Yesterday we continued our journey south. We followed the 101 through the coastal range.  We found the Pacific Ocean once again at Pismo Beach.

Driving through Santa Barbara, Donna spotted a gas station on the north end of town with a large lot and open access to the pumps. We took the next exit and back tracked to the station. I didn’t want another low fuel episode.

When we resumed our travel on 101 south, Donna saw police action in the northbound lanes. We don’t know what was going on, but traffic on the northbound side was at a standstill for about six miles!

We were headed to Rincon Parkway. It’s a section of Old Highway 1 on Faria Beach, owned by Ventura County. The county marked nearly a mile of beachfront with  RV parking spaces. There are 127 spaces, each about 45 feet in length. Only RVs are allowed – you can only park a car here if it’s in the space with an RV. Otherwise cars are only allowed in the day use area.

We tried to fit our 50-foot length into a space that looked promising. Although the people on either end were willing to give us some room, it just wasn’t going to work. We drove on down the road and looped back to the Seacliff exit on 101.

This time I tried to park along the seawall where there were more open spaces. I tried to back the trailer in and jackknife it behind us to reduce our length. I was still over the line marking the space allowed.

Donna came up with an idea. Every 15 spaces or so is an area with a dumpster and a pay kiosk. If I drove on the sand between the kiosk and the seawall and then pulled up into the paved parking spot, I might be able to place the trailer in a position that cheats a little behind the dumpster.

It was a tight maneuver, but it worked. I wrote a check for space #16 for one night and placed it in the envelope at the kiosk. I only paid for one night in case we had trouble with our parking scheme.

Our cheater position

I unloaded Donna’s road bike and changed the front inner tube. By the time I was done pumping her tires, she was dressed and ready for a ride. She rode for about an hour while I walked the beach and watched the surfers.

The view south from our site

Donna relaxing after her bike ride

Last night we had a campfire on the sand. Donna made s’mores over the fire. We went to bed with the windows open. The sound of the surf crashing on the beach was soothing. Waking up to that sound was a pleasant way to start the day.

Surfers catching the last wave of the day

No one knocked on the door, so I guess we won’t have any grief over the way I’m parked here. I’ll write another check and we’ll stay overnight again. I’ve booked a month at the Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego, starting tomorrow. We’ll head out early tomorrow and make the 180- mile drive there.