity to utilize the biking trails through town and did a couple of runs. The location was excellent in that we could stroll through downtown and along the waterfront boardwalk. There were many fish and chip restaurants but we opted for Giovanni's one night and purchased fresh fish from his market to cook ourselves on another night.
After four days it was time to move again and drive what is said to be "the most beautiful drive in the world" the Pacific Coast Highway section from Morro Bay to Monterrey passing Big Sur. It was indeed beautiful and the winding cliffside highway presented many views. The town of Big Sur was a little disappointing and in our opinion the entire drive did not match the Oregon Coast experience. We did not tour the Hearst Castle thinking it was not worth the $48. but took pictures from a distance and viewed the massive Visitor Centre outlining the contents of the Castle.
Before leaving the Coast we had a great RV park in Monterrey. It was situated high on a hillside in Laguna Seca Recreation Area adjacent to the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway. We had fun watching the practice runs and the incredible speed of these cars.
On to Palm Springs..............
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