Morro Bay Life • May 2023

PubliSherS

Hayley & Nicholas Mattson hayley@13starsmedia.com

COPY EDITOR

Michael Chaldu

LAYOUT DESIGN

Anthony Atkins

Neil Schumaker

Community Writer

Camille DeVaul

Christianna Marks

AD DESIGN

Jen Rodman

Ad ConSultant

Dana McGraw

AdminiStrator

Cami Martin office@13starsmedia.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Neil Farrell

Blake Ashley Frino-Gerl

“Summer is the time when memories are woven from the golden threads of laughter, love, and sun-soaked moments, creating a tapestry of cherished experiences that warm our hearts throughout the year.”Unknown

As the days grow longer and the sun shines brighter, we can feel the anticipation and excitement in the air. Summer is just around the corner, and the beach is preparing to welcome families and friends from far and wide for days filled with laughter, adventure, and relaxation.

With school set to conclude in just one month, it’s the perfect time to start making plans for those warm, carefree days. Whether it’s a family vacation or a simple day trip to the beach, there’s no better way to create cherished memories than by spending quality time with loved ones.

As we are now in the month of May,

we’d like to extend our warmest wishes to all the amazing mothers out there. Happy Mother’s Day! Being a mom is a truly special experience, and witnessing our children grow and navigate the complexities of life is both a privilege and a joy.

This month, we also honor and remember the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country on Memorial Day. We are eternally grateful for their service and the freedom they have protected. Let us come together as a community to pay tribute to these heroes and their families.

Speaking of special occasions, my husband and I are thrilled to be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary on May 5. We were fortunate enough to be married on the beautiful beach in Avila, surrounded by the warm embrace of our cherished friends and family. Over the years, we have come to deeply appreciate the people and the bonds we’ve formed here in the community and along the Central Coast.

In this issue, we’ve carefully curated a selection of articles and stories that reflect the spirit of summer, family, and community. We hope you’ll find inspiration, joy, and maybe even a few new ideas to make this season the best one yet.

Thank you for being a part of our journey, and for allowing us the opportunity to share our lives with you through these pages. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Morro Bay Life.

We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Morro Bay Life

City to Study Morro Creek Flooding Issues

By NEIL FARRELL for Morro Bay Life

Having natural areas in a town, like a creek or a woodland, can be a great benefit, but with natural areas comes natural phenomenon like flooding from fierce storms such as we’ve repeatedly seen in Morro Bay this winter.

And one of Morro Bay’s treasures — Morro Creek — has been challenging to city officials, nearby business owners, and residents, who must deal with the aftermath of the creek cresting its banks and flooding a large area along Main Street.

The hardest hit have been mobile home parks (MHP) — Silver City and Silver City West (formerly the Tratel MHP). Businesses along Main Street suffered flood damage, especially with the Jan. 8-9 storm.

Since then, storms have repeatedly either caused flooding or threatened to flood in the same area, causing some no doubt restless nights as the rain falls and the creek rises.

And this year, the creek flooding affected the City Corp Yard and old sewer treatment plant at Atascadero Road and the Embarcadero.

Back in March 1995, a fierce storm dropped 13 inches of rain overnight and flooded essentially the same area along Main Street as was hit this year, roughly a square mile.

The creek, when it reaches Main Street, goes under a series of road bridges starting at Main Street and including the Highway 1 bridges. In 1995, debris and a tree that had eroded into the creek from upstream got stuck at the Main Street Bridge, causing the water to back up and flood the area.

Morro Bay Life recently met with a resident of the Silver City West MHP who wanted to show us the condition of the Main Street Bridge, which has two “channels” on the left and right. The left main channel of Morro Creek was clear, and water flowed through it. The right side is partially blocked and silted in several feet deep, which appears to have been accumulating for many years. If the bridge’s two channels are supposed to work like a main and overflow channel, the siltation would seem to be hampering that function, at least until the water rises high

enough in the main channel to flow over the silt.

Our contact, who decided he did not want to have his name used, was greatly concerned about future storms and the prospects of the park and surrounding area being flooded again.

The park’s outer fence was badly damaged in the flooding and is being replaced. Businesses in the flood zone have sustained big losses, and at least one — The Wee Shack — has yet to reopen. The stretch of Main Street still has a lot of mud, now dried to dirt, left to clean up.

