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I suggested a quick trip down the California coast to Sunset State Beach, in Watsonville, just south of Santa Cruz, Capitola, and north of Monterey, since our Unity was still shiny and clean after being detailed.
Most State Parks in or near Santa Cruz are booked long in advance, but I got one of the last two spots at Sunset State Beach. Since I enjoy photographing sunsets, it seemed like a good fit. Besides, nearby Manresa State Beach, New Brighton State Beach, and the very popular Seacliff State Beach were extremely booked.
I was a bit apprehensive about camping during spring break and being overrun by kids. We typically try to travel on weekdays, avoid holidays, and the summer months. My wife, Susan, said, “Oh, there won’t be that many trailers full of kids in a non-hookup campground.” She was right. They were in tents, lots of tents. There was also a school bus, and some very young kids were riding fast on scooters and bikes. “I’d take out the trash, but I don’t want to get run over by a 3-year-old on a scooter!”
We took Highway 1 down, then exited, driving several miles on a frontage road and saw some very nice, large homes, passed by the La Selva Beach neighborhood, then some strawberry farms where it was harvest time. The three campground loops at Sunset State Beach are adjacent to one of the strawberry farms to the east, and there are large sand dunes with ground cover to the west, before the beach. We camped in a lovely pine meadow, albeit not satellite TV friendly. Still, our Starlink Mini was able to see enough of the sky to get a signal, which was good because I had a Zoom call to attend as part of my duties as a board member for the Coastside State Parks Association, a nonprofit that supports 15 San Mateo Coast State Parks.
The downhill walk to the beach from the dunes revealed a mile-long, expansive beach. At the south end was Pajaro Dunes, a high-end vacation home and condo resort/corporate retreat destination. A bit further south is the Elkhorn Slough, great for bird watching, and the town of Moss Landing and its harbor. I didn’t need to wander that far south as there was a Great Horned Owl right in our campground! I know, because every kid was pointing up at a very tall tree.
As a landscape photographer, I like to scout potential compositions during the day to capture at sunset. This is also known as an excuse to explore my surroundings aimlessly. The endless beach was very nice, but not much in the way of foreground objects to place in a sunset photo. I have to admit that I’ve been a bit cranky this winter, due to the lack of colorful cloudy sunset skies in Northern California. I thought to myself, “If I can’t get a pretty sunset photo at Sunset Beach, there’s no hope for me.” No pressure. There is sand, a lot of sand, a few lifeguard towers, and more sand. But there was an ornate, homemade wooden teepee structure. There was my foreground! All I needed was a colorful sunset. There it was! My mood was markedly improved.
But before that event transpired, I had set up the patio picnic table for my Zoom call, along with a homemade iPad stand, a lantern, paper, a pen, and a solid Starlink connection. 20 minutes before, one of those aforementioned 3-year-olds ran out of his campsite for 50 feet, straight into my Starlink Mini antenna! They both went down in slow motion. I asked if it was okay, my Starlink, not the kid. Once I checked for damage, it took some time to get the antenna pointed correctly and establish a solid connection, with just a few minutes to spare for my video call with eight people. Just because you’re paranoid about little kids doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.
So, that night at Sunset State Beach, there was drama in the sky and drama in the campground! The last bit of drama is that Sunset State Beach doesn’t have a dump station. One must drive to the nearby Manresa State Beach, a bit further north. To book any California State Park, click here. Most RV sites are $35/night plus an $8.95 processing fee. I believe there is a senior discount, but I always forget to check the box – probably because I still think I’m 12. Book early and often!
Susan’s Sidebar
Both Jeff and I are considered “petite,” although he prefers “vertically challenged,” just like his favorite race car drivers. We decided to take advantage of our height and ordered a new Murphy bed mattress that fits, so the folding extension wouldn’t hang over the bed frame. Thereby, creating more space for us to get around the bed without having to turn sideways, and, more importantly, to open the space for our dogs who enjoy jumping up and down the bed often, too often.
Now that we have the new, shorter mattress, we no longer worry about these petite daredevil pups crashing into the TV console as they jump off (and on) for no particular reason. These are the mattress dimensions we used: 7″ × 68″ × 50″. Unfortunately, we found the new foam mattress to be too firm, so we added a 3″ gel foam topper. It was simple to reattach the overhang thing to the new mattress, and I’m able to close the Murphy bed without Jeff’s help. A simple update that has increased our nighttime livability, or should I say, sleepability!
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