For the second straight year, we did our summer camping trip at San Onofre State Beach in late August. Only an hour away (in no traffic; more for those catching Friday rush hour), this is a fun getaway right over the border in Orange County.
On our 24 hours away from home not everything went perfectly. There were not enough tents, so some people slept out. The military was doing a practice artillery session all night, so we occasionally heard deep thudding of shells in addition to the rambunctious Boy Scout troop in the site next door. And there were no marshmallows so we instead roasted cheese croissants. This was Tiffany's idea, and it worked really well.
Other than that, it was classic SoCal beach camping. Some picnicking on the beach, some camaraderie around the campfire, and yes, of course, surfing at the legendary Trestles surf break. You've seen the "save trestles" bumper stickers. You probably even have one...well, it was my first time at the break, and it is worth the hype.
Perfect wave shape, and enough size for summer, combined with perfect weather and few crowds meant the best surfing of the summer. We did an evening session the first night, which ended in a glorious sunset. And a morning session and an afternoon session the next day. And yes, the train does go right by the beach there...
Non-surfers stayed busy averting their eyes from the sinfully well-built surfers surrounding them. Some went for barefoot beach runs. I'm not sure what others did, maybe painted their toenails? We all ate exquisite cuisine that various people contributed to bringing. In any case, eventually the sun wore us out and we packed it up but not before a good weekend was in the record books.
- Ben Horne
