In late May we visited the Gold Country again, first to Angels Camp and then to Jackson. We missed the Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee at Angels Camp, but we’ll have to come back sometime for that. The laundry hanging across the street is for a competition played during that week. We spent... Continue Reading →
Auburn Thanksgiving (136)
For Thanksgiving, we visited our daughter in Auburn CA. We had a wonderful time with her and her fiancé, and his parents. Walking around Old Town Auburn is the best way to get the feel for the place. Lunch at Auburn Ale House or afternoon coffee at The Pour Choice are two good options. Of... Continue Reading →
Santa Cruz Recovery (135)
After 3 months of casts and physical therapy for a broken wrist I was more than ready for another RV trip. I figured that I would be physically ready when I could climb on the roof of the motorhome and also hookup our CRV for towing. Not really a high bar, but both require two... Continue Reading →
Fortuna, and north on 101 (130)
We left the Bay Area in July and headed up the coast on Highway 101 for a 3-week RV trip. We had originally planned to travel up I-5, but made a last minute detour to the coast due to the heat and smoke the inland areas were experiencing. Normally heat isn’t much of a problem,... Continue Reading →
Santa Cruz Wilder Ranch (118)
After Monterey we traveled up the coast to the Santa Cruz area. Since our reservations at Seacliff State Beach were cancelled by the state, we stayed at Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Park, a privately owned park in nearby Felton. The park office was closed, but they had our check-in documents waiting for us and we... Continue Reading →
Picking Mandarin Oranges in Newcastle, CA (116)
For our last RV trip of the year, we visited our daughter and fiancé in the Sierra foothills for some socially distanced family time. They have a wonderful place in the country, and we spent a lot of time visiting on their back deck, enjoying the view of their pond and the animals that wander... Continue Reading →
Kayaking in Jenner by the Sea, CA (112)
Late September we headed to Jenner by the Sea, CA for some kayaking at the mouth of the Russian River. Kayaking in Jenner, CA The air had cleared (note the AQI is 5 in the photo below!) after the fires and we could finally breath deeply. Clean fresh air after the fires! We stayed at... Continue Reading →
Central CA Coast – Pacifica to Costanoa (111)
Our next stop was in Pacifica, a little to the north. We stayed there a night because our next destination was closed due to the fires until the following day. Luckily, we were able to get a cancellation at San Francisco RV Resort and didn’t have to go home for a night. For those visiting... Continue Reading →
RVing on Mars? (110)
When we arrived at Half Moon Bay, CA., everything looked normal. In fact, we had a nice walk along the beach. The next morning, however, it all changed. The normal offshore breezes switched direction and the winds blew smoke from the fires up north. Even more strange was the air was clear and pure, even... Continue Reading →
Tour of Northern CA – Wine Country (103)
The last leg of our tour of Northern California took us to the wine country. The Petaluma KOA was a nice resort and a good base for exploring the area. Petaluma KOA Though we saw signs of Corona everywhere (sorry for the dad joke! :-), everyone was masked up and many restaurants were open with... Continue Reading →
Tour of Northern CA – Redwoods (102)
After enjoying the Pacific coast in Jenner, CA for several days, we headed north and inland to the Redwoods. Our home base was the Benbow KOA in Garberville, CA. The KOA is next door to the historic Benbow Inn, which was built in early 1900’s. We’ve stayed there before and enjoyed the beautiful hotel and... Continue Reading →
Tour of Northern CA – Coast (101)
After leaving the Gold Country we traveled through farm country and vineyards to the coast near the town of Jenner by the Sea. We stayed at Casini Ranch, which is nestled along the Russian River. There are a few businesses near the RV Park, in case you need a good pastry and coffee. The restaurant... Continue Reading →
Tour of Northern CA – Auburn (100)
As the titles says, this was our 100th RV trip since we first purchased our first motor home in 2012. Since then, we have been all over the west coast, and even as far as Yellowstone. Eight years later, we still get the same excitement as we start on a new RV Trip, and feel... Continue Reading →
Tour of Northern CA – Gold Country, Pacific Coast, Redwoods, and Wine Country (99)
With campgrounds opening up in Phase 2, we were excited to visit a few places close by for some socially distanced camping! While most museums, visitor centers, wineries, etc., were still closed, Northern California is full of wide open spaces, and we looked forward to some beautiful hikes, and a chance to visit a few... Continue Reading →
