Hit The Road JACK...

Working at the Big Tent in Quartzsite

2012-01-20T15:23:00.002-08:00

Well that didn’t take long at all…

Several calls began to come in from vendors looking for help and not only did we find work but so did another couple in the group that was also looking. We chose to take the one that was offered to us at K Bar D BBQ (located right inside the West Entrance) because we were told it would be very fast paced which we love, plus the conversation with the owner went very well. We had many other choices, so it always amazes us when folks say they can’t find work, when we always can and usually do, even like times like these when we really do not need it, but like to keep our gas fund full.

We left the gang at the BLM land this morning, but we came into the group just a few days ago and met people and when we left, we left friends. They are a fantastic group of great people that know how to live and they do it in such a vibrant way. We know there are several couples that we will keep in contact with throughout our travels and look forward to spending more time with them. This photo was taken by Carol, who is a fabulous photographer and it shows, we all look fantastic.

For the rest of today we plan to relax, we have the next 9 days of work ahead of us, so we will relax until that all gets started. We will try to keep you all updated on how our work is going and how the Big Tent RV Show is going as well, but no guarantees…

Arriving in Quartzsite

2012-01-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

We didn’t make it to Quartzsite on Monday, after leaving Bullhead City with 150 miles to go, we just didn’t think we could make that many miles all in one day…

We actually had several stops to make so by the time we got to Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona it was almost 3pm, we hadn’t eaten any lunch or dinner and we were famished…then we had to play a little and we got on a roll and we do not drive in the dark, so we boondocked in their parking lot that they absolutely encourage.

On Tuesday we made it to Quartzsite, but before we could go the BLM land and meet the gang, we had to stop and put our names in at the Big Tent for possible work while we are here. Then, of course we had to do a bit of shopping. Even though the tent is not open until Saturday, many of the outside vendors were open. We found a few needed items and some surprise items we didn’t even know we needed or even knew that existed. There are still a few items on our list that we did not find, or find at the right price, so we will be returning either to work or to do more shopping.

We arrived at La Posa South LTVA where Jeri aka Chief from Just Wanderin met us at the station and led us into the ring. What a great group of folks, many full timers, many stories told around the campfire last night. Trying to get all their names straight and which are couples has been challenging but we have most of them down and the few we missed on, we will get them today.

We will be updating our photos at Picasa Web Albums as the days go on while we are in Quartzsite so be sure to check them out.

Ridgeview RV Resort

2012-01-16T05:43:00.000-08:00

775 Bullhead Parkway
Bullhead City, AZ 86429
928-754-2596
March 19-26, 2010 & January 2-16, 2012

With our Coast to Coast membership we paid a little over $13 per night for water, electric and sewer, fairly level gravel site that includes cable and a patio slab. The last time we were here they did not have any extra charges, but they now added a resort fee and tax to their price as many others do. Even with that, $13 per night for a nice resort in a wonderful area is not so bad. Our phones and MiFi worked fairly well, but they continued to switch from Arizona to Nevada time regularly, they offer Tengo Internet for a small charge.

The laundry room has 10 washers & dryers and seems to be a very busy place but we found the time to use them. The restrooms were well maintained but as usual we did not use them.

It was quiet and peaceful at night, but during the day every once in a while a loud plane would take off from the small airport that would shake the ground.

The swimming pool and Jacuzzi was kept up well, even though we did not use them due to the weather.

The people are very friendly, both the workers and the guests and it looked as if their rules were enforced, we never seen a dog without a leash and owners were picking up after them.

We will definitely stay here whenever we come through this area again.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Wine Tasting for December 2011 - January 2012

2012-01-15T14:38:00.000-08:00

Tasted a Willamette Valley Vineyards 2010 Riesling and gave it a rating of 7.3 out of 10. Crisp, light, fresh and will be on our future purchase list even though this is not one of the sweeter wines.

Tasted a Tedeschi Vineyards Maui Splash Moscato and gave it a rating of 3.6 out of 10. Very strong pineapple at first & then a strong after taste of passion fruit. Definitely an after dinner wine. Would taste good in a punch drink, but too sweet on it's own.

Tasted a Sweet Wines Limited 2010 Sweet Moscato and gave it a rating of 7.1 out of 10. Sweet, crisp and one of our favorites since we tend to lean towards the Moscato wines.

Tasted a Sonoma Landing Vineyards 2008 Sonoma County Pinot Noir and gave it a rating of 2.6 out of 10. Very dry and a rich full flavor, we prefer much sweeter wines and not so stout.

Tasted a Schmitt Sohne 2010 Riesling and gave it a rating of 6.0 out of 10. Very crisp, clean, fresh taste & only a bit on the dry side, we would definitely purchase this one again.

A Little Bit of This & A Little Bit of That!

2012-01-15T13:09:00.000-08:00

The wind never seems to totally stop in this area, but we were able to secure our awning and figure out our spring had sprung and needed to be replaced. We called a local on-site mobile repair shop and he confirmed that is what was wrong and would order the part and return in a few days to complete the repair. The wind has been wicked but on Saturday it was not as strong so the repair guy came by and completed the repair…a few hundred dollars later we are good to go.

