thevcblog: California Day 14 - Santa Barbara to Leo Carrillo State Park

I am camped in the lovely, secluded hiker-biker site at Leo Carillo State Park.

It's tucked away behind (and thankfully downwind from) the RV Dump Loop.

The way the hiker-biker sites work is you don't need a reservation, you just show up on foot or on a bike. They are $10. They have picnic tables and fire rings. That's it. Regular campsites are very expensive and booked months to years in advance for parks near the beach like this one is.

I am the only hiker-biker. I feel like the last of a dying breed. This is the perfect time of year to be bike touring along the California coast., the weather is totally pleasant, and no rain. And yet, I am the only bike tourist. I haven't seen another one.

I'm very happy to be here.

This was a really nice day of touring. The temperature topped out at 70 degrees, there was a tailwind, no hills to speak of, and I happily cruised along for 60 miles of mostly beautiful scenery, with mountains to my left and the ocean to my right.

I just had a cup of coffee to start the day at the hostel in Santa Barbara. I stopped for a scone in Summerland at a very fancy housewares store with an attached cafe called "Field and Fort". I suspect rich people live around here.

A few miles farther along in Carpinteria, I found the meadery, Apiary Brewing, that I heard about back in New Cayuma. It was only 10 AM, and unfortunately, they don't open until two. So I could only gaze on it longingly as I rode by.

After Carpinteria,it's lots of bike lane along the 101. Which is scenic, but pretty loud.

After about 10 miles of this, the bike route goes into the shoulder of the Pacific Coast Highway aka PCH, aka California State Route 1, which is two lane and very nice. This must be the Ventura Highway of the song. Here is what Ventura looks like:

When I was a kid there were all these soft rock songs like "Ventura Highway" and "California Dreaming" and on and on where California was an idyllic promised land of limitless potential. I suspect that's not true now, and all that opportunity has been hoarded up by the people who moved out in the 1960s. Maybe it was never that way. Consider "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay".

But when you ride along the ocean and go through all these towns that are in the songs you grew up with, it feels like it could be true, and you want it to be true.

But after Ventura, which is lovely, you get to gritty and grimy Port Hueneme. Which starts out nice by a big marina with lots of new condos. I had a bite to eat at a dumpling shop in a shopping strip there.

But Port Hueneme declines pretty rapidly. I don't think anyone ever wrote a song about Port Hueneme.

I actually attempted to book an AirBnb at the last minute 20 miles in Port Hueneme, because there was a room in a house with nice-looking shared common areas, and laundry, and I need to do laundry one more time. It was $84. Which is actually only $60 more than I'm probably going to spend camping here and going to the laundromat tomorrow in Los Angeles. But the host didn't respond by the time I reached my last opportunity to buy groceries before leaving town. So I cancelled.

This is a pretty beat-down Mexican grocery store. But it got the job done. I have a Frappachino and a nut bar for breakfast tomorrow, and a couple nice apples for the snack bag.

Port Hueneme is generally beat down. It's a military town next to the Point Mugu navy base. Look at all the vintage weaponry on display!

After Port Hueneme, it's back to the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway along the beach.

Sometimes there are tiny clusters of homes between the highway and the beach. Other times, there are RVs parked along the side of the road where people drive the RV out and spend the day. There is no overnight parking except in state parks.

There one and only one restaurant anywhere nearby the campground, Neptune's Net.

It's not very good, but it got the job done.

This looks like a ton of calamari, but it's actually a small bit of calamari on top of a bunch of soggy fries.