No matter how well you plan, sometimes things don't work out, and you have to realize that is ok. My favorite part of my trip so far is seeing smiling faces of my friends spread out across the US. So you can imagine I was bummed out by not seeing Gabe in San Antonio, and the finding out two days ago Ron wouldn't be in LA today when I drove through. This morning Lonny had a family emergency and couldn't meet up. I am sad that I don't get to see some of my friends, but I see a much bigger picture. I love my friends and will continue to make an effort to see them in the future. Friends are worth the effort.
This is where the Pacific Coast highway roughly starts. It is not a perfect coastal road, but it is neat for sure. If I had unlimited time/money I could spend a month crawling up these coastal towns that are west of the PCH. They remind me of my current home in Fort Walton Beach, but are also vastly different. They don't seem planned out, but rather grown organically from smaller villages into bustling cities.
There are quite a few places to pull off down the coast, but being on an 800lb bike makes pulling off a bit challenging. I found this cozy spot in Laguna Beach. I honestly like my beaches better, but this is neat. As you can see the weather was not kind to me today either.
This was Ventura. The water and weather started looking better the further north I got. Also the land looked a lot like Hawaii at this point as well. Well Hawaii with less people.
I tend to meet awesome people wherever I go and I can't see a dog without petting it. I am not an extrovert or an introvert anymore. I am a happy medium with a smile.
So I ended up at Vandenburg AFB FamCamp (group photo above). This is a few hours north of my planned stop. Like I mentioned earlier, about being flexible, I changed my plans on the fly and decided to skip the beach towns of LA when my friends couldn't make it. I will be back to visit them, and when I do we can go to those beach towns. Instead I decided to make it a bit further north and stay at another friends place, instead of just getting coffee like I had originally planned. More on that tomorrow, and also more on why I have to get back on the 101 vs staying on the PCH.