California Central Coast (Part 1) Los Angeles to Cambria

It wasn’t until recent years, when I moved down to Los Angeles, that I discovered the California Central Coast, which stretches pretty much between San Francisco and LA. You miss most of it if you take the fastest route between the two cities, but if you have some time (and a car) it is some of the most spectacular scenery and amazing marine-mammal viewing spots I’ve encountered. I’ve now made multiple trips, some just for a weekend to nearby spots, and a whole week camping in Big Sur, but it has been a while and I am pining to go back. Starting from South to North, here are some of my favorite spots (mostly food and animals!).

Santa Barbara- barely out of LA (or hours away, depending on traffic), Santa Barbara has pretty much everything- beautiful beaches, shopping and nightlife, vineyards, and great food. My favorite place to eat is LosAgaves, an interesting and super delicious Mexican restaurant on Milpas Street. Next door is La Super-Rica Taqueria, another unique Mexican place that does small plates. Be warned though, the line here can be hours long (no, really) and it is cash only.

We were so hungry after waiting in line at La Super-Rica we ordered pretty much everything.

Lake Cachuma- This recreation area has camping and yurts you can stay in. The water is lovely but is a drinking reservoir so you can’t swim in it. You can fish or rent kayaks which is fun. Just be careful of the wind! It gets pretty strong and you might get a more strenuous workout than you anticipated.

Lake Cachuma

Solvang- A little Danish town that is just a short hop from Lake Cachuma or Santa Barbara. It is an interesting, touristy place that has tons of places to eat and wineries nearby. Highlights are the windmills, Danish bakery, and Succulent Café.

Windmill in Solvang

Pismo Beach- As you drive along Highway 1 back towards the coast, you reach Pismo Beach. If you happen to visit between November-February you can stop at the Monarch Butterfly Grove, where the butterflies roost in eucalyptus trees. Visiting and parking are free, and there are often naturalists there to answer questions and show you the butterflies through binoculars or scopes. The beach here is also lovely, and there is a campground and a ton of hotel options. We went to a fancy-ish restaurant on the water, Ventana Grill, which does happy hour during the week where you don’t have to spend a lot to get the amazing views.

Pismo Beach

San Louis Obispo- just north of Pismo is the city of SLO- home to CalPoly and the best clam chowder in a bread bowl at Splash Café. It is also a good place to stock up and the major grocery stores if you are planning to do some camping along the coast.

Narwhal with clam chowder at Splash Cafe 

Montaña de Oro- a State Park on the cliffs above a beautiful beach. We’ve been camping here a few times and it is gorgeous and relaxing. It has a well kept campground and a few Environmental sites you hike into that have more privacy.

Montana de Oro

Morro Bay- one of the best places to see sea otters! They hang out in the bay between Morro Rock and the power plant. There is free parking and a boardwalk along the bay- also a great place for bird watching. At dusk you can see the otters start to raft together and twist themselves into kelp for the night and hold hands. Adorable.

Sunset at Morro Beach

Sea otters in Morro Bay

Just down the highway is Taco Temple, an AWESOME local spot for their seafood specialties. Crab cake tacos are probably the best. You can order to-go and sit at the picnic tables outside- a quicker option when there is a long wait for a table.

Cambria- an adorable sleepy little town right on the coast. Elephant Seal Beach at Piedras Blancas is just north of here and is amazing. You can see these beasts year-round. November-February is when the big males stake out territory and fight for breeding access to the females. Most pups are born the last two weeks of January, and stay with their mom for about a month. The adults leave February/March and the “weaners” stick around on the

Elephant seals at Piedras Blancas

A weaner elephant seal

beach for another 8-10 weeks. From mid-March through September there will be animals that come back to the beach to molt, or shed their fur and grow a new coat. There are viewing platforms on the bluffs and it is always entertaining to see the giant elephant seals!

Cambria also has Moonstone Beach and a lot of boardwalks along the bluffs over the ocean. You can almost always spot harbor seals, and often times sea otters and whales as they migrate along the coast. The town is famous for their Ollaliberry pie, and Hearst Castle is nearby. You can see zebras roaming the hills north of town, a herd that was brought in by Mr. Hearst for his grounds.

Stairway Walks of Los Angeles

My parents recently visited and we had a great couple of days packed with hikes, museums, and of course, lots of great meals. My Mom discovered there is a book on stairway walks in LA, and because I am my parents' daughter, I had previously checked it out from the library with the intent of trying a couple of them out. Dave and I went to Echo Park but got more distracted by the park than the walk. I picked it up again and my parents and went to Griffith Park because I had been thinking about doing a hike in the area anyways.