Buellton and Paso RV Trip (97-98)
Our drive back home from Ventura took us inland on Highway 101 through Buellton and Paso Robles. Rather than overnight stopovers, these are destinations all by themselves. Staying at the Flying Flags Resort, we spent some time in Solvang. It's a short bike ride (about 7 miles round trip) into town, and you don't have... Continue Reading →
Paso Robles Wine Country (94)
This was our first RV trip to Paso, though we have stopped on our way to other destinations many times. People that know wine believe it produces some of the best wine anywhere. While our pallet is not that sophisticated, we were looking forward to wine tasting and a trip to Cambria on the coast.... Continue Reading →
New Brighton Beach Double-Dip (90-91)
It can be difficult to get reservations at New Brighton State Beach in Northern CA. We were happy to snap up two mid-week cancellations about a week apart from each other. So we enjoyed a mid-week stay, went home for about a week, and came back for another stay! It is great to have such a... Continue Reading →
Willits, CA – Redwoods and Coast RV Trip (84)
As we returned from our trip to Grants Pass for suspension upgrades, we stopped at the Willits KOA for a few days. We chose Willits so we could spend a day in the redwoods and a day on the coast. The drive from Grants Pass was beautiful, as we drove down highway 199, following the... Continue Reading →
Livermore Valley RV Trip (70-72)
This post will be a little different because it's about the valley we've called home for the last 33 years! We've seen it grow from a bedroom community to an extension of Silicon Valley, with several large business headquartered in the area. We love the area for the usually great weather, diversity of the people,... Continue Reading →
Jackson Rancheria RV Trip (67)
Lucy was ready to Travel to Jackson Rancheria in the gold country! We don't often stay at Casino's but we really enjoy visiting here for a "chill" weekend. This is one of the best designed RV parks we have visited, with wide and grassy sites on a hill overlooking the valley. There is a great... Continue Reading →
Angel’s Camp RV Trip (66)
The drive to Angels Camp takes you through some beautiful country. Grassy rolling hills dotted with oak trees is my favorite! Our campsite at Angel's Camp RV Resort was a large pull through close to the dog park. As you can see. it wasn't completely level, but it worked well. The park was well maintained... Continue Reading →
Pescadero RV Trip (63)
It's a great RV trip when you visit a place you have been to many times and still have great new experiences. That was the case for us when we visited Half Moon Bay State Beach and the near-by town of Pescadero. Here's a 2 minute video of our weekend RV Trip. https://youtu.be/rORpedLDlDI Al &... Continue Reading →
Christmas in Half Moon Bay RV Trip (61)
We took advantage of the long weekend over Christmas to visit Half Moon Bay. While we were there we visited the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, which has great tidepools. It was high tide when we were there, but we still had a great walk. Since my daughter was hosting Christmas at her place, it also made for... Continue Reading →
December in New Brighton Beach RV Trip (60)
We took a quick trip mid-December to New Brighton Beach in Capitola (yes, again! 🙂 and here are a few photos of our weekend. The trip there was awesome, as usual. Here's where we stopped for lunch. Sunrise the next morning. And sunset. During the day, we walked on the beach with Lucy, Walked to... Continue Reading →
Surfing Santa at Capitola RV Trip (59)
Over Thanksgiving we headed down the coast again to Capitola and New Brighton State Beach. The weather was perfect and we loved visiting over the holiday. The campground was full and the atmosphere was festive, with poeple wishing you a happy Thanksgiving as you walked through the park. The next day we walked into Capitola... Continue Reading →
Seacliff State Beach RV Trip (58)
Late October is a great time to visit the beach in Northern California. We visited Seacliff for a long weekend and enjoyed the drive there as much as the stay. Seacliff State Beach is nestled underneath the bluffs in Aptos, CA. In front of you is the Pacific Ocean! It is a great place to... Continue Reading →
Casa de Fruta RV Trip (53)
What can I say about Casa de Fruta? We went there on a whim, because we see their signs every time we drive South on 101 to Monterey. It's 10 miles off of 101 on highway 152, between 101 and I-5. The drive there through the farmlands is really nice, though the traffic can be... Continue Reading →
First Adventure in our Adventurer (52)
Over the Easter weekend, the first weekend after picking up our new RV, we headed to the coast to stay at Half Moon Bay State Beach. We stayed in our favorite campsite overlooking the beach with Mavericks in the distance. From here, you can watch the waves and the occasional surfer. As luck would have... Continue Reading →
