Red Tail RV Trips

Today is Coast Day. We left Santa Maria on the 101 and headed north. At San Luis Obisbo we turned west onto the CA 1 or the extension of PCH. This follows the coast all the way to Monterey. The route is narrow, windy and hilly, not recommended for semis. But, as usual it was the type of road we like. There was not much traffic and unfortunately the views were obstructed by fog. But we had a good time driving it. It was tideous at times and tiring also. We arrived in the quaint town of Half Bay Moon about 3 pm and set up at the campground.
The wind had stopped and the sun was shining so dinner out side was a reality.

Left Long Beach at 0800, towards the tail end of rush hour. Except rush hour in LA is 24/7. Took the 405 past LAX, the airport and old stomping grounds while based there. Into Santa Monica where we turned left on the 10. This road dead ends in about 5 miles at the ocean, where we turned right onto the 1. This we followed all along the coast and the neat beach houses. Thru Malibu and up to Point Mugu and Oxnard. From there it was inland roads passing thru the coastal areas. Made a stop at Buellton and had some Andersons Pea soup for lunch, always good.
Then into Santa Maria. We stayed at the Elks lodge which is much better than the one in Sun City. This lodge can seat 600 for a dinner. In Santa Maria we met my cousin Richard and his wife Georgia, whom we have not seen for a few years. Went to dinner at Jocko's in Nipomo, just up the road. Jocko's is famouse for steaks, chops and chicken cooked on an open wood fire. Had a very good meal and headed home.

Happy Fathers Day!! Woke to a great day, no marine layer so the sun was shining first thing this morning.
Went out to Fathers Day breakfast at the Long Beach Cafe, over 80 years old. They have really great food.
After we drove South on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) looking at the houses and the beaches. Lots of RV's parked in the beach parking lots with lots of people on the beach. Huntington Beach was hold an arts and crafts fair so walked the booths. Nothing we couldnt live with out. Headed back to the campground to read the paper and relax. Late afternoon we loaded the bikes on the coach and prepared for departure Monday morning.

Day started with a thicker marine layer and a little drizzle, just enough to wet the windshields on the Ford. Spent the morning lounging as we had to move our coach from one site to another. Finally the other party left and we moved, got set up. After lunch we took the bikes and headed North from the campground. We found out the bike trail went all the way to downtown Los Angels, some 50 miles to the North. We rode a few miles but the scenery was not all that good. Just the river on one side and industrial on the other. Under the various bridges there was lots of evidence of people living, did not like the situation. We headed back to the RV Park and then went further South to Shore Line and the beach. It was Saturday so Shoreline Village was very crowded. Returned home for happy hour and dinner.

Another beautiful day in Long Beach, but the marine layer is a little thicker and did not burn off until after noon.
Went to the local Farmer's Market in the AM. Lots of booths for fresh and organic vegitables. One of the big sellers were the blossoms from zuchini plants. Guess you can put them in tacos and other dishes. Rode the bikes around the Shoreline Village area. This consists of many touristy shops and lots of restaurants on the water. Had lunch at one then rode back to the campground. Still fighting the remains of my cold so took the afternoon off and just relaxed. That is the beauty of Long Beach.

Woke to a beautiful day in Long Beach, slight clouds that were burning off early. Found a problem with the toilet, it was leaking water near the back. Thought it might be the O-ring, but that did not solve the problem. SOOO call in the RV Doctor. In the mean time a friend drove down from Pasadena to have lunch with us. It is all getting too busy.
Told the repairman to fix what ever needed fixing as we were heading to Belmont district for lunch. Had ta great time talking with Gary about RNPA business and personal things. Got back to the coach and the toilet was out of the coac and being rebuilt. Took awhile to disassemble it and rebuild the entire mechanical portion, BUT it was worth it.
Works great now. Just relaxed the rest of the day, still fighting the cold.

Here goes the summer trip. Up at 0500 to do the final items in closing the house and connecting up the Ford to tow. But, what is this falling from the sky??? It is light rain, haven't seen that in Phoenix for a long time. Just enough to leave water spots on the car. All went well in closing and we were on the road by 0700. Seemed like there was lots of traffic for that time of day. We stopped in Ehrensburg, milepost 1 in AZ, for fuel. Last chance to buy cheap diesel.
From there continued on interstate 10 until Beaumont, then took the 60, less traffic. Finally joined the 91, more traffic but better road and then the 710. It terminates at the container port in Long Beach. Our campground was one exit short of the port. Got all set up and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Been a busy weekend here in San Diego. Calli and Kristen arrived Saturday morning with light rain falling and very cool temperatures, 61. Took them around the area for orientation. On Sunday we were basically restricted to our campground for the morning. Cause: The Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego. There were 15,289 runners for the 26 miles. It started at 0630 and the main group passed our camp ground about 0900. The winner did it in 2:22:26, not bad. The afternoon cleared and warmed and we went to the Belmont Park to ride the roller coaster. Originally built in 1935, it is the oldest rollercoaster made of wood still operating.

