We left San Fransisco early in the morning because we had a long day of driving ahead - 341 miles. Of course I talked Jamie into stopping in Salinas. I'm a big fan of author John Steinbeck, and in many of his books we get vivid descriptions of his hometown. The town was pretty, but the people all wore cowboy hats. Nothing wrong with that! Just saying... We didn't have time to tour the entire Steinbeck center, but we stopped by and browsed the museum shop. Oh how I wish I could have spent a day there!
Next, we stopped for gas and snacks at beautiful Pismo Beach. The air was clean and the ocean breeze refreshing. The water was so crystal clear we wanted to take a dip, but decided we better get down to Los Angeles before the heat got to us. No AC, mind you!
Along the way we noticed several bells. Originally, these bells were put up by Mexicans and Spaniards at the same time the American colonies were rebelling against England. The bells were called "missions" to connect the places were the soil was most fertile - in areas where large populations of Native Americans lived. Eventually, the mission became a path known as El Camino Real - stretching all the way from Sonoma to San Diego.
When we reached Santa Barbara we got stuck in one of the biggest traffic jam I've ever seen. It was hot, dusty and we were both tired and hungry. In other words - not the best time to navigate through unfamiliar territory. That's why when we finally got to Ventura, we hopped out of the car and sought refuge from the heat under the shade of a tree in a park. There, we googled the directions to our final destination of the day - Malibu Beach RV Park. I've been to Ventura before, but I don't remember it ever being so beautiful. If we hadn't booked our spot in Malibu, we might have stayed there instead.
At first sight, the RV park seemed anything but promising. Large, crowded and tent spaces places next to a sign that said, "watch out for snakes". Great. While Jamie set up our tent, I watched over the luggage in our car, which was parked far away. There were wheel barrows designated for bags. Very primitive.
While setting up the tent, two German tourists approached Jamie, and probably, out of pity, asked him if he wanted to "eat sausage with them." LOL!
I don't know who designed out tent, but I'm not sure if it was made for a person. Maybe a gnome. But by some miracle, we both managed to wiggle our way in at dusk. Need I say we got no sleep? The sound of the ocean waves was soothing, but listening to the snakes rattle in the bushes... pretty much kept me on alert.
Still, we felt refreshed in the morning, and headed down to Starbucks at the Malibu Colony Plaza to get coffee and look for stars. After that, we went down to Malibu Laguna Beach. Jamie did some body-surfing for the first time. Yay!
While he was out braving the waves, I laid down on the towel and started reading. I thought I heard a buzz, and instinctively waved my hand. Then I looked up. A huge swarm of killer bees was flying around me. The whole beach was in panic. Nobody got stung, but a pretty scary experience nonetheless! I ran for my life down to the water and jumped in.
Seriously, how many close encounters with wildlife do I need on this trip?
We didn't see any movie stars. But we didn't see any snakes either!
Next, we stopped for gas and snacks at beautiful Pismo Beach. The air was clean and the ocean breeze refreshing. The water was so crystal clear we wanted to take a dip, but decided we better get down to Los Angeles before the heat got to us. No AC, mind you!
Along the way we noticed several bells. Originally, these bells were put up by Mexicans and Spaniards at the same time the American colonies were rebelling against England. The bells were called "missions" to connect the places were the soil was most fertile - in areas where large populations of Native Americans lived. Eventually, the mission became a path known as El Camino Real - stretching all the way from Sonoma to San Diego.
When we reached Santa Barbara we got stuck in one of the biggest traffic jam I've ever seen. It was hot, dusty and we were both tired and hungry. In other words - not the best time to navigate through unfamiliar territory. That's why when we finally got to Ventura, we hopped out of the car and sought refuge from the heat under the shade of a tree in a park. There, we googled the directions to our final destination of the day - Malibu Beach RV Park. I've been to Ventura before, but I don't remember it ever being so beautiful. If we hadn't booked our spot in Malibu, we might have stayed there instead.
At first sight, the RV park seemed anything but promising. Large, crowded and tent spaces places next to a sign that said, "watch out for snakes". Great. While Jamie set up our tent, I watched over the luggage in our car, which was parked far away. There were wheel barrows designated for bags. Very primitive.
While setting up the tent, two German tourists approached Jamie, and probably, out of pity, asked him if he wanted to "eat sausage with them." LOL!
I don't know who designed out tent, but I'm not sure if it was made for a person. Maybe a gnome. But by some miracle, we both managed to wiggle our way in at dusk. Need I say we got no sleep? The sound of the ocean waves was soothing, but listening to the snakes rattle in the bushes... pretty much kept me on alert.
Still, we felt refreshed in the morning, and headed down to Starbucks at the Malibu Colony Plaza to get coffee and look for stars. After that, we went down to Malibu Laguna Beach. Jamie did some body-surfing for the first time. Yay!
While he was out braving the waves, I laid down on the towel and started reading. I thought I heard a buzz, and instinctively waved my hand. Then I looked up. A huge swarm of killer bees was flying around me. The whole beach was in panic. Nobody got stung, but a pretty scary experience nonetheless! I ran for my life down to the water and jumped in.
Seriously, how many close encounters with wildlife do I need on this trip?
We didn't see any movie stars. But we didn't see any snakes either!
Haha ej må nesten berre flire litt her ej sitt, du e vel ikkje den typiske camping-turisten akkurat :-p men virka som dokke he en fin tur!! klem
ReplyDeleteNei, veit du ka! Ej e no reine supercamperen ej no!!
ReplyDeleteYour adventures are amazing. Thanks for sharing with us! Love the description of lying the tent listening to the waves AND snakes. xxx
ReplyDelete