03-01-2024 Entry

Travel day.  I got up early to allow me time to get everything packed up and not feel rushed, and it was still a tight fit to get on the road around the time I had originally intended.  We got to Joe's a little after 8:00 and were able to put everything in his car, but it was pretty well packed.  Then we drove over to Mike's apartment in Oceanside (not sure why Joe wanted to do this, we should probably have just driven directly to the campsite).  We met Mike and talked to him for a short while before we got back in the car and headed up I-5.  Joe and I had a good conversation on the way up to Santa Barbara.  We decided to get gas there and have lunch, which turned out to be a late breakfast.  Then we drove up to Cachuma Lake Campground.  It was wet and raining off and on during the latter part of our drive, so that when we got to the campsite it was wet and overcast.  We were able to get the tent set up before it started raining in earnest, then Joe and I set up his sun shade over the picnic table.  Mike and Jason showed up not so long after we had got the shade set up, in the late afternoon.  They pitched a tent and stowed some of their gear, while Joe and I finished laying out some of the items inside the tent.  Since it was raining, I decided to keep my sleeping bag, clothes, and pillow in the car (good call).  The rain was steady enough that some water was making its way into the tent by the entrance.  We decided in the late afternoon to drive into Buellton to the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott to pick up our registration packets.  This is the site of the ride start and finish.  We rode in Mike's truck and got a fair amount of rain on the way there and back.  After we got back, Joe and I split a beer and I started dinner, which was spaghetti with Impossible beef and sandwich bread.  Everything turned out good, they enjoyed the food a lot.  There was so much "meat" in the sauce that it looked like Sloppy Joe filling.  I should have made more pasta, but in the end there was enough to eat.  While we were cooking and cleaning, we got a steady series of rain showers coming through, so the sun shade was a lifesaver.  We weren't completely dry (especially, for me, my boots and feet), but it was bearable.  Then it was getting ready for sleep, preparations for which went smoothly.