Faria Beach sits along a small strip of Highway 1 that splits off from 101 for about 5 miles. This campground was a bit different- very tight sites that basically were wide enough for our slideouts and a picnic table. And nothing else! So unfortunately you hear everything your neighbors do. Like run their generator for 12 hours a day. However, the back of the site was fantastic. Big boulders where the waves crash during high tide. Right outside our bedroom window. At low tide, there was a small strip of beach. At the northern(?) end of the campground there was more beach. There is a campground along Highway 1 called Ricon that is along the shoulder of the road, with the boulders, but in this more sandy area beneath the big boulders. So many RVs bumper to bumper/car along the road.
Because we were right on the beach, we also had Bottlenose Dolphins right off the rocks multiple times each day. So cool. There were anywhere from 10-25 at a time. It was soooooooo awesome since they just lingered for a half hour or so. We also got the occasional sea lion- they seemed to be checking out the RVs all lined up against the shore. And of course, the requisite fat ground squirrels who obviously get fed by campers a lot. Such beggars!
We went into town to go to the mission – Basilica of San Buenaventura- and found that it was connected to an entire parochial school. Weird to hear kids laughing and playing while inside the church. It is small and very much dedicated to Padre Junipero Serra. It was the last mission that he founded in California. Their stories were all about how he protected the Native people from the Spaniards. Once within the mission the governmental types could not enslave them. I also never realized that he only built 9 of the missions – Jesuits and other Franciscans built the rest. And realities got much worse for the native tribes as they moved north. Or so these signs and videos declared. 🤷‍♀️
We also went on a cruise around Anacapa Island – started by taking the hikers/campers there and then sort of toured around the stateside of the island. Mostly we went hoping to see marine life (surprised anyone?) but also there are some interesting rock formations there. We hiked Santa Cruz Island last October. Unfortunately, there was quite a heavy marine layer so you really couldn’t see very far and I felt bad for those getting off to hike to the top- into the fog. Probably not what they planned either. We did see a lot of California sea lions both in the harbor and out in the passageway, a Humpback whale performed a bit for us, and on the way back there were Common Dolphins playing with the boat. And so many Brown Pelicans!!
We also went to Port Hueneme by the Naval Base, and walked the shore. There was a drainage area that was quite marshy and pretty. It is a nice area. While we were there the town had a “Touch a Truck” event with all kinds of trucks that the kids could get into, honk the horn etc. From cranes, to garbage trucks, school buses, fire trucks, Search and Rescue and more. Noisy and so many happy kids. Matt would have loved this as a kid. Cherie would have been attracted to the trucks but it was noisy with honking and sirens etc. The other thing we found here was Spudnuts- OMG the best ever donuts. Better than Krispie Kreme donuts. The dough itself was so tasty.
Hopefully I can get some pictures of the cruise from Dave’s camera some day and add those in. I spend my time on the boat eating ginger chews and Emetrol! But I did not “feed the fish” this trip so that is a success in my book! I just have to take ginger pills, ginger chewier and Emetrol it seems. Worth it entirely!