After we recovered, we got back on Pacific Coast Highway towards Morro Bay. Here, PCH made a right turn and became a �freeway� as it hugged the coastline. Along Morro Bay, small coastal homes lined the road, their quaint little houses all had balconies looking out into the blue Pacific Ocean. The temperature dropped to a more comfortable 70 degrees, which made riding a bit more pleasant. As opposed to the warmer inland temperatures.
After Morro Bay, PCH opened up to just a two lane highway with nothing around it except green hills to the right and the ocean to the left. The road just hugged the coast as closely as possible until we reached Cayucos. Here, PCH gradually turned inland and the surrounding terrain changed to a very lush green with thick pine tree forest on both sides. We passed by the town of Harmony�population 150. There would be an occasional rustic barn or structure along the road or in between green hills, which gave the scenery a very old, country look. The Pacific Ocean was no longer visible, even though the temperatures remained comfy. We passed by the coastal town of Cambria where Rye and Kelly planned on staying. They turned off PCH to where their hotel was. My hotel was in San Simeon so I kept on going past Cambria. I saw the turn off for Moonstone Beach, which was where PCH started hugging the coast again. Everything was so pretty; I was loving every minute of it. There were more cars out there since it was close to a populated area. But once passed Cambria, the train of cars disappeared.
I arrived at San Simeon around 4PM. I checked in to my hotel, parked my bike and headed for my room. Turns out, my room was right at the end of the hotel building, with a single parking spot right under my window. In addition, I had a nice view of the ocean right across from PCH. Sweet! I took a shower, then rested and watched a little TV. By 5PM, my stomach was churning for some food. Rye called me from his hotel in Cambria to tell me what time we were to meet for dinner�7PM. Aaargh! We wanted to wait for Dean & Patty, who were suppose to have left Orange County back at 1PM. We were expecting them to arrive around 6 or 7 PM so that�s why dinner was so late. I couldn�t wait. I rode out to a nearby Liquor Store, the only one in town to buy some snacks and drinks. I ate it in my room while looking out at the Ocean across the highway.
Dean and Patty never arrived on time so I left my hotel and met Rye and Kelly at their place. They had a room right across from the beach in Moonstone Beach. This beach looked uncharacteristic for having black sand with lots of rocks, which gave it a rather lunar like landscape, hence its name. Across Moonstone Beach were lines of Bed & Breakfast Inns and Hotels for the weary but well to do tourists. We ate dinner at some little restaurant across from the beach. The prices were extraordinary for nothing but old fashioned home cooking. We watched the sunset as we ate, had drinks, and told stories. By the time dinner was over, it was well past 10PM and it was pitch black outside. In addition, a thick fog bank had moved in, coating everything with moisture. I said my goodbyes to Rye & Kelley for they planned to head out to Lake Naciemento the next day, so I wouldn�t be seeing them later. I mistakenly brought only my dark visor for this trip, not having planned to ride at night. Doh! So my ride back to San Simeon was pretty interesting. I couldn�t see 10 feet in front of me due to the fog, and my dark visor forced me to keep my visor open. Then, the fog would fill my face with drops of water, which made it very uncomfortable to ride beyond 30 mph. My only saving grace were my Busa�s excellent headlights which allowed me to see immediately ahead, and that there were no other cars around to pressure me to speed up and endanger me as I �groped� my way home to San Simeon.
I got back to my hotel and Dean and Patty had left a message on my phone. I called them up and they explained to me what they went through. They had arrived at San Simeon at 8PM, being forced to lane split all the way out of Los Angeles and through Santa Barbara. No surprise being this was to be a big 3 day holiday weekend. I warned them about that beforehand, but Dean had to work that day hence they were forced to leave town late. I felt sorry for them for having to put up with such a terrible ride out of Los Angeles. But at least they made it to San Simeon. We agreed to meet the next morning at 9AM. They were so tired that they just went into their hotel and slept that night without even eating dinner.
I watched a TV movie until 11PM before dozing off to sleep. |