The public staircases were built in Los Angeles before everyone had a car. The city was well served by trolleys and streetcars, and much of the city is hilly. So the stairs were built in a number of older, hilly neighborhoods, which also happen to be some of the most lovely neighborhoods in the city (which makes sense. Homes on hills have great views!). Though most of that reliable public transportation seems to be gone, the neighborhoods are excellent for urban hiking, and the author has strung together a lot of walks where he not only tells you where to go, but gives you a history of the neighborhood and some of the interesting events or people that have populated it.

A "cottage" with Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House in the back

This particular walk, in the Los Feliz neighborhood, included a mural along a stairway, a replica of a witch's cottage, an immense Frank Lloyd Wright house, the Griffith Observatory, and some time on hiking trails in Griffith Park!

The Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory

As we were setting out we noticed a couple getting out of their car with a very cute dog. We saw them again, about 45 min later, with the same book in hand and on the same route! I can't imagine there are many people doing these walks any day, let alone the same one at the same time. It was quite a coincidence.

Secret Stairs by Charles Fleming

Party at the Natural History Museum

Whoever came up with the idea of having late hours and serving drinks at a museum should be given an award. Maybe the uber hip furniture and the multiple DJs are a bit much, but whatever. Back to back bands and scientific speakers is an awesome concept. What's better than having a beer or looking at dinosaur fossils? Having a beer WHILE looking at dinosaur fossils. Boom. It's an experience, for sure, and can be a bit overwhelming. But making science a little bit sexy? I like it.

Joshua Tree

For Birthday Weekend (Dave and I have birthdays just 2 days apart!) we went on a quick weekend camping trip to Joshua Tree. It was my first time there, and I'd heard so many things I wasn't sure it would live up to expectations. It was amazing.

Joshua trees are really bizarre looking palm/cactus/hat trees. Actually, they are a yucca (not to be mistaken with the edible yuca, or cassava). They only grow about 1.5 inches per year, and can live hundreds, up to a thousand years! We were lucky to see some of them in bloom, which can happen between February-April. They are pollinated by a particular yucca moth. Even crazier, researchers think that during the Pleistocene giant sloths were responsible for dispersing their seeds and played an important role in Joshua Tree dispersal and colonizations! Knowing a little bit about the ecology of an area (or the ancient ecology!) can bring a whole new dimension to the way you see things. Giant ground sloths facilitating dispersal of super weird yucca trees? Awesome.

The flowers themselves have fallen off, but you can see where they bloom on this young Joshua Tree

Anyways, apparently spring (and Labor Day weekend in particular) is the most popular time of year to visit and camp at Joshua Tree National Park. We hadn't made any reservations and there were no campsites available, but luckily you can do backcountry camping throughout the park- and it's free! We got a couple of recommendations from the information center and set out. There is designated parking and you fill out a permit at the lot to let the rangers know you are out there and which car is yours. Then you hike at least a mile from the car and then 500 feet from the trail and you can camp, totally undisturbed, pretty much anywhere.

The view from our campsite

We found a spot up above a river bed and watched a spectacular sunset and the stars all come out. The temperature was perfect during the evening, though we both woke up chilly in the middle of the night. As soon as the sun came out though we warmed right up.

Hiking back from backcountry camping

We had a little time to visit the Cholla (sounds like choya) Garden the next morning. These are cacti that are like velcro- they grow in segments and can practically leap onto you if you get too close. I've been in areas with lots of cholla, but never like this! The cacti were also flowering. We visited a few more spots and went on a short hike, but I'm looking forward to going back and exploring more. It is such a unique place, and only about 2 hours outside of LA!

Twenty Thirteen

2014?! How did that happen?? I blinked and 2013 was gone. I posted some, but not all, of what was going on. Here's a quick recap, because in a second it's going to be 2015 and I'm not going to remember anything!

Alligator in the Everglades

I visited 2 new states- Colorado in July for the Animal Behavior Society conference on Boulder, and hung out with friends in Denver. Got to take a quick day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, hiked the Flat Irons, and can't wait to go back! I also ended up (unintentionally) in Florida with Tiffany in November. We made the most of our few days in Miami and biked in the Everglades!

Aspens in Rocky Mountain National Park

Also with Tiffany I made my first trip to Belize. We spent time snorkeling in Caye Caulker, hiking in the jungle of the Cockscomb Basin and Jaguar Preserve, and checked out Mayan ruins of Cahal Pech in San Ignacio. It was a fantastic trip, and there is so much more I want to see and do in Belize!

