The Morro Rock stands 578 feet tall and occupies 50 acres at its base.  It is home to hundreds of sea birds and dominates this part of the California central coast.  It has garnered the attention of travelers since Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo recorded passing the rock in 1542.

We’ve just spent the week of June 27 to July 1 here on the central coast.  We stayed in Morro Bay with a nice view of the rock.  Morro Bay is a small town with a lovely embarcadero with very nice dining choices.  We wandered over to the nearby Montana de Oro, an 8,000 acre state park along 7 miles of dramatic Pacific coastline.  The park was still covered in it’s beautiful spring wildflowers.  There are lots of nice hiking trails, many of which also allow horseback riding and mountain biking.

In addition, we went a little further north to visit Cayucos and Cambria and south to Avila Beach, Shell Beach and Pismo Beach.  And on Thursday, we went into San Luis Obispo and hung around for their weekly Farmer’s Market which takes place in the evening from 6:00 to 9:00pm.  They shut down 6 blocks of Higuera Street for the usual display of summer fruits and vegetables plus musical performances and BBQ.

We’ve had a really nice time but we’re happy to be heading home just in time to escape the crush of people heading this way for the 4th of July weekend.