Park Sierra RV Park - Coarsegold CA

Park Sierra is a member-owned RV park and is part of the Escapees RV group. We joined Escapees recently in part because they offer a mailing forwarding service that is handy for RVers, but also because it afforded us (Tom and Tank) a chance to stay at the Coarsegold park.

 The park is home to a lot of very nice and social people. The cost of the stay was very reasonable, and the location - just south of Yosemite is great.

False Start - a Return to the Starting Line

In March we hit the road again. The plan is to take Wendy's Mom - Eva to visit her sister in Reedley, then drop her off with Wendy's sisters in South Pasadena. Once that's done, Tom and I plan to head to San Diego for a visit with Matthew then eastward into Arizona, New Mexico, and warmer climates beyond.

March 2: Reedley CA
We've made inquiries and intend to stay at the Wakehouse, a newly renovated brewery and campground. Once we get there, I'm disappointed. The "renovation" was to the restaurant and electrical only. The campground bathrooms look rundown with dilapidated trailers nearby. Further, the backdrop is the major highway bridge leading into Reedley.

So, I make Tom hightail it out to Lindy's Landing & Campground. The campsites here are very spacious with full hook-ups. Although there are more people here, it's much more peaceful because there's no traffic noise.

We head over to my aunt's to drop Mom off and spend a couple of days in Reedley to let her visit.

March 4: Pala CA
Then it's off to my sister's place. Let me tell you, South Pasadena is NOT designed for RVs. We probably scared a lot of the cars on those narrow streets! We managed to find a "sort of" parking spot for the RV and toad in front of my sister's place and dropped off Mom and her things.

Our camping destination is Pala Casino & RV Resort near Temecula. We were here last April, and it is one of my favorite places to stay. There's a shuttle that picks up at the RV resort for the casino, but the casino is only across the parking lot (maybe 1/4 to 1/3 mile?), so we usually opt to walk.

Last time we were here, we had happy hour tacos at Luis Rey's, the outdoor bar. Unfortunately, this time, it was closed for renovations. (An fyi from last year, the lobster bisque at the Pala Cafe is to die for!) This time, we did the happy hour at Bar Meets Grill, and it was another winner. We also stumbled on 'The Cave', a wine bar. It's outside and downstairs, so a little hidden. We didn't find it until around closing time, so we'll have to put it on our list for next time.

During this visit, we took some time to explore a couple of places. We went into Bonsall and used our Christmas gift to see the Black Panther. I think it's been years since I've actually gone to a theater to see a movie, so this was a real treat.

We also visited the Palomar Observatory. Palomar is operated by Cal Tech and houses the 200-inch Hale telescope.

Palomar observatory

Hale telescope

Julian Pie Company

After the observatory, we detoured to Julian/Santa Ysabel to get a caramel apple pie and lunch. At Don's Market we found some Julian Hard Ciders. There were six varieties: Harvest Apple, Cherry Bomb, Black and Blue (with blackberries and blue berries), Razzmatazz (with raspberries), Apple Pie, and Pearanormal (with mint leaves, pear juice, and lime).

Our/my haul

March 7: Admiral Baker Park - San Diego CA
The next leg of our journey takes us to San Diego. We are very pleased to find Admiral Baker RV Park that is less than a mile away from Matthew's place. Admiral Baker Park is a US Navy recreation facility with an RV park that allows civilians to stay.

Matthew invites us over to dinner our first day there. As the day grows later, Matthew texts that dinner might be delayed because of an issue with the trolley he takes home. No details, but we hear on the news that there is a gas line rupture near the Fashion Valley Mall (close to the trolley line and near where Matthew used to live). They've closed a 5 mile stretch of State Route 163 (a five lane highway). 

Fortunately, Matthew took another route home and dinner was on time. He made us a phenomenal dinner of phoenix and dragon (A dish with Chicken, Shrimp, avocado, pine nuts and celery in a cream sauce). As some of you may know, Chinois phoenix and dragon is one of Wendy's favor dishes. (We were so busy eating, we forgot to take pictures for the blog!)

While in San Diego, I got the chance to meet up with my volleyball buddy, Deanna, for lunch at Eureka! at Westfield UTC. I haven't seen her since we were down this way last year, and it's always a fun time seeing Deanna!

We also had a couple of more chances to meet up with Matthew for a world tour breakfast at Hanna's Gourmet and yet another delicious Mexican dinner at Ponce's. We'll have to keep Ponce's on the list for another visit!

March 13:  Indian Waters RV Resort & Cottages - Indio CA
Well, it's finally time to head east. So we set course for the Indian Waters RV Resort & Cottages in Indio, CA. We pass all the windmill farms heading out towards Palm Springs.

Indian Waters is very well-kept and geared towards snowbirds and full-time RVers. We strike gold for Tom and get a site right across from the six dedicated pickleball courts! The courts are open for play every morning, and there is no lack of players. We may be back here next winter.

Tom also broke out his new BBQ for the first time and prepared us a gourmet meal.

 


The 2018 BNP Paribas Open is happening in Indian Wells the week that we are there, so we decided to check it out.

March 20: Stockton Ho!

Our stay at Indian River comes to a close. However, the plan to continue on to Arizona has to be modified due to family obligations, so instead, we pick-up Wendy's mom and return to our starting point/line, Stockton, for another stay. However, this was a fun getaway and a good chance to relax. 

Dutch Flat RV Resort - Dutch Flat CA

In February, Tom and Tank headed "up the hill" on interstate 80, northeast of Sacramento to Dutch Flat. Tom was chomping at the bit a little and was ready to get out of the valley.

Dutch Flat is a sparsely populated area at around 3100' in elevation with a lot of trees, trails, streams and a nice mountain feel. Tank certainly enjoyed the chance for trail walks and an occasional swim in the local stream.

One of the other benefits to spending time in Dutch Flat was that it is just up the hill from Auburn and some strong pickleball play. Tom made some new pickleball friends and got pummeled by some strong players... still got some work to do to get to that level.

Matthew's Move - San Diego

Towards the end of January, Tom left Wendy and Tank in Stockton and headed down to San Diego to help Matthew move from one apartment complex to another. Matthew lives in the Mission Valley East area of San Diego not far from the old Padre stadium. The move, to escape the lingering cigarette smell that permeated his apartment, was as much a product of Matthew's own desires as it was to placate his mother. When he moved into his old apartment, it had just been given a fresh coat of paint, which temporarily masked the permanent cigarette odors (probably from the previous tenant). The problem was further exacerbated by the next door neighbor who smoked like a chimney and caused an almost constant stream of smoke at his front door.

Matthew's new place

Tom arrived in San Diego by late afternoon on Friday and helped Matthew take several loads over to his nice, shiny new (and fresh smelling) apartment that evening. Matthew had already taken multiple car loads over and arranged for friends to help the next morning, but it was good to get a jump on the work.

With the help of several friends, a friend's truck and donuts in the morning, we got a lions share of it moved by noon. Additional friends showed up by early afternoon to help with what was left, check out the new gathering spot and heckle as needed.

By that evening, Matthew and friends seemed quite comfortable on the newly placed furniture and were enjoying the new social meeting spot. We went out and got pizza from a local pizza joint and brought it back to christen the new apartment.

Tom decided the smart move would be for him to stay at a local hotel for the night, away from the ongoing merriment.

Sunday morning, Matthew and I went out for a nice breakfast at the Liberty Station area of San Diego. Liberty Station is a neat little area located on a former naval training center, now home to shops, restaurants, art galleries and museums.

Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

All the rush to make it back to Sacramento was to get to our next destination. We make it back in time to spend a little time with family, get our luggage out of storage, and put the RV into storage. The night is spent in a hotel before we catch a 6:00 AM flight out of Sac International to Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico:

Sunrise from the plane

When we land in Puerto Vallarta, we grab our ride to the Bel Air Vallarta in Nuevo Vallarta to catch up with our lovely friends from Elk Grove, Paul and Louise Gumbinger. They have a timeshare there and had arranged for us to spend a week next door to them. What a fun time!















The Bel Air is a beautiful property right on the beach that is inhabited by numerous iguana. (It was really a treat for me to share their space.) There was a fabulous infinity pool with a swim up bar and many a happy hour was spent there.

Beach at the Bel Air

One of the residents of the Bel Air

Bel Air pool

After week of great dinners, shopping, and time spend relaxing pool/bar side, Paul and Louise headed back to Sacramento, and Tom and I headed next door to the Villa del Palomar Flamingos. The Villa del Palomar is a newer, but unfortunately noisier and more crowded hotel.

Our balcony at the Villa del Palomar

View from the balcony

I do have to include the picture of the one visitor I saw on the steps outside one morning...freaked me out some when I first saw him.

Yes, it's a bat

The hotel restaurants and market were convenient, but we still liked the walk up the beach into Bucerias for breakfast and shopping.

Beach walk to Bucerias

Breakfast at Karen's

Tom with his eggs benedict

Before we left, we got a chance to tour old Puerto Vallarta. Old town is beautiful. We saw beautiful churches with spectacular masonry and artwork.

We tasted (and bought) tequila at the Don Tadeo distillery.

Don Tadeo tequila distillery

Don Tadeo tequila distillery

The ocean becomes clearer and bluer and the beaches more beautiful the further south you go...

Lunch at a small village south of town.

All too soon, it's time to leave and head back to Sacramento as Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching.

New Frontier RV Park - Winnemucca NV

Today, we're headed another 165 miles west to the New Frontier RV Park in Winnemucca NV. We're making good progress; we will make it back to Sacramento by November!

Along the way, we did run into one small oops "you were supposed to remind me we needed gas" moment about a mile and a half from Battle Mountain and the next gas station... It's a good thing we tow...

This was enough...

...to get us here.

You know how you can look back at some adventures (sometimes mishaps) and laugh... well we weren't to that point yet!

We finally make it to the New Frontier RV park. It's a large park, but not many campers were there, which was nice. Note for future reference: The park was clean, and the price was great too.

Loved the pull-throughs! They were exceptionally long. It was nice that there was also a roadhouse restaurant within walking distance, so we didn't have a need to unhook the toad.