Camping Lab Roof Top Tent Review
My wife Cindy and I have been on the road for almost 4 years now. We've been in our 25' Sunline travel trailer the entire time. There have been times we wanted to leave the camper behind and explore areas more remote or off the beaten path.
Not wanting to rough it too much, I mean we are pretty used to this Glamping Lifestyle we live, we started looking for options to enable us to get into those remote areas, yet still have the comforts of a comfortable bed, protection from the elements and not have the hassles of roughing it on the hard ground.
After having friends come visit us in Yellowstone who had a Roof Top Tent on their Jeep, we both loved what we saw and started looking at various models on the market.
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There are many to choose from with prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to the cost of a low end camper. Knowing we'd only be using this tent once or twice per month, till we became more used to this type of exploring, neither of us wanted to spend a fortune on something we wouldn't be using daily.
We read a ton of reviews, talked with a few people in the Overland community who owned various models. We asked them what they liked or disliked about their tents and after hearing so many rave about Camping Lab, their competitive prices, top notch quality and their awesome Customer Service, we decided on a Camping Lab medium sized tent that measured in at 55" wide by 94" long.
Camping Lab offers 3 sizes to choose from with their small coming in at 47" wide by 97" long (Just narrower than a queen sized bed) or their Large size coming in at a whopping 71" wide by 97" long. The small would be pretty tight quarters for the two of us with gear and the large would be too big. I thought it would take up more heat to keep warm in colder temps and just be added weight on the roof of the truck. It's just Cindy and I, so there is no need to go that big. It would be different if our daughter was at an age where she still camped with us, but those days are long gone
We figured our queen sized bed we have in our camper is 56" wide x 74" long, so the medium sized tent would give us a little extra room at our feet to leave shoes, clothes or jackets at while we're sleeping in the tent.
I liked the fact that the Camping Lab Tent offered fast set up with little to do except pull off the protective cover, pull on the aluminum ladder which swings the tent over basically setting it up in one swift move.
If you choose to crawl into the 3" thick, closed cell foam mattress at this point, you've got a comfortable bed to sleep on with almost no time wasted to make camp. We found once our tent was set up, we could leave our sleeping bags inside when folding it back up to drive off. This really speeds up the process of breaking camp and also leaves your bed ready to crawl back into the next time you stop.
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Hold Up, I'm getting way ahead of myself here. Let me back up to the day we got our tent delivered.
The Delivery guy showed up with a giant box all wrapped up nice and dry. Fernando, the owner of Camping Lab was real good about packing up the tent for delivery making sure no matter what the delivery company put it through, it showed up dry with no signs of damage in route from Miami to Utah where we had it delivered to.
I unboxed the tent and was amazed with everything that came with the tent. All the hardware is stainless and Fernando even sends wrenches so if you already have the roof top bars, the tent can probably be mounted in under an hour.
Before you get to mounting it, you have to decide which side you want the tent to open up onto....off the back of the vehicle, out the drivers side or off the passenger side. I contemplated mounting it on the rack already built on our bed cap having it open off the back of the truck, but thought I'd try it above the cab of the truck at first. If I wanted it on the cap, I'd have to have the aluminum bars I put up there to carry our kayaks moved, so I thought I'd see how this worked first.
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I'd advise against mounting it so it opens up onto the drivers side only for the reason that 99% of designated campgrounds are set up for passenger side access, it might make it awkward if entering and exiting off the drivers side of the vehicle.
Mounting the tent itself is pretty simple as long as you have some sort of mounting bars to bolt it to. Since our F-250 doesn't come with a stock roof rack, I had to go buy one. Dont remind me that I already have a set of these bars and all the mounting hardware to go along with them sitting in a box back in Michigan. So a quick trip to the local Outdoor Store and a measly $300 and I was back with yet another set of bars.
Once the brand new bars were on the roof, I was ready to lift up the tent to get it bolted down. This was where a second person is needed. Not that the RTT is that heavy, its just too cumbersome for one person to lift up there by themselves.
I had opened it on the ground just to make sure I knew how far it would extend and that I'd know where to bolt it to the bars. Camping Lab sends a set of directions that walks you through the mounting process step by step, so no matter how bad you are at putting things together, anyone should be able to do this without too much hassle.
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Making Measurements on the Ground before I lift it onto the roof
Grabbing Cindy out of the camper, we hoisted the RTT on to the bars and the rest was up to me. Just a few measurements before I was tightening down of the provided nylock nuts onto the stainless steel bolts. I thought it was pretty cool how everything fit so perfectly. There is a track for the bolts to slide into so you only need to use the provided wrench on the nuts.
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Mounting the tent to the load bars is done by simply lining it up so it looks even on the roof of the truck, then sliding the mounting pieces into the track and tightening the stainless steel plates.
Once everything was tightened down, I unfolded the tent to see how it looked. We crawled up into the spacious quarters and got used to our new home away from home.
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Inside the tent there are pockets along the sides to keep flashlights, gloves, a hat or anything else you might need while camping close by. There are also bungee cords that stretch from side to side on quick release buckles to help pull in the sides when folding the tent up.
Doors are on each side with big screened windows all the way around. The top of the tent has a screened vent to allow excess moisture to escape and not collect on the walls.
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There are poles that hook into the rain fly and mount into the base of the frame to hold the fly out away from the windows and doors. If its windy and you dont want the fly up in the air to catch the wind, there are mounting tabs to hold the fly tight against the bottom of the tent.
Everything is very well thought out and professional constructed on the Camping Lab tent. I was very impressed with its construction and final finish
Testing the Camping Lab Roof Top Tent
Before we actually went out to use the tent for real, I wanted to set it up when I wasn't pressed for time or with darkness approaching and could get some practice. No need in having the first time using it become a nightmare, and it also gave us a reason to go find a nice windy ridge to see what it was like to put everything up in a wind storm.
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Being as we were staying in Moab Utah at the time, we had plenty of access to high desert plateaus where you can always find a strong breeze blowing.
Cindy and I drove up the Cane Creek Road to Hurrah Pass and found a beautiful vista to park and see what would happen if I tried to make camp in a wind storm.
She watched as I did everything by myself, something that I wanted to do so I would make sure I could do it by myself if I had to.
The wind really isn't a factor and except for making the rain fly flap a little, despite the 20mph winds, I had camp set up in about 10 minutes.
We hung out taking pictures and laid around in the tent seeing what it was like in a few different configurations with the rain fly up, the rain fly strapped down and every other configuration we could think of.
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Packing it up takes a little longer than setting it up, but only because of how tall my truck is and how short I am. For me to do anything with the tent, I either need to be on a ladder the entire time, or climb right up onto the roof and do everything from up there.
My only complaint with the entire set-up is the zipper on the waterproof cover.
Its somewhat hard to get started for me and you have to make sure when pulling the zipper around the base, which waterproofs everything, that you dont catch any of the tent fabric in the teeth of the zipper.
If there was some sort of hard sided cover that could simply be lifted on and off, it would make the entire set up take maybe 5 minutes. Either way, its so much easier then trying to roll back up a standard ground tent, stuff it back into a small bag and worry about being in the dirt the entire time
We were ready for our 1st Camping Trip - White Rim Trail Here we Come
A few days later we would head out to Canyonlands National Park to test it out for real
We had a trip planned to drive the 100 miles of bumpy, tight two track along Utah's infamous White Rim Trail.
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The trail itself is amazing, and would make our 1st night of camping in the Roof Top Tent be one we'd never forget
The day went great with beautiful scenery in every direction we looked. As we pulled into our camp for the night, I had the tent set up within minutes while Cindy got started on dinner.
As we were eating dinner, the winds started to pick up and within minutes it seemed like the temperature had dropped 20°.
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We finished up with our meal and climbed up into the protection of the tent for the remainder of the night
Little did we know that the next few hours Mother Nature would do her best to try and blow the tent off the roof and buckle the aluminum supports.
With wind gusts of up to 50 mph, we sat prisoner in the tent with what sounded like a freight train roaring past us. The rain fly was flapping against the side of the tent so hard, I was certain that our first night using our brand new tent would result in having the fabric shredded by the winds.
We learned that the tent is much better in winds with the rain fly buckled down tightly rather than have the poles holding the fly open which only catches the winds more.
We also learned that in the future, we need to stake down the ladder.
The winds were blowing so strong, that on numerous occasions would the folded out side of the tent rise up from the level position which would allow the ladder to swing freely below it.
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One of the times it raised up so high, the ladder swung opposite and landed against the truck. This meant that when Cindy got so scared from the force of the winds and thought it would be safer sleeping inside the truck, there was no way for her to climb back down the ladder.
Some how over the course of the night we both managed to fall asleep despite the howling winds. We woke to a dead calm and a beautiful blue ski making us question whether it was all just a bad dream.
I shimmied down the ladder and put it back the way it was supposed to go so Cindy could come back down to solid ground, and our first night in the tent was a wild one, that's for sure.
We were both amazed that nothing on the tent had tore, the tent itself had stayed standing all night and we were surprisingly warm and comfy in that crazy of a storm.
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After that first time out camping, we both decided that we'd rather have the tent open up off the back of the truck which would allow the section of tent that flips out to act as an awning over the back doors
I plan to build a little flip out table off the back of the truck where we'll be able to prepare food and have a roof over our heads if the weather is bad.
Plus, with the RTT over the bed of the truck, the windshield throws the wind up and over it rather than catching it like it was doing when it was mounted over the cab.
I'll be sure to follow up as we use it more often and figure out ways to improve upon an already solid base
If you're looking to add some comforts to your camping experience, I'd recommend a Camping Lab Roof Top Tent any day of the week. The mattress is soft and comfortable, the ease of use is just amazing, and after surviving that wind storm, I'm thinking this tent is going to hold up to years of abuse.
RE: Ever Been Asked to Leave?
all I thought was, I hope that they had a good stay and how could they sleep with all the traffic on the busy street?
Once you sleep in an RV for more than the occasional night here and there, you'd be surprised how used to noises you can get.
When we first started traveling, my wife couldnt sleep in truck stops, now we can sleep between two idling diesel tractors and not even notice it
RE: Ever Been Asked to Leave?
In the almost 4 years we've spent fulltiming with 90% of those nights spent camped along the side of the road or in some parking lot, the only times we've had a knock was in Fort Bragg along the Pacific Coast HWY in California, and when I explained that it was 3am and we were just getting some rest, the officer said as long as we pulled out first thing, we could stay the rest of the night
Other time was in Anna Marie Island in Florida while parked along the coast.
This was sort of funny because we were parked legally along the road, but by a sign that said NO Parking Between Sun-down to Sun-up
We had just watched the sun drop below the horizon and were in the process of packing up to move out, when a young officer pounded on the door so hard I jumped out of my skin.
I happened to be standing with my hand on the door handle because we were getting ready to walk out. I kicked the door open hoping who ever had pounded on it that hard would get hit by the force of my kick
It swung past his face almost smacking him and we just sat there glaring at one another.
I had our 60lb pitbull on a leash and I think that scared him as bad as he had scared me.
