RVing Clothes -- Before and After

Aspire to be Barbie - That girl has everything.

A topic on what to wear when RVing was posted on an RV forum about two years ago. When I read the title then I thought it was pretty stupid. Clothes were the least of my concerns. There were quite a few responses though and folks came up with many ideas on what RV'ers should be wearing.

My quick answer was just wear what you normally wear. However, two years later I can tell you that the topic is still on my mind and it’s not as easy or as stupid as I had originally thought. I’m the perfect example because I have struggled with that. To begin with I tried to wear what some thought an RV’er should wear. My answer to the question now is pretty much the same. Folks should wear what they normally wear. Nothing really changes and clothes don't make the person.

Summer 2008 - with my daughter

What made me think about that again was a story on the news recently about a fellow who had his total belongings under 100. items. A short time ago an RVing friend listed her belongings and they were also under 100. Me? Forget it! Well, I'm sure I must have had more than 100 items just in articles of clothing. There was no way I could ever get under 100 unless I don't have to count underwear. Maybe I could then but only maybe.

We used to travel a lot before we retired. This RVing thing was just another mode of travel. We both worked in dressy environments and as the trend became more business casual so did we. On Fridays we were allowed to “dress down” but that never included blue jeans or even designer ones. We just couldn’t wear them. When traveling on an airplane if we wore jeans, we had no choice but to sit in the back of the plane. We would not be allowed to sit up front. That's what happens when you work for an airline. It was all about what the company considered proper attire and blue jeans were not considered proper attire.

When we first hit the road in our RV my clothes were pretty dressy so they were boxed up and put in storage. Neither Terry or I even had a pair of jeans in the RV. However, as time went by we both purchased jeans and t-shirts. We had never worn them before. Even my girlfriends from junior high school didn’t wear blue jeans. We were still hanging out together and still not wearing jeans. I guess it's just something we were never into. My kids all wear jeans but we just never did. Why did we think because we were going to travel in an RV that we needed to wear jeans? You got me with that one. Actually, I have never really found them to be very comfortable either.

-- On a trip with my junior high school bud a few years ago.

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Remember, I was sorting pictures. I could come up with a bunch of these but I won’t …. today. I’ll save them for another day and another blog.

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The other day I decided it was time to clean my closet out and get rid of some of the things that were just taking up space. All the jeans went first, then the things that no longer fit and other items I just didn't like. In total ...... about 2 dozen articles of clothing were stuffed into a black bag. That's a good start for me.

What have I discovered works for me now? That’s actually quite simple. I like things I don’t have to iron since I only iron on very rare occasions. I also like the silky and stretchy things. Some folks call these outfits exercise outfits. I call them RVing outfits. I like them because they stretch when my body stretches and especially after big meals with the RV groups. If the tops sparkle a bit, I even like them more because it's easier to see around the campfire.

Overall, I’m thinking it’s not so important how I dress as long as I like it. I’m just going to go back to being me whatever that is at the time. It's entirely different when the sun is shining and when it isn't. It's also entirely different when we're in the desert boondocking or going out to dinner.

I still have a ton more clothes to dispose of but I'll save that for another day and another time. I also know I'll never get down under 100.

Here's another outing with my grandson in front of where we stayed in Victoria for a whale watching adventure. Been there, Toni? Of course, you have.

San Andreas Fault

What is better than wisdom? Woman. And what is better than a good woman? Nothing.

Life has been pretty rough for me. Terry won’t be back for a day or two but I’ve been able to manage. The other day I was really roughing it at poolside. It was hot and the water in the pool perfect but I managed. While there I learned about the Thousand Palms Canyon and the Palm Oasis. The San Andreas Fault runs right through this area which is just a few miles from where we were sitting. I knew the fault ran through much of California but I never really thought I would be right on top of it. Anyway, I wanted to go just so I could say I was really there. I needed to stand right on top of the San Andreas Fault. I had to. It’s kind of like being at the equator. If you’re close, you have to be there and you have to stand on it. I’ve stood on the equator in South America and in Africa. I had to do that then and now I also wanted to visit this well-known fault and stand right on top of it. It’s the same idea.

