Rancho Oso Campout 2010

Laura was looking forward to this camping trip ever since our El Capitan experience. She booked the campsite a few months in advance and was figuratively counting the days that led up to the trip. So when we got to the site on a warm Sunday afternoon, it looked like a good time was to be had by all.

Logistically we were located in a perfect spot. Our campsite was huge and private and only 100 feet away there was a nice grassy area, children’s playground, tennis court and a campground store (with lots of expensive ice).

Then a couple of 'challenges' started to make themselves known.


Flies and mosquitoes – they had an amazing way of driving someone crazy, me in particular. They strategically would buzz around my face and ears to the point that I understood what Jack Nicholson’s character in The Shining went through. It was simply maddening, none of us could take it.
Heat – day two was at 97 degrees. That evening I spoke to the ranger who informed me that the following day was supposed to be hotter.


We all felt defeated. So that evening we decided to leave early, ‘early’ meaning immediately the next morning.
Laura slapping on a fake smile for the picture...trust me, she was miserable.

However there was one discovery that seemed to be exactly what Laura was looking for. We found a swimming hole deep in the Los Padres National Forest that was truly a special place. When we got there we were the only ones there. Within about an hour there was another 20 people or so.
A cute little picture of Georgia (post lunch break)

Believe or not, people actually climbed up that rock and dove off the top...yikes.