Kisses to Firemen!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Ok, so all four of us in a 5X7 space was highly ambitious, in retrospect. But, we woke up with the goal to camp again this evening, so it must not have been so miserable.

You decide. We said no to Alex’s request that we take home the six-foot seaweed he found on the beach yesterday. We said no to the 20 or so gull feathers. We said no to the 40-50 puzzle pieces of sand dollars. And, more regrettably now that we know it didn’t rain after all, we also said no to his appeal that he go dune jumping again.

Instead, we headed to San Luis Obispo for far more exciting prospects – laundry and an oil change (we’ve done around 4, 500 miles so far!). The washing machine going round had the same effect it had on Alex and Eleni last summer – it calmed them down completely. They watched it with great attention…and then they did not.

We walked around the town and then visited the mission. The San Luis Obispo mission was founded in 1722, and it was part of the 21 Spanish Missions route, El Camino Real. Missions were a founding part of the communities up the coast of this former Spanish territory, but Mexico’s break from Spain, earthquakes, and California becoming a US state, have all taken their toll on San Luis Obispo and most of the other missions. And while their initial purpose was to convert Native Americans and turn them into citizens of the Spanish Empire, they instead became support systems for the people of the villages.

Outside the mission

Luis, here is San Luis!

Gorgeous views on Route 101 

Hearst's Castle. We took a photo, but did not stop to visit. It's not so easy to see up there in the foggy photo, but William Randolph Hearst's estate overlooks San Simeon and has 165 rooms!

And then, Route 1 California! When we asked for random advice for where to go in the USA, this is the part of the road trip that most everyone campaigned for…here we are. And, we are fortunate, as this famous route just reopened two days ago. We’ve seen evidence of this summer’s fires in the burnt terrain and the closed beaches and campgrounds. We’re wowed by the views, but the charred trees and rocks dismay us. We can only guess at what was… the smoke lingers and we’ve noticed that the gorgeous smells of the trees have changed to the smells of ashes.

We’ve seen California, Oregon, and Nevada license plates. That is it.

We stopped and watched these Elephant Seals!

From 2-2½ tons, these male seal have traveled from as far away as Alaska to shed their coat here. The ranger we met told us that these seals reminded her of 7th graders trying to show off their stuff (!). She let us touch some of the fur she was holding, and it was very obvious that trappers were never after their skin! However, these seals were almost extinct 10 years ago due to their blubber. For Alex and Eleni, these elephant seals were the movie Happy Feet made real.

The ranger asked us if we would be around when they return here in December to mate. Ummmmm…

One of the many charred hills

We passed many signs like this. Alas, I didn’t photograph that “Kisses to Firemen” sign.

We finally found a place to stay shortly past the Big Sur National Park Ranger Station (that was closed as well). We slept in a small cabin next to the Big Sur River and surrounded by Redwoods. The kids were completely besotted with the shallow riverbed, the crayfish, those water boatmen that walk on the water, and the mini waterfalls.

And, despite the occasional helicopter overhead, and my sporadic panicking that there was another fire in the area (this part reminded me too much of Greece!), it was a perfectly calm evening in the woods.