Help, Cabin Fever, Need to find a Beach without Gale Force Winds!

[K6ON]

[SIZE=14pt]Around the first of the new year I noticed some cracking of the skin on my old Grandby near the rear door. Knowin this usually means a broken frame weld or two, I dropped the camper off at ATC and asked the guys to pull off the rear and front skins, check for broken welds, repair as necessary and put it back together. Take your time I told them, I’m going in for total knee replacement mid January and won’t need the camper for a while. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]Fast forward to today, the camper is good as new, only one broken weld on the rear, none on the front. While they had the skin off they added new insulation to the walls and reinforced the rear wall where I carry a 5 gallon fuel container. The camper has been re-skinned, is back on the truck and sitting in the driveway. As always, Marty, Jeff, and Brad out-did themselves getting the camper repaired and making me happy. Thanks again guys...[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]My knee replacement went great, healing ultra quick, and will be throwing the cane away next week. Range of motion already at 100 degrees and improving daily.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]The reason for this long post is I’m getting a terrible case of cabin fever and want to get out of town last week of Feb. and park my butt on a beach somewhere for several days. Rain isn’t a problem, but constant winds are. I also want to be able to take the dog on the beach, so no state parks. Jalama beach comes to mind but the wind is really unpredictable, and if it comes up and there’s really nowhere else to go in that area. Doran Beach comes to mind, is 4 hours closer to home, but is also generally windy. Any good suggestions for a campground on the water in Northern CA, or even Southern Oregon. I want to see, hear and smell the ocean, be able to walk the dog on the beach, but not be in a 40mph gale for a week...[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]Suggestions anyone ??[/SIZE]

 

[Wu Wei]

How about down by Cayucos and Morro Bay. There are some campgrounds down and around Morro Bay, but I don't remember if the beaches are dog friendly. i do know the beach in Cayucos is great for walking the dogs, plus Cayucos is a classic little beach town. The weather down there might be warmer....

 

[Ted]

Good to hear the knee surgery went well, Bob. I've heard people that have knee surgery are usually amazed with the results. And thanks to ATC you have a rebuilt camper to go with your rebuilt knee.

Hard to find a beach that won't have wind. Just the nature of the coast. Completely unpredictable. I've been to Doran when it was completely calm. At least some of the sites in the circular campgrounds are fairly well protected by the trees. the jetty campground is wide open, though.

 

[SunMan]

Glad to hear you are on the mend Bob. Beaches with no wind north of Point Conception during the winter will be tough. If you are thinking Jalama, use this for a peek at what's going on in that neck of the woods:

http://17ft.com/

You could always head a little further south to Refugio where it would be a bit more sheltered.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Bob, okay the wind and rain just drove me out of Westport Landing SB last week, and from what I hear they got lot's more rain after I left. I did have a couple of real nice days there though, and walked the dog on the beach; also hardly any people. I wanted to hit Ursal SB on the Lost Coast when I was there, but the weather changed that-It might be worth a call to the local Park HQ and check the road conditions going in-lots of dog friendly beach there. This time of the year, it's more luck than anything else that determines what you get out there. Since all you got to do is head west until you hit good old coast HW1, why don't you do that and just head north and just check the beaches as you go (maybe even make Oregon-though it's wet this tmie of the year))! You can cover allot of ground and see lot's of beaches that way; Week days are best to make the run (hint check the weather in the bay area (if it's raining there, they probably will stay home-good days up 1 they head).

Don't know about the beaches south of SF, I asked that question a while back so check that thread (Where to go-my 70th birthday run) and check what people said! By the way, I never have had problems walking the dog on Westport Landing SB, but stay away from Manchester SP-can't even walk the beach with a dog on a leash there! There is the Prim. Beach part of the Narvaro SP that might be worth a look! and lot's of day parks for the dog to run on! Good luck!

Smoke

 

[chnlisle]

Hey Bob,
Glad you're up and "kick'n." We have lots of beach here in The Old Pueblo. It's a bit of walk to the water but the beach is beautiful and you're always welcome.

 

[jha6av8r]

New Brighton near Santa Cruz is a state beach but allow dogs on lease on the beach. We camped there in mid January. It's rarely windy there. What about Usal or Mattole beach on the lost coast? The beaches around Cayucos aren't dog friendly, nesting grounds. No one has ever bothered us with dogs on the beach at Montana De Oro but definitely can't go on the trails.

 

[jha6av8r]

Oh, we've always had decent weather at Lawson's Landing at Dillon's Beach. Not too many camp there this time of year so you can get on the sea wall. Long stretch of beach to walk dogs.

 

[craig333]

Coast trips are always a crapshoot. Lawson's is good for dogs in spite of the no dogs off leash signs. Usal would be fun, but I've only been there once, hard to say if this is a good time. I wouldn't go past Usal in muddy conditions. That said you could continue on and maybe visit with Fisherman. I'd call first, no idea when he's out to sea. Usal has elk, Yuma was wise enough to leave them alone. Hope the new pup will be.

 

[K6ON]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I've decided to head down to Jalama Beach for the week. Weather forecast looks great
as far as sunshine, I'll just have to chance the wind.

Thanks again...

 

[ski3pin]

Mr. K, have a great trip and get that new knee working well.