The short drive was interesting because in just a matter of a few minutes the busy city disappeared and the terrain changed to a very deserted desert. Just as quick a group of huge palm trees appeared in the middle of absolutely nothing. These palms were enormous and some were probably 250 years old. They hadn’t been trimmed which means all kinds of critters probably had set up homesteading in the dead palm leaves. I didn’t want to get too close.

At the Visitor’s Center there were warnings to watch out for bobcats, rattlesnakes and a few other critters. In addition, there was another board listing all the sightings and these sightings included recent ones of bobcats or mountain lions and diamondbacks. What do you think the chance would be that I would walk down any trail by myself with those warnings?

However, another couple was heading down the McCallum Trail about the time I was getting ready to walk back to my car. So, I just tagged along but then held my breath as I had to head back by myself.

Thank goodness the only wildlife I saw was this rabbit and it was hiding from me. Whee!

Okay, so now I can say I actually stood right on the San Andreas fault and nothing happened while I was standing there. There was no big rumble and no big shake. I was happy.

Been there, done that and don’t need to go back!

(Anyone notice anything wrong with this sign?)

Lots of Previous RVs

Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

With Terry in Phoenix I haven’t been running around. Actually, I guess I can’t say that. I have been running around but only in the park. Normally when he’s around we’re out doing something whether it’s sightseeing or shopping or eating. The running around I have been doing has been by riding my bike, swimming in the pool and walking Duchess. I’ve been doing a few other things like defrosting the freezer, doing the laundry and cleaning up. Pictures have been sorted and even my sewing machine has been put to use.

Sorting pictures is a time consuming job. It’s probably because I like to look at each and every one I kept. I was hoping to find some of the photos we had when we were camping years ago but those probably haven’t been scanned yet. The following photos are some I have found of the different RVs we have had. What else can I blog about when I’m just enjoying life and sitting still?

This was our first motorhome. I believe it was a 29’ Pinnacle. In this photo we were camped at the Thousand Trails park at Lake Texoma in Texas.

Here are two of the tent trailers we owned. We did a lot of camping in tent trailers. One of the photos is in the driveway and the other is camped at Lake Tawakoni, Texas at another Thousand Trails park.

Here are three different 5th wheels we have owned.

This is the little hybrid trailer we made a couple trips in. Here we are parked at the Thousand Trails Leisure Time park at Whaler’s Rest in Oregon.

Check out the view on the Columbia River in Washington. That's what we were doing.

That’s all, folks. Unless something else gets exciting you’re likely to get more old pictures in a day or too.

Welcome Back Party

I was thinking about how a status symbol of today is those cell phones that everyone has clipped on. I can't afford one so I'm wearing my garage door opener. (And, you all know I don’t even have a garage!)

Our park threw a Welcome Back party on Saturday. It was a potluck affair. We figured there would be a ton of food … just a ton. Every person was supposed to bring a dish that would feed 8 people. If there were two of you going from your RV, you needed to bring two dishes and be able to feed a total of 16 people! We were right. The tables overflowed with food. However, it appeared folks were going back for seconds and thirds so I didn’t have time to get my camera before I filled my plate. It was everyone for themselves and I had to look out for ME!

A lot of the folks sat outside by the pool. It was another perfect night and the entertainment was outside. By the time we arrived only a couple seats were left at a table with two full-timing SKPS, Jack and Ruby. We had a great time swapping RV stories like most RV’ers do. It was actually a hoot and the entertainment fabulous. After most everyone left I jumped in the hot tub and continued to enjoy being serenaded. These old folks certainly know how to party but then head home early.

Yes. I did indicate that we might have been a tad late to the party. It was only because I located a rechargeable photo frame but only one. I had to have a cordless one in the motorhome because I certainly didn’t want a cord hanging down the wall. This one was a shelf model at Best Buy and on clearance and the only one I could find. The party started at 5:30. I didn’t discover it until 4:40. We had to hurry BEFORE we went. Of course, that meant we wouldn’t be able to fix a second dish but you know how priorities are and we knew a KFC was on the way.

The neighbors we get in RV parks can be very different. We even have nicknames for one neighbor right down the road. We call them “Barbie” and “Ken”. We recently had another neighbor pull out who traveled with 3 dogs and 4 cats. Today we had new neighbors pull in – Rick and Sue. We met them as they were setting up and then again in the hot tub. They’re potential SKPs for 2009 and may even join the group in Yuma in January. I certainly hope so.

