We ended up camping at the San Mateo Campground in San Onofre during New Year’s week for 5 nights. If I had to rate this campground, I would probably give it just an average score. We haven’t been to too many sites so far with the Mali Mish Airstream but Catalina State Park in Tuscon, The Shady Dell in Bisbee and El Capitan State Beach just outside of Santa Barbara are still my top three campgrounds so far. And if these are my references, San Mateo is just “alright”.

We ended up staying in three different sites during our stay. Everyone and their mom wanted to stay near the beach for New Year’s so we had to book three separate sites in order for us to be able to stay for as long as we did. It wasn’t too big of a deal. Dan is getting really good at backing in the Airstream in one shot. Yes, one shot. I don’t know how he does it. I couldn’t even drive into that spot forward in one shot.

As you can see, the campground had decent foliage for privacy to the left and right of us. The first spot we reserved actually backed up to another site. You can see another camper peeking through just behind our Airstream. It’s a little awkward for us to have neighbors so close, especially since our “dining room” is at the back of the Airstream.

For most of our stay, we had spots that bordered the road, which we actually preferred. I guess I would rather look at trees and birds while I eat my dinner than people going about their business. I don’t like of idea of people watching us through our panoramic windows. Right? Or is it just me?

The road is not a busy one so there wasn’t too much car noise to worry about at all. But there was another type of noise that was a little annoying.  Gunfire. There is a firing range close to the site, and the sound of gunfire echoes through the camp most weekends and some evenings. It didn’t bother Ava too much though, unless it was reading time. Shhhhhh.

I always tell myself that I must take more pictures of the actual campsites we are staying in but I somehow keep forgetting. But I had a decent excuse or two. We actually didn’t end up spending too much time at the campground itself. There was way too much stuff for us to do in a short amount of time. We do, after all, have a handful of good friends in the area… and a beach just a mile down the road that was calling our names.

Not sure how San Onofre Surf Beach is during the warmer months, but in the winter it is only sprinkled by a few surfers and handfuls of seabirds. A perfect place for a picnic.

And most people who know where San Onofre is, also know that is next to a nuclear power plant with a silly nickname. A nickname that I will not type out for you because I don’t want people googling for that word to end up here. Let’s just say it starts with a B and doesn’t appear to need a bra anytime soon.

A major complaint we had about the campground is the Wi-Fi service. Or the lack of it. Don’t tell anyone but it was actually kinda nice to relax and watch movies after dinner during this holiday season instead of blogging. I did realize that it is a lot harder to blog about things after the fact. It’s not so fresh in my memory, I guess.

Dan does a lot, A LOT, of blogging about connecting while you are on the road but he has somehow not committed to any just yet. I guess we aren’t full-timing just yet and that extra $60 bucks or so a month is not something we want to add to our budget. So it off to Barnes and Noble to blog, twitter and facebook.

The Barnes and Noble was located at the Irvine Spectrum. This outdoor mall has really grown in the past few years. It now has a carousal and train ride for the kids… and over the holiday it even has a mini-skating rink. I tried to get Ava to nap while Dan was on the internet but it was a no go. Too many Christmas lights. Too many water fountains. Too many people. Too many distractions.

For New Year’s Eve we headed to our friend Nicole’s place to bring in the new year. We packed up enough stuff to get us through the night (which is a lot of stuff when you have a toddler who loves shoes), threw Yoda into her cat carrier (yes, she came too) and left the Airstream at the campsite for one lonely night (just one).

Thanks for visiting our blog. More posts are on their way.

the end,
marlene

Ummm, I guess so??

So this is how you wax a surfboard. Pay attention. Wax on. Wax off.

Thanks Daniel-son.

Bye Dada. Be safe.

Catch that one Dada. It looks totally tubular, dude!

Just another day at San Onofre State Beach.

the end,
marlene

But not these poor folks.

ATTENTION! THIS JUST IN!! These three inmates have just escaped from prison. They were last seen heading west toward California. Possibly to San Onofre. The oldest one can’t resist ocean swells and there is supposed be a huge one heading that way. If you have any information, please leave a comment so we can find these armed and dangerous traveling outlaws!!!

the end,
marlene

So here we are in the middle of somewhere in Arizona. Not sure why Mama is smiling.

I guess she is fooled by those long eyelashes. Not me! I know better.

I can read the danger signs. YES! OSTRICH BITE!!

Tip #1. Do NOT feed the ostriches like this. They will take your hand off and then the others will follow.

Tip #2. Throw the food at them. Like my friend Carrie did. She’s smart. You should be smart too.

Next up. The deer.

Hmmm. No danger signs here. Must be safe.

Hehehehee. Feeding deer is like getting sweet kisses on your hand. I highly recommend it if you like to giggle.

Next up. Birds. Lorikeets to be exact. You see that over there? Another danger sign. Lorikeets are cute but not cuddly! We might BITE!!

I’m telling right now. Keep away from these birds. Trust me. But there was an upside to these birds. Check out Carrie in the background.

She is having the best time and made all of our pictures even more fantastic. Don’t believe me? Scroll back up. Hehe.

That’s all I have to report from Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch. Oh wait! There are miniature donkeys here too. Come back tomorrow for a special video to see how THAT turned out. Crazy animals!

love,
ava

Oh. It’s almost over. The road trip is almost over. Whoa is me. It’s almost back to the daily grind. And how fitting is our final stop? Yuma Territorial Prison. I love the way the three of us are smiling in this picture. What? You don’t see me? I’m that ball and chain next to Dan. Haha. I’m sure getting funnier in my old age.

Here’s the main entrance of the prison. Some of you might recognize it if you are cowboy movie buffs. This is where the “bad guys” were sent when caught by the “good guys”.

Over 3000 bad guys (and some bad girls) were imprisoned in these rock and adobe cells during the prison’s 33-year existence between 1876 and 1909. Once it closed its doors, the Yuma Union High School occupied these buildings from 1910 to 1914. A few years after that, the empty cells provided free lodging for hobos riding the freights in the 1920s and sheltered many homeless families during the Great Depression. You can see inscriptions left behind on the cell walls dating back to those early years.

We were actually able to go inside some of the cells. Check out these 5-star accommodations. There’s actually more room here than the Airstream! Though their views never changed. These are the original iron bunk beds that slept six per cell.

The historic records of the museum appear to be well kept. They show that 26 prisoners escaped. Some made it out successfully, some were shot dead, and some were caught. The unsuccessful escapees that were caught were chained to iron balls for the remainder of their stay.

After our stop at the Yuma Territorial Prison, we hit the road with hopes of visiting Salvation Mountain before nightfall. But we didn’t make it. The sun was setting as we pulled into Salton City. So, we tried to find an overnight spot near by but it wasn’t easy to do. It’s super dark near the Salton Sea, making it more difficult to find a spot. We pulled into this one place that had some RVs in it but it ended up being a hunting station. As soon as I saw a man throwing a dead furry white thing into his pick-up truck, I knew our trip was over. We pulled into another area with a camping sign but ended up having to trespass into a chain-link fenced yard just to turn the rig around and make our escape. We decided to drive a little way up to La Quinta in the Palm Springs area to get a bite to eat… and to hang out until Ava’s bedtime. It was a nice way to end our trip. Together. Playing. Reminiscing.

And recreating our Tombstone mustache adventure!

Thank you Arizona for a fabulous time. We’ll be back again. For sure!

the end,
marlene