Expert: Steve Summers - 1/5/2009

Question
Hello Steve, How was your Christmas and New Years? Ours was and seems to be getting better every year.We are so blessed...(contented grateful sigh)! Last year we did the three days at Carp and I wrote you regarding another trip and thought I lucked out getting a cancellation at San Clemente for five days.Oh my stars what a horror..The campsites were wonderful,very private and very very roomy,they had a huge picnic table and a partial shade patio,however, the bathrooms were horrendous,filthy and disgusting, the walk to the cliffs to get to the trail to the beach was strenous and dangerous for the little ones,many a beachgoer/now hiker stopping along the long and treacherous trail huffing and puffing even by teenagers which made me feel not so old, only to reach a very short shore to stretch out and relax unless after 15 minutes of physically exhausting hiking wasnt enough you had anything left in you to walk down the shore,which explained why everyone was pretty much congregated right at the point of beach access...I only took the little ones to the actual beach three times in five days.An older gentleman actually died of cardiac arrest while we were there right on the beach after the hike down there. OH the waves were so gigantic that they were breaking almost ten feet and only twenty feet if that from the waters edge so even getting your feet wet was a drag. Pro surfers were being plucked out by lifeguards in boats and surfboards broken in half. I have to say there is no place like Carpinteria for children to make the trip to and from the campsite to the shore,not to mention the cleanliness of the bathroom and showers.oh their showers there were horrid. I know I am spoiled but I would never recommend San Clemente for any family with little ones never.My cousin and i were online jan 2nd and booked one week at carp and since we all went last year even for those few days our family has gotten closer,we are more a family now than ever and the rest of our family are coming with us. I cannot boast enough about how you introduced us to Carpinteria how much it helped us reconnect with God after my husband passed away how much it helped the children, and last years trip how it brought our other family members closer to each other, and the excitement we feel for the coming trip this summer how much joy you have had a hand in bringing to us all. If you ever wondered how much you have helped people and if they are grateful, I am writing you this note specifically to tell you Steve Springer whoever you are wherever you are, you are a gift from God. Thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart. In Him Always and Forever,your grateful friends The girl squirrels in California God bless you.

Answer
Hi Tamara,

That is certainly high praise, indeed.

For those of you reading this, you now have an unsolicited review of San Clemente State Beach that corroborates my own opinion. I haven't been to San Clemente in years, mainly because of the hike up and down the hill, and because of the ant problem there. And now we have the bathroom issue to add.

The reason that the waves at Carp are much smaller is because the Channel Islands block the majority of them at Carpinteria. And the bathrooms are cleaned every day at Carp, and the families there tend to keep things clean. I can't really speak to the dirty bathrooms at San Clemente.

We have always found Carpinteria to be a very special place in so many ways. My wife and I met there, and honeymooned there. We go there every year at least once.

I answer questions in this forum (and the Yahoo Answers Los Angeles Travel Forum) because I genuinely like to help people, and this is a way for me to do it. If I can help anybody out there, that's where I get my satisfaction.

Blessings right back at ya!