We landed last night in a little town on the beach called Morro Bay. The RV campground we stayed in was directly across the street from the beach and you had to travel through a slightly dodgy area to get there, but the campground itself was nice. We walked to town and got dinner at a local restaurant, and then Ally and I walked up to Albertson’s for a few supplies, while Ron, Mal and Casey went back to the campground. We had to wait about 20 minutes for our Uber to come as walking back with two bags and two things of firewood was not really an option.

We had just settled in the RV when there was a knock at the door. I made Ron answer it because who knocks on an RV door? But it was another family using Tracks and Trails who had a similar experience to us when checking in at Big Sur State Park. Except they were detained almost 90 minutes and generally given a much harder time than we were. Turns out they are from Richmond, Virginia, and doing the same itinerary we are. We traded numbers and hope to meet up in the national parks in a few days.

Sidebar: Today was a big day, probably the biggest day of the trip for Mal and Ally. Mallory set her alarm early and Ally was buzzing with anticipation: Outer Banks season 2 premiered. Oh, John B.

Back to reality: We worked with the travel company to move today to Pismo Beach, only about a 40 minute drive south of Morro Bay. This campground, Pacific Dunes, has horseback riding on site and is adjacent to sand dunes. And, yes, more wifi. This RV park has a *lot* of fancy RVs. Slideouts are the things that pop out when you’re parked to give you more room. Several of these have five slideouts and elaborate outdoor set-ups.

We booked dune buggy rentals for this afternoon and got there about 1 p.m. Once we checked in, we were given paper hoods to keep out sand and then helmets. We were looking good. We loaded a shuttle for a quick ride out onto the beach and then got a quick review of the map of the dunes. It was the most confusing map I had ever seen and I love maps. It was one of those moments where as soon as the person is done giving you directions, you say “yep, got it” and you know you have absolutely no clue what they just said. Surely that’s not just me right?

Ron and Mallory started in a two-seater, and Ally, Casey and I in a four-seater. Ron and Mallory took off and my buggy stalled, which separated us from the get-go. We started off and quickly were having fun riding up and down the dunes. Until we got stuck. We tried to dig our way out but had no luck. Thankfully, we scanned the QR code on our buggy and Logan and Mikey, the rescue guys, made it to us in no time, got us unstuck and sent us on our way. Turns out we were in the wrong area and so they set us straight.

I thought that would be the last of Logan and Mikey but, boy, was I wrong. We got stuck a handful of times. Each one requiring you to unbuckle, climb out and try to dig your way out, and when that failed you wait for Logan and Mikey. Ron and Ally got stuck in a bowl and then Ron got half run over by the buggy and has the bruises and cuts to prove it. Logan and Mikey are my favorite because they rescued us every time without making us feel stupid. By 4 p.m., they said, they had 45 rescue calls and we were only 10% of them.

We survived our two hours on the dunes and headed back to the RV park. On the way, we stopped at a small grocery and restocked on drinks. Turns out three grocery carts at Safeway doesn’t last as long as you might think.

Tomorrow we head to the first of our national park trip, Sequoia. We have been warned that there is no hookup, no cell service and no wifi. Please send us your thoughts and prayers.

Peace. XO.