The new cachers were ready for more, and there was a loop trail in the back of San Simeon that held 4 caches. Off we went. They were both quick studies of the hides, so I kind of kicked back and let them lead the way. Othe rthan having to give Art a hint on Boardwalk (gcgg8q), lest he step on it, that is ;). We also snagged: Raptures and Rodents (gcvn69); Pine Ridge in San Simeon (gcvnfy) and Whitaker Ranch (gctvzd). 4 caches, a couple of miles of a nice walk, and the day was still young. Nice start.
Art and Jess were heading south towards Morro Bay, and it would be my turn to pick up a campsite for the night. Jess had heard that Montana Del Oro was a great place to camp, so that was the goal. I went after a Cambria cache that had intrigued me, Capt Who?(gcgg8j), tha said it was at the "other" attraction, not Hearst Castle. Turns out to be Nitt Witt, a residence created by a sculpture of recycyled building materials and odds and ends. Definitely different. I caught the local farmers market on the way out, and actually "negotiated? on some produce (their idea as much as mine). Bell pepper and cherry tomatoes.
After a late lunch at the north overlook to Morro Bay, I proceeded on and instantly ran into Art and Jess. We caravaned out to Montana Del Oro, but it was full, so had to backtrack into town to Morro Strand, which was nothing more than a converted parking lot at the beach. The trip to Montana was worthwhile, as I knew I would be back, and even noticed a sign to an Elfin forest on the way out. Hmmm.
Art threw together a fantastic Pasta dinner. Man, they know how to do meals right :). Afterwards, we headed for "night caching". I had promoted this idea by pointing out 4 relatively closeby caches on the beach. " A nice walk on the beach in the moonlight with caches to boot"!
Welllllll, shit does happen, you know! Out the south end of the parking lot, err, I mean campgrounds onto the beach. What the hey. A creek and a lagoon stand between us and the destination. OK, how about that trail, up and around? Trail becomes a thruway to the exterior side of someones estate for landscaping. Duck under the low branches for the next couple of hundred feet, and up to the road. Now, we are wandering the streets instead of the nice walk on the beach. I just had to bring that open beer along with me too, didn't I, I thought as we passed by the neighborhood watch signs. Sheesh. Off on adventure we shall go. :'). Hey, nice neighborhoods. We finally get to "Ice, Ice, Baby" (gcq2zb), which, BTW, isn't even on the beach! We circle around, and Jess makes the discovery. Alright, their first night cache. From there, we proceeded down a nice walking path to "Access Prohibited" (gcth51). This one was bit tougher of a find, but we did succeed. The last one would be on the beach just north of camp, I promised, just before selecting the wrong waypoint! Hey, it's dark out there... This one proved to ice the cake on adventure for the night. Back through the neighnorhoods we went, Art armed with the GPS'r and leading the way. Before long, we found ourselves at th eend of a deadend street, looking at a ditch, and the cache location being to the east???? I was saying we should backtrack and use the streets, but Art wanted to take the ditch. It was dry, and he was convincing, so down we go. Next, we are staring the entrance to the aquaduct under the hwy, and still a few hundred feet to got to the cache???????????? What the hey, I think, what have I done? Art says Tally Ho and into the tunnel he ducks and dashes... And so, we follow. Well, the hwy is 4 lane with an island divider, so we are ducked for quite a distance, before emerging to the other side. Read clausaphobia :'). Jess makes the find, and after a debate about which is the gest way back, we duck back under the hwy and head back to camp, which would be fine, if I would just shut up and let Art lead the way. Not having waypointed the camp (woulda,shoulda, coulda), I, as usual, get myself bass ackwards in orientation. Well, needless to say, we did find camp, and in a relatively short time.
After Art and Jess retired for the night, I moved down to the beach and stargazed for a bit. 3 falling stars, which dropped like the bottom had fallen out on them.
The good news, no racoons tonight evidently.
Art and Jess were heading south towards Morro Bay, and it would be my turn to pick up a campsite for the night. Jess had heard that Montana Del Oro was a great place to camp, so that was the goal. I went after a Cambria cache that had intrigued me, Capt Who?(gcgg8j), tha said it was at the "other" attraction, not Hearst Castle. Turns out to be Nitt Witt, a residence created by a sculpture of recycyled building materials and odds and ends. Definitely different. I caught the local farmers market on the way out, and actually "negotiated? on some produce (their idea as much as mine). Bell pepper and cherry tomatoes.
After a late lunch at the north overlook to Morro Bay, I proceeded on and instantly ran into Art and Jess. We caravaned out to Montana Del Oro, but it was full, so had to backtrack into town to Morro Strand, which was nothing more than a converted parking lot at the beach. The trip to Montana was worthwhile, as I knew I would be back, and even noticed a sign to an Elfin forest on the way out. Hmmm.
Art threw together a fantastic Pasta dinner. Man, they know how to do meals right :). Afterwards, we headed for "night caching". I had promoted this idea by pointing out 4 relatively closeby caches on the beach. " A nice walk on the beach in the moonlight with caches to boot"!
Welllllll, shit does happen, you know! Out the south end of the parking lot, err, I mean campgrounds onto the beach. What the hey. A creek and a lagoon stand between us and the destination. OK, how about that trail, up and around? Trail becomes a thruway to the exterior side of someones estate for landscaping. Duck under the low branches for the next couple of hundred feet, and up to the road. Now, we are wandering the streets instead of the nice walk on the beach. I just had to bring that open beer along with me too, didn't I, I thought as we passed by the neighborhood watch signs. Sheesh. Off on adventure we shall go. :'). Hey, nice neighborhoods. We finally get to "Ice, Ice, Baby" (gcq2zb), which, BTW, isn't even on the beach! We circle around, and Jess makes the discovery. Alright, their first night cache. From there, we proceeded down a nice walking path to "Access Prohibited" (gcth51). This one was bit tougher of a find, but we did succeed. The last one would be on the beach just north of camp, I promised, just before selecting the wrong waypoint! Hey, it's dark out there... This one proved to ice the cake on adventure for the night. Back through the neighnorhoods we went, Art armed with the GPS'r and leading the way. Before long, we found ourselves at th eend of a deadend street, looking at a ditch, and the cache location being to the east???? I was saying we should backtrack and use the streets, but Art wanted to take the ditch. It was dry, and he was convincing, so down we go. Next, we are staring the entrance to the aquaduct under the hwy, and still a few hundred feet to got to the cache???????????? What the hey, I think, what have I done? Art says Tally Ho and into the tunnel he ducks and dashes... And so, we follow. Well, the hwy is 4 lane with an island divider, so we are ducked for quite a distance, before emerging to the other side. Read clausaphobia :'). Jess makes the find, and after a debate about which is the gest way back, we duck back under the hwy and head back to camp, which would be fine, if I would just shut up and let Art lead the way. Not having waypointed the camp (woulda,shoulda, coulda), I, as usual, get myself bass ackwards in orientation. Well, needless to say, we did find camp, and in a relatively short time.
After Art and Jess retired for the night, I moved down to the beach and stargazed for a bit. 3 falling stars, which dropped like the bottom had fallen out on them.
The good news, no racoons tonight evidently.
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