Coasting on the Coast

March 6, 2010

Still at Avila Beach

A couple days of sunshine livened up the action. Annika the wonder dog enjoyed ‘surf-fetch’ to the max. Again and again she would chase the ball—over the sand or into the waves. The old girl may have lost her figure, but she has stamina.

The local golf course (Avila Beach) was soaked from recent rains, so golf was postponed until Friday. Played a steady round with nothing worse than a couple double-bogeys and finished with a satisfying 47-42=89, the first sub-90 round in several months. If I can just remember the 7 swing thoughts that carried me through the day…...

Our private campground-on-the-coast was invaded by several ‘weekenders’. They come prepared with portable firepits, propane heaters and a major supply of brewskis. Even though it was in the low 50s last night, they enjoyed the outdoors. We were cozied up inside with our “Mr. Buddy” propane heater.

Catastrophe struck this morning as the coffee maker died. The most important pieces of equipment on an RV are the coffee pot and the wine glasses. (In our case, the single wine glass, since Janice took up membership in the WCTU, thanks to her doctor’s directive to avoid imbibery.) While Janice stayed at the rig suffering coffee withdrawal whips-n-jangles, I dutifully drove to town (Avila Beach) where I scored a couple of our trademark non-fat hazelnut lattes for us. These won’t be the last ones on this trip.

After sitting in the warm late morning sun getting some rays on my you-can’t- tell-where-the-socks-end pale legs, we headed to San Luis Obispo for a replacement coffee maker. Toured the Cal Poly campus (Julie’s alma mater) where campus dorms looking like 5 star hotels were springing up. Oh, to be young again.

Returning to camp, we decided to have a late lunch at the local Fat Cat Café near the San Luis pier. It was 3:10 pm, which according to the waiter, was “a very lucky thing” for us--it was the beginning of the daily 3:00 to 5:00 happy hour. Normally I eschew adult beverages that early in the day, but one shouldn’t ignore such a clearly stated four-leaf clover event. Besides, what would go better with fish tacos than a margarita? Make that ‘dos margaritas’---and none for the Senorita por favor. The two gargantuan tacos, filled with cod, guacamole, shredded cabbage, cilantro and sour cream, were ‘deliciouso,’ as they say south of the border. No dinner for these two little pigs tonight.

The pitter-pat of rain on the roof plays in the background, hopefully signaling the end, or at least a long pause in the wet weather. We’re heading south tomorrow.