On a wing and a wave

San Luis Obispo, CA – The light pitter-patter of raindrops on the RV roof started our day this morning, and although that wasn’t the greatest prospect for us tourists, the arrival of rain must have brought great rejoicing to a lot of Southern Californians. There has been no significant rain here since March 2011, to the point that some almond farmers here ripped out their desiccated almond trees to be chewed up for gardening mulch.

Despite the rain, we ventured out to the California Information Center to find out about local attractions, and Pat, the tourist advisor on duty, suggested we go to see the Monarch Butterfly Grove at Pismo Beach State Park before the weather scared them all away. She gave us some other tips as well, and armed us with another bagful of literature!

It was a short drive to the grove, just a cluster of tall trees near the beach, but it was a beautiful, peaceful place with plenty of interpretive signs from which to learn about the butterflies.  It took a bit of looking, but finally we caught sight of a fluttering high above our heads, and followed a few tiny orange flashes to the branches where their fellow fliers were nestled. Even once we’d discovered where they were, it was hard to see them, because they were so high up, but also because the backs of their folded wings are a non-descript grey.  The clusters just looked like dead leaves until you realized what they were. 

Apparently hundreds of thousands of monarchs come here every year for the winter.  When the weather up north warms up, they begin their migration.  Winter monarchs live six to eight months, but the summer ones lay eggs and die after only four to six weeks.  Their babies, and more than one generation after them, have equally short lives, but when winter comes again, that generation is able to find its way to this grove and survive the long months till it’s time to do the whole thing over again.  It was enchanting to see the fluttering creatures today and wonder at this phenomenon.

The next tidbit of Pat’s which we decided to follow up on was to have lunch at the Splash Café in Pismo Beach.  It’s a tiny place with cartoon paintings of surfers on the stucco walls outside, and a long narrow counter in the front part of the restaurant where you line up to order.  Clam chowder was the specialty, served in a bowl made of sourdough bread, which Val ordered.  I went for a cup of the chowder and a half sandwich, but the soup was a real winner – thick, rich and creamy with delicious chunks of clam and potato.  Just right for a coolish, drizzly day.

The beach was just down the block and we still had time on our parking voucher, so we took a stroll to the boardwalk and then down to the sand.  Great turquoise rollers were washing in and seagulls were crying overhead.  A few brave surfers in wetsuits were heading out to try the waves on for size.  We watched for a while, but none of them provided a performance like the ones you see in the movies.  Maybe it’s not as easy as it looks!