Hi everyone, hope you all had a great weekend–I know I did! I can’t believe it’s already August.
As some of you know, Saturday is pretty much my only entire day off during the week, so I’ve been trying to make the most out of each one!
This Saturday, I signed my husband and myself up for a hike out of Avila Beach to the Point San Luis Lighthouse.The docent-led hike takes place every Wednesday and Saturday and is open to only 20 and 40 hikers, respectively. Why? Because this hike traverses the land of our very own nuclear power plant–Diablo Canyon–one of the few downsides to living in this area, but that’s a story for another time…
We arrived at a foggy Avila Beach a little after 9am…Jeff wasn’t too happy about the early Saturday call time, but I think he found it worth it in the end!
The hike was 3.75 miles round trip along the bluffs surrounding the ocean, with a $5/person tour at the lighthouse, and ended around 12:30pm. It’s definitely a must-do if you’re ever in the area, especially for those like me who like big adventures for a little price!
Here’s some pics of the hike.
After a moderately strenuous 45 minute hike (we had an 80 year old with us too–I hope I have that much stamina when I’m her age!), we made it to the lighthouse!
Our first glimpse of the lighthouse was actually just of the grounds–can’t you just imagine swinging on this swing overlooking the ocean in the 1900s??
The lighthouse was built in the late 1800s to serve as a guide for ships coming into the harbor and is still active today, although the kerosene lamp was replaced with more modern technology in 1933. Here’s what the original lens that housed the lamp looked like:
3 families used to live at the lighthouse, with the men taking turns at the 10 hour night shift to keep the light functioning properly.
Our next stop on the tour was to the top of the lighthouse tower to see where the lens was originally stored. These are the stairs we had to climb up!
The current restoration team–made up mostly of volunteer retirees–had the opportunity to interview a woman named Lucy whose family lived in the main lighthouse building in the 1930s. When Lucy was in high school, she used to have to leave the lighthouse each Sunday night, row a small boat into Avila, take the train into SLO, and live with her grandparents during the school week–talk about commitment!
The volunteers have been working to restore each room, as you can see in the kitchen, to its original condition.
Of course, Jeff was more interested in the coal!
We wrapped up the tour with viewing a few more rooms in the house, then a quick stop at the lovely bathroom facilities before heading back!
The sun was just peeking out when we made it made back from the hike and since we were both starving, so we headed into my favorite beach town to grab some grub and a pint with a beachfront view.
The beach was packed! I had forgotten how busy it gets here during the summer!
Definitely not healthy, but we deserved it right?!
If you’re interested in checking out more about the lighthouse or the hike, click here, or here to make reservations.
What did you do this weekend?
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What a fun hike! I did that hike many times in the 70′s to go abalone hunting in the rocks at the base of cliffs under the lighthouse. We never got to explore the lighthouse though-it was a restricted area. We walked the shoreline during low tides! I don’t think you can do that anymore-all restricted due to Diable Canyon.
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