Morro Bay to Lompoc and then to Santa Barbara

I have heard of San Luis Obispo.  This city has a population of over 47.000.  The Spanish founded the mission in 1772. Many of their settlements were missions. The area today is a popular tourist stop.

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.

Avilia Beach still has a commercial fishing pier. Inland are apple orchards.

The impact of the Chumash people in this area with the name of the city Pismo Beach.  Pismo is the Chumash word for tar.  They used the tar found in this area to caulk their canoes. There are several wineries near.  During the 1950s they adopted the title "Clam Capital  of the World", but this is no longer used.

I have loved powerful photos created by master photographers of the 20th Century. In learning about Nipomo I found this photo as a connection to a familiar photo.

Santa Maria is a city of over 105,000 people.

There are wineries outside of town and a great place to ride without panniers.

The next town is Orcutt.  It is named after William Orcutt, who was with Union Oil of California as a petroleum geologist and engineer in the late 1890s.. There was a big oil field near Santa Maria.  He also found fossils in the La Brea Tar Pits that brought attention to the importance of the site.

Flower fields outside Lompoc. Again the word is from the Chumash which means lagoon.

There are some wonderful quiet side roads.

Buellton is in the Ynez Valley.  In 1924 the Andersens opened a restaurant and it is still going strong.  This route was a key road connecting LA and SF for many years.  The food must be good to be open this long.

The town of Solvang .

This area has been settled for thousands of years.  Over 100 years ago 9000 acres was purchased by a group of Danish  immigrants  settled here.  Today the area attracts over one million visitors each year. Solvang means "sunny field" in Danish.

Lake Cachuma Recreation Area

This section of the trip ended in Santa Barbara.

People love the climate of this area.  The winters are mild.  The town is between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains.  The city architecture is a Spanish style.