This week we attempt some stealth camping in our van in and around Santa Cruz & Monterey!
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We’re Jimmy & Natalie, a couple of kids from South Carolina trying to experience more of the world. Right now, our self-converted Ram Promaster 2500 cargo van is our ticket to travel and we can’t wait to see where she takes us!
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~~ Chapters ~~
0:00 – Surprising Free Camping Spot
2:35 – Shark Fin Cove
5:34 – Santa Cruz
7:24 – Sea Lions
9:23 – Struggle to Find Overnight Parking
12:05 – Monterey (a day for love)
13:10 – Toilet in Our Van?
13:37 – Lover’s Point
15:26 – Are We Married?
16:26 – Kissing Rock
18:22 – Rain Got Us Again
Watch more new videos about Camping | Synthesized by Mindovermetal English
It's creepy to be out walking and see homeless people stealth camping. Never know who you are dealing. At one of the spots you show I have been screamed at for walking past their "office" and talking. I can tell you most locals do not like what you do. As they say "get a room"
That ‘pier’ near Davenport, CA is not a pier. It is an old loading structure for ships to come in and pick up cement from the old cement factory. There is a trail down to those old structures and you can swing on the swing during low tide.
This is Santa Cruz in a nutshell. Congrats on finding Delaware and all my fave spots on HWY 1! I live there, more murals! We have so many.
Morro Bay State Park is a nice place to stay, and you can check out the sea otters there.
the cops usually patrol davenport and kick people out late at night. they got lucky. las palmas is decent but they need to go to a real taqueria if they want to claim they are eating authentic mexican food. they don't have crispy fried tacos in mexico. the wharf has a mexican restaurant and all the seafood restaurants have non seafood options. sea lions are twice the size of harbor seals and hang out by the wharf. harbor seals are shyer and more reclusive. drive 30 minutes south of monterey and park along the big sur coast. park in front of apartment complexes when in urban environments. i have done it for years.
I checked out this vid because I live in the area . . . halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey. I've eaten at that taco joint, though it's been years . . . there's only a few hundred, just like it, in the area. Glad to know it's still good (now you know why it's not easy finding a Taco Bell). Anyway, there are thousands of quiet, safe places to park overnight around here. Obviously, one needs local knowledge to know where they are, and these spots won't typically have ocean views.
Also, I'm very impressed by the quality of your video. I was surprised by how well it was done. The camera work, the drone shots, the scenery and wildlife . . . all of it, really first-rate. You did the area proud. Enjoy your time out here.
The beach you posted at 10:20 is my hometown state beach!!!
Moss landing is just north of Monterey. It has amazing kayaking in Elkhorn slough, basically a river connected to ocean. Sea lions, harbor seals, birds, sea otters all hang out there. More wild life than you would see in Monterey and Santa Cruz in a very condensed area. It’s also migration season so there are a lot of visiting birds that are not season year round.
I loved watching see Davenport and Santa Cruz through your eyes! My favorite hang out is Davenport Landing and I live in Santa Cruz & I think you spent the night i the street I live on! There is so much more to Santa Cruz & wish you could have gone in at least one hike to see the view of the ocean from a different vantage! Next time!!!
Another great video. I think they put the "No overnight parking" signs up during the busy season.
Another vanlifer parked overnight along the same road, the next night there were signs up in a pull off he had just parked at.
Oh I'm so jealous lol. I absolutely love the California coast. Are you going yo Morro Rock? You should check out the Hearst Castle too. Meanwhile in the Rock city it's going to be in the lower teens the rest of the week. Have run and be safe.
I really enjoyed finding this today, so thank you! Lover’s Point is actually located in the small town of Pacific Grove, and it was originally dubbed “Lovers of Jesus Point”. The small city (known for the monarch butterflies these days) was a very popular Christian retreat during the turn of the century and droves of Christians would come to camp all over town. Some of the little cracker box Victorian houses are actually structures that were built on tiny lots originally zoned for camping tents! My mother told us that her generation would say: “Carmel by the Sea, Monterey by the Smell , and Pacific Grove by God”! That pretty much summed up the collective theme of the Peninsula! Have fun out there and enjoy your adventure!
Cool video. Im a local to the area and you two should come back in summer. It's way nicer. If you need a tour guide next time hit me up.
There's so much to tell you about Monterey, where I grew up and moved to the Yosemite area when I was 33. The original name to Lovers Point was Lovers of Jesus Christ Point. My parents were married on the grassy overlook and my husband proposed to me there. Also, John Denver crashed his plane near by. The wild sea life is sooo very cool. I spent loads of time at Lovers Point. Thank you for memory lane.
Sucks to see how much graffiti there is now at the cove. Sad.
Not stealth if you video it all and show the world!!Lol you weinerheads
Monterey County
I wish I had known you were coming through Monterey. I’m from there and it would have been fun showing you around. Maybe next time! Enjoy your CA adventure…
I actually work for an adventure van conversion shop in Santa Cruz called Levity Vans! It’s so cool to see you guys enjoying the area in your van! Awesome video!!
you guys should make a stop in San Luis Obispo. its along the 1 on your way south.
OMG DO NOT get so close to the edge of the cliff in Davenport! That soil is unstable! People fall to their death there often. In fact stay away from all cliff edges in Santa Cruz please! It’s very dangerous.
Yes, I live here as well. We definitely know people are camping in vans. It’s been happening for 2+ years. Have fun !
First I want to wish you both a Merry Christmas. You both have such a loving respect for one another. It’s what makes you both so enjoyable to watch and follow along on your adventures. Be safe out there.