Monday was a highlight of the weekend. We went downtown to tour the Aircraft Carrier Midway. It has been turned into a museum. What a project and it is great. They have kept is as original as possible, only adding wider stairs to accomadate the tourists. Up on entry you are given headsets and a controller. With this you tour the ship pressing the appropiate numer on the unit to hear about the area. Sailors who served on the Midway add comments making the presentation very real and interesting.

Woke to a very cool, cloudy morning, only 61 outside, much different than Phoenix. Had an anniversary breakfast out at Eggs Are Us, then drove the beach road. Stopped by Sea World to do some shopping. You have to buy an entrance ($65), then when you exit within an hour you get the fee back.

Rode the bikes around the campground and surrounding area. Some of the mobile homes are really nice and many should be condemned.

Had a short happy hour at home then off to Nicks for a sea food dinner. Good food, but no view.

Hi All, Welcome back to the REDTAILRV blog and our travels. This is a short trip traveling to San Diego for a long week end. While there we will visit the MIDWAY, a new museum of Naval History.
We departed Phoenix at 0700 and the temp was already over 80. For once there was not much traffic heading out of town. Lots of road work being done on 85, the short cut from I-10 to I-8. It will really be nice when finished. The road is heavily used by both trucks and people visiting Rocky Point, MEX.

We crossed the mountains east of San Diego and the temp rapidly started to drop and the clouds were more visible.
By the time we reached the campground it was down to 62. We are staying at the Mission Bay RV Resort, it was formerly known as DeAnza RV Park. It had been slated for tear down and new high rise condo to be built. BUT then they ran into the situation of having to clean the bay in order to build. SO it is still a campground. I expected it to be full and crowded, but it was not. Only a few coaches and most of them small. Quite a change from when we stayed here in the past.

Spent the rest of the day getting oriented in the area.

Hi All, Time to start preparing to get on the road again. We are heading today to Albuquerque for the RALLY sponsored by Good Sam. Left the house at 0800 and headed North to Flagstaff. Met up with Ernie and Carol at Anthem and kept on going. Approaching Flagstaff it was getting darker and darker and then the little white stuff started coming out of the clouds. By the time we made the turn from I-17 to I-40 the wind had started to blow and the snow was really coming down. It was a regular blizzard. Just on the out skirts of Flagstaff the overhead sign stated the freeway was closed at milepost 235. We kept on trucking in hopes it would be open when we arrived.
However that was not the case. We got to milepost 231 at 1120 and the traffic stopped. There was already 4 miles of cars and trucks ahead of us. Monitoring the CB was interesting as several people had various comments.
Finally at 4 pm we were able to continue.
We had planned to drive to Sky City for the night, now this was out of the question, so we called ahead to Gallup and secured two campsites. Arriving, it was windy, cold and snowing. By morning we had 3 inches of new snow and the temp was down to 17. All the standpipes were frozen, so no water. We left Gallup and headed towards ABQ at 8 am on the 16th and on into the Rally campground.

On the road again, this time for the final leg to home in Sun City. Left the RV Park at Meteor Crater at 0830 and headed West towards Flagstaff. Weather was cold, 27, sky clear and no wind. The no wind part was really nice. We saw the San Francisco Peaks as we neared Flagstaff and realized we were truly back in Arizona. As we drove South and entered greater Phoenix we were surprised at all the construction that had taken place and was taking place along the I-17 corridor. Got to the house and began the grueling task of unloading. The house was in good shape thanks to Steve and Calli who monitored it.

Just a recap of our trip: We were gone 145 days, travelled some12,189 miles, used 1970 gallons of diesel fuel and 228 gallons of gas in the car. We drove thru 27 of the 48 contiquous states and 6 of the Canadian Provinences. We ferried 14 times, one of which was 17 hours long.
We crossed many huge bridges including the Confederation Bridge from PEI to New Brunswick, the George Washington bridge across the Hudson on Manhattan, the Bridge-Tunnel to Norfolk and the many bridges in the Keys of Florida. Weather was kind to us and we were able to travel the Eastern most roads, including the Outer Banks, all the way from New Jersey to Key West.

There were many highlights of the trip, some being Niagara Falls, the Boston Pops on the 4th of July,
the beautiful scenery of the Maritimes, the great sandwiches of Carnegies in NYC, the sandy shores of the Outer Banks, the memories of the EL BO room in Fort Lauderdale, the great camp site in Key West,
the hospitality of our friends the Oliva's and Wards. the many tours of coach manufactures along the way. AND last but not least the time spent with the new IDENTICAL TRIPLETS in Missouri.

This has been a great trip. The blog will be quiet for a few days and then updated as we venture to Columbus, GA to watch Derek graduate from Advanced Infantry Training.

On the road again from Shamrock to Albuquerque, good weather but still the strong winds from the cold front passing by.

As you can see, Barbara got better signal last night and got several pictures loaded for your viewing.

Weather forcast for the evening is a cold snap to 25 degrees, better make sure the water connections are drained.