Letters From The Loft
Stuff From The Desk Of Chuck Thornton
Sue and I watched the seals for quite some time. There's something inexplicably appealing about being able to watch animals hanging out in their natural habitat who are totally aware of your presence and aren't either running away or trying to eat you. We would have stayed longer, but there were only chemical toilets at the turnout with a long line of seals waiting their turn. So we drove back about 5 miles to the visitor center for the Hearst Castle to use the facilities.
The Castle sits up on top of a hill set about 5 miles from the main highway; luckily the visitor center is at the beginning of that 5 mile drive, and serves as the depot for the buses that ferry the tourists to the mansion. Many years ago, not too long after we were married, Sue and I had visited and taken the Hearst Castle tour, and we didn't have a great desire to relive the experience. I realize it's kind of historical, and probably contains some significant works or art and antique furnishings, but as a general rule, conspicuous consumption isn't as much fun to watch as it is to do. I don't begrudge the Hearsts their mansion. It was probably tough amusing oneself up there on the hill at San Simeon in the 20's and 30's. Watching elephant seals through a telescope could get old quickly, and it was probably a lot more diverting ordering contractors around and giving Orson Welles ideas for a movie.
After taking advantage of the Hearst hospitality, we started the drive back to Morro Bay, but we made a slight detour. There was no way we could visit Morro Bay without checking out the cutting-edge wineries and healing hot springs of nearby Paso Robles---
Just kidding... we just wanted to find a department store where we could pick up a couple of sweatshirts for the whale-watching trip, and we figured the drive would be fun. It didn't take us long to find a Big 5 that carried hoodies. They were sorted into sections labeled S, M, L and Whale. I let Sue pick out mine. Why hurt my own feelings?
A 35 mile drive southwest got us back in Morro Bay, and before dinner, we decided to go back out to Morro Rock and check out the beach on its east side. The view of the rock wasn't much different, what was impressive was what was on the beach. Take this:
and this:
... and multiply by a thousand. As I looked at the rocks I was approaching, I realized they were looking back at me... a multitude of beady little eyes, all waiting for something edible to hit the ground. It became even more unnerving as I got closer, and hordes of the little vermin came out to greet me. Obviously, they had no fear of man... one came up and nibbled at the toe of my sneaker.
As more emerged from the rocks, I was beginning to feel a bit like Ernest Borgnine in Willard, so we decided to head back to town before somebody yelled "Tear 'em up!" and Sue and I became winter provisions. I always wondered what picked those skeletons clean at Disneyland's "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride. Now I knew: sand squirrels.