South Rims Wine & BeerGarage

514 East Route 66

Williams, AZ 86046

928-635-5902

7/23/2016

This place was not here on our last visit and what makes it an extremely delightful adventure is that it is located on the far end of the town of Williams out of the hustle and bustle area.

It opened a few years ago when the owners found this old gas and service station up for auction and thought it would be a perfect place to display the recently restored jet black 1967 Pontiac GTO and learned all they could about the beer and wine business and created South Rims Wine and Beer Garage.

One of their top business practices is to hire staff and servers that are knowledgeable and personable and it showed with our server, Miranda. She was a perfectly marvelous server who gave us the right amount of conversation and checking on us without being overbearing. We learned she is a student paying for her extravagant tastes in her life and plans to travel as we do someday.

When we wine taste we do not like to fill up on food so we chose the “Charcuterie and Cheese Tray” which is a gourmet tray featuring an assortment of three Italian meats accompanied by a selection of three specialty cheeses, garnished with olives, peppadew sweet peppers, and served with fresh baguette slices. We had so many favorites but if we had to pick one it would be the peppadew sweet peppers with their firmness and they were pickled with flavorful spices. The baguette was warm, soft and crunchy with a touch of olive oil throughout which was marvelous.

As for our wine tastings, they call them flights which is 2 ounces of 4 different wines so since it was so much wine we chose to just do one flight to share.

Our first choice was the Riesling 2014 – Summer Rain, Su Vino Winery, AZ – A cool Riesling accentuated by the mouthwatering crunch of ripe tart green apple that was fresh, light, smooth, crispy, probably the best Riesling we have ever drank. This one we would absolutely purchase.

Then we tasted the Riesling 2013 – Truth or Consequences, WA – The aromas show an intense hint of lime, peach and fresh apricot which was really dry with a potent lime finish that overpowered any of the other fruits. We would not purchase this one.

Then onto the Cagnina Di Romagna 2012 – Adesso, Italy – Sweet and tense berry flavors, that had a light, dry aroma but then a wow effect that was shocking how sweet but a clear tasting red it is. We would absolutely purchase this one in the future.

Our last taste was the Old Vine Zinfandel 2011 – Klinker Brick, CA – Aromas of black raspberry & other dark fruits, mint, and spice, flavors of vanilla & caramel that started sweet then went dry fast and then stayed dry but it was better than the Zin’s we tasted in Lodi but would not purchase this one either.

Our wonderful server brought us a taste of the White Merlot – Kokopelli Winery, Tempe, AZ – Bright pale crimson color. Bold strawberry sorbet and honey aromas with a tangy light-to-medium body and a pure crisp finish that showed us we should not be afraid of Merlots anymore, at least not the White Merlot’s that we would definitely purchase this one.

We highly recommend this place to anyone who wants a comforting time while hanging out in Williams, Arizona. Whether you are a wine or beer drinker, you will not be disappointed.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Canyon Motel & RV Park

1900 E Rodeo Road, Route 66

Williams, AZ 86046

928-635-9371

7/18-7/23/2016

We paid $22.25 per night using our Passport America 50% discount for a limit of 5 nights for a flat back in site on gravel with 50/30 electric, water, sewer, cable and very slow WiFi.

This place is so quant and also rents out Railcar and Caboose Suites, as well as RV Sites.

They are very accommodating and friendly in the office area, the only issue we had was since we were still on our trek across the desert we tried to get checked into our site around 9am and they were full the night before so asked us to come back around 11am, so we went to town and had breakfast at Jessica’s Family Restaurant. You can check out our separate review of the restaurant.

Since it is Monsoon season in this area we had thundering storms coming over the mountains every afternoon which for us was wonderful. These storms do not scare us as much as they do in the east so we looked forward to them. The weather was cool, in the 80’s in the day and 50’s at night…loved it and so happy we were out of the heat.

Our biggest issue here was and is not the fault of the resort but instead of the stupid people who refuse to obey the Pet Rules which are clearly written on the brochure. We found dog poo on our site several times during our 5 day stay even though it is clearly written that owners should take their dogs out to the forest and not allow them to go in the park. We also encountered several dogs off leash and owners allowing it to happen and just spurting out some lame excuse. We love animals but we are really starting to dislike many owners due to so many of them blatantly disobeying rules that are made so that everyone can enjoy their stay. It has been really hard for us to enjoy our patio due to how many times this continues to happen.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Jessica’s Family Restaurant

525 Historic Route 66

Williams, AZ 86046

928-635-4590

7/18/2016

When you first step into the restaurant, it has an old fashion feeling about it and almost feels as if you are in Greece with all the different signs around.

Since it was early morning while we waited to check into our site we opted to have some breakfast.

We both had omelettes...One was Jessica's Omelette which included Gyros meat, onions & tomato...the other was the Greek Omelette which also included Gyros meat, onions & tomato but also added feta cheese which definitely made it the best of the two. The hash browns were crunchy and just a tad greasier than we like them but they were still good.

