January 16th through the 23rd - Week three - Acton/Palmdale California

Destination number: 80/160/18

One of the things I did to try to save a little money on this trip was to sign up for Thousand Trails, a camping and RV park company. The idea being that it would save some money in the long run on the trip because once you buy the membership, you can stay at a park up to two weeks for no additional charge as long as you stay out of the Thousand Trails systems for a week between stays. Since we were at a reservoir last week, we could stay at a Thousand Trails this week. This week we are staying at a Thousand Trails Park, this time in Acton California which is about 20 miles west of Palmdale or about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. 

This Thousand Trails park is located in an area called the Soledad Canyon and it is indeed a Canyon with mountains on all sides of it. It's a completely different sort of location from that of the Thousand Trails in Morgan Hill which was our first week-long stay. That park was surrounded by wineries. This location is also more remote than the location in Morgan Hill. I've gotten spoiled by living in Sacramento over the years where I was less than 5 minutes from a market. I was a little bummed in Morgan Hill that I had to drive 10 minutes to a Market. Here, in Acton, if you want a major grocery store, you need to drive at least 20 miles to the town of Palmdale to find a store of the caliber of a Safeway or Kroger. 

All in all though, this park isn't bad. I have full hookups, so I'm able to get laundry done in the rig which is a win. They also have a large dog run area which is located over the leach field for the septic tanks. The power and water are solid and once again, I'm within a decent range of a Cell tower, so I'm getting a good cell signal and can work without a problem. And, I'm also able to get 45 over the air TV channels so if I want to watch TV, I have no problem doing it. Like at Morgan Hill, they are putting a lot of money into this park. They have upgraded the restrooms and the laundry facilities, and they are also upgrading the Basketball courts as well as the electric infrastructure. 

The one gripe I have is that in order to get a package delivered here, they charge you a $25 fee to have a package delivered. Apparently, they have a huge problem with packages never being claimed by people that stay here, and then because of COVID, shipping companies are charging a $25 fee of the park if they return a package that could not be given to the addressee. I only had one package delivered here, I'll never do that again. 

Though we haven't been doing much exploring, I have been getting together with Family. On Tuesday afternoon, I visited with Steve and Elena at their home in Long Beach. On Saturday I went to their daughter Morgan and Son-in-law Brian's home in Santa Ana for a visit. It was wonderful to see family that I don't get to see nearly often enough. 

... and for those curious, "Yes, everyone here who can be is Vaxed and Boosted"!

I also got to do a little work on a couple of projects that I have needed to do. I got the seat belts for the couch installed back in the motorhome. I also got a riser put in on the desk that I have needed ever since COVID hit and now that I have two computers. A personal laptop and a work laptop. 

I had hoped to see Hamilton when I was in Alburquerque, but I found out this week that the show was rescheduled, so I won't be able to see it. The real bummer is though, NO REFUNDS! Ugh. Oh well. :-) 

Remi continues to do really well on this trip, she is just the best traveling companion. :-) 

Sunday, we pack up and head to Quartzsite Arizona for the big RV and Parts show. I'm not in the market for any RV, but I'm always curious to see what is out there in new Gizmo's that I might need. 

Here is the video for this week. I will apologize if there are a number of elements to this video seem like a review of the Thousand trails park more than anything, but I have a lot of friends interested in the Thousand Trails system and like hearing what is out there. Plus, I didn't get much exploring in here because for me it was more important to spend time visiting family if I could. :-)

Safe Travels all! 

Remi and Eric

January 8th through the 16th - Week two - Lake Comanche - Ione California

 Destination number: 79/159/17

I picked this location as one of my stops on my 6-month trip so that I could catch up with some old friends and some extended Family. During the 20 years that I was married, I spent all that time roaming around Amador and Sacramento Counties. Though I had hoped to visit with a bunch of folks, Ongoing concerns about the COVID 19 Pandemic and some other mitigating circumstances meant that some of those visits would have to be put off until another time.  

