Camping: California Style

We got into CA last Friday and I felt there was almost an immediate difference from Oregon. Right away, cheap liquor and casinos are being advertised and they are plentiful along the side of the road. The coastline isn't nearly as dramatic, although there are lots of good "bits" along the way. The highway isn't nearly as well maintained. One thing that I found frustrating is that information at any info bureaux was very limited to the immediate area and each county has a publication outlining the state parks and municipal parks, etc. The parks themselves aren't nearly as well maintained as OR parks either and it was a bit of problem even figuring out which ones were open. However, the parks are pretty low-key and I was surprised to find ourselves using pit toilets - but well-designed ones that don't smell. I also like the unisex toilets that seem to be a mainstay in CA. Highway 1 - the coastal highway - is amazing as it twists, turns and goes in, out, up and down every headland along the coast. The estuaries are plentiful and beautiful. Like B.C., this is an expensive place to build and maintain roads. Parts of the highway are falling into the Pacific, as well as a few homes we saw along the way. The picture here was taken at Manchester Bay about two hours north of SF and you can see how "tame" the coast appears. I'm continuing to rave about OR and that's one problem with travelling north to south - the best stuff is first!