There are plenty of choices in this small town and even though the service was fantastic, the food was just okay and we will try other restaurants in the area for future meals.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Kingman KOA Journey

3820 N Roosevelt Street

Kingman, AZ 86409

928-757-4397

7/17/16

This is a Journey KOA which means it is “A Place to Unwind” located conveniently near highways and has long sites and easy check in and that is exactly what we experienced. During our trek across the desert we were traveling in the wee hours of the morning before it got too hot which had us getting to our locations at 9am which at times was causing an issue with some of the campgrounds. Not this one, we were welcomed with opened arms, great staff.

We paid $47.58 using our KOA membership for a pull through, long and wide site on gravel with a slab, picnic table, 50/30 electric, water, sewer, WiFi, and cable.

The grounds were well manicured and the pool was sparkling using an aerator to keep it cool. It was refreshing and we enjoyed it tremendously.

 Even though it was pricey which may keep us away in the future, you just can’t beat great customer service and perfect amenities. If it wasn’t for the price we would highly recommend this place and we would most definitely return but we will check out others in the area the next time passing through for a cheaper rate.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Orange Grove RV Park

1452 S. Edison Road

Bakersfield, CA 93307

661-366-4662

7/15/2016

We had been staying at another RV Park in the area every time we passed through Bakersfield which is quite frequently and even though there is nothing wrong with the other park we wanted to expand our horizons and check this place out and we are so glad we did.

We paid $38 using our Good Sam 10% discount for a pull through, level, gravel site with 50/30 electric, water, sewer, free WiFi that worked well and included cable.

Since the weather was scorching and we were planning to enjoy the pool all day and into the night we requested a site right by the pool, couldn’t get any closer.

During their prime season this place is probably packed and would probably need reservations but this was mid-July and there were plenty of available sites.

Customer service was exceptional every time we dealt with the office on our one day stay and we will definitely make this a stop when we pass through again and we highly recommend it to everyone.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Kit Fox RV Park
14750 Rogers Road

Patterson, CA 95363

209-892-2638

11/6/2011, 3/18-3/21/2016, 7/12-7/14/2016

2016 Update - We paid $21 per night using our Passport America 50% membership which is only valid Sunday through Thursday and this time we had a site in the back which was an end site with nobody else around and it was fabulous...who would have known this site even existed but we will now always want this site in this area since it felt so roomy. LAUNDRY WAS A NIGHTMARE...ONLY 3 WASHERS AND 2 DRYERS AND ONE OF THE DRYERS DID NOT HEAT and we had 4 loads. Luckily it is located in the office area where the air was on since temps were into the hundreds that day and we had great conversation with people coming into the office. We will never plan for laundry to be completed while at this park again.

2016 Update - We paid $35.26 per night using our Passport America 50% membership which is only valid Sunday through Thursday and we stayed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Still in good shape but probably because the park was full this time, we noticed how close the sites are to one another.

2011 Update - We paid $19.51, using our Camp Club USA...they still accept Passport America, Good Sam and AAA discount cards. It's still a very convenient stopover and is just showing a bit of wear but is still well maintained.


We paid $18.56 using our Camp Club USA discount card. They also accept Passport America, Good Sam and AAA discount clubs.


Located near the freeway, but far enough away so there really isn’t much noise to contend with. Within walking distance there are many different types of restaurants, mostly fast food but several that are not. The sites have FHU and are flat and easy to back into or pull through if you want to pay extra for that convenience. The entire park is clean and very well maintained. They offer free WiFi and very limited cable. The managers are on site and were even kind enough to come out on Christmas Eve night and pump propane for us since we were completely out and it was a cold night.


The office area offers all the amenities, showers, laundry facility, entertainment area, computer area, book exchange and area information.

Vineyard RV Park

Vineyard RV Park

4985 Midway Road

Vacaville, CA 95688

866-447-8797

6/29-7/12/16

We stayed here in 2011 and took photos but never reviewed it and we didn’t even remember it until we drove into the park this time.

It’s a bit rustic and there are many full timers but they seem to keep the entire property well maintained.

We were on a flat gravel pull through site which also accommodated not only our rig but the 15’ UHaul we had for the weeks we were there. Even though the sites were long, they were close together but we were hardly there so it worked for us.

The staff was pleasant and checked us in quickly without any issues and each time we dealt with anyone they were accommodating.

For no additional charges they offer WiFi which was quick and dependable. They also have free basic cable but we used our DirecTV for our channels.

One thing we were surprised about was we wanted to order pizza one night and found out most of the places around did not deliver to this area since it was several miles from the closest towns around, so if you are in the mood for pizza you will have to pick it up on your way to the park. We did find one place but the service was awful and the food was not all that great. You can read about it in a separate review we wrote on our blog.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Mountain Mike's Pizza

1971 Alamo Drive

Vacaville, CA 95687

707-448-4007

With this being the only pizza place nearby that would deliver to us while we were at the Vineyard RV Park we hoped it would be good...but we were wrong. 

It took almost 2 hours to be delivered and we called at 11am when they opened so to be the first order. When it finally arrived it was cold, the taste was okay, but not worth the price we paid. We would not recommend and we will not be ordering from them again even if they are the only place in town.