“Do you want to go camping soon? Maybe on the beach somewhere?”

That’s what I emailed my sister a few weeks ago. “YES!!” was her response, and a few hours later I booked us the last available campsite at Refugio State Beach for the Saturday night of Easter weekend.

Here is said campsite:

It’s a giant space intended for a trailer and up to eight people. It costs $45 a night (plus an $8 reservation fee) so it’s not cheap, but since Beth already owns the tent and sleeping bags, we’re not spending much more than that. Plus the proximity to the beach is a major draw.

It’s an easy getaway to plan because it’s car camping — we park right next to our space and don’t have to carry anything more than 20 feet.

If we’re being honest, this is really glamping. My sister has brought an air bed and her comforter (!) along for the night. I’m roughing it in a sleeping bag. And this is a three-person tent, so we have plenty of room to spread out.

Once we’ve set up the tent, we walk 30 seconds to the beach.

We’re pinching ourselves… this is pretty great.

And then we spot a WHALE not too far away. It’s tough to photograph but you can at least see the spout in this image:

Buzz of the whale makes its around camp until a crowd gathers by the parking lot to watch.

Next we meander along a short hiking trail with views looking back towards our beach.

I love the colors in this sunlight.

We return to our campsite for a picnic dinner around sunset. On our way up here, we stopped at a Trader Joe’s in Santa Barbara (conveniently located just off the freeway) and stocked up on wine, fresh bread, hummus, cheese, olives, veggies, pita chips, and popcorn.

My sister has even brought along plastic wine glasses. WIN.

It’s a simple spread and SO delicious. We purposely avoided cooking or bringing anything that needed refrigeration beyond dinner hour.

My sister dives into a crossword puzzle as dusk sets in.

Before long she moves into the tent and I walk back down to the beach for night photography. Here’s our lone tent:

Our neighbors have a more typical set-up: two families with kids sharing a trailer, tents, and chairs.

Thankfully, the whole campground is well-behaved this night (no loud music or disruptive behavior). The only noise comes at 10pm and 4am — a loud train passes by on the tracks just above the campsite. I’d read about this on Yelp or Trip Advisor before booking so it wasn’t a surprise, and honestly, twice a night isn’t bad at all.

Now for the night photography. It’s fairly dark when I snap these (sans tripod) even though it looks shortly after dusk.

Stars!

Back to the tent… there’s a movie on tonight’s agenda.

And wine. Lots of wine.

I’ve brought along my fully charged laptop and my sister has Death Becomes Her (1992, with Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis) on DVD, so clearly we are in for a night of awesomeness.

We open Trader Joe’s yummy Beurre Meuniere Popcorn and start the movie. Then Beth cracks up laughing, and I ask what’s so funny. “We’re just geniuses!” she says, reclining on her air mattress and sipping wine.

I concur.

The next morning I do the same short hike from the day before, since the sun is in a better position to light up the coast.

I’m headed out to the cliff out on that point below.

I love this vantage point, showing off the entire curve of the bay.

I’ll end with a photo I shared on Instagram (username = asherworldturns). What colors!

Beth and I are thrilled with our glamping experience at Refugio State Beach. Now we’re in need of coffee… and a few fun stops on our way back to Los Angeles. One more post coming tomorrow!