Blanche the Nomad

A couple of days ago I made my way to Mesa Verde National Park once again.  When I visited last time I took the tour of the Cliff Palace, this time I decided to explore Balcony House which is on the opposite side of the mesa that Cliff Palace is located on.  In the summer months Cliff Palace tends to be rather warm, hot even, while Balcony House is much cooler.   That prompted the question whether or not one location was more a summer home and the other winter?  Given that the entire mesa was essentially a single community and the individual sites somewhat like neighborhoods the answer is probably not but we really do not know.   One interesting factoid the Ranger shared was that in the time Mesa Verde was an active community there were more people living in the are than there are today.

Click to begin exploring Balcony House

I love wandering around the docks here in Morro Bay!  The air is fresh, wildlife is everywhere–sea lions, pelicans, gulls and terns, otters–and so easy to see.  Plus I can get fish tacos at my favorite (Tognazzini’s) Dockside café.

Pelicans hanging out at the docks. Yummmmm Fish Tacos!

This image was taken just out back of the café I get my fish tacos at.  It is amusing to watch the pelicans and the sea lions along with the gulls fighting over the scraps tossed in the water.  Several times I watched a pelican scoop up scraps that were clearly too large for them to fly with in their throat pouch.  They would get it in but it would bulge out comically and prevent them from flying off.  The gulls and sea lions would harass them until they dropped the fish scrap whereupon the process would repeat over and over again.  Once the sea lions got a bite or two the pelicans were better able to manage the left overs so that in the end everyone got something.

Because the patio at the café is on the dock it is easy to watch boats unloading their catch or preparing for their next trip . . .

Fishing boat unloading its catch

I have moved south to Morro Bay, California now.  Shortly after getting B & B all parked and connected we were blessed with this absolutely gorgeous sunset!

Sunset Morro Rock

Originally I only planned to be here for a couple of nights before moving onward to San Diego but given that daily rates at the park I want to use down in San Diego are a bit pricier than I want to pay I decided to hang out here for a week where it is less expensive.  Morro Bay is one of my favorite places on the California coast and in the running to be one of my winter stops next year.  It is unlikely I will renew my season tickets for Stanford Women’s Basketball because I just can no longer stay in the SF area for long without becoming depressed, the cats even got blue.

The small town vibe here in Morro Bay suits me perfectly, it is quiet, and I can get yummy fish tacos by the water in the harbor.

Fish Tacos by the water . . . mmmmmmm!

More than likely I will eat lunch here most every day I am in Morro Bay . . . that’s how much I love eating fish tacos by the water.

Not far away from the harbor up on Main Street is a pleasant coffee house with a warm, wonderful vibe, where I can get a Chaimayan Mocha (aka: a chai made with mexican chocolate) which is where I am writing this blog entry from.

A decent trail run . . . since my knee surgery in October!

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