The drive to Pismo Beach from the San Francisco Bay Area was colorful, as the fields were growing a variety of vegetables, and the hills were flowering with mustard plant and other wild flowers. Here's some info about that painted barn by Gonzales, CA. We like to stay at the Pismo State Beach North Campground... Continue Reading →
Monterey Bay Area RV Trip (64)
Camping with family makes for great memories. We were happy to camp with Deb's sister and brother-in-law in the Monterey areas as they were finishing their first trip in their new motorhome! Just kidding Mike and Sandy! 🙂 This is their beautiful new RV! We drove down the coast, as usual, to the SANTA CRUZ... 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 →
Santa Barbara RV Trip (62)
We headed to Santa Barbara in Southern California in the middle of winter to soak up some sun and enjoy 80 degree weather. Santa Barbara was beautiful, both at the ocean, and in the hills above the city. After walking along the Stearns Wharf, the beach, and shopping in town, we enjoyed a break for... 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 →
Pismo Beach RV Trip (57)
The Pismo North Beach campground is our favorite place to stay in the area. A map of the area shows why. Since we love to dry camp, we prefer the open spaces of the North Beach campground to the comparatively cramped quaters of the Pismo Coast Viallage. You also get a better path to the... Continue Reading →
Southern Oregon RV Trip Video
Is Oregon the best state for RVing? I'm starting to think so. From the ocean beaches and dunes, to the rivers and lakes of the high dessert, there is amazing places to RV across the entire state. Here is a video of our last RV trip to Oregon. https://youtu.be/HXns4Uis7G0 This is my first attempt at... Continue Reading →
Moss Landing Kayaking RV Trip (55)
Monterey and Carmel may be just around the corner, but I'd like to tell you why we love coming back to Moss Landing so much. Sometimes when we visit, we don't even make it to those other more famous places 🙂 Most people know Moss Landing by the huge stacks of the electricity plant, but... Continue Reading →
Southern Oregon RV Trip (54)
We took a road trip from the San Francisco Bay Area to Southern Oregon in June. Southern Oregon offered a wide variety of experiences, including a snow covered Crater Lake, jetboating along the Rogue River, and the historical town of Jacksonville. We used the new Southern Oregon RV Park in Central Point as a... 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 →
Hello to our Adventurer!
Last Friday I drove to La Mesa RV and picked up our new 2017 Winnebago Adventurer 35P in the rain. No worries! La Mesa parked my Sunstar and Adventurer next to each other to make the move easy. Since it was raining, I extended the awning so I could stay dry while moving the contents.... Continue Reading →
Goodbye to the BWB (Big White Box :- )
Almost 5 years ago we purchased a 2013 Winnebago Sunstar 26HE, which we affectionately call our Big White Box (BWB). Over the years we have enjoyed 51 RV trips, mainly short trips to the beaches and the mountains close to the San Francisco Bay Area. However, we have also travelled along the Oregon Coast all... Continue Reading →
Monterey Coast RV Trip (51)
We visited the Monterey bay for the 5th time in the Big White Box (BWB), enjoying the Carmel Coast and also Moss Landing, where we camped at the Mosss Landing KOA. Each trip, we try to take in something different, and the highlights of our previous trips are listed below. They bring back good memories. #8 https://mobilemosers.com/2013/02/03/3/... Continue Reading →
Buellton, CA RV Trip (50)
This trip was our 50th in the Big White Box (BWB), a milestone for us. 🙂 We've had a lot of fun camping in her over the last 5 years (since June 2012). We travelled south to Buellton, just north of Santa Barbara, and stayed in the Flying Flags RV Resort. This is a great... 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 →
Pismo Beach (and Avila and SLO) RV Trip (46)
For this months trip, we drove south from the San Francisco Bay Area to Pismo Beach for a long 4-day weekend. Because of the large sites and a grassy meadow, our favorite place to stay is the North Beach Campground at Pismo Beach State Park. It is also next to the beach, the butterfly grove, and is a short walk into... 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 →
Bend, Oregon RV Trip (43)
We met Debbie's family, for our annual camping trip, in Bend, Oregon this year, traveling inland rather than camping on the coast like we usually do. It was our first time to Bend, but hopefully the first of many vacations there. The first night we stayed in Mount Shasta City, KOA. We just needed a... Continue Reading →
Monterey RV Trip (42)
A great advantage to living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that we can visit places like Monterey Bay at our own pace, and not feel rushed to take in everything on one visit. We get to come back again and again any enjoy a different visit each time (RV Trip #8, RV Trip #29, RV Trip #37). We... 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 →
Buellton, CA (a windmill, a mission, and a beach) RV Trip (40)
We ventured a little further down the coast for this trip, heading south on 101 past San Luis Obispo (yes, we still stopped for Firestone Grill's Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip!) to a little town called Buellton. Buellton is probably most famous as the home of Anderson's Pea Soup, but we visited Flying Flags RV Resort, to use it as... Continue Reading →
Observation Deck Loop: Henry Cowell State Park
Here’s a post about a great place to RV from the perspective of my daughter and her blog about the Bay Area. Makes me want to camp there again soon!
