Camping at El Capitan

Did some camping with the family and friends at El Capitan Canyon over the weekend. Besides my family, the Hodgson family(Michael, Gill, Lilly, Maudie, & Lucy) came along to camp with us. Started the trip off with my first Century!! Rode 110 miles up the California coast from Topanga to El Capitan with my friend Michael. It took us just about 7 hours for the trip and we passed some beautiful coast since most of the ride as along old Hwy 1 which runs along the west side of the Hwy 101. We had very little head wind, thankfully, and no mechanical problems. Ran in to some crazy folks in Port Hueneme when we stopped to get a refill on the GatorAde. Some guy pulled up to the store in his car looking for a place to hide since his wife just called the police on him for domestic violence. Port Hueneme is all about class.

After 110 miles in the saddle we were really happy to make it to El Capitan as you would guess. The girls met us there with the cars and all of our gear. After unpacking we had a chance to look around. It is a really nice camp ground with good proximity to the beach and loads of hiking trails. We stayed our first night in a safari tent which I would recommend especially in the summer months.

After the tent we moved over to one of the cabins. Nice but not recommended. A little too pricey for what you really get and it definitely does not feel like camping.
The weather was good. Thick marine layer in the moring but it burned off just after lunch. The beach was nice but no good surf. Of course I brought my board but the SW swell was blocked by the Channel Islands.
We took a few good hikes and brought along a picnic with us each time so we could enjoy the views while having some lunch. Enjoyed cooking over the fire in the evenings and then turing the cook fire into a five alarm inferno aftewards is always my favorite.
Michelle, Michael, Gill, and myself got a chance to go out to have dinner one night. Michael took us to the Los Olivos Cafe which was made famous by the movie Sideways. I have not seen it so I can'y say how much like the movie it was. Good food and really good wine.
By Tuesday it was time to go home. We bid the Hodgsons a farewell, since they were staying a few days longer, and made the drive back to Topanga. All in all a really good get away but it was great to get back home.