One more night on our way to Santa Barbara. We stayed at the Oceano Campground in Pismo Beach, which is a San Luis Obispo State Park. We weren’t far from Santa Barbara, but we were waiting for our friends to get home. We picked Oceano because it was easy walking distance to a beach, a duck pond and a large playground. The plan was to stay the night then spend as much time there as we needed the next day until our friends were ready for us. And then it started raining.
It was the first time rain had impacted our plans at all, which in nearly 2 months of travel is amazing. So for those who have asked what we do when it rains, well, it was time to figure that out.
Most parents will recognize our rainy-day solution. Veggie Tales on the portable DVD player and phone calls to grandparents. It was just like home, except in a smaller space and with a slightly wetter walk to the bathroom.
During times when the rain was slower, we took things out to the car, and when the rain had mostly stopped, we loaded the kids in the car and quickly took down the camper. It was the first time in about 6 weeks that we’d had to pack it up when it was wet. So while it’s never fun to break camp in the rain, we really felt like we couldn’t complain.
We continued south, then, toward Santa Barbara and stopped along the way to kill the remaining time at a Goodwill store until our friends got home. We do enjoy secondhand shopping.
We weren’t at the Oceano Campground very long, and between darkness and rain, we didn’t get any pictures. But here’s a review:
Price: $31, payable at the office of a different RV park down the road. That was confusing.
Location: Seems to be a great location. We never saw the beach, but the duck pond and playground were right across the street. I think it would have been fun.
Facilities: Lacking. There’s a small playground on site that Emelie had fun with while we made dinner the night we arrived. The showers close at 6pm (what!?) and the toilet area is very basic (concrete floors, no heat or hot water, no mirrors). It’s functional but I wouldn’t enjoy it long-term.
Site-description: Paved area to park campers and vehicles. Grass in between (but do not park on it!)
Neighborhood: Crowded and diverse.
Comments: The electric system is only 30 or 50 amp. Which means that if you just have a regular 20 amp plug like we do, you need an adapter. The campground host was kind enough to loan us one, but it would have been good to know that ahead of time.