Carpe Dory (2)

This weekend was so fun! First off, as a reward to myself for being ultra good with both health and online classes, we got takeout from our favorite restaurant, La Bodeguita. It was closed for a long time and we were worried it wasn’t going to make it through the pandemic. But they are back and just as good as I remember. I budgeted the calories for two tacos with rice and beans. The RV park is literally right behind the restaurant, so Richard walked over and picked it up to bring back to Dory. I was a very happy camper.

On Saturday we did our new normal routine, with Richard going out riding while I pushed through classes. You guys, I am so close. I think one more weekend will do it and I will be DONE FOREVER and can maybe some day retire. I’m so pleased. The cell service was great in our site so I just plowed through indoory in Dory. Richard’s route was up Bay Hill to Joy Rd to Coleman Valley Road. It is beautiful, but the road is in very bad shape, and Coleman Valley has seven cattle grates. Cattle grates are no fun for bikers.

While I was working, a really cool rig pulled in next to us. I could tell right away that it was a special vintage trailer that had been beautifully restored. On one of the windows was etched, “Mona” and “1948 Spartan Manor.” I recognized the brand from having watched lots of episodes of “Flippin’ RVs.” Back when we were getting ready for our 15 min of fame on “Extreme RVs,” we watched a lot of RV TV. This show was the most interesting. There is a place called Flyte Camp in Bend, Oregon that does vintage trailer restoration, so their show is about the hunt for old trailers, as well as the nitty gritty of the rebuilds. They always end up with something really spectacular that honors the vintage feel. I did a little googling to see if Mona had maybe come through their lot, and I really wanted to meet the owners, but they were out all day.

We got our chance on Sunday when Richard chatted them up and asked if we could take a peek. They were most hospitable and really fun people. The inside is absolutely gorgeous. It is all original and beautifully maintained. The furnace was installed later, but all the rest is 1948, right down to the tiny fire extinguisher in the kitchen. There is a stove and oven, refrigerator, kitchen sink and bedroom sink, and a super cool fold out desk/vanity in the bedroom.

You can tell they are very proud owners and the rig sparkles like new. They are on their way down to a vintage trailer rally in Pismo and we longed to just chuck all responsibility and follow them down. They said there would be lots of other vintage trailers there, all staged to show off.

It was a blast talking with them! Their actual names are Steve and Paula, but they go by “Booger & Sugar.” 🙂 Though this rig did not appear on “Flippin RVs,” they know the stars, Justin and Anna Scribner, very well. What’s more, they also have a restored 1957 Royal Mansion that they fully incorporated into the build of their new house! Finally! People who really get us and our desire to add a cool trailer to your home living space. #akacrazy

Their build was written up in an issue of “Livin on Tulsa Time,” and you can see pictures here. They are very fun and totally normal people. Except for, you know, all the things. Steve has diagnosed himself with “aluminitis” and was curious about Dory. They came over and checked her out and Steve noted that he was able to fully stand up inside. He demonstrated how he stands inside their Spartan and he has to bend his neck over to one side or he’ll hit the ceiling. Richard and I were able to fully stand up inside.

The Spartans have a really interesting history which, like Altos, takes a page from aircraft manufacturing. Their rig is only 3,600 lbs. There is no bathroom or shower so campground bathrooms are the way to go. They’ve done some amazing trips already, hitting Highway 66 for a six week excursion.

We really enjoyed that experience and we headed back home with a planned stop at Randy’s. Dory2 is getting her annual checkup before our summer trip. We are definitely excited, and also hopeful that ground breaking of the Dory1/ADU project can commence while we are away. Fun times!

Total miles: 86.6, 15.7 mpg, 2 hours 42 min. Site 54 hookups. Great 5g or LTE for both. Water spigot in site. Good dump, though back in, but that was fine.

This is always such a fun place. Even though it is a massive operation, with hundreds of sites, it manages to spread people out for the most part, so you don’t feel crowded, and it offers a bunch of nice sites with river views. They have planned events, like ice cream socials, movie nights, and bonfires, but you can also just be on your own and do your thing. There are impressive playgrounds, with big bouncy things, and spider web climby things, and basketball courts. Plus you can rent golf carts, watercraft, pedal carts, and bikes. It really is a wonderful place for family camping. For me, it was a nice view of the river with spectacular campground WiFi to power through another round of homework.

