Back at the Orange Grove

Saturday morning we bid farewell to our neighbors at ORI and started the trek north back to Oregon.  Our first overnight was at the Orange Grove RV Park....one of our absolute favorite overnight stops.  Not only is this one of the friendliest, best people watching parks arounds, but you are literally parked in the middle of an orange field (orchard)...whatever they are called.  This stop all of the oranges are gone, but all of the trees are in bloom and the scents are amazing....it is like being parked in a nursery.

We took our favorite back route up through Yucca Valley, turning west at Barstow and coming in on the 58.  As any RVer knows....there is always something that happens during these travels.  For us, we were dealing with an engine that was pushing the edge of overheating as the cooling fan is not kicking in when it should.  This of course made the Tehachapi pass more invigorating than we would like and put me into a mini-breakdown (nothing unusual).  Luckily I did some reading last night and if I can find the fan controller below that radiator and just unplug it that should put the fan on high for the remainder of the trip.  Of course these things happen on weekends always so you learn how to use your online resources.  We are going to leave the fan plugged in and give another try today as most of our route is flat, but at least have a potential temporary fix if it happens again.  Off today to Lodi (queue the song) to see friends that moved there from Portland.  Happy travels everyone!!

Sunning in Indio

Busted again!  OK, so if you are expecting regular updates from us, apparently those expectations should be set to "low".  We are currently parked at Outdoor Resorts Indio enjoying bountiful sunshine, excessive amounts of good food, and reuniting with some good friends.

Kasha living the hard life

Our current site #134

Cheers

Front window view

Our initial desert landing was at the Vineyards RV Resort in Coachella.  Had never heard of this place, and did not even know it existed, but the rate was one we could not pass up for our first desert week.  It is an odd place with casitas that are built next to RV pads.  We only rented the pad so cannot speak for the casitas.  It was a beautiful lot, but we really missed the lack of interaction with others that we have found at other parks down here.  It was adjacent to the Spotlight 29 Casino, so we did get to take in Joan Rivers the first night we arrived.

A week later we moved over to ORI.  As we pulled in, there were three retirees here that were ready for the "let's see you back that thing in" show.  I am happy to report that our synchronized nonverbal teamwork provided nothing but disappointment to those hoping for a good show.  Our neighbor across the street told us that he had never seen something like that without even one word uttered.  Of course, that is not usually what happens....but we were both happy to let others think that "gay" couple have it all figured out.

Our own personal secret to these parks where owners own their lots individually is to NOT pay the outrageous rent by going through the main office at these places, but finding individual owners that you can rent from directly.  We have done this the last two years and save anywhere from 40-50% off what the resort would charge.  In fact, if you do it right you can usually grab one of these sites at a price that is not much above the nearby county park.

We will be here one more week and then will start making our migration back north.  We will continue catching up with old friends, eating, trying to run off excess calories, and even doing some local hikes.

OH...and Paul found us this new gadget (only in Palm Springs)....and amazingly it does work...

Yes, a lemon mister

Southward Bound

So much for keeping up on daily updates...best laid plans again.  Anyhow, we started our trek south on Tuesday (2/25) through southern Oregon, over Mt. Shasta, and landed in Red Bluff on Tuesday night at the Durango RV Resort.  We have stayed here before and love the convenience, large sites, and the local Italian restaurant across the street (Luigis).  We met a fun couple from Portland that are headed south as well on their way to San Diego.  We also realized that we would be at the same landing spot in Bakersfield Friday night, so agreed to catch up there.

Durango RV Resort

On Wednesday we then headed south again, traversing the death defying roadwork on Highway 99 to the town of Fresno.  Neither of us had been to Fresno so wanted to check out the area a bit more given that we had an extra day planned on our route south.  There are virtually no parks in the area, so we ended up at the one that was most centrally located in the city (Blackstone North RV Park).  Centrally located is certainly accurate, and the place was clean and fairly spacious for being in the middle of the city.  Having only heard negative things about Fresno, I was amazed at how friendly everyone one, how varied the sections of the city are, and how much pride residents have in their city.  We can now check that one off our list.