But the city said the bridge isn’t the problem. It’s further upstream a short distance, where Morro Creek and Little Morro Creek come together, that appears to be where this latest flooding started.

“The floods have had terrible impacts on the community this year,” City Public Works Director Greg Kwolek told Morro Bay Life. “We are still learning about how the flooding occurred and what future mitigation efforts we should look at as a community, but I can say the flooding is upstream, not under the bridge, and we have evidence of this.”

He added, “The creek did not overtake the bridge on March 10 even though residents and

businesses experienced flooding in that immediate area.”

Kwolek said the city is working on the issue of the creek, which as anyone who’s ever tried can attest that it’s very difficult to get a permit to work in or around a creek.

“Generally speaking,” he said, “we’ll be looking at facilitating a community conversation about what is happening in the flood plain there, what our options are as a community, and what direction we want to go in as a city.”

Morro Creek originally flowed through the power plant property and emptied into the bay at Coleman Beach.

The Army Corps of Engineers redirected the creek, draining what was originally its floodplain to turn it into a Naval Training Base during World War II. The base was turned into a power plant in the 1950s when Pacific Gas & Electric acquired it. The creek’s natural flood plain was never restored.

The redirected Morro Creek now empties onto Morro Strand Beach, and the flood plain is now basically the beach. Most of the year, the creek disappears into the sand, and surface water doesn’t make it to the ocean.

Kwolek said they have a good idea of where the problem with Morro Creek lies.

“We don’t believe the bridge caused either flood,” he said of the January and March storms. “The flooding is upstream. We know that now thanks to drone footage taken on March 10 during the flooding.”

This winter’s dozen or so “atmospheric river” storms have reopened another old wound in terms of flooding woes. South Bay Boulevard at the Chorro Creek Bridge had to be closed after the roadway flooded.

It’s been reminiscent of the bad old days when South Bay flooded and choked Morro Bay off from Los Osos at the infamous “Twin Bridges.” That roughly 50-yard stretch of road seemed to flood and close every winter for decades until it was replaced in 1996 with the new Chorro Creek Bridge.

This winter marks the first time it’s flooded since the new bridge was built.

When South Bay closes, it cuts off the only direct route from Morro Bay to Los Osos, cutting off access to thousands of people a day — including school kids attending Los Osos Middle School or Morro Bay High School. When South Bay closes, people have to go all the way to San Luis Obispo to get around the choke point.

South Bay is again a concern for the city.

“We are, of course, very interested in better understanding the Chorro Creek flooding,” Kwolek said. “During the floods, the roadway itself was undermined, especially on Jan. 9, so city staff is very concerned about this area.

“We will be considering next steps, and I would expect to involve a hydrologist at some point in the near future.”

Initial reports after the January storms were that the city estimated the losses and overall damage to public facilities at over $30 million, a number that was surely going to rise with the continued storm activity in March. Damages have ranged from flooding to downed trees. The city could get assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is possible because SLO County was declared a disaster area by both President Joe Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom after the storms in January and again in March.

Watchers Watch Peregrines

By NEIL FARRELL for Morro Bay Life

Visitors to Morro Bay delight in watching the antics of the southern sea otters, who tend to gather in the waters off Target Rock and in the lee of the South T-pier, both affording terrific vantage spots to see the fascinating sea weasels.

But Morro Bay is also famous for another kind of nature watching, namely birds and, specifically, peregrine falcons. And right now is a great time to put eyes on the fastest birds in the world.

Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch (pacificcoastperegrinewatch.org) is a nonprofit group of volunteers who keep an eye on the breeding pairs of peregrine falcons that annually nest in the caves of the sheer cliffs of Morro Rock.

The Watchers, led by Bob Isenberg, stand vigil on a daily basis (weather permitting), watching the protected falcons as they build nests, hatch chicks, and feed the hungry little mouths with birds snatched right out of the air.

“The birds are beginning to nest now,” reads an April 3 post by Isenberg on the Watchers’ website. “Both pairs north and south have begun selecting nest sites in the last two weeks. Normal progression for this time of year is egg laying in the middle of April. Hatching will be 31 to 33 days later. Forty-four days to fledging from day of hatching. In other words by the first of June, you should see young falcons flying.”

