We have always enjoyed an occasional escape to Silver Strand State Beach. Since we had a lease site at Pio for a year we haven’t needed a week out every three weeks as we did before, so it has been over a year since we camped here. Barry really wanted to come here for a few days before heading to Yuma for the fall and winter. We were able to book 4 nights in the back row where we have been multiple times. We can only fit in the front beach row or the back row.
On September 21, we arrived along with about 20 other rigs. We were shocked how full the park is for the weekdays! Previously, there were always lots of empty sites Monday thru Friday. We preferred weekdays over weekends-here (and everywhere). It’s very different this time. We are packed in like sardines. (But not as bad as it is at the Chula Vista Elks Lodge RV lot. LOL)
There is only room for an RV to go one way on the roads within the Silver Strand camping parking lot. After checking-in, most have to drive the loop to “exit”, and then reenter the lot to head in the proper direction for backing into the reserved site on that row . This section of the “exit” road is also where you have to unhook a toad. Thus, it can take a while to even get to your site to park once you have arrived. NO one can come into the park to checkin and park till 2 PM, and they are strict regarding this. Due to how tight the maneuvering space is they really need ample time between all RVs trying to leave, to be out of the dump station area and completely out of the park, before having any new arrivals trying to checkin and park.
We joined the lineup about 2:30, but were not fully parked till 5 PM! WHAT!?! That’s insane, right? Even though it was crowded and every site around us was full with RVs and an extra vehicle (or two). Barry backed me in easily. We were “in” our site as we usually park, and ready to go back as far as the pavement would allow, but this site #424–and ONLY this site had a crash post near at the back of the site! There was no room for TJ (The Jeep) . We tried moving more to the left in the site, then we tried angling at a diagonal with the front towards the left front corner. Nothing was working to allow room for TJ to be parked within the lines of our site. We were getting quite frustrated. Finally, we pulled in more to the right of our site. That worked. TJ just fit to the left of Vinny. Our neighbors on our driver side (#423), Dick and Cindy, were super nice and said not to worry about using some of their space, but since they were only going to be in that spot for 2 of our 4 days here, we needed to make everything fit within our site as required. We did it, but we have NO area to sit outside at our site -well, unless we want to sit behind Vinny and closer to the busy road between Coronado and Imperial Beach. No biggie. We can use the beach! When we open our door it extends right to the far edge of the white line. You can somewhat see how far back our neighbor on the passenger/door side went in order to put TWO vehicles up front! They actually went back beyond the pavement and onto the sand with their tires and jacks, which you aren’t supposed to do, but it was a plus for us.
We had hoped to have the grandkids out here to play and possibly stay overnight, but since the Jeep is full and the top is on, we had no way to transport them, and Justin was likely to be working the days we are here. We are flexible though and will just use this as relaxation time. Barry laughed when I said that, and said, “Well, I know I can do that, but I don’t know about you.” LOL (That also means 4 days – no pickleball.) He is so right, but I’m doing it. How? Read on…
Tuesday morning, Barry and I went for a walk along the beach. We ended up walking from our site all the way to the Imperial Beach pier! (And back!) Oofda! It was a total of about 9 miles (round trip).We felt it on the way back! Walking on the beach is extremely pleasant, but much harder than on solid pavement. Once we got home we both took to our recliners after applying a little sports cream to aching joints. (OK, it was only me who did the sport cream., but glad I did.)
You just never know what you will see at the beach:
How nice it was knowing we had leftovers of the walnut-pesto chicken with mushrooms, onions and broccoli for dinner, Afterwards, we went to the beach where we sat and enjoyed the view till sunset.
Wednesday: NO major walk today! Instead we rode our bikes into Coronado where we met our friends Jo and Don Richardson for lunch at “The Brig” (Brigantine Restaurant). Barry and I split the grilled swordfish topped with avocado lime butter and served with risotto and broccolini. OMG! SOOoo good!
Jo & Don had to head home since they had company arriving, so Barry and I rode along the beach, and took an enjoyable rest in the shade of a palm tree over at the Hotel Del. It was nice to see the 3 sand sculptures made today. (Nothing extravagant, but appreciated the tribute to Supreme Court Judge, the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg!)
First sunset we’ve seen where it looks like the sun sets in FRONT of a bank of clouds on the horizon. Really messes with your brain! We also figured the Celebrity cruiseship in the picture has to be the Eclipse! LOL (It is either the Eclipse or Millenium, but the Eclipse seems appropriate from our vantage point.)
THURSDAY: Our last day at the beach. PERFECT weather again!
We took our “beach tent set” over to the soft, sandy beach to soak in total relaxation. We intended to stay there till we needed to go home to start packing things up outside to be ready to leave by 6:45 am. We truly enjoyed watching the waves, feeling the perfect breeze without being in the sun. How did I make it for more than an hour? Barry knows I can’t just sit and do nothing for very long, so he suggested we take some cards and our cribbage board out with us. We also packed some lunch and snacks. It was awesome! The day was perfect. It was the first that we actually used the beach tent and chairs like this just for the two of us! I loved our beach paradise and time together.
About 4 pm Jo and Don Richardson made it out for a visit. I got a quick, and much needed haircut from Jo and then we all went back to the beach with a beverage and snack to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, since we needed to leave early tomorrow morning, we weren’t able to extend the visit with dinner and more conversation or a game. About 7 pm they were on their way and we began getting things put away for travel. TJ was packed, bikes loaded, and tow bar attached.
After we had some dinner, Barry and I went out for a short, nighttime walk on the beach at low tide. We enjoyed the stillness and the lull of the waves. A nighttime beach walk is so different. I loved it. We had been too tired the other nights to do this. So glad we got one in tonight! Perfect way to center ourselves after hustling around packing things up. Thank you, hon!! Another awesome time at the Silver Strand State Beach. Ready to be MovinOn to our next adventure in Yuma!