Calication

Bad Blogger Excuses: Well the time between post has drawn out farther than I would have liked, but things like vacations to California among other adventures happened In my blogging absence.

Back Story: I was there for just over an entire week, and it was the first vacation longer than a 3 day weekend I had taken in over a year.  I would have done something earlier, but a wedding Labor Day weekend in Palo Alto required a flight so i decided to wait and combine the wedding with a west coast vacation.

Prologue: The wedding was a blast, went out with some friends, saw some old friends, and made a few new friends.  The Wedding took place Sunday of Labor Day weekend.  The adventuring commenced the next morning afternoon.  Our (JT & I’s) travels began  on the wrong foot, as I failed to notice the rental car pick up location had limited holiday hours, which of course we missed.  A very helpful representative at the San Jose Airport Budget location had us back on track with only a slight delay an minor price jump.  We did end up with a fun Nissan Altima instead of the hyundai we had originally reserved, worth it!

On The Road: Departing the San Jose Airport we headed straight to the beach, we stormed Marina State Beach on the Monterey Bay and had our first encounter with the pacific. The Wind was blowing and the waves were crashing hard. Oh, and there was fog. A thick soupy fog that never relented.

After getting some food supplies at Walmart, which is painted brown on the exterior instead of the standard blue/white color scheme, we hit famous California route 1. The highway was a blast to drive on, and Big Sur sure held some spectacular scenery, but the enveloping fog definitely detracted from the views, we could barely see the top of the arches of the famed bigsby canyon bridge as we crossed over and unfortunately didn’t want to bother with stopping for a photo opportunity there. We did pull over once we could actually see the ocean below and snapped a few pics.

We decided to test our luck with scenic Kirk creek campground located on right on the water, but of course by the time we arrive all of the spots were full. With no cell service, and the sun setting soon (as far as we could tell beneath the fog) we turned inland on Nacimiento-Ferguson Road and drove up, up, up into the heart of Los Padres National Forest. After observing someone setting up a tent almost directly on the road, we started scoping for our own spot to set up camp.

Before finding a suitable local for the eve, we emerged above the fog. It was oh so glorious!!

We found a nice driveway of sorts off to the side of the road where very evidently people had previous camped, perfect. We were stoveless, and the fire level was at threat level midnight, so it was some cured meat and granola bars for dinner. Seriously I have never been anywhere so dry and dusty. The night was uneasy to say the least as the rare car passing through really sketched us out. The nearest establishmnet of any sort was the US army’s Fort Hunter Liggert. What were these people doing driving along dirt mountain roads in the middle of nowhere during the dead of night, obviously thoughts of every horror movie I have seen were running through my head.

Campsite location:

View of the road from the tent

We got up early and on the road towards Yosemite national park, where the camping was not sketch. When we reached the coast, the fog had lifted off the water a bit.  I smell a photo opportunity.

We made good time towards Yosemite, and of course endured more fog passing through the lesser known wine region of Paso Robles. Soon we ditched the fog for full on blazing sun as we sped through the interior dust bowls of California farm country. I did pick up some fresh red grapes at a rest stop, which were quite juicy and tasty. Soon we would passing through the gate into Yosemite National Park. to be cont.