Silver Strand State Beach on Coronado Island… WOW!

Silver Strand State Beach

5000 Highway 75  

Coronado, California

(619) 435-5184

 Reservations are highly recommended and are made through Reserve America

The bridge crossing over to the island was very intimidating, so much so that I almost forgot to breathe.  Jerry drove it fine, but me I would have preferred to be driving instead of hanging off the edge of the passenger side of the RV.  Once we overcame the excitement of the bridge, the rest of the drive was spectacular.

The idea was for a relaxing day/evening at the beach and that is exactly what we got.  We made the drive to the Silver Strand State Beach where we hoped to get a beachfront site for the night.  We checked the reservations for the past few days, not knowing for sure this is where we would end up and they had plenty of room, then when we tried to reserve it knowing we were heading this way it was within 24 hours and they no longer took online reservations so we chanced it.  We knew they had plenty of availability in the inland sites, but we had our hearts set on a beachfront.

We arrived around 10:30 am and were informed that they had 2 beachfront sites available but they could not be reserved at this time.  Our only choice was to check in at 2pm and hope for the best.  When they say 2pm, they are not kidding, no checking in or getting into line until 2pm, not a moment sooner.  We hung out in the $10 all-day pass area and enjoyed ourselves for a few hours, walking the beach and just relaxing.

We were first in line at exactly 2pm and we got one of the $50 beachfront sites.  For $35 we could have had an inland site, but we are glad we were able to get the beachfront one.  None of the sites had hookups and they were very strict on generator usage so yes it was pricey, but after all we were right on the beach, the ocean was our backyard for the entire evening.  Hearing the sounds of the waves all night long was exactly what we needed, it was meditating and so peaceful.

  

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Play Day at Valley View Casino

Valley View Casino

16300 Nyemii Pass Road

Valley Center, CA  92082

760-291-5500

Two days off before we head to the San Diego County Fair and we plan to take full advantage of the area.  We had laundry and the big shopping at Walmart to do first, but then we took some play time at the Valley View Casino where we boondocked for the evening.

Talk about an accommodating place, this was a very welcoming establishment.  Every staff member we encountered was eager to make us feel as comfortable as possible.  Apparently, due to some squatters, they limit the stays to 72 hours.  It is a shame when a rule is created just to defer some stupid people who take advantage of situations.    

Even though we were told that it was a slow Wednesday night, it was crowded, mostly due to the loose slots and all of the giveaways.  As first time visitors, we received a free Lobster /King Crab Legs Buffet.  It was so delicious and we got our fill of seafood. 

Do not allow your GPS to take you through the mountain on Lake Wohlford Road to get there as we did.  Instead you can reach it by staying on Valley Center Road/Co Highway S6, a much better road without all the twists and turns.  Again, our GPS seems to be in a tizzy here in California and continues to take us down some pretty stupid roads that are not necessary or advisable in an RV.

We would not advise boondocking or even visiting on a weekend, or if you plan to sleep past 6:30am.  The place we are told is packed on weekends and for sleeping in past 6:30am, there was this generator noise from the building below that was so loud that there was no sleeping through it.  It ended up being a great thing for us since it allowed us to partake in the early morning spectacular view.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Before the Start of the San Diego Fair

The official opening day is not until June 8, 2012 and will run until July 4, 2012, the fair is closed on Mondays and we may be able to squeeze in some down time.  Until then we are still driveway mooching and helping with preparations for the fair. 

Mike & Brittney Peterson, no relation to us, own and operate RSI Concessions aka Sippers and More.  Mike has been a part of it all of his life, his grandfather started it and his father dabbled in it and Mike took it over in 1997.  It is a well-oiled machine in so many ways and once we get set up it will show just how great of a business it truly is.

Jerry has been helping with some projects revamping some of the trailers, adding more lighting, cutting piping and cleaning and packing the trailers for travel to the fair, which has begun. 

As for me, I have been going through many resumes and looking to hire a few more people.  Most of his employees are returning from last year, which for us says a lot about his character but there are a few open spots that need to be filled.  This is the first time they hired managers, up until now he and his wife has been doing it all themselves.  We look forward to making their lives a bit easier and then we are excited about heading with them directly to the Orange County Fair once this event is over for our next adventure.  Same business…different venue!

This week the trailers went over to the fair, we picked up our credentials and worked on setting up our temporary trailer.  Friday is “Media Day” and we have to set up for that on the fairgrounds, but then tear it down and move it to our location for the fair.  Media day apparently gets a buzz going and gets people interested in coming to the fair and visiting the different types of food trailers. 

