Terry Ambrose

Home of Mysteries with Character

Avila Beach — here we come!

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The LA traffic gauntlet

Our EV road trip began at 6:45 am. A bright and sunny morning, it was the perfect time to leave San Diego. And a lousy time to drive through LA. After a quick stop in Costa Mesa for coffee, it felt like we were being bounced from one freeway red zone to another. By the time we hit US 101, the GPS had bounced me to one too many freeways. Right or wrong, I went with my gut and stuck to the 101 until we were through the LA traffic gauntlet.

Avila Beach road trip - charge stop

We still had plenty of charge left by the time we got to our planned charge stop in Agoura Hills. At that point, the car needed its charge less than we needed a snack and restrooms. The Juan Bautista de Anza park charging stop was a very pleasant surprise—a gorgeous park, nice facilities, and a place to walk. I can guarantee we’ll stop there again.

After lunch, on to Avila Beach

After lunch, it was up Highway 154 to the quaint town of Ballard. This is, amongst other things, horse country, and our goal was to find the Quicksilver Miniature Horse ranch. We’d heard the ranch was closed to the public, which it was, but the horses were still there, all merrily feasting away. Isn’t this guy just as cute as can be?

Miniature horses at Quicksilver Miniature Hores Ranch

The final stop of the day before heading off to our hotel was at Harford Pier, one of three piers in Avila Beach. There was plenty happening on the pier. From fishermen cleaning their daily catch to sea lions taking a break to Mersea’s Restaurant, it was a delightful place to visit.

As they say in all those annoying commercials, but wait! There’s more! The view from our room was stunning. Wow! Let me tell you, one-hundred-eighty degrees of Pacific Ocean is pretty impressive. And the waves. Oh, the waves. That ever-present lullaby we’ll surely miss long after we’ve left Avila Beach.

Partial view from our hotel room
The Inn at Avila Beach has stunning views.

Friday Morning Post subscribers note that the lighthouse photos will be coming in 2 weeks!

I’ll be posting more photos from this trip in the coming weeks. Be sure to subscribe to the Friday Morning Post if you haven’t already, so you’re sure not to miss them. Here’s a link where you can check out previous editions of the Friday Morning Post. You can also follow me on Instagram.

Character abounds at this old pier.Views from Harford Pier are stunningThese fishermen were in the process of cleaning their day's catches.Welcome to Harford PierCouple enjoying the bay viewSportfishing is a big deal at Harford Pier in Avila BeachPart of the view from our room
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About Terry

I started out as a skip tracer. Just in case you don’t know, that’s the guy who finds the people who don’t want to be found. It was the little things—getting paid to lie—that made skip tracing the fun part of the job.

Those years of chasing deadbeats taught me many valuable life lessons, such as liars come from all walks of life, and always keep your car in the garage.

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  1. Jody Tanis says

    Terry, I couldn’t find the link to the giveaway in this week’s Friday Morning Post. Please check that it didn’t get forgotten!

    Thanks! Jody