Central California - Coast

At the end of my last post we were leaving Sonoma Valley and heading south on Route 1 which runs along the California coast.  It wasn't far from Sonoma Valley to San Francisco and we were thrilled to drive across the Golden Gate bridge.  

We couldn't stop and see San Francisco because it’s just too difficult navigating big cities with the trailer in tow,and most sights we would want to visit we couldn't bring Poppy.  So we tend to visit places in small towns and and out in the country – we will save the big city visits for another trip.

We stopped about an hour south of San Francisco, in Santa Cruz at Brighton Beach State Park.  The State Parks in California, especially along the coast, are very expensive (in fact, everything in California, especially the gas, is very expensive).   Most  State Park campsites are $35 - $45 with no hookups (no electricity or water) and some are more.  The park was absolutely beautiful though.  We were able to take Poppy down to the beach and let her wade in the ocean.  It was too rough for her to swim.

Our friend, Dean Liu, who lives just south of San Francisco, came by the campground, picked us up and took us into Santa Cruz for sushi.  Dean is a real sushi connoisseur and likes to sit at the sushi bar and talk with the chef.  He ordered us many things we had never tasted before, and everything was delicious.  What a treat!

We decided to stay another night at Brighton Beach and explore Santa Cruz a little more, but when we tried to extend our stay we found out that the site we were in was reserved and we would have to move.  Since we were going to have to hitch up and move anyway, we decided to head down to Big Sur and see if we could get a place at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park – one of the most popular parks in California.  It was only a couple of hours away and we headed out on Route 1 again.  At first we traveled inland for a little ways and saw lots of farms with all kinds of vegetables growing.  We haven’t been eating many veggies on this trip because it’s hard to fit them in my little refrigerator so I’d been craving them.  I wanted to get out of the truck and go pick some!  After a bit we once again were winding along the coast, high on hills overlooking the Pacific and I took lots of pictures – some through the truck window and some at overlooks.   

We got to Pfeiffer Big Sur Park before noon and were lucky enough to get a site.  The park was beautiful with redwood forests and our site was wooded and very private.  We took Poppy and drove to Pfeiffer Beach which is a separate park – there were quite a few people on the beach considering it was a Thursday afternoon in September.  Poppy got to wade in the ocean and roll around in the sand and was happy.

The next day, we headed to Lake San Antonio, which was inland a ways.  Our friend Dean had told us about this place and we wanted to go where we could take our canoe out and let Poppy swim.  Dean had done a triathlon at the Lake some time ago and he knew there were campgrounds there. We were heading into the weekend, and we knew that along the coast we might not find a campsite since we didn't have any reservations. 

We started down Route 1 again and it was still beautiful but a little foggy that morning.

  There are very few towns along this stretch of Route 1 and we found ourselves looking for gas stations as our tank was getting low.  We passed through maybe three small towns and each had only one gas station and they were all charging $5.50 to $6.00 per gallon, even though most California stations were charging $4.00 to $4.25.  It was pure price gouging but we finally had to stop and buy 3 gallons at $6.00/gal.  Lesson learned!

Several times as we stopped at overlooks along the Pacific, we could hear seals barking but we never could see them.  As we traveled south of Big Sur, we was a sign that said “Elephant Seal Overlook” so we stopped to take a look.  What a thrill!  The beach was covered with seals, basking in the sun.  Some were playing with each other and every once in a while one would go for a swim.  We watched them for a long time, then reluctantly got back in the truck and moved on.

Here's a little video I took of the seals:

At Cambria, California we turned and headed inland and passed through some beautiful mountains to Paso Robles, then on to Lake San Antonio.   The campground was almost deserted and we were able to pick our spot, overlooking the lake.  The lake was incredibly low – you could see the line where it used to be and it was probably 30 feet above the current level. 

The next day, when we had planned to canoe, was windy and cool and we decided not to do it.  We walked down to the edge of the lake and let Poppy swim.  

There were wild deer wandering everywhere in this campground and they were not at all intimidated by people.  They would pass by within a few feet of you.

 There were also a lot of wild turkeys.

On Sunday, we headed back to the coast to stay at El Capitan State Park, just 20 miles north of Santa Barbara.  Bob’s father lived in Santa Barbara for a few years after he got off the ship where he had served in the US Navy in World War I (that’s right, WWI not WWII).  Anyway, Bob really wanted to see the city, even though it is probably quite changed since his Dad was there.  Buster (Bob’s dad) left Santa Barbara in a Model-T Ford in 1923 and headed across the country to Florida where he abandoned the car and signed on to a ship to work his way back to his home in New York City.

El Capitan campground was also really beautiful although we had trouble finding a site that was level enough.  We have leveling blocks that look like big leggos.  Usually we might have to build them one or two high on one side or the other to level the trailer.  This time we had to build a pyramid 4 blocks high to get the camper level.   The beach was nearby but did not allow dogs so we didn't go down to it.

Once Bob finished listening to his Panthers game on the radio (luckily the game started at 10 AM in California and was over by 1:00), we headed into Santa Barbara to see their Maritime Museum.  It was down in the harbor which was absolutely gorgeous.  I don’t think I've ever seen that many boats in one harbor.  

The museum itself was interesting but, in our opinion, not as well done as the one in Beaufort, NC.  The best part was going up to the 4^th floor observation deck and looking out on the harbor. 

  We walked around the docks for a while, then headed back to the campground.  This was the turning point for us – tomorrow we would start heading EAST!