Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Vacation, The Saga Continues

As you'll recall, my vacation tale left off with us checking out of our wonderful suite at the Shore Cliff Lodge last Wednesday. Our next destination was the Seaside Motel in Cayucos, just about a half hour drive north along the coast, but we took a somewhat circuitous route to get there. First stop? Joe Momma's coffee shop in Avila Beach, where we sat and enjoyed a breakfast pastry and a coffee drink while looking at the ocean and watching the people passing by.


Soccer Son had recommended we stay at a hotel in Avila Beach, but they didn't have handicapped access for Hubby; still, we wanted to see what we were missing. Next time, we might try a different hotel in Avila Beach--it's a darling town. And for the RV'ers out there? They have quite a few RV sites right along the ocean past that wharf to the right--sometimes I wish we had an RV!

After a lazy breakfast, we traveled to San Luis Obispo, home of CalPoly where Soccer Son went to college for awhile. We hadn't been to SLO for a few years and wanted to just drive through town to get our bearings because we planned to return later in the week. Then, just a hop, skip, and a jump away from SLO back to the coast is Morro Bay and its famous rock--I thought we'd stop so I could get a photo for you.


I had another motive for stopping in Morro Bay though--The Cotton Ball. One of the local cable channels had some kind of infomercials by local businesses and in flipping through the TV channels, we caught a commercial for the Cotton Ball. Cute shop! They had some lovely handmilled soaps that came home with me as well as a bit of peppermint fabric to add to my Christmas stash. The son of the owners started working in the shop while going to college, and that job turned into a full-time teaching/quilting/designing profession for him--I think Hubby enjoyed the opportunity to talk to another GUY while I shopped a bit.


After Morro Bay, we zig-zagged away from the coast again to Atascadero to visit the Quilter's Cupboard. My friend Imelda had stopped at this shop last year and was very impressed with the shop and the customer service she received, so I made a point of stopping too. The owner was there and we chatted a bit about quilting stuff, and I learned she had roots in the Sacramento area--she had moved to Atascadero to start her shop, but she still comes back to Sacramento every so often. Quilting's a small world, isn't it?!


Finally, FINALLY, we arrived in Cayucos where the Tea for Two room awaited us.


I'll tell you more about Cayucos and the Seaside Motel next time. In the meantime, I thought I'd give you a peek at the project I'm working on--a snowman who will grow up to become a Christmas stocking someday.


I'm glad you could stop in for a visit! Don't forget to come back soon.

7 comments:

QuiltSue said...

Beautiful scenery, and the snowman is so cute, I love him.

Dawn's Daily Journal said...

Really cute snowman! Can't wait to read about the rest of the Saga. :)
dawn

Anonymous said...

I LOVE "Jo Mamas"...check out MY blog for several posts about it! We go there quite a bit!

And "Quilter's Cupboard" is MY FAVORITE quilt shop in the area...one of the few local quilt shops for reproduction fabric. Great people there!!

Thanks for the journey ... I am really enjoying seeing "my own backyard" through your eyes!

Hugs,

Elaine in SLO, Ca

Lisa at Sun Naturals said...

The Cotton Ball, what a cute name for a shop! I'll have to work on training my hubby better. I swear he purposely steps on the gas and says "Hey Look Over There" when we are going by a quilt shop. But that's ok. My sister, Mom and I are off to Keepsake Quilting in NH this weekend. LOVE that place!

Jan said...

Adorable Snowman! He'll look really cute as a stocking :) Loved seeing "Wild Child" below too! You have a beautiful Daughter!

AnnieO said...

The Cotton Ball must have moved--it used to be smack dab in the middle of a block of shops on a main drag in town. Looks like it expanded too. Great shop! My grandparents lived in Cayucos for many years on Studio Drive and are at rest in the little cemetary you can see from the highway. Five Cities is a lot of fun to visit. Thanks for sharing.

MichelleB said...

Sounds like a great trip! One that I'd like to take. Hmmm, maybe I will! Love your snowman - he is darling!