San Simeon Kayaking
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Over the Labor Day weekend, Elizabeth and I drove up through the central coast of California. (Yes, I am almost two months late in posting these pictures.) We stayed some in San Simeon, famous for the Hearst Castle. It was peaceful and relaxing; a welcome change of pace. |
Amusingly enough, we ended up not going to the Heast Castle at all. (We had been there before.) We had a good kayaking trip with the Sea For Yourself kayaking rental/tour company, and they were dedicated to ensuring that we made use of our time on the water. (Pictures are attached below.) After a long shower and a short nap, we had lunch at The Ragged Point Inn, up the coast a bit. The food was good, but they were understaffed and we had to wait quite a while. (The restaurant business in Los Angeles is competitive, while usually translates into great service. I've grown use to it.) We also spent some time in Cambria, wandering around the touristy areas. Supposedly, a restaurant in the area has great olallieberry pies, but we didn't have enough meals to find it.
On our way back down to Los Angeles, we drove through the Santa Barbara wine country. We had been up there in March, for some wine tasting. (I have not posted pictures for that, oddly enough, but it was another pleasant long weekend.) We had bought a good bottle of Pinot Noir at the Lincourt Winery on our previous trip, so we stopped, tasted some more, bought another bottle. (It's a small world after all: There were three couples that were in the tasting room, including us, and all of us lived within about two miles of each other in Los Angeles. Elizabeth had babysat for one of them, many years ago!) After several glasses of wine at Lincourt, lunch at the Los Olivos Cafe seemed all the tastier.
We need the rest and relaxation for the drive back to Los Angeles, as the 101S was packed.
 | Elizabeth was at the front of our two-person kayak. |
 | I was the powerhouse, the workhorse, the Johnson Outboard in the back of our boat. |
 | The cove had some great kelp beds, which served as nice stabilizing points for the kayakers. Our guide said that seals sometimes wrap themselves in the kelp while they sleep, so they don't drift off. |
 | The Hearst Castle was up in the hills. |
 | A picture of our kayak, courtesy of the guide. The north edge of the cove was much warmer than the middle. |
 | There is lots of life in the kelp, even at small scales, including small water insects and shrimp. The water was fairly clear. |
 | Starfish hung out at the cove walls. |
 | The kayaks were trailed (at a safe distance) by friendly seals. |