Day 1

What we woke up to after our first night out:




There are worse places to camp!

So, day 1 started with some final packing and loading of the Jeep and at 10AM we headed south - bound for Sonoma to collect our RTT (roof top tent). There had been a few issues with this... We purchased an Autohome Maggiolina Airtop several months ago to ensure we wouldn't miss out as summer approached. We called closer to the time to arrange pick up and installation and all was groovy. Our schedule changed, so we called to reschedule the pick up and discovered that our tent had accidentally been shipped out to another customer! Oops. So the lovely people at Autohome US / Mudrak arranged to loan us another tent until the next shipment came in in June. Ok. We arrived at Mudrak yesterday afternoon and they began installing the loaner, while we asked questions about the other models they sell, then checked out a Columbus that they had. Not bad - more like a Westy we thought... So we swapped out and got one of those instead which was brand new and in stock. Sweet.

Where to go next? We need to be in Arizona on Thursday but I-5 through the central valley is just not pleasant. So we opted for the extra miles and headed down 101. Stopped at a Trader Joe's for some supplies before getting to Pismo beach in the dark. The guy at Mudrak had recommended camping here: what's not to like about camping right on the beach? Driving on sand for the first time for 4 miles in the dark, including crossing a stream, was a fun adventure! We picked a spot, any spot, popped the top and we were set. After a little wander and a sandwich we hit the sack and let the the dull roar of the ocean lull us to sleep...