Wheeling through the West
Pismo Beach, CA – Part 1 of 2
Author’s Bio
Carin G. Aichele is the principal of her firm C.A. Associates Architecture and Planning, which specializes in CA public school facilities. She balances her life with prayer, travel, photography, gardening, and a variety of outdoor adventures including: cycling, mountain bike racing, whitewater kayaking and tennis. She is a voracious reader and has always known she would embark on writing a book. She is underway with her first piece incorporating spiritual healing testimonies combined with creative photography. Carin's immediate future includes a long-desired, extended RV journey throughout the USA and Canada - stay tuned for her blog address! Carin may be reached at [email protected]
I hesitate to write about Pismo. The feeling I’m experiencing is similar to opening Sunset Magazine and finding one of my favorite mountain biking towns being touted as a weekend destination.“Come on” I think to myself, the place has world class mountain biking, a taco joint, a post office, a store for Gatorade, beer and toilet paper. My fear: a place, that once “discovered”, is at risk of losing it’s original character to the homogenized demand of suburban America. Pismo has long-surpassed the “hidden” or “unknown” designation so I set my reluctance aside and share one of my all-time favorite places with you. Pismo beach, located on HWY-1 90 minutes north of Santa Barbara and 20 minutes south of San Luis Obispo is a sleepy little beach town of 7,500 people and 13.5 square miles (10 of which is water). It extends along a gorgeous stretch of beach. Pismo was once known as the “Clam Capitol of the World”. Overharvesting by humans and feeding by sea otters has all but obliterated the clams so the new 21st century moniker is “Classic California”. I don’t know exactly what that means but born and raised a CA girl, Pismo touches my soul.
Carin G. Aichele is the principal of her firm C.A. Associates Architecture and Planning, which specializes in CA public school facilities. She balances her life with prayer, travel, photography, gardening, and a variety of outdoor adventures including: cycling, mountain bike racing, whitewater kayaking and tennis. She is a voracious reader and has always known she would embark on writing a book. She is underway with her first piece incorporating spiritual healing testimonies combined with creative photography. Carin's immediate future includes a long-desired, extended RV journey throughout the USA and Canada - stay tuned for her blog address! Carin may be reached at [email protected]
I hesitate to write about Pismo. The feeling I’m experiencing is similar to opening Sunset Magazine and finding one of my favorite mountain biking towns being touted as a weekend destination.“Come on” I think to myself, the place has world class mountain biking, a taco joint, a post office, a store for Gatorade, beer and toilet paper. My fear: a place, that once “discovered”, is at risk of losing it’s original character to the homogenized demand of suburban America. Pismo has long-surpassed the “hidden” or “unknown” designation so I set my reluctance aside and share one of my all-time favorite places with you. Pismo beach, located on HWY-1 90 minutes north of Santa Barbara and 20 minutes south of San Luis Obispo is a sleepy little beach town of 7,500 people and 13.5 square miles (10 of which is water). It extends along a gorgeous stretch of beach. Pismo was once known as the “Clam Capitol of the World”. Overharvesting by humans and feeding by sea otters has all but obliterated the clams so the new 21st century moniker is “Classic California”. I don’t know exactly what that means but born and raised a CA girl, Pismo touches my soul.
Pismo Sunset
Pismo beach is a place that I go to relax and watch the sun rise and set. There is a familiarity that reaches out with amiable, open arms and
envelops me. Veneration and repose are my constant companions. I
aspire to little but what is uncomplicated, intrinsic. Besides, Dolce first touched sand in Pismo and that alone affords Pismo a prodigious place in my heart. I regress…Arriving in Pismo in November of this year, Dolce was merely weeks old, 11 to be exact. She was a bubbly
little pup with a fine balance of ferocious independence and loving dedication and regard for me. I was beside myself with excitement at the idea of her bounding in the waves for the first time. We parked the RV and without further consideration, headed for the beach. We walked out of the state campground, up and over the cypress laden dunes and upon seeing the expanse, the little pup became strictly self-indulgent. Upon releasing her leash, she leapt into the air, dropped back to the sand, twisted, turned, chased her tail, leapt again, buried her nose in the sand, ran back to my side like a child pinching their wrist and begging the question: “is this for real mama? Huh, is it?” She ran away gangly, dove and slid, burying herself in the warm sand. I watched and laughed - more heartily than I had in many months. Pismo beach is our second home.