We found all of our old cell booster set up and tested it out this weekend. We had to get a new extension pole for the antenna because the last one rode in the bumper of Dory1, got obliterated in the accident, and was left on the side of the road. Everything worked, and actually, I started getting texts as soon as we turned it on. There was no service for ATT anywhere in the area, so that was a very good test. Our booster is a SureCall and we always were pleased with its performance. Since this summer Richard is going to have to be working on the road, we have mixed feelings about the effectiveness of boosters.

While I watched videos and read articles, Richard did a nice ride up Austin Creek and King Ridge Road. By the time he got back, I had turned in the planned number of assignments, so we strolled around the campground for a while. The campground store is fantastic. You can get anything from ice cream bars to frozen dinner, to pool noodles and camping equipment. I got a mint It’s It and we watched ducks and geese over at the pond. I noticed them doing something that seemed horrible to a female duck, and later Googled it. I don’t want to talk about what they were doing and I do not suggest you look it up if you ever want to think of ducks in a positive light ever again.

One other thing that was interesting was that the tent camping family across from us decided it was ok to pee on the grass instead of walking a hundred yards to the bathroom. At first, it was the little kids and I thought that was odd, but they’re kids and I guess they’ve been taught “this is camping.” But then I literally saw the mom do it! The spot they chose was near tall bushes and sort of sheltered from other eyes, kind of, and they might not have known I was in Dory all day with a clear view of their butts, but I can definitely say I’ve never seen that in a campground before.

Sunday morning it rained, which is always pleasant. We lazed around and watched campers packing up. The thought occurred to me that it was nice the pee across the way was getting washed away before the next set of campers came to use that site. We have one more weekend of camping and then we go full throttle to get things ready. We have Casini reserved again in August and that makes me happy. I always love coming to this place.

Total miles: 92.8, 16.2 mpg, 2 hours 57 min avoiding highways. Site 6. Premium riverfront, electric hookups. Wifi is AMAZING. No cell for me, minimal for Verizon, until we tried the booster. Got 1 bar LTE for ATT and 2 bars 5g for Verizon. Good dump. Awesome campground store.

I got a weekend off from classwork and it was good for us both to get a non cell service reset/refresh. We are both thinking ahead to a long summer voyage, and one of the things we did was reorganize the things we carry in Bruce. Turns out I lied last weekend; there are always more things to organize. I just didn’t have to procrastinate anything this time.

We got a taste of what summer must be like in this campground, though we have never experienced it firsthand. We always seem to come in the winter or spring. The first clue that there is a major vibe shift approaching is that we arrived to a long line of cars and campers checking in at the kiosk. We heard that this is normal in summer months and that they open an additional two loops when things really get hopping. The tiny campground store was also open! We love campground stores, even if we don’t buy anything.

There were groups of Boy Scouts and groups of families all around us, and we found ourselves in the middle of a multiple family, many childrened, gathering. Our site was next to the river and turned out to be the premium play zone for all of the children. I’ve mentioned before how it seems to be a dying etiquette to not walk through other people’s sites, but this group had no apparent sense of boundary lines. When I saw that their current project was to drag enormous branches over to the river, so as to stack them for reasons known only to children, passing within inches of Dory, I decided it was time for a more passive aggressive approach. I pulled out my bag of solar LED string lights and shepherd hooks and pretended to decorate our site. Really what I was doing was establishing no branch zones. And while I was at it, I went ahead and reassessed what we carry and where it goes. Things either got better positioned, or marked for removal.

In the end, Bruce will be carrying the “classic” awning (hopefully repaired), a 2-ply Aluminet awning, a 1-ply Aluminet awning, and 2 small sizes of Aluminet for all configurations of sun/shade/rain shelter. The Pahaque visor and screen room have been removed. We will have my grill and stove, plus the cooking table, for all outdoor culinary jobs. We have my kayak and Richard’s bike riding in the car, plus kayak paddles and a big bike box for all the tools and spare things. We have a plastic crate full of leveling blocks, and another for miscellaneous campsite things (tablecloth, hammer and stakes, Luci lights/string lights, shepherd hooks for the lights, and assorted bungees, clips, and water bags for weighing things down). We always carry a jerry can for water, and on long trips, we carry a gallon of gas for the generator. Then we’ve got the more frequently used items, like the Nemo chairs, footrest/tables, and big rug. I’ve added my yoga tent and mat to the mix now, but the hand weights ride in Dory. We also have collapsible cones with little blinking lights, and those worked extremely well to repel the younguns. Nothing beats a cone for making an official looking statement. We also always carry a foldable step for when Dory is very unlevel and the door side is high. Besides that, there are the little things, like hiking shoes and trekking poles, headlamps, walkies, etc. The Dory wind sock almost got cut from the team, but when I tried to see if she still worked, her little swimming motions in the wind amused me. So she stays. It was a satisfying reorg, topped off with the installation of our new personalized plate. Now we can have 98 more Dorys.