Monday morning was an early one. The sunrise was gorgeous. It’s off to the airport as Terry will be on his way to Phoenix and gone for about six days. I’m already planning all the stuff I’m going to do. And, no I don’t want company.

Hitting the Outlet Mall

I finally got my head together, now my body is falling apart.

We went to the Cabazon Outlet Mall. This is one heck of an outlet mall. It’s amazing how beautiful the skies can be in the Palm Springs area and how different it can be just a few miles west where the mountains catch all the clouds. Lots of windmills dot the area. Once on the other side it was even cool.

We visited this mall last year. The stores are very unique and not like ones normally found at outlet malls. The first place I stopped was the Ecco store. It wasn’t that I really planned it. It’s just that we parked there and I love Ecco shoes. Last year when we were here I bought a pair and was hoping to replace them. And, I did. They had the same shoes but only one pair left and only in my size. How’s that for luck? Then, to top it off it was on a great clearance sale.

Some of the stores I didn’t bother to go in included Prada, Armani and Gucci. Can’t you just see it now wearing articles of clothing from those designers while boondocking in Quartzsite? For some reason I just don’t think the two go together. Now if I were still working, I might have found a few other stores to go in. There were many stores that I did go in including the Stein Mart. That’s always been one of my favorites. Then, of course, I found the Brighton, Columbia Sportswear and Crate and Barrel Outlet.

On the way back to the park we stopped by the airport in Palm Springs to pick up a ticket for Terry’s flight which is in a couple of days. After a little dinner Terry and I made the short walk to the hot tub.

We normally like going to the Panera Bread Company. They usually have great soups, fabulous salads and sandwiches. We stopped here on Saturday for lunch and we weren’t so impressed. Terry ordered the Mac’n Cheese soup in a bread bowl. There was actually no soup to it and the bread bowl contained about a tablespoon of the main ingredient. Oh well, I guess that’s what cutting back is all about. This is really cutting back.

A Little Wii, Roadrunners, Sunshine, Hot Tub, Photos and Cards

I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace.

This is finally what we expected RVing would be about. Well, we knew it a few months ago and we knew it at times last year. However, sometimes when the problems appear and the weather isn’t perfect, we forget what we expected and hoped for. Thursday was a beautiful day in every way. We hardly left the park. I have to say "hardly" because I didn't but Terry did. He had to go to the store, of course.

The sun was shining. There was no rain, no ants and a perfect temperature. I think this was the come-down day. We sat outside a while and watched a few fun court TV shows, barbecued ribs and took lots of walks through the park.

Roadrunners in the park

Several families of roadrunners live here. You can see them running around through the different sites.

We haven’t normally participated in a lot of park activities but Thursday we even did that. We bowled a bit on the Wii in the recreation lounge. The hot tub was inviting and I couldn’t refuse. Then we even decided to play cards with the group. Ever play 65?

Now that we’re kind of settled – we have no intention of being really settled for now – I started working on some of the projects I had stored up.

When we started out in the RV we sorted our pre-digital photos and trashed alot. Others were just stored in boxes and are now in the storage shed. Then there were those that were on disk or an external drive. They were easier to sort and most of what remains were brought with us.

My on-board disks

I started using the digital in about 1997 but certainly kept my film camera too. With a resolution of 360 X 280 the quality just wasn't quite there. It seemed I was changing cameras like most folks change socks. Every time a new one with a higher resolution and more options became available, I had to have it. Eventually, the film camera went away. It certainly is easier to store digital photos than photos taken with a film camera.

One of my projects has been to sort some of the pictures of our trips, our kids, Terry and I. Boy, have we all changed. You may see some of them on an upcoming blog. You just may. I want to locate a rechargeable digital photo frame. Why is it so difficult to find a rechargeable one and not one that operates only on AC?

My projects kind of overlap each other. As you can see my sewing machine is now out of hiding also and ready to be used.

That was about it for the day … a perfect day.

Trusting the Weatherman

Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

Wednesday we put our trust in the accurate forecast of the weatherman. With thunderstorms all around the area, the hourly forecast indicated we had an open window of about 3 hours before the next storm rolled in. We had been having the rain and the storms for the last few days. Scattered thunderstorms could mean anytime but we wanted to leave the park we were currently at so much that we decided the timing just had to be correct this time.

