I find myself tonight in San Luis Obispo, not nearly where I had planned to be at this point in the travels. It seems I’ve found myself slowing down after San Francisco for whatever reasons. I spent last night in San Simeon State Park. And tonight I’ll be in a guys backyard that I met on the trip. Hopefully tomorrow I can make it to Gaviota State Park at the least or Refugio State Park at the furthest. Putting me in LA on Tuesday at the latest. I only have two hills left and I hope to finish them both tomorrow and from there it should be smooth sailing.
I’ve found that once I passed San Francisco there are a lot of tourers. When I was having breakfast the other day in Gorda there must have been at least 13 tourers milling about the cafe and the grocery store next door. And I keep meeting new ones at every campground I stay at, probably because it’s warmer down here.
I went to Hearst Castle yesterday for a tour and it’s exceptional what that guy managed to acquire in his lifetime. The tour was very informative but it seems it barely scratches the surface. For $20 you get a tour of one, of the three, guest houses, the main house, the pools (indoor and outdoor.) But they have 3 other different tours that go through different areas of the house. You also get to see a National Geographic IMAX movie on the building of his empire and house. I think the most boggling fact of the day was that I could look in any direction from the house and he owned the land as far as I could see. That’s a lot of land.
I’m excited to get to sleep in a sorta real bed again, not that I’ve grown tired of the hammock but not having to worry about rain and dew would be a welcome change again. It’ll also be nice to see Fatty and Janice again and eat something other than oatmeal, pasta-roni, and bagels.