Webb Family Blog

We arrived to Costanoa last night around 6 PM. The check-in process was OK and we quickly found our cabin. First thing to note about Costanoa is that there are several different types of accommodation. They have the lodge, which appears to be like a hotel. They also have small individual cabins, which I have only seen from the outside. There is then the tent-cabins that we chose to get. Staying in a tent-cabin is much like camping with a few added benefits. The structures start with a wooden floor platform. There is a door, but is quite lightweight. There are windows on all four walls and a tall ceiling. Taking the majority of the floor is a bed. It is said to be a queen-size, but I believe it is actually a full-size bed. There is one power outlet in the room with lights and bed heater plugged into each outlet port. I have been intending to put a power strip in my computer case, but unfortunately I have not done that yet, so we went without lights last night (charging phones via USB connector to laptop.) They have a couple Adirondack chairs outside, but they are a bit too narrow for my wide backside for comfort. It is about a minute or two hike to the nearest comfort station or public restroom facility. Each comfort station has a men’s and women’s restroom and shower. They also have outdoor showering facilities, a fireplace and a dry sauna. When you wake from sleep to the call of nature, you’re reminded that you are CAMPING; thankfully I’m a guy and not all my trips were as far.

We got out of bed around 9:30 this morning and Kellie and I took showers. After showering, we drove up to Gazos Grill  Restaurant for breakfast. We ate a delicious omelet and continued on with the day. We continued north to the Pescadero Creek and drove through the Town of Pescadero to the Town of San Gregorio. This was a scenic trip along Stage Road. We stopped at an eclectic market in San Gregorio before heading back south on Highway 1. We pulled off at Pigeon Point Lighthouse. After seeing this lighthouse, it became quickly obvious that it was a shame the condition the lighthouse was in. I know that lighthouses don’t serve quite as high of a function as they once did, but it used to be quite beautiful, but now needs quite a bit of repair. With the state of finances in California, I’m afraid it will be permanently destroyed before restoration is done. We wandered around the lighthouse for a bit before heading further south.

Our next stop, after a pit stop at our camping spot, was Año Nuevo State Park. Año Nuevo is a popular place for many marine animals, particular northern elephant seals. Earlier this year, Kellie and I stopped at another popular elephant seal hang-out in Piedras Blancas Northern Elephant Seal rookery. There is a $10 parking fee at Año Nuevo. After paying our fee, we showed up to the visitor’s center where we obtained our “hiking permit.” I put that in quotations because I found it kind of funny to have to have a hiking permit that was essentially a photocopied brochure that said hiking permit on it. This permit had a map of our walkway. At one point along this walk, we came upon a sign that said it was a closed area and hiking permit was required to go further…. I’m glad we had this photocopied piece of paper to allow us passage beyond there. We continued along the trail until we came to this huge sand mountain. This sand mountain was made of powder-soft sand that was constantly being wind-blown. I recall that during my first visit to Año Nuevo as a child that I thought this sand was so soft it would be fun to fall into it; bad idea… it hurt… I did not do that this time. I did however climb over it, as it was part of the pathway to get where the elephant seals hangout. It zaps your energy walking over a mountain of powder-soft sand.  Once past that point, we continued on between hard ground and sand until we got to the viewing area. When we got to this viewing area, some marine biologists were doing some testing on several of these large beasts. Many were playing in the water and many of the juvenile male elephant seals were practicing their fighting tactics. The walk back to the car felt even longer than the hike out to the point. We arrived back to the car around 4 PM.

Upon leaving Año Nuevo, we headed back up to the town of Pescadero and had dinner at Duarte’s Tavern. Despite the name being a tavern, at least the part I walked into was a small restaurant. This place is known for it’s cream of artichoke soup and was featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  We had chilled artichoke hearts with an aioli sauce. For desert, I had a warmed olallieberry pie ala mode. It was a very good dinner, but unfortunately it was a bit pricey. Before tip, our meal came to $68 for two vegetarian meals with soda to drink; typically this is much cheaper than meat with alcohol, so I can only imagine what someone else may pay.

I am now back in the lobby of the lodge here at Costanoa and plan to visit the hot tub before heading to bed.