However because a timeline for my trip was already in place, and because the opportunity still existed to get together with others, I stayed the course and we relocated the motorhome to Lake Comanche in the town of Ione. This is the perfect time of year to come out to the North Shore of Lake Comanche. Though there are no RV hookups on this side of the lake, with the rains in December and some sunshine in early January, everything started to green up very nicely. 

With the Allegro Bus being well equipped with a full freshwater tank, empty holding tanks, a generator and plenty of provisions on board, staying out here without hookups, or "Dry camping" is not a problem at all. If I use water sparingly, I can easily stay out here for 8 days. For those that do a lot of RVin'g, though there are no hookups here on North Short, if you go to the Blue Oaks campground you can find a dump station and there are water spigots to get fresh water. For Remi and I, we stayed on the Peninsula campground. The only facilities here are out houses and trash cans. But, it is very peaceful here! 

Remi and I enjoyed the scenery here and having very few neighbors. Our view to the south, overlooking the lake was wonderful. And, our sunrises and sunsets could not be beat.  

When we arrived, we had the Peninsula campground almost to ourselves. There was a nice couple from Elk Grove that stayed on the Peninsula as well, but they only stayed for a couple days. The Friday before we left, some more people came in as part of the long Martin Luther King Birthday weekend. 

Though we were dry camping, we still had great communications services if we needed it. We have 25 Mbps internet speeds up and down, and we received 35 over the air TV channels at our location. 

On Monday the 10th of January, my former boss from Volcano Communications John Pinola Jr. came by to have lunch with me and visit for an hour. On Tuesday, I had some errands to run and so I took the day off, ran the errands and also had lunch with a friend of mine Beckie White Juell who I volunteered with a lot at the county of Sacramento's animal shelter. 

One of my errands was to run to Camping world and among other things, I had to pick up an additional banner for outside the rig. 

No trip would be an experience without some drama. Monday afternoon Remi and I were out for a walk to check out a sunset and I heard a sound and saw, two dogs coming at us from behind and we almost had a dog fight. There was a man walking his three dogs about 100 yards away from Remi and I. His three dogs, (a husky mix, and two Australian cattle dog mixes) were off leash and coming down to us. I yelled at the man, to call his dogs. He didn't even realize Remi and I were down by the water, as he was only paying attention to the one dog closest too him. As soon as I yelled for the gentleman, the third dog headed our way and by this time the first two started to circle Remi and I. I've been in this sort of situation in the past, and these dogs didn't seem overly aggressive, but they were getting amped up. The guy was walking towards us and the third dog was running down to us and he was flashing his flashlight (what was that all about as none of the dogs had training collars on.). He was yelling at them, but the dogs were not paying any attention. One of the dogs came at Remi and snarled at her. She gave the dog a warning snap, and all of a sudden, the excitement was over. The one dog backed off, and the other one did too. The third one also stopped approaching. After about 2 minutes, one of the dogs started to respond to the owner who was calling them. He yelled at me, "Don't get near the Husky". Ya, well, what if the Husky gets near me! Yikes. All in all, it turned out fine, but it did get my heart rate up.  

The rest of the week was relatively un-eventful with working the rest of the week and enjoying the beautiful environment. One day at lunch we hiked to the end of the peninsula and took the drone for a flight. 

On Saturday, I went for a ride to check out some of my favorite locations here in the Amador and Sacramento valley. Those included Preston Castle and the old Folsom Power house. 

Here is this week's video about what we saw and our adventures. 

Dry camping like this requires judicious use of resources such as Energy and Water. Here are a couple more videos... One on electricity...

... and one on water. 

Safe travels all! 