He yelled "You cant park here after dark"
It was still light as the sun had set only minutes earlier. I jumped out to be looking at him face to face and said "Thanks for the knock, we were just leaving"
He sat and waited parked right behind us I'm sure running our plates to try and see if he could get me on anything for kicking the door open so hard
What a jerk!
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
LONGggggggg read, but worth it.
Have fun, hope the 'bank' fills up for you.
Thanks JTMO, I knew it was long, but thought the items we posted would be a good reference for someone else planning this trip.
Trip Reports are probably my favorite thing to read on this forum, as you can only answer the "Which TT should I chose?" question so many times...LOL
RE: Picture posting thread...anyone into it?
http://everymilesamemory.smugmug.com/Animals/Monterey-Bay-Aquarium/Beautiful-Swimmer-Sea-Nettle/716891023_FhuJV-M-1.jpg
Sea Nettle Jelly Fish from the Monterey Bay Aquarium - Full Gallery can be Seen Here
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Dick, that would be great and we normally try and visit Arizona each winter, so I'll be sure to take you up on that offer as Beer with fellow travelers is one of my favorite things to share!
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Friday November 13th - Sort of a Lazy Day
We slept in this morning, ate our free breakfast in the dinning room of the hotel, I answered some of the 1700 emails that I haven't been able to look at for the past 9 days, and Cindy vegged out in front of the television some more.
We both took long, hot showers just letting the steaming hot water wash some of the aches we were both feeling come over us in the past 24 hours. I hate getting a cold and with us being on the road so much, its rare that we ever get one, but I guess with the last week of cold nights and non-stop moving, our immune systems are worn down a little.
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When we finally left the luxuries of the hotel room, I said to Cindy that if we had the money, this would be the ideal way to travel the California Coast
Using the VW Van as your ideal mode of transport. Having it for the luxuries of its small size, the ability to carry all our camera gear and the Westfalia pop top that allows us to stand up comfortably when making lunch or lounging around waiting for the right light to make our photo work. Yet not having to hide out at night and worry about where we're going to use a restroom.
Since the average price is right around $40 for a campground here in California, I'm thinking if we have to chose one or the other, the hotel would be our first choice.
I really want to visit the Monterey Aquarium because of how many people we've talked to that have just raved about the displays of sea life and how close you can get to it.
Cindy on the other hand was only looking at the $30 per person entrance fee.
So we compromised and visited the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History which is free. We spent a few hours wandering around this great little museum that describes every type of mammal, fish, shell or bird you'll find in California.
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I couldn't believe how cool it was for being free. I also spoke with a woman from the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce who gave me a map to the Butterfly Sanctuary where the migrating Monarch Butterflies are supposed to hanging out right now
While talking to her, she too recommended the Monterey Aquarium and said that to offset the entrance cost, just make sure you get there at 9:30 in the morning when they open and get your $30's worth.
After the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, we drove over to the Butterfly Sanctuary but only saw a few butterflies and they were pretty far up in the eucalyptus trees, so no good photos.
Jess and Susy had told us about the butterflies while we sat talking with them in San Simeon and Jess showed us some awesome photos he had taken. We were both bummed today's visit left us empty handed with no photos to show off.
As the cool night air started to set in, I asked Cindy what she wanted to do. She said we were both feeling like******and she's so worried about our bank account, that she thought it would just be wise to start heading back to L.A.
I said that we were right here, and its stupid to not visit the Aquarium because we're worried about money. If that's the case, we probably shouldn't have left Yellowstone in October. We should have just stayed in Wyoming and continued to work.
She asked me what I wanted to do and here was my plan. Lets get another hotel room tonight. Stay right here in Monterey and be at the Aquarium first thing when they open. We'll spend the day seeing everything the Aquarium has to offer and we'll leave from here tomorrow to start driving back to the VW Surfari headquarters.
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When we had met up with Dave and Joanie in Pismo Beach, Dave had asked if he could jump on my laptop real quick to book a hotel room for the night.
He logged onto Hotwire.com and said he wanted a hotel in the area for $50. The cheapest price they offered him was $57 and he jotted down the number and we followed him to his hotel....it was that east.
So Cindy grabbed her lap top and tried to do the same thing. She found a 2 star room for $57 that included a continental breakfast and I wondered whey we hadn't been doing this the entire journey? We soon were as happy as clam sitting in a warm, cozy room with our own bathroom, a big bed and more TV to feed Cindy's addiction.
She went to bed saying if we're going to go for broke, we might as well break the entire bank while we're having fun. I figure once the account hits zero, it'll give me some more incentive to figure something out to earn a buck while we're on the road.
Tomorrow the Monterey Aquarium, then we head inland where it'll hopefully be warm enough that we'll be able to go back to sleeping in the van. These off shore winds are what's dropping the temperatures so bad.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Thursday November 12th- Moving back into Civilization
I'm thinking that sleeping in the camper last night with the temps getting down to the low 40's wasn't good for my worn out body. I woke up with an all over body ache and a throat that felt like I had a piece of sandpaper stuck in it.
Cindy made some coffee while we took turns in the hot showers. I'm confused that we pay $40 for a campsite, and still have to pay to shower. I've come to the conclusion that California is way to rich for my blood.
Being tucked in this Redwood Forest between these towering giants was like being locked in a cold, damp cave. We could see that the sky was a deep blue above the trees, but none of that warm sunlight could penetrate the thick canopy.
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We figured since we spent $40 to camp here, we might as well take advantage of the electricity and work on the computers till check out time, so the morning was spent putting together a VW Surfari Gallery of our photos up to this point and trying to move my many pages of notes into a legible, readable blog.
We moved from the campsite to the Fernwood Cafe, but it was too hard for me to write because of the worst service I've seen in years. The manager was sitting at a table and Cindy and I could see the frustration in his body language with the young, slacker girl behind the counter.
She sat texting on her phone the entire time, and when a new couple would come walking in, he'd have to clear his throat to get her to look up where she'd give a short, rude "Can I help you?"
Two ladies came in and sat beside us and when we all got to talking about the $6 coffee and crappy service, we found out that they were from Michigan and knew the Red Dog Saloon from visiting Milford....What a Small World!
We sat talking about California and how beautiful it was and our journeys up HWY 1. They were headed to Whistler at a pace about the same slowness as we were crawling. We talked about the VW Van and how fun it was to have the ability to pull over and have everything with you, but also about the camping and how exaggerated the prices were.
I guess people from California are just used to these sort of prices, because each time we bring them up, folks from out of state all agree its just too expensive, but people from California almost seen shocked when we say "Its just too much!"
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Camped in Arkansas along the Beautiful White River for $20 per night!!
I have no problem spending $19 for full hook-ups when we're camping in a beautiful Arkansas State Park. I have no qualms about spending $25 for a full hook-up site with laundry, hot showers and beautiful scenery when camping in a Florida State Park.
When we boondocked in the Ocala National Forest in central Florida, the sites were primitive with a water spigot you had to share for the entire campground and cost only $7 per night. Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada offer BLM campgrounds that blanket much of those states for free, State Forest Campgrounds are $6 per night for primitive sites and maybe $20 on the high end for full hook-ups.
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Camped on the Rim of Monument Valley - $15 per night and worth every cent
Minnesota and Wisconsin State Park Campgrounds offer free camping if its out of season and still provide access to the dump stations if you need it. Oklahoma offers free camping in many of the public parks and their rest areas along the roadways have dump stations so travelers dont have to be carrying extra weight while they drive.
None of these states have the problems California does with their financial budgets, and they are major destinations for travelers. I understand that California isn't really comparable to any of these states, but you would think rather than keep raising the costs to go out exploring and having fun, it would be in the best interest of the state to lower the prices of these campgrounds which would make more people want to go out and have fun, especially in these off season months.
When we left Fernwood, we drover further up HWY 1 stopping every few miles to take in our last few miles of remote coastline. We knew that once we hit Carmel, Monterey and Pacific Grove, we'd be back in civilization and this rugged, remote coastline would be behind us.
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Spooky Cypress Forest in Pebble Beach
Planning for this adventure, we had thought we were going to have a few days in San Francisco, maybe even enough time to spend a day or two sampling wines in Napa Valley. But heck, we didn't see half the things we wanted to see and we're 9 days into our journey.
The VW allows us to pull over so much more than when traveling with the much larger travel trailer in tow, I can only imagine if we were to explore in this sized vehicle full time how much more we'd see.
Monterey, with the Aquarium and its downtown district would be a whole day in and of itself, and it will probably take a few days to drive back down the 101 to L.A.
As we were pulling into Carmel, I saw a sign for the Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo. It was getting late in the afternoon, so I figured why not stop to add this Mission to the long list of religious structures we've visited.
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If you haven't noticed up to this point, I have a pretty bad sickness when it comes to photography. If there is something beautiful, out of the ordinary or anything that has to do with History or Architecture, I'll stop to photograph it.
This addiction is insatiable and it tends to control everything I do. The other night while we were sitting there in the VW, Cindy asked what I was thinking about as we were watching the last few rays of daytime disappear. I replied with some comment about trying to set the camera up on a tripod to shoot some star trails but couldn't figure out how to do it because each night we've had such strong winds.
Of course Cindy just rolled her eyes and laughed at how crazy I am.
So when I saw the sign for Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo and turned into the parking lot, Cindy just rolled her eyes again, grabbed her camera and said "Let's go do this."
Walking around the beautiful Mission, I could feel a cold coming over me that no amount of layering or bundling up was taking care of. I'm thinking the last week of going, going, going non-stop and sleeping each night in the damp, cold, coastal air has got me a little worn down.
Leaving the Mission in Carmel, we were pulling into Pebble Beach just as the sun was setting and took the 17 Mile Drive Loop around this amazing tract of property.
We stopped to see the most photographed tree in America, the Lone Cypress and wished we would have had more light to see more of this area in the beautiful light of late afternoon.
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Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach Shoreline - Photo by Pat Bonish
Pulling out of Pebble Beach, we found a spot where we could hang out, plug the computers in and play some catch up. Thanks to the local Subway in Pacific Grove for letting us take up one of your booths for a few hours straight.
As we left the Subway because they were closing, we were sort of in a pickle. I was feeling like******feeling like I was coming down with a full blown cold and the temps were down in the low 40's again.
The last thing I wanted to do was sleep another night in the cold with an aching body and hiding out in the Monterey area. We were told by a few locals that the local Po-Po isn't too keen on dirtbags sleeping along the streets, so against all our normal rules, we broke down and got a hotel room.
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I justified it with simple math. $40 for a campground where we still have to sleep in a roof top tent with no heat. Pay for hot showers in the morning and have to share a bathroom with everyone else in the campground. Or, pay $70, sleep in a king sized bed, have heat, have our own bathroom with unlimited hot water to bathe in and breakfast included in the morning.
Thanks to the Front Desk guy at the La Quinta Inn who totally hooked us up on the price and allowed us to sneak Luca in the back stair even thought they dont allow dogs. I was more worried about him sleeping out in the cold night air than Cindy or myself
Once in the room, Cindy was like some kind of drug addict with the television and a remote control. She jumped into the bed and spent the next few hours drooling on herself flipping the channels incessantly.
I spent the entire night working on my blogs, uploading the VW Surfari Gallery shivering even though we had the heat on high.