New Years at New Brighton Beach RV Trip (49)
With a few days off work for the holiday, we went to New Brighton State Beach on the Pacific Coast Highway to usher in the new year in a very relaxing and enjoyable way. Lucy is starting to get used to these RV trips, because she loves the long walks and getting to meet all kinds... Continue Reading →
Half Moon Bay in the fall RV Trip (48)
We recently visited Half Moon Bay for the weekend this fall. The park was booked solid, but there was a cancellation we scooped up. 🙂 It turned out to be a nice spot, even if it wasn't our favorite ocean front campsite. Here's why we love coming back here. A beautiful picturesque beach nestled between San Francisco... Continue Reading →
Apple Hill (Placerville, CA) RV Trip (47)
Late October we headed to the Gold Country in the Sierra Foothills to visit Apple Hill during the annual apple harvest. We stayed close to Placerville at the KOA. It has a nice park with a very rural feel to it. Lucy loved the walks, as she could encounter goats, geese, and horses along the... Continue Reading →
Lake Tahoe (hiking, biking, kayaking) – RV Trip (45)
We dropped off the dog at the kennnel at 7am for this trip, as we were looking forward to being away hours each day on activiites we couldn't bring Lucy. However, she was a pampered dog while we were away! We had a great drive to Tahoe, avoiding most traffic and arriving at Sugar Pine... Continue Reading →
Bodega Bay RV Trip (44)
We were off to a late start due to a work meeting that came up at the last minute, but we were on the road by 1:30pm and arrived at Bodega Bay by 4:30. It tool a little longer as we opted to drive up highway one from Point Reyes to Bodega Bay. It is... Continue Reading →
Easter at Half Moon Bay RV Trip (41)
We had planned on a trip to the gold country two weeks ago, but the weather decided not to cooperate. We've had great luck with weather, and that was the first RV trip we cancelled due to rain and wind. Instead we thought we would try our luck in booking another site two weeks later. In... Continue Reading →
A Seacliff Christmas RV Trip (39)
This is how we get into the Christmas spirit! Spending the weekend before Christmas at Seacliff beach in Aptos, CA feels like Christmas to us. It's gets us away from the commercial trappings and hype, and closer to the real meaning of Chrismtas. This video clip is still the best definition of the meaning of... Continue Reading →
Half Moon Bay Thanksgiving RV Trip (38)
We tend to spend Christmas with family, but the last 3 Thanksgivings have "camped" on the beach with our daughter in our Big White Box (BWB). This year, we visited Half Moon Bay State Beach. The weather was great the entire trip, even though there was the threat of rain one day. As you can see, we... Continue Reading →
San Francisco Coast (Pacifica) RV Trip (36)
We are camping on a bluff 60 feet above the Pacific Ocean. You can hear the pounding surf below. Looking out from our windshield all you can see is ocean! From there you can see whales spouting surprisingly close to shore and many dolphins playing in the surf....great view! We are in Pacifica, CA at the San Francisco... Continue Reading →
Yosemite Valley in August RV Trip (35)
We visited Yosemite Valley last week with some great friends of ours. Yosemite in August can be HOT and DRY...and it was. But it was also as beautiful and majestic as ever, as you can see from the photos! As a bonus, our daughter and her friends planned a hike to the top of Half... Continue Reading →
New Brighton Beach State Park RV Trip (1)
[Our next RV Trip is in July, but (Instead of moping around 🙂 ) I thought I would post my journal from our very first RV trip in the Big White Box from July 2012. What a great introduction to RVing for us!] We left home about 10am...our first RV Trip in our new Winnebago... Continue Reading →
Bodega Bay (Sanoma Coast State Beach) RV Trip (33)
Bodega Bay is known for the Alfred Hitchcock movie, but we had no issue with birds on this trip. We traveled from the San Francisco Bay Area to Bodega Bay taking highway 1 through Olema, stopping at Point Reyes for a quick visit to the visitors center and lunch. We are looking forward to our... Continue Reading →
Half Moon Bay RV Trip (32)
One thing I love about having an RV is that we can enjoy camping even when the weather unexpectantly changes to cold, windy and rainy. When we were last at Half Moon Bay State Beach the skies were clear and the weather was great, and you can read about that trip here. This time, the... Continue Reading →
Jackson, CA (Gold Country) RV Trip (31)
We are blessed to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. While we usually head to the coast for an RV trip, we can also head to the mountains. A two hour drive to the foothills of the Sierra Mountains is the Gold Country, where gold fever struck at Sutter's mill in 1849. We decided... Continue Reading →
