09-18-2024 Entry

Woke up after a decent night's sleep and went for a walk/hike around El Capitán SB. This is a pretty big park, stretching up the coast for a distance from where we were camping. The northern parts of the park were not inhabited, some of the area was closed off. There was a space for hikers and cyclists to camp, which is kinda cool. Ann got out of the tent when I returned, and we had a big breakfast of eggs and grilled vegetables. Then it was time to break down the camp, went fairly smoothly, although I struggled with getting the mattress back in the bag. After we packed it all up, and I stowed the gear in the car, we walked over to another camping area and took a shower together. The water was running, so it was a free one, although we had bought tokens to use. I shaved afterward and felt much cleaner. We hit the road around 10:30 or so and drove up to Santa Maria for Ann to get some stuff at Walmart. I waited by the car because my bike was on the rack, and it seemed to take her forever. That was frustrating. After she got back and had to return to get the ice, we tried to stop at a DQ, but it was located in a mall, so we had to skip it. On the road again to San Simeon SP, seemed like it took much longer to get there than I expected. The campsite is decent, no frills and not great views, although we can see the ocean in the distance. There's a collecting pond much closer, less photogenic. We went for a walk after setting up camp, had to retrace our steps to find a route to the beach. It was a cloudy day, blustery and cool with a mild breeze. We made Dutch oven enchiladas for dinner. Then Ann started a fire (it's a lot easier when there are charcoal embers) and we made s'mores.