RSI Concessions always has something new and adventurous to add and has 2 different food trailers and 2 carts located throughout the fair.  We will be managing just one of the food trailers and they will handle the others.  If you find you are in the area and plan to attend the fair, please come by and see us.  We will post more about our location once we get settled in.

We are now off for a few days and we will take advantage of it.  We are leaving the driveway and going to hang out for a few days on the beach before heading to the fair on Friday.  Some sightseeing, some play, some shopping, and we might even throw in some relaxation.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Driveway Mooching in Valley Center, California

Even when we are traveling we write, but we do not always take the time to post so we are catching up and posting our articles while we are at our destination near San Diego.  

We are working for RSI Concessions, a food vendor for the San Diego County Fair and our boss invited us to stay in their driveway until we can move over to the fair.  This is no normal driveway mooch, we have 50 amp power, water and even sewer and we had two choice locations…where we are located or next to the workshop, either was fine with us.  We may be spoiled for any future driveway mooching since this is our first time ever doing it and we love it.

They even spoiled us more and served us barbeque steak, grilled vegetables and a salad our first night here, and then served us warm apple pie with ice cream…we may never leave!

We need the relaxation because next week when we head over to the fair location and begin setup and then the work begins on June 8^th when the fair opens.  There will be some really long 12 or more hour days involved, so we are taking all the rest we can get for now.

The food trailer is called the Bacon A-Fair.  No healthy food available, everything is wrapped in bacon, or coated and fried.  They even have Chocolate Covered Bacon, a huge hit last year!  We are so looking forward to working this fair and having some fun.  They are wonderful people to work for and we are going to be busy!

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Kreativ Blogger Award

Hold your applause…please!

First we would love to thank Lily Tequila, the crazy yet wonderfully talented blogger who nominated us for this grand award!  

In accordance with the rules for accepting this award, we must list 7 things that our readers might find interesting about ourselves, so here goes it…

1.  We are spiritual individuals that believe that life gives you every opportunity to be all that you can be and if you are not living your life to the fullest potential then maybe you need to rethink it and make the changes needed to live the life you desire!

2.  We believe in reincarnation and believe that we were together in another lifetime and will continue to be together in the next.

3.  We miss our grandson, but know that his mother is taking good care of him.  Even though we disagree with her methods, we understand that she needs to do what she needs to do to follow her life’s path.

4.  We get really emotional when we hear about children being abused in any form and have learned to step in and help whenever possible.

5. We believe that what comes around…goes around and that when we send out bad karma it returns back at us almost immediately.  But when we send out good it takes its own sweet time coming back to us but eventually reaches us. 

6.  We are patient most of the time and try not to push things our way because every time we do it does not work out.  We want life to unfold for us and not be in dictatorship of our lives.  The Universe knows what is best for us and we are open and patient to hear what it has to say.

7. We believe our egos are our worst enemy and that we try to focus more on our spiritual side to get us through our lives.

Now, under the same accordance, we must nominate 7 other bloggers that we find interesting reads.  This was hard for us for many reasons, first we follow many wonderful blogs and had a hard time choosing which were our favorites and secondly, not everyone wants to be in the spotlight and we did not want to offend anyone in this matter.  Here is our list, not in any particular order and we hope they will accept this award as an affectionate means of telling them we think they are great bloggers, people and friends.

1.  Paul & Marti, creators of R Sanity RV Adventures – We began following each other’s blogs some time ago and had an opportunity to meet up with them in Quartzsite this past winter.  They are newbies and began their blog before adventuring out here.  Funny how there are people you just connect to almost immediately, this happened with them.  We wish we had more time to spend with them and will definitely meet up with them sometime in our future travels for sure.  

2.  Terry & Jeri, creators of Just Wanderin – We have followed there blog for a long time and finally had the opportunity to meet them in Quartzsite this past winter.  They are such wonderful people.  We love the feistiness that Jeri has and how easy going Terry is, and together they are a team that compliments one another.  They love life and it shows in every blog they write.  We look forward to meeting up with them whenever we are in the same area again.   

3.  Ron & Ali, creators of The Wandering Workentins – These two have had some rough times out here, but as we do, they too persevere and continue living their dream.  It is not always easy but they turn their bad times into great opportunities and learn from each and every moment of their lives, never wasting a moment feeling sorry for what life has given them.  We have not had the opportunity to meet them yet, but we do look forward to doing just that in our travels one day.  