When I finally crawled into bed, it was 4am and Cindy was still watching the TV. I kissed her goodnight and was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Best $70 I've ever spent.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Wednesday November 11th - Day 8 of the VW Surfari Adventure
Waking up this morning was like being perched along the edge of a cliff. Cindy commented that it felt like we were flying over the Pacific Ocean because of how far we could see down the coast and out to sea all around us.
Another camper had decided to share our pull-out with us, so I guess we werent hiding all too well. Their big fifth-wheel stood out like a sore thumb where we had tried our hardest to tuck ourselves up against the side of a wall.
We threw down some breakfast and were on the road heading back towards the Salmon Creek trailhead.
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Once parked, I threw on the ThinkTank Belt System to carry a few extra lenses and some filters that always go with us when we photograph waterfalls, and we finally on our way to see this waterfall.
The trail is pretty easy, although it climbs up and around some smooth rock.
If you ever come out to Big Sur to hike this trail, make sure you have good hiking shoes with a sticky sole on them. Cindy was wearing just a normal pair of running shoes and was sliding all over the rocks.
The black and green, Jade like volcanic boulders we were climbing around were the size of our camper and they dwarfed the big trees all around them. It was as if we were hiking through a fairytale and the waterfall lived up to the excitement we had to go through to get to it.
There are a bunch of different routes to give you various views of the water dropping over 120' into the emerald green pool at the bottom of the cliff
We played around all morning and if you ever come out to photograph this waterfall, make sure you're here early in the morning. By 10:30am the light was starting to filter through the trees on the bluff behind us and was causing that dappled light that ruins photographs.
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I wanted to hike up to the top and have a view from the peak, but with Cindy's slippery shoes, she decided to stay down at the bottom and just soak in the view.
Climbing to the top was very strenuous, especially when carrying a tripod in one of your hands. The view was pretty awesome and coming back down I found a much easier trail that dumped me back out my the road.
I hiked back in to see if Cindy was still down there, but she never answered any of my calls, so I grabbed her water bottle she had left sitting on a rock and hiked back out to the van.
Once at the van, I found that she wasn't here, so I threw the camera gear in the back and grabbed Luca to give him some exercise. He would probably make a great Search and Rescue Dog as long as Cindy was the only one he was searching for.
All I had to do was say "Go Find Ma!" and his nose hit the ground and he was gone. I could barely keep up with him he was towing me so hard behind his leash. One of his favorite things to do is play Hide and Go Seek, so this was a really challenging game for him.
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Cindy just soaking up the Beauty of Salmon Creek Waterfall
Surprisingly enough, he followed our exact route we had taken in the first time and he never even veered off when we passed the trail I had hiked back out of.
When we heard Cindy whistling for me, I let Luca go and told him to go get her. He took off so fast, I was worried we were going to have another incident where he plows right into Cindy and knocks her onto the ground.
She yelled at me for going back to the truck without her, and I explained that I had called for her a few times. Sitting at the base of the falls, I realized you're almost deaf to any other sounds because of the roaring of the water.
The 3 of us walked back out to the van and were soon on our way North up HWY 1.
The rest of the day was spent pulling over every few miles to take in the views and we finally found the McWay Waterfall. I had told Cindy that I had a few things I wanted to photograph and see with my own eyes along this journey.
The Elephant Seals up-close in San Simeon, touring the Hearst Castle, visiting the end of Route 66 on the Santa Monica Pier, taking in the Salmon Creek Waterfall, experiencing Venice Beach and finally, seeing the McWay Waterfall. Up until a few weeks ago while I was compiling all the info we had received for this adventure, I had never even seen or heard of this amazing piece of nature.
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But once I saw it in a photo someone had sent me a link to, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Its something you'd see on a tropical island in the Caribbean. When Cindy asked me how you could even describe it in words, I said I'd just say "Imagine you're jogging down a tropical beach in slow motion with corn rolls in your hair, a skimpy two piece bikini on your tanned, buff body. This would be the backdrop you'd see in the background." She got a chuckle out of that one.
I couldn't believe it when we found out this piece of property was actually someone's private house at one time. Imagine owning the only waterfall to drop directly into the Pacific Ocean along the West Coast.
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This waterfall is breathtaking and I couldn't stop taking pictures of it. I've also found a new goal in life. To do a photo shoot on the beach and have a few days to wait for the perfect light.
As we were leaving the McWay waterfall, we were sitting in the parking lot having lunch and watching the ravenous Steller's Jay who were practically stealing the food out of our hands as we ate with the doors open when another of Bill's VW Surfari Vans pulled up right beside us.
The German couple who was driving the vintage green Westfalia tried to talk with us, but they spoke very little English, and we spoke no German.
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So we just smiled, pointed at a few different things and did alot of laughing.
After lunch we stopped at a few Galleries and had a drink at Nepenthe. This Restaurant/Book Store/Cafe offers some amazing views and blends into its surroundings so well, you almost dont even notice it.
The views off the deck are something everyone should see while traveling the PCH Trail and while we were sitting there just watching the evening fog roll in, I said aloud to Cindy "Why would anyone want to live anywhere else than California?"
The place is so beautiful and diverse. Each day just amazes me more and more with the new sights we see.
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We finally landed at the Fernwood Campground so we could have some electricity and I could get caught up on this dang blog of mine. I'm so far behind right now, it will be days of sitting in front of the laptop before I can get some galleries posted and have everything uploaded.
Camped in a thick grove of redwoods, even though it was only 5 in the afternoon and the sun was just now setting, once we pulled into the grove of towering trees, all outside light was blocked out and it instantly became night.
If you thought the VW Van was small before, try looking at it when it's parked beside a 300' tall redwood that is larger in circumference than the van is long. Nature has a way of dwarfing you and making you realize how insignificant we humans are in this world, no matter how bad we try and ruin it
I sat in the van all night while Cindy grabbed her Laptop to go sit in the little coffee shop/restaurant the campground has. While she was checking in, the guy working the desk was surprised to find out she was originally from Michigan. I guess he just moved here last week and said the same thing I had just said while sitting on the deck at Nepenthe. "Why did I live in Michigan for so long?"
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Tuesday November 10th 2009 - Getting the Van Fixed and our 3rd Trip into Cambria
When I awoke this morning, I said to Cindy "That's the best I've slept this entire trip so far."
I told her because we had no worries about the dreaded knock in the middle of the night, I slept really well.
She laughed and said "I think its funny that we're broken down on the side of the Pacific Coast Highway with no cell phone coverage, no idea of what comes next and we both had the best night of sleep yet!"
We popped the Westfalia top to exhaust the condensation and air out our morning breath and Cindy cooked us up some breakfast.
After breakfast, she decided to go use the Call Box again so she could see if Bill had received the onslaught of messages and see what the plans were for our rescue operation today.
I cleaned up the inside of the camper and put everything in its designated location.
When Cindy came back from the phone, she said "Ok, Bill is in Phoenix picking up another van for his collection, and was out of cell coverage range when we were trying to call him last night. He had gotten all our messages and said he sent us a few different text messages, emails and voicemails with places we could get the van towed to. He said text messages go through in places a cell phone signal cant reach, so he tried to cover all the routes of communication."
She said "The call box operator is sending a flat bed tow truck to bring us to a shop and he should be here within a half hour." My response was ------? What happened to hiking the waterfall trail?
Isn't that the entire reason we're sitting where we are right now?
She gave me one of those looks that brought my tail between my legs and said "Did you want me to ask if the operator could wait a few hours before calling the tow so we could go do a hike?"
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So we packed up a bunch of stuff not knowing what would be the outcome of the tow.
The driver from Cambria Towing pulled up in no time, and soon enough we were loaded up on the flat bed on our way back to Cambria for our 3rd time in as many days.
Funny that the drive out of Cambria to where we broke down seemed like it took us forever, but in the tow truck, with the high rate of speed the driver was bringing us back into town, it seemed like it took us a total of 20 minutes before we were back in the little town it had taken us so long to get out of.
A few miles up the road, we were back in cell phone coverage range and I was on the phone with Bill right away.
He explained that it would more than likely be an easy fix, and he would be back from Phoenix later this afternoon, so if it wasn't something that could be fixed while we waited, then he could be in Cambria in the morning with another Van for us to swap our gear into and we could be back on the Adventure.
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Pretty damn fine service if you ask me. I mean we are talking about a 27 year old vehicle, and one that wasn't all that reliable the day it rolled off the assembly line in Germany. So its nobodies fault the thing broke down, and Bill was adamant about getting us another van or getting us back on the road as soon as he could.
First things first and we needed to get into Cambria and have it looked at before we started making plans on what to do next.
Ron, the tow truck driver who was actually the owner, brought us back to his yard he shared with Brad, a mechanic who knew his way around the inner workings of a VW. He actually had a newer VW Bus up on his lift, and has a mint condition 1950's era VW Bug in his garage that he let us drool all over
Brad got right on our bus, crawling underneath it and checking out a few different things he thought might be wrong with it. He had Bill on the phone walking him through what was brand new (The Transmission) and what Bill was thinking it might be by the noises Cindy and I were describing.
It took Brad about 20 minutes before we heard him laugh and say "Yep, I know what it is. Easy fix and you both should be out of here within a few hours as long as I have some spare parts on the bench."
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Apparently the rear CV Shaft had sheared off a few bolts and was the reason the gas pedal was useless. It was spinning the little drive shaft, but with the bolts sheared off, we werent going anywhere.
It took all of about 20 minutes before Brad had the CV Shaft on the ground and was working on it in his shop. One of the bolts that had sheared off was lodged in the threads, so he said it was going to take awhile to tap the broken bolt out, and we should probably go wander around downtown so we werent just sitting in the driveway of his shop.
Cindy and I each grabbed a camera and left to go explore downtown Cambria. The town is very nice with tons of specialty shops, bakeries, coffee shops, art galleries and bars.
We found this one shop that had so many funky little trinkets, that we both had to pull one another out of it because of how bad we wanted to start buying the unique items they offered.
We grabbed a cup of coffee at one of the many cafe's and spent about an hour just window shopping and catching up on a few phone calls to family since we finally had a cell signal that wasn't going to drop out around the next turn.
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By the time we walked back up to Brad's Shop, he had everything put back together and told us to take it for a spin around the block to make sure everything ran smoothly and that was the only thing making the noises.
He said to me, "I would have taken it for a test drive myself, but that dog of yours was sitting in the drivers seat when I went to get in, and I wasn't about to move him."
I'm not sure what Luca would do if someone was trying to get into the vehicle when we werent around, but something tells me they'd probably get a face full of bad breath kisses.
When we pulled back up from our test drive, Bill had already taken care of the cost of the repair over the phone, and we thanked Ron and Brad for their amazingly fast service and keeping our mini adventure going smoothly. This was basically just a speed bump, and with as long as we've been on the road, it wasn't even a big speed bump.
So for the 3rd and hopefully the last time, we said goodbye to Cambria and headed North towards Big Sur.
We had so much fun at the San Simeon Beach viewing area where all the Elephant Seals hang out, that we decided since toady was pretty much a wash, we might as well stop again and just hang out watching the seals.
