Limekiln Campground

June and I are slowly inching our way down the coast. Can't believe the number of remote areas in this amazing state. Like the Lost Coast of NoCal, we once again find ourselves with no service. I've been leaving my Verizon cell phone off in order to conserve the battery, and June and I have been keeping our two-ways off except for when I close in on the landing spot, because for whatever reason charging them up again seems to be draining too much battery from the van. This is a recent problem, and we haven't quite figured out what's going on with that.I landed yesterday at the most amazing beach which is part of the Limekiln Campground This is an amazing little campground with a rushing stream running through it and hiking trails into the mountains and of course a beautiful beach. Paddling up to the beach I could see June's tall wetsuit-clad figure. Paddling closer I saw two things floating in the water which sort of looked like dolphin floats. Then I thought maybe they were two parked little jetskis, but getting closer I could see that, yes, they were dolphin floats, and there was a man attached to them! Apparently JR, the man in the frigid water without a wetsuit, was camping at the campground we just left and was visiting his favorite beach. He recognized our vehicle, which is really kinda hard to miss, and had questioned June as to what we were up to. When he found out I was paddling into the Limekiln beach, he figured he'd swim out to meet me. I've never paddled in to a welcome reception of a man attached to two inflatable dolphins before!Later he shared snacks with us and we shared ours with him. When I told him that June makes jewelry he decided he'd buy some for his niece and nephew. June makes jewelry as a hobby and for gifts for friends, but this was her first paying costumer.While we were at the beach Park Ranger Rich Levin came down to check things out. He encouraged us to check things out and enjoy the campground. He's very knowledgeable about the area and it's interestig history, and later met up with us at while John the camp host was sharing his fire and company with us. Rich read us a poem written by a poet JR had mentioned-Robert Jeffries (need a name check...I'm almost positive this is not right..maybe you can google Big Sur poets or poets of Lime Kiln-I have no service and you're only getting this because June might have passed through an area with service en route to the next stop). The poem described the typical day here when this place operated as an actual lime kiln (hence the name).Neither June nor I had a very good sleep at the last campground because of the wind, but last night was pretty good-especially with the sound of the rushing creek in our ears. It's a little difficult to leave this amazing place. I'd love to explore the mountains behind me, and enjoy the warm, sunny south facing beach. I'm finally wearing my down jacket less and less and am now just wearing sweathshirts, so we are definitely heading for warmer weather!Maybe by the time we hit Santa Barbara I'll be able to mail home my wool sweater and down jacket.Two more days of the Big Sur and then the final push to go around Pt. Conception. That's going to be a long, long paddle- a real challenge for sure!