Malibu/ Santa Barbara/ Pismo Beach

Trip Start Jun 01, 2009

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of United States Goleta, California
Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Tuesday morning we left Anaheim for Malibu Beach. We spent 5 hours on the beach and even got to see the life guards in action saving a couple of young girls caught in the surf. Unfortunately the lifeguard wasn't too happy as he lost his shades!! Still, to be fair, he and two other male lifeguards arrived pretty quickly and did a good job! (There were no Pamela Anderson look alikes in sight!!) We then made our way to Santa Barbara. We tried to get into a few campsites but they were all full as they were on the beach and government run. They all looked excellent as they were literally on the beach. Between the two campsites on the road was a line of RV’s parked on the road next to the sea. We clocked the line at over 1 � miles most with campfires, it looked great. Unfortunately as we have a pop-up trailer it wouldn’t be safe enough. We then decided to push onto Santa Barbara and find a camp site or room for the night. Each one we tried was full!! It was getting late so we connected to a nearby hotel’s internet and phoned Holiday Inn central reservations

Pismo Beach

. They managed to get us a room about 15 miles away. It was their last room! We were very lucky to get somewhere as there was a festival in Santa Barbara!! The following day we went into Town to have a look around. It is a pretty little Town with a very Spanish feel to it. We watched the Spanish dancing and looked around the craft market and had lunch at the harbour.

We decided to check in early to Pismo Beach just to make sure that we had some accommodation as California is much busier than other States. We stayed in a US Dept. of Forest Site right by the beach. It was great (our favourite camp site so far). We strolled down to the beach, it was lovely. RV’s were allowed to park up and stay the night on the beach. We got back about 7pm and yes you guessed it another BBQ & Camp fire. It was nice to hear the waves at night but it was a bit chilly!! We tried out the heated beds in the trailer tent. Luxury!! The following morning it was time to move onto Monterey on US1.

(The campsites we are now trying to book are from the US Department of Agriculture/ Forestry which allow you to stay in federal and state parks and property. They are only $20 per night and can be booked over the internet. This is actually easier than booking private campgrounds. Some are basic with no hook-up for electric or water. However, they are really big pitches in fantastic locations and everyone seems much friendlier. You can also have campfires which is now a must for Greg!)

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