Half Moon Bay (HMB) State Beach, 113 mile jump
Leaving Lake Sonoma at 8;30 AM, I was very excited to cross the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB) but a heavy, wet marine layer of fog had set in. We were wondering if our transponder would pay the toll or how much cash we would need if not. My navigator spied a sign on that subject and proceeded to call the listed number. She managed to set up paying for the toll just as we approached the bridge. By that time, we were in a down pour and our vision was once again obscured. So, we figured it would be possible to come back another brighter day without the trailer and continued south on Hwy 1, the coast highway. The 101 stays inland all the way to Pismo Beach from here.
We arrived in HMB at noon; check in time was 2PM. Luckily, the site was empty and they allowed us to set up. It was 59F and raining hard, so we hung out inside. The cell phone signal was strong, but the park Wi-Fi was not. My personal hotspot worked great!
Off to Safeway, we bought Anchor Steam beer, a San Francisco (SF) craft beer first brewed in 1896, but rejuvenated in 1965 and first modern bottling in 1971. The craft pack had the original Krauseling, an amber, a lager, and an IPA. Tasty! I bought their beer years ago but hadn’t had one for some time. It went well with the shrimp and rice Penny prepared.
We were getting desperate trying to find campsites in the national forests which are way less $ than the $50/night state parks. Of course, the NFS parks are remote and have no power or water hookups. Plus, we failed to recognize that everybody and their uncle go camping between Christmas and New Year’s. So that was our next challenge. After a few hours, we did get into Pismo Beach SB from 12/17-12/26! Taking that as a victory, we called it a night at 11PM.
Penny got a shower and I opted to wait until morning. She said the shower was nice and hot!