CA Sketchcation, Montaña de Oro: "The Pie Crust State"

When I arrived in San Luis Opisbo, my lovely airBNB hosts Shiela and Tony ("Hi" if you're reading this!) asked about my sketches and what I thought of the state so far. I told them I was enjoying all of the varied scenery, as well as the flora and fauna that was completely foreign to me. I also confessed that I was surprised that everything was brown....I knew California was in drought and that parts of it were desert, but since I've never been anywhere like that before it legitimately didn't occur to me that there would be so little green! Shiela kindly pointed out that the name "the Golden State" referred to the golden color frequently on display. To me, realizing that the Golden State is in fact golden brown began a trend of me envisioning the state as a very large pie crust.

The next day, I went to nearby Montaña de Oro for a few hours of light hiking. Read: "hiking I felt confident doing on my own, without worrying about ending up in a '127 Hours' situation." They have more treacherous paths, but I stuck to the bluff hike along the coast. I did two sketches there, one of an inlet with water lapping against the rocks, and another of the mountains.