Just another average sunset in paradise!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Side trip (continued)

Our primary destination for the side trip was Pismo Beach on the beautiful central coast.  The beach is gorgeous and the town is one of the few remaining "beach towns" that hasn't been redeveloped into modern hotels and businesses.  The one attraction  that really brought us here was the Splash Cafe and their wonderful clam chowder.


Splash Cafe the day we were there

Splash Cafe on a typical summer day

Splash Cafe won the "Best Clam Chowder Award" for like 10 years in a row and probably would have many more awards but they took themselves out of the contest about 5 years ago to give other restaurants a chance.


Luckily, you can enjoy their clam chowder without going to Pismo Beach.  We buy it at our local Costco in Bakersfield but if you can find it I think you will definitely enjoy it!

After lunch we took a walk out on the pier enjoying the 70 degree weather in January.  The view was great and I would have to rank this side trip as one of the best ever.

View south from pier



Friday, January 25, 2013

Side trip

The weather here has been so-so at best!  Luckily with the help of the weather forecasters and my brother Rick's local knowledge we were able to select a picture perfect day for a trip to the coast.  We left Bakersfield early one day and headed for Pismo Beach.

Our first stop was at the Eberle Vineyards where we tasted one wine each and my brother bought a couple of bottles of Sangiovese which is a superlative red wine.  The weather was beautiful and the winery sits atop a hill and the view was great.  I forgot the camera in the car.

Our next stop was a trip down memory lane for me.  In 1980 my company signed a lease with the County of San Luis Obispo to manage Chalk Mountain Golf Course in Atascadero.  We finished off the club house and restaurant and assumed full management and upkeep of this beautiful course.

  
Club house


As part of our contract, we had to choose and develop a logo for the course.  After playing several rounds my partner and I agreed that since there were so many woodpeckers on the course that we would make a woodpecker the mascot/logo.  My wife at that time was an accomplished artist and she drew the logo freehand (remember this was 1980 and no Photoshop or Internet).


I was pleased to see that the course is still using her design.

While we were there a deer wandered down from the hill but with my camera it was impossible to get a good photo.  The following photo is from the course's website but is of the same area where we saw the deer!


Part two tomorrow:  Pismo Beach in the middle of winter!