It didn’t take us long to unhook, pull the slides in and get on the road. We had about a 75 mile trip to the Palm Spring Thousand Trails park. Without reservations this is where we had to head. Since this bank of storms was coming from the east, we knew we better be in place by 2:00 … just in case. Most of the time we don’t put much faith in the accuracy of the forecast. We wanted to trust them since we were so tired of all the flies and ants. We just had to go … just had to. And, that’s what we did.

Traffic was perfect. The climb over the mountain from Hemet didn’t bring winds. Windmills line both sides of the freeway around Banning so you know it can get pretty windy there too. We were hoping it would be the lull before the storm when we drove through that area and the winds wouldn’t be something to be concerned about.

The roads were wet once we hit the I-10 so we knew we were just behind one storm and just ahead of the next one. Right on time the clouds started to darken and several storms rolled in about 2:00. However, we were happy because we were already set up and just watching them.

It’s so nice to have our jacks down on asphalt, our chairs on a concrete patio and be able to drive down the paved roads. I have never seen so many empty spaces in this park. Most of the time we have been here it has been very full. It’s even difficult to get reservations. However, it’s early in the season for the RVs but right now only about half the spaces are full.

This park is close to the I-10 freeway and there is freeway noise. Some folks park in the back to eliminate most of the noise. We don’t. I like being by the pool. The water is warm and the hot tub inviting. We pretend the freeway is the ocean .. it’s not bad at all. This is our very favorite park.

Last year we thought the casino buffets were fabulous. A couple casinos are just east of where we are now. That was our outing last night. However, I think we did the lunch buffets last year and not the dinner ones. The Fantasy Springs buffet was $17.95 and it wasn’t even a seafood buffet!! We passed and strolled on down to the Spotlight 29 buffet which was just down the road. Their buffet was $13.95 and nothing to brag about either. To top it off .. I didn’t win a thing.

Oh well .. we’re happy and today we should even see some sunshine. We no longer have flies and the pesky little ants are disappearing!

Things are good again.

Homecoming

Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.

I don’t have a lot of Homecoming pictures yet but I do have a couple. Isn’t email wonderful? These pictures were taken by Sabrina prior to the dance and sent to me. More photos to come though. Eventually I’ll get the pictures that were taken at the school. The school isn’t quite as fast as sending them as Sabrina is.

Jordan and Casey

One beautiful gal and one handsome guy --- Can’t she pick them?

Actually, I mean to say can't HE pick them!

Here’s Justin – picture of Sydnee to come!

Didn’t this good looking fella clean up beautifully?

Justin hasn’t picked Sydnee up yet in this photo but you can bet that I’ll post pictures of both of them when I get them. Of course I will. Normally you’ve seen him with a crab net or a fishing pole but there is another side to him.

Well, even though I complained and complained about the weather in my last blog, I want you to know that it hasn’t improved. I’ve been doing a lot of whining as you can certainly guess. A friend suggested we hit the outlet mall since that’s what rainy days are for. And, that’s just what we’re going to do today regardless of the thunderstorms.

We don’t seem to have as many of those pesky little ants today as the other day. I did discover some hopeful solutions to getting rid of them from the forum. We're going to try those next.

I recently downloaded a free app for my iPhone from the Weather Channel. If you plug in your location, it has an icon at the bottom that shows if any severe storms are forecast for your area. I like that. And, of course, today there are two severe storm warnings posted for the area we are in. Come Thursday our wheels are rolling! We want to leave the flies, the ants, the storms and the clouds behind. Enough is enough. Our wheels are definitely going to roll!!

Where is the Sun?

Do you think that when they asked George Washington for his ID that he just whipped out a quarter?

We’re in Southern California. This place is also known as “sunny” Southern California. The only problem is it’s not really sunny. As a matter of fact we hardly saw the sun over the weekend. What’s with this?

Sunday I needed a sweater most of the day and we barely went outdoors. Monday the rains are to get started, Tuesday will bring thunderstorms and Wednesday the storms are supposed to go away but the rain will still be around. Thursday may be nice but that’s a few days away.

This is a reminder of what the sun looks like.

We fled San Diego when the fog came in and rain expected. Now we’re inland and it’s still not nice. Where’s the sunshine now?

