The Californian Coast

Sunday 2 September 2012 – The Californian Coast

Day 143 and 15 days to go

We must be getting used to the van’s bed as we slept in until 9am this morning. Paul disappeared for a shower while I lazed around not really wanting to move. Feeling guilty I fought with the sheets in my attempt to make the bed without falling from the top bunk and landing in a crumpled mess for Paul to find on his return.

Once the bed was tamed into submission I made breakfast and checked the net and once Paul returned I took all my bits to the shower block to complete the morning routine. When I returned Paul had everything ready and at 10am we were ready to head. I checked out at reception with a woman so obese she couldn’t waddle 2m without being out of breath. With driving instructions to the nearest shop we made our way onto the main street and across a few blocks.

We pulled into the centre’s car park and then wandered around the grocery store collecting the bits we needed before paying up, packing the van and moving down the road to get fuel.

With the tank finally at its fullest we joined the highway heading west towards Pasadena, not noticing any little old ladies, but plenty of flying highway bridges, in some cases three of them flying over head moving off in different directions.

The traffic was also a novelty. At times it was free flowing and easy to navigate while at other times it was hectic with a every man for himself mentality as it became bumper to bumper. You have to remember it is Sunday almost midday and the middle of a long weekend when those LAites should have upstumped and made for the country, so why is it so busy? I hope Perth roads never look like this.

So our two our trip from Pomona was looking like it would be somewhat longer and by 12 we were starting to get peckish. On Mike’s suggestion we began looking for an In-n-Out burger joint to stop at. This was going to be challenging as we were on the US 101 highway and would need to get off to reach the burger bar if we saw it. Which I did.

Yelling there’s one as I saw the sign emerge from the bushes within a shopping complex on the edge of the freeway, Paul then had to continue down the freeway to the next exit before making a dramatic U turn to be heading back the way we came, but on the side street parallel to the highway. After a few wrong turns we finally ended up in the car park of the In-N-Out burger chain and joined the throngs of others looking for a cheap and easy meal.

With our cheeseburger meal ordered we waited for it to be created fresh. We even watched them cut new chips from the potatoes. With our mouth now watering we were well and truly ready to experience this famous burger. 

With our mouth now watering we were well and truly ready to experience this famous burger and it didn’t disappoint. It was delicious from the first to the last mouthful and cheap by HJ’s standards. Thanks for the tip Mike it was the beast.

The bellies sated again we were back in the truck and on HWY 101 to continue our journey north. The traffic continued to be frustrating. It would bank up and then dissipate with no explanation as to why there was a blockage in the first place. We had now been on the road for over 2 hours and by the initial GPS timing this morning we should have been in Santa Barbara, but we were only just making it to the coast passing firstly through Oxnard and then Ventura where we had the first glimpse of the ocean.

The blue waters stretched out to our left while to our right we were confronted with what looked like large sand castles; yellow sandstone hills that met the coast. From a distance they appeared greenish, but when you got close enough you could see the green was actually prickly pear bushes dotted across the surface.  It was not an inviting landscape.

The final 50km was a long drawn out procession, following so many other vehicles. It really was not the relaxing journey I had envisaged this morning. By 3om we were finally in Santa Barbara and made our way to the beach along with every other mug. The place was packed and there was nowhere to park, especially if you are driving a big vehicle like our RV. So it was off to find a park for the night.

Following the GPS coordinates I put in we ended up at a mobile home park out of town that did not cater for campers. Grr. So with take 2 we made our way back towards town successfully finding an RV park but it had a no vacancies sign up. Ahhh.

I got out anyway to double check and fund they had one space available posted on the door. With no one in the office we pulled in and made ourselves at home anyway. Phew!

We set up camp then decided to go for a walk. Our intention was to head to the beach but we couldn’t find a way passed the Hwy so instead we did a lap of the block, that has a very Mexican vibe.

Once back at the van we had a few drinks and played cards while I loaded bits on the blog and FB. Time disappeared quickly enough as we laughed through the card games. I wasn’t having any luck at all. I am sure Paul was sending out the Vibes.

We stopped for dinner and then I completed the Blog for the day while Paul played cards on his own. It was lovely to have a quiet evening.

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