There was still plenty of time in the day for a good hike. We drove over to the opposite side of the lake, where the main day use area is, and saw that it too seems to be in the ‘get ready for summer’ stages. Lots of people were there already, though there were warnings not to go in the water because of toxic algae. I was very comforted by how high the water levels were. Toxic shmoxic, it’s good to see full reservoirs, even if I can’t boat in them. Our hike took us along the lake and past two hike-in group camps. There were groups in both. It was a very nice out and back hike along the East Shore Trail. We could have gone farther, but it was about five miles all told, and that was plenty.

Richard was thinking of riding home on Sunday, like he had before, but adulting anxiety is starting to creep up on him. There is a lot to get done before the end of May, the roads he wanted to take were narrow and full of road debris, and he just wasn’t feeling it. Instead, he rode out of the campground, which is quite a climb all by itself, and stopped at Tesla Rd. Then it was an easy backroads drive back home.

We are ready for the final push to launch. This will include a mani pedi for Dory at Randy’s, so there will be one weekend at home for us to do stuff like laundry. And on Monday, I was so thrilled to see my Learning Center door had been decorated for Teacher Appreciation Week! I love my kids and families ever so much. They are just the best! 🙂

Total miles: 40.6, 15.0 mpg, 2 hours 17 min taking all back roads. Site 48 no hookups. Not much solar because under big oak. Huge picnic table area, but far from pad. Zero cell service. Good dump, no pay.

One more class to go. I got through #2 of 3 this weekend. This is no fun. I want to be done learning anything new, forever and ever. My brain is full and I am tired of writing papers, and making fake staff meeting awareness presentations, and blah blah blahing reflections. I have “this will be so worth it” on repeat in my head, but it is grueling in the meantime. I have procrastinated so hard that I now have all the summer trip Blue Apron recipes pre-entered into LoseIt (calorie tracking app), I have thoroughly cross referenced the pantry lists with the recipe cards, and have previewed all of the Kathy Smith downloads in search of Doryable workouts. I may get next weekend off and that will be awesome because there is literally nothing left to organize.

Meanwhile, we are going to campgrounds we have visited lots of times, and ones that have excellent cell service. That is designed to minimize resentment and remove excuses. Richard is having fun going on rides and hikes while I intensely procrastinate until the early afternoon. Then I pull myself together and lock in for three or four hours until it is time to make dinner.

This weekend we were at Anthony Chabot. I have nothing new to report, unless you want to know about child mental health issues and the top ten facts for the top ten disorders. I could show you a presentation about it. Richard enjoyed going down a very steep trail. I was ok letting him do that because I remembered how steep it was, and that it was a Grand Canyon hike. He tried to take a picture of the steepness, but for those to work, you need points of reference, so it just looks like pretty trees.

There was a group of wandering turkeys in the campground, with the males putting on quite the show while relentlessly following the females around. And there was a gopher in our site that entertained me. That’s all I got.

Oh! I actually did a hand weight workout in Dory and now I remember what a tricep feels like. Ouch. It will get better. I also proved to myself that I cannot do a push up or a plank in the tiny hall space. I’m not sure I could do either of those in any space. It’s all about establishing baselines to compare improvement.

One more to go before I’m free. It is called “The Dynamics of Conflict,” which sounds like a very appropriate final course.

Total miles: 14.2, 14.6 mpg, 57 min. Site 5 full hookups. Nice site. Pull through, spaced away from others, some solar. Excellent ATT, pretty good Verizon. Good dump station, free. Gate closes at 10 pm and is 2 miles away from campground.

And that’s a wrap on a most excellent week. We got our fill of California coastline. Just kidding. You can never max out on that. I think I have now towed across almost all of California State Route 1, with the exception of the bits that go through L.A. And I’ll be ok if I skip that part.