We finished our shopping and found all the things we needed to complete our remodeling projects. We had our play day, which wasn’t all that much fun since we only made a donation. Laughlin seems to do that to us, but we always seem to have to stop in whenever we are in the area. We will be heading for Quartzsite in the morning to meet up with some Blog friends and possibly find some work at the big tent for a few weeks, and some shopping too!

We have had a few offers for work for the summer, but we are concentrating on the ones that are out west. We are really not ready to head east any time soon, even though one of those offers was really enticing, we are still weighing them all out and plan to make a decision when the time feels right.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

WINDY…WINDY…Did I Mention the Wind?

2012-01-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

WINDY throughout the night and if we were anywhere but here in Bullhead City, Arizona it might have really bothered me, but here not so much. We are not under a tree, or anywhere near any trees, we do not have to travel, and we know it is only wind, no storm attached to it.

It wasn’t the best night for sleep. Each time we thought the wind was done, we would fall back asleep, it would pick up again and the rig would continue to thrash so hard we had to hang on so not to get bounced out of bed.

Our morning plan was to take a little drive to Wal-Mart and Home Depot for some needed supplies, but as life goes the plan changed quickly and drastically. The wind continued, but since we were just going into town we felt it would not be so bad…

Famous last words!

We had just turned out of the resort and onto the highway and whack! The wind hit the side of the rig and sent the awning almost over the top of it. Thank goodness we ALWAYS bungee cord it for extra protection. If not, this incident would not have turned out as well as it did. We pulled over immediately and tried to get the awning secured back into place. Not happening since the wind was into the side of the awning.

Next idea…

Turn the rig around so that the gusting, solid wind hitting us would be on the opposite side, we got back in and made a U-turn to an open lot area. This helped a little, but we were still in some big trouble.

The wind was strong and whipping around the dirt and all I could think about is why on earth I shaved my legs the day before, the dirt pounding around my legs was doing a fine job of tearing anything including any hair right off and a little bit of skin as well.

Now the idea was to get the awning out just enough so it would tighten back up and we would lock it back into place. We have learned well that the best laid plans at times just do not go accordingly and this time was no different. What happened next was frightening.

The entire awning rolled down as the wind continued whipping so hard. All I could think was it was going to take sail and take the rig with it. My first thought was to slice the awning away from the rig before it took the entire rig away and if I would have had a knife that is exactly what would have happened.

While the wind was continuously flapping the awning up and down with a vengeance, we were holding on for dear life and trying to unlock the locking mechanism. It was stuck and the awning would not roll back up…OMG!

Just as we were about to lose it all, a good Samaritan stopped to give us an extra hand. While he and I held on to the awning, Jerry rustled with the stuck locking mechanism. Finally, it loosened and we rolled it up and even though it was cock-eyed, it was up and no longer flailing in the wind. We put on extra bungee cords so we could get it back to our site and then figure out what to do next.

Once this wind stops we will work on securing the awning and then venture out tomorrow to do some shopping and then play day the next. No harm, no foul. It sure could have been so much worse, but what an adventure.

Some of Our RV Remodeling Projects

2012-01-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

When we first got Maggie, she had shades on her windows and we immediately took them down and replaced with blinds and curtains. The curtains were actually NASCAR towels that were the perfect size and they really wore well.

But, as life goes, we have wanted a change for some time…plus, we really let things get out of hand as far as dust, dirt and especially mold buildup from the moist air we have been in for a long time. So besides a remodel, she needed some desperate spring cleaning.

A few months ago we talked about which direction to take the window coverings and after some research we decided on day/night shades. We found a company that made them and then measured our openings. It was a no brainer on the color, they were going to be white/black. The cost was a little over $600 including all six windows with delivery. But, then that is when it became difficult. It would take them a few weeks to make them and then delivery would be a week or so after that. We needed to know where we would be so that we could have them delivered. We knew we would be at the Pumpkin lot for 30+ days so that was the choice.

Yep, we had them delivered way back in October…knowing we would not be able to begin this project until January. This has been the hardest part of doing things, the timing of getting things done that are out of our control. We need some repair work done to the outside of the rig, major work on the cap and painting it’s body and the biggest problem is finding a place where they do not insist on having our home for 4 weeks or longer and us not able to live in it. We are still researching getting Maggie repaired and repainted, we hope we get some sort of solution before we begin traveling again.

This part of the remodel has been interesting. The more we do the more I want to do and Jerry is just about done with me.

We removed all the window treatments and replaced them with our day/night shades...

We removed the carpet squares and replaced with indoor/outdoor carpeting...

We washed all the walls and ceiling, we painted the walls, every object we touched needed to be cleaned or tossed away, the latter happened more than we expected. It seems life has taught us that we are getting better at letting go of things.

Working as if I were possessed, it seemed all that exorcism stirred up some feelings that if that bug even thought about coming back it would have to live through all the bleach and cleaners we were using.

