Ole Cranky peeing into the waterfall at the world famous Madonna Inn.
It’s so famous…
…even the gals came to check it out.
The entire grounds were beautifully landscaped.
and exceptionally well maintained
A truly nice setting
to relax in
I really liked the water feature of the neighbor above the Inn
Not a bad house either
We had a nice light breakfast at Margies Diner
Rick is the first person I have ever seen dip his fries in a strawberry shake for breakfast. How does that go when the cat’s away…
Our main event today is a visit to the San Luis Lighthouse
We were one minute late, but still managed to make the trolley
Sherm, worked at this lighthouse for two years while he was in the Coast Guard
There were several small animal holes
and even one of the small animals
nice trolley for the ride up to the lighthouse.
Sherm worked here in 1962 and 1963. While here, he built the curb he has his foot on.
Here’s a close up of his fine craftsmanship
There are two duplex houses on the property. One year Sherm lived in the left unit of this one.
During the non CG years, the lighthouse keeper lived in this house and the actual light was part of the building.
This lighthouse operated with a lighthouse keeper from 1886-1974. After that the big light was shut-off and there now is an automated light system in place. In the early days, this was the coal fired cook stove.
The pantry
Dining room
all of the fireplaces were coal fired.
They even had official dinner ware
I liked the crown molding. Not theirs, the rooms!
All of the rooms were lit by kerosene during the early years.
Sherm in one of the lighthouse keepers bedrooms. During the CG years, no one stayed in this house. They only maintained the light.
One of the dressers, and the lovely chamber pot.
One of three bedrooms
Real nice views from most of the windows
Looking down on the maintenance building that also stored the fog horns.
All of the flammables were stored in this shed.
After 1974 the old system was replaced with this automated one and the keepers were no longer needed.
Such beautiful views from the yard.
wear hearing protection
This is the compressor that builds the air supply to drive the fog horns.
back side of the fog horns
front side
second set
This is the original fresnel lense
The main and backup light source.
The big weight connected to the cable is what rotates the lens kind of like a grandfather clock it had to be rewound every 4 hours.
Rick confessed that he’s a swinger
I had to try it myself
Time to take the trolley back
If they couldn’t see this buoy, they had to turn the fog horns on
This was the only breakwater that I saw protecting Avila Bay
Mostly just fishing and pleasure boats using the harbor these days.
These tanks held rain water fed from some concrete collection chutes. This water was then fed into a couple of 50,000 gallon cisterns.
Another view of the breakwater (Getty)
There were boats anchored in several places throughout the bay.
A pretty good view of Avila Beach city from across the bay.
This is the third pier and we rode the bikes out there. They process some of the fish catch there as well serving it up in a nice restaurant.
This is dog beach. You can have your dog here unleashed. Probably a good idea to be observant as to where you place your sunbathing towel. :)
If I was this gal I would have been more observant as to what I was leaning over.
These guys are what she was looking at
I climbed down the stairs to get a better view but quickly retreated when one went for my toes! :)
This building is on the end of the pier and houses the fish processing and restaurant.
Sherm wanted some fresh veggies
Rick did buy and eat an ear of corn.