Westside (4)

Post summer reset back to normal life = achieved. Man, it is such a whiplash transitioning from summer to not summer. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but I admit, it is a big shift.

We skipped one weekend in order to wash ALL THE THINGS and we both felt we didn’t know how to trailer anymore as we were leaving on Friday. We made it safely to the campground with no incidents, but then did a super derpy thing. On initial set up, we were kind of far back in a pull through site. As big rigs continued to come in to the campground, we noticed they were passing kind of close to Dory’s butt. Right as Richard was about to start his shower, another came through too close for comfort, and we both decided it would be worth it to Caravan Mover just a couple feet forward.

There are some things you have to do before you can move, like raise the stabilizers and get off the leveling block(s). We did all that, engaged the CM, moved forward, and got ready to put the leveler under the driver’s side wheel. Did that, moved up onto the leveler, and saw that we were still a bit tippy. Well ok, let’s build a leveling tower with the orange blocks to get a little more height. Did that, moved up, still tippy. Now we were confused. Well dang, I guess move off of that, build a higher tower and try again. Done. Still same tippy. Now we were questioning our understanding of, not only how to park a trailer, but the basic laws of nature and physics. Well it turns out we had not moved the orange stabilizer blocks on the front passenger side far enough out of the way. We didn’t see that the passenger side wheel was going up onto those blocks at the same time we were moving the driver’s side wheel onto its leveling blocks. Hence the no change on the bubble levels. Wow. Wine time.

I was ready to come out of my fog Saturday morning, even if Bodega Bay was not. As I slowly had coffee and my morning shower, Richard went out and tested his new second wife. I am now referring to his bicycle as the “second wife,” but want to note for the record that he has multiple other wives hanging from hooks in the garage. Like, there are currently eight of them, but two are mine. He’s waited a long time for the right frame size to come back in stock and his first second wife has traveled many many miles, through all kinds of weather, mostly traveling outside on the bike rack. This second wife will live a cushier life now that we have dedicated space inside the car. But I have a butt warming and cooling seat, so I win there.

When he returned, we went on a hike around Bodega Head and it was beautiful. I’m realizing that we came to this same campground last year as our first stop post summer. It is such a nice place to be reminded of how beautiful our home state is that I went ahead and reserved the same site for this time next year. There is great service and solar, and you can’t go wrong with Bodega Bay.

We celebrated Saturday night with a “fancy” Blue Apron recreation. We used our fancy Corelle plates and I opened a bottle of Rombauer. It was Charred Gochujang Pork Chops on the menu, with Sour Cherry Sauce, Ginger-Honey Carrots, and Marinated Radishes. It was so so good. But also, they are not kidding when they say “charred.” The pork itself was great, but the pan will go home for intensive care.

I feel I am back to factory default settings and in the home groove now. After amazing summer trips, it seems to take about two days for me to remember what “school” is and how to open regular doors and take normal showers. Then we need a full weekend to do unbugsplatting and wash all the clothes and sheets and everything. We outsourced the cleaning of the car to professionals and tipped really well. Dory took two full washing cycles. The Chilewich flooring is one of the best investments we made because they wash off so easily and so well. We have weekend reservations lined up six months out, and some places beyond that. Most will be repeats, but there are a few new ones too.

In the words of Jimmy McGill, “‘S’all good, man!”

Total miles: 86.4, 16.4 mpg, 2 hours 35 min. Site 36 no hookups. Great solar. Fantastic cell service for both. Pretty good dump, but need to pay $7 in cash or check, or add fee onto reservation.