Blackstone North RV Park

After the most torrential downpour I think we have experienced in an RV (other than maybe one in Florence when camping with my brother), we were ready to head south again to Bakersfield for a night at our favorite park in the area (Orange Grove RV Park).  The forecast was for heavy rain showers and wind and the trip did not disappoint.  One section of Hwy 99 was actually flooded requiring us to SLOWLY work through the lane...we then made it 3 miles before the turnoff to HWY 58 east in Bakersfield and HWY 99 was closed requiring us to meander the city streets with our trusty phone apps in hand through yet another torrential downpour.

Torrential rains in Bakersfield

Orange Grove RV

The sun appearing again

Kasha taking in some sun/birds

Finally, we landed at the Orange Grove and are settled in for the night.  The torrential rains let up and Kasha was even able to enjoy some sunshine in her favorite place.  We met up with our fellow travelers from Portland, compared the sizes of our picked oranges along with inappropriate comments and then crashed after a long day on the road.  Saturday we be our final trek south to the Palm Springs area.  We will keep you updated!

Prepping for our BIG trip South

Wow...can't believe that our last post was in August.  My apologies for neglecting this poor blog for those of you that are following us!  It has been a bit of a rough 6 months...Paul's dad passed away right before Thanksgiving and some work turmoil has kept me preoccupied fall term and most of this term, along with agreeing to teach an extra class winter term...BUT....we are now back and getting back to our RVing roots!

This weekend we are over at Pacific Shores in Newport giving our rig a shakedown voyage before our trip South on Tuesday.  We had some work down by our friends at Premier RV Services in Junction City, Oregon, this winter so wanted to make sure everything was in order for our long trek to the sun and warm desert climate.  So far so good, other than a washer/dryer unit we had removed where the service tech forgot to cap the water lines...that gave us a nice drippy surprise Friday night, but after $.89 and some good towel drying we are back in business.  So far everything else seems to be ready for travel....today's plan will be clearing our storage bins, checking vital fluids, and checking tire pressures so we are ready to head out.

I have added our travel calendar for the trip south on the blog and will be excited to give you updates along the way.  I will probably be flying back to Oregon for at least one week of the trip to catch up on work meetings.

As always, we are LOVING our stay over here in Newport and enjoying some unseasonably gorgeous sunshine....making this pre-trip work MUCH easier!

Gorgeous day at the coast!

Kasha working hard as usual

Paul in pre-bin cleaning mode

Lewis & Clark RV Park - Astoria, Oregon

This last weekend we revisited one of our favorite cities on the Oregon coast, Astoria.  We packed up the RV, picked up Paul's parents in Portland and headed NW to Astoria.

ROUTE CHOICES FROM PORTLAND:  There are three main routes to get to Astoria from Portland.   The quickest route is actually up I-5 in Washington, cutting over at Longview to Hwy 30 and then continuing west to Astoria.  The second route, arguably the longest, is to take Hwy 30 out of Portland the entire way to Astoria.  The final choice it to take Hwy 26 out of west Portland up through Seaside and then north on 101.  We have taken all of these routes in the past and definitely prefer the more leisurely Hwy 30 route.  You pass through several quaint towns along the way and the scenery is absolutely gorgeous.  Hwy 26 is loaded with weekend travelers trying to get to/from the coast as quickly as possible and can be quite a hair raising adventure so is one we avoid in the RV.

FOOD:  OK...so if you follow this blog you already know food is HUGE focus for us :)  Astoria happens to have some of THE best food on the coast.  You certainly cannot go wrong with the choices over here.  Our absolute favorite is the Bowpicker located downtown across from the maritime museum.  Fresh tuna fish and chips that just cannot be beat.  This place is VERY popular, so plan accordingly and plan on waiting in line as well.  A new find this trip was only 2 minutes away from the park on Young's Bay with a million dollar view....a Mexican restaurant that looks like a shack you would probably never try without several recommendations.  Well let me tell you, La Cabana de Raya is well worth a visit!  The prices are tremendous, the view is breathtaking, and you will eat for at least two days on whatever meal you happen to purchase.  We cooked the remainder of our meals in the coach so those are the only two nuggets I can share on this trip, but promise to fill you in on future trips to Astoria as we have a LONG list of places we are still wanting to try.

Enchiladas for 4...or 1 at this place

Delicious Guacamole!

Do NOT go to Astoria without trying this place...amazing!

