After leaving Monterey and driving several hours south on California State Route 1, which is considered one of, if not the most, scenic drives in the world, we drove into Cayucos, Morro Bay, and spied Morro Rock off the coast. What a recognizable natural wonder it is! Our camping destination in Montaña de Oro State Park proved successful when there was just one remaining campsite!
 | ||||
| The Roadtrek at Montaña de Oro State Park. Photo by Virginia. |
 |
| Islay Creek Campground at Montaña de Oro State Park. Photo by Virginia. |
[Comment from Margaret: I had heard about Montaña de Oro State Park years ago from equestrian friends who said it was possible to horse camp there and ride a trail down to the beach. I really wanted to do that when I had a horse. Alas, that was not to be, but I'm glad we were able to camp there this time, especially since the night had descended upon us far from any other option!]
We decided to stay a second night to explore a little. The ocean views alone were stunning! While sitting outside reading, I spied several wild turkeys, quail, and cottontail rabbits.
 |
| An ocean view at the entrance to Islay Creek Campground. Photo by Virginia. |
 | |
|
 |
| The stunning view north from Islay Creek Campground. Photo by Margaret. |
The view of Morro Rock, Morro Bay, Cayucos, and the Morro Bay smokestacks was monumental!
 |
| The stunning view north from Islay Creek Campground. Photo by Virginia. |
We drove out of the campground at 10:30 and fueled up the Roadtrek in Los Osos. Soon after, we were on Highway 154 taking us from the Santa Ynez Valley to Santa Barbara where golden hills covered in oak trees, gorgeous farms, and Cachuma Lake (which was abundantly full of water!) brought back very fond memories of my time in this gorgeous part of my state!
 |
| A view of Santa Barbara from Highway 154. Photo by Virginia. |
Driving through Ventura County on Highway 101 took us through more areas from our young years. It is still highly agricultural with miles of produce fields. We drove past familiar feed and tack stores and other businesses I patronized in my teens. I was amazed at how similar it looked all these 50 years later!
 |
| Total miles of our West Coast States Adventure—5,613.3! |
From Highway 101, we took the 405 to the 5 (for non So-Cal folks, that's I-405 and I-5) for the final leg home to San Diego County. After 5 months and one week on our adventure, we drove into our home base at 6:20 p.m. on October 1, 2019. Both Margaret and I consider this trip the adventure of our lifetimes.
 |
| The Roadtrek at "home" after our adventure! |
 |
| The Over the Hill Sisters |
We had hoped to take more of these epic trips but several factors prevented that from happening: the pandemic, fires, floods, the Roadtrek needing improvements, and personal health issues.
This will be the final entry on the blog. To Margaret and anyone else who has followed along, I'm sorry it took me so long to finish recording our fabulous adventure. A heartfelt thanks for your interest!
Good-bye and happy camping,
Margaret and Virginia Hill
Note: Clicking on the photos in the post will open them in a larger view (recommended!). If you want to see more photos of the beautiful places we've shared, we have them in this Flickr Collection: Over the Hill Sisters Photo Collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment