Sunday, February 23 through Monday, February 24, 2014
Two nights in
Castro Valley then on to Monterey
Our online reservation, for
camping space #8 at Anthony Chabot Family Camp in Castro Valley in
the East Bay area of San Francisco, did not advise us about terrain.
Hence, at 8:00pm, after dark on February 22, we discovered we could
not back uphill into the RV space we'd reserved without stripping the
gears on the Honda Pilot. Utilities paid for all for naught, we drove
in Honda first and were only able to plug in the electricity. Our
hoses would not reach water and sewer. We are grateful to be
self-contained for short periods and we made do. It was less than
ideal, though, and difficult to pull into even frontwards.
Sunday, on our way to meet
Pam's mother's cousin, Les, his wife, Bonnie, and Bonnie's mother,
Margie, we decided to see if a different spot was available in the
same campground, so we would not need to hurry our visit in order to
travel down the road. Wise choice! A level-ish space was available,
just opened up that morning, so we opted to move before heading down
the hill to town.
Ashamedly, we were late
arriving at Les and Bonnie's, but were forgiven due to the
circumstances. We shared a leisurely meal at a local restaurant in
the small Town of Moraga, neighboring Castro Valley, and a lovely
visit sharing family stories. Remarkably, this was only second visit
in our nearly 48 years of marriage, and the first was on our
honeymoon! So glad we made the time this trip.
Pulling
up stakes, chock blocks and levelers, we headed for the nearest
Starbucks for our morning coffee and wifi. It was time to research
campgrounds for the next few days and plan when we will pull into San
Diego. Our evolving plan puts us into Santee Lakes campground on
Sunday, March 2nd.
Between Castro Valley/Moraga and our arrival in San Diego we will
stay two nights in Monterey (last time here was on our honeymoon) and
hopefully a stop at Moonstone Beach (last time for me was when I was
a young girl), two nights In San Simeon where we will visit the
Hearst Castle for the first time, one night in Ventura, and one
night in San Clemente to visit Duffy's cousin, Linda and her husband
Chuck.
Our drive today, Monday, was
uneventful. Temperatures in the east bay area and south were in the
high 70s. We can't seem to get enough of this weather, which is
certainly not anything like what I remember from childhood trips up
this way in the 1950s. It used to be so cold, foggy, and windy.
Climate is changing everywhere.
We find ourselves at a lovely
spot in Monterey at the Veteran's Memorial Park, protected from ocean
breezes by manzanitas and pine trees. Tomorrow we hope to explore
downtown Monterey, and perhaps visit the renowned aquarium. Beyond
that is surprise and discovery. Tune in to my next entry to learn
what discoveries we made.
Before calling it a night, I
am pleased to announce that I was able to secure campsites at Santee
Lakes (officially named Santee Lakes at Padre Dam) in the town of
Santee close to my brother Skip's home. This time of year is
especially difficult to secure a spot, so I admit to feeling just a
wee bit smug about it, or at least very pleased. The rest of the way
to San Diego, we are taking our chances at finding campsites that
suit us. It's great to be small and flexible; our trailer and tow
vehicle can go where bigger rigs cannot.
Until next time...Pam and Duffy
No comments:
Post a Comment