Sunday, October 27, 2013, Hike at Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo, CA

Today we hiked about 4 miles along a trail in nearby Avila Beach. It followed San Luis Obispo Creek. It went through a golf course and ended in the town of Avila Beach. The town looks clean, fresh and new. All of the buildings along Front Street are just over ten years old. There was a toxic oil spill in the late 1990s. All of the buildings and a lot of the homes were demolished in the clean-up. All of the contaminated soil was trucked away and replaced. Then, thanks to a $30 million settlement, the town was rebuilt.

Avila Beach had a very festive atmosphere.

I had no idea that eucalyptus is a flowering tree!

These houses, right on the ocean, were in the $1.7M - $2M range.

We stopped at Shell Beach on our way home. Several folks were taking advantage of the ocean breezes for some flying. I have to say this looked very cool and very scary at the same time. Watching as this guy tried to get his wing inflated made it look like it could buckle and fold in an instant! Not something you want just after you go over the 200-foot high cliff. Once they were up, it seemed like they glided just like the shorebirds riding the currents, circling and rising and zipping along. 

He was hamming it up for the camera. All I could think was "Stay focused!"