North on Highway 101

Well, here we are on our annual camping trip. This year I got the brilliant idea to drive up

the coast of California in our Sprinter van conversion and visit as many state parks as we

could. Timing was set because I had a meeting in Santa Clara on August 4th, so that would

be the start of the trip. We have been gone a week and several problems have occurred

with my plan.

First of all it is still vacation time for families, so most of the state parks are filled for camping.
We have been very lucky in driving into a campground with a “Full” sign and still getting the
last space. The second problem has been the raging fires in central California. One
campground was closed due to fire and several roads have been closed. We have managed
to stay closer to the coast, so have not been close to any fires. But, it has been very smoky
and hazy in spots.

So, what have we seen? Just a very beautiful drive north from Santa Monica along Highway
101. Most of the southern part is very dry, hilly terrain. But, the color of the golden hills with
a few evergreen trees is wonderful. We call it Eyvind Earle country after the famous painter
from this area. Eventually we came to farmland, mostly grapes. We passed by so many
wineries - how can they sell that much wine? And our latest drive has been through the
stunning redwood forests. Thank heavens Rockefeller and others saw the need to save these
trees at the beginning of the 1900's and we can still enjoy their magnificence. We are about
as far north as we can get in California, so we will decide soon where to go next!