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| Morro Bay is one member of a community of small Californnia towns huddled along the Pacific Coast. This collection is called the “Central Coast.” The Central Coast is half way between San Francisco and L.A.; about 200 miles each way. Most of the land between these two large metropolitan areas is very pastoral. Some of the land is devoted to some of the richest farmland in the world, the salad bowl of the nation (the Salinas Valley). The Pacific Ocean is very cold all year around and this cold water makes the coast very foggy. Many of the small towns feature miles of white sand, barefoot beaches but the water is chilly for all but the most hardy. The fog only penetrates a couple of miles inland at most. The beauty of the coastal towns is that you can live at a summer temperature in the high 60’s – low 70’s, with no rain, but can drive only a couple of miles or sometimes as litte as a couple of city blocks to visit temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s. The other side of comfort is the winters. Basically the ocean temperature is unaffected by the season. So, the water is the same temperature during the winter as summer. When the winter temperatures plunge, the on-shore breeze is now comparatively warm and 50’s and 60’s are the rule during the winter. We rented a flat in Morro Bay. The flat has a view of the bay, the ocean and Morro Rock. Morro Rock is an ancient volcano that juts out into the ocean and forms the bay -- very interesting and colorful. |
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| Until the Industrial Revolution, Bristol was the third largest city in England. Even today it is the largest center of culture, employment and education in the Southwest region. The city received its royal charter in 1155, but was a port of some repute even during the occupation by the Romans. Bristol was a major trading center during the discovery of the Americas and featured heavily in the tobacco, slave trades and both exported and imported goods from Africa and the New World.
Bristol is protected from the heavy weather of the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel by a ridge of hills and is accessed by the River Avon. The tides in this region run thirty feet, leaving Bristol with a harbor that drained dry twice a day. The people of Bristol have alleviated this problem by building a dam and a set of locks allowing the river to ebb while the harbor still floats its ships. We rented a flat near these locks. This gave us a constantly fasinating enviornment to our home base while Bristol provided reasonable access to explore the rest of England. |
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| Camano Island is to be found on Puget Sound about 60 miles north of the city of Seattle. Puget Sound is located on the west side of State of Washington. Puget Sound is a major estuary with thousands of miles of coastline between two magnificent mountain ranges: the Cascades and the Olympic Mountains, both with many of the peaks are snow capped year round. The waters are deep, clean, and the shores are mostly forest lined. In general, the weather is a little damp and overcast, but the summers can be spectacular. The reward for enduring the weather is a world of greens, blues and grays. The Chamber of Commerce description of the area is “Emerald." In defense of the damp - it seldom rains very hard and the locals ignore the weather.
The house we found was paradise. It fronted onto a sand and gravel beach and faced east into the morning sun. The views from our deck were constantly spectacular. The wildlife was a constant source or entertainment and the locals were warm and friendly. We were able to haarvest Dungeness crab, clams and mussels on our beach. |
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| Breakers, Swells, and Waves Green, Poppies, Lupine & Mustard Cable Crossing Christmas Holidays Microclimates - Central Coast Weather Turkeys Turkeys with Horns Cars (collecting data) Point Bachon |
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