Tag / california

by kritterspaw

Morro Bay

California’s coastline is full of gorgeous scenic views as the ocean comes up to meet a mountainous, rocky, sometimes forested landscape.

One of the places we like to frequent along the Central Coast is Morro Bay. Morro Bay’s distinguishing landmark is Morro Rock, as it juts out from the seabed as a beacon to fishermen, boatsmen, and tourists.

Morro Bay has a lot to offer to for the visitor, including activities like fishing, surfing, kayaking, or hiking. At low tide, one can walk around Morro Rock, or meander through the many shops or restaurants along the main drag, or gawk at the serenity of this beautiful spot where picturesque sailboats abound.

For the nature lover there are birds, otters (see post here … https://kritterspix.com/2024/11/23/sea-otters/ ), and seals.

Morro Bay lies just off of CA Hwy 1 in outside of San Luis Obispo.

by kritterspaw

Morro Bay, CA

We have frequented Morro Bay numerous times over the last fews years since we discovered it. Morro Bay’s prominent landmark is Morro Rock.

It is not only a small working fishing town where fresh caught tuna, sand dabs, halibut, dungenous crabs, and fresh oysters can all be had from local dock stores, but also features a small lagoon providing natural bay habitat.

Personally, I could watch the sea otters that find shelter in the bay for hours.

We were fortunate to see the endangered sea otters floating in rafts caring for their pups feeding off local kelp beds, rolling around playing, and cleaning themselves. It’s a great place to see them in action, up close and personal.

Whether one comes for the shops, the seafood, or the otters, Morro Bay has a lot to offer.

See more of our California trip photos here… https://kritterspix.com/2023/03/08/santa-ynez-valley-ca/

by kritterspaw

California Cruising

Our Oregon coast trip took us through California on our way home. You can check out our Oregon pix here… https://kritterspix.com/2022/09/30/oregon-coast/

It is stunning to see the diversity of the California coast. The Northern end dives inland into massive redwoods lining the roads. The gigantic ancient trees are impressive to see as they cast a dark shade across the road even in the daylight. The dark roads were narrow with constant twists & turns that made them challenging and stressful to drive, while trying to enjoy the scenery along the way.

As we continued down the coast we moved from forest and trees to ocean with rocks littering the landscape as far as the eye could see.

North of San Fransisco there are wineries galore through Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Ynez valleys just to name a few.

As we got past San Francisco / Oakland area our landscape changed to agricultural. We stopped at Gilroy for some of their famed garlic, and Salinas, known as the ‘Salad bowl of the world’ for fruit & nuts – something CA is known for.

It was fascinating to see the change in landscape along the long coast, as we made our way.

by kritterspaw

Sea Critters

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Having just gotten back from the CA coast, we saw lots of cool ‘critters’, including the sea otter.

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I’m not sure I have ever seen a sea otter before.  I could watch them for hours.  They were just too adorable.  I didn’t realize that they are actually an endangered species.  There used to be some 150,000 – 200,000.

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In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s they were hunted for their fur.  They are now a protected species.  Their population has dipped to 1% of what they once were, at a low of only 1,000 – 2,000.  Now they are hovering at around 3,000 as they have plateau’d in their decline.

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Their facial expressions and mannerisms were priceless.

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We saw buzzards and blue herons, seals and sea lions.

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Even caught a sunset or two….

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Sometimes its good to get out of the woods and see the sea.

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We don’t get too much of this in our neck of the woods.

You can see more of my pix from my trip here… https://kritterspix.com/category/photo-musings/

 

 

 

by kritterspaw

Best of 2016: Honorable Mentions

I wrote about my Best of 2016 photos here.  What a fun and enlightening experience going through all my 2016 photos was.  I feel super fortunate that I had enough good photos that I can do another Top 10 via this Honorable Mentions post… these were the ones that DIDN’T make the cut.. and a lot left that didn’t make Honorable Mentions.  Must mean it was a great year.. and it was.

So here are the second Top 10 photos of 2016… check it out.

fallsprayPSi.JPG1.  South Oregon Coast

moonboatPSi.JPG2. Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

powell rvr closPSi.JPG3. Lake Powell,  Utah 

rok-treerefltni.jpg4. Mogollon Rim,  Northern Arizona

twinsnowtreesPSi.JPG5.  Happy Jack, Arizona

j beam lookPS.jpg6. Canyon X, Page  AZ

fencegrassPS.jpg7. Lockett Meadow, Arizona

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8. Baddeck,  Nova Scotia

fogreflctnPSi.JPG9. Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

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10. Happy Jack, AZ

Check out the Best of 2016…. here.

What do you think?

by kritterspaw

Costa Mesa / Newport Beach

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We haven’t been to California in a bit.. life gets in the way, there are so many other places to go… and do… you know how it goes.  But it was time to visit our friends, Danube and Bobby, in Del Mar… and pick up some sushi grade fish to freeze for awesome ‘tuna trios’ at home.

Every time we go, we try to shake it up and do different things, so as not to tire from the same ol’ – same ol’.  We have done the downtown San Diego and Point Loma thing… and  the ever interesting Solano Beach and Cedros District.  Last time we were in the area we stumbled into the Culinary District in SoCo (South Coast), where there are foodie stores, cheese stores and other culinary temptations.  So we decided to make a food holiday of it after our wonderful visit with friends.  We hit Surfas and the Cheese Shop.  We ate well at restaurants in South Coast and Newport (see my reviews at  krittersmenu.com ), trying new places… and old.

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We checked out The Wedge at the end of Balboa Island, which was a great way to watch the waves at sunset.

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We had a mocha shake at Shake Shack – highly recommended, and walked the Crystal Cove beach – very picturesque.

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All in all, it was a terrific trip… a great visit with friends… walks on the beach at sunset … and amazing food and new experiences with beautiful scenery and good weather.  Check out more photos on  kritterspix.com