Road Trip! - Morro Bay Avocado and Margarita Festival

In my world there are two things that go hand in hand, just like bread and butter, burgers and fries, fish and chips...I'm talking about avocados and margaritas! Nothing I love better than a delicious Margarita with some avocado turned into yummy guacamole. That's why when my sisters' friend Lupe suggested we take a road trip to the Morro Bay Avocado and Margarita Festival I was all like, "Yep...count me in!"

So yesterday we made the little trip from Wasco, which is where Lupe lives, to Morro Bay. I say little trip, but it's actually a little bit over two hours away. But when you are in good company a long car trip is just the ticket to get caught up on girl talk and snacking!

And that's what we did. We stopped and bought Cheetos, Beef Jerky, M&M's, Fritos and Diet Pepsi's and we laughed and talked and shared memories and gossip until we got to Paso Robles. Even though this was not our destination we stopped at a TJ Maxx to shop a little. Shoes were purchased and the bathroom was used and off we were again to do one of my favorite things and one of Lupe's favorite things...shop the local Goodwill! Yay! I finally found another bird of a feather!

See, my sister is not a big lover of Goodwill or any thrift store for that matter, in fact she is not a big lover of shopping of any kind at all, although she does indulge me quite often. But Lupe loves to shop the Goodwill's and she knew exactly where we could find one in Paso Robles. Yay! Treasure Hunt!

It was not my day to find a lot of treasures, but I did find this cute little lady. I know she's kind of odd looking, but I just love the little spider and her cute purple hat with the little pink flower and her little curly hair and her precious smile with that very bright red lipstick! For a mere $1.00 she was mine! Can't wait to display her at Halloween!

Lupe found some treasures as well, but the one that found the most was my sister Lisa. Funny how she dislikes shopping at Goodwill yet she always spends much more money than I do!

From there we headed to San Luis Obispo, which was about a 35 minute drive through some beautiful scenery. Once there Lupe took us to another Goodwill where I found a black sweater that I love and Lisa again stocked up! 

After this one Lisa drew the line and said NO MORE! I AM HUNGRY! So we decided to head on over to the Avocado and Margarita Festival in Morro Bay which was about 25 minutes away. We made a quick stop at a campsite along the way as Lisa and Lupe are both infatuated with camping!

Once we got to Morro Bay we realized that this was a huge event and thought we would never find parking! But we did, a few blocks away and it was such a beautiful day we didn't even mind the walk and we stopped to take pictures along the way.

My sister and her dear friend Lupe. No...that is not our Rubicon,
but I thought they looked great standing next to it!

Another great picture of Lisa and Lupe with Morro Rock in the background. More information on "the Rock" coming later! Aren't they pretty? Love these girls!

Hey! What about me? I want a picture with my sister!

And one of just me! Love the background!

Then it was time to continue our walk to the festival itself. A salesclerk in one of the little shops we stopped at along the way told us that Morro Bay has a population of about 10,000 people and that the Chamber of Commerce was expecting about 12,000 people for this event! 

For the price of a whole $2.00 each we gained entrance and it was packed! Barely room to turn around in. Everyone was walking around with paper plates filled with chips and avocado...not guacamole because the star of this show was the avocado so it was virgin avocado, no salt or onion or jalapenos, just the pure taste of creamy, buttery avocado mixed with the crispy texture of a salty tortilla chip! Yum! 

Sad to say I didn't get a picture of the avocado and tortilla chips because we were starving and devoured them. But here's a picture of another delicacy we tried a little later on. Bacon wrapped hot-dogs!

These were so good. We only bought one and had them cut it into thirds, but we piled sliced avocado and onions on it! 

And after all the saltiness of the chips and the bacon wrapped hot-dogs we were a tad parched. We soon found refreshment!

I think they call these Corona Beer-ita's!
The cup was filled with Lime Margarita on the Rocks and then using a special lid on the cup a small Coronita Beer is turned upside down, mixing the margarita and beer. Then you sip with the straw and it's delicious! They also made a strawberry version, but we stuck to the original. ***My sister called me after reading this and said they are called "Corona-ritas"***

We wandered around the various arts and craft vendors, we people-watched, we chatted with strangers, we listened to music, we ate kettle korn and bought big containers of fresh fruit salad and just generally had the best time ever!

Because it was standing room only, we finally got tired of all the standing and walking and decided if we stayed any longer we would only end up eating more, so we left and walked down the embarcadero wandering in and out of shops.

We saw some seals and watched them for a while. People were barking at them and little kids were getting such a kick out of seeing their daddies barking like dogs! It was hilarious!

Then we did another couple of things that are a MUST DO when you visit Morro Bay. One is eat fish and chips and the other is visit THE ROCK!

My photo of the Rock!

Official photo of THE ROCK

A few details on THE ROCK

Sunset at the Rock!

