Day 03: Morro Bay, CA

Another thing i'm gonna miss badly is the morning cup of starbucks gold coast,
fresh brewed by me, for me, my way way, when i want it,
without having to go out into the world and stand in line...

and that reminds me,
one good reason why i had such low energy yesterday afternoon/evening
is because i didn't have my afternoon cup of starbucks.

my whole routine was off.
i didn't do my prematch routine
because dan was there waiting for me.
i was a mess.
must resolve to always follow the routine, regardless.

while in anaheim, i want to stop by and visit Corvette Mike.



Packed out of the Extended Stay and headed over to good friend Mike Vietro's "Corvette Mike" dealership and a quick lunch at a local deli. Prices for old Corvettes are going through the roof. he recently sold a 67 convertible for $275,000. That means that in 40 years mine will be worth 6 million. I think I'll go out and buy a few more of these things and stick 'em in a garage somewhere and just sit and watch them for 40 years. Nah, probably not. Mike is a pretty cool guy. Has dealerships in Anaheim, Chicago, and Boston. Does a great business!

After a quick lunch, I was itching to get on the road and penetrate thru the LA basin during the mid-day to avoid the heavy traffic. My timing was spot-on because except for a few minor slowdowns, I slipped thru LA like poop thru a goose. Got from Anaheim Stadium to Morro Bay in under 4.5 hours.

I was amazed to be getting 26 miles per gallon on the trip.
The range left on the current gas is calculated and is available as one of the many items that can be displayed. I keep that one displayed as a default. When the range gets to less than about 25 or so, the display changes to "Low Fuel", with no specific remaining miles left to guide you. This is a serious programming error. The Jag would tell you all the way down to 1 mile left in the tank. I know this for a fact. To go to "Low Fuel" at 25 is just wrong.

On such a long drive (258 miles), it's important to keep comfortable. I slipped of my shoes, and put down a terry cloth towel between me and the hot leather seats. For music I played the sound track from "Out of Africa", the music I would always play on the drive to the airport, to go flying.
It's very soothing, perfect to calm the LA traffic challenge.

Still discovering the idiosyncracies of the Nav system. It shows signs of being programmed by a committee.
OnStar Consierge service is doing a good job.


and now,
it's night, and there's a welcome wet chill in the air,
the persistent fog horn in the distance is muffled by the light fog.
what a great sound, mixed with the surf, to put me to sleep.

morro bay is all about tourists who come to see the big rock in the water. they call it morro rock. it's big. personally i don't see what the big fuss is all about. it's a big rock, so what. can we move on? and that's exactly what i'm going to do tomorrow: move on. to Ragged Point, one of my favorite secret places in a most spectacular coastline.

stayed at the Ascot Suites, all rooms with a view of the big rock.
also very interesting toilet paper roll-end origami.

visited the Morro bay home of Annie, a french-born, diminutive fire bomber pilot stationed nearby at Paso Robles. she works six months flying heavily overloaded twin engined bombers into fires at low level and delivering the load with precision, with mountains all around you. Annie is one of the more extraordinary people i have met. We go back about 13 years. She is an excellent pilot and I have taken her on several rides in my open cockpit biplane. We have much in common.

no pool today.
reading about pool is what takes the place of playing pool.
i brought two pool books with me:
The Pro Book, and
The Advanced Pro Book,
both by Bob Henning.

I read the chapters on the mental game while
enjoying excellent sushi and saki at hamada's, with view of big rock.