California Trip, September 2014

Sunday, September 28 &
Monday, September 29

Sunday we took a break and didn't do much. Pat did go wine tasting up in Paso Robles, but I did some laundry and hung out in the wonderful Adirondak chairs out back of our hotel watching water birds. It was a day of rest for me.

Can't beat this for relaxing

Monday we ate a big breakfast and then headed south for the Oceano Dunes area. At the south end of the bay the coastal current dumps lots of sand, and then the winds carry it inland quite a ways. The result is miles and miles of huge, Saharan sand dunes, very spectacular. We rented ATVs and for two hours we rode the dunes. What a blast! Most fun I've had in a long time.

Getting ready to ride the dunes

Sparkling sand dunes edging the ocean

The sand dunes went on forever and were gorgeous. It was windy, but warmer once we got a little inland from the ocean. Watching the sand slide up the dunes on the wind was beautiful. The wind covered up most of the ATV tracks on the windward side of the dunes as quickly as they were made, so it pretty much looked like untouched sand. We had to watch out -- the leeward sides of the dunes sometimes dropped off like cliffs, and they went down a LONG WAY, sometimes so deep it would have been impossible to ride out. We had to check out every summit before we went sailing over the top. But I admit there were a few places where our ATVs were airborne!

Pat riding up the concave backside of a sand dune. This photo
and the one below give a little perspective on the size.

This was loads of fun! We were definitely not acting our ages. I must have grinned the entire two hours we were out there. After our adventure we went shopping and hit a huge sale at the outlet mall. Then we went to dinner again at the Cracked Crab, and it was fantastic. Altogether an incredibly fun day.

Me riding along the ridge of a sand dune

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