Our rig has been in shambles for days but we are almost there. We decided we are at a place where we can take a break. We need a few items from Wal-Mart and Home Depot tomorrow to continue with the new remodel projects I found, so we will take a day off and shop, then on Monday we will take a play day. We are both feeling better and Jerry has been so great through all of this that we deserve to take some time and just let loose and have some fun.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Well It Happened…

2012-01-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

Jerry was feeling better and we moved to our next destination at Don Laughlin’s Riverside RV Park for one night. Amazingly, if we stayed the night before, we would have paid almost $70, but now that the holidays are officially over, we only paid $27 for the same site. We have stayed there several times and the place stays about the same, the difference this time was the customer service was exceptional. The strangest thing is that we have never reviewed this place, no photos, only our personal notes. There will be a separate entry on our blog for our notes but as for photos, it will have to wait until our next visit.

Our plan was to check out the casinos on the river front but that plan changed quite drastically while we were enjoying our time at the casinos, all of the sudden that bug that Jerry had been dealing with had found its way into my system…and let me just say IT WAS NOT PRETTY!

We hailed a cab to get us back to our rig and I spent the rest of the night sicker than I had ever been before in my life…it was pure exorcism. It was a full 24 hours and then days of both of us just weak and not really willing to do much of anything.
We did move over to our next location in Bullhead City, Arizona where we plan to stay a few weeks. It is right across the street from Laughlin, Nevada so we plan to take a taxi over next week once we are back to normal. As for now, we will just be taking it easy and begin our remodeling projects on the rig.

We hope this bug does not find its way to any of you, we would not wish this upon our worst enemy. It is nasty and took so much out of us that it feels as if we will never be the same again. We are just grateful that it did not happen while we were working and that it has finally lessened its grip on us.

Don Laughlin's Riverside RV Park

2012-01-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

1650 Casino Drive
Laughlin, Nevada
800-227-3849
March 2007, January 2008, January 1, 2012

We paid $27.50 for a water, sewer, and electric back in site with free cable. The sites are on pavement and gravel and were fairly level. We fit in fine this time, but when we had our Jeep; it hung out on the road which we noticed was the norm for most sites.

Our Verizon phones and MiFi worked great so we did not have to pay extra for their WiFi. Our phones and any clocks that automatically set themselves continuously roamed back and forth from the different time zone across the Colorado River into Arizona.

They had clean showers/restrooms and laundry facilities and the grounds were well maintained. They offered free shuttle service to the casino across the street which we preferred to walk. At check in we have always been greeted graciously and this time was no different, very friendly and accommodating.

There was no big bang, just an ordinary park! We started staying at Casino RV Parks because of the great deals they usually offer, not only the price of the park but also for deal on meals, definitely not the case with this park.

We would not go out of our way to stay here again, but if we are ever in the area, we would come back for another visit.

Pet Policy – Guests are responsible for their pets: Keep your pet on a leash; clean up after your pet. Pets left outside the RV unattended may be removed by animal control.

For some reason we thought we had photos...we do not but we will surely take photos on our next visit.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T07:09:00.000-08:00

Looking back onto 2011, we are extremely grateful for all the wonderful things that were a part of our lives. Yes, there were some trying times, but we choose to focus on the good ones and move forward learning the lessons we are supposed to be learning.

To take each moment and live it as if it were our last.

Always being careful of the things we say…there are times where we will not be totally forgiven and years will pass without contact with people that are dear to us. And, we will NEVER get that time back…it is gone forever and starting over is just not what life has in store for the situation.

To be so grateful for all the things we do have and choose not to be ungrateful for the things that we do not have. What we have so outweighs the things we do not have and we are reminded of that every day.

Life does not always go as planned, but living through those non-planned times with enthusiasm and gratefulness will allow them to be some pretty great times.

People are not always the way we want them to be, but for sure they are exactly who they need to be for their own journey through life.

We need to pick our fights in life, allowing the little things to slide through so not to get bogged down by the drama that many folks choose to live with daily.

Pretending to be anything but ourselves is an injustice to our true selves and we are now living our lives to the best of our authentic selves each and every moment of our days.

Dance…love…laugh…live life to the fullest!

We do not know what 2012 holds for us, but we do know that whatever it is, we will persevere through it all and come out the other side better and wiser, just as long as we continue to follow our hearts and do what is best for us, not what others want for us or from us.

Happy New Year! We hope that this year will be the year that your dreams become your reality and that you get all that you deserve in your lives.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

KOA - Avi Casino RV Park

2012-01-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

10000 Aha Macav Parkway
Laughlin, NV 89028
800-562-4142
March 2007, January 2008, December 2011

They usually have some pretty great deals going on at this park, this year we did not find any of the deals but with them not raising the price for the holiday, it was a good deal. For a water, sewer and electric pull through level site on gravel, we paid $27 for the holiday night and only $22 for the non-holiday/weekend nights with our KOA card which included free cable with several movie channels. We had a little problem with our MiFi roaming at this location, but for the most part it worked well and they offered free WiFi.