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This time, we both talked with the very informative guides and learned a ton of info about these very interesting animals.
We sat watching them for the majority of the afternoon and had a blast doing it. I know we're total nerds, but they're just fun to sit and study.
By the time we got back to the Salmon Creek turnoff where we had broken down, it was about the same time we had passed yesterday and we've still yet to hike the waterfall trail.
This time we didn't slow down or turn around, we just kept going till we found a nice pull-off to watch the sunset. How boring when we dont have to use a call box or worry what tomorrow is going to bring...Just Kidding.
Once the sun dropped below the horizon, we spent the next few hours just sitting up talking about what we have done up to this point and threw ideas back and forth about where the road might lead us when we're finished with the VW Surfari.
You know those decisions about what you plan to do when you grow up. That was what we talked about all night.
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This evening we were parked right up against a big bluff that was acting as a nice wind break, so the weather was actually pretty warm even though we were a few hundred feet over the Pacific.
It was a fun day, and hopefully the Salmon Creek Waterfall would live up to the build up that lead us to tomorrow mornings hike we had planned.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
The nose of the van was out into the road, so we both jumped out to push it back into the dirt pullout. A pick-up truck that was driving by stopped and the guy jumped out to help us push it backwards.
He joked with me asking "Do you just want to keep pushing it back right over the edge?"
Jack and Lydia were touring the Pacific Coast Highway for their wedding anniversary and once the VW was off the road, we all sat talking about their many trips up and down the coast from their home state of Washington.
Jack told me this trip they were exploring the hundreds of miles of dirt roads that snake through the Sierra De Salinas Mountain Range. He was telling me about the old homestead properties that are left up there and the old Mission San Antonio De Padua that still stands hidden in the mountains.
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The Pull-Out we Broke Down in - Not a Bad Spot to Spend the Night
I added that route to the long list of places we must come back and visit on a different adventure. But right now we needed to pay attention to the task at hand, a broke down VW Van.
I'm not much of a mechanic and I know these vans are the type that need constant maintenance. But we were 25 some-odd miles from the nearest service station and sitting in a spot with no cell phone coverage.
Jack and Lydia offered to drive us where ever we needed to go, but once we talked of the dog and our loads of camera gear we had with us, we figured it would be easier for us to just stay with the van and have them call Bill back at VW Surfari once they reached a cell signal.
I mean we were in a fully functional camper and we had just stocked everything full this morning knowing we were headed towards Big Sur.
They wished us luck, we thanked them profusely and they drove South towards Ragged Point. A few seconds later, Jack pulled back in the turnout saying "100 yards down the road there is an Emergency Call Box that motorists use in case of a break down or accident."
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He told us he'd still call Bill for us, but that call box might get some help out to us faster if we wanted to get towed out tonight.
We thanked him again and Cindy and I walked down to see what sort of help we might be able to call on the phone. I've always seen these phones along the side of the road, but I guess I've been lucky enough up to this point to never have to use one of them.
As soon as you pick up the phone, an operator answers asking if you've had car trouble and if you need medical assistance?
We answered "Yes" to the first question and "No" to the second one. We explained our situation and tried to stress that we didn't need a California Highway Patrol car to come out because we werent going to leave the vehicle due to the amount of contents and the dog.
The operator told us it was protocol to send out a CHP Officer , but she would let them know it wasn't an emergency situation. They also called Bill's number, but only got a voicemail, so they left a message for us.
From this point, we had done everything we could do and the only thing left to do from here was crack open a beer while we watched the last few rays of sun blend with the stars that were trying to pop out from behind the heavens.
I figured this would show us how strict all the 'No Camping' signs are that are posted up and down the PCH Trail. Being as we were parked right under a sign the size of the front end of the bus that said "No Parking at Anytime"
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We are on a very busy road with plenty of cars whizzing past us and not one even taped their brakes to see if we are in need of help. Even with Cindy standing under a call box on the phone while I was walking around with Luca, not one of the cars passed to see if a single girl needed help.
Granted we're in a VW Bus and they probably just figure we're some beatniks not following the rules, but I expected at least a few people to stop.
Thanks Jack and Lydia for stopping and offering us a ride and use of your Anniversary time. Karma will come back around for you at a later date and something good will come your way I'm sure.
When we watched a forest ranger truck go whizzing past and look right at us, yet never even tap his brakes to slow down or consider coming back to see what we were doing, we both laughed that up to this point, we've been worried about sleeping along the side of the road.
Cindy made us some dinner, I drank my one beer and we hit the sack. A nice warm breeze was blowing in and you could hear a faint sound of the waves crashing against the craggy shoreline and in all honesty, I couldn't think of a more beautiful location to be broken down. Dont tell anyone, but I was hoping it would take a few days for help to arrive.
Our whole reason to be in this pullout was to hike the Salmon Creek Waterfall Trail, so we'd get to do that tomorrow before anyone would have time to get to us.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Monday November 9th - Hearst Castle and our Break Down
When we finally decided we had better move out, we had been parked for 12 full hours! Man it sucks when its dark at 5:30pm. Its not like there is any nightlife to give you something to do once the sun sets.
In our camper, with the big bank of deep cell batteries, once the sun goes down, that usually means we go in the camper and work on the computers and edit our days photos till were good and tired.
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In the VW, with only one battery, we need to conserve its power to make sure it will start the motor in the morning, so unless we're driving, we cant work on the cpu's at all. This is grueling for both of us as we're used to at least looking at our photos knowing what we've got at the end of the day
I can go without internet, that's no big deal, but shooting gig upon gig of photos, and not being able to look at them is downright painful for both Cindy and me. Many times we see angles or lighting conditions we should wait around for and know we can wait till tomorrow and re-try the shot while we're still in the area.
Having the 12 volt inverter with us means we can charge all our camera batteries while driving and that really important. I cant imagine traveling without some of these luxuries in this day of digital cameras, portable hard drives and other electronics we carry with us.
Why did it take so long for vehicle manufacturers to figure this out? I remember our first inverter we bought. I think we spent a few hundred dollars for a 300 watt model that would create a nasty buzz in any of the electronics we'd plug into it.
Our current model is much quieter, much more efficient, runs at 400 some odd watts and cost $59. Its easy to bring with us in any vehicle we drive in and has come in handy for many trips when we dont have our truck and all its built in photographers luxuries.
We had camped in San Simeon last night, so we could visit the Hearst Castle first thing this morning. I know this is a major tourist destination, but with our love of history and architecture, I'd still recommend it to everyone driving down the Pacific Coast Highway. Heck, we liked it so much, I'd go as far as say it would be worth booking a specific trip just to visit the castle.
Since we were driving around before the sun had risen, and the town of San Simeon is only a few hundred people that live there, finding anything open this early was out of the question.
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Sunrise on the Shoreline of San Simeon
We found a really pretty spot to sit and wait for the sun, earth and waves to do their morning ritual. While Cindy made some coffee to warm us up, I got out my tripod to try and play around with the waves and the craggy shoreline.
Another truck pulled up and I sat talking with David, a panoramic photographer who had stopped to see what the morning light might offer for his lens. He joked that he saw my tripod and was glad to see that he wasn't the only photographer stupid enough to be out here this time of morning freezing his fingers off.
He told me that of all the rugged coastline seascapes he's found driving up and down HWY 1, this particular section is his favorite.
For me and my relationship with sunrises, they're not that strong. If I make it up that early, it had better be one spectacular scene to get me holding onto a bunch of freezing camera gear when I could be snuggled up to a warm woman in bed.
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Then once the climax happens of the sun actually coming over the horizon, the colors loose their zest and I get bored with the scene.
I spent about an hour along the coast and when I was worried I was going to have to amputate my fingers from losing all feeling in them, I scurried back up the rocks and into the warmth of the Van.
We were off to find someplace warm where we could get some food and hot coffee to really wake up.
We found the only place open for breakfast and grabbed a booth. It was a one man operation and the same guy who took our order also cooked our food. While he was in the kitchen cooking our breakfast, I got up to refill our coffee and another guy walked in for his morning cup of Joe.
The cook/waiter/head bottle washer peaked his head out the kitchen window saying "I'll be right with you!" and I asked him if he wanted me to serve the guy his coffee so he could stay in the kitchen.
He laughed and said "Sure, go ahead if you dont mind."
So I sat the guy, poured him his coffee and gave him a menu. I figured it would help get our food faster. Cindy and I sat warming ourselves up and talking with a woman from Canada who was on a bus trip down the California coast with a group of senior citizens
We talked of various sights we've seen and compared different areas of the coast as we got fed up on our mornings breakfast.
The waiter came back to the table and I asked him where he'd recommend if I was traveling North and needed gas. I was shocked when he replied "I'd go back to Cambria. That's where I go for my cheap gas."
He told us the further North we travel, the higher in price the gas is going to go. "Plan on spending at least $5 a gallon once you get into Big Sur."
Oh man, why hadn't we bought extra gas cans while the fuel was only $2.89 per gallon back in L.A.?
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So before we headed up to Hearst Castle, we went back down to Cambria for our second trip to get some very inexpensive $3.79 per gallon gas.
While in town, we figured we might as well top everything else off. So Cindy went grocery shopping for some fresh produce and I topped off the propane knowing that would probably be inflated the further North we explored.
Once everything was topped off, we were back on the road heading North to Hearst Castle. Cindy had checked their website to see about hours and prices and said "Oh, it's only $12 per person, we can afford that." But when we got to the visitor center, it was actually $24 per person. Cindy had been looking at the child price for entry. Oh well, it was still worth the higher entrance fee.
The only thing I was worried about was they werent going to allow us in with our cameras. When we visited the Biltmore in Ashville, North Carolina, they had strict rules about cameras and when we were just down in Malibu, the Adamson House wouldn't allow cameras inside either.
Hearst Castle allows cameras, just no flash and no tripods. Easy enough and with a few of our faster lenses, we'd be sure to get some good shots. We just needed to remember to bump up the ISO when we went inside and more importantly remember to bring it back down when we came back outside
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The only thing I didn't like about the tour of the Hearst Castle is you have to go through the home with a tour guide. One in the front who acts as a Narrator and one in the back to usher you along and make sure no one touches anything or wanders off on their own.
Other than that, the tour is amazing. 'Beyond Words' is the only way I can think to describe this architecture and collection of original artwork. Pieces from the 15th and 16th centuries. Pieces from failed dynasties and empires you normally only read about in text books or that art history class
I could take the one tour we were on four of five times before I'd be able to retain all the information we were told. They offer 4 separate tours and have just introduced a photography specific tour. That tour I'd love to take in the spring time when everything in the gardens is in full bloom.
The story of the Hearst Castle is so long and interesting, it could be a few books or movies in and of itself, so I wont try and get into it in detail, but I will say that its well worth the entrance fee and it shouldn't be missed.
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We met a nice couple while on the tour that we talked shop with when it came to photography and wildlife. Birds in particular as they were avid birders. Jess and Susy are from Washington and visiting the California Coast checking out the migrating birds in their 5th wheel camper.
After our tour we had some lunch in the parking lot before heading North. A few miles up the coastline we pulled over at the Elephant Seal nesting beach to check out these giant, hunks of slobbering blubber.
