The last time I was on Armchair Beach, I launched when everyone else left but paddled a short distance to set up camp at China Camp State Park. This time I noticed that Armchair has a small shelf above the high tide line, just enough room for a sleeping bag or a small tent. Has it always been like this and I didn’t notice? Or is the shelf a new feature left here by last winter’s storms? Either way I simply set up my sleeping bag on the shelf when everyone else left. I was comfortable staying there for the night knowing that the high tide the next morning was not very high.
Armchair is a small gravel beach between two small points between China Camp State Park and McNears Beach County Park. It is a no-mans land where John and the Thurseve paddlers can have a campfire out of sight of any authority figures. As I have been doing the last few campouts on warm summer nights I slept out under the stars in my sleeping bag. The water was calm and quiet all night until around 6:00 AM when the wakes from a bunch of working boats started lapping at my beach and making noise. Feeling safe (from authority figures) I dozed in bed for a while. Without a tent I could watch the horizon on the other side of the bay light up with red from the coming sun. By the time the sun did come up over the hills I was already sitting on a log eating my breakfast. The day promised to be another hot one and the morning sun was uncomfortably hot on me as I paddled back to my car.
John’s comic take on the evening’s festivities can be seen at http://web.me.com/jboeschen/LCM/9.4.08.html.