Standards are high at this KOA and the staff, including management was absolutely welcoming. Sites were pretty tight but the great views of the surrounding mountains with gorgeous sunrises, sunsets and really great neighbors surely made up for it.

The showers are hot and have a great setup, the laundry room was clean but always busy, and luckily we planned to where this time we did not have to do ours.

This is a great park and not only would we return but we would go out of our way to stay here again. One of the reasons is due to the meal deals at the casino, they offer 2 for 1 deals on the buffet several days a week and the food is really good.

Pet Policy – Limit of two dogs per rig. NO Pit Bulls, Rottweilers or Dobermans. It is the guest’s responsibility to dispose of their pet’s waste. Plastic bags are available.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Primm Valley Resorts…Casinos…& Ending 2011

2011-12-31T11:54:00.000-08:00

We had mentioned to one another several times as we passed through the Primm Valley area that one day we would return and actually spend the night. They do not have a RV Park, but boondocking is allowed in several different areas. Because the weather was going to be freezing at night, we opted to stay in one of the three hotels.

Our choice was at Whiskey Pete’s in a Jacuzzi Suite. Our suite, as the entire hotel and casino is in need of some repairs and TLC, but we made the best of a not so great situation, as we tend to do so well and the view was spectacular!

There were minor malfunctions with the room, no coffee pot, shower not working correctly, toilet about to fall off and plugged, Jacuzzi not working properly, constantly shutting off. We were also informed it was a non-smoking room, but there were ashtrays in the room and both neighbors were heavy smokers which made it very hard for me to sleep. Smoke in the casinos is rough on my allergies, but usually clear up once we leave the casino and we get some fresh air. But not these two days, we were inundated with it and it made for an uncomfortable time, so uncomfortable that we shortened our stay and only stayed two nights.

Whiskey Pete’s, Primm Resort, and Buffalo Bills are all part of the Terrible’s family of casinos, each one is very small with not too many slots to play so we chose to amuse ourselves with other activities. We ate, we Jacuzzi’d, and we shopped at the outlet mall, and we enjoyed our time off of working.

We headed over to Laughlin, Nevada a day early and are staying at the Avi KOA RV Park. We have stayed here several times in the past few years on New Year’s Eve since they do not raise their prices outrageously during the holidays and even though it is usually packed it doesn’t seem to have a lot of activities which cause for a loud night.

Our plan as usual is to celebrate with just the two of us in our home, but there may not be too much celebrating since Jerry caught some sort of bug and has kept us both awake most of last night due to it coming out both ends. He’s feeling better today, but not at 100%, but hopefully he will back to being himself soon and we can taste some of the different types of wine we purchased while we were traveling.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Merry Christmas…We Are On the Road Again…

2011-12-25T05:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, we finally left on Saturday around noon and what a farce it ended up to be…we continue to ask ourselves why we did not follow our hearts and adventure into new territory when it was offered to us earlier in the season by another company. We live and learn and it was a costly lesson, but we learned it well. We now know why he doesn’t get many return management…what we learned without going into details is he is not a man of his word and never means what he says or says what he means and we will no longer work for a man who is so wishy washy, or dishonest, or whichever term that fits this situation. The one thing we know is that we are leaving with fantastic karma and he is not. We gave our all and did a great job, and almost doubled his business, even though he stated differently, we found last year’s totals, so we know differently than what he was trying to hand us.

Now, looking at the bright side, we had the best crew ever. We chose to hire a group of the high school kids but needed to hire a few “Elders” to handle the day shifts while they were in school and we have never experienced such great kids. We have been enlightened that there really are fantastic kids in our world because when you listen to the news and other older folks, it sounds as if there are not any good kids left. Well, there are and they were working for us this season. These kids were well mannered, polite, and eager to learn, took initiative when needed and did not complain. Now for the elders, who by the way were kids from the neighborhood who all knew one another but were in their early 20’s, now the elders were just a bit more to handle but all in all they all did a great job and if we were to return, which we WILL NOT, we would hire many of them back again.

Another great condition this season was the weather. We could not have asked for a better weather season. We had many days of fog, and some really frigid temperatures in the evenings and first part of the morning, but as for any rain…virtually none. We did have one morning, it was frigid and rainy until about noon, then it cleared up and it was sunny for the rest of the afternoon. This helped us through the rough days when Kevin was being a real poop head.

We had a mix of customers as well, some not so nice but most of them were very warm, kind, and in the true spirit of Christmas.

Jerry found a BevMo just around the corner from us and we were able to do some tasting of different kinds and types of wines which we will be sharing with you all in some of the upcoming days. First, we will be doing some resting up, some cleaning up of ourselves and the rig from too many long hour days.

We hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday season and we hope that the New Year brings all of your dreams into your reality. We are currently working on a pretty exciting adventure that we can’t yet share with you, but we will just as soon as we are able to do so.

We have added our photos from the lot on our Picasa Web Albums, please feel free to check them out.