It was fun to sit and watch the males bash their chests against one another while trying to show off in front of the ladies.
Jess and Susy also came down to the seal viewing area and the four of us sat talking for over an hour about our past travels and journeys we still have planned. They recommended a few sports for us we've yet to visit and we told them of a few of our favorite places we've visited along the road. The sun was getting lower on the horizon and the winds were picking up, so we said our Goodbyes, exchanged numbers and Cindy and I climbed back in the VW Surfari.
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One of the Many Elephant Seals on the San Simeon Coastline
From San Simeon north, the California coast becomes very rugged and HWY 1 becomes reminiscent of the Hana HWY along the Maui coast. Winding curves so tight, you almost have to come to a complete stop when taking them. Drop offs on the other side of the cliff so steep that one false move would leave you swimming in the Pacific where you'd become shark bait instantaneously.
We passed the little village of Ragged Point and were keeping our eyes peeled for Salmon Creek. A waterfall we wanted to hike that someone had recommended to us online. When we came down the hill and passed the turnoff, I turned into a pullout to let some cars pass and turn around to go check out the trailhead. We only had about a half hour of light left, but we thought we'd get out to stretch the legs some
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As I turned the bus around, we heard a strange noise that sounded like I had run over a coat hanger or a piece of wire. We both looked at one another with that look of shock and our faces read "Oh No!"
As soon as we heard the noise, the gas pedal went dead and the little Yellow van that had carried us 626 miles North of L.A. had now broke down.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Long views of the turquoise waters stretching all the way along the coast with Morro Rock off in the distance. Scenic views in ever direction you looked which made us pull over at the first pull-off to have some lunch and take in the views.
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This was the shot of the secret Surfing location he was worried about
While Cindy was making us both some vittles, I got out of the van to snap a photo of the scene when I heard some guy yell out from his van parked behind us, "You had better hope none of the surfers see you taking photos of their secret surf spots unless you want your nose broken and your camera busted!"
I looked over at the guy asking "What the Hell are you talking about?"
He went on to say that the surfers are very protective of their secret surfing spots, and if any of them see me taking photos of the locations, I'd probably get beat up.
I told him that I am standing almost a 1/4 mile from the shoreline on a public road and taking a photo with a 24mm lens on a full frame camera. I probably have 20 miles of shoreline in my image and the last thing I'm worried about is the secret surf spots.
And how is this a secret if we're in a State Park, and parked in a designated pull-off above a stretch of public shoreline? I highly doubt that with the stream of cars coming in and out of this park, its that big of a secret.
I think the guy sort of realized he was an idiot and he apologized for his comments and drove away. Jeesh! What's up with California and the crazies?
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We spent a few hours in Montana de Oro State Park, enjoying the pull-offs, the eucalyptus forests, the informative museum and the comforts of the VW Van.
One thing with this surf wagon is you can slide open the side door, pop the Westfalia top and go from small, streamlined van to the ultimate picnic vehicle in under a minute.
For weekend trips up the coast or a solo roadtrip, I think a VW Bus like the one we're in is the perfect vehicle. Now that we've been on the road a few days straight, its easy to see what we need and what we though we'd need, but have yet to use.
A good cooler is key to keep some drinks and cold cuts iced down and within reach. The camera gear, a pair of flip flops for the day and a pair of comfy shoes and warm socks for the night time cooler temperatures. A pair of shorts for the day and a nice, loose pair of pants to pull on in the afternoon. A hoodie to keep the chill off when the breeze picks up each afternoon and a wind breaker to layer atop the hoodie turning it into a warm combination.
The wind breaker is a key piece of gear used to turn multiple pieces of clothing into a warm inner layer.
Throw a few well worn t-shirts in the storage locker and you're good to go...super light weight and streamlined. When these articles of clothing are dirty, you can either stop and wash all of them in one load, or know its time to head home.
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Even Cindy has made a bunch of comments on how this sort of lightweight travel really makes you look at how easy it would be to get by with so little.
I'm already thinking about how much******I'm going to donate to the Goodwill when we get back to the camper in San Diego.
We contemplated spending the night in the Montana de Oro campground, but we did a drive through and noticed they only offered pit toilets for a cost of $25 per night, so we chose to either find a campground that had hot showers or dirtbag it on the side of the road.
While we still had a fair amount of light to search out our next destination, we headed further up the coast towards San Simeon and the Hearst Castle. I made the mistake of not topping off the fuel tank while we were in Morro Bay and even going as far as buying a few 5 gallon gas cans to bring along for the Big Sur leg of the trip. Our fuel gauge read 3/4 when we were pulling out of Morro Bay, so I thought we'd be fine for the next day, but by the time we pulled into the town of Cambria, we were needed some fuel.
I about chocked when we noticed the price of fuel had jumped some ¢.60 in the last hour of driving north.
$3.79 for fuel in Cambria. I only put in 5 gallons hoping I'd find something more reasonable as we drove further North. In San Simeon we grabbed some dinner at the local Mexican Restaurant, which was excellent, then found a dirt parking lot to pull over for the night.
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The time was 6:30pm and we went to bed fully expecting a knock on the door telling us we had to move or get ticketed. California has spent a lot of money on No Parking/No Camping Signs along this stretch of roadway.
Cindy woke me up later in the evening saying "Its starting to get light out, lets get going."
We started to get up and get our day rolling when she flipped open her phone to see what time it was when she exclaimed "Hold up! Its only 11pm at night! We're not going anywhere."
The lights we were seeing was the overhead parking lot lights and our eyes had just become acclimated to the dark. So we both climbed back into bed snuggling up to Luca who was smart enough to have never crawled out from the warmth of the blankets on the bed.
Amazing enough, we made it through the night with no knock from 'The Man' and I'm thinking we've finally earned our Dirtbag varsity letters when it comes to camping out along Highway 1.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Sunday November 8th - Day 5 in the VW Surfari Mobile
The call of a full bladder woke us up before sunrise this morning and told us it was time to pack up and get the bus going.
It only took a few minutes to have everything put away and we were on the road in search of a breakfast spot or gas station that would be open this early on a Sunday morning.
If I had to find one thing I dislike about the VW Trip, it would have to be the lack of a bathroom in the little van. If I would have known it would have been this hard, I would have stopped and bought a cheap cassette toilet from an RV Dealer in San Diego and brought it with us.
But other than that luxury, we've yet to find anything that has made the trip anything but stellar.
Once we found relief for the bladders, we had fresh, hot coffee to keep us awake and soon found ourselves on Pismo Beach watching the sun show its bright yellow face to the Pacific Ocean.
I wanted to spend the day fooling around on the Pismo Dunes, but Cindy would have none of that. After too many times of getting our four wheel drive truck stuck in the sand, the last thing she was going to let me do was take this two wheel drive VW Van off the pavement.
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Come on, I'm not that stupid!
While visiting with our friend Jeff down in San Diego, he had showed me some of his family photos from a past vacation up the coast to the Pismo Dunes. The family had rented a sand rail and spent the day buzzing around the dunes having a blast. I really wanted to have some of this fun for ourselves, but Cindy would have none of that either.
She is like that damn little angel on my shoulder telling me what I can and can not do. Only problem is she's the same angel holding onto the check book who knows what our balance is. Its usually hovering right above $0.00, so she's the one who says what we can and can not do when it comes to things like renting a dune buggy for the day.
So I guess the Pismo Dunes will have to wait for another trip along HWY 1.
When we were asking for tips and suggestions on the blogs awhile back, one of our friends who used to live in California, but had moved back to our home town of Milford, Michigan a few years ago had told us to make sure we stopped to check out the town of Avila.
Andy had described Avila Beach as a little hippie town hidden back in the woods. He told us to make sure we asked the locals about the hot springs they would know about and he told us we'd love the funky vibe the town gives off.
I almost hated to tell Andy that 'The Man' had ruined his one time Hippie Hide-away with modern development and a fresh coat of downtown renovation.
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Looking down the Pier towards the Renovated town of Avila
If Andy hadn't painted that picture of Avila I was expecting to find, I would have still liked the town Avila has become after the renovation that took place in 1999.
The buildings have all been rebuilt, yet they still hold a quirkiness about them. The boardwalk has been completely redone and juts out into the calm, protected bay. The upscale golf course and resort, although very much not my style is nicely done and somewhat hidden from the downtown area, yet still a short stroll away and the streets are lined with hand cut stone benches and planters giving it a very tropical feel, yet still leaving it small and quaint.
Those hidden hot springs Andy had told us to talk to the locals about, they're now a Campground and RV Park with its own water slide attached to the hot springs.
The Avila Barn with its fresh produce and homemade sweets was another spot a reader had suggested we stop, but we were strolling through this town early on a Sunday morning, so everything was still closed. We'll have to make sure we stop on our way back to visit the barn, because we've heard people talk of it and the amazing food they offer while traveling the entire Pacific Coast.
So I guess times change, and hidden places get found and developed, but maybe if Andy just keeps those memories of what Avila once was, he wont let what it has become get in the way of enjoying it still. If you visit it again Andy, I think you'll like the vibe it is still giving off....at least we did.
I also liked that just beside the town of Avila, along the same protected bay, they have camping right along the water. There is everything from full service campgrounds to dry camping where you can back up right to the edge of the sidewalk. Good info to know if we ever come back up this way with our coach in tow and want a really pretty place to spend a few days.
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Since the sun was just starting to rise and the morning was still really early, we got back on the road and headed further North up the coast. Our next stop was the Mission San Louis Obispo De Tolosa in where else, but downtown San Louis Obispo
This mission was built in 1772 and was the 5th in a chain of 21 missions that stretch from San Diego to Sonoma. They were all built by the Chumash Indians living in the area. The mission has some interesting history and in 1846, John C. Fremont and his California battalion quartered inside while engaged in the war with Mexico.
When we first arrived, we were hoping we'd have time between the Sunday morning masses to check out the inside, but we were out of luck as a mass was already underway. We didn't want to be walking in during the middle of a mass, so we just wandered around the beautiful grounds and listened to the congregating sing us some morning hymns.
The towering eucalyptus trees with their bright white bark match the glowing white stucco of the churches exterior. I've fallen in love with the eucalyptus trees and their variety of textures, looks and thick groves they grow in.
If we ever have a house of our own, I'll be sure to plant some of these trees in the yard.
Right beside the Mission San Louis Obispo is the town museum, which was once the Carnegie City Library. This is an amazing structure built with hand cut stone back in a day where craftsmanship was something people earned a living on.
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This building was for 55 years, the city library. One of over 1,681 libraries given by Andrew Carnegie to American towns in the early 1900's. It was built in 1905 and is noteworthy in saying that while $10,000 was the Carnegie gift, the cost of the building was underbudget at $9,750!! Can you imagine that?? We had fake stone put on the front of our home in Michigan and it cost more than $10,000! This is all hand cut stone, brick and mortar masonry and should be seen when visiting the San Louis Obispo area.
From the Mission and the Library, we jumped back on the Pacific Coast Highway heading north to the little fishing village of Morro Bay.
This safe harbor is right out of a movie set with the array of boats seeking protection in the calm harbor and the seals bobbing their heads up to check us out while they go about their morning fishing routines.
