Weeks 8-9: California Christmas
Nearly two full months in the trailer. It is hard to believe we have traveled from Idaho to Texas to Alabama, back through Texas and are now here in California. Time is speeding by, as it always does. Kind of like the miles. The past two weeks haven’t been any different.
Our first stop in California was just outside of Joshua Tree National Park. We camped on BLM land near the south entrance. The sunshine, the sunsets, and views were expansive. A bit windy, but not so cold I couldn’t do a little yoga in the sand with the hills and cactus as my backdrop. Yoga, outside! In the desert! So totes #vanlife (except I don’t think in #vanlife photos, those people’s hair isn’t constantly blowing into their mouths or sand into their eyes… maybe that’s one of the differences between #vanlife and trailer life?). Two great things about camping out here: the dogs could run free and we got to visit the park (Cholla Cactus Garden was so cool). Bummer thing was our solar, that the RV sales dude said was totally sufficient, does zip. We kept having to plug the trailer into the truck, turn the truck on and charge the batteries that way so that we could get internet and so that I could work. What a pain. That’s gonna have to change (our new research project is learning all about solar).
Next stop was the Newport Dunes RV Resort. This place books up a year in advance and we were lucky to get a spot at the last minute. Located on Back Bay in Newport, there is a lovely boardwalk from the resort all around the bay. And the resort has all the amenities onsite—a little market, a pool and several hot tubs, a snack shack, laundry… But it is tight! Trailers and RVs are packed in pretty close together (Neal is amazing at backing up our rig into tiny slips), so there’s not much personal space. People are friendly though, and there’s plenty of shared space. My folks are staying here, too and we’re a short drive to my sister’s place. Family time for Christmas (I’d share our Christmas photo with everyone in family jammies, but Neal might never spend another xmas with me again if I do. So just know we looked stylin’!)!
It’s been an incredibly fun couple of weeks. Some work, of course, but also vacation time to hang out, play Uno and the ring-toss game, make pizzas in the Ooni pizza oven (ours hooks up to the trailer’s propane supply—thanks, Will!), walks around the bay, a bit of beach time, the Magic Castle… This is a case where I think photos will speak better than words. So, here’s a little slideshow of highlights from the past few weeks. (I realize many of these are fuzzy and out of focus. We were having too good a time to and taking photos got put on the backburner.)
We are now camped out at San Clemente State Park, one of California’s many fantastic camping opportunities right along the water. The campground is high up on the bluff, but there is a road and a trail down to the water for watching sunsets, surfers, and maybe even (if we’re lucky) a whale or two.
Week’s stats:
GOOD THING | Holiday time, family time, theme park time!
BAD THING | Rain, rain, rain.
CRAZY THING | Magic!
GRAND TOTAL | 5,339 miles (265 this week + 5,074 previously)