Single Digits

2011-12-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

Not temperature, but days until we are on the road again…

We honestly did not think we would make it through this gig, but we stuck it out and learned a lot about ourselves. We learned that most of our lives we settled and always took abuse from others because it felt normal to us. Well, we now know it is not normal and we do not deserve to be treated as badly as we have been treated again this season.

We deserve to have the best that life has to offer, even though that little soft voice within ourselves says differently, we know that we deserve the wonderfulness that life has waiting for us once we claim it and believe it.

We stood up for ourselves and spoke with him, but as usual, it did nothing. He actually tried to turn it all around and make it as if it were our fault. He actually told me that I had a side which he referred to as Bad Kimberly that did not like to be told what to do. After trying to defend myself, I finally gave up, realizing that he was not going to get it and I refused to waste my time trying to make him understand that his so called opinion of me did not matter. We have the experience of managing his lot without all the supervision he felt he had to give to us, but he has this idea that we can’t, even after working for him for 4 years. No amount of explaining would make him understand, so we just let it go and will finish off this season, but will not return. We deserve a much better environment for the holidays.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be our traveling days…we will head southeast for some rest, relaxation, play and figure out what we will do next. We have some drying out to do, both the rig and our bodies…we have some remodeling and repair to do…again both the rig and our bodies. The one thing we know for sure is that we will be living our lives from an entirely different perspective. Life’s lessons are not always fun to go through, but in the end they are what assists us in continuing onto the next phase of our lives and we look forward to every moment.

In the past few months, we have tried several different types and brands of wine and will share all of our reviews once we get in vacation mode. We wish everyone in our lives the best holiday season...travel safe and make the best memories ever.

Caring What Others Think

2011-12-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

This has always been one of our Achilles’ heels and even though we have been working hard at it, it seems to be taking a toll on us these last few days. It doesn’t help that the lot has been so slow and we are just sitting around…not what we expected from this location but the weekends are really busy so we should be good now.

We have always had a great disposition when it comes to people but we are not perfect and we have had a few not so pleasant times with customer service. The complainers always complain the loudest but the good ones hardly ever say anything… Why is that? Anyway, I was bored so I went online with my new IPhone and searched reviews about this business and found some comments about my attitude with some of the pumpkin people…well needless to say it did not sit well with me. Then, our boss was in a mood and said a few things that really got under our skin.

So, for the past few days we have been down on ourselves, then we had an epiphany…we will NEVER be able to please everyone and until you have walked a mile in my shoes, do not have the audacity to complain about my customer service when in all honesty it was you that was being unreasonable.

We always go above our call of duty, because that is how we were raised and it feels right to us. But, there are times when people expect so much and are not willing to give back nothing. That is exactly what these few circumstances were all about.
We still do not have the proper electricity we need to run our motorhome and it is now worse since we have a gauge which is telling us that not only do we not have enough power, we also do not have a dedicated line for us only. The other day I came in to vacuum and looked at the meter and we were peaked…we had nothing running to warrant that sort of usage. When the museum shut down at 4pm we looked at the gauge, it was back to what we have been living with for the past few weeks.

Bad enough for our rig not having the power we need, then our setup in the lot is bad as well. I usually use a space heater in my booth to keep me warm and whenever I turn it on, my lights go out and there are other little nuances about electrical stuff throughout the lot that when we expressed our concern, we were brushed off.

The good news is…we have only 22 more days…then we are off to the desert to dry up. We are looking into other types of work for next year, we do not want to do another pumpkin or Christmas lot ever again! We want to have fun while we work...enough of this already!

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Our Vacation Continues

2011-11-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

What a difference a day makes…one night we paid the most we have every paid for a site and the next we paid under $20 for a just as adequate site at Kit Fox RV Park. We have stayed here several times when we had been in the area and will continue to stay here whenever we are nearby.

How is it that many of these resorts feel they can get away with highway robbery? It is still a site, not a hotel room. We still provide our own living space and do not need any services that hotels offer, but somehow they still feel they can charge these exuberant prices for a site. We never use any of the facilities. We use our own showers, bathroom, and every so often we use their laundry facilities that we pay extra for anyway. How do they justify it?

Our next stop was Jackson Rancheria Casino RV Park. This place was 100 times better than the Marina Dunes RV Park and for more than 50% less…how does that work? They are still on the high side, but compared to others they are less expensive, plus we had another play day.

We have been staying a few days at each location, just enjoying some play time at the casino and then some down time relaxing and writing. Once again, we know that we need to write and take photos and share our stories with our readers. Every time we decide to stop writing, we get yet another comment from one of our readers that hit a chord within our souls and tells us that we must continue our dream lifestyle. Life seems to happen that way.

After a few days at Jackson Rancheria Casino and RV Park, we drove about 40 miles to our next location. The drive was spectacular, we love taking many of the roads less traveled. We took 49 north to Placerville KOA which happens to be one exit away from the Red Hawk Casino. They offer a free shuttle, we had a blast. We got there in the morning and stayed until the wee hours of the next morning, we remain ahead of the game and continue having so much fun. Life is good.