4. Donna aka Froggi creator of 2 Taking a 5th who travels with her husband Stu and their dog, Sadie are among the wonderful people we have met while we have been living this wonderful lifestyle.  We had the great opportunity to meet up with them after following her blog for so many years.  We met them while we were in Florida a few years ago and it was as if we had known them all of our lives.  Donna has been writing for years and is finally ready to take the next step and publish her books.  Check out her blog and give her the support she needs to accomplish this goal, we know just how hard this step is since we are at the same bridge into our publishing career as well.   

5. Donna, creator of Adventures with Tassie – Donna travels with her husband Ralph and she is a breast cancer survivor.  It shows in their everyday living just how much it affected her, because even though we did not know her prior it seems that they live every moment to the fullest.  We love reading her blog for the totally upbeat messages she leaves behind. 

6.  Judy, creator of Travels with Emma - Judy travels the country with her dog Emma.  The two of them have some great stories to tell all awhile volunteering at many exciting places.  Her photography is exquisite, especially the many different types of birds she comes upon in her travels.  And, what a wonderful kindred spirit she shares with each and every blog she writes.  When she has a setback, she twists it until it works out for the best opportune moment.  It is always inspiring for us to read her blog!       

7. Mike & Gerri, creators of A View Through the Lens WithMike & Gerri – They have a great outlook on life, even after all the challenges that life has bestowed on them.  They are inspirational and love to take photos of their birds that feed in their birdfeeders just outside their windows.  We have been following their blog for some time now and whenever we are in the same area, we would love to get together and meet them.  

That is our 7, wish there could be more since we follow so many blogs and have many more favorites but for now this will have to be our list.  Please check them out, we are sure you will feel the same way about all of them.

How Funky Did We Get?

Somehow we got into a funk and it has been a hard thing to get out of, but we landed in San Diego and are once again on the right track in our lives.  Allowing decisions to be made out of fear only deepens the funk we get into, we know this but at times we do not follow our own advice and it just compounds the bad choices.  Another lesson learned and they just keep on coming!

We have been out here over 8 years and have not had back to back bad experiences with our work before.  As a matter of fact, we had only a few bad experiences prior to these last two in all the years, so it is unsettling for us and it deepened our bad attitudes in taking whatever came our way for the past few months, but we found the light at the end of the tunnel, finally!

The second experience at RV World Campground in Rawlins, Wyoming was not as bad as the one in Kanab, but basically it was not our ideal place to spend the next few months either.  There were many reasons it was not a good fit but the biggest reason for us was that the business was so slow and looking into future reservations that is the way it would stay.  We spent a lot of time in the month we were there looking for things to do.  How many times can I clean the windows and glass, vacuum, dust the shelves or just spend idol time looking for something to do?  It got the best of me and it felt as if taking care of customers were not at the top of the list since there hardly were any. 

Also, we have never worked where there were managers and owners together running the place, and even though they tried hard not to put us in the middle, it happened way too often.  We were told to do one thing from the managers and then the owners would tell us something different which would only get worse as time went on. 

As I said in the beginning, the biggest reason was the slow business but there were also some others that would have eventually worn on our nerves.  We are not the type of people who enjoy standing around or constantly finding busy work to do in between the one of two customers to take care of.  Instead we love busy, the busier the better for us.  Time flies when we are having fun and we were not having any fun at all!  This was never going to be that type of place so we opted to give our notice and once again it was rejected and we were asked to leave almost immediately. 

What is up with that? 

We are now wondering if giving notice is really a good thing in this lifestyle.  Each time we gave them notice, it was rejected and each time we had to leave sooner than we had planned.  At first this upset us because a few extra weeks of pay would have been nice once again, but things always work out for the best when we do the right thing which we feel we did.   We were willing to give notice, we could have just picked up and left but we would not have felt right about that and never expected them to be such poopheads about it.

Speaking about poop that was another issue that really got under our skins.  They have a dog policy in writing but they never adhere to it.  Dogs are allowed to run free and urinate and poop all over our stuff.  We told them so many times and each time they assured us it would be taken care of, but that never happened. 

We were also on opposite sides about one of the monthlies that they continued to allow their place to look like trailer trash.  It was a total eyesore and for the most part it was their dogs that were always on the loose, but others followed right behind and allowed their dogs to roam as well.  We were not comfortable sitting out on our patio and could not even set up our patio since the dogs would urinate all over our stuff.