Actually, it’s okay to sit still for a while. It’s just difficult to not have any plans. Our site is nice, the location is nice but we have ants and we have flies. We don’t like either of them. So, we’ve been squishing, swatting, smashing and spraying. What else could we do?

Yes, I’m whining (and, I have no cheese to go with it).

Anthony’s Fish Grotto – San Diego

I wish the buck stopped here. I could use a few.

Thursday the fog rolled in again but this time it didn’t roll out. It was foggy all day long. There wasn’t even a glimpse of a beautiful blue sky. We don’t like it like that. We’re at the beach. The sun is supposed to shine but it didn’t.

This was the day we had planned for a late lunch at Anthony’s Fish Grotto. We’ve eaten there several times before. Matter of fact, every time we have visited San Diego eating there has been on our list of things to do here. Even though the restaurant was voted the best seafood restaurant in San Diego for 2010 we’re not so sure after this visit whether it’ll make our list next time.

You can guess what Terry ordered. It certainly wasn’t seafood. It was steak. He’s not a big fan of seafood but goes because I drag him there. He also likes sitting next to the window and watching the boats in the harbor. Terry’s steak? He ordered it medium rare and received it medium well --- tough and dry! I know .. you should never order a steak from a seafood restaurant.

This time I ordered the lump crab sandwich which was supposed to be a crab melt with cheddar cheese. Bread on one side was soggy, the cheese wasn’t melted and it wasn’t cheddar. Then to top it off the crab didn’t taste like crab. Hey, I’ve been catching and eating crab .. lots of it .. all my life. Lump crab comes from the center of the crab and is usually very good. This was not.

Should we decide to return, it would only be for the service. We had the best server ever. She was so efficient and pleasant. We didn’t mention the bad food and left her a much better than average tip just for her. If you still decide to visit, ask to sit in M & M’s section.

That was just about the extent of our activities for the day. Tomorrow? Not so sure. Maybe we’ll head north. Or, maybe we won’t head north. We’ll let you know tomorrow.

Hotel del Coronado – USS Midway

He deserves Paradise who makes his companions laugh.

You can’t come to Coronado without visiting Hotel del Coronado. You certainly can’t miss it . It’s a gorgeous historic hotel with the main street of town on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. The grounds of the hotel are immaculate. The hotel is an old elegant hotel. Obviously, it is awesome. We have visited this hotel several times in the past but every time we see it we still marvel at its beauty. The shops are fun to walk through and the little eateries are great to have a bite and watch the people.

Another place we took a little time to check out was the area around the USS Midway. I’ve seen pictures of the ship before and even though it looked large in the pictures, I never imagined it really being this large. The park where the ship is has many statues of navy life. One is a tribute to Bob Hope and for all the tours he did for the service men.

And, this is the fabulous USS Midway (as a pano). It is now a museum. We hope to be able to go on board while we’re here. We had Duchess with us on this trip. That’s why we were scoping out what we really wanted to see. Actually, it's just fun looking.

The USS Midway is a short distance from the Seaport Village. Lots of little shops and restaurants line the area around the San Diego Bay. Many folks were just walking, others were shopping and a lot more were eating. We’ll be back.

Weather is gorgeous other than a little fog in the morning. It blows off pretty early. A slight breeze comes up every afternoon. We do have neighbors parked next to us as of last night but guess they will only be here a day or two. It’s a family with four kids traveling in a rental Class C. I think they’re having the time of their life. However, aren’t they supposed to be in school?

Wednesday wasn't a busy day. We hung around the beach, read our books, lit the barbecue and relaxed most of the day. You know how tired we get from all this activity. Well, we did go in to get gas in the car and for our little Honda generator. It was tough even finding a gas station on Coronado. The only one we found was a Valero that was charging $3.40 a gallon!! It's right on the road that leads from the Naval station so I'm sure the intent is to gouge the sailors on their way to and from the base. At least that was our opinion as they sure gouged us!

The last couple of nights we've had another show going on. The Navy Seals do their underwater training in navigation here on the beach in front of us. It's been interesting with the divers, the boats and the 'copters. They are the best of the best!

A Foggy Morning

The secret of a good life is to have the right loyalties and hold them in the right scale of values.

