After a great day at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, we headed south on Pacific Coast Highway. After about half an hour drive we hit a town called Morro Bay. It is an old fishing town which is famous for it’s giant rock right by the beach.
Morro Rock is one the Nine Sisters, ancient volcanic mountains or hill peaks that lay close to each other on the coast line. They are volcanic plugs reminding us of volcanic activity from over 20,000,000 years ago. Morro Rock is protected, and they don’t allow climbing or any other activities that might harm it, or the bird life on the rock. In the old days the rock used to be quarried but now it is California Landmark number 821.
Right by Morro Rock there is a little beach where we spent some time collecting sand dollars and playing in the sand. Occasionally we saw a little crab walking on the beach or sea otters playing in the water. They are very cute when they float on their backs. It was still too cold to swim but there were many surfers in the water.
If you like seafood, Morro Bay is a great place to dine. There are all kinds of restaurants offering fresh catch of the day, and even ”hole in the wall” kind of places to get some take out. We also stopped in a candy store for some Salt Water Taffy. The choice of flavors was endless, or what do you think about chicken&waffles flavored candy?
After our visit to Morro Bay we returned back to San Simeon and made it just in time to see the sun set on the beach. Sun sets on Highway 1 are the most beautiful thing, but this time we had some cloud cover, so we didn’t get to enjoy the best of it. It was still an amazing sight, and I’m glad we got to see it.
I went to Morro Bay last year for the first time and really enjoyed it. It’s a funky seaside town, and the rock is remarkable. We had drinks at a divey seafood shack watching the sunset and listening to live music. The falcons were amazing, too. Great to see your pictures and hear your experience!
Darn. I wish I had known about this. We did the California Coast (and Hearst) in the spring as well as lunch at a Mexican restaurant at Morro Bay but we missed this opportunity.
A beach, sea otters and salt water taffy! Thanks for putting another fabulous small town on my radar. Making notes.
How have I never heard of Morro Rock before? I’ll be sure to check it out next time I’m in California.
Such a beautiful place to visit. I’m bummed that after taking two road trips to California, I’ve managed to miss Morro Rock both times. And both times it was on my list of places to see and we changed our route. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the third time is the charm.