December 2021 – California
This month we followed the plan we cancelled in 2020 when Covid was
climbing through the roof and vaccines weren’t available. If it sounds
familiar, it is the plan we have followed every December for five years: Salt Lake City to Simi Valley,
on to Meadowbrook, and finally to Hemet
for Xmas.
We've tried to make the trip from SLC to Simi in two days,
staying one night in a casino parking lot on the NV/CA state line. That's two very long days, and we are just not willing to do that anymore. Sand Hollow
State Park in Hurricane,
UT makes a good stop for the first night. Although it's a bit off the interstate, we
have ususally been able to get one of the large pull through sites in the hill
section. This year, we had to take a site in the ATV section on the other side of the lake. The site itself was
fine, but the constant buzz and roar of those things became really annoying.
The casino we used to stay in at the NV line on the second night appears to be
permanently closed, and alternatives are sparse on the stretch of I15 from Las Vegas to Barstow.
After beating up Google Maps and various RV camping web sites, we decided to
try the Mad Greek Café parking lot in Baker. The surroundings looked a little
sketchy, but several trucks coming and going kept us company all night. One
of the local gendarmes took a really, really long break in his cruiser under
the tree next door, so security wasn’t a problem. We must have caught the cook at the Greek on an off night, though, because the food was pretty lousy. I ate there on a motorcycle trip to Death Valley many years ago and don't remember it to be quite as disappointing.
We took advantage of a relatively short final day to leave I15
in Barstow to avoid the Cajon Pass
and I210. We took CA58 across to CA14. It’s several miles longer but the stress
level is much lower. It’s also much easier than the alternative route via CA18 to CA14, too. Getting through Victorville on CA18 is no fun.
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Rare-ish Red Shouldered Hawk
patrolled Tapo campground |
Tapo Canyon County Park Campground in
Simi Valley was the first place we stayed
when we hit the road in 2014 and we have come back every year since, barring
last year. The park price keeps going up and the showers are barely warm, but it’s
about the only place to stay that let’s us visit friends in
Thousand Oaks and
Pasadena.
Simi also has a Trader Joe’s and a Costco which let’s us overlook many other
deficiencies.
It was so good to see everyone again. You may recall that we
were lucky to see Judy, and Janie
and Rick this summer as our paths crossed during our travels, but even
six months seems like a long time between visits. Not seeing Kathryn and Jay,
and Mary and Sam for two years was really much, much too long. We had so much
to catch up on!
Judy organized a
trip to LA to see the Van Gough digital multimedia show followed by lunch in Beverly Hills. Both were
great fun, especially the show. It used the same computer controlled HD technology
as the similar one that we saw in SLC, with equally
spectacular results. The layout of the interior spaces in the two venues was
quite different. That meant that there were unique viewing perspectives that
one site offered that the other couldn’t match; both were very interesting. See more pictures below.
Having to show both vaccination cards and photo ids was annoying until I
thought it thru and talked to one of the security folks, then it made sense and
I became a firm supporter. The stories he shared about people trying to cheat
the regulations were pretty disheartening. Dispite the hassles of getting around downtown LA, don't miss it if you are anywhere nearby or discover other venues on the tour. Thanks, Judy.
Our time in Simi seemed to just fly by, and then it was time
to head south to Meadowbrook RV Park in Perris, close to Lake Elsinore.
I used to think nothing of driving the coach in SoCal, but it no longer has any
appeal to me. The lanes must have gotten narrower and the traffic more
aggressive in the past two years. I can
do it without issues, but it takes 100% concentration and there are way, way too many thoughtless drivers in cars and in big trucks here. Ok, rant over.
Our original plan was to stay in Meadowbrook for two weeks,
including Xmas week, and make the 50 mile round trip to visit family in Hemet whenever something was going on. It
is much less expensive to stay there than at the Golden Village park in Hemet, and much closer than Jojoba Hills in Aguanga. The traffic on CA74 has gotten worse
in two years, because it only took a couple of trips to realize that this plan
wasn’t going to work. The only feasible park in Hemet is Golden Village Palms RV Resort. There were no online deals, so Kayeanne got on the phone and called the park office. It turned out that
they were offering a 33% discount on weekly rates, including Xmas week. We
quickly signed up and cancelled the second week at Meadowbrook.
Meadowbrook is the closest park we can find to visit
Christine, Ed and Zack in San Juan
Capistrano. It has been two years since we last saw
them, too. We had hoped to meet them on the road this year, but issues with
their business kept them anchored at home while that all got sorted out. It was so
good to spend an afternoon and evening with them. Schroeder got to come, too,
and had the run of the house, which he took full advantage of.
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| Christine and Zack with bowl |
Kayeanne brought her renown Covid Cupcakes for dessert at
their house a few days before Xmas. We had such a good time that we forgot the
frosting bowl. As much as we like that bowl we weren’t going to drive all the
way back to get it. We’d miss it, but it wasn’t a family heirloom. Then
Christine had a great idea: Zack just got his pilot’s license and wanted to do
a practice flight, so they would deliver the bowl and meet us for lunch at the
Hemet airport. Plan! Everything
went fine, we got the bowl, and then their plane wouldn’t start. The flying club diverted another one to pick them up, so it all ended happily.
Golden
Village Palms RV Resort does live up to its name: it actually is a resort, with
pools, a spa, a health club, immaculately maintained spacious grounds, live entertainment,
and an activity director. Apparently their season doesn’t begin until January
because the place was less than half full, hence the deal. It is a great place to stay, but not at full price!
After all we’ve collectively been through this year, it was
great to get together with Chris, Paul, Brenda, Katy and Ed for Xmas. We really
missed seeing them last year. Paul, Brenda and Katy just moved into their new
house, and Chris just finished putting lovely new floors throughout hers, so
the holiday venues were especially festive this year. I cooked my dad’s traditional Xmas day fried bread for breakfast and was
rewarded with lots of great stuff, including several new books that I am
looking forward to reading, soon.
We also got together with Ted and Judy.
We’ve known them for over 40 years (good grief), since before either of us had kids. They
were headed to Las Vegas
that day and very graciously detoured at least a couple of hours to meet us for
lunch. I hope we can spend a lot more time with them soon.
We pulled out of Hemet
on December 29th. We took our usual beating on I10 through Banning
and Palm Desert (don’t get me started on CA’s roads) and gratefully turned off on US86 to get to I8. We decided to push on
through Yuma this
year to even out the two-day drive to Benson. A little research popped up the Oasis
RV Park at Aztec Hills in Dateland, AZ, just about half way between Hemet and Benson. Dateland is barely a spot
on the map, so we were a little skeptical of the glowing reviews for this
place but they were right, it is a real gem of a park. The next day we rolled into the SKP Saguaro Co-op and were soon
settled in.
We treated ourselves to an extravagant bottle of good champagne to toast in the long anticipated New Year. I am surprised to report that we both made it to midnight.
I really enjoyed reading Slouching Toward Nirvana by Charles Bukowski. Thanks Cory. I also reread Amor Towles Rules of Civility and enjoyed it even more.
I am falling behind on the wines, or more accurately, we are discovering new ones faster than I can list them. I really like Petite Syrahs and here are two that I recently enjoyed:
Michael David Petite Syrah – NV CA
Shannon Ridge Petite Sirah - 2019
I discovered an old friend at Trader Joe's in Simi:
Rancho Sisquoc River Red - 2020. If you see it, be sure to try it.
More soon,
Bob
