I wanted to say "100% correct," but I am not actually sure. Some people refer to "driving places and sleeping in one's car" as car camping, so to be explicit, I will be sleeping in a tent, but it'll be campsite camping - the car will be there, we'll have a firepit and even flushing toilets a walk away from the site, should emergencies occur a park ranger or officer will, undoubtedly, be within reach. I'm hella excited. Most of the camping I have done in recent years has been with my brother who is infinitely more experienced in such affairs than I. This time I will be "leading" the trip of sorts. Not pictured: portable charcoal grill and beach. YES. THE BEACH. I'm gonna climb one of these fuckin' towers. (Will it embedden?) 
Excellent. You can bring more essentials like better food, better wine and guitars. I do like a minimal trip too and if I can be far, far away from people and civilisation so much the better. That tends to dissuade anyone from coming with me though. But then it's quieter. I was going to post a bunch of of these in a Hubski #TripReport tag but never got around to it. (Edit: Hubski image embed doesn't like https links, eh?) (Second Edit: Ah, Huski image embed doesn't like uppercase .JPG mk)
I am seriously considering a #tripreport if I take good pictures and the weekend goes well. I'm hoping the fact that it's offseason will help ensure a less-crowded camp area. I picked a campsite close to the bathrooms deliberately, without realizing it also made me much closer to potential neighbors. However, it should be in the 50s-60s F here, and windy, so the families shouldn't be interested and we'll be done with weekend beachgoers for the most part. The water will be much too cold for swimming and even for lolling about in, I expect. I have been discouraged from camping alone, although I have my own resentful theories as to why that might be. The point stands that if one is alone and injured far from civilization and without a cell phone, one could be pretty much screwed badly. Car camping I think is a great start towards a "more-solo" camping career, or my "taking the lead" camping career, because I get to pack totally everything I can think of without worry about weight or leaving things behind. I would like to go backpacking and do longer-term camping in the future, but one step at a time.
True 'nuff, ease yourself into it. The camping aspects of a backpacking trip I find pretty much the same; just a little more thought into what you need to take; but the opportunity to get further away from things appeals to me infinitely more. I'm aware of the risks of solo trips which is why I don't do silly things when I'm out there. Haven't had to hack my own arm off. Yet. Then again I'm someone who regularly SCUBA dived solo off the coast here which you absolutely, expressly and utterly should not do - especially at night, which is when I liked it the best.
Get to bed early and get up early. You'll feel amazing. REMEMBER TO MAKE SMORES.
That photo makes me miss the long stretch of beaches between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz... I was considering a camping trip during Veterans Day next month. But then I was told that camping in New England this time of year is more akin to what you'd see in survival shows than the miles and miles of warm and quiet mountains trails of California :(