Day 19 Thursday March 19th: We made it to the Pacific Ocean

 On Thursday morning we left Joshua Tree for the Pacific Coast, it is under 200 miles and a very scenic drive. 

Wind Farm

As we passed through the mountains, we came upon wind mills, more wind mills than I have ever seen in one place. It is no wonder they are called Wind Farms. 

Ouch!

We filled up just before going to our campground, it was $6.90/gal and it was bio diesel, which Mercedes Benz doesn't recommend. I will have to do some research to find where I can get real diesel. 

We booked Thursday at San Onofre State Beach, I drove there, but the campground is at San Mateo Campground, a few miles away, doh.  

San Mateo Campground

We got settled and got on the scooter to explore a bit. We scootered over to San Clemente SB (Califia) just to make sure we knew where we were camping Friday and Saturday.  

Wading in the Surf

It is a beautiful beach. The temps were in the high 70's and we waded in the surf, it felt great!

Califia Beach

Getting to the Pacific Coast in our RV was big on June's must do list, we can check that one off with a smile. 

We walked the beach for a mile or so, it was a very pleasant day in the California sun. 

We arranged to meet my cousin Mary, who lives in San Clemente, around 17:15. We have not seen her since 2019, when Cuz Mary, Cuz Kris, Aunt Carol and Uncle Earle visited the East Coast in October. 

Mary's view

We went to Mary's condo which is about 3 miles from the coast but has spectacular views of the Pacific. I am sure she is treated to some spectacular sunsets. 

After catching up, we headed out for dinner. Mary was giving us the full California treatment so she took us to the San Clemente Pier, which we noticed earlier when we were walking the beach. 

San Clemente Pier

The pier is spectacular, it is an iconic San Clemente landmark. It was first built in 1928 and has been rebuilt twice due to storms. The pier is over 1200 feet long and bustles with activity. 

We stopped at "The Fisherman's Restaurant and Bar" on the pier and got in line for an outside table for dinner. This gave us plenty of time to walk the pier and take in the sights. 

Mary is a great tour guide and her enthusiasm for San Clemente quickly becomes evident, she loves this place, and we can see why. 

San Clemente Clock Tower

From the pier you can see the iconic clock tower built in 1968.

Sunset at San Clemente Pier

As we walked the pier the sun was setting and it was beautiful. 

Pier from Beach Trail

We walked the pier and a bit of the Beach trail, we may do more of this tomorrow. 

The timing was perfect when we got called for our table and we got prime seating with beautiful ocean views. 

Dinner was excellent, I am not a big fish eater but ordered Halibut Linguini and there was nothing left to bring home, yummy.

Our stomachs were full, but somehow we managed to find room for frozen yogurt and stopped at "The Golden Spoon" on the way back to Mary's. We had a hard time parking because some worker was blocking where there was a grate, he said they needed to open it. We got our yogurt and were sitting at a small table outside enjoying it when they opened the cover. It was clearly the sewer, we ran for the car, it was pretty funny.

It was a great evening with Cousin Mary, we are hanging here for another two nights so look forward to seeing more of her.