Thank you, Morro Bay!

We are leaving Morro Bay this morning. It’s been two weeks of salt air filling our lungs, sand in our hair (and in Clarence, and even in our bed), climbing lush inland hills at dawn, falling asleep and waking up to a symphony of barking sea lions and the slow ghostly call of the local foghorn. We sleep with the windows wide open throughout the cottage, even though it lets the night chill in. But with it comes the sweet scent of backyard lemon trees and a compendium of floral aromas. I will never forget the perfume of the jasmine plants. Needing an extra blanket was well worth it.

We began each day driving the few blocks down to the harbor, then walking in the first shadowy tendrils of daylight along the Embarcadero to listen to the rowdy sea lions and watch the sea otters waking up among the fishing boats. With all the fishing boats and the seagulls, we could have easily been on the Maine Coast.

Twice we’ve walked first thing along the beach, and although it was rewarding, we missed the…