Pre-Hike Nutrition
If you happen to be in the Santa Cruz area in the morning then I cannot recommend Cafe Brasil enough. It is a small, colorful house located on Mission Street. This was my third time dining there and every time it’s been packed (and for good reason!). Usually the wait time ranges from 20-40 minutes, but they’re very good about getting people seated and fed as quick as possible.
They’re well known for their Açaà Bowls so we made sure to get one before our hike.
My cousin, Michael, with his junior açaà bowl
The fresh cut fruit on top adds an energizing sweetness to the mix.
Jon and I split the regular size
Check out their website here to see their menu, address, and hours.
The Hike
Our hike began in the super beginner section of Henry Cowell: the Redwood Grove. This is a short 3/4 mile…
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Batteries to Bluffs Trail: Presidio of San Francisco
I’m sharing this post from my daughter’s blog. A great hike in the San Francisco Bay Area for any RVer visiting the area and wanting to get some great photos of the Golden Gate from a different perspective. You will also enjoy some great beaches that will make you feel you are in the wilderness instead of the middle of a famous city!
Have you ever had a relative or friend come visit from out-of-state and felt like you just had to take them to see the Golden Gate Bridge? As much as I feel like this landmark is always awe-inspiring, sometimes it can feel monotonous to experience it in the same way over and over.
Batteries to Bluffs Trail is an extremely short hike (1.5 miles) that can add a new perspective to your Golden Gate visit.
This is my cousin, Michael. You may recognize him from the previous post I did about the Observation Deck Loop in Henry Cowell SP. If you haven’t checked out that post yet, you can view it here.
Grabbing breakfast at Vic’s All Star Kitchen in Downtown Pleasanton before heading to SF
He came to visit me all the way from Virginia for a week this January. We saved San Francisco for his last full day…
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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 →
Monterey Kayaking RV Trip (37)
We were looking forward to the maiden voyage of our new Sea Eagle Fasttrack Kayak, which we purchased a few weeks ago. We had visited Elkhorn Slough about two years ago and knew it would be a great place to kayak and get up close and personal with nature. The previous evening we were reading... 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 →
Oregon Coast RV Trip (34)
For our "long trip" this year...a blissful 10 days Camping in the Big White Box (BWB), we made a loop from the San Francisco Bay Area, up Interstate 5 to the Grants Pass area, then over to Florence and the Oregon Dunes, then down to the Redwoods just north of Garberville, before heading home after... 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 →
San Simeon (Hearst Castle) RV Trip (30)
An RV trip in California that includes wild zebras, elephant seals, and a castle....not to mention glorious miles of unspoiled coastline....has to be great, right? Well, we had a fantastic time in San Simeon! We stayed at the San Simeon State Park in the Washburn campsite, which is off the road and looks out at... Continue Reading →
Monterey RV Trip (29)
We took a short trip to the Monterey area in January. We stayed at the Moss Landing KOA, which is clean and dependable. It was nice having hookups, since we primarily stay in state parks and dry camp....long showers, microwaves, and TV without having to use the generator! 🙂 The last time we were there... 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 →
Pismo Beach State Park RV Trip (26)
We have been to Pismo Beach many times, but this was the first time we towed our CRV. It really opened up our choices, and we decided to take in a show at the Great American Melodrama Theater (http://www.americanmelodrama.com) in Ocean Beach. Great American MelodramaWhen you think of melodrama, if you think of Snidely Whiplash,... 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 →
Grand Teton and Jackson Hole RV Trip (23)
We started the second half of our vacation with a beautiful drive though Yellowstone to Colter Bay in Grand Teton National Park. These photos illustrate an amazing thing about traveling by RV. The first photo was taken at the iconic Mural Room at Jackson Lodge where we had lunch. The Next photo is from our RV... Continue Reading →
Yellowstone RV Trip (23)
We last visited Yellowstone in 2000, and we looked towards this vacation with great anticipation. Would we see all the great wildlife we saw on the last trip? Would the areas burned by forrest fire of 1988 look different? Would traveling with our diabetic dog work out ok? Would vacationing with relatives work out? (just... 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
Pismo State Beach RV Trip (15)
We like to stay within a 3-4 hour radius of the San Francisco East Bay for our 3-day weekend RV Trips. On the southern end of this is one of our favorite places to visit - the North Beach Campground at Pismo Beach State Park. This is in part due to the beautiful drive down... Continue Reading →
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 →
Pismo Beach RV Trip (9)
Dates: 03/15/13 - 32/17/13 I picked up the RV on Wednesday (3/14) after work, as I had my first 5K scheduled maintenance completed by CarTek of Dublin. Ryan at CarTek runs a good operation and he is very knowledgable of RV's as SkyRiver outsources all chassis work to him. We set out the next morning... Continue Reading →
Moss Landing RV trip (8)
Dates: 01/31/13 - 02/03/13 Picked up RV at 5:30pm from SkyRiver...waiting for me as scheduled! I took it home and plugged it into the house power. The next morning, we drove to Moss Landing near Monterey. Left the house at 10am-ish and drove to Half-Moon Bay and then down the coast. Stopped at a scenic... Continue Reading →