We should have held back a day because the first part of
this spectacular drive was in rain and fog so we passed by several places we
intended to stop and hike. The rush was on my part because I had a General
Delivery package waiting in Santa Barbara that turned out to be “all for
nothing” – a story for another day!
We stayed one night in a campground at Los Padros NF, Kirk Creek in Big Sur and the next in the Morro Bay Marina Parking Lot. This was a tip from a guide and although questionable as to the legality, the sign specified parking could not exceed 72 hours. There were restrooms with coin showers and a beautiful harbor walk around to Morro Rock. There were also lots of shops and restaurants and Morro Bay was very dog friendly. Seemed like a perfect night for dinner out so we scouted out Dockside after seeing great reviews for BBQ oysters. They were wonderful!
We stayed one night in a campground at Los Padros NF, Kirk Creek in Big Sur and the next in the Morro Bay Marina Parking Lot. This was a tip from a guide and although questionable as to the legality, the sign specified parking could not exceed 72 hours. There were restrooms with coin showers and a beautiful harbor walk around to Morro Rock. There were also lots of shops and restaurants and Morro Bay was very dog friendly. Seemed like a perfect night for dinner out so we scouted out Dockside after seeing great reviews for BBQ oysters. They were wonderful!
After the unnecessary trip to Santa Barbara, we backtracked
away from the congestion to Jalama Beach County Park for a few more beach days.
It was here we learned that people were starting to gather en mass for
Thanksgiving. Apparently it is really popular to go camping over the holidays
on the west coast. We decided to start turning the corner and head to Joshua
Tree NP to get settled for Thanksgiving instead of continuing down the coast
south of LA.
