Bill Mai spent his childhood summers camping with his family. A resident of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he lived in California for many years where he wrote screenplays.

Fremont Peak State Park is deliriously beautiful in April and May, when the spring grasses are green and feathery, and the flowers are blooming. It's a great place to go when the coast is socked in with fog. Climb to the peak and look out over the richest farmland and the richest marine area in the world.

The drive up to the park from San Juan Bautista is alternately lovely, chilling, and lovely again. At first, you take a winding, old country road out of the valley and up into oaks draped with mistletoe. Then you burst into Road Warrior country. On the left is the Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area, where off-road enthusiasts bring their vehicles. It's a land of tire-ripped hills and torched brush. Scary. But persevere and you arrive at the mountaintop to enter Fremont Peak State Park with its oaks, pines, and incredible views.

The camping here is primitive and best suited for tents. All the sites are roomy, grassy, and shaded by oaks. There is potable water, and each site boasts an incredible view of Monterey Bay. How-ever, it is best to avoid the area in the summer, when Gavilan Peak is overrun by nasty, little biting flies.