Isenberg and the Watchers set up spotting scopes in the parking lot by Target Rock, or around the ocean side of Morro Rock at the end of Coleman Drive to watch the nests on either side of the monolith.

Isenberg has been watch-

ing the falcons for a very long time but is getting off to a late start this nesting season. Isenberg said he recently underwent back surgery and has been rehabilitating at the Bayside Care Facility in Morro Bay. He said he should be back on his feet again and back on falcon watch around May 1. Meanwhile, another volunteer watcher has taken up the post.

“Not to fear the Peregrine Falcons are in good hands with Bob’s buddy, Jerry Pyle,” reads the post, “who is providing the spotting scopes and information.”

So if you’re down by Target Rock and see a white van with some gentlemen peering into telescopes trained on the Rock, stop by and say hello.

They will point out the peregrine nests, which are almost impossible to detect with the naked eye, as the nests are hundreds of feet up the Rock. But once Isenberg and the Watchers point them out to you, you’ll be able to find them yourself. Cameras with telephoto lenses are needed to take photos of the birds.

Peregrines have a large range where they are found, literally across the planet. But the birds were nearly wiped out in the 1950s to ‘70s by pesticides, in particular DDT, which made their eggs brittle and prevented them from hatching.

They were listed on the endangered species list in the 1970s, but now that DDT is banned, they’ve made a remarkable comeback. Morro Rock was named a sanctuary for the peregrines in 1972 and the public prohibited from climbing the Rock to protect the birds, though getting to one of the nests would take serious rock climbing gear.

In the 1990s a conservation group from UC Santa Cruz came out annually to remove the eggs from the falcon nest (there was just one pair back then), repelling down the rock face to remove the fertile eggs and replace them with placebos. The eggs were then hatched in a lab and the baby falcons returned to the nest where the parents reared

and fledged them.

It was an annual ritual that went on for about a decade and saw pretty good success. They also ran a banding program to track the birds.

Over the past 25-30 years, the peregrines’ numbers increased enough to remove them from the ESA; however, they are still protected through the Predatory Bird Act and Morro Rock is still off limits to climbers. Groups like the Watchers also protect the birds. Another significant action that was taken by State Parks was to remove the colonies of feral cats that once roamed the Rock and presented an invasive species and formidable predator to all the wildlife on Morro Rock.

The Main Street Bridge of Morro Creek shows a clear channel for water flow on the left with a silted in overflow channel to the right. The City of Morro Bay said the bridge is not where this winter’s flooding originated from, but the flooding started further upstream. Photo by Neil Farrell

Peregrine falcons are shown at their spot on Morro Rock. The nonprofit Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch keeps an eye on the breeding pairs of peregrine falcons. Contributed Photo

Morro Bay Searches for Solutions to the Complex Issue of Homelessness

By BLAKE ASHLEY FRINO-GERL for Morro Bay Life

The homeless population in the U.S. is on the rise, including in Morro Bay. Several organizations and resources, including the Morro Bay Police Department, Social Services, and Community Resource Connections (CRC), are working to find, if not a solution, some mitigation measures.

One of the top concern’s coming from the community is homelessness, and that goes along with how it impacts the environment, equality, and attraction of the city. There are many obstacles that lead to homelessness, including mental illness, drug and alcohol addictions, need to escape, or other issues and problems resulting in them living on the streets. In Morro Bay, some of the unhoused have formed a community where they don’t allow outsiders or transients traveling through into their “family.” In their words, this is a way to keep themselves and their belongings safe.

Those living in the creek bed and around town fluctuate, in addition to three dogs, one of which is a young pup named Clyde, belonging to a woman nicknamed Mama Bear who lost her home years ago after her boyfriend passed and had trouble finding a rental that would accept her and her big dog. Another member in her community for the past eight years, Kevin Hicks, who sleeps alone in town, ended up on the street after struggles stemming from getting hit by a car while attending college in Sacramento and waking up in a coma at UC Davis hospital and losing the use of part of his brain.

With regards to being homeless, Hicks says “it is not where I want to be tomorrow.” He also adds that “he doesn’t want to be a nuisance.”

