(written offline) I woke at 4:17 am, and went back to sleep for a while. When I got up two hours later, none of my neighbors were up, yet
I boiled water for some morning Nescafe, had some dry salami, used the bathroom, dried out the tarp. The mosquitoes were biting. By 8, everything was packed up, and I headed out.
In the early morning part of the ride I passed migrant workers picking strawberries. They really hustle! I saw them jogging down the furrows with boxes. Maybe they’re paid by the pound? I tried to take a picture, but my camera batteries had died. Maybe I wasn’t meant to take a picture.
I stopped at Esperanza Market in Guadalupe. Great prices, only $3 for a coco popsicle, bag of iso peanuts, and 3 bananas. (this picture was taken with my cell phone) There was also a taqueria attached to the store, but it was only 9:40 am, so I wasn’t ready for lunch.This picture is for you, Steve Young. I couldn’t find the library in Guadalupe, so went forward to Orcutt.Orcutt had an astounding array of food choices, including the Japanese Restaurant, Niya. Salmon bento box, $8.99Now here’s a roadkill you don’t see every day.Lompoc awaits in the distance. I just need to get over those hills. It’s worse than it looks in a picture.It was an arduous climb in my condition.I had to stop multiple times on this hill, even using the granny gear. But I did not need to walk. That’s improvement. This picture was taken at my 5th and final stop. The summit was actually just around the corner, I just didn’t know it. Again, a picture doesn’t capture the feeling of a steep climb.
Once over the summit, it was a fast but not perilous descent into Lompoc. Lompoc is a large town, so I got freeze dried meals and insect repellant at the Big 5. My devices needed charging, so I went to the local libary at 4, and plugged them in until 6 (see previous post).
The River Campground at Lompoc. I would have liked this site for its proximity to the bathroom, but there were too many gopher holes,Someone kindly left some firewood in the tent area. I put some wood into my fire ring, but didn’t light it. Too much trouble.
The campground was actually mostly for RV’s. There were about 50 of them there, I would say, while I was the lone tent camper in a separate area. By the time I got there, everyone had retreated into their RV’s, so there was no socializing.