Richard scored another cancellation win by getting us a full hookup site at Seacliff for our last night out. On our way back from San Simeon, we did the whole route again, northbound. This direction is a bit more relaxing since you have a cushion lane between you and some pretty serious drop offs. We had done our research and located the coordinates of the Mud Creek Slide of 2017. Indeed, it is not south of Ragged Point, but is instead about two miles south of Gorda. Images of this landslide from the USGS site will take your breath away. I remember thinking at the time that this was the end of Highway 1. It took a year to complete the reconstruction. Now that we knew what we were looking at, it was easy to see how the entire side of the mountain had shifted. There are still construction crews around that area and in fact, it seems as though there are always construction crews stationed up and down the coast. Tip of my hat to the crews out there. Your work is much appreciated!

Pulling into Seacliff, we had to yet again prove that Dory has a toilet with a black tank. We asked if there was any way they could save that information so that the camp host doesn’t have to come and inspect our plumbing every time we come. The park ranger said that would be really smart, but no. Well ok then. Later we met some Scamp owners and asked if they too had been interrogated. They had, and when they made assurances there was a full size regular toilet inside, the comment they got back was, “I’m finding that hard to imagine.” We had a good laugh about whether we were at some point going to be asked to demonstrate full functionality.

Richard got out some of his pre-nervous-breakdown-because-we’re-going-home energy by riding out to Capitola to get eclairs. You better believe I had one of those babies. And after a nice dinner and sunset, we walked up to Marianne’s for ice cream too. I accounted for all the calories and used my ‘weekly budget’ to the max. I think this was a test to see if I could vacation while living it up, but not living it quite as up as I normally do.

Seacliff showered us with multiple dolphin sightings, plus a couple of seals, and I swear I thought I saw a shark. But it was probably a dolphin. The weather was perfect and nicely sheltered from the winds we hit between Big Sur and Moss Landing. It’s amazing how deeply we sleep in a parking lot, sandwiched between huge rigs, crashing surf, and passers by who come within inches of us. I thought again about the idea of putting up a decal with a QR code that links to Safari Condo’s website. There are so many people who stop and do the ‘I’ll bet the roof goes down’ arm wave. Or I could just put out a sign that says: “Yes it does.” And one next to it: “And a toilet.”

For being out nine days, there really wasn’t that much extra prep, other than food. The food was so good. The Blue Apron recreations were: Turkey & Shawarma-Spiced Rice, Vadouvan Chicken & Mango Chutney Sauce, Romesco Chicken & Poblano Pepper, Oregano Chicken & Fresh Tomato Pan Sauce, and Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pear Arugula Salad. They were all delicious. In addition, we had three frozen Bertoli pan dinners, and we ate out once. We did go shopping once in San Simeon for milk, but actually ended up not needing it. Three half gallons made it for nine days’ worth of lattes, morning shakes, and breakfast cereal. We thought we were done with winter jackets and blankets, but we have now decided we’re not taking those out for the summer trip. Since our primary target destination is the Canadian Rockies, we may be spending the whole time cold.

I would do that trip again in a heartbeat. Future campgrounds to check out will be: Pfeiffer Big Sur, Kirby Creek, and possibly Plaskett Creek. But I would always be thrilled to return to Limekiln. As long as it is site 4. #premiumdonna

Total miles from San Simeon: 134.6, 17.0 mpg, 4 hours 28 min. Site 22 full hookups. Solar. Cell. Ice cream. All of it. Dumped at New Brighton despite sewer outlet. We would have needed to back up so far for our dump hose to reach it that we’d have been blocking the public walkway. Not worth it.

It was tough to leave our primo site in Limekiln, but we were heading to a meet up with our Alto buddy and her many dogs, so it was ok. As we covered the remaining section of the Big Sur coastline, we kept looking for an obvious marker for where the massive slide of 2017 had occurred. That one cut off Big Sur from the south for a whole year while they fixed it. A Google search told us it was two miles south of Ragged Point, and that is not correct. Once you pass that small town, you are basically done with the cliffy part and you enter into much tamer landscape.

As you approach San Simeon State Park, you pass by Hearst Castle, which has been closed for quite some time due to damage on the tiny winding road that the shuttle buses use to take tourists up to the castle grounds. That road is a nail biter, so I can imagine it getting washed out after a big storm. Our campsite was up in the primitive campground known as “Washburn.” We got a nice site on the edge where you can catch an ocean view. That seems to be where the big rigs like to go and there were lots up there with us.

We had plenty of daylight left so we took a drive into the nearby town of Cambria for ice cream and dinner out. Calorie counting restaurant food is kind of a guesstimate, but I had a craving for Mexican and got a delicious shrimp taco with rice and beans at Las Cambritas. Calories were probably fine, but I could tell the sodium was a lot higher than I have now gotten used to. We then headed over to Moonstone Beach to stare at the ocean, because you can’t do that too much. Linda met us for a bit of a walk and a selfie at sunset.

