We headed south out of Kernville with thoughts of exploring southern California and its warm temperatures.  We started by defying a strict order from Captain Sanden to stop and visit the China Lake Naval Weapons Center on the way.  Sorry, Captain, we prefer to make love, not bombs.  Thank you for your service, nonetheless.  We trust you understand.  It was in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, and the plan was to bust into SoCal while it wasn’t paying attention.  After going through the war zones just to the north of San Bernadino, we hopped on Interstate 15 South, only to run almost immediately into heavy traffic.  Silly me, I forgot we were in California, the traffic capitol of the world.  After blowing a quick gasket, we exited the freeway and began the search to find a local campsite.  That was the extent of our journey into Southern California…it may have lasted 10 minutes.  Lesson learned…SoCal is better accessed by air.  Captain Sanden to the rescue?  We basically drove around in circles for an hour or so before pointing the rig north toward a small little town called Wrightwood.  We found a site on the top of Table Mountain, which turns out to be a portion of the ski resort by the name of “Mountain High” in the San Gabriel Mountains.  What?  A ski resort within an hour’s drive of LA?  Yup, but without traffic, of course.  What a cool little ski area and even a cooler little downtown.  A small, but cool little brewery appropriately named Wrightwood Brewing and a cool little pizza joint nearby.  We enjoyed the vibe of this little gem and vowed to return someday.  A little rough around the edges due to its proximity to such a major American city, but otherwise very cool.  We spent only one night in Wrightwood, which may have been a mistake in hindsight, but we continued north the next day.  The next several days are a blur, to be honest.  A mix of one-night stays at several CA state and county parks that started in Arroyo Grande and ended in Watsonville, basically the entire distance between LA and San Francisco.  The drive up US101 along the coast was great, and the scenery in the Big Sur area was particularly memorable.  But the camping, and the state parks in particular, left a lot to be desired.  Most of the campgrounds on the ocean are $75 a night, and they are basically parking lots with some of the most disgusting bathrooms we have ever seen.  And although we kept our shit very close to us, it was readily apparent that theft was a huge problem at most of these parks.  The situation north of San Francisco definitely improved and we began to get our mojo back when we stayed a couple nights at the campground in Bodega Bay.  And everything was definitely back to normal after I did my polar plunge into the Pacific.  Maryjo respectfully declined…what a wimp!  The bottom line is that we are super glad that we finally experienced the coast between LA and San Francisco.  I’d recommend the trip to anyone, but I’d skip it in a camper or a tent.  By the way, if you are wondering if we stopped in SF, the answer is “no”.  We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge just before rush hour and we were glad we made it out relatively unscathed.  One thing we have learned is that the rig in big cities definitely do not mix.  We love SF, but we will return at a later date without the rig to enjoy the sourdough and sour beers.  NorCal, here we come!