Top of Tiger Fern trail in Cockscomb Basin, Belize

I just got back from Tiffany and Brian's New Year's Eve wedding in Seattle. It was a wonderful week in Washington, seeing lots of friends from Clark and helping her get ready for her big day! Dave and I also managed to do quite a bit of exploring, and my parents were there too. I also spent a long weekend in Seattle in April, helping Tiffany pick a wedding dress and spending quality time with Caitlin G in Seattle and Tacoma.

Brian and Tiffany get married!

In February I TA'd a field biology course in the jungles of Nicaragua (feels like forever ago), so I guess I spent a fair amount of time in Central America this past year!

Remote censored camera photo of a puma, Nicaragua

August was a whirlwind family and friend trip to the East Coast. In Southern Maryland we got together for my cousin's change of command ceremony with his Navy squadron. I also stayed with Dave's friends at their home outside of Baltimore, visited more friends and family in New York City and met another cousin's triplets. We hung out with Dave's family in Providence and around Rhode Island, and made a whirlwind trip through Massachusetts, including stops in Worcester, Paxton, Clinton, and Boston! It was wonderful to be back and catch up with lots of family and college friends. Hopefully I'll have an excuse to go back again soon.

Naval Change of Command ceremony

It hasn't been too shabby here in California, either. In March Dave and I spent a week driving from LA to San Francisco. We stayed in Pismo, Montaña de Oro, Cambria, camped for 3 nights in Big Sur, Monterey, and Redwood City. It was my first time in Big Sur, and it was totally magical! The weather was perfect, the poppies and wildflowers were blooming, we saw California condors(!!!), a California newt, grey whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters, elephant seals… pretty much everything amazing. I want to go back asap.

California Condors in Big Sur

We also did another EEB camping trip to Cambria in May. The UC Reserve where we stay is one of my favorite spots, on bluffs overlooking the ocean with lots more wildlife viewing and tide pooling. Plus trips into the town for ice cream or ollaliberry pie!

EEBers in Cambria

Back in January my sister was home for a bit so I flew up to San Francisco for Second Thanksgiving (a great Chock family tradition). Our family went to Año Neuvo to see the elephant seals, and there you go with a guide and can actually walk around them on the beach! We also stopped at a goat cheese farm in Pescadero to make a truly amazing day.

Elephant seal in Año Nuevo

In May Dave and I took a ferry to Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands, where we camped for a night and did sea kayaking. The Channel Islands have one of the highest concentrations of sea caves anywhere in the world, and it was fun and a little scary to kayak through them. On the ferry out we saw a Steller's sea lion, a huge guy resting on a buoy, and on the way back we went through a big pod of dolphins. There were also a ton of small island foxes near the campsites.

Channel Island fox

Over Thanksgiving weekend we went whale watching in Monterey Bay with my family and aunts, as it was an unusual year and there were a ton more anchovies in the bay than normal, meaning the humpback whales were hanging around instead of migrating south. It was one of the most spectacular days- in our 3 hour trip on the water, we saw about a dozen whales, and they were breaching- jumping out of the water- almost constantly. It was unbelievable being so close to them and watching these huge masses power out of the water and then crash back down. Really spectacular.

Humpback whales breaching

In trips further south, I spent a day watching paragliders at Torrey Pines and then Dave, his friend Elana, and I went snorkeling with the leopard sharks in La Jolla. Pregnant females hang out there for a few months during the late summer/early fall when the water is warm. The water is also quite clear, and not very deep, so you feel like you could almost touch them if you reached your arm out. It was a bit unnerving, but a very cool experience.

Dave and I also made a trip to the Santa Ana Zoo in June to see the baby giant anteater, who was still at the age he could ride around on his mom's back. He was so big though he looked totally ridiculous. It was awesome.

Baby anteater riding on his mom's back

In October we also used a gift voucher I won when I went to see a filming of the Ellen Degeneres show for a two night stay at a very posh hotel in Laguna Beach. We spent a day hiking in Crystal Cove state park, then lounged by the pool and on a beautiful beach by the hotel. That was my first time in Laguna Beach, and it was quite lovely.

Montage Laguna Beach

Morgan, Tina, Caitlin N, and Annie came out at different times. I did some local birding and hiking with JP. I went to The Craft at Cinespia, spent a week trapping kangaroo rats and another observing pocket mice in captivity. I also passed my qualifying exams and ran my first independent field season from May through August. Looking back, it's no wonder I feel like this year flew by! I'm not sure how I even managed to fit that all into one calendar year, but if that is possible I can't wait to see what 2014 brings!

A Stephen's kangaroo rat!