We just love this area. The campground is nice but not really on the beach. It is along the Oceano lagoon. We were right up against the boardwalk, sort of in the back of the campground. Nice site with a cormorant roosting tree on the side. Might have been Night Herons there during the day- heard them but did not see them. And we saw a few Monarch butterflies but the primary migration starts more toward the end of October, not the beginning. It is only a short walk to Oceano Beach, and if you hit low tide, you can sometimes walk to the sand dunes. We didn’t quite make it across. There was a decent amount of water still coming in from the lagoon, even though it hasn’t rained in quite some time.
We decided to try Old West Cinnamon rolls and walk through the town. Definite hit there! It is sort of on the end of the beach part of town- kitsch is the only way to explain Pismo Beach. 1970s dinky beach town vibe. It has some nicer restaurants and hotels but not by the pier! Of course we hit up Splash Cafe for clam chowder and fish and chips on our walk through the town and the pier. Can’t miss that place. Very good clam chowder. We saw a couple Monarch butterflies in the area also. Then we walked through North Beach State Campground and it has some nice areas too. And is closer to the beach (just a hike over a tree filled “sand dune.”).
We took a drive up through SLO past Hearst Castle to see elephant seals. We almost went all the way to the southern end of the Big Sur slide that closed down Highway 1. We stopped for a hike at the Morro Bay/Morro Rock area which is always so pretty. We’ve had mostly overcast and cooler days so other than more murky pictures, it has been pleasant. We did see the elephant seals and visited the Friends of the Elephant Seals visitor center, after a crazy Maps drive through a major nice resort parking lot(s). Oh well. We ended up in San Luis Obispo and took Lene out for dinner at an very good Italian food/pizza place. Yummy!
All in all a great way to start our last beach tour of 2024!