Indecision can open the door to a happy surprise
Morro Bay wasn't working out the way I hoped. The town is designed for small vehicles. Parking my van in the part of town I'd have liked to stay in was pretty much impossible for someone like me who doesn't feel up to walking a few blocks to get where I want to go. So I went to the motel on the other side of town with plentiful parking to get all my electronics charged up and do other indoor stuff.
I found a campground near Hearst Castle that sounded nice and I drove over to check it out. I popped in and out of the fog on the way there, but the last few miles were dense fog that didn't look at all attractive for camping. I didn't even go into the campground because I didn't want to try turning left out of the access road onto the highway in that fog. I found a place to turn around on the other side of the road and went back to the motel and stayed there another night. By the time I got back, the motel was socked in with fog and stayed that way the rest of the day. Every time I checked the weather report online it said that it was sunny in Morro Bay. Then I'd look out the window and see dense fog. Maybe there was some place in Morro Bay where the sun was shining, but not where I was. My sense of not knowing what I wanted to do increased. I started feeling discouraged. I decided to wait for the next morning to decide what to do.
My second morning in Morro Bay, I woke up to warm air and bright sunshine. I decided to check out of the motel, go take a peek at the campground near Hearst Castle, then decide what I wanted to do next.
It was a much nicer campground than the ones by the beach. After my experience at Carpinteria (which turns out to be a really cute little beach town -- from the name I always pictured a really boring place), I started using the satellite view on google maps to get a sneak preview of whether a campground is a parking lot or something more natural. So far, all the ones right by the beach are parking lots, but if I find one on the inland side of Highway 1, it's pretty and green. However, I didn't want to stay in this campground that night. I felt done with that part of the coast for the moment. Ordinarily I would drive up through Big Sur from there, but the road is still closed from last year's slide. So I decided to drive the half hour over the hills into Paso Robles.
Somehow I'd managed to forget all the times I've seen "Paso Robles" on a wine bottle. It really is serious wine country. I accidentally overshot my intended freeway exit, and wound up on "Historic 101" going back through Paso Robles. I spied the Paso Robles Inn, which looked interesting and seemed to have a big parking lot. At lunch I went online to see what it was and if I could afford it. I found a not-totally-outrageous AAA rate on a basic room, and made the reservation. When I got to the hotel, I drove all the way around and discovered that it was a really spread out motel and there were large sections of the property that would be difficult to park my van anywhere close to my room. So I asked if it was possible to get a room that I could access easily. They set aside a room for me that was still being made up and said that they would have it ready by the 4:00 check-in time. When I came back at 4:10 and it was still not ready, the woman behind the counter who did everything she could to accommodate me every step of the way asked her manager if she could upgrade me to one of these rooms: https://www.pasoroblesinn.com/accommodations/deluxe-mineral-spa-rooms
The answer was yes! I happily accepted being pampered with a luxurious room and a hot mineral soak for the price of a basic room. I waited until morning to get in the tub when it was nice and chilly outside. There were curtains that I could draw to make the patio private.
I didn't know how that day was going to unfold -- I stayed open to options -- I followed where my interest led me -- and I wound up feeling so very blessed. and pampered.
Here are a few photos from the hotel.
What caught my eye from the street:
I found a campground near Hearst Castle that sounded nice and I drove over to check it out. I popped in and out of the fog on the way there, but the last few miles were dense fog that didn't look at all attractive for camping. I didn't even go into the campground because I didn't want to try turning left out of the access road onto the highway in that fog. I found a place to turn around on the other side of the road and went back to the motel and stayed there another night. By the time I got back, the motel was socked in with fog and stayed that way the rest of the day. Every time I checked the weather report online it said that it was sunny in Morro Bay. Then I'd look out the window and see dense fog. Maybe there was some place in Morro Bay where the sun was shining, but not where I was. My sense of not knowing what I wanted to do increased. I started feeling discouraged. I decided to wait for the next morning to decide what to do.
My second morning in Morro Bay, I woke up to warm air and bright sunshine. I decided to check out of the motel, go take a peek at the campground near Hearst Castle, then decide what I wanted to do next.
It was a much nicer campground than the ones by the beach. After my experience at Carpinteria (which turns out to be a really cute little beach town -- from the name I always pictured a really boring place), I started using the satellite view on google maps to get a sneak preview of whether a campground is a parking lot or something more natural. So far, all the ones right by the beach are parking lots, but if I find one on the inland side of Highway 1, it's pretty and green. However, I didn't want to stay in this campground that night. I felt done with that part of the coast for the moment. Ordinarily I would drive up through Big Sur from there, but the road is still closed from last year's slide. So I decided to drive the half hour over the hills into Paso Robles.
Somehow I'd managed to forget all the times I've seen "Paso Robles" on a wine bottle. It really is serious wine country. I accidentally overshot my intended freeway exit, and wound up on "Historic 101" going back through Paso Robles. I spied the Paso Robles Inn, which looked interesting and seemed to have a big parking lot. At lunch I went online to see what it was and if I could afford it. I found a not-totally-outrageous AAA rate on a basic room, and made the reservation. When I got to the hotel, I drove all the way around and discovered that it was a really spread out motel and there were large sections of the property that would be difficult to park my van anywhere close to my room. So I asked if it was possible to get a room that I could access easily. They set aside a room for me that was still being made up and said that they would have it ready by the 4:00 check-in time. When I came back at 4:10 and it was still not ready, the woman behind the counter who did everything she could to accommodate me every step of the way asked her manager if she could upgrade me to one of these rooms: https://www.pasoroblesinn.com/accommodations/deluxe-mineral-spa-rooms
The answer was yes! I happily accepted being pampered with a luxurious room and a hot mineral soak for the price of a basic room. I waited until morning to get in the tub when it was nice and chilly outside. There were curtains that I could draw to make the patio private.
I didn't know how that day was going to unfold -- I stayed open to options -- I followed where my interest led me -- and I wound up feeling so very blessed. and pampered.
Here are a few photos from the hotel.
What caught my eye from the street:
Walking around the courtyard waiting for my room to be ready:
Mineral tub -- the water smelled like hard-boiled eggs:
View from the patio, but when I was in the tub I kept the curtains closed.
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