Eric and Remi

Our first full week on the road

Destination number 78/158/16

So the first significant stop on our 6month trip was at a Thousand Trails RV park in Morgan Hill California. it is just south of san Jose. I've spent lots of my life in the Bay area over the years, for instance when I worked for Safeway Stores in Corporate headquarters, I was just up 680 working at Safeways Technology center, more years ago than I care to think about. The reason I chose Morgan Hill is because I have some good friends of mine that live in this area. Martha and Rich Garcia who I know from my days of being involved with the Blue Devils and Drum Corps International, and fellow dog video and rescue volunteer, Anna Cambrey who I worked with a lot when working with dogs at the City of Sacramento's Front Street Animal Shelter. 

I was thankful to be able to get together with Anna as well as Martha while I was at this stop. I had a great time catching up with both of them in out-door settings and just enjoying their company. I'm just bummed we forgot to do selfies. I will have to remember that for future stops along the way. 

I signed up with Thousand Trails in hopes of coming up with a cost-effective way to see some of the country and since the Bay Area was a place I wanted to stay, this seemed like a great opportunity. The Thousand Trails here in Morgan Hill is about 5 minutes off the freeway, but very easy to get in and out of. It feels like camping, but it also has a lot of amenities that many people get a chance to enjoy. 

They have a nice dog park, though probably not recommended for those with dogs that like to fence jump. The fence is only about 3 feet high. Fortunately, Remi isn't a fence jumper as long as I'm around! :-) 

The laundry rooms and bathrooms have all been recently remodeled, work great and are very well kept! 

The pool is gorgeous... What more can I say!

They have Tennis courts and Volleyball/badminton courts too! 

I find the cost of being a Thousand Trails member to be very reasonable. I joined for $699 plus three additional regions (South, Southeast and Northeast) for $150. But, I will be staying at, at least 8 parks along the way for a week or more, so I think the membership will pay for itself. You can stay for a maximum of 2 weeks at a park and then you must be out of the Thousand Trails system for at least a week before you return into the system. So, I planned accordingly and will take at least a 1 week break between each stay at a Thousand Trails park. 

Now is as good a time as any to let you know, this is what my path of travel looks like. 

And here is a link to the Itinerary

This is a truly beautiful time to be here. But I guess it is easy to understand why so many people like to live in the bay area, the weather is wonderful a large part of the year. The park is nestled among wineries so if you like to go wine tasting, this is definitely the place to come. I like the outdoors, and this is a great place to experience it. There is a river nearby, a large grassy area for the kids to play in, and hiking trails around the park. 

And though you can't tell by her expression in this picture, Remi is enjoying this too. Of course, she doesn't like it when I tell her to sit. She's a rescue, and I think her previous owners may have made her 'Sit' when she was bad, so I'm trying work on it. Remi loves it whenever we go for a hike. Nose to the ground and loving every step of it and it is good for Dad too! :-) (Ya, when you watch the video, we can all tell dad needs more cardio!)

During the late spring, summer and early fall, I use the Bar-B-Que all the time. This time of year, the Crockpot is the device that gets the work out. This time, I cooked a Roast in the Crockpot. The Roast came out wonderful but has gotten better over time. When I re-heat the leftovers, they are even more tender. Yummy! 

Probably 70 percent of this park only has 30 amps to the pedestal, and that is one of the sites I am staying in. I've found that for this time of year, that is plenty. I have two space heaters, the fireplace in the living area, and an oscillating unit in the bedroom. These units have been well tested and proven over time for their reliability and do a great job of keeping the rig warm if it gets cold at night. And the 30 amp circuit is more than enough to keep these units running smoothly. I have had no indication of any outlets getting warm, and I check them frequently. 

Though I have stayed at a number of locations over the last couple of years and teleworked from the road, this experience is going to probably be a bit more challenging. I am going to parts of the country that are unknown to me and I'm going to have to be super flexible about getting my internet connectivity so that I can work. 

My primary connection to the internet is through a FIREWIFI.org router that currently has an AT&T simm card in it. But as a backup, I have my personal cell phone that can serve as a hotspot that is on the Verizon network. You can get free internet access at the park if you go to the Laundry room or the wine tasting room at the park. However, you can get "Paid" WIFI at the park which runs $5.99 for a day or $12.99 for the week. You are capped at 5GB for the day. I did find that once I completed a 1.9 GB Youtube upload, that my throughput was throttled way back via the paid WIFI. 

