Three stacks and a rock is a somewhat tongue in cheek nickname for Morro Bay, California due to the presence (some would say blight) of three 450 foot high power plant smokestacks that dominate the harbor along with 581 foot high massive Morro Rock.
The smoke stacks seen at the left above are from a decommissioned power plant and there are currently no plans to demolish the stacks due to an estimated cost of $30 million for the removal.
But we love Morro Bay – smoke stacks and all. Morro Bay’s Chamber of Commerce no doubt prefers its other nickname of The Gibraltar of the Pacific and the town is notable as the home of Jack Lalanne of fitness fame who passed away here in 2011.
Morro Bay has a nice Embarcadero and marina area and lots of good restaurants with a ready supply of seafood hauled in by the local fishermen. There are some good camping spots in the area including Morro Bay State Park which conveniently has a golf course on site.
Morro Bay makes a convenient stop when returning from San Diego or Palm Springs – a couple of our favorite places to escape the Portland winter. It is a great place for bike riding, kite flying, wildflower fawning and bird watching.
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Just a quick hop off of Highway 101, Morro Bay makes a good base for exploring the central California coast and the beach towns of Pismo Beach, quaint Avila Beach, Cayucos, Cambria and San Simeon and the impressive Hearst Castle.
If you find yourself in the charming town of Cayucos be sure to drop into the Brown Butter Cookie Company.
The Hearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark and worth a visit to see the grounds and opulence of the castle and learn about the history of its construction and the visitors that made the pilgrimage to visit one of the richest men in the world.
But the number one nearby attraction for the Vagabond Winos is the underrated and outstanding wine area of Paso Robles. It is just a quick 30 minute drive over the hills to sample some delicious wine.
Gnarled old zinfandel vines just beginning to show the first buds of spring.
With over 200 wineries, many which are family owned, you can taste to your heart’s content. The pretentiousness and prices of Napa are not found in Paso Robles and the wines are truly outstanding.
Wildflowers at beautiful Halter Ranch Vineyards.
At many Paso tasting rooms a $5 or $10 tasting is the norm and many times the fee is refunded with a purchase of a bottle or two. And its not unusual to find the wine being poured by the owner or a family member or even the winemaker and they are happy to answer questions and initiate wine newbies into the fold.
If you are a fan of big reds then you are in luck – Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petite Sirah along with California versions of classic Italian varietals like Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Barbera are all produced in the area. We earned our purple tongues and brought some bottles home for future enjoyment.
Lastly, here are a couple of pictures from the trip back to Portland that we caught on the way home. Shasta Lake was very full and below you can see that Mt. Shasta has plenty of snow pack.
And in all my days of driving I-5 from Oregon into California I have only had a handful of instances where there was a good view of the Castles at Castle Crags State Park so I was happy to get a clear picture just after sunrise during our return home.
