Friday, August 24: Great trip over, very little traffic and made very good time considering we have to travel no faster than 55 MPH in CA with a trailer. We left home around 3pm and delivered my work 
so I can take Monday off. It was sunny around 70 degrees when we arrived in Pismo but we could see the fabulous fog on most of the horizon, love that fog! We had the trailer parked and leveled about 7pm. Oh how Oceano Campground has changed since our last visit here. It is a disappointment and we probably won’t come back to this specific campground unless we can secure an outside loop site. This place used to have a lot of trees and shrubs but now it is almost bare. We did ask the ranger what happened (he looked about 16!) I’m not sure he would even know… but he said a big storm came through last year and put over a few of the trees. Well, more than “a few” are missing. Anyway, things change and we know now. I suspect we will choose Sunset State Beach for our next ocean trip and then see how much it has changed as well. After set up we decided we wanted to eat out so we slipped into 
some warmer clothing and headed out for dinner. We ate at Old Juan's Cantina, which has a good reputation, delicious food, and is just down the street from the campground entrance. From there we drove back up to Pismo, parked and walked along the pier. It was lovely, even in the dark. I am surprised at how few people are actually in town on a Friday night, even with school in I would think Friday would be busy. No line at Splash Café.
Saturday, August 25: Awoke to a lovely day, it isn’t as cold as I thought it would be, not as cold as the Sequoias by any means. After our coffee and breakfast we headed out on the trail to the beach, the change is…it is a road now! Well a sand road that only allows authorized vehicles (state vehicles) and foot traffic. It is 
firmly packed and easier to walk on that the trail of the past. The fog receded as we walked and was shining bright as we walked along the beach. We saw lots of Razor Clam shells and broken Sand Dollar shells. I remember once when we were here with the kids we found so many Sand Dollar shells, it must have been the right time of the year. There were lots of seagulls and many long billed Curlews. Too bad we didn’t have the binoculars (safely back in the trailer of
course!) because there was quite a feeding frenzy far out beyond the waves. We chatted with a woman walking her dogs and she said she saw dolphins this morning and she thought there would be a whale come up by the feeding. who used to live in Manteca, she and her husband moved here when they retired. Sounds like a GREAT idea to me!!! We went a different direction on the walk back and stopped 
for a burger, a new burger place that just opened call Beach Burger. We got there just in time too because the crowd hit after we sat down. Good burgers, good prices. When we got back we perused the small visitors center and chatted with the volunteers, they moved from the central valley as well…There’s a pattern here! Relaxing, reading, and giving tours of our trailer to at least four of our “neighbors” who came knocking! They loved it.
One guy wants to buy a older used one and rebuild from the inside out. There’s an old Airstream in camp and that’s exactly what they did. Deb and Sam arrived after 9pm, we were getting a little concerned about them but they did stop to eat so that took extra time. They are safely here, all set up and after chips and dip we were off to bed.
Sunday, August 26: Deb fixed John a delicious breakfast sandwich and I had some cream of wheat she fixed, they do a lot of cooking when camping! We got the quick and easy route. After that the unfortunate incident occurred. A camp volunteer came around to say they were in a handicapped site (we wondered why it was so large and paved!) and of course they are not handicapped so it was a problem. However, he said whoever checked them in last night should have noticed that and it was okay, they could stay as two other handicapped sites were empty. Shortly later he returned to say that was not the case and he was sorry but they had to move. To where? He didn’t know…so we asked him to send along a supervisor so it could be resolved. The a very rude woman arrived with quite an attitude. She told us we were breaking the law and we needed to get out in no uncertain terms. We tried to tell her the reservation did not say it was a handicapped space when we secured and paid for it, she didn’t care and it was not her problem. We asked if she was the supervisor (surely not with this attitude) and she was not and we asked again for a supervisor. Not long after THREE vehicles arrived to descend upon us. Thankfully one was the supervisor. He began to be as short with us as the woman, who stood close by with a grin, but as soon as we explained what she told us his attitude changed to be a bit kinder. There is a bit more to the story, the part about the woman still wanting to “set us straight” but we asked her to please leave as we were discussing it with the supervisor. There was a third person in black who may have been the police but I’m not sure. He asked her to back off as well and she didn’t want to but after a few attempts on his part, she did. The supervisor said he would go check on what sites they have for “such situations” and be back to us in a few minutes. He was back in about 10 minutes and they secured campsite 81, which was a BEAUTIFUL site on the lagoon. It was a pain for them to move, but not too bad. They worst part of it all was being treated like a criminal element of society when 6-8 weeks ago you have, in good faith, paid over $75. to secure the site!! It didn’t need to be handled that way at all. There were many empty sites, and still were when we left on Wednesday. The first woman could have
asked nicely, realized a mistake had happened and even offered to assist, which would have taken much less time overall. I will certainly re-think our membership renewal at the end of the month for the California State Park Foundation. So, past that blip this morning we had a nice day. 