This is what it looked like Monday morning. It had actually been more dense earlier but this was the scene when I finally thought about taking a picture. It really wasn’t so bad. It was kind of awesome. The good thing is that I knew it would blow off. How did I know? The weatherman said it would. You know how right the weathermen always are.

Actually it did blow off … right on schedule. It was a lazy day just like we want most of them to be. We spent some time checking the area out a bit. We also needed a few little things so into town we went.

The main street in Coronado is absolutely darling. A lot of touristy shops line the road as well as cafes and little restaurants. Almost all of these have outside seating. I love eating at little cafes and especially when you can sit outside and watch all the people.

There weren’t quite so many people out on Tuesday since Monday was a holiday. A lot folks had to go back to work. We went to the Embarcadero and the Seaport Village. Actually, it was really nice to be able to find a parking spot and not have to fight the people.

The harbor was filled with many types of boats and Navy ships. There were a lot of tour boats including this one that starts as a tour on land then ends up as a tour boat. We didn’t do it but the car/boat was sure interesting.

There is also a ferry from Coronado right to Anthony’s Fish Grotto in San Diego – across the bay. I didn’t realize there was a ferry there but here it is. A cruise ship was in port. It was a huge cruise ship. We’ve been on several cruises but much prefer the smaller more intimate type of ships. Oh well, that’s another day and another blog.

Much of what we scouted out we want to return to including the Midway and some of the museums. It was busy. It was fun. We’re having a great time.

There’s so much to do and so much to see. And, without Sabrina that nearly 20 pounds I lost might be found! Oh oh.

Coronado – We Arrived!

Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame.

You just have to check out our current location. See the front of the coach on the left. That’s how close we are. Now check out all the people on the beach just in front of us. Are you jealous yet? I certainly would be if you were here and I wasn’t.

We didn’t do a lot on Sunday. The big feat of the day was driving 35 miles from where we were parked at the Elks in Oceanside to our new location on San Diego Bay. We sat outside and basked in the beautiful sunshine while we watched the boats and wiggled our toes in the sand. It wasn’t a tough day.

Dinner time rolled around and we barbecued some perfect choice steaks and watched TV and the sailboats. Like I said, it wasn’t too tough of a day.

Evening came and we took one more walk in the sand with Duchess. We’ll just have to see what Monday brings. For some reason I think it just might be more of the same. This place just might do for the next couple of weeks. What do you think?

Actually, the location is under construction. It was closed for a while and only recently reopened to dry camping. They are still laying out the full hookup sites and not sure when that will be available. In the meantime, it's working just fine. There's a laundry, free showers and a little store.

San Diego and the Pacific Ocean

The ocean is a central image. It is the symbolism of a great journey.

View of San Diego Bay crossing the Coronado Bridge

Saturday was busy. When we’re back on the road every day seems to be busy checking the sights in the new area. This time our goal was just a quick peek at the beach and the Pacific Ocean. We also visited the Silver Strand area at Coronado … which is where we are supposed to be moving Sunday morning.

Our first stop was on the Strand at Oceanside. Surfers were riding the waves, hopeful fishermen were lining the pier and sunbathers were busy catching the rays. It was a very active – and beautiful – place to be.

Coronado was next on the agenda. We were off to see the Silver Strand State Beach which is just down the road from the fabulous Hotel del Coronado. After all, this was one place we had seen pictures of and just knew it would be the perfect spot to spend some time. At least that’s what we thought. People were everywhere and I do mean everywhere. Of course, the weather was perfect and it was the weekend. Everyone was out … just everyone. This place was packed. The RVs must have been put into place very carefully because some seemed to have little room between them. It just didn’t appear to be the place for us. And, at $50 a night for dry camping we figured it was a little much for a state park without any hookups.

View of weekend campers at Silver Strand State Park on Coronado!!

Next stop on Coronado was about a mile down the road. This was another small RV park sitting on the San Diego Bay side of the road instead of the ocean side at the edge of the marina. It just reopened for dry camping as it has been closed for renovating. Of course, the road is very narrow at this point so either side would certainly work well. Now we liked this very, very much. It looked perfect to us. So, we’ll see it Sunday.

You know what they say about trash being someone else’s treasure. Obviously, the City of Oceanside believes that your trash is a treasure too. Check out the treasure chest of a trash bin.

