October 2003 Page Four more morro bay We stayed in the city by the bay two nights, so there was an opportunity to capture a sunrise at the water's edge. The mostly deserted Monday morning streets, shops and driveways increased the number of places to take pictures. Unusually clear and warm, this was the perfect time to see the rock in it's golden glory. MORRO ROCK SUNRISE The German, Humboldt writes: Natural objects themselves, even when they make no claim to beauty, excite the feelings, and occupy the imagination. Nature pleases, attracts, delights, merely because it is nature. And what is this attraction to Morro Rock? It's nothing more than a submerged mountain top. And a midget mountain at that. Lifeless in itself. Weathered and worn through millennial decay. Asymmetrical. Chewed on by men and machine. Disrespected by bird and beast. Majestic misfit. Yet there is that pull toward it, an element of gravity tugging at our hearts, like a big and old friend. We are attracted to the huge, beautiful or not. A measure of security grips us. The unchanging monuments of life reflect the unchanging character of the life-giver.     ROCKY SUNSET          YELLOW KAYAKS         MORRO BAY LOOKING                                               SOUTH   pismo beach It had to be about 90 degrees at this hotspot. Pismo doesn't share the purple mountain majesty of Morro Bay, so we don't visit often. A bit more desolate and downright ugly we were informed by a Wisconsin couple who were here for the first time. KEN AND EVELYN "Wisconsin is beautiful, the miles and miles of wonderful fields, roads, farmhouses. This is too desolate, dry and dismal." (paraphrased) Guess he was expecting Oregon on the Central Coast. Anyway, we talked for awhile, found out why they were here (a wedding) and made friends, I hope.               There are mainly two kinds of people who come here. Watchers and watchees. These are the watchers above. The watchees are below.           Funny there weren't more people hiding from the scorching heat. This shady spot made for great photo framing. The guy below is also cooling it under some wet sand. He was actually shaking it was so cold. The two burial 'artists' covering him up wanted us to stay until they finished their project, hinting that they were going to use artistic license to embellish the final sculpture. No thanks. BURIED ALIVE AND LOVING IT A BIT OF BEACH HUMOR Time to say goodbye to Pismo and hello to Avila Beach, our next stop.

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