Surf, Sand, Sunsets...Welcome to Carpinteria, CA

From our Desert Hot Springs location getting to the ocean involves a tedious drive around Los Angeles.  Sundays are usually low traffic days, especially for semis on the road, so we made our way to Highway 101, the coast route, in record time for an early afternoon arrival at Carpinteria State Beach (see map).

We had made reservations for 5 nights through Reserve America, weekends are out of the question, and grumbled about paying $35 per night for a State Park campsite, especially one with no hookups.  The sites with electricity and water are $55!  Once we got settled and started taking in our beautiful environment; fresh air, sun, surf and sand between our toes, then later the beautiful sunsets, we decided it was oh so worth it!

The great part about Carpinteria,  other than being a quaint, beautiful beach-side town, is that we can walk everywhere.  The town has great shops and restaurants, but the ambiance is everything.  Families, kids, and dogs were all about as Spring Break was in full swing.  Days were warm and after our walks and runs, we usually sat out reading and visiting with our neighbors.

Howard has stepped up his running for the Bay to Breakers next month, but took a nasty fall along the trail when a rock jumped up in front of him, and came limping back covered in blood!  He is fine though his left knee is a bit gimpy still. We laughed at ourselves and our various issues and both agreed getting "old" for us was not going to be pretty!