Jobob's California Coast Adventure

[Veronica]

Hey Jo,

Thom and I did that trip on our old mountain bikes in '93. We did it over ten days with three days off the bike. We were thinking about maybe doing it again this August since it's just so gorgeous.

Let's see, when we got to Monterey we stayed at the Marriott. We also had to rent a car and drive back to our apartment in Sunnyvale. Thom had lost his wallet at Sunset.

We did go from PBS to San Simeon. It is a long day, but we were feeling pretty good when we got to Kirk Creek and they didn't have showers, so we continued on.

Do a tour at Hearst Castle. I think they are still doing the garden one at that time of year. We really want to go back and do that one.

From San Simeon we went on to Morro Bay after touring the castle.

Then we spent a couple of days at Oceano. They had a really nice hiker biker site and we were able to do laundry in Pismo.

From Pismo we went straight to Cachuma Lake - a little more than a century I think. But we didn't like how the campgrounds looked. The climb over San Marco Pass wasn't bad either.

I wasn't as "serious" a rider then, so when I say a climb wasn't bad, it really wasn't.

I like your pacing. It will really give you time to stop and enjoy your surroundings.

I'm envious.

V.

[mikki]

I have stayed here. I highly suggest reservations for these, as they tend to be booked up - sometimes up to a year in advance. The yurts are nice, with beds inside, heat if you need it, and a good campfire space out in front. There are portapotties to use, and coin operated showers on site with good hot water. Enjoy.

[jobob]

Thanks everyone !

Denise, that's a good point. Depending on the campground, some sites are very large - I'm thinking of my personal favorite, Pfieffer Big Sur, where some of the campsites especially along the river are very, very spacious (hmmm, I wonder if they're less spacious now after all the rain - I can pretty much guarantee it ). But I'm thinking we won't run into filled-up campsites anyhow since we'll be travelling in the off-season, except for perhaps on the weekends.

V., I had forgotten about your tour ! Thanks for the info. We'll most likely spend an extra day in the San Simeon area, there's so much to see. It might even make more sense to get an inexpensive motel room in Cambria or thereabouts (assuming one exists ) for a couple of nights as our base for checking out the area. And it would be cool to see Hearst Castle, if only a bit of it.

Thanks for the info on the yurts, mikki. Maybe we'll luck out and one would be available mid-week in the off season, but that sounds like a really nice campground even if the yurts were all taken & we need to pitch the tent. The Solvang area might be another two-night stay.

[SadieKate]

I particularly like the careful attention to snack planning.