We are at the Morro Strand State Beach, near Morro Bay (map). We came here principally to visit with an internet acquaintance who happens to be the camp host here. He is a regular poster and moderator on one of the full-timing boards that Louise frequents.

It also occurs to us that this is really the first time that Odyssey is parked at the beach on the Pacific coast since the rebuild. Sitting here watching the sun go down over the Pacific, with the waves breaking on the beach, we were reminded that just a few short months ago (December, to be exact) we were doing the same thing on the Atlantic coast. And even later than that, we were on the beach at the gulf coast.

We had a great time at the HSTA rally in San Luis. The weather was perfect for riding, and we had a nice ride with the group out to Parkfield for lunch. Parkfield bills itself as the earthquake capital of the US. There is nothing there except a small cafe, a 4-room (really) hotel, and more USGS seismic sensors than in any other single place in the country. It's a popular motorcycle destination, because the roads in the surrounding area are twisty, uncrowded, and beautiful.

About 33 riders registered for the rally, and I'm pretty sure most of them came for a tour of Odyssey. At one point, we had set up all our folding chairs and our little folding end table outside the bus, just so people could sit and socialize, and our good friend Rich Mample mistook the table for a stool and sat on it. Now this is one of those little plastic fold-up end tables from Camping World, which is rated to hold perhaps ten pounds. I have no clue what Rich weighs, but it is an order of magnitude larger than that. So the table did not just break -- it disintegrated spectacularly. Fortunately, Rich was unhurt, albeit a bit embarassed. The entire group promised never to let him forget the episode, and we are doing our part by publishing it here in the blog.

On the return route from Parkfield, we traveled through the central coast wine region, and rode right past the front gate of Meeker vinyards, owned by old friends Marty and Carol Meeker. I didn't think the Meekers would appreciate us dragging 20 or so of our biker friends (in full riding gear) into the place unannounced, so we did not stop by. But it reminded me that I need to write them soon.

A nice dinner of Santa Maria barbecue (tri-tip and chicken) was the official group dinner, and we spent several hours catching up with old friends. All in all, a great weekend.

Tomorrow, we will retrace today's route back through San Luis, and head south along the coast to Santa Barbara.