Here are some statistics in regards to my internet usage. 

The above statistics are optimal samplings based on countless samplings taken during the course of the week. 

One of my many stops will be in Alburquerque New Mexico the week of February 7th, 2022. That week I am turning 60 and I had planned to attend Hamilton with a wonderful lady friend of mine, but she is no longer able to attend the performance with me. So, if you think you will be in the Alburquerque area on the 8th of February and would be interested in being my "Plus 1", please let me know. The seats are in the Orchestra section and are already paid for. If you are interested, please PM me on my Facebook page.

Here is a link to this week's video: 

Safe Travels all! 

Eric and Remi too! 

New Years 2022 and the start of the 6 month road trip

Happy new year everyone! 

Once we had finished with the Christmas festivities, it was time to pack up the Christmas decorations and start the focus on getting ready for the 6 month road trip. Because of the snowy weather we have had, I had to bring the outdoor decorations inside so that they could dry off and I could put them away. 

 I had bought a few extra Christmas decorations this year and as a result, I ended up taking a bit more space in the bay because of it. Oh well, such is life!

 I'd like to thank my newest dog walking partner at Rescue Ranch Yreka, Amy, for agreeing to take care of my Christmas tree and my cactus plant while I am on the road. I know they wouldn't have survived the trip just because of all of the jostling that goes on. 

On New years eve, the Rain Rock Casino as well as a couple of other organizations in Siskiyou county funded a fireworks display which was launched from a vacant lot down from the casino. As a bonus, they did it at 6:00 PM so that people could still have a quiet evening at home, or celebrate later on with other friends. 

Due to pending weather approaching, I decided that Remi and I would depart on New Year's day. Prior to that, I decided it would be a good idea to fire up the motorhome on Friday just to make sure I wasn't going to have to call out a tow truck on New year's day to get the rig started. Once the motorhome started up fine on Friday, I was comfortable with the plan to leave on Saturday morning. Once I managed to get old "Lazy bones" out of bed, and get our morning walk in, we got breakfast out of the way and finished the last of the packing. It was down into the teens overnight so, I waited until 11:00 AM to start the motorhome. Like Remi she coughed and gagged at the idea of starting up when it was cold out, but she got going. And within a few minutes, I had the Jeep hooked up and we were ready to roll. 

As you may remember from a previous post, there is a way that I track the number of RV trips that I've taken. 

The first number is the camping trips this motorhome has been on since it was bought 12 years ago. 

The second number is the number of RV'ing trips I have been on. 

The third number is the number of RV trips I have been on since my ex-wife and I separated. 

So for this first day, where we stopped in Corning, we are camping stop: 77/157/15

The first night on the road with our stop in Corning, we stayed at Rolling Hills Casino which is right off the I-5 in Corning. The spots were a little close together, but most people don't stay here looking for a resort, so I get that. It was cool though, that they had a dog kennel so that dogs could be cared for while their owners gambled away!

 The next morning, we fired up the Motorhome and got an early start heading to first the Blue Beacon truck wash and then down the road for Morgan Hill. 

As you can see, there were beautiful green rolling hills after getting some rain over the last couple weeks. 

At around 1:30 on Sunday afternoon, we arrived in Morgan Hill for a 6 day stay at a Thousand Trails RV park here. For this second stop, where we are now camping in Morgan Hill, we are camping stop: 78/158/16. There will be a lot more on my stay at this Thousand Trails in my next blog post, but suffice it to say, I'm very happy with my decision to not only become a Thousand Trails member, but also that I chose this as one of my stops. 

The following is the accompanying video of the start of the trip. This video is a little longer than what I typically shoot for, primarily because of a couple of challenges I ran into and also to show a few aspects of having a large 40 Foot motorhome to drive. 

Safe travels all! 

Eric and Remi too!