We wanted to stay at Refugio State Beach campground but due to the recent storms that have hit California, Refugio was flooded with rain waters, hit with BIG waves and has been closed to campers for maintenance and clean-up. You can still surf there and park but must camp up the road at El Capitan instead.
The Surf – Right point break with sand bottom, sucks up on the take-off and sometimes hard to read but fun, Good!
School has let out for the summer and that means that yes, finally, I can go camping with my bff, Daniella (my 6 yearl old niece). While she has been dutifully scratching away learning how to draw her letters (which btw are pretty amazing), count to 100, sing beautiful songs (I love the one about the being "down by the banks of the…." something that rhymes with banky) and tie her own shoes… I have been plotting our Airstreaming trips this summer. Tomorrow is THE day. We get to pack the truck and trailer with every imaginable thingamabob and gadget that two girls need for a fantastical weekend in the mountains. There will be fishing, campfires (plenty of marshmallows), hikes in the meadow, searches for "fairy rings" (fairies always leave evidence of their visits with a ring of mushrooms, in case you didn’t know), fresh baked cookies in the magic chef oven, sand castles and paddle ball. I can barely wait. are we there yet?
If you find yourself traveling through the lake tahoe area and you like to boondock, this little gem is a great place to rest and take in some hikes and or fishing. Roman and I had been nominated to go scout out the Blue Lakes area for an Airstream rally site for our WBCCI unit. We only stayed one night but it was well worth the effort of packing up and driving the entire 20 minutes out there… it rained the first day so we stayed in the trailer and ate fresh baked cookies, watched some movies, caught up on our reading and took a nap while the rain fell on the trailer…. aaahhhhhhh. The second day we awoke to the solar panels reading 100% and the sun poking thru the clouds. Inspired by the scenery and feeling refreshed, Rome decided to give me a few lessons on backing up and turning the trailer in reverse. We broke camp and took a leisurely drive thru the blue lakes area to explore more possible rally sites and I got to practice a 12-14 point turn. We found another great campsite and after what seemed an eternity of parking and backing up instructions, we got level and had some lunch with the Sierra Nevadas offering the best of all backdrops. Spring time up here, in my opinion, cannot be beat.
It’s a dreary looking Thursday morning and I am gratefully sipping my coffee hovering over my new Macbook Pro (which by the way is probably way cooler than my new shoes or the Garmin GPS thingy put together) window shopping for cool new items to take camping this spring/summer. Our unit’s first rally of the year is coming up at the end of the month and I am getting a little anxious to get ready to go to Pyramid Lake. Rome and I have been too busy with work, taking a few trips to SoCal and the Bay in the trailers and living through all of live’s hurdles so we weren’t able to make any of our unit’s luncheons. It will be good to see everyone. The last rally of 2007 was in October and feels like it was aeons ago. We have gotten quite a bit more experienced at Airstreaming since our first rally last year…
We showed up in the dark on the last night of the rally with an Airstream (our first) having never camped in an Airstream before and having absolutely no familiarity of the one we were about to test out. We had never met in person anyone from the unit or WBCCI and we had no idea what to expect. Brian had been so helpful and patient when we called with our myriad of questions regarding what to bring and our nervousness about bringing a 30+ year old trailer camping for the first time. It was a relief that the unit was where the directions led us to (I know that Roman was questioning my judgment of getting us to join an Airstream club in the first place and we were concerned that we were lost in the nevada desert) and to see the inviting camp fire welcoming us in to the fold. Brian Leipper came walking toward us with a warm hello and much appreciated directions on where to park and the importance of leveling. Then, as all new WBCCI members will discover, the informal time honored ritual of "leveling the newbies" commenced. Levels (the yellow plastic kind with the little bubble) were pulled out of pockets and we were shown the art of leveling the trailer. We were told important tidbits such as always try to be as level as possible, not just for comfort but to also extend the life of your RV refridgerator. It then dawned on me that the previous owner of our trailer left us a very thoughtful gift of a little round level in the frig on purpose. I always keep one in the fridge now for a quick check. Our trailer was inspected, photographed and toured by the club. We were educated on what was original, what had been replace or upgraded and how to turn things on like the water heater and stove. We spent the remainder of our first rally night sitting by the warm campfire (it was a cold night in April) listening to stories and some very funny anecdotes from the long-time members. We returned early to our trailer to spend some more time exploring and playing with our new toy. When we awoke the following morning we surprised to learn that it had snowed during the night and everything was covered in a thin layer of frosty white snow. We decided to stay an extra day and night after almost everyone left (Anita stayed too) because we figured after all the time and effort, why not? If you have ever been even a tiny bit nervous about owning a vintage Airstream. Don’t be. Just join the WBCCI, hook up, go to a rally and be assured that you will be in the company of very experienced and capable and friendly people. Can’t wait to get to Pyramid Lake!
San Elijo State Beach Campground If you like to surf and you want to be around other people who like to surf and camp…. this is the campground for you. The campground is located over one of the most popular surf breaks, Swamis, in southern California. There is even a surf school that is run out of an old Airstream on the campground. Unfortunately, no pix of the surf school Airstream, it was locked away behind a tall fence for the winter season. (I could only see the top of the trailer over the fence). There was definitely a fun vibe at San Elijo. It seemed that most people were camping there because they love some form of watersports (kayaking, surfing, fishing) and camping, so there was a very "active" and vibrant feel to the camping experience. We quickly found the shopping across PCH and to my delight… you can get some pretty tasty desserts at the market. During our stay, we were lucky enough to get a few days right on the edge of the bluff overlooking the ocean. In the early mornings we could watch dolphins swim past the surfers without leaving the warmth of the trailer. Roman could check the surf right from the Airstream’s dinette. This was the sole reason we bought the model (the25fb) that we did, so Roman could see the ocean and the waves from the lounge in the back of the trailer. Coffee, surf and dolphins, you really can’t beat that.