Sunset Beach State Park

This trip did not start off well. As I was pulling away from the curb, I forgot that La Palace added width and height to my Subaru Outback and um...hit a tree on the sidewalk which tore off the awning.

Since there was no real structural damage to the trailer itself (my ego was badly bruised though), I removed what was left of the awning rig and continued on the trip.

We arrived in plenty of time to set up the site before sunset and took a hike to the beach. It was pretty cool to have the entire beach to ourselves!

Dinner was ribs and mac n cheese.

The beach at Sunset Park was just as nice as New Brighton, albeit a bit more windy. But the wind meant we got our kite up!

Since it was closer to the water (so close that you can hear the waves crashing at night), the temperature was colder than it was at New Brighton. This gave me a good excuse to break out these fingerless gloves. How cute are the hearts?

Hobo Fire Pit

I bought this hobo firepit years ago off of Craig's List for $35 but never got around to using it. It is basically a 55 gallon steel drum cut in half with the edge dulled.

When we were packing for the trip, I decided to bring this along at the last minute in case there wasn't a fire ring available at the campsite. Even filled with wood, moving it was a cinch with the attached handles.

With holes drilled about 2 inches from the bottom for circulation, we had a roaring fire going in no time. Although there was a fire ring at the campsite, this was useful adjacent to our trailer where we had our chairs and portable table set up.

Tip: Bring your own fire wood. Chances are, wood will cost a small fortune on site and the quality may be sub par. We only bought enough wood for the first night (we use seasoned Almond wood at home which burns nicely) and had to buy a bundle from the ranger the second night. We noticed a sizable difference in the quality of the fire.

I also recommend bringing 3 bricks to put underneath the pit to prevent scorching the ground beneath.

Pre Trip Check List - 2 Weeks Till Take Off

Two weeks prior to your trip,

1) Check all of your appliances, propane tanks, battery, water pump, toilet.

2) Flush your clean water tank out with bleach tablets.

3) Check tire pressure. We have a portable air compressor so that you don't have to bring your trailer into a gas station. The compressor also has an adaptor for inflating rafts and other toys.

If this is your first trip, do a dry run of your set up routine, complete with leveling and unroll your awning. I recommend 2 weeks in advance in case you have to repair anything or order parts.

We did our first dry run yesterday in the front yard and it's a good thing we did because we discovered a tear in our awning (off to West Marine today for Kevlar tape). Another reason I should have tested everything during the inspection phase.

From start to finish, it took about an hour. 25 minutes were dedicated to the awning (this took two 6' 2" men) - obviously, we didn't know what we were doing (that's why we did a dry run!) The rest of the time was spent figuring out how to pull the trailer 20 feet on a relatively level driveway towards the street with a trailer dolly and then leveling it. Again, so glad we did this because imagine pulling up just before sunset and trying to figure all this out in near darkness on an unpaved plot.

My son and I decided to go all out and sleep in La Palace. I used regular house bedding and it started out a bit chilly but bearable and continued to get colder towards dawn. I think with my sleeping bag zipped to keep more body heat in, I will be fine in a real world situation.

While I was emailing and surfing the net on my iPad just before bed (roughing it, I know) I received an email from my friend who informed me that part of Hwy 1 leading to Big Sur (my intended maiden voyage in 2 weeks) was closed due to a landslide. Which leads me to the last tip: Check road conditions! You just never know whether nature (or construction) will derail your trip. We have adjusted our plans accordingly and will now be going to Capitola.

ECT (Extra Comfort Tip):

For those who don't like to wake up at the crack of dawn (moi), pack an eye mask to block out the sunlight which I have discovered is abundant out in nature (duh!)