Believe it or not, we had visited 3 towns so far this morning and it was still pretty early. The wharf was pretty quiet except for the gulls and the seals and the occasional fisherman tending to a dock line or packing up some gear. The swells pounding the break wall that was protecting the harbor were way too treacherous to be taking a boat out in, so I think today would be a day every boat in the harbor would stay tied to the dock.
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Morro Rock behind the Protected Morro Bay
Morro Rock is a giant hunk of rock called Dacite, which is similar in many ways to granite. This material is useful as a building material because of its durability and was used in the foundations and buildings all around this area when they used to quarry from this age old landmark.
Quarrying was stopped in 1963 and Morro Rock was declared a State Historic Landmark in 1968. The area is now protected due to its significance as a nesting site for peregrine falcons and hundreds of seabirds that call this place home.
The giant mountain of stone jutting up from the Pacific has also been used for centuries as a landmark for sailors. To think that we once blasted away more than a million tons of rock before our ancestors got wise enough to leave nature alone.
We stopped on the wharf to empty the bladders one more time and I should mention that the public restrooms offer hot showers for ¢.25 if anyone is planning on visiting this area. For me, I've already showered once this week, so I'm way above my dirtbag quota.
With the morning light offering a golden glow across the rock, we drove out to the point to watch the waves crash over the jetty. They had the parking lot blocked off and made you walk out there for safety reasons.
Much of the stone blasted away from Morro Rock was used to build the protective Jetty which makes Morro Bay so peaceful and calm. Those same waves that had been pounding the Jamala Beach area were doing their best to come over the break wall at Morro Bay.
This made for some great shows as the foamy, frothy salt water would come crashing into the stone. It reminded me of 4th of July and when a big wave would hit, the group of people that had gathered to watch Mother Oceans powers of erosion would let out a loud cheer of approval.
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The two red Circles are the two people standing way too close to the wall - They Survived!
One couple who was new to the scene walked up past the barrier that said "Stay Clear For Your Protection" and was standing right below the break wall. If you could have seen their faces when one thunderous wave hit the wall and sent them running for their lives. This is when we need the ability to switch to video mode like the new Canon 7D offers...Hint..Hint..Cindy!!
We must have sat watching this show of nature for at least an hour before we were both coated in a layer of salt spray and decided to head back to the VW for some warmth and protection from the winds.
As we were walking back to the parking lot, Cindy pointed out into the bay and asked "Is that a group of seals?"
We both looked through our lenses to get a better look and were shocked to find out they werent seals, but a family of otters playing in the calm waters of the bay.
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In all our travels, we've seen maybe 1 or 2 otters and they were both in the bayou of Louisiana. This was a treat to have a group of 4 adult otters playing right in front of us and one of the female otters even had a baby riding along on her plump belly.
They all sat wrestling in the water the same way puppies would on solid ground. After an hour of play, the group found a big piece of floating kelp to climb atop of and take an early afternoon nap. There is something about watching otters play that makes one feel good about life. I think you could show Charles Manson a group of playful otters and the physco would walk away a happy human being.
With big smiles on our faces, Cindy and I were walking back towards the VW van when we noticed the most beat up Dodge Truck we've ever seen in our lives. In place of the Pick-up Bed was a homemade dump box with a homemade camper type structure built on it.
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On the side of the dump box was hand painted letters that said MyStupidRules.Com. The guy was sitting in the truck with the window rolled down, so I walked up to him saying "Ok, you've peaked my interest, what is mystupidrules.com all about?"
This was my first mistake! For the next half hour, I sat listening to the weirdest person that walks this Earth. Nothing in the guys non-stop ramblings made any sense and the conversation kept going in circles about how Ted Turner had tracking devices in all our computers so he can control us and everything we do.
Cindy was hiding two vehicles down inside the Van, but could hear every word being yelled out of the guys mouth. She later told me she had to stay hidden because of how hard she was laughing the entire time. She told me she couldn't believe I could stand there and listen to it and not laugh in his face.
I'll admit I did bust out laughing a few times right to his face at some of the comments. One of them being the comment about Hollywood trying to steal his life story and Brad Pitt wanting to play the part of him, the crazy loon.
The other comment that made me bust out laughing right in his face was when he told me he had a year long love affair with Sarah Michelle Geller. If you could have seen this guy, you'd know Miss Geller would have a restraining order faster than the judge could write it up.
The final straw that sent me running was when he started to talk about his warrants for Child Molestation and Drug Trafficking. This was when I interrupted the loon by saying "Thanks for your time, I'll be sure to check out your website." I turned and walked away at a fast pace with him still yelling things at my back.
I didn't even want to walk towards the van and show the guy what we were driving or that I was parked only two vehicles from him in fear he might get out and follow me, so I just walked in the opposite direction and went and stood near someone else's car.
Just so you know a few of the things I learned while I listened to his conspiracy theories; the Government has installed tracking devices in all our vehicles and sold them to us as ABS Brakes. This is why he removed the ABS Brakes off of his truck.
If you try and type anything negative about the government or the movement to control our thoughts, Ted Turner can go into your computer and scramble the words so they dont mean anything, or at least they keep doing this to his writings.
He told me he spends hours typing his thoughts that he is compiling for his upcoming Autobiography, but when he goes back to look at them and reread his writings, the letters are all jumbled and none of it makes any sense due to Ted Turner and his ability to control the computers.
A lawyer will never talk to a client in a room that has windows because they know that lasers can be pointed at the windows so the government can ease drop on the conversation.
When he finally drove out of the parking lot, I walked over to our VW and got in glaring at Cindy. I said "Thanks for coming out to rescue me on that one!"
She just sat there laughing so hard she couldn't even reply. We were both wondering how that guy functions in society and why does he have a drivers license? Scary Stuff!!
We left Morro Bay with way more than we had bargained for and headed for Montana de Oro State Park
This is another recommendation high on the list of a few California locals and once we pulled in, I can see why. Its beautiful.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Saturday November 7th 2009 - Day 4 in the VW Surfari
The only thing I dislike about camping in the late Fall, early Winter is how early the days end. With the sun setting around 6pm and darkness following immediately afterwards, it means we've been going to bed around 8 or 9pm each night.
This means we're well rested by sunrise which is normally a hard time for us to wake up and witness first hand. But not on our VW Surfari; so far we've watched each sunrise, and usually with our second cup of coffee in our hands.
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Sunrise on the Pacific Ocean
A sunrise on the East Coast, or even inland is completely different than a sunrise over the Pacific Ocean.
With a swell that had built bigger and bigger all night long, it was almost impossible to take our eyes off the giant waves as we sat on the beach sipping on hot coffee and watching the soft morning glow slowly light our surroundings.
It was dream like to sit and watch the dark reds of the distant cloud cover slowly turn to pink before turning to a washed out white before the sun finally rose at our backs. This is what I mean about watching a sunrise over the Pacific, you dont actually watch the sunrise per say, like you do on the East Coast, you more or less just watch the ocean get brighter till the sun rises up over the bluffs at your back and kisses the tips of the waves good morning.
I've never been a beach lover as much as I've been a woods or mountains kind of guy. But I love a good storm over rough seas almost as much as I love a bonfire or watching a swift mountain stream.
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Surfing at Sunrise on the Pacific
Bonfires are one of the only things in life that can hold my utmost attention; putting me in an almost trance-like state of mind. I've spent many nights staring into the glowing embers of a fire or watching the tips of the flames dance above the crackling logs.
Running a close second to a good bonfire is sitting on a dune overlooking the ocean as a big swell does its best to try and change the shape of the shoreline with the force of its waves. I can sit for hours on end watching the tides roll in, but only if they're big waves.
Small waves like those on a calm lake, the ones you usually find along the Gulf of Mexico or those found on the Sea of Cortez just dont hold my attention like those big spell binding swells you find during a storm off the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.
We spent a few hours on the chilly beach this morning watching the waves, the sunrise and Mother Ocean do her best to erase any signs that people had walked along this shoreline yesterday.
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The only reason I noticed how cold it was, was due to how bad Luca was shivering. His tight coat and muscle laden body isn't suited for temperatures below 60°. But being the good dog he is, he never once whined or tugged on his leash asking to go back to the warmth of the VW Camper. He simply tucked in close to the two of us and leaned his body weight against our warmth we were giving off.
We both commented that he seemed as interested in the waves as we did and wouldn't it be so cool to know what his thoughts were on this beautiful morning scene we had before us.
When the sun was finally up in full force, we walked back to the VW for some breakfast and our 1st shower of the adventure.
Jamala Campground has warm, clean shower stalls that cost ¢.25 for about 4 minutes of high pressure water. I dont know about Cindy and her shower, but I went all out and spent a full ¢.50 on my shower! I took two turns under the steaming hot water cleaning off all the road grime and salt spray we had collected the last few days.
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Its amazing how good a shower can feel after a few days of simply wiping yourself down each night with a few wet wipes to get off the days grime and soot.
With the two of us cleaned up and feeling like new, we spent the next 10 minutes cleaning up the VW Surfari and putting everything back where it goes. This has now become second nature and takes about a total of 10 minutes with us both fooling around with one another the entire time. For anyone who knows Cindy and I, they know we're constantly picking on one another or playing jokes on each other to try and get the others goat. Its just our nature and if you see us and we're both acting cordial, it usually means we're arguing.
With the Mellow Yellow, Hale Pua organized and cleaned up, Cindy made some lunch while I refilled our fresh water supply, all 8 gallons of it. 5 Gallons in the holding tank under the chassis, and 3 gallons we use inside the camper for day to day drinking water.
I was suggesting we spend a few more days here because of how much fun I was having watching and photographing the Kite Boarders, a spot I was told by a few of the locals is legendary amongst the California Kite Boarding crowd.
One of the guys I had been photographing is supposedly the World Champ when it comes to this sport.
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Cindy on the other hand was bored with the scene and due to the strong winds, it meant laying on the beach, catching rays was out of the question. Being down on the beach meant you needed a wind breaker, long pants and a hat to stay comfortable. Something Cindy didn't want to be seen in
Since my wife is also known as "She Who Must Be Obeyed", it meant if she wanted to leave, we were moving along the Pacific Coast Highway again.
She even offered to drive out of Jamala Beach. So with her ti-dyed shirt that Jeff had made sure we brought with us, my little hippie chic drove us away from Jamala Beach and all its beauty along this twisty California road.
You might remember a few weeks back while we were in Moab and I spoke of driving a couple to the airport who had just finished up with a float trip down the Green River.
Dave and Joanie told us about their plans to start a new curriculum on healthy eating and the growing of food for impoverished schools and neighborhoods. Since that first visit, we've kept in touch and talked back and forth on how to help further their upcoming website they're in the process of building for the Healthy Food Coalition.
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I had told them I had some tutorials that might help them with their website and they just happened to be here in California. They were in Northern California last week, but were headed down to L.A. to fly out on their way to Australia for the next 4 months.
In our talking back and forth, we had planned to meet up somewhere along our routes that we would be crossing and today looked like the day. We stopped on our way out of Jamala Beach and picked up a computer they had delivered to a friends house in Santa Barbara.