envelops me. Veneration and repose are my constant companions. I
aspire to little but what is uncomplicated, intrinsic. Besides, Dolce first touched sand in Pismo and that alone affords Pismo a prodigious place in my heart. I regress…Arriving in Pismo in November of this year, Dolce was merely weeks old, 11 to be exact. She was a bubbly
little pup with a fine balance of ferocious independence and loving dedication and regard for me. I was beside myself with excitement at the idea of her bounding in the waves for the first time. We parked the RV and without further consideration, headed for the beach. We walked out of the state campground, up and over the cypress laden dunes and upon seeing the expanse, the little pup became strictly self-indulgent. Upon releasing her leash, she leapt into the air, dropped back to the sand, twisted, turned, chased her tail, leapt again, buried her nose in the sand, ran back to my side like a child pinching their wrist and begging the question: “is this for real mama? Huh, is it?” She ran away gangly, dove and slid, burying herself in the warm sand. I watched and laughed - more heartily than I had in many months. Pismo beach is our second home.
Dolce Plays!
Experimenting boondockers (dry camping often in remote and isolated locations) and first-time RV campers alike will find the perfect site in Pismo. There are numerous RV parks - my favorite, for its location right on the beach and the litany of amenities, is Pismo Coast Village. For the boondocker, you can’t beat the beach access camping as close as you dare to the surf at Oceano Dunes. I camp at the State Park in North Beach Campground. The sites are generously sized and well separated. I get there midweek and am always able to grab one of the largest sites that abuts the dunes separating the campground from the beach. Once settled into Pismo, my top three things that I suggest experiencing include:
Walk over the dunes at dusk and be astounded at the richness in the color of the sunset. I’ve been to Pismo dozens of times and the sunset never ceases to amaze me. It is a great pleasure to watch people, who rarely leave the comfort of their RV with three flat screens, carry their beach chair, point and shoot and often a glass of wine to partake of the Pismo Beach sunset.
No trip to Pismo is complete for me without a trip to “the doctor”. This being written by a Christian Science practitioner, you know this is good stuff! “The Doctor” as Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab is affectionately called is the handmade ice cream shop in Arroyo Grande just a few miles south-east of wherever you are camping on the beach. I generally go there after a long bike ride along the coast and through nearby rolling vineyards. Signature flavors being too many to list, I indulge in: Caramel Explosion, sour cherry sorbet, and Doc’s java.
Arise early, don a light wind breaker and stroll the beach. Either direction will
provide opportunity for introspection or a friendly hello from a sweet pup
like my golden retriever Dolce. Pismo beach in the hush of the morning is
sublime.
Walk over the dunes at dusk and be astounded at the richness in the color of the sunset. I’ve been to Pismo dozens of times and the sunset never ceases to amaze me. It is a great pleasure to watch people, who rarely leave the comfort of their RV with three flat screens, carry their beach chair, point and shoot and often a glass of wine to partake of the Pismo Beach sunset.
No trip to Pismo is complete for me without a trip to “the doctor”. This being written by a Christian Science practitioner, you know this is good stuff! “The Doctor” as Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab is affectionately called is the handmade ice cream shop in Arroyo Grande just a few miles south-east of wherever you are camping on the beach. I generally go there after a long bike ride along the coast and through nearby rolling vineyards. Signature flavors being too many to list, I indulge in: Caramel Explosion, sour cherry sorbet, and Doc’s java.
Arise early, don a light wind breaker and stroll the beach. Either direction will
provide opportunity for introspection or a friendly hello from a sweet pup
like my golden retriever Dolce. Pismo beach in the hush of the morning is
sublime.
