Avila Beach June 29, 2009

A GREAT paddling day!
Mary F. and I paddled out from the ramp at Port San Luis and headed up through the pier and along the shore line to the beach where the sea wall extends out into the harbor. We viewed a work crew high up in the hills constructing a set of stairs for what must be a new (or improved) trail (the view from the top must have been spectacular). We continued out along the sea wall, past a cacophonous chorus of hundreds of seals and sea lions, and out to open water. From there, we paddled about 1.75 miles toward Shell Beach, choosing a spot just south of Pirate's Cove as our destination. The sea was smooth, windless, with a small swell; the air warm but not hot, and the visibility good, with some cloud cover. We paddled around near the cliffs, and picked up a fair amount of trash in the kelp beds (Hey Mickey, you're so fine, but also a choice of litterbugs who heave your empty 32 ounce bottles overboard!). We paddled in through Pirate's Cove, truly a beautiful place, even considering the ridiculously sized homes that overlook it. We continued north along the bluffs, where there are numerous and wondrous geological features. Once past the bluff areas, we headed into a fairly stiff breeze with quartering whitecaps that made our return leg back to Port San Luis a pretty decent workout. Mary experienced a new way of arriving on the beach. Total time on the water was 4 hours, and we paddled between 6 and 7 miles as calculated later on Google Earth. We returned wet, hungry and tired. Perfect.