As a Californian, people not from California automatically assume you are a “beach bum”. Yet, people don’t understand that unless you live right at the beach, there are two elements that stand between you and some good ol’ fun in the sun: traffic and parking. By the time you load up the car, hit the road, find a parking spot, and scour the sand for an open patch, the day is half done. One way to maximize time on the southern California coast is to find a place to camp, but where? While there are a few great beach camping options from San Diego to Santa Barbara, you would be hard-pressed to find a spot where you can camp directly on the sand. All that coast line, yet no camping on the sand? Isn’t that a bitch?Well fortunately it’s not a bitch, but rather a beach. Thornhill Broome to be exact. Thornhill Broome is one of two campgrounds offered at Point Mugu State Park, nestled in between Malibu and Oxnard. Prior to my stay here, I hadn’t heard of this particular campground, having once stayed down the road at Leo Carrillo. Though I love to camp near the beach, My oh-so handsome, very resourceful boyfriend (no he did not ask me to write that) managed to reserve one of the only spots you can camp RIGHT ON THE SAND! At Thornhill Broome, you are given a pretty wide site on the sand with a picnic table and firepit, and your tent can be pitched as close to the water that you can get without becoming one with the sea.As you hang out during the day, you can lay out and play on the beach all day, watch dolphins and whales swim by on occasion. In the evening, whether you plop down in a beach chair at your site or make the climb up the giant sand dune across PCH, you are treated to a phenomenal West Coast sunset before the sun tucks behind Mugu Rock. In the evening, if not too windy, a dinner by the fire, with music, drinks, and conversation complete this perfect beach before retreating to the tent and allowing the sound of the ocean to sing you a lullaby. As you wake up in the tent the next morning, assuming you made it into the tent the night before, that moment where you unzip the tent and see nothing but ocean in front of you as far as the eye can see is a little bit of California gold.While this is only a two hour drive from us, it would be difficult to book on short notice. When you think of your ideal time to go, go ahead and make sure you book six months ahead to secure your dates. We did luck out the last time and found opening 4 days before the weekend. It never hurts to check, right?!