Wow, it has been two tiring days on the road!  Philosopher and I set out on Thursday, ready for a coastal trip up to Northern California.  We made pit stops at the Getty Villa, Ojai, Santa Barbara, and Solvang before finding a campground in Santa Maria to settle in for the night.  The sleep was sporadic and interrupted by cars driving by, brisk air (it was in the low-mid 50s all night), and of course the uncomfortably firm ground.  Every time I tried to stretch out straight, I would find my blanket was covering my feet and it was way too to have them out.  So, reluctantly, I would pull them back in and curl up in a ball under my body pillow.

When getting things out of the car, I had accidentally locked my keys in the trunk (first time that happened to me!), so in the morning I called up AAA to break into my car for me.  It was really interesting to see their method, using an inflatable balloon pouch and a thick metal rod.  I didn’t quite imagine it being that way based on descriptions I’ve heard using clothes hangers, but hey, whatever works!  With access to all our stuff again, Philosopher and I were able to prepare for the long day ahead.

Day two consisted of a lot of winding roads, driving up and down mountains, and in and out of cloud/marine layer coverage.  I feel at once windblown and sunshone (yeah, yeah, not a term but what would you say?).  This time went from Santa Maria to Pismo Beach to San Luis Obispo, then out to the coast again to drive along the 1.  We took some time at Carmel-by-the-Sea to enjoy the town and beach, then continued on to Santa Cruz and finally San Jose.  While waiting for dinner at BJ’s and looking for another campground, we decided to go for more traditional lodging.  After all, we weren’t having much luck finding a place and it’s been a long two days without proper rest, so I don’t mind rewarding myself with a nice bed and shower.

Luckily, I was able to find the Larkspur Landing Hotel in Campbell, which was offering a really reasonable rate.  There’s free wifi, breakfast, cookies, and a business center, fitness center, and laundry room.  What’s most valuable is a warm and cozy bed, as well as a hot shower!  There’s no need to suffer and doing the whole camping thing another night was turning out to be too much trouble.  I can finally charge up my phone again and start tomorrow afresh.  By dinnertime, we will be meeting up with Panda and I’m really excited for that.  🙂