 

[N'kwala]

Hope you find nice weather. I'm just back from 3 days at Doran. Weather was kinda mixed (rain, fog, sunshine) but not particularly windy. Mildly breezy two evenings, but from the northwest and therefore sheltered by the Head. In general I think many local folks will tell you that Bodega becomes Blowdega in the summer months and is less inclined to wind this time of year.

 

[K6ON]

Eat Your Heart Out Ted

I don’t usually do trip reports, but this time I just wanted to rub it in to Ted for being too chicken
to drive down to Jalama Beach. For those that don’t know where it’s located, Jalama is in Santa
Barbara County, about 14 miles west of Lompoc. There’s only one road in or out and It’s a bit isolated
with no cell service. I arrived at the beach on Wednesday afternoon to overcast conditions. The Ranger
greeted me with “I see you’ve come just in time for the wind and rain”. Not a good sign .

I set up camp in one of the spots on the north side of the park (site 10 for those who know it) about 150 feet from the hamburger shack/store. From my site I can see the surf and also a small estuary north of the park. By late Wednesday afternoon the wind was picking up and the rain had started. I settled into the camper for the evening with several good books on the Kindle and Domino all tucked in her back seat bed. As the evening progressed, so did the rain and the wind. At it’s peak Wednesday night gusts were measured at the store to 44mph and it was raining buckets. Enough to make sleep difficult. I survived
Wednesday night and spent Thursday with a friend that had guts enough to make the trip down (not our Ted). Thursday night rolled around and we discovered we hadn’t seen anything on Wednesday. All
Hell broke loose and I found myself outside at 1:00 am getting soaked to the skin pulling the camper top down in measured 61 mph winds. I spent the night on the couch listening to it roar and shake the truck. Kudos to the old camper, it stayed together and virtually no rain got in. According to one of the old-timers at the store, the max wind they have ever measured there was 72 mph. Friday came and went uneventfully, partly cloudy and calm night where I got to catch up on two nights lost sleep. All the time we were getting the rain and wind, the ocean was forecast for a + 7 foot tide and 21 ~ 24 foot waves Saturday. I awoke Saturday morning to the sound of a small dozer pushing sand into and closing the beach entrance by the store. By the time he was finished, several of us were standing around supervising, two HUGE waves broke right over the top of the dunes and dumped lots of water into the parking lot. At the same time, waves were traveling all way up to and breaking at the top of the estuary. That managed to fill the entire estuary with seaweed which I’m sure will smell great in a few weeks. Sunday was a beautiful day,
as was Sunday night, and so was today as I drove home. See Ted, you too could have had all that fun had you decided to come on down……

 

[K6ON]

Here's the dozer work closing up the beach entrance...then the waves coming right over the top

 

[craig333]

Sixty mph winds and you put the top down? You are getting old and soft

 

[billharr]

Eat Your Heart Out Ted

I don’t usually do trip reports, but this time I just wanted to rub it in to Ted for being too chicken
to drive down to Jalama Beach.

I set up camp in one of the spots on the north side of the park (site 10 for those who know it) about 150 feet from the hamburger shack/store.

At it’s peak Wednesday night gusts were measured at the store to 44mph and it was raining buckets.

Hell broke loose and I found myself outside at 1:00 am getting soaked to the skin pulling the camper top down in measured 61 mph winds.

According to one of the old-timers at the store, the max wind they had measured there was 72mph.

I awoke Saturday morning to the sound of a small dozer pushing sand into and closing the beach entrance by the store.


two HUGE waves broke right over the top of the dunes and dumped lots of water into the parking lot.


See Ted, you too could have had all that fun had you decided to come on down……

Sounds like Ted is a smart man,

 

[Ted]

Well don't I feel stupid. I missed the big winds, big surf, and sounds of a dozer. Instead of driving over 400 miles each way for a weekend, we foolishly went up to Westport Union for our break in trip. We were only able to get a prime spot on the cliff with two other campers in the whole campground. I don't recall any wind but we did spend the day sitting outside watching whales head north. Hiked on the beach at low tide to discover a waterfall. We did have to go inside the camper to make a toast to the inaugural trip, though. Thanks to the Barking Spiders for the special bottle of wine we used to mark this occasion. So you are right, Bob. Next time we will follow your lead. And go the opposite direction again.

 

[billharr]

Ted. Looks like a good first trip. I have to try Westport.


Bill

 

[K6ON]

Next time you need some encouragement Ted, keep us in mind
Looks like a great inaugural trip although somewhat boring...

 

[Smokecreek1]

Ted. Looks like a good first trip. I have to try Westport.


Bill

See I told you guys Westport Union was Okay, especially for a maiden voyage -most of the time-you get a real nice view from the cliff and it has a nice tidal pool for Bob to play in (never been bothered by any park staff there when I play with my dog on the beach) on the way to the beach-got to watch the tides there -can sort of creep up on you and could ruin your day! How did you like that old house tucked in behind the trees on the creek! Yep, been going there for it seems like ever---but the wind can be brutal sometimes but nothing like that other place , but that's why we bought the FWC right?, and the $23 bucks fee can be bothersome. Every time you go they seem to open up a different CG-but always keep the cliff view one open for the RV's! Need to check out that little bodega in Westport too, lot's of interesting side streets in the town! Hey I don't want to talk up the place to much, people might discover it ! Glad you enjoyed your trip !

Smoke (check out the gallery for lot's of nice pictures of the place)