Seacliff State Beach RV Trip (28)
When we repeat a visit, I only write a blog post about the RV trip when we have a new experience. Well, usually on our trips to Seacliff State Beach, we walk long the beach to Capitola and enjoy the beach town over lunch. This year, however, Mother Nature had different plans. We arrived on... Continue Reading →
New Brighton Beach Thanksgiving RV Trip (27)
This trip, our second Thanksgiving at New Brighton, was just as enjoyable as our previous RV trips there, with great walks along the beach, and walks into Caipola, which include pizza at Pizza my Heart and coffee at Mr. Toots (including their cinnamon coffe with whipped cream that they make themselves). This time, we decided... Continue Reading →
Yosemite RV Trip (24)
Our first trip to Yosemite (many years ago!) was in May, and water was pouring into the valley from the mountains above. The falls were gushing and Happy Isles was almost under water. Visiting in August is a different experience, especially during a drought, when most of the falls are silent and the days are much... Continue Reading →
Twain Harte RV Trip (22)
We met some good friends of ours at a cabin in Sanora and had a great time visiting the gold rush area, including Sanora and Twain Harte. This is rugged country and everywhere is either up and down and around rather than a straight line. In an RV, this can be a challenge, as the... Continue Reading →
Lake Tahoe’s Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Park RV Trip (21)
Thank you, Mr. Isaias W. Hellman, for buying 2000 acres of beach front property along the west shore of a Lake Tahoe. In this ideal spot he built an 11,000 square foot summer "cottage" he called Pine Lodge, where he could escape with his family for the summer from nearby San Francisco. Of course, that... Continue Reading →
Lake Del Valle in Spring RV Trip (20)
Our closest RV Trip to home took us only 12 miles from our home to Lake Del Valle in the hills above Livermore, CA wine country...at least that was the plan.We decided to stay close to home because we just had Camping World install a tow package to our new Honda CRV and we thought... Continue Reading →
American River Parkway RV Trip (19)
The American River Parkway is a 32 mile bike trail along the river from Old Sacramento all the way to the Folsom Lake Dam. Along the parkway you will find many parks and places to enjoy nature. Riding along the trail under the trees and watching the flowing river, it really feels like you are... Continue Reading →
Seacliff State Beach in December RV Trip (17)
The weekend before Christmas, we took a short trip to Seacliff State Beach. It's the beach famous for the sunken concrete ship at the end of the pier. You can read more about that here. On previous trips to New Brighton State Beach, we had walked past Seacliff, a little envious of all the RVs... Continue Reading →
A New Brighton Beach Thanksgiving RV Trip (16)
For Thanksgiving, we took a short RV trip to New Brighton Beach State Park. We had a lot to be thankful for, starting with this view of the Capitola shoreline.... HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Al, Deb, and Kay
Half Moon Bay State Beach RV Trip (14)
We had a very enjoyable trip to Half Moon Bay State Beach this weekend. Probably the main reason is that Kaylee, my daughter who is in her senior year at Santa Clara University, joined us for this RV Trip. It was the first time we have had three in our Big White Box (BWB), but... Continue Reading →
Big Basin Redwoods State Park RV Trip (13)
We were blessed with great weather our whole RV trip to Big Basin State Park this year. After the drive through narrow streets we checked in at the HQ. When you check in , you get a map of the park, but it is not that useful for planning day hikes in the park. The... Continue Reading →
Tahoe and Yosemite RV Trip (12)
Last year we went up the coast all the way to Portland for our RV vacation. This year we decided to head up to the Sierras to Lake Tahoe first, and then Yosemite. We met Debbie's sister and brother-in-law in Tahoe at the KOA, after a great drive there. This KOA was built well before... Continue Reading →
Calaveras Big Trees RV Trip (11)
I picked the RV up from Pan Pacific after they finished some warranty work, and drove home, filling up at Costco. We left the next morning early for Calaveras Big Trees. We had a good ride there, and didn't stop till we arrived at the campground. It was already getting hot, so we left the... Continue Reading →
Sonoma Coast State Beach RV Trip (10)
I picked up the RV on Thursday after work, so I did the normal preparations and inspections (adding water, checking fluids, etc.) that evening and we were ready to go early the next morning and we had a great drive to the state park. We took 101 up to Santa Rosa before cutting over to... Continue Reading →