Many within that community were living in the creek at Lila Kaiser park before being told they needed to move. That area was easy to keep clean because they would put their trash out for waste management. In 2021, the inhabitants were told to move to the ditch near Couch Potato on Quintana Road. When the Couch Potato recently bought that property, they were forced to move just south in the creek bed, or “gray area.” Officer and Homeless Liaison Daniel Palumbo regards the homeless population in Morro Bay as much more “agreeable, much more sociable,” and cooperative in comparison to when he was working in the Central Valley.

Mama Bear says that “some [people] ruin it for others,” and therefore, as a whole, they get a bad reputation. According to Mama Bear, they try to be respectful to others, and some people do have jobs. They have put out their bagged trash above the creek bed to, which Public Works or the Police Department regularly pick up. Mama Bear, who has health problems, works with her mom once a week. Another unhoused woman works for SLO Bangers, which is a program that reduces the spread

Bryan Way enjoys his teaching career in Cayucos and celebrates almost 20 years of owning his American Karate Dojo

By Blake Ashley Fino-Gerl for Morro Bay Life

Finding something that inspires you at a young age and possibly staying with you forever does not happen for everyone. However, for Bryan Way it did. Having grown up in Simi Valley, Way moved to Templeton at 12 years old and has lived in the area ever since.

It was at that age that he started his karate journey and “instantly fell in love with the sport.” One of his karate teachers said he was like a “sponge” and he enjoyed it so much that he went to as many classes as he could. Way says that some things made him nervous, especially since he was one of the smaller students, but nothing could stop him from loving it, and

of blood borne pathogens, prevents drug overdose, and supports those struggling with addiction.

However, Fentanyl is a big problem and Officer Palumbo says “it is hard for people to shake off” and it will likely persist.

Jason Holland, the Homeless Outreach Case Manager, says he works “to connect people with services, and hopes that through communication and cooperation the city and all its residents can find meaningful and realistic solutions to the extremely complex issues we face.”

There are many resources that also work to moderate the ongoing need. Sharon O’Leary, a volunteer for the past 10 years running the Community Resource Connections (CRC), says the two concepts they are working on is “managing and maintaining” the situation. She adds that Morro Bay has a “stellar reputation for case management and our own social services.” These resource provide the necessities individuals need, whether they are low income and/or homeless.

The Veteran’s Hall hosts a Monday night dinners sponsored by the Lion’s Club, and once a month low-income guests are offered free smart phones every six months through President Obama’s Lifeline Assistance Program. During the flood in March when the electricity went out, they ate by candlelight and flashlights.

However, some are just used to living outside, and struggle to adjust to the commonality of living inside with amenities. In addition, sometimes those resources, including housing vouchers, are often refused because they would rather stay with their chosen outside family and not abide by the rules.

In the end, “we don’t want to be here, but we are here,” Mama

Bear says. She said they hope to find a “common ground with the city.” Holland hopes to obtain that and “instead of working on ideas that would be a tough sell, I believe there are more attainable, shorter term and more impactful goals than buying or leasing property,” he says.

According to Officer Palumbo, “four people have gotten out of the creek” and successfully housed recently. One woman “left the creek during the day, she went to work at a fast food restaurant, she did her job … she behaved herself at work; had no issues.” She did have a fentanyl problem, but progressed and now “doesn’t live in the creek anymore,” Officer Palumbo adds.

Holland is hopeful, but says finding a solution is “going to take a lot of work, and there will be countless bumps in the road along the way, but I’m optimistic that with reasonable steps from all parties involved we can get closer to a solution that works for everyone involved.” He meets with members of the unhoused community frequently to “start a dialogue, not finish one,” adding, “I think we have some solid ideas that need more development.”

O’Leary says two goals that she is working on follows a model implemented in Santa Barbara in which they have established the New Beginnings’ Safe Parking Shelter and Rapid Rehousing Program that provides safe overnight parking to individuals and families living in their vehicle, but also connects homeless people to shelters and services that will get them off the streets and into safer environments. In addition, under the Estero Bay Alliance For Care (EBAC) and mayor’s initiative, O’Leary meets with the city council, Social Services, Veterans, and Police Department to problem solve the situation and pull their resources together.

Teaching Through Inspiration

“it was the sport that ‘clicked’ for me,” he says.