We went into Pismo and headed for Splash Café. There was a line but not as long as it is sometimes, it goes fast too. Deb and Sam shopped a bit 
and we stood in line, texting them when we got to the door. Steamers were delicious, as was the clam chowder, but the fish and chips were not so great; not crispy and not too hot either. Anyway, the chowder is the draw! We continued to walk on the pier, perused shops, and spend most of the afternoon there. On the way back we stopped for some firewood that was a good price, then drove
through North Beach State Park. We stayed there once some years ago but it seems quite improved with a lot of pull in sites and nice sites on the outer loops that have sand dunes. We will try to make a Pismo trip with better planning next time so we get the prime campsites! we stopped at Old Juan’s Cantina again and had appetizers and margaritas. After that Deb and I walked back to camp (it’s close) and 
John and Sam took the van back. We played Yahtzee into the night. No dinner for us after all! The big lunch at Splash and the appetizers at Old Juan’s we all we could handle. Too bad I brought those steaks with us!!!
Monday, August 27: Sadly Deb and Sam have to leave today. After a delicious breakfast (for John too!) they got packed up and we took a little drive to see where the County Campground is that Deb and I noticed a sign for when we walked back from Old Juan’s Cantina yesterday. It is very close to the State Park with better rates for full hookups. The unfortunate
part is there is little other space for kids to play or explore. It is a decent alternative though. We got information for making reservations should we want to do so. When we got back we all had lunch together and then played a little Yahtzee, we had to finish out the scoring sheet! As it was Sam was the big winner, even though John had the single highest game. While we played different rangers returned to tell them they must be out of the site by noon. Of course that is the case but with all the empty campground and no reservation for their site (it remained empty the duration of our stay) it would have been nice for them to allow them to park there another hour. They moved their rig outside the park to the street and John drove them back in. We gave them a ride back out when they left as well. We went on to the town of Grover Beach and got windshield wiper replacement blades, which we discovered were sorely needed on our trip over here! The rest of the day we relaxed and went to sleep early.
Tuesday, August 28: It was nice, foggy, and cold when we woke up this morning. We hung around camp most of the morning and early afternoon since I had gastric upset. Later on we walked to the beach and spent the rest of the day walking there, picking up shells, watching people catch fish and finally seeing the delightful sunset. Back to camp for a bite to eat, cards, reading and off to sleep for our last night. Some battery issues have reoccurred and we need to really get that straightened out before our next trip. 
Wednesday, August 29: Our wake up call this am was the garbage truck. Since we are right next to the bins there was no way it would be quiet! It was dark so I don’t know what time it was but we did go back to sleep anyway. Up at 7:30am, time to pack it up after breakfast. No fog this morning, just a little sunshine. Our trip home was uneventful and after a gas stop in Atascadero and lunch at In N Out, then a pit stop at McDonald’s in Kettleman City, and finally a stop to pick up my work in Fresno we were home by 3pm.
Park Rangers: I recall park rangers being a strong, reliable vision of respect and kindness. If you had a question or concern, they were the ones to go to. There was always an answer and a seemingly joy to serve their public. It is sad this does not seem to be the case and our grandchildren will not have the wonderful memories from the past with the staff at our State Parks. I will say all the ones we have had recent interaction with in the Nat’l Park System have still been very nice. There seems to be a general thread of arrogance running rampant though the population of rangers at the Pismo Dune area. I’m sure there are some nice ones, we just didn’t meet them. We met some lovely volunteers and camp hosts.
