Morro Bay - sadly missed Big Sur and the coastal drive

The Eclipse was just a slightly darker part of the morning with the complete cloud cover that hung over Santa Maria, California.  I was up early and was able to watch the NASA coverage.  So, I did see it, sort of live.  It was amazing how sunny it became here when the whole thing was over.  Of course, the universe was NOT laughing at us.

We had an interesting conversation with two twenty-something women from Germany who spent the night in the same AirBnb with us.  One had been an Au Pair for a year for a couple and their two children in Virginia.  The 4 year old had Downs Syndrome and the 2 year old had ADD.  Fortunately, Lara had trained as an Occupational Therapist in Germany and was able to provide what the children needed.  Now that her year was over, she and her friend were taking a few weeks to see some of the U.S. before returning to Bavaria.  Lara's friend had a possible Strep Throat and went to a California doctor a couple days before.  A doctor looked at her and said here was nothing he could do.  Then, they charged her $800 for the 30 minute visit.  Having grown up with universal health care a in Germany, the women were understandably surprised.  They had heard that health care was expensive in the U.S., but it was the extent of the expense that shocked them.  It's possible that they have travel health insurance, but $800 is probably not what the insurance companies (plus the deductible, etc. from the patient) pay in this country.  That is most likely the cost to an American without health insurance here, too.

Morro Bay was our destination today.  We had lunch, arrived in early afternoon, played on the beach for a while and strolled the shops.  I think I found the place where my parents said they would park their RV to watch the birds and the surf.

Parked in that lot, you could see everything.

It seemed to be great surfing.  There were certainly plenty of people trying.

The is the view from the Dutchman's restaurant afterward where we had dinner.

We looked for the amazing bookstore that my mother recommended, but I think it has probably closed.  The little shopping strip along the bay was typical of many coastal towns; lots of small shops and lots of cute stuff to buy.  As you can see, there are many pleasure boats that put in or are moored at Morro Bay.  It is a lovely little town.

Tomorrow, we hope to visit the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.  78 acres of greenery and lovely flowering plants, along with many walking paths.  I can't wait!

Our time is short here, though.  We will be leaving Santa Maria on Thursday and heading North.  We plan to go to Monterey, CA and try to drive down the coast to Big Sur before getting back on I-5 and heading for the Pacific Northwest.  It looks like the road will be open to Big Sur, but not much farther due to avalanche damage that will take months to years to repair.  We'll see when we get there.