The morning came and we lowered the dinghy. We head toward the Pier where the Harbor Master should be. Also where the dinghy dock should be. As we approach the pier we are looking for the dinghy dock. There is a landing platform but no tie up. Many larger mooring balls. Also, many friendly sea lions lounging where ever they can lounge. Then we begin to notice ladders. Rebar ladders leading up to the top side of the pier, but it looks like there is a gated fence around everything. We start to panic, in the oh no kind of way, for fear this will be a repeat of Santa Cruz. Just then a nice neighborly guy in his dinghy called out to us chuckling just a bit, “you look like you have a question”. We gladly listened to his instructions and then headed back to Hiraya to get a longer line. We did not have enough to bow and stern tie.
When we returned we went through the process the nice man told us about. I grabbed the mooring ball as we came up to it, looping our line through, we tied off. Then carefully motored to the ladder where we tied long and locked the dinghy. As we unloaded the dinghy floated backward toward the other dinghy and the mooring ball. Easy enough. Climbing up the ladder to a landing platform big enough for one person, open the picket fence, and you are on the walk way of the pier. Very interesting, but also unique and fun. Glad I am not terrified of heights and that I am strong enough to climb a ladder.
The pier was beautiful. It was originally built in the late 1800’s and has been restored through out the years. It has a pedestrian path and vehicle lanes. All old timbers for the road and railings. Even the buildings are wood. We walk down the pier past a small boat yard to the Harbor Master building. We check in and got the “things to do here” speech. The lady asked if we could beach our dinghy, and we said of course. You will find out why this question seemed so silly at first, in just a minute. First let me tell you how excited I was that there was going to be laundry and a hot shower. We go check the services out. To my disappointment the brand new beautiful Landry room is out of order until Monday, the day we leave. Who knows when we will get our laundry done now. On to the showers. There are 3 separate large, heated, and clean shower rooms available. 2 dollars for 5 minutes. The fact that they are shower rooms and not located in the bathroom is magical. We can save a little money sharing a shower room. So instead of us each trying to get a shower in in 5 minutes and also adding another 2 dollars because inevitably the water will be so freezing the first 2 minutes that you struggle getting completely wet and lathered to not get rinsed completely before the time runs out. We can agree on a 10 minute shower to start and do our shower waltz. The excitement of the magical shower experience squashed out any disappointment of the laundry situation. We will make do.
So I mentioned the Harbor Master office asking us if we were able to beach our dinghy. We chuckled a lot about that. The reason she wanted to know was so that she could send us over to the light house. You can beach your dinghy right below the stairs that lead up to the light house. The beach is quiet and it’s a beautiful view as well. They only do tours every other day and today there are no tours. We made our way over to the beach tucked behind the break wall. We beached and pulled the dinghy (who still needs a name) up out of the high water line and throw the anchor in the sand. We spend the next hour climbing up to the light house and walking around the grounds. It is so quiet and peaceful. We take pictures and enjoy the moment. After we make it back to the beach we start watching the waves and finding our window. You don’t want to go taking your inflatable carelessly into the ocean. If you get a breaking wave you can flood it. If you get side ways you can flip it. If you’re just not paying attention you can find your self in trouble and most can be avoided with just a little planning. So we planned, found our window, and began the reentrance into the water.
I know that we have to keep the dinghy’s bow straight into the waves. We have 3 bigger waves and then a period of smaller more manageable waves. As the big waves hit we begin pulling the dinghy down closer to the waters edge. As the calmer period begins we use the waves to help pull us out. Sam begins yelling to get in but I can tell my side isn’t floating yet. So I try to pull a little bit just as he jumps in. Goes to start and realize what I already had, that its to shallow. It gets stuck, he gets out and gives a tug then gets back in. It starts to float so I begin to get in. He leans over to start the engine and the combination of his weight and the wave pushing us back ever so slightly stalls the engine. I go to get back out as another wave pushes us towards the beach. I am now half in half out riding the side of the dinghy like I’m some kind of cowboy preparing to ride a bull. I plant my right foot into the sand, left foot plants on the floor of the dinghy and I know my left foot is tangled in something, but never mind. My mission is to keep the nose into the waves until Sam has the engine started. It starts just as the wave moves back into the ocean taking the sand out from under my right foot. My right foot sinks, I try to pull my self in but what ever is tangled around my left foot wont allow be to move so I am now getting pulled under the dinghy, right leg pinned. One more wave pushes us back every so lightly, freeing my right leg, but on it’s return to the ocean the wave rides up my right leg between my belly and the side of the dinghy, slightly smacking my chin on the way up into the air, the water makes a lovely curl and splashes the top of my head. Sam turns just in time to see the wave smack me on the chin and drench my head, riding the side of the dinghy like a cowboy riding a bull with his left foot wearing a life jacket as a boot. Sam hollers “what are you doing WOMAN? Get in!” I reach for his hand, but his laughing has rendered him useless. I finally get my self back in and untangled from everything and ride quietly back to Hiraya. My only words were “I kept the bow into the waves” as the water dripped from my chin.
The rest of the time spent in San Luis Obispo was spent walking to Avila, which was only about a mile and a half along the beach shouldered by the highway. There is plenty of walking space even with the RVs lined up along the road, over flow from the RV park. The dogs are allowed on the beach between the Harbor and Avila and there were a lot of dogs. Happy, running after balls, jumping the waves. The beach at Avila is dog free. The beach is pretty and the board walk lovely. Lots of colorful shops line the area. We enjoyed ice-cream in waffle cones and people watching. The two Piers that boarder Avila’s beach is also the two piers we are anchored between. One is private and used for research and a school the other is an old pier they are raising money to restore. In between these piers everyone is swimming, skim boarding, and playing in the water. On the beach they are sunbathing, reading, and playing games. We didn’t ever venture far past the boardwalk. There was too much to do and see right at the beach. The time we spent there was fun but as every story goes we need to move on.
