Boondocking in Sausalito

Boondocking in Sausalito, California this weekend. Dropped into Marin County two evenings ago and found that China Camp State Park is a tent only campground. They do offer enroute camping, which means that an RV or trailer can park in their dirt lot with a porta-potty for $35 a night. No thanks. We made a few calls to the other camps in the area and were told that they were full. So, we made our way to McDonald’s parking lot on San Pedro Road and spent the night there. Not wanting to spend another night there we asked around about safe spots to park for the night and we were told that we could park along the road into China Camp and as long as we were quiet no one would bother us. We drove along the road and found several other trailers, RVs, and campers parked along the road so we picked a spot and parked the RV and dropped the trailer. We spent the day at the park and only returned to the rigs later that evening hoping to sleep and repeat this the next day. What we found was that someone had parked a fifth-wheel behind us and was busy loading or unloading crab traps and other gear from his pickup with lights and noise. We made our way into our rigs with the least amount of noise as possible. The banging eventually stopped and the lights went out but our hearts were beating hard with anxiety. And with good cause. Not an hour later a sheriff pulled in and knocked and said that there were complaints about the noise and that we would have to move. Conveniently the fifth-wheel driver was nowhere to be seen until the sheriff pulled away. We packed up and drove back to McDonalds to consider our options. We gave our friend Dave a call. Dave lives aboard a houseboat in the Sausalito harbor and there is a great parking lot available for residents and their guests. Dave invited us over, gave us a parking pass and opened his home and his shower to us. Today we spent the day at Dunphy Park in Sausalito then walked to the library. At Dunphy Park we met a man who lives on a boat that is anchored in the harbor (free) and his only income is his social security check. This man feels so blessed to be able live in this beautiful place that several times a week he takes some hot dogs, chips, or other picnic fare to Dunphy Park and offers it up to those less fortunate. This is what life should be all about. Pay it forward. (Have you seen that movie by the way? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0223897/ )

This evening we are barbequing on the houseboat’s deck. We will spend the next few days here enjoying the sun and surf then we will continue our journey along the California coast.