San Luis Bay, Avila Beach

I'm doing something different tonight. I'm actually blogging while June is making dinner. She's making something pretty carb and fat intensive to help me get through the next couple of long days. If anyone told me I'd be paddling 50 mile days on the Pacific Coast I'd’ve told 'em to go pound salt, that I wouldn't even think of it without a chase boat. Funny how once you get used to a body of water and you get into the mentality of California Coast paddling I becomes not such a big deal. Well, I say that now. I'll let you know what I really think in Santa Barbara after three days of big milage paddling.Today I played the odds and managed to have it all work out. This morning June checked the weather and it was gonna be blowing 15-25 with 35 mile gusts. When I rounded the one jut of land I was gunning for after leaving San Simeon, I saw the other point off in the distance that needed to be rounded. Conditions were good at the moment, and the seas were rather flat. But would it stay quite for the 17 miles or so I had to paddle that hard outside line and be out 5 miles or more? I decided to take the gamble and was very glad I did. The wind stayed about 15 miles/hr and the swells were fine with the big ones coming from the same direction. Staying away from the kelp beds I rounded the bend and saw the nuclear power plant people told me I'd see. I was hot, so I had pulled down my wetsuit top and wrapped the sleeves around my waist. At this point I was getting a little hungry, but opted to wait to dig into my sandwich after I'd pass the nuclear plant. As soon as I got past the power plant, the wind cranked. It was just gusts, though, it was full on 35-40 mile/hr winds. So much for even being able to stop and pull up me wetsuit or eat! I opted to fly with the wind and swells. Except for stupidly deciding to take the inside route between the land and a big rock, I made pretty good time. I had almost cleared the big rock when I saw the thick beds of kelp just beyond it between it and the land. To avoid it I had to turn around the canoe and paddle into the wind, not blow on other nearby kelp beds, and avoid being blown into the rock. There really was no option. So into the wind and swells I went. It seriously made me appreciate having the wind at back!Of course I'm now finishing this blog this morning, after having stuffed myself on Junes awesome pesto and pasta and Janet Anderson's wonderful salad and goodies she gave me. Janet works at the San Simeon State Park and totally embraces her job. The State Park folks I've been lucky enough to meet have been fantastic. Californian are lucky people to have such truly beautiful parks and amazing dedicated folks running them!Last night I took the raincoat off of my down jacket, figuring we'd be out of fog now and I wouldn't need it. Getting up to use the bathroom I can see that was a little premature!June and I spent the night in the RV trailer of Kevin Kreowski, a really nice retired Border Patrol officer who runs a little bar inside a gift shop at San Luis Harbor. He offered us a place to stay as well as provided us with wonderful beverages and conversation.  June and I have been extremely lucky to meet nothing but wonderful people as we make our way down this amazing coast. What a journey!