From there, we drove North and met in Pismo Beach. Dave and Joanie grabbed a hotel room and unloaded some of their stuff. We gave them their new computer we had picked up for them and we got to swapping the software.
While the computers were doing their thing, they treated Cindy and I to dinner at a local steak house that offered some of the best grub we've had in ages. With full bellies and a great night of conversation, we made sure everything had copied the way it was supposed to before we said our good byes
We wished them well and went to find a hiding spot for the night.
The local Wal-Mart had the dreaded 'No Overnight Parking' signs posted, so we drove around till we found another shopping center lot that had a few other campers bedded down for the night.
Thank you Mr. Pismo Beach Police Officer who sat in the parking lot watching for speeders, but turned a blind eye to us dirtbags who needed a free place to camp out for the night.
We've yet to sleep in the Pop-Top due to the cold nights we've been experiencing and the fact that each night we've been hiding out, so we haven't wanted to draw attention to our little van, but hopefully the weather will warm up a bit and will get to try it out.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Friday November 6th - Day 3 of the VW Surfari Adventure
I thought I should say that I'm sitting in the Ojai Coffee Roasting Company cafe right in downtown Ojai updating this blog. We're having trouble doing it while on the road because the VW doesn't have an extra house battery, so we cant run the cpu's unless the motor is running.
My laptop battery doesn't hold a charge, so it has to be plugged in and the only way to run the inverter we brought with us is to have the motor running and sit somewhere idle. Yeah right, try and talk Cindy into that one...LOL
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This coffee shop is packed full of people and I'm not really too happy with my writings as the place is full and there is a ton of people and distractions, I mean there is a line at the register right now and its hard to concentrate with all the good people watching that is offered.
People always comment about me blogging while on the road, and many make fun of the fact that I will take time out while visiting a beautiful location to stay caught up on this silly blog of mine (My Friend Jeff recently called me a Blog-aholic). I dont think most people realize that when you move non-stop, its pretty hard to write down your true feelings at a later date.
If I go a few days without writing, then try and go back into that state of mind to conjure up those same feelings I had while we were doing what ever it is we were doing, its not as real or personal as if I was to type it out that same day when its fresh in my head.
I'll be the first to admit, I'm probably addicted to it, but I dont think recording my feelings is a bad thing to be addicted to...LOL I can think of worse things... Like photography
While I was in the Coffee Shop all morning, Cindy walked around the town of Ojai browsing all the interesting galleries and funky shops.
When I finally finished up, I told her I wanted to walk around and check the place out, but she said she didn't want to see everything again, saying it only makes her want to buy things we cant have, so she was ready to get on the road and head up the coast.
It's probably one of the only things I hate about living on the road fulltime. We pass through some very interesting areas, and I'd love to have a memento from each area, or at least the ones I really enjoyed, but with no place to store them and no place to put them in the camper, it seems silly to waste money on things that would just go in a storage locker. I guess that's why we take so many photos. Our next house or place of residence will be wall to wall photos from our adventures around North America.
While I was in the Coffee Shop, Cindy had time to grab some fresh groceries and we were soon enough stocked up and headed North towards Santa Barbara. I thought we would have passed an actual town of Santa Barbara, but nothing was along the beach where we were driving, so we missed it and turned off at the exit for Lompoc.
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A few people had recommended Lompoc and Jamala Beach saying it was a great little secluded beach that is remote, but well worth the drive.
I cant say much about the town of Lompoc as we never made it that far, but the drive into Jamala Beach is worth the trip.
California has such diverse scenery ranging from lush, green hillsides to barren looking desert landscapes. This road was as curvy as could be and warned about speeds higher than 10mph around the twisty turns. Fat, Happy Cows were grazing along the hillsides, beautiful eucalyptus groves made you want to stop and explore them and knarly, craggy trees lined many sections of the road allowing you to think you had driven into some sort of spooky fairy tale.
When we finally climbed that last hill and rounded the 90° turn which offered us our new view of the turbulent Pacific Ocean, we both let out a loud "WOW...How Beautiful!"
This was so worth the drive and I wasn't even worried how much they were going to charge to camp here, we were going to spend a few nights no matter what. When we got out to snap a few pictures, I told Cindy that I'd be content if we spent the next two weeks just sitting right on this beach, and I'm not a beach person.....so that's saying alot.
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Dont get me wrong, I love the beach, I'm just not one who likes to lay out all day in the sand and do nothing. But this beach was different.
There were a dozen kite boarders riding the West Coast winds and a few sailboarders playing in the rough surf.
This meant I could sit and watch these guys play while I took pictures and Cindy could do her lounging thing if that's what she wanted to do.
Jamala Beach Campground has something for everyone and offers everything from dry camping sites right along the beach, to full hook-ups for RV's that might need that sort of thing.
We decided to splurge and get a site with electric so we could back up the photos onto the hard drives and work on the blog once the sun went down. Something its doing earlier and earlier each night this late into the season.
The campground also offers hot showers, a dump station and a small general store that has items you might have forgotten or ran out of while having a fun vacation.
Once we parked the little bus in our campsite, we grabbed the cameras and the dog and headed down to the beach to check out the kite boarders.
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There was a huge swell blowing in and the winds were blowing something fierce. Forget laying out in the warm California sunshine. We're talking sweatshirt, long pants and a knit hat just to stay warm if you were right on the beach. That's how strong the winds were blowing. But those same winds were doing something beautiful to the waves. Big, green waves rolling in with a bright white mist blowing off the tops of them.
After a few hours of getting the top layer of skin wore off, we headed back to the Vanagon for some protection.
Outside the winds were whipping up the Pacific Ocean, but inside our little cabin on wheels, we had a nice cozy nest built. I always say our camper is our rolling office, and where ever we choose to park it is where our office is located that day.
As we sat and watched the big red ball drop below the horizon, Cindy raised a toast and said "I like the spot you found to park the office today!"
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We spent the rest of the night blending the hippie technology of the VW Van era with our modern technology of digital cameras, high speed card readers and large capacity hard drives.
The van is laid out smooth enough to give us each a work station and still stay within beers reach of the cooler. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the night with my wife or be working on our blogs and photos.
As the night grew later, the sounds of the waves kept getting louder and louder. The swell Mother Ocean was blowing in was a big one and sounded like we were parked beside a freight train. Funny to think that if we were parked beside a freight train, we'd probably be pissed off at the noise, but since the outrageously loud sounds were coming from Mother Nature, it was actually very cool to listen too.
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Luca Sleeping with his Head on the Table beside Cindy
The funny thing is the Amtrak Pacific line runs right behind the Jamala Beach Campground on top of the bluff. The few times we would see the almost silent passenger train go whizzing by, we wouldn't even be able to hear it because of how loud the surf was pounding the shoreline.
With the Westfalia top popped up, the little VW seems quite roomy, but by this point in the night, the winds were blowing so strong that we had to bring down the lid to keep the fabric from ripping. This was a good thing because although it makes the van seem smaller, it keeps the inside really warm with just the 3 of us breathing.
The night ended well with dreams of tropical scenes to go along with the sounds of crashing surf echoing off the bluffs behind us. These sounds kept us company till the first rays of light started to lighten the skies again.
RE: Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
Thursday November 5th - Venice Beach, Malibu and More PCH
If you ever visit Venice Beach, and I think everyone should see this area of California, get there just as the sun comes up Venice is known for Muscle Beach, the Freak Show of people skating, roller blading and walking down the boardwalk and just being home for a ton of eclectic people.
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To get to Venice first thing in the morning, you get a completely different view of the beautiful beach scene. Homeless people are sleeping everywhere. Alleys are lined with young adults sleeping on the ground and sporting dreadlocks down to their waist.
One dude was sitting in an office chair with a sport coat on and a bright green pair of sandals, smoking a cigarette and cussing as people walking past him.
Another guy who had a shopping cart loaded down with more stuff than we have in the back of our truck and camper combined had two solar panels strapped to the top of the load to power his radio and other electronic gear he had with him.
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One guy who had a bike loaded down with a fake skeleton asked us about our cameras and talked eloquently enough that you would have thought he had a Harvard background. When I told him we were taking photos for our travel website, he asked what the name of the site was and said he'd check it out when he goes to the library to check his email.
This is one time when I think Luca comes in handy and the Pit Bull in him keeps sketchy people from approaching or bothering us for hand outs. Not that I mind these sort of people, because we usually get funny replies when we explain that despite the big cameras we're usually carrying, we too are homeless and dont have a dime to our name.
Jeff, our good friend in San Diego, had told us if the weather was cold or crappy, to skip Venice Beach as the scene wouldn't live up to what its known for. I know what he meant because we didn't get to see any of the Chain Saw Jugglers, or crazy people the famous strip of beach is so known for, but we still had a cool experience none the less.
http://www.everymilesamemory.com/Images%206/Venice%20Beach%202.JPG
Notice the 2 Solar Panels on the Back of his Rig
Maybe on our way back down we'll have better weather and can stop for another visit.
From Venice Beach and the Santa Monica area, we drove North up the PCH towards Malibu. This section of coastline is beautiful and very scenic. Malibu is everything its touted to be with multi-million dollar homes along the picturesque coastline and when we passed a cool sea side villa, we both decided it was time for some wake-me-up coffee and turned around to stop for a mid-morning break.
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Malibu Pier with the Big Sailboat that grabbed our Attention
There was a beautiful sailboat parked just off the Malibu Pier and as I walked down to snap a picture, a guy lounging in a VW Eurovan commented "Beautiful Boat isn't it."
I sat talking with Steve, a retired surfer who had recently bought his modern version of the Vintage VW Camper we were in. He told me he bought it so he could have a comfortable place to sleep when he goes on his surf trips up and down the California coast.
When I asked if this was a good surf location, he threw me a quizzical look saying "You're not a surfer are you!"
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I told him I was not and he spent the next half hour schooling me on the local surf scene, Duke Kahanamoku, and much of the history of the Malibu coast.
Apparently the area we were parked in, right in front of the wall that used to be lined with surf boards during the 'Gidget' heyday in front of the Rindge Family Malibu Ranch, was where Surfing in California was originated and the whole 'Gidget Factor' started.
As Steve suited up, Cindy and I walked over to the famous Adamson House that is now a beautiful museum.
We spent the next hour or so learning a piece of history that we had never even heard of before this point in our lives. Who knew this entire area was once owned by one family and all of Malibu was once a humongous ranch.
The Adamson home is classic Spanish Architecture and had me longing for a drafting pencil and a piece of paper. But I was upset that it didnt allow cameras inside, so we only explored the outside of the grounds which is free. I didnt see any need in paying to go inside when we cant even take any photos.
Back at our German Camper, we packed up the pop-top and headed North along the coast. One of the places Bill had recommended for us to stop was Neptune's Net.
http://www.everymilesamemory.com/Images%206/Adamson%20House,%20Malibu.JPG
This little roadside restaurant is known for its fresh fish and looked as good as anything we'd seen up to this point.
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, we ordered their Sampler Platter which would give us a taste of most of what they offered and we grabbed a cold beer to wash our lunch down with.
The restaurant had a movie scene being filmed out on the patio, so Cindy got to ogle some hot actors while we ate lunch. I was just happy to be sipping on a strong Belgium Beer while watching the pelicans glide over the ocean.
