Expert: Steve Summers - 3/17/2010

Question
HEY STEVO..THIS IS TAMARA..YOU WERE OUR LITTLE GUARDIAN ANGEL WHEN WE HAD JUST LOST MY HUSBAND AND THE KIDS AND I NEEDED TO GET AWAY AND REGROUP..YOU LED US TO CARPINTERIA YEARS AGO WHICH IN TURN ENDED UP GATHERING FAMILY TO COME ALONG AND THEIR KIDS..AND WE ALL ENDED UP BEING A MUCH CLOSER FAMILY ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR SUGGESTION.YOU HAD THE MAGIC WORDS..FAMILY FRIENDLY,WELL PATROLLED BY POLICE AND CAMPGROUND HOSTS..SAFEST BEACH IN CALIFORNIA NOT TO MENTION THE VERY PLACE YOU HAD MET YOUR TRUE LOVE,THESE WERE ALL SUCH A VISION OF FAMILY AND LOVE,ALL THE THINGS I KNOW MY HUSBAND WOULD HAVE WANTED US TO EXPERIENCE AND FEEL AGAIN SINCE HIS UNTIMELY PASSING,WE REALLY NEEDED TO REGROUP..WE HAD NO IDEA THE BEAUTY THE BEACH THE SOUNDS.THE VIEWS..THE TOTAL AND COMPLETE FEELING OF GOD HIMSELF BEING THERE WITH US..I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH..MY COUSINS AND I WERE ON THIS YEAR TO AS USUAL NOW.GRAB A SPOT,BUT NO ONE OF FIVE OF US WERE ABLE TO SECURE A SPOT,OF COURSE WE ARE ALL HEARTBROKEN,WE ARE DIEHARD CARP FANS AND NO OTHER SPOT COULD EVER BEGIN TO COMPARE.SO TRYING DAILY SINCE JAN 2ND I AM STILL HAVING NO LUCK IN SECURING A SPOT AT CARP FOR TENT CAMPING.I WAS WONDERING IF YOU KNEW OF ANOTHER BEACH CAMPING SPOT,SAN CLEMENTE WAS OUR SECOND TRIP LAST YEAR THE TRAILS WERE SO TREACHEROUS THE LITTLE ONES WERE ONLY ABLE TO GO TWICE OVER THE COURSE OF SIX DAYS.SO I STAYED UP AT CAMP AND BABYSAT THE ENTIRE TRIP.I WOULD LIKE A KID FRIENDLY,WELL PATROLLED FAMILY FRIENDLY PLACE,DOHENY IS OK I AM FAMILIAR WITH IT AS A KID I USED TO GO..HAVE YOU HEARD OF CAMPLAND IN SAN DIEGO?I HEARD IT WAS NOT CAMPING BUT KIND OF CAMPING.NOT AT ALL WHAT I WANT AS FAR AS NATURE AND REAL CAMPING BUT I AM DESPERATE,ACTUALLY THINKING OF RENTING A HOTEL WITH A KITCHENETTE AT CARP SO WE CAN STILL GO,OR A BEACH HOUSE RENTAL?ANY SUGGESTIONS FROM YOU MR SPRINGER ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND WELCOMED BECAUSE YOU HAVE HAD SUCH A GREAT IMPACT ON OUR FAMILY HEALING AND RECONNECTING FAMILY WE HAD LOST TOUCH WITH NOW CLOSE KNIT ALL DUE TO THE CARP EXPERIENCE..WE WILL KEEP RESEARCHING AND TRYING TO FIND A CANCELLATION AND AWAITING YOUR GOOD ADVICE. FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU,TAMARA

Answer
Hi Tamara,

Of course, I remember you. Sorry to hear that you got skunked out. Were all five of you on the Internet? That's the only way to go. If you try calling on the phone, by the time you get through to an operator, all the good sites are gone. What week are you trying for? Are you looking at single sites, or group sites? You might get a site here and there, getting 1 or 2 days at a time. I actually found an available site this morning for March 26th, by checking each day. So we'll spend one day in one site, and 3 days in another. Sometimes that's how you have to do it.

Campland doesn't exactly have the same ambiance that Carp has. But it's still nice and safe. It's pretty pricey, though. It's mostly RV camping, but they have a nice little tent section.

You can rent houses at vrbo.com and vacationrentals.com, but they are REAL expensive.

There's a beach in Santa Barbara County, up by Lompoc. Not easy to get to, but they go on a first-come system. www.jalamabeach.com

And there is camping at Lake Cachuma, in the mountains above Santa Barbara.

Keep trying each day on the site, even if you have to book a different site each day!

Good luck!