We come to these places so you don’t have to

Good morning, Campers! It’s Silver Cliche’ here with you from damp, dank, dark Big Sur, California. 

Mark Twain once write that the coldest winter he ever endured was a summer in San Francisco. Well, we are not quite to San Francisco (nor are we going) nor is it summer, but this morning broke ugly. A light rain and temps in the low 50s. Here at Plaskett Creek Campground, we are the king of the hill. Remember our stop at the French Quarter RV resort where we stood out like the Beverly Hillbillies in the time before Jed struck it rich? In this neighborhood we are the “after”. Most people here are tenting. Some are “car camping”. In places other than California, “car camping” is better known as “being homeless”. That isn’t actually what is happening here unless the homeless of California drive late model Lexus and Mercedes products. Well... this is California... maybe they do! These people seen to have chosen to experience nature this way. Evidently, Californians have expanded the “paleo” trend from just a diet to a complete lifestyle. I think I saw a Land Cruiser a few spots down with the California vanity plate “Cro Magnon”. These Californians... so creative!

Our shiny trailer literally sits in a spot on the upper edge of this campground and looks down on the tenters below. I would have been embarrassed to make up a metaphor like that. But since I didn’t have to make it up, I think I’ll run with it shamelessly. I feel like I’m getting in touch with my “silver privilege” here in California. I must confess that self-awareness of “silver privilege” is a feeling that brings internal conflict. It’s a bit unsettling. I comfort myself with the knowledge that neither they nor I were born to our current situation. We are both reflecting lifestyle choices we’ve made. There, that’s better. I think I’ll have another cup of hot coffee from the galley stove and take off this fleece since the furnace is working a little too well. Then I’ll open a shade and watch the tenters and car campers to see if I can pick up some pointers on starting a wood fire in a cold rain.

So, I started writing this Monday morning. It’s now Tuesday morning. Yesterday was bleak. However, the forecast was for warming from the low 50s waaayyyy up into the upper 50s and for the drizzle to stop then the sky to clear. Our plan was to be lazy and watch the homeless... I mean “car campers”... from inside our metal igloo then venture out to see Big Sur and photograph it for you. It turns out that the weatherman got the temps right, and the drizzle stopped, but a cold fog enveloped the coast all day. It never became inviting. It never dried. Like the “Cat in the Hat” we stayed in and played most of the day.

Eventually, I get itchy no matter what the weather. By later afternoon I decided to venture across CA1 to a point of land that’s clearly visible on the map. Here are some pics I took. I was struck by how beautiful this spot was and the thought of how much better it would present with some natural light.

I returned to the fortress and shared my pics with Mrs. C’. Then I found the first tick crawling on me. Uh oh! I never thought about that while I was drawn closer and closer to the bluffs overlooking the rocks and breakers. That walk had taken me through taller, thicker undergrowth and less frequently traversed trails to capture my pics. Then I found the second tick crawling on me. Fortunately, these are the bigger wood ticks and even my old eyes and failing tactile senses could id them. But the thing about finding two ticks is the nagging thought that there may have been three. This could be the place that inspired Brad Paisley to write his famous county’s love song “I’d like to check you for ticks.” Big Sur is a place that inspires romance and wonder.

We plan to leave here today. If this trip was a football game, today was designed as an “option” play. We have this spot for two more days and the weather is forecast to get slightly better but we also have a spot at an oceanside campground 90 minutes north near Watsonville. We decided to make that drive slowly, stop at spots along CA1, get the truck serviced in Monterey (yep... it’s 5,000 miles since it’s last service on April 2 and 4,601 since we left Vero Beach), explore Monterey a bit by Uber if we choose to then settle into Sunset State Beach for two nights.

I hope you’ll ride along with us.

Later...