In search of the continuous road trip
Seriously, what’s going on? First we get glared at from a gent in a Jaguar, then there’s the guy outside the Coach store that’s just so, so … unhappy. These guys look retired and rich and they’re in California in the sun where it’s 70 …
In just about every campground, we find them. They’re the snowbirds, the kind and retired folks who’ve set up shop in this place for as long as they’re allowed before moving on to the next site (each campground has different limits on length of stay; two …
We’ve been to so many interesting and beautiful places, but when it comes down to it, we’re just not going to write an essay, say, on the Sycamore Canyon campground at Point Mugu State Park (summary: fun, cold, dramatic). But, since my camera has become …
We wanted a hearty meal, but we didn’t want to light the stove. Remembering a good white bean-based salad we once had (with parsley and red onion), we concocted this: 1 can mixed beans, rinsed (our can had black, kidney, and pinto) ½ diced onion …
Today we’re headed into Big Sur after making our way north from San Diego. We’re pretty excited for the change of scenery and the prospect of some hot springs. After that, we’re heading into Paso Robles and looking forward to checking out the area and …
Look at Jalama Beach on a map — it doesn’t look like much, does it? It’s just a tiny red dot, close to evil-sounding towns like Solvang and Lompoc. It’s on a sharp bend in the Californian coast, where the land had been moving west but …
Honestly, this town is perfect. Carpinteria (“Carp” if you’re a local) is filled with tiny beach bungalows. The downtown isn’t a bar-free pieland like in Julian. And not only are there bars, there’s a damn microbrewery. And if you’re in the middle of downtown, you can …
We’ve found the best beach camping spot in California (so far): Jalama Beach (say: Ha-Llama). It’s perfect right now, their off-season. We’re one of only a handful of people camping here. There’s no cell service, no WiFi, no neighboring town, no brewery. There’s not even a …
The other day, I said something about how I was tiring of craft IPA and how everybody was making the same thing anyway and implied that maybe the whole craft beer thing was a racket that I was about done with. Then I read a …
Malibu is incredible. I’m not talking about the movie star homes of Malibu. I’m talking about the wild Malibu, the areas you’ll find just a few miles from the beach, nestled back in the hills, far from the petty concerns of beach condo-mansion living. Most of …
The first mile was easy and uneventful, but as the trail narrowed, we were ambushed (apparently). Shots rang out and soon the valley was a filled with battle cries and the sounds of gunfire. The river gurgled past uncaringly, ready to receive the gallons of …
We lucked into this one, hit Long Beach at the right time (lunch) and needed a place to stop. Joe Jost’s came up on Yelp and sounded perfect – they serve only a handful of food options and offer 3 sizes of beer. The food …