Greetings from Pismo Beach

I am very sleepy after another absolutely glorious oceanside vacation day, starting with a walk on the beach before breakfast watching dolphins jump in the waves. After we ate, we stopped at the beautiful art glass store in town and got some lunch things before heading out to Dinosaur Caves Park and Margo Dodd Park, both of which have sea caves and lots of pelicans and seagulls plus harbor seals and tide pools; since the tide was at its lowest point, we could walk through the caves and look at tiny crabs in the pools. Then we drove to the Central Coast Aquarium in Avila Beach, where we got to pet sharks and sea cucumbers and see all the regional animals get fed.

We had a picnic outside by the water, then we headed to Harford Pier in the Port San Luis Harbor, which has restaurants and a fish market as well as many people fishing, a multi-level dock with sea lions and sea otters hanging out on the lower level, and charter sailing and rafting tours. We didn't think we were going to have time for a whale watching cruise, which tend to be several hours, so we booked a shorter, less expensive trip to the caves and lighthouses, but we got extremely lucky in that there were humpback whales right where San Luis Obispo Bay meets the Pacific! Eventually we made our way back, walked in the water at Pismo Beach, and had pizza at Pizmo Cafe. Perfect!