Central California coast and the Channel Islands

Travels With Mimi www.avita.us

CHANNEL ISLANDS

AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST

September 25, 2025
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DAY 1
We were hoping to leave leave between eight and nine to get an early start and managed a minute after 8 to our surprise. The downside was horrible bay area traffic, but in spite of several slowdowns, it kept moving. We try to break up rides and our first stop was the Mission Soledad, a small unpretentious mission raised from the dead by a group of dedicated volunteers. While not luxurious nor filled with authentic artifacts, it was still charming with some pretty landscaping at the entry and a few archaeological artifacts within. Our next stop was to the much larger San Antonio de Padue mission near Fort Hunter Liggett which was established in 1771 by Junipero Sierra and others. By 1882 it had been abandoned, tiles were taken from the roof and most of the walls crumbled. About 20 years later sporadic efforts to rebuild were taken up and continue to this day. It exists partially as it did a century ago and is quite charming to visit with it's formal quadrangle. After that it was the long very winding Nicimiento-Fergusson road to the coast more suited to sports cars and motorcycles. It fact half way down a group of bikes came screaming around one corner and only missed us by Herculean efforts, and most of those riders had gray hair... perhaps from too many close calls. We had a reservation at Plaskett Creek, one of the nice campgrounds right on the coast and then enjoyed a hike out to the bluffs afterwards.


Approaching the coast from sunny inland		A wonderful coastal hike right out of our Plaskette Ck campground

DAY 2
For the most part it was a leisurely drive down Hwy 1 enjoying the views and taking in a short hike or two before stopping at the Elephant Seal vista point. Imagine a whole lot of rotund people crowded onto a small beach just laying around and this is what you see, except here they all have fur coats and flippers. On to Cambria where we parking was tight but I managed to squeeze into a small spot in a bakery parking lot, and out of courtesy of course you should buy a pastry. It was a very charming tourist town, and a big change from when we were here last here perhaps 20 years ago. As we had time left over due the short ride we took in the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History which we had seen in the past but is always nice and basically free. Some lady suggested the board walk hike just below the museum and after a short search found it to be a new hike with wonderful views of the marshes and sloughs and associated bird life. We chatted briefly with two ladies who had a similar rig and then onto the Elfin forest a mile down the road which hosts a variety of unusual plant life on a long easy boardwalk with views of the bay. On to our Morro Bay Dunes RV park which was a bit of a disappointment for the price but there was little other choice. But it had beach access which I enjoyed in the evening.


Cambria is now full of quaint little shops.		The Morro Bay Elfin forest.

Morro Bay rock right outside of our campground in the evening

DAY 3
After cleaning up and using the microwave (it's nice to be plugged in once in a while) we headed for the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden only a few miles down the road. The punishment for being early risers is little many tourist destinations don't open until 9 or 10. Luckily we got to wander (sneak) around this beautiful garden with only the maintenance man there and really enjoyed most of it. On this trip we made it a point to look over all the revitalized old towns on the way down and I have to admit San Louis Obispo was one of the nicest. It was full of very interesting upscale stores in architecturally innovative buildings on streets lined with large mature shade trees. Being a college town it also has it's share of quaint cafe's. Arroyo Grande was our next historical town, Unfortunately every road to the downtown was blocked off to our frustration until we found out why. They were having their yearly parade & fair. The plus was it was mildly entertaining, the negative was we couldn't see the town for all the people. With some effort and lots of detours we finally managed to leave town for the Guadalupe Nipomo Dunes center which wound up to be a house in the middle of an old dusty agricultural town instead of near giant dunes as expected. The whole museum centered around the old Ceccicle B De Mille 10 commandments movie which was shot here and some of the gigantic sets still remained. On to the Oso Flaco Lake down a dusty long farm road to an amazing mile long boardwalk across lakes and marshes to the ocean. After that we made a bee line for our city campground at the River Park where all sites were first come first serve. We had little hope of getting a space but two remained and we scooted right in and hooked up. This was one of the best sites we have ever had being newly poured and completely flat with all the amenities you'd expect at an RV park. And as the ranger who collects the fee never came around, we got it free!