The good news is we have moved onto our next adventure…more on that to come!

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Main Street RV Park

Main Street RV Park

Downtown Las Vegas

12 East Ogden Avenue

Las Vegas, NV  89101

702-388-2683

5/22/2012

We paid $14.00 per night for a water, electric and sewer hookup on a level piece of concrete.  It was an extremely hot with temperatures rising to about 106 in May.  We had our air conditioner and fans running all night so the noise from the Interstate was not a factor for us.  We had exceptional Verizon phone and MiFi coverage.

The surrounding area was questionable and even though we felt safe inside the park area, we did not feel comfortable walking from the Experience or any of the Casinos after dark back to the RV Park.

The showers/restrooms were neat and had a key card access that they gave to you at the front desk where you check in.  We chose a site then walked to the registration area in the Casino.  They take cash and credit cards, but will take a $50 hold on your credit card on top of payment of your stay, this hold takes weeks to get returned to your card.  This is a crazy procedure and we told them exactly that.

The price was right and we liked visiting the Fremont Experience, but we will keep looking as to where to stay for our future Las Vegas visits.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Junction West RV Park

Junction West RV Park

793 22 Road

Grand Junction, CO  81505

970-245-8531

8/28/2011, 4/18/2012 & 5/18/2012

We paid $34.79 using our Good Sam discount for a flat, gravel, water, electric and sewer site with no cable and free WiFi on all of our visits, the price did not change.  Our Verizon phones and MiFi worked great in this area.  A little on the higher side of payment, but the reviews were the best around, the others in the area had some really bad reviews and after checking them out we felt much more comfortable here.

The restrooms, showers and laundry areas were well maintained and clean.  They had a good variety of items for sale in the store and also have a nice area to play some games. 

The staff was very nice and knowledgeable of the area.  It was a quiet park that wrapped its warm arms around us and made us feel safe and we would definitely return if we are ever in the area again.

Pet Policy – No barking dogs.  Pet owners are responsible for picking up after their pets.  Pets may not be left unattended outside your RV.  All pets must be on leash while in the park.  Please walk your dog before you play with them on the lawn.  Please do not allow your dog to urinate or poop on the lawn.  Pet owners are liable for the actions of their pets.  They seemed to adhere to the rules, since we were not bothered by any pets during any of our stays.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

RV World Campground

RV World Campground

3101 Wagon Circle Road

Rawlins, WY  82301

877-328-1091

April 22 – May 18, 2012

This was one of those places that many of the issues could have been overlooked because of the friendliness of the staff.  But, that being said, there were many things that could not.

We were not charged anything for our site since we worked, but if we were charged it would have been under $30 per day with several different discount options and depending on what sort of options we wanted, including cable.  Our Verizon phones and MiFi worked perfect, but if not they do offer free WiFi and it is fast.

The restrooms, showers, and laundry areas were kept clean and maintained.  The grounds were in need of some TLC and was being implemented while we were there and more planned in the future.

They have guidelines, but the only problem with them is that they are not enforced…at all.  Most of the sites were occupied by folks that were working at the area refineries for months at a time and were the ones not being enforced to follow those guidelines. 

We were asked to be their eyes so our site was located in the back of the park.  We observed dogs on the loose, urinating and pooping everywhere without the dog owners picking up after them.  Those same dogs were often left on a chain outside all day and all night.  Several sites left their trash and clutter outside and with the constant high winds, that stuff would spread everywhere.  We informed management/owners of this several times, and it was still going on when we left, nothing was ever done.  Enforcing their own guidelines was not one of their best qualities.

If we are ever again in the area, we would opt to stay at the other RV Park located just a few yards away.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Wine Tasting - April 2012

This was a really slow month for wine tasting for us...it is so much better when we are in warm weather and enjoying our glass of wine on our patio.  Lately, where we have been has been cold or wet but we hope this will change soon!


Franzia Vineyards Fruity Red Sangria - From Ripon and Cutler, California with a 9% alcohol that we rate an 8.8 for this fruity, lemon, lime, orange flavored box of wine. Yes, you read that right...Franzia has been making it's box convenience since 1978. This is a good tasting, fruity flavored wine that we purchase for around $11 per box all the time when we are able to find it on the shelves.

   

Crane Lake Cellars 2010 California Moscato - We paid $4.49 per bottle for this Sonoma County with 10% alcohol that we gave an 8 rating. It has a sweet, smooth taste with a lasting refreshing finish.