There was a special rate at the Placerville KOA, so we stayed for three days, playing, resting, cleaning the rig and doing some laundry before moving on to our next adventure.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Placerville KOA

2011-11-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

4655 Rock Barn Road
Shingle Springs, CA 95682
530-676-2267

With an online casino discount, we paid $100 for 3 nights. Our site included, electric, water, sewer, free cable, free WiFi on a not so level, gravel pull-thru site. Our Verizon phones and MiFi had great reception.

The staff was so friendly and willing to go out of their way to make our stay perfect. They allowed us to check in at 10 am without an extra charge, they also allowed us to move our site when we mentioned a few of our wants. Customer service always changes our outlook on a place and makes our stay much brighter, allowing the little nuances to slip past us.

There were traffic noises since the park is located right on a highway. We do not mind the consistent noise like traffic, we do not like the loud noises like dogs barking and loud rude people late at night, which this park did not have any of that.

The grounds were not immaculately taken care of, the grass was dry in many areas, leaves everywhere, and the sites were gravel and not very level, but there was not any trash littered in the park.

The amenities that were located at the front office were kept clean and well maintained. The laundry room was small but the washers and dryers worked so well, we were in and out very quickly.

The pool, spa and game room were all closed during our stay since only polar bears swam during this time of the year.

Pet Policy – Pets are welcome, but they must be on a short leash at all times. They are not to be tied outside alone for they tend to get lonely and bark for you to come back. Sorry, NO Pitbulls/Pitbull mixes allowed. They have a special place of their own by the petting barn. If an accident occurs before you get there, please pick it up so nobody steps in it.

By calling the casino number given to us by the office at check-in we had a very accommodating free shuttle service to the Red Hawk Casino, located one exit away. The casino is huge and we found ourselves able to play any machine even at the busy times since there were so many machines to choose from. If we are ever in the area again, we would stop by for another visit.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Our Great Escape…A Visit to Hearst Castle…Traveling Highway 1 & So Much More…

2011-11-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

We escaped and had a successful closing of the Pumpkin Patch…so much we actually left a day early. We had the place cleaned up a before 10am on November 1st, so we decided to begin our vacation earlier than our original plan.

We stopped for two nights in Gilroy, California, a drive of just 80 miles. We did our major WalMart shop, we both got haircuts, and then hooked up for the night. We took long showers and just relaxed the rest of the evening. The next day we did our laundry, cleaned the inside of the rig, the outside will have to wait for now, and we took some time to rest our weary bones. We once again chose to stay at Gilroy Garlic USA RV Park, be sure to check out the reviews of all the parks we are staying in while traveling California.

We are noticing outrageously high rates that many of the RV Parks, Resorts and Campgrounds here in California are charging…unbelievably ridiculous. Some worse than others, but for all of them…NO RV site is worth, 60 to 70 dollars per night, but unfortunately that is what we have been paying for many of them.

We decided to wait to visit San Diego some other time, just too much traveling when we are trying to get some rest. Instead, we plan to meander around Central/Northern California, looking for exciting things to visit and play at some of their casinos…we love play days and possibly visit some of the local wineries!

Since we had already made a reservation at the Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground in Buellton, we decided that would be the furthest south we would head. One of the main reasons we chose this resort was they offered a free shuttle to the Chumash Casino Resort and nearby wineries. After checking in, we found out that they still offer this service but they only ran every 4 hours…what an inconvenience. The wineries in the area, were actually wine tasting rooms, the actual wineries were miles away. We do not like wine tasting rooms, we prefer to do the winery tours with free tastings.

We did stop at the Pea Soup Andersen’s Restaurant and had a bowl of their famous Split Pea Soup in a Bread Bowl. Now, don’t get me wrong, it was delicious, but my mom made the best split pea soup ever. Her soup was thick from soaking the peas overnight, and she boiled the peas along with the ham bone from our Easter dinner for hours, then she threw in all the leftover ham, then chopped up onions and potatoes into small pieces so they all sort of merged with one another. It would take a miracle for any place to beat her soup.

Then we decided to take a very scenic drive along the Pacific Coast, Highway 1 from Morro Bay to Monterey, stopping in San Simeon to view the Hearst Castle. We took the first time tour, which gave us an overview of the entire estate. First, let me say, the bus ride alone is worth the $25 per person we paid. It takes you up the windiest roads with a fantastic view with every twist. My camera was going non-stop for the entire ride, as well as when we arrived at the top to the castle.

Wow, to have that much money to one day decide that he had all this land and was tired of living in a tent, decided to create this castle…28 years later it was completed. Truly it was never completed, as he always found new and different things to build or add to this magnificent creation. We, on the other hand after being out here the first year full-timing in a tent decided we were tired of living in a tent and bought Maggie. Not the Hearst Castle, but we love her just the same. Can’t even imagine living like that…maybe that is why we struggle so much, we think we want to live high on the hog, then we realize we are not cut out that way.

