Hearst San Simeon State Park

"The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back'

Wendy Wunder

We returned to our Central Coast Hidey Hole, but unbeknownst to us at the time, for a very short stay. We were home just long enough to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and tidy up the grounds of this beautiful forested abode and it's "hobbit house". In a matter of days we would be returning to our favorite local campgrounds. We went back to San Simeon State Park for a short volunteer tour as Park Camp Hosts.  

During the many years as Central Coast residents, the State Park has been one of our favorite backyards and a constant backdrop during our evolution of RV travel. We have dedicated previous posts to our park...the link will take you back to one of our stays and reveal to you our love for this wonderful park.

Hearst San Simeon State Park

When one of our most beloved friends, "Old Fart Frank Roberts", had to leave a wee bit early from his Camp Host stint at San Simeon, we volunteered to cover him for a couple of weeks. Enter Karma...it is an experience and that experience creates memories and those memories create imagination and desire. Well...San Simeon State Park has contributed to manifesting karma and a paragon to our traveling lifestyle. Warmest of memories for sure!

And...hosting has been a "lottery" winner to us! Not only did we meet the Roberts camp hosting, but many of our other lifelong tribe members. We just 'recruited' Christina and John, Rayna and Larry as our blood brethren. Folks, friendship isn't about who you have known the longest... it is about who walks into your life during that perfect moment, demonstrate that they are like-minded, or respectfully can engage in a rousing conversation about issues they are passionate about,  typically show compassion for their brothers, and sisters and are deeply committed to the environment. Most of all our friends consistently walk their talk!  
Synchronicity is alive and well. 

We made daily camp checks throughout the park in our little electric cart (a big treat for Sydney) or via a walk about, exchanged greetings and conversations with fellow campers and sold heaping wheel barrows of fire wood and ended each evening enjoying a  nice "bonfire"...you know I love BIG fires. But more importantly, it was again validated the importance for all of us to be stewards of our natural gems. 

In our brief stint here, Sydney serenaded for the affection of Dale the Cat (with no luck, although they once did a nose kiss), we got to tour the Castle draped in holiday decorations with Christina and John and put on a few ounces of "muscle" with some decadent campground meals.

With our time ending at the park, we bid farewell to Rayna and Larry to spend Christmas with the Nicolais of Cloverdale and then head down to SoCal to Blanco Land. Although our hosting duties may be limited in the future, leaving our footprints at San Simeon will be ongoing for as long as we call this waypoint home.

At Waypoint 35.5903200 -121.0717400

Rincon Parkway

"The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul."

Wyland

Visualize being parked parallel with the ocean on a 47’ paved RV pad below Highway 101. Running below that highway are rail tracks that carry up to 27 trains in a 24 hour period. And finally, at beach level, Highway 1 which defines your site boundary. You are parked bumper to bumper and then asked to pay $28.00 for your site. I think most of you would ask…Michael, what enjoyment can you have with all that impact from the road noise? You are getting ripped off, so why did you even consider parking there? Poor Imkelina!

Based on the few facts I have just shared, your point is well deserved…but those noisy trails of transportation are but smokescreens and mirrors. The spot we are talking about is Rincon Parkway…yes theee Rincon which is renowned as one of the most famous surf spots in California and yes, the same Rincon referenced in the classic 1962 Beach Boy song Surfin’ Safari. This waypoint is pretty awesome and definitely unique. 

Ok…now visualize this…awaken to the smell of bacon and sipping some freshly brewed coffee as you take in the cool ocean air. Now add the spectacular 180 degree views of the Pacific and Channel Islands from your beach front window. You are parked with only a row of boulders between you and over a mile of beautiful sandy beach. In the background, you can see a pod of dolphins porpoising during a feeding frenzy and huge pelicans gliding above swells, then diving straight downward toward a fish below. I would say that to be a Million Dollar view!

And then coming into my peripheral view are my two best friends…Imke and her sidekick Sydney, lifedancing on the beach since the break of dawn. When you are on that beach, the only sound you hear is that beautiful sea always letting you know she is there. Imkelina and the “beach dog” love their beach…joy, joy, joy and more joy. Now that is Priceless!

Rincon Parkway is a linear campground that spans enough beach to provide 127 primitive, but paved RV parking spaces…only for RVs, no tents. To get your toes in the sand, you need to do some easy rock hopping about 10’ to the beach below. The most stress we had this trip was building a rock firepit. We were told fires are allowed, so we enjoyed one each evening. And if you need water or your tanks to be emptied, we saw truck tankers driving slowly by each rig offering those services.

Although each of the rigs are parked bumper to bumper, you have some privacy on your patio, as your vehicle and that of your neighbor provide “walls” front and rear. We even had more alone time as the 5 rigs behind us and the one in front of us were all vacant. The owners just parked them there ahead of time to secure a spot for their upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday. We met a few folks that paid up to 5 nights extra to make sure they got a spot. Apparently, during that holiday week it will be impossible to secure any site. In any book, that is a hefty storage fee…but well worth it to those folks. 

No doubt we will stop at Rincon again, whether it be en-route to or on a return trip from any trip South. Either way, we won’t be disappointed with the quality of beach time...or vegging time.

At Waypoint 34.328000-119.397960