At the entrance to the rock is this power plant which plays a large role in Morro Bay,
and in providing electricity to the Central Coast and the Central Valley of California (primarily Fresno and Bakersfield). Due to its tall smokestacks,
it is known locally as "Three fingers".

After having seen and done almost everything there was to see and do in Morro Bay we three ladies headed over to Cayucos to watch the sunset.

Lisa got poetic on us and remarked that we will each see many more sunsets, but at this moment, at this time, on this date, the three of us shared a sunset and a day that we will never forget and that will be one of a kind. Love you my sister and love you too Lupe! Hope we do this again real soon!

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Tired, sun-burned and happy, we three ladies made the long drive home glad to have been able to make wonderful memories and already making plans for our next "road trip!"

 

It's About the Journey, Not the Destination

Yesterday, my sister and I took a day to ourselves to spend the day saying goodbye to our daddy our way. We did one of the things that my dad loved to do...we took a road trip.

Beginning of our journey, my sister took this picture of us turning onto Highway 33 to Ojai.
Dad would often tell us that someday we should take this road. He and mom had taken it and loved the trip. So we took this road and dad was right as always...it was a wonderful journey to take together for my sister and me. 

Back when we were all little kids, my mom and dad used to just pack us up into the car on a Sunday and take off with no real destination in mind. The whole thing was about the journey and what we would see and discover and the memories that we were making without even realizing it.

Getting closer to the mountain. We would have to cross over this one and a few others to reach our final destination. Dad had only told us that it was a winding road, he didn't tell us how winding or how long or how beautiful it would be, but we felt that he was with us, guiding us on the way and showing us the beauty of the land and seeing it again through my eyes and my sisters eyes. 

I remember one particular trip that we took on a Thanksgiving Day. My parents didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving Day and they just packed us up and off we went. Road Trip!!!  Back in the day (when I was a child), there were no stores or restaurants or fast food places open on Thanksgiving Day. Everything was closed! Everything!

We saw so many beautiful sites along the way. This was one of the first, a little farmhouse off in the distance. I could imagine us living here with dad. He would have loved it! Dad was a farmer and we always lived in the housing provided by the farmer that dad happened to be working for and it was always out in the country. Country living is in my heart, thanks to dad and his love of the land.

So here they were, far away from home with four little kids...four little starving kids, and no where to buy food!! They had not planned for this. Luckily dad found a little store that happened to be open and they stopped and bought a loaf of bread, some bologna and some chips. That was one of the best meals ever! I can still taste the saltiness of the bologna and the chips. Dad always provided. 

That little farmhouse in the earlier picture was left far below as we climbed higher and higher. At the highest point I believe we were 3000 feet above sea level, at least that is the last sign I remember seeing with an elevation. The view was breathtaking and my sister and I kept seeing beautiful spots and stopping to snap pictures. We imagined how nervous our mother must have been to be on this winding road but knowing she was safe because dad was at the wheel.

Another time I remember Dad taking us to visit my mom's family in Arizona. They had just bought a new car. I think it was a Ford Crown Victoria. A very fancy car. My dad got it into his head to pull over at a little fruit stand to buy a watermelon. Then, to my mother's shock and anger, he proceeded to slice the watermelon in the car and give all his little chicks (us...his kids) a slice of watermelon. My mom got so angry, but dad knowing he had whetted our appetite for watermelon was not about to let his little chicks down. He withstood my mom's wrath and his babies ate watermelon in a brand new car!!!! You can probably ask my mom about this little story and she would tell you it was not one of HER fondest memories! But it is a memory that we...his baby chicks, will never forget.

We felt filled with peace when we rounded a corner and saw these big fluffy clouds and just knew that dad was with us on this trip. We've all felt his close to us since his passing, helping us to heal and letting us know that though he is gone he is still with us in spirit and we never have to feel alone.

One of my best memories of the road trips with dad was his stories. At that time I believed every word that came out of his mouth. I didn't realize that many of the stories that he told us were made up just to keep us all entertained so we didn't start trying to entertain ourselves by using each other's heads as volleyballs or whining "Are we there yet?" Dad would tell us stories of when he was a fighter pilot in the army or he would tell us about when he used to suck honey off of the butts of honey ants in Mexico. We loved his stories and we loved when he would sing. Dad would often tell people a funny story about how when I was little I once told one of my aunts, "My dad is a beautiful singer, he sings as good as the radio!" He would laugh so hard when he told that story.

We reach the top and it's time for the driver to take a little break (and truth be told, driving those winding roads sometimes with sheer drops was a little nerve-racking! I wondered out loud to my sister if my dad had been as nervous as I was, but then we said Nah...cause Dad was and is our hero and he was never scared and always brave!
Right to the very end.

We had a great day and it was just what we needed, a healing trip, just my sister and me and our Wing man...Dad. Love you dad, miss you more than words can say. . .

Another beautiful shot by my talented photographer, co-pilot and best friend, my little sister. Love you sis and will always protect you from the vampires :)