We picked up some tourist information from the Welcome Center yesterday. The problem is that most of these tours and outings last almost a full day. Some we'd really like to do but we can't leave Duchess for the period of time we would need to. So, another day and another time we'll come back again. For now we'll just enjoy what we can.

Stressful Los Angeles Traffic

Is it because light travels faster than sound that some people appear bright until you hear them speak?

Thursday morning arrived and we were on the road again ….. it was planned to be a short day. We were only going as far as Tracy, CA in central California. The Elks Lodge was 176 miles away. That’s where we had planned to spend at least one night and that's just what we did. We spent one night in Tracy -- Thursday night. The lodge there is super convenient and the host was fantastic. We'd definitely stop here again on our way through. However, directions in the Elks book directed us to an exit that no longer existed off the freeway but now we know. So, if you head that way, don't try to find exit 456 because it's not there. Exit at 457 instead.

The original plan was to move a few hours each day to get ourselves to the base of the Grapevine Saturday night. We would then be in place to travel through Los Angeles and San Diego Sunday morning. That was the plan but it probably wasn't a good plan at that. Whoever plans on driving less than 200 miles for two days in a row when you leave early, arrive early and then there's nothing to do or see when you do arrive? We know by now that most things don’t fall into place as planned. We got anxious and ended up going through Los Angeles on Friday instead!

It was a nice day and a nice drive through most of the trip. When we left Tracy we were only going 240 miles. Then, that stretched to 283 miles and ended up being a 405 mile day. However, it wasn’t just 405 miles. It was right through Los Angeles on a Friday afternoon. That 405 miles was probably equivalent to about a 600 mile trip some place else! I probably don’t need to say much more. Travel was very slow and at times stop and go. Saying it was stressful would be an under-statement. No one wants to be behind a motorhome. and they were fast to cut in front so they wouldn't be. We did see one rear end collision in the lane right next to us. Thank goodness it was not in our lane! That was actually the second one we had seen that day.

Check out this cool Class C paint job advertising tacos!

We finally left the Los Angeles area behind and most of the vehicles with it. We landed at Oceanside in the Elks RV Park. We had two extra days planned in this travel and we’re going to spend both of them here. We need to sleep off the stress! After all, it’s just another 30 miles down the coast to where we have reservations starting on Sunday. For Saturday ... well, we'll check this area out a bit before we move south.

The Oceanside Elks is a gem of a place for a few days or maybe even a month. There's a lot to see and do in the area and yet it's less than a mile off the freeway with easy access. The Pacific Ocean and the "Strand" is about a mile and a half west of here. And, the price for your RV? It's only $15 a night with water and 30 A.

The Elks at Oceanside

Over the last couple of years we have had the pleasure (or lack thereof) to meet many different campground hosts and managers. Most are just RVing volunteers staying in that location for a very short time before moving on to another place to volunteer. However, this is the first one that ever insisted on doing the check-in inside your own RV even before you were set up! I didn't like it. She wanted to come in, fill out the paperwork (2 minutes worth) and make it easy. Easy? Easy for her? Easy for us? If she had waited 15 minutes, it might have been okay but not when we just arrive. However, she did tell us our arrival interrupted her Happy Hour at the lodge. This was the first time for that. I thought it strange indeed.

The $15 a night is a real deal in this area. There are several state beaches close by. These are owned by California, of course. Similar to the one on Coronado at Silver Strand in the direction we're heading, you can stay there for only $35 a night. If you want beachfront, the fee goes up to $50 a night. We want beachfront but we don't want the $50 fee. We did see a few motorhomes parked right on the beach a few miles north as we were heading this direction. I'd like to check them out.

On our way into the park we noticed a casino about a block away. It was Friday and I was sure they would have seafood. Once we were finally set up, that's where we headed. NOT! The parking lot was so small and the only places open were with valet parking. There were no slots and no buffet. There was a restaurant in the bar. We sat there waiting for service ... waiting, waiting and finally left. It was another Lean Cuisine night and early to bed.

Saturday - the plan is just to do a slight scoping out of the area. We're still recovering for the ride down and especially the one through LA.

Disclaimer - Well, we're lying a little. We did have another host/hostess check us in at their RV park from inside ours. Matter of fact, we even had them spend the night inside of ours, raid our refrigerator and house sit with our dog. Does it matter if they were the grandkids? Love them lots!