Once Way earned his black belt at 15 years old while attending Templeton High School, began teaching martial arts with his sensei, and even got paid.

“I realized I could make money doing something I loved to do,” he says. “From there, he showed me the ropes, and we saw an opportunity to start a school in Morro Bay. My sensei had me run the show, and I have had my school ever since.”

He started American Karate School in 2004, renting the group fitness room inside FitnessWorks, and then moved nearby to his current location in 2006.

He got his associate degree at Cuesta College before earning his bachelor’s in liberal arts from the University of La Verne and a teaching credential from Brandman University. He decided to further a career in teaching, particularly physical education, after speaking to his college counselor and figuring out that he “enjoy[s] sports, working

with kids, and being outside.” During that time he was also given opportunities to teach self-defense in public schools in part with their P.E. program in 2008. “I was hooked,” he says.

He began substitute teaching in 2012, often for his former and influential high school science teachers, and decided to pursue teaching science. He taught at Almond Acres Charter Academy for one year and then was hired by Cayucos Elementary in 2019 to teach science and P.E.

Every day after teaching at the school in Cayucos, Way goes to the karate school and teaches there through the evening. Long workdays, and sometimes on Saturdays, if there is a karate event, he maintains his inspiration. His enthusiasm soars in his karate classes, and while there is much structure and focus, he provides a bit of comic relief for both the students (and parents watching).

“As cliche as it sounds, what keeps me motivated is my love of the sport and the students. Karate for me as a kid was a

safe space. I always loved to go, I made amazing friends, and I always wanted my school to be that place for others,” he says. “Passing on what I’ve learned to others and celebrating this sport are the biggest motivators. On another note; the school makes money which helps me out in life.”

Way also holds meaningful events annually, such as Girl’s Day, in which he invites a female black belt to teach an empowering class to his female students; Parent’s Day, where students can teach their parent’s what they know; and Kick-A-Thon, in which students show their talents and raise funds to help Proj

ect Surf Camp.

Celebrating Way’s upcoming 20th anniversary as a business owner, he said he is “mind blown that a dream as a kid turned into what I have.” For teaching, he wants to accomplish a lot of goals “and right now it’s just to be the best teacher I can be.” While enjoying his two careers, he and his wife “are just enjoying life together and who knows what the future might bring.”

Residents belongings in the creek bed on Quintana Road

Bryan Way earned his black belt at 15 years old and later started the American Karate Dojo in 2004. Photo by Blake Ashley Frino-Gerl

Mama Bear’s dog, Clyde. Photos by Blake Ashley Frino-Gerl

Serendipity Brings Owner to Business

Susan Stewart took ‘total leap of faith,’ and has operated Beads by the Bay for 17 years now

By BLAKE ASHLEY FRINO-GERL for Morro Bay Life

Susan Stewart didn’t know early on what her career path would entail as an adult. For many, that is the case —switching gears from one career to a completely different one. Stewart earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from UC Santa Cruz and then an early childhood teaching credential from Cabrillo College. She had a variety of teaching jobs but also worked in construction, as well as archaeology and cultural resource management.

Stewart moved to Morro Bay in 1988 and experienced different jobs. Then in September of 2006, she bought Beads By the Bay downtown. The business was owned by Sue Walker, who had a second store in Cambria and decided it was too challenging to run both of them.

She says this was a time “when the economic downturn led to fewer jobs in construction which meant archaeology and house painting were less lucrative,” she says. Walker, whose last name is Stewart’s maiden name, made it a “bit of serendipity” for her to buy the business, she explains. “It was a total leap of faith, as I had never had the intention of owning a brick-andmortar business,” she says.

Fortunately, Beads By the Bay “was a turnkey business as far as the beads went,” Stewart says. Former business partner Penny Harrington “introduced me to Helen Edwards, and I eventually offered the garden space to Helen to develop a business with succulents and garden related items,” she adds. Penny eventually left to open her own shop with more space. Yet, Stewart says, “Helen has really grown her part of the business to include pottery, air plants, garden miniatures, and crystals.” In addition to the shop, they offer classes that vary from making jewelry to garden features.

While many tourists go down to the Embar-

cadero, which Stewart feels “is considered the lifeblood of the town,” she resonates with the notion that “downtown Morro Bay feels like the soul of the community — the older buildings, the big trees, the place where locals come to hang out and shop, where business owners know each other and hang out on the sidewalks to chat if they get a breather in between customers.”