When we set out on the drive, we hadn’t made any plans where we would stop for the night since we didn’t know how long it would take, we were very surprised with the twists and turns of the entire highway and it was almost dark when we finally hooked up at the most outrageously priced RV site at the Marina Dunes RV Park in Monterey. Check out the separate review for all the details.

Since we had to wait until the office opened in the morning so we could pay them, we took a walk on the dunes to the ocean. It was a great morning walk, the ocean, lakes and most water really puts me into a great frame of mind, almost a meditative state of mind that leads me to better decision making and a very productive life. A few moments on the water make up for months of no time on the water.

We took a ton of photos, we have them in separate albums, one dedicated to Hearst Castle, another from the scenic drive up the coast as well as each of the RV parks we stayed. We also did separate reviews, so please check out our photos at our Picasa Web Albums page and our reviews on separate blog entries.

Jackson Rancheria Casino RV Park

2011-11-09T13:20:00.000-08:00

12222 New York Ranch Road
Jackson, CA 95642
800-822-9466

With a 10% discount using our Good Sam card we paid $70 for 2 nights with no additional taxes for a water, electric, sewer, WiFi and cable back-in site on a concrete slab with a picnic table. A bit pricey but not as high as many of the California parks we have stayed in lately. We did use their free WiFi since our Verizon phones and MiFi was very slow.

The last time we were here, we showed up as we always do but they were full. Apparently this happens a lot since they cater to many clubs. We recommend reservations or at least as we did this time, we called ahead to see how full they were going to be for our timing and then called the night before to assure we had an available site and we did.

This place is really a class act. Upon checking in, they give you coupons that give you some great savings. Not only at the Casino but for future stays here at the RV Park. Also, due to some sort of environmental thing once you check in you pull into an area where they dump you and give you a liquid to use in your black tank while you are parked.

Their amenities are very well maintained. The showers, restrooms and play areas were immaculate. They have two spas and a nice size pool that we did not partake in since it was frigid the few days we were here.

Pet outside your RV must: Be attended and leashed at all times. Be kept quiet and under control. Never be tied to anything. Be cleaned up after immediately. N pens, cages, or kennels permitted outside without prior approval. Management reserves the right to require any guest to remove a misbehaving pet or vacate their site if a pet is a nuisance to others.

The free shuttle service runs every 20 minutes or so and we had a fantastic lunch for only $5 each, using the coupons they gave us at check-in. The casino had some good slots and was fun at first, then after lunch the place got crowded and stayed that way until late into the evening.

With or without the coupons we received we will be keeping this gem on our radar for future visits.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Kit Fox RV Park

2011-11-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

14750 Rogers Road
Patterson, CA 95363
209-892-2638

Updated 11/6/2011 - 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.

Marina Dunes RV Park

2011-11-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

3330 Dunes Drive
Marina, CA 93933
831-384-6914

We paid $70.56 using our Good Sam or AAA discount for a water, electric, sewer, free WiFi (our phone and MiFi worked great), free cable (that did not work) on a level, gravel, back-in site for 1 night. Yes, you read that right, it was for one night.

We arrived late in the evening, after dark and self-registered for our site. Nowhere anywhere on the forms was there a price, just a really great way to check someone in after hours. There were laminated forms on a board with all the information about the site, the size, the services, but no price and informed us to come into the office in the morning and settle up. Needless to say it was major sticker shock for us, but we paid it and moved on.

The park was small and covered with many trees which gave it a very private feeling. It was not open to see other RV’s; we could hardly see our neighbors. We took a walk in the morning before the office opened at 9 am and took some photos of the area, nice facilities and amenities. Including the grounds, they were all maintained, but not kept very clean. This was unacceptable for the price they charge.

Pet Policy – “We love pets, but they must wear a short leash when outside their rig and please, don’t leave them alone. They get lonely when you’re away and let everyone know how upset they are. Please walk your pet outside the Park and pick up after them.” We encountered poop right outside the park and along our walk to the dunes. We also had a few barking dogs throughout our short stay in the middle of the night and bright and early in the morning.

Due to the exuberant nightly rates, we will not be staying there again anytime soon.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Hearst Castle - Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument

2011-11-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

750 Hearst Castle Road
San Simeon, CA 93452
800-444-4445

Open daily at 8 am – Advanced Reservations Recommended.

This is not anywhere remotely near anywhere else, so you will have to make it a trip of its own. The drive along Pacific Coast Highway 1 to get there and then the bus ride up to the Castle are both breathtaking and worth the trip. The roads curve and wind and twist and with each turn there is a different view to enjoy. On the bus ride up to the castle, you might see deer, horses, cows, zebras, buffalo, and if you are truly lucky you may even see the more exclusive animals that still roam the hills.

Once arriving at the top, you are greeted by your host who gives you a guided tour for about 40 minutes before letting you go to explore on your own. They offer several types of tours, we opted for Tour 1, the Experience Tour – Recommended for the first-time visitors as it provides a broad overview of the many facets of Hearst Castle and it is the least strenuous of the tours. Not so, we still walked hundreds of steps.

