Our annual sojourn to Morro Bay is in progress. We got down here at about 1:30 just before the streets were blocked off for the Saturday Farmer’s Market. First stop is “Hot Dogs on the Harbor” on Main Street. Now they have great hotdogs and chili, but the real reason is that in June of 2011, on the way back from a conference in Newport Beach, we stopped there on Gregorio‘s first day of business.
He had his cousin I think, helping him this first day/weekend/week. A minimum overhead operation. He took orders for about 3 groups, then went away and food appeared. When this group was fed, he would move to the window for the next set of customers. Everybody seemed to know the drill. Everyone waited patiently. Everyone was smiling as they ate.
We also went to “our” book store, Coalesce Book Store [ www.coalescebookstore.com ]
where I took this picture last year. It is a “real” book store and almost worth the drive from the SF Bay Area by itself. I usually find one book there that I live in for a while. I think I found one this time: Gift of the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The first of the book is:
The beach is not a place to work, to read, write or think. I should have remembered that from other years. Too warm, too damp, too soft for any real mental discipline or sharp flights of spirit. One never learns. Hopefully, one carries down the faded straw bag, lumpy with books, clean paper, long over-due unanswered letters, freshly sharpened pencils, lists and good intentions. The books remain unread, the pencils break their points and the pads rest smooth and unblemished as the cloudless sky. No reading, no writing, no thoughts even – at least, not at first.
Yes, that is the beach. That is the sea. And I hope Anne Morrow, that it is okay that I quoted so much.. from a flier such as yourself.. as Charles.
We then walked to the
Rock, here seen at sunset from the docs. Seemed a bit closer than last year. I think we were a bit more rested this time around. You can walk around to the other side of the rock, back against the rock, facing an unforgiving sea. Today the sea was nice, forgiving.
There is a line of these rocks called the nine sisters, with this one being the farthest west. They are in almost a straight line stretching from Morro Bay to San Luis Obispo. They are extinct volcanos about 21 million years in age! http://www.morrobay.com/rock.htm
The city looks
the same as last year, and the residence pretty much look the same too. These two stopping for dinner probably don’t have reservations. No reservations at all.. The two women in the car seemed perfectly content too. Maybe dinner was indeed on the way.
A nice ending to a very nice sunny first day,
just like last year.