Stewart also knows most of the businesses and their owners nearby. She sees the locally and single-operated businesses come to grips with the “tangible sense of belonging.”

Stewart enjoys being part of the community

and finds how the shop relates so well to the town. “Morro Bay has a long tradition of artists and artisans, and even now a surprising number of businesses that support and embrace the arts!”

She exclaims. Shops like Beads By the Bay keep the arts within the community alive for all of us enjoy and appreciate.

She hopes to see more stores that share that 2023 Beads by the Bay - Blake Ashley Frino Gerl89 ideal.

“I like to help people who love crafting for their own joy (or to provide extra income) develop new skills and embrace their creativ-

ity,” she says.

In addition, she says, “the Central Coast is also a great place for gardening and outdoor activities, so the garden side of the business is a perfect fit.” She finds that the store attracts various people of all ages, both locals and visitors, as well as a lot of college students and hopes that also will help other businesses around them thrive.

As for the future, she would also like to “coordinate a few more people to teach classes” in the store for hands-on learning and creating. “So the goal is just to keep on keeping on,” she declares.

Morro Bay Art Association Presents Lecturer John Seed

Morro Bay Art Association is proud to present lecturer John Seed discussing his recent book ‘Disrupted Realism.’

John Seed is a professor emeritus of art and art history who taught at Mt. San Jacinto College for 31 years. Seed has written about art and artists for Arts of Asia, Art Ltd., Catamaran, Harvard Magazine, International Artist, The Huffington Post and Poets and Artists. He was a featured expert in the Google Arts and Culture video series “Name That Art.”

“Disrupted Realism” is the first book to survey the

works of contemporary painters who are challenging and reshaping the tradition of realism, helping art lovers, collectors, and artists approach and understand this compelling new phenomenon. It includes the works of 38 artists whose paintings respond to the subjectivity and disruptions of modern experience. Widely published author and blogger John Seed, who believes that we are “the most distracted society in the history of the world,” has selected artists he sees as visionaries in this develop ing movement. The artists’ impulses toward disruption are as individual as the artists themselves, but all share the need to include perception and emotion in their artistic process.

This free lecture by author John Seed is open and free to the public.

Susan Stewart continues to bring art in the community with Beads By the Bay. Photo by Blake Ashley Frino-Gerl/MBL

Lost at Sea Memorial Set For May 29

The ceremony honors these people whose bodies were never found, and so there is no grave or marker where loved ones can go to mourn them.

By NEIL FARRELL for Morro Bay Life

The Lost at Sea Memorial is slated for 3 p.m. Monday, May 29, at the Cayucos Pier Plaza. The plaza and adjacent Cayucos Veterans Hall are fenced off during the reconstruction of the Vets Hall, and so the Lost at Sea ceremony will again take place in a construction zone.

The ceremony honors those lost at sea — Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines — as well as commercial fishermen, divers, surfers, and pleasure boaters.

The ceremony also honors the Missing in Action from the Vietnam War and involves readings, prayers, and song.

A Coast Guard Color Guard and members of the Sea Cadets man the various service flags used in the ceremony. A choir from Cuesta College performs, veteran musicians play taps and service anthems, and a bagpiper and drummer perform Amazing Grace.

Attendees then have a procession down the 950-foot pier, and a wreath is cast into the sea to a rifle salute. It’s a touching and unique ceremony in the area amongst the many ceremonies held to mark Memorial Day.

As with the years that the Cayucos

Pier was closed and being rebuilt, the Vets Hall is undergoing a rebuild now, and much of the Pier Plaza is behind the temporary construction fencing. The Lost at Sea Memorial Committee erected a granite obelisk next to the plaza where a ship’s bell would be mounted and rung during the Lost at Sea ceremony. But that obelisk was removed for safekeeping during the construction.

Another highlight of the ceremony is a flyover of military aircraft by the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles. The flyover should happen about 4 p.m. during the procession down the pier but is dependent on weather conditions, mainly due to strong winds.

The Lost at Sea Memorial is free to attend. Seating is limited. For more information, visit rotarydistrict5240.org/stories/lost-at-seamemorial-in-cayucos.

