Days 5-7/July 27-29

I totally get why people who RV full time tow cars. Otherwise you have to unhook the RV for a quick trip to the store for more s’mores supplies or you are limited to where you can walk or Uber to. We did not want to drive and park the RV on Tuesday so we booked an Uber XL Monday night for Tuesday morning for the 20 minutes to Monterey. 

At about 9:10 it became clear that our 9 a.m. Uber XL wasn’t coming. We pivoted and were able to get two regular Lyfts and made it on time to our morning excursion of kayaking in the Monterey Bay (bonus, the Lyft Casey and Ron got was a Tesla). We arrived in downtown Monterey and checked in for our kayak excursion. FYI, if you want to feel really good about yourself, I do not recommend putting on a wet suit at 10 in the morning. We spent about three hours kayaking near sea otters, sea lions and lots of birds. It was pretty amazing even if my kayak-mate did not always pull her weight. 

We ditched the wet suits, had lunch at Melville’s Tavern and took the free trolley up to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We had 2:30 tickets with about a zillion other people, but we managed to see it all in about 90 minutes (we are a Master Class in getting through cultural attractions in less than the suggested time. You think a museum needs 3 hours? We can do it all in about 45 minutes) and then had more Uber/Lyft issues on the way back to the campground. We tried again for sunset on the beach and once again the clouds said no. The kids had a rematch of football and we were all in bed early. 

Wednesday am we unhooked the RV and were out of the campground by 8:10 to make it to our whale watching trip at 9. Whale watching is something I’ve wanted to do for years so I was really excited. Less so when I realized that of the two boats docked at the wharf ours was the much smaller of the two. And there were signs warning of sea sickness. And then people talking about sea sickness. And then choppy seas as we left the harbor.

One of the crew gave me ginger candy to chew on and suggested I move to the back of the boat and stare at the horizon. Never have I stared at a horizon so hard. The ginger candy apparently works by tasting so awful that you are distracted from the seas sickness by the god awful burning taste in your mouth. Why they couldn’t have just given me a can of Vernor’s, I don’t know. Regardless it worked and the rest of the trip was amazing. The crew said this was one of their exceptional days. We saw give humpback whales, and three or four blue whales, the largest animal on Earth. I actually cried when I saw the humpbacks I was so excited and they’re so amazingly cool. They even jumped up so we could get a picture, and I am definitely giving those whales five stars on their Yelp review.

With whale watching under our belts, we made lunch in the RV and hit the road for Big Sur. In a matter of about 30 minutes we lost cell service and then made it to Pfeifer Big Sur State Park where we had no cell service and no wifi. We pulled in to the gate and were told to pull over as there was a “concern” with our campsite and a ranger was on the way. The woman working the gate wouldn’t say anything more which seemed ominous. A few minutes later the park ranger showed up. Now in my experience park rangers wear brown uniforms with funny hats and are super friendly. What showed up were two state police officers in a state patrol car and guns on their waists. Much like driving by a police officer when I am not speeding, I was super nervous for no real reason.

Turns out there have been issues with people renting campsites and then reselling them for a profit. I assume those capitalists are taking advantage of the Covid-related demand to get outside and camp. Our travel company is not that. They simply make the reservations for us, but this nuance was lost on the California State Park system. They took a picture of the tour company contact and somewhat reluctantly let us in. 

Inside the park, we went for a walk along the river and a black SUV with tinted windows drove by. Right as it passed us, the guy in the back put his window down and let out a ton of smoke as they drove by. Casey asked if we all smelled skunk and all I can say is I think they are having a much different camping experience than we are.

With no cell or wifi service it was a quiet night. We grilled and played some cards before calling it a night. 

An early bed time and snoring in the RV woke me up in the middle of the night and I laid there tossing and turning, consumed with what I would do in the event of a medical emergency in that park in the middle of the night. No cell service, no wifi, no one to call, pitch black. I decided that you’d basically die. Despite that completely unnerving thought, I eventually fell back asleep but was up again at 6. 

We started the morning with a hike to Pfeiffer Falls. It was a beautiful, uphill walk among the forest to a waterfalls that drops 60 feet. Somewhere on the climb up, we all got cell service. Mallory, whose phone had been taken away for general grouchiness, eagerly borrowed mine to check Olympic gymnastics results. And then the service was gone once again. 5G hasn’t yet made it to Big Sur, I guess. 

Now, I don’t know who is in charge of waterfalls but I think the Waterfalls Association is over-hyping this particular set. Yes, it drops 60 feet, but let’s just say no one was going over a barrel in this waterfalls. On our way down a couple asked how the waterfalls was, and we tried to set their expectations.

We also ran into a mom and three boys walking down who said she had cut her hike short because they were all complaining so much. Girl, I see you. As she walked away she said, “All I can say is that I’m glad I didn’t take them to Yosemite.” We go there in a few days so that’s super comforting. 

We then walked to the river gorge view and the consensus was “hmmm…that’s it?” With that, we took off from Big Sur State Park. I keep thinking we missed the really big attraction there somehow. We had a few other misses today:

1. Julia Pfeiffer State Park: Vehicles over 24 feet not allowed in and no roadside spots available.
2. Pfeiffer Beach: I really wanted to go here for the beach views and purple sand but the road is too narrow for RVs. We parked along the highway and got out to walk, but between the sign saying no pedestrians and the fact that it was two miles each way, we turned around.
3. Limekiln State Park: All hiking trails closed. 

With those disappointments, we headed to Morro Bay, our new destination for the night. On the way we came across Partington Cove, an awesome steep walk down to a cove and later an elephant seal beach and some of these hilariously silly creatures lounging and sparring on the beach.

When we finally connected with our travel company, they were worried we might have the same issue with San Simeon State Park, where we were scheduled to spend Thursday and Friday nights. They got us a backup plan which we quickly decided sounded better to us and switched to that. So tonight we have a full hookup in Morro Bay, and I am not even embarrassed to say how excited we all are to have wifi.