Many of the tours duration is a few hours, so be prepared to have that time available so to experience it all. The other tours they offer are more of specialty tours that includes the Upper Floors, the North Wing, as well as Garden Tours and Evening Tours for your personal pleasures.

We took so many photos that do not even begin to tell the story of how exquisite this castle truly is. The workmanship and the priceless items on the premises is beyond our comprehension, they are each grande on their own without being so professionally gathered together with each other item.

We highly recommend a visit here, if for nothing else the fantastic photo moments the area offers.

For all of our million of photos we took during our visit, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground

2011-11-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

180 Avenue of Flags
Buellton, CA 93427
877-783-5247

They do not take any sort of discounts, so with taxes we paid $129.80 for 2 nights for water, electric, sewer, cable and WiFi pull-thru flat site on a concrete slab with a picnic table. It was a great park, but there is absolutely NO site worth that sort of nightly charge. Our Verizon MiFi and phone service was excellent.

They had loads of activities going on that we did not participate in since the charges were exuberant. They had dinners for an additional $15 per person and ice cream socials for an additional $7 to $10 charge…a bit much for our taste so we chose instead to go to the casino.

One of the reasons we chose this particular park is they advertised free shuttle service to the nearby casino and wineries which ended up being a bit misleading. The wineries were actually wine rooms, almost like a bar setting, not what we wanted. We really enjoy doing a winery tour and then some wine tasting, so we decided to just do the casino which ended up being another disappointment for travel. The free shuttle service only ran every 4 hours, we thought we could work with it but found that we were ready to leave a little after 9 pm and another shuttle was not due until midnight. The place was packed and we went into a losing phase so the next few hours were a bit stressful, but we made it through and caught the midnight ride back to the park.

The amenities were well maintained and kept very clean, but again it was cold so we did not partake in using the pool or spas.

Even if we are ever in the area again, we would not stay here and the only reason for that is the extremely high rate.

Pet Policy – Quiet pets are welcome as long as they remain on a leash(not to exceed 6’) and under control at all times. All pets are to be walked in the marked areas, and are not permitted in building, the pool area, or the playground. Cleaning up after pets is required and is the owner’s responsibility. For your convenience, pick-up bags are available in the office. Pets may not be left unattended at any time. Consistently noisy pets or those that do not adhere to the regulations will not be welcome at the resort. Aggressive breeds such as Pit Bulls and Rottweillers are not permitted.

For more photos, check out our Picasa Web Albums.

Gilroy Garlic USA RV Park

2011-11-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

Updated on 11/3/2011 -

650 Holloway Road
Gilroy, CA 95020
408-848-8081

What a difference a year makes…the last time we were here they had a special rate of $25…today for a water, electric and sewer, back-in with cable and WiFi, it cost us $40 per night. They still do the 10% discount, but that only takes care of the California taxes, no other memberships were accepted.

The area still smelled like garlic, especially in the morning and evenings. The park is very clean and well maintained. The sites are concrete and very level with a patio or extra vehicle pad. We did not use their cable or WiFi since our Verizon MiFi worked perfectly.

We did our laundry in the laundry room which had 6 front load washers and dryers that did our wash well. The restrooms were updated and kept very clean.

They seem to adhere to their Pet Policy which states, “All pets must be on a leash & with you at all times when outside of your RV. No outside fencing or kennels. You must immediately clean up after your pet. Barking and aggressive dogs will not be tolerated or ALLOWED.” They had posted several copies of this and other policies noting that some were not obeying this policy and they will do whatever it takes to assure all is adhering to their policies.

If we are ever in the area again, we would stop here again.

We have added new photos to our Picasa Web Albums...check them out!

We left Pacifica, California and began our journey back to the desert looking for the closest Super Wal-Mart. It was in Gilroy, California so we set our GPS and we were on the road again. It was under a hundred miles but we knew we would be shopping for hours so we chose to stay at the Gilroy Garlic USA RV Park in no other than Gilroy, California. The name should have given us a clue but after shopping for hours we walked out of the store and the smell was so strong, we smelled it on us for days to come. We love garlic, we use to eat it a lot more but we still eat it every chance we get, we just never have experienced such a continuous smell of it.

The Gilroy Garlic USA RV Park was located just a few blocks from the Super Wal-Mart, which made it very convenient for us. The park had a special rate going on of $25 per night for a back-in FHU, but then took an additional 10% off if you had Good Sam, AAA, FMCA, CTPA but also would take off 10% just by mentioning a discount, something that has been unheard of in California…deals…let alone a good deal. Friendliest host we have met in a very long time, he has been there for years and advertises, “Home of the Full Hookup”. They have free cable, free wifi, shower houses and free ice in the laundry room, along with water, electric and sewer. Very well maintained park…again…more like a resort.

If we are ever in the area again, we would definitely stay here again.

They Say...

2011-10-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday...I'm gonna have a good time...

We are almost done...3 days left and we are vacationing for almost 3 weeks before we return to do the trees...but for today, it's my birthday and I am going to have the time of my life!