MAY Calendar of Events

FISCALINI RANCH PRESERVE, CAMBRIA

MAY 4-6

CRUISIN’ MORRO BAY CAR SHOW

MORRO BAY BLVD AND MAIN STREET, DOWNTOWN MORRO BAY

Check out the range of vintage cars lined up down the streets in Downtown Morro Bay. Food and drinks available for purchase.

MAY 6

7TH ANNUAL TAMALE FESTIVAL

SUNKEN GARDENS, 6500 PALMA AVENUE, ATASCADERO

11am-7pm

Rescheduled due to rain in January, the festival will feature over 30 tamale vendors from California, as well as additional vendors offering adult beverages, crafts and merchandise. Entertainment will include Emcee Francisco Ramirez along with Medina Light Show Designs, Mariachi Mexicanismo band, dancing and more. For information, visit atascaderotamalefest. com.

MAY 6

“WILDFLOWER WALK” BY DOCENT

10am-Noon

Come learn about the wildflowers on the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. Free. To register, visit fiscaliniranchpreserve.org/explore/docent-walks.

MAY 7

SPRING CAYUCOS ANTIQUE STREET FAIRE

OCEAN AVENUE, DOWNTOWN CAYUCOS

7am-3pm

Hosted twice yearly in the spring and fall, enjoy shopping for antiques, collectibles, and vintage items. Rain or shine.

MAY 20

6TH ANNUAL FRIENDS OF ATASCADERO LAKEFEST WITH CHILDREN’S DAY IN THE PARK

ATASCADERO LAKE PARK

10am-4pm

Activities for all ages include the Cardboard Boat Regatta & Races, 2-for-1 Charles Paddock Zoo coupons, a fishing derby, DJ, music from the “Way

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SANDY CARINO

Broker Associate

Realtor® | Lic#02007590

(805)714 - 8223

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VERONICA CHAVEZ

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out West” band, kids activities, a 50/50 Raffle, food, and a variety of vendors. For kids, supplies will be available to build their own boat to race as part of the “Kids Class” Cardboard Boat Race.

MAY 20

“USE ALL OF YOUR SENSES TO DISCOVER THE WONDER OF THE FISCALINI RANCH FOREST” DOCENT WALK

FISCALINI RANCH PRESERVE, CAMBRIA

10am-12:30pm

Learn how to use your five senses as you explore the wonders of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve Forest with your naturalist leader. Free. To register, visit fiscaliniranchpreserve.org/explore/docent-walks.

MAY 27

“LOOKING FOR MAMA & CALF”

DOCENT WALK

FISCALINI RANCH PRESERVE, CAMBRIA

10am-Noon

Join this gentle walk to enjoy the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve’s beautiful coast and its diverse ecology. Expect to see a variety of marine mammals, including mother and calf grey whales, as they make the

SUBMIT UPCOMING EVENTS TO: office@13starsmedia.com

longest migration of any marine mammal. Free. To register, visit fiscaliniranchpreserve.org/explore/ docent-walks.

MAY 27

ANNUAL HERITAGE DAY

CAMBRIA HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 2251 CENTER STREET, CAMBRIA

11am-4pm

The Museum’s event will offer food, drinks, live entertainment, art displays, family activities, mining and local rock exhibit, wood carvers, nursery sales, face painting and more. For more information visit cambriahistoricalsociety.com/calendar.

MAY 27-29

ART IN THE PARK

MORRO BAY BLVD. AND HARBOR STREET, MORRO BAY 10am-5pm

The Morro Bay Art Association is once again hosting its triannual Art in the Park Festival on Memorial Day. The proceeds help fund children’s art classes, provide scholarships and other programs throughout the year. For more information, visit morrobayartinthepark.com.

Lic#01844354 NMLS#352390 morrobaylifenews.com Morro Bay Life • May 2023 • 7

Trudy O’Brien (left) of the Commercial Fishermen’s Organization and Catherine Davis, the daughter of former Morro Bay City Councilman the late Red Davis, carry the laurel wreath and lead the procession down the pier at the 2022 Lost at Sea Memorial. Photo by Neil Farrell

A group of local volunteers is getting ready to once again honor people lost at sea.

Photo by Simon Berger

2022 Platinum Award