Miles and Miles

Part of our criteria for selecting a hotel is a continental breakfast.  We eat so much; why not take advantage?  The one this morning was great, and after filling our bellies, we set off.  The road paralleled the ocean, giving us great views of spectacular Morro Rock, which we compared to a smaller, half-submerged Half Dome.  Then we headed inland.  Route 1, the Cabrillo Highway, was now a big, busy road.  Fortunately the shoulder was big as well.  We stayed inland for awhile, following frontage roads when the 101 merged with the 1 and swelled it to a massive freeway.  The signage was super easy to follow, even when passing through downtown San Luis Obispo.  We didn't linger long away from the coast, only stopping for a long break at lunch.  Dinosaur Cave State Park provided us with beautiful views and a shaded gazebo, a godsend on this hot, cloudless day.

After lunch, the road turned back inland.  Our shoulder dwindled, even disappearing entirely at times, and the scenery consisted of farmland, namely sprawling fields of lettuce.  To call the riding mind-numbing would not be much of a stretch, except for the traffic, sometimes trucks, which kept us on our toes.

Just before we turned off of highway 1, we began talking with a German traveler, Kai, who was wrapping up an around-the-world trip with his 50cc car.  A very small car.  We enjoyed talking with him for a bit, especially seeing his eyes light up when telling us about the "shrubberies everywhere" (meaning the fields of lettuce) and that he would love to just hop a fence and grab some.  I wonder if he's seen Monty Python.

63 miles from this morning in Cayucos, we pulled in to the driveway of Bill, who, with his wife Kandy, would be our host for the night.  We shared a delicious dinner and had a fantastic time making cookies (not to mention eating them), talking, watching the culmination of the World Series, and even dancing in the kitchen.