Morro Strand State Beach
Camp Review
Cassie, the girls, and I camped at site #3 on Morro Strand State Beach for two nights.
Site #3 was situated on the beach side, which meant that while most of the camping spot was on the parking lot side, there was a small tunnel through the bushes that led to a camping spot on the beach. Kyle and his girls camped at site #9, which was a beach side site as well, but it did not have a private tunnel to the beach, so was less nice.
The campsite had a wooden picnic table and a fire pit. The places where a tent could be set up were on fine sand, which felt nice on the feet. The downside was that the tent stakes would not stay in their intended position.
There was a well-stocked bathroom with running water, but it did not have soap. There were no shower facilities.
The camp spots had very little privacy from the adjacent sites, but the location was worth it. It’s direct beach access without having to cross the road, and that is priceless.
Friends
Kyle and his girls, Keva and Meara, joined us for both nights of camping. Steve and Mercedes joined us for lunch on Saturday. The girls absolutely loved this camping trip because they loved hanging out with Keva and Meara. Having Steve and Mercedes come hang out was nice too, as they got to tell Steve and Mercedes about the latest lingo that kids use. They also brought yummy drinks, so their company was very much appreciated.
What Happened?
We drove into Morro Strand State Beach after 11 p.m. on a hectic day. We were happy to find out that the campsite was totally empty and ready for us to make it into our space for the next few days. As we started nesting, we realized that we had forgotten the tent poles for one of the two tents. The girls did not want to share the two-person backpacking tent, so Kaylee slept in the bed of the truck while Anna slept in the remaining tent.
In the morning, Anna woke up first due to gusty winds that rattled her tent—she tried to sleep through it, but it was too loud, so she woke up a bit earlier than expected. When the rest of us got up, we went over to Kyle’s campsite and enjoyed a filling breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, and hash browns.
After breakfast, we hung out at the beach, where Kyle and Meara surfed and boogie-boarded. The rest of us dug a “cold tub” on the beach and enjoyed walking on the beautifully flat beach. After a few hours, we retreated back to the campsite for lunch.
Steve and Mercedes joined us, and we feasted on fish tacos. The tacos were a hit, and we enjoyed fun conversations about all the hip words that the kids could teach us old folks about. The kids also coached us on how to pick up people and how to roast people—a most educational hangout session. After Steve and Mercedes left, we took a long walk on the beach to Morro Rock, where we found and tried to rescue jellyfish; tried to find living sand dollars; and walked amongst a gaggle of sand pipers.
The walk took us two hours, and we were hungry again for food. Kyle prepared dinner for us, which were homemade hamburgers. He had miscalculated the amount of meat to bring, so we ended up eating burgers whose patties were slightly less than 1/2 lbs—unexpectedly, most of us finished our burgers!
The sun had already set, and it was getting chilly, so we got the fire pit going. The girls had learned well with previous camping trips and built a pyramid-type of fire, and we made sure it lit by using both Kyle and my fire starters. As the fire built to a roar, we first roasted marshmallows, then corn. The conversations were of many topics, but the one that stands out was which Harry Potter characters should be shipped. When it got dark and the stars came up, we all went over to the beach to see the comet—it was dim so a little underwhelming for the kiddos, but they still got to see it.
Keva was the first to feel tired, and soon Meara joined her in heading off to bed. We all started getting ready for bed a little after that. As Anna did not want to sleep in her tent, we played musical chairs with our sleeping arrangement. Anna slept in the truck bed while Kaylee and Cassie slept on the truck camper—which left me with the tent. Right before I went off to bed, our neighbors alerted us to the rocket launch out of Vandenberg, which was wondrous to see. What an age we live in where we can see a comet and a rocket launch on the same night!
As I crawled into bed, I realized that Anna’s XS sleeping bag only came up to my armpits, leaving the top quarter of my body cold. Not shedding my sweater, I pulled on a light blanket on the upper half of my body, and I fell asleep. I slept surprisingly well, given that the lower half of my body felt hot while the upper half felt chilly. I only woke up a few times in the night and in the morning woke to the call of a California Thrasher singing beautifully near by.
I started quietly getting breakfast ready—breakfast burritos for everyone. I heated up sausages, eggs, and hash browns, which were then wrapped up and topped with avocados, cheddar cheese, salsa, and/or Tapatío sauce; once rolled, I then browned the outside of the tortilla for a mouthwatering finish.
We were full and ready for home, so we cleaned up as best as we could and packed the car full. We headed home after saying our goodbyes to Keva, Meara, and Kyle. The campground was a whole lot nicer than we had thought, and we made plans to come back together next year.
