A short Respite in Pismo

We always love coming to Pismo. On Monday morning we left Rio Vista bright and early and by early afternoon we arrived and set up, had a quick cup of tea, and were off for a lovely long walk on the beach.
We stayed three days, far too short of course, but well worth it.
Beach walks (and alternate day runs) were always welcome. 

a razor having fun along the dunes

Pismo up ahead

love the miles of wide flat expanse

On alternate days, while Michael runs, I walk briskly but also find treasures that catch my eye enough to pull out the phone for a quick photo. One morning, the beach was littered with sand dollars which were not there the day before. They came in all shapes and sizes, and colors too - snow white, beige, grey, and blood red.  

This little treasure was lying in the sand today. It reminded me of an ice-cream with chocolate sauce dribbles. It certainly is the most unusual shell I have stumbled across on the beach.

We walked to the white rocks. The tide was extremely low even though it isn't full moon yet for at least another week. 

the white cliffs of Pismo

This is the first time we spied so many pelicans roosting on top of the white cliffs. They blended in so well with the rocks that it took me by surprise when I noticed them.

The Pismo Pier is currently being refurbished. The whole pier is being rebuilt. The old wooden pilings, believed to be from the 1920s, are being replaced with steel ones. The decking is also being replaced. Michael chatted with someone working on the project, so now you have the current scoop. 

We noticed that there was an unusually large number of birds at the water's edge on today's walk.  

As we walked past the lagoon that flows past Pismo Coast Village RV, there seemed to be several colonies of various birds perched on the banks and also in the water. 

Suddenly without warning, a cacophony ensued and birds took off right over our heads. I guess we were lucky that there were no deposits from on high because we were easy targets. We have no idea what caused them to suddenly take off. Hopefully they were not objecting to my taking photos.

a flurry of pelicans, seagulls and cormorants

Tomorrow bright and early we head off again. The itinerary shows our next stop for the night as Barstow. Saturday we will drive the remaining distance to Quartzsite, Arizona to meet up with other Alpine SoCal friends who are Texas bound like us.

A quick note: Monday was our Alpine's 3rd birthday. And it's now been a whole year since we turned vagabond. So far so good! We are having fun, and hope to have more memorable Alpine adventures coming up.