Coastal Camping

I've never really been a fan of camping up until this past weekend. I'm a newly reconverted camping fan! In the past, camping to me was dreadful. Dirty all the freakin' time, dry hot weather,  dreaded taking a shower in the less than clean showers, bugs, bees, bears, etc. But, I think I've found a solution to my camping dilemma and that is, find a campsite that is near nice places such as Pismo Beach. 

Pismo Beach was my saving grace. We were able to hang out in cool, breezy weather, and then return to our campsite in the evening hours where it was finally in decent weather temperatures and lounge for the remainder of the night. It was the perfect combination! 

This past weekend, we drove down to the Central Coast and camped out at one of the KOA campgrounds in Santa Margarita. I have to give much props to KOA as they were exceptionally good at making sure the bathrooms and campgrounds were clean. Heck, even their porta potty was clean. Well, that's what I heard from my fellow family members. I didn't have the heart or the courage to go into the porta potty. My rule, go in a porta potty unless its absolutely necessary. 

This time around, the weather was perfect to set up our tents. Last year, it was so windy making it difficult to even hold down the tents to stake them. Below is our humble abode for 4 days/night. Inside, we had cots that took up majority of the room inside and made me a wee bit clausterphobic. I thought I was going to have a panic attack. 

The next day, Friday,  we all decided to head to Pismo Beach. I was very excited because I've never been to Pismo Beach. The weather, at first, was foggy and cold, but the sun began to come out mid afternoon making it perfect to walk around and explore the little beach town. 

We encountered the infamous Splash Cafe that my lovely Facebook friends kept telling me to check out. The line was super long, but fortunately, it went by fast! We ordered a bowl of their award winning clam chowder, with seafood topping and a loaf of sourdough bread. (Thank you V for giving me this tip!). It was very, very, delicious and needless to say, worth every minute of the wait. 

Noshed on a seafood platter combo which was next door to Splash cafe at a place called Brad's Restaurant.  that consisted of clam strips, shrimp, halibut, and calimari and oh, some good ole' chips! It was oh-so delish!

Then on Saturday, we headed over to Grover Beach. This was my favorite part of the trip! We were able to drive onto the beach and have a little tailgating beach party all day long.

Dogs are allowed on the beach, so long as they are leashed. Fine by me. Maddie is a rebel when it comes to being off leash on the beach. The last time we off leashed her, she went ballistic. She started chasing a bird and kept going farther and farther into the ocean. We seriously thought we were going to lose her because she wouldn't respond to our voice commands. 

I can't wait for next year to camp again! It truly was a enjoyable weekend! I heart summer days.....