LEWIS & CLARK RV PARK:  This is our favorite summer park in Astoria.  Fort Stevens is a nice state park but is not a relaxing place in the summer.  Lewis & Clark is a smaller park with pull-thru and back-in sites that will accommodate any size rig.  It is located off Youngs Bay Road, SE of Astoria by a few minutes.  Almost all of the sites look directly onto the 9-hole golf course and it is a peaceful and quiet setting.  With the craziness of our weekday lives, we both love getting away on weekends to quiet and relaxing.  The owners are THE absolute best!  They are friendly, fun, know all of the good places in town and really work to make your stay enjoyable.  We rented a "super site" they have that has an RV pad along with a park-model cabin attached where Paul's parents stayed.  There is a huge patio attached with a firepit, BBQ, and seating for 20 easily.  The A and C sites are the best choices for Class A and C RVs with a clear view of the golf course and large grassy area.  They have frisbee golf available, Bocce ball, as well as the adjacent golf course....plenty of relaxing fun times.

Patio Area - A sites in background

Enjoying some ladder ball in front of patio. C sites in background

Paul on golf course adjacent to park

Paul's parents enjoying some summer coastal sun

 

FMCA Virgin Report

So this last weekend was our FIRST ever RV rally....kind of....which really means that we only attended for one day and didn't actually camp on-site.  Since the rally was only 20 minutes from our house it just seemed weird to pack everything up and drive 20 minutes to camp.  We DID however get to spend an entire day at the rally and had a tremendous time....here is why:

1. WE RAN INTO UNEXPECTED FRIENDS.  The biggest surprise of the day was running into Denise and Roger.  Denise worked for me at OSU and I blame her for initiation into the RV lifestyle.  She would describe all of the amazing travels her and Roger would make in their RV and it got Paul and I SO excited that we bought our own RV two years ago and have never looked back.  Denise always brings a smile to my face as she loves people, she gives a great deal back to the community, and she is just fun all around!  We also ran into Doug and Ann, Butch and Jodi and several others that we have met during visits at Pacific Shores in Newport.  Finally, we got to spend time with our favorite salesperson who is now a good friend, Susan Graham from Premier RV Sales in Junction City, Oregon. 

2.  WE GOT TO TRY OUT COMFORT DRIVE.  Newmar was giving test rides in an Essex, Dutch Star, and Ventana.  These were hour-long test drives and included a free jacket at the end of the test drive!  Who can beat that....of course, to keep our slobbering to a minimum, we chose to drive the Ventana.  I do have to admit that the Comfort Drive was quite amazing.  I was most impressed with how you just let the wheel go and the coach would back up in a straight line...something I can never seem to accomplish with my backing abilities.

3.  WE HAD FUN WALKING THE GROUNDS.  We spent time exploring the vendor booths, all of the show coaches there from dealers, and just walking about the 200+ rigs that were camping there to see all of the creative decorating/living that people do.

Needless to say, based upon our experiences here, we will certainly be attending the FMCA rally in Redmond, Oregon, next summer where roughly 2,000 coaches are expected...can't even imagine!

Back at the Feathers

OK. I will admit that we are probably here far too frequently, but THIS time it was to meet up with our friend Marcia who is over here from La Pine for a few days.  We of course made it just in time Friday for the truck stop line-caught blackened salmon special....absolutely delicious.

Perhaps you are wondering if every destination we choose is food related...well...yes, sometimes that is accurate. I am happy to report that after dining on salmon and hitting the casino with Marcia, I am up $100 and Paul is up $40. Today we arose and made a trek down to Heaven on Earth, a restaurant in Azalea that boasts the worlds largest cinnamon rolls...from what I saw this could definitely be accurate. Due to our extravagance this morning we will be skipping lunch and then meeting up with Marcia again tonight to try out a local Italian restaurant. 

We tried a new section of the resort this visit, site 174, and were impressed with privacy and views here on the south side. I have added a few pictures so you can check this out. Many of the back-in only sites on this side are quite private. We will definitely stay on this side again. 

I will report back on the Italian restaurant. Next weekend we will be hitting the FMCA rally in Albany, Oregon with our friends Michele and Cathy. Have never been to one of these so look forward to giving you the virgin's perspective!

View from Site 174

View from Site 174

Site 174

Paul and Kasha enjoying the sun

The LARGEST cinnamon roll ever...