Downtown San Louis Obispo		Part of the mile long boardwalk at Oso Flaco Lake

DAY 4 Our first sight of the morning was the small resort town of Los Olivo's. While small and only two or so blocks long, it was tastefully done with copious floral displays among old 49er style buildings & wine tasting restaurants. At the end we met an eccentric local musician who showed us around his housee which was very interesting in a junktique sort of way. On to Santa Ynez, another historic tourist destination. It was also tastefully done but very small. Next was the Botanical Garden in Santa Barbara. This time we knew where to park and it was more level. We paid your somewhat hefty entry fee and enjoyed our next two hours there, but it was far less lush than our last visit years ago in the spring. On the way we spotted the old Santa Barbara mission and stopped briefly. Then on to our Carpinteria Anacapa campground. It sounded wonderful being right on the beach, but was crowded with young people, their noisy kids and their noisy toys. So we took a walk around this eclectic town for a few blocks and then back to the campground where we enjoyed some piece & quiet after a bit.
		Part of the Santa Barbara Botanical garden


Santa Barbara Mission. Lucky to find a parking spot		Condos right on the Carpinteria beach

		DAY 5 Not a busy schedule but a lot of driving so got an early start. We hit one trail which sounded good but must have been rated by locals being bone dry with a few scrubby bushes and rubbly geology. On to Ventura and the city pier, once one of the biggest and oldest in the state having been first built in 1872... and several times after that. Then to the old section of Ventura where again the streets were blocked off due to some fair. But we saw few people and accidentally got a spot very close to the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura, and one of the most beautiful landscaped courtyards we have ever see. We walked around it's courtyard slack jawed for about 15 minutes before doing a tour of the rest of this charming little town before heading to our Island Packers who will transport us to Santa Cruz island tomorrow. They didn't know where to park our camper so suggested the corner of the parking lot. Well we promptly got a ticket! Luckily it was a warning only and they said we could park in the street a 50 feet away. We had reserved a camping spot nearby fearing it being filled on Sunday, but there was only one camper besides us. It was anything but level though and after 10 minutes of going back and forth at all sorts of angles managed to more or less level it with 4 blocks.
Part of the missions resplendent courtyard

Ventura Pier: After fires, storms and ship crashed, it's now better than ever

The colorful Ventura harbor, now a commercial enterprise full of ships and shops

DAY 6. We drove right to the outfitters early where we wound up waiting for an hour before boarding. But it was fun looking around and talking to fellow hikers. The hour ride over was scenic, balmy and we even spotted a few whales. The island had a small museum and restrooms, which we took advantage of, and then headed up the hill on the shortest most scenic hike due to not knowing how Mimi's ankle would hold up. On the way a group of Road Scholar people befriended us and offered to help Mimi out in any they could. One of the older gentlemen was particularly attentive. How nice. We took it easy and enjoyed the gorgeous views and weather for the next two hours. They advised us to turn around as the trail down was rough, but it wasn't a problem if we took it easy. On getting into the valley it was a bit warmer than we cared for but a slight breeze helped. After looking over some of the unique plants we slowly headed back to the pier. There I spotted one of the indigenous foxes in the distance and started to shoot photos not realizing in 5 minutes he would trot within 30 feet of me. They are listed as a separate species, and once rare they have made a comeback that mostly ignore tourists. The ride back was one of the most memorable ever as we saw a pod of dolphins the naturalist said possibly numbered at ten thousand as he said they churned up the water clear to the horizon!
		The Ventura harbor must be great sailing waters climate wise.


The island does have one small ranger compound		One of the amzing views from the Scorpion Canyon Loop Hike

The island fox
		This display went on for nearly 15 minutes

		DAY 7 We had planned a trip through Carrizo Plane National Monument an austere farming community dating back to the last century. It included a hike we had reserved out to an ancient petroglyph but one of the local guides on our boat said yesterday that the whole area had burned. After confirming that information we juggled our plans and headed north to 101 and then to the old Mission San Miguel Arcangel. This was one of our favorite missions we had visited years ago. It's grand, well preserved, has a wonderful old museum full of ancient artifacts and a peaceful courtyard full of old relics and plants. Unfortunately it was closed but we still got to wander around this amazing place as it probably looked in the 18th century. Then on to Pinnacles along Hwy 25 on which we always enjoy traveling. As we suspected, there was no problem getting a site, and being the federal government, they gave us a real discount with our senior park pass, down from $50 to $25. We had just enough time to go for a short hike before settling in for another relaxing evening. The following day it was get fuel and then just head for home among bay area traffic. Sometimes you just don't know if your having a good time as you're so occupied with making sure things go right. With hindsight now, we had a great time, and with very few problems!
The arcade of the Mission San Miguel