Thursday, July 27 - Laguna Seca to San Luis Obispo

200 miles

MAP

 

Well, HWY 1 is closed through Big Sur, so we'll have to route inland.  It's going to be hot.  We'll also have to get on the road earlier than we'd all like to, to help beat the heat.

 

We'll meet at the usual spot, the Starbucks parking lot on Rio Rd. in Carmel by the sea.  No matter where you stay Wednesday night, there will be traffic getting to the meeting spot, as Highway 1 goes from two lanes down to one about a mile north of the Starbucks.

 

CAMPERS, you can skip the meeting and catch us on Carmel Valley Rd. If you come straight over the Laureles Grade and turn Right on Carmel Valley Rd.  You can wait in the Garland Ranch Regional Ranch parking lot, just ahead on the left (put it in your GPS).  When leaving, you'll be pulling in to traffic, so be careful, there's no rush-- 90% of the non-VW cars between you and the VWs in the front will turn off somewhere in Carmel Valley.

 

We'll go over the mountain on Carmel Valley Road.  It's one of the only roads over the mountains in the Entire Santa Lucia Mountain Range, so while it's in the middle of nowhere, it's pretty well traveled.  We should be mindful of letting people through in the passing zones and such.  There's a couple of spots where it narrows down to a single lane, and it's a little bumpy in a few places, but overall, the road condition is similar to HWY 1 on the way to Fort Bragg.

 

We'll continue on this road all the way until it dead ends at a T, where we'll go Right, until we end up at the 101 on ramp.

 

We'll head south as far as Paso Robles and make a quick stop for gas before heading back over to the coast on Hwy 46.  It's a two lane highway, so we can keep to ourselves over on the right.

 

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8:00-9:00am - Morning Meet

Starbucks

Rio Rd and Hwy 1

Carmel by the Sea, CA

I had intended for today to be a leisurely start, but the later we hit the 101 stretch, the hotter it's going to be.  We won't want to stop inland for lunch, so let's grab stuff to picnic at William Randolph Hearst State Beach instead.   There's an Albertsons in the same parking lot at the Starbucks, there isn't much else on the way except

 

12:00 pm - Gas & Get

It's 190 miles until the next gas in Morro Bay, so we'll have to stop here and top off at the "fastest gas of the trip".  Make a left at the exit to HWY 46 / Green Valley Rd.  It will be hot and gross.  If we don't all fit in the stations, grab gas, then head north on the frontage Rd.  We can make a U-Turn at the dead end and line up as best we can.  No worries, we'll have plenty of time to all catch up again on 46, and again at the picnic spot.

 

Arco

1900 Ramada Dr

Paso Robles, CA

93446

 

There's another station across the street

Chevron

1849 Ramada Dr

Paso Robles, CA

93446

 

12:45-1:45 - Picnic Lunch

William Randolph Hurst State Beach.  We'll have to head north on HWY1 15 miles, but this spot has public restrooms.

 

2:45 San Luis Obispo

Hotel folks arrive in SLO.  The Farmers Market starts at 6:00pm on Higuera St.

The internet invites you to "Enjoy five blocks of over 100 vendors offering fresh produce, famous BBQ, delicious meals, crafts, baked goods, entertainment, and MORE!"  No Pets allowed in the market space.

 

3:00pm - Campers get  supplies before caravaning to the Arroyo Grande Campout spot!

WalMart

1168 W Branch St.

Arroyo Grande, CA

93420

 

We're going to all caravan in together, it's easiest.  We'll leave WalMart at 3:30 or so, if we need more time, it's fine, we aren't going far after.  If you were with us 2 years ago, you know this is an amazing spot.  We'll be in the hills near Arroyo Grande on a private ranch.  There's PLENTY of room.  $20 per car.