Richard had a crazy ride in mind for the next day, which Linda and I were happy to traverse in motorized vehicles. The beta he got said that Santa Rosa Creek Road is about eight miles of beautiful and then you hit “the wall.” We all concur with all of that. The road is very very narrow the whole way and is in very bad shape for a lot of it. I do tend to worry on roads like that about cars coming the other way and me falling off the edge trying to get past. Thankfully, there was hardly anyone else on the road. And when they say “the wall,” they are not kidding. It starts to get steeper after the eight mile mark and then you turn a corner and it seems like it goes straight vertical. Richard insists the grade hits a maximum of 13.2%, but I don’t believe it. Suffice to say, Linda and I both thought “holy sh*t” in our respective off roady cars and were super impressed he was able to climb that using just legs. We stopped at the top of a ridge at the summit and waited for him to catch up. I was also prepared to turn around and go back down to rescue him if the wait became concerningly long. No need though, as we spotted his tiny little powerhouse body on the road below. He told us that he actually fell over at the wall because he was not in his lowest gear (his triple) when he hit it, and couldn’t stay upright. He had to go back down and come at it again, but then crushed it. “He’s an animal,” Linda declared.

Coming down from that climb, we took highway 46 and turned left on 1 to go to Cayucos. This is also a fun little town with shops and restaurants, and famous for being the home of the Brown Butter Cookie Company. Richard had more than earned an ice cream. I had not, but got a small one anyway. We walked around town a little and I tried to find a replacement dragon charm for our daughter, who lost the one she bought in Morro Bay. No luck. We returned to Dory where I made a Blue Apron outside.

For sunset viewing, we tried walking on the trails near the campground. That was a great idea except that as soon as we stepped off the trails and into the tall meadowy grass, all the ticks in San Simeon hitched a ride, mostly on Linda’s dogs, but she got bit and we found one crawling on Richard. Blech!!

For our last full day in San Simeon, Richard rode and we drove ten miles north to see the elephant seals. Linda made a squirrel friend in one of the vista points along the way. They are clearly very used to humans. There is a specific stretch of the coast where hundreds of elephant seals congregate with such regularity that people built boardwalks around them as permanent viewing areas. They are funny creatures. They lie on the beach, making belchy or motorcycle sounds, while throwing sand on themselves. Sometimes they decide to fwumpy fwumpy breakdance their big huge bodies along the beach. I would not want to be an elephant seal because their lives actually seem quite hard. We hiked a trail that hopped from one seal viewpoint to the next. We saw the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse on the horizon and you can only visit there if you have a guided tour. We made a note to do that some day.

For the rest of the day, we hung out in Cambria. Richard rode there and I barely found parking. There was a farmers market happening downtown and there were lots of people in a small town. Richard helped me successfully complete the dragon charm mission and daughter is pleased. One last sunset on a much cooler and windy evening, and that was a wrap for a beautiful three day stay.

The weather actually got genuinely hot for a day or two while we were there. Other places in California were hotter, including home, so we were glad to be on the coast. But we were not ready for that much of a temperature shift quite yet. I went from sunset viewing in a sleeping bag jacket in Half Moon Bay, to taking off blankets and thinking about air conditioning in less than a week. I tried putting up the awning for shade, and unfortunately, while pulling it through the keder rail, the corner by the strap started to rip. We are super bummed about that, but I will see if I can reinforce it and save it. Meanwhile, we had our Aluminet and that went up very easily, providing some nice cooling for Dory. I got a little umbrella a while ago that I can clamp onto my Nemo chair. I like that a lot because it is easy to manage and provides targeted, and moveable, shade. I also still really like the cooking table for hot weather so I can manage lots of ingredients and gadgets while keeping the heat out of Dory.

As we left the campground on Saturday, we met Linda one last time at the dump. We sure know how to have fun together. As she turned left onto 1 and we turned right, we were remarking on how nice of a stay that was. Cambria even has the potential to be a place we could get our daughter a place in town while we camp. Great place to stay on the south side of the Big Sur area.

Total miles from Limekiln: 43.6, 15.6 mpg, 1 hour 58 min. Site 237, very nice. Great solar, no hookups. Water spigots in Washburn, plus vault toilets. Close to dumpsters and there were lots of flies. Pretty good, but not always solid, cell for both. Dump station below in main campground. Potable water.