My destination today is Carpinteria, a beautiful little town situated right off the 101 south of Santa Barbara. It is the perfect picture of what you envision when you think of California beach towns, and with lots of things to do it was a great place to spend the day.
I started the day early, as I usually do on the road, with a hot shower at the campground. It’s a token only system, but I was lucky as the cute guy that checked me in at the gate gave me 12 min of free tokens! Friendliness does pay off! Lol
First stop was a coffee, which I was going to try to skip this trip, but a mild headache had me deciding I would start tomorrow.
I found this adorable little cafe called JuiceSwell in Ventura and had the most amazing Avocado Toast with peppers, tomatoes, goat cheese with a balsamic glaze along with a local cold brew coffee with coconut milk. All I can say is it was Delicious!
It’s funny how God has a such sense of humor. So being that I was born in the 60’s, one of my favorite groups, along with quite a few others, is America. I even downloaded Ventura Highway for the trip. So I get in my 4Runner after breakfast, turn on the radio and what is playing on Sirius? You guessed it…Ventura Highway. My idea was to play the song on my way north, and he beat me to it. All I did was smile as it was definitely one of those God moments in life!
After breakfast and a quick drive around the town, which was very quiet at 9am, and it was back on the 101 for the trip to Carpinteria.
First impression of Carpinteria was the super positive. All the homes were unique and kept up, the little Main Street with shops was adorable, and the beach was easy to get to with lots of sand.
My first stop was Carpinteria State Park, which is where I will be staying the night at the campground right on the beach. I was able to check in, but I was early so I drove around the check out the sites. There are 4 sections of the campground, and while driving around I noticed that it looks like some people spend lots of time here, as they had elaborate camp setups. Honestly, I can’t imagine a prettier spot to spend the entire summer.
Leaving the campground I headed to Carpinteria Valley Museum of History, and I am so glad I stopped. The museum is free, although you can leave a donation as they are entirely self sustained, with no help from the state of CA or the city. The curator really knew the history of the town, and gave us a history lesson as we toured the museum.
The first known inhabitants to the area were the Chumash Indians who traveled down from the Aleutian Islands to the Channel Islands and eventually settled in the Carpinteria area. The Spanish who discovered the Chumash village in 1542, claimed the land for Spain but never got off their ships, came back around 300 years later looking for land to build missions. The 20th century residents grew crops of lima beans, and drilled for oil right on the beach.
After the museum, I parked and wandered Main Street. I bought a pair of earrings, some sea salt caramels, and enjoyed checking out some other shops with cute beach attire and knickknacks.
Another God moment today was when I was a little lost and ran right into the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve. It was right above the beach and had walking paths, all over the preserve. I took one path right down to the beach, sat on a rock and just enjoyed the solitude and scenery. There really is nothing more peaceful than a secluded beach listening to the waves crash on the shore.
I headed back to the 4Runner just in time as the rain was starting to fall. It was the perfect time to head to the campground, wash up and and get tucked in for the night.
Tomorrow I head to Solvang…one of my all time favorite California towns. I have some Danish heritage, so am looking forward to eating Aebleskivers, which is a round pancake ball, at Arnies. Yummmm I can taste them already!
