Carlsbad to Santa Barbara…

Day Twenty-seven (I think):

Woke up early and said farewells to Aunt Diane & Uncle Orv. Hit the road and ran into the inevitable traffic that permeates the LA region. Drove past Disneyland on I-5, and was tempted to abandon my plans and make an unexpected detour. I kept on trekking. After a three hour drive, I made a quick visit to the UCLA campus to say a quick hello to some of the people I know from my many summers of working out west. It was good to say hello to Jimmy & Brian. After ten minutes I was out the door, hoping my illegally parked car was ticket free. (It was.)

I made my second visit to the Getty Center this morning. The first time I experienced the Getty several years ago, I was amazed. The architecture and location alone would be reason enough to go. Add thousands of pieces of artwork, and it’s an even bigger draw. Took photos galore, ate lunch, then continued onwards.

After the hilltop stop, I continued on towards Santa Barbara. I’ve only passed through the city, never stopping to explore. Grabbed an iced latte, looked at all of the expensive gear in a REI, and wandered about for over a hour.

The remaining drive was only a few short miles to the El Capitan State Beach. I’ve camped here before, but this time seems much less hectic without 40 teenagers sharing a campsite. The views are amazing here. I enjoyed taking photos from several areas. The water was cold. Knee deep was more than enough to experience.

Final Thoughts:
Campground etiquette is a fine art, which has skipped over many of the people here tonight. When I arrived, all three of the parking spots designated for my site were filled. As I pulled up near my site, three competing people from different sites were trying to persuade me that I should let them stay. Thank goodness for the campground host driving by on a golf cart at that moment. He explained that any vehicle in another site will be ticketed. One guy kept giving me dirty looks. I wonder how some people get by in life. Even the stairs seemed to be making faces at me…