With bellies filled with fish, we were back in the van headed up the coast.
Once the PCH passes Point Mugu State Park, the road heads inland around the Point Mugu Naval Base till it hits Channel Islands National Park.
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With Luca along for the ride, taking a boat ride out to the Channel Islands was out of the question because it would mean leaving him in the van for the day by himself. Do-able in our normal camper where he has room to move around, but not really nice to leave him in this small of a van for more than an hour or two by himself.
When we had been in the Adamson House Gift Shop, the very nice woman working the counter had told us about a little Artist Community/Town known as Ojai (Pronounced O-Hi).
She recommended we visit this little town and browse some of the galleries.
While we were driving up the coast with the sun setting, we stopped at a few of the State and County Campgrounds, but they were way above our price range. $30 for one night with no hook-ups, $45 if we needed any electric or water.
The attendant at the State Park booth told us they only allowed campers with Black or Gray tanks so we couldn't even stay at those campgrounds
This made the decision that it would be better to head up HWY 150 which would bring us to Ojai. We figured we would have better luck finding a spot to hide out for the night away from the beach and all those NO OVERNIGHT PARKING signs.
Driving California HWY 150 away from the coast in a sports car would be a blast. In a VW Van, its downright scary.
The road is as curvy as a hot spaghetti noodle with hairpin turns warning of 20mph speed limits. Remember my talk of crazy California drivers? We'll we had plenty of them behind us climbing these hills and none of them were happy with my slow speeds.
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The car right on my back bumper was laying on the horn and flashing his lights like he was an ambulance on its way to the hospital with a dying patient in the back.
When I finally had a dirt patch to pull off the road, Cindy and I busted out laughing when a tiny Smart Car came racing past us with a woman on her phone throwing us the bird and cussing up a storm. We both sat on the side of the road laughing as we let the long line of cars drive past us in their hurry to get up the mountain side.
A few more turns up the mountain and we pulled off the road at a level, dirt pull off thinking it looked as good as any for a spot to camp for the night
We were both still full from our late lunch at Neptune's Net, so there was no need to cook anything for dinner. We both just climbed into bed calling it an early night.
Trip Report: California HWY 1 from L.A. to Monterey
For anyone who knows us, they know that my wife and I travel fulltime towing a 25' travel trailer roaming the backroads of North America photographying our way around the country.
We've been on the road for 4 years starting in January and have always talked about downsizing, or I should say I always talk about downsizing.
Someone suggested we try one of the smaller rental RV's and see if we like it, but I wanted to go as small as I could imagine going, and try a few weeks in a VW bus along the Pacific Coast HWY.
We've done this route before, but had our coach in tow, so pulling over and as often as I would have liked to wasnt possible. Hence why we chose this route with this vehicle.
The next few pages is my story on our adventure. Adventure it was!!
I thought posting it on here might help others with planning for a trip like this either in their RV or in any vehicle they'd like to go about it in. I try and list as many of the places we stayed with links if I could find them on the intraweb
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Wednesday November 4th - Pacific Coast Highway Tour Begins
With the truck loaded down like we were heading out for a month long trek across the Himalayas, we said goodbye to our friend Mike, who was allowing us to store our little camper we normally live fulltime in and left San Diego heading for L.A. and the Pacific Coast Highway, or the PCH as its known to Californian's.
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We were up early packing the truck, but waited for the morning rush hour traffic to get themselves to work before we finally left San Diego around 10am. We had smooth sailing the entire way up the Southern California Coast and got to Bill's yard where VW Surfari keeps their selection of Vintage Busses hidden away without any incident.
Throughout the years, I've seen a bunch of these tiny, well thought out campers and even had a few friends who have owned various models, but my wife Cindy and I have yet to spend any quality time inside one using it as basically a rolling camera bag.
The first thing I noticed was how much junk we brought and my first thought was we should probably put half of it back in our truck. Problem was, most of the stuff was our photography gear, and unlike our normal truck, that we've had years to think and rethink where to best store everything, this little bus was going to be a whole new story.
The pale yellow, 1982 Vanagon Westfalia we would be spending the next two weeks in is mint condition and looks as clean as the day it rolled off the lot in Germany. Bill and Diane, the owners of VW Surfari, have their buses decorated so cool with ours having a tropical Hawaiian Surf theme.
We spent about an hour in the yard talking with them about how they got the VW Surfari Company started and heard some good stories about past adventures.
Bill and I went over our itinerary of recommended places people have emailed us with and he jotted down a few more places to add to the list. I know we normally never use an itinerary and we dont plan on following it with any time frame for this journey, we just have 3 pages of 'Not To Miss' sights that people from this forum and a few others who know the PCH much better than us have recommended over the past few months.
With the our little Vanagon that was named Hale Pua, which means 'Little House' in the Hawaiian language, loaded down more than it should have been, we said our goodbyes, took a few photos and dropped the hammer, going nowhere fast.
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The first thing we figured out with the bus is you aren't going anywhere in a hurry. Bill had shown us multiple pistons out of motors from his vans that people have burned up driving them like they're a regular truck.
The VW Buses have small motors and luckily ours was a water cooled model, but being water cooled doesn't make it any faster than the others, it just ups the chances we wont overheat the motor.
But this Snails pace is just our style of travel. Its about the same speed we move when towing the camper fay to day, only we're much smaller in size and can pull over anytime and anywhere we want in the VW. We often joke that our mascot should be the snail because we both move at about the same pace and we both carry our homes on our backs....well, we tow ours behind us, but its sort of the same thing.
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Cruising up the Pacific Coast Highway, we had the warm afternoon sun setting on our left side and the L.A. skyline on our right. I guess I've never realized how much oil or gas production there is along the California coast, but for miles and miles of coastline there is off shore drilling stations in the water. I wouldn't even really call these off shore because they're only a 1/4 mile out to sea.
It was a strange sight to see and one I'd normally think when conjuring up thoughts of Texas.
We rolled along leaving snail tracks and pissing people off because in California, everyone is in a hurry. They drive like race car drivers at all times and run red lights like they're not even there. We were stopped at one intersection as I counted not one, but three cars that ran the red light.
When a light turns green, I usually hesitate a few seconds to see if any cars are going to come screaming through it.
We pulled over at a beach side park so Cindy could make some dinner and we could spend a few minutes unpacking our bags and organizing everything into the tons of storage hidden in every nook and cranny.
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Cindy & Luca in the Back Seat with me Acting as their Chauffer
Luca, our 60lb Pit Bull/Mix wasn't liking the back seat of the bus too much because its right overtop the motor and vibrates a little. He jumps up there on his blanket we have laid out for him and lays right down when ever we shut the motor off, but as soon as we start the van up, he jumps down and looks at the seat like it bit him.
He's funny because the windows along the bus are too tall for him to see out of, so he's constantly trying to get up on Cindy's lap so he can look out the window.
Cindy treats him like a child and she has now resorted to sitting in the backseat, allowing him to sit in the passenger seat beside me so he can see out while we drive.
Our first meal in the Westfalia taught us a lesson in cooking in tight spaces. First things first, I had to lift up the Westfalia Camper Top so Cindy could stand at the stove. This is no problem for me and my short height as I can stand in the van with no problem, but anyone who is a normal height has to have the roof raised.
Once the roof was up, we learned a few things very quickly. Using regular dishes means you have to wash them and not having a black or gray tank like in our camper means the water dumps right onto the ground where ever we're parked.
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I think Paper Plates and food that doesn't need to be prepared is going to be the norm from here on out. We also had to remind ourselves that we only had 5 gallons of fresh water to use for washing dishes, so using them seemed sort of useless and wasteful.
Before too long, we were back on the road and out of the L.A. area driving into the eclectic areas of Venice and Santa Monica. By this point the sun was setting, but without any clouds to reflect off of the big orange sun, it wasn't all that pretty to photograph. We both just enjoyed it with our limited memory banks rather than try and record it with cameras.
We pulled up to the Santa Monica Pier where Route 66 ends and meets the Pacific Ocean. We figured since we've driven so much of the historic Mother Road, we might as well check out the end of it. Hopefully one day we can visit Chicago and have visited the Book Ends of the road that started what we now know as 'Road Trips'.
We parked the van and walked along the pier watching the vendors do their thing. People were everywhere because Circ De Sole is in town and has their big top tent set up right beside the pier.
With the back end of the Halloween Full Moon rising up over the Ferris Wheel, it made for a very romantic evening. That would all end very soon as soon as we got back to the Bus and had to find a place to park for the night.
Major cities are one of the main things we avoid on our normal journey, but L.A. and its surrounding cities is unavoidable when it comes to traveling up the PCH.
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We cant afford to sleep in a hotel, and that would sort of defeat the purpose of having the Westfalia Camper edition and the VW Bus. We drove around the Venice area and notice that the side streets were lined with campers just parked along the curb. We figured this must be allowed, or the police just dont enforce the No Overnight Camping Rules, so we pulled up beside a city park and joined our fellow homeless travelers.
Cindy and I have both agreed that this leg of the journey we'd try and live like hippies would when these busses were the chosen mode of transport
The bus has curtains that keeps people who are walking down the street from seeing in the windows and we hung a curtain around the front windshield so we had our own little cocoon to live in surrounded by a few million Californian's.
Its amazing when you cant see out, how your space becomes its own little cave. There were guys playing Frisbee in the park beside us and a group of neighborhood kids playing soccer, but inside our little van, we had all the comforts of home and fell asleep in our cozy little bed....just the three of us, Cindy, Luca and me.
Fast forward a few hours into the middle of the night. Cindy wakes me up saying she has to go to the bathroom. Oh Man, this is not good!
Where do you go when in a neighborhood and you have to go to the bathroom?
It was 4am and we packed up our urban camp, motoring around looking for an all night diner or a gas station. Cindy spotted a Donut shop and yelled "Pull Over Now!"
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She ran inside only to find out they dont have public restrooms. We stopped at another gas station but they too didn't offer public restrooms. This was starting to become comical to me because each time we'd pull over, Cindy would psyche herself up thinking she was going to have relief for the bladder, only to find she'd have to hold it down a little longer.
I guess when an area has such a homeless population as the Venice Beach area does, public restrooms are hard to come by. I also thought it was very funny that we were now in that same group of people....homeless and looking for some relief.
We finally found a McDonalds that was open 24 hours and Cindy made me run in and look to make sure they had a bathroom open so she wouldn't have to stand up again.
We bought a cup of coffee so we would show some patronage and found ourselves sitting in a parking lot at 4:30am with nothing to do.
I decided to crawl back into bed while Cindy tried her hardest to keep me awake by talking non-stop to my closing eyes. Luckily for me, we've been married for so long, that I can tune her out and I was back asleep pretty fast.
Cindy never fell back asleep and woke me up when it was finally light enough outside that we could go down to the beach and walk around.
RE: Picture posting thread...anyone into it?
Sunrise on San Simeon Bay along the Pacific Coast HWY
http://everymilesamemory.smugmug.com/Travel/VW-Surfari-Adventure/Sunrise-in-San-Simeon-Beach/711944469_XaU3t-M.jpg
