Don’t worry about the picture below. Ava sits in a car seat. All the time. No exceptions. I am sort of the seat belt police whenever we drive anywhere. I have a thing for following the law. Dan makes enough fun of me for being a rule follower so I don’t need any more comments from the peanut gallery. Plus, if you don’t wear your seat belt and you get in an accident, you are not only hurting yourself but the others around you too… and that’s selfish. Sorry, I think I was just possessed by McGruff the Crime Dog. Back to the story.

Once again we hit the road at Ava’s nap time and once again she didn’t nap. Ava actually did try to fall asleep a couple times but when she started snoozing, her cowboy boots started to fall off. And that in turn caused her distress. You see, she has a thing for shoes and there is no convincing her that it is okay to take them off when we are in car. Oh oh. I think Dan has another rule follower on his hands.

After a little bit of LA traffic, we arrived at Newport Dunes RV Resort mid-afternoon. Dan backed up the rig and set her up pretty quickly. Each site had full hook-ups. It was so so nice to be directly connected to the sewer. Long hot showers everyday. Yeah!

We were situated in the second row but we still had a decent view of the bay. There wasn’t much privacy between each site. Just a fence with some trailing plants but it is much more than what we experienced at the other RV resort we stayed at in Gila Bend.

Southern California has been getting lots and lots of needed rain for the past month or two. And sure, we Californians love to complain about our drought reversing rain, but our mouths stay shut once the sunshine returns and we get a sight of the local mountains. It is so surreal to have the Pacific Ocean on one side of you and the snowy capped mountains on the other. It almost seems photoshopped. But it’s not. And, our property tax bill proves it.

(Photo courtesy of FamiliesOnTheRoad.com)

Being in an RV Resort usually means that there are a lot of amenities available to its residence and Newport Dunes RV Resort was no exception. They had a decent size pool and hot tub.

We were planning on going to the pool during our stay but the pool wasn’t heated. Yes, we are Californian wussies. Thin blood. Blah blah blah.

The RV Resort also had a Market Place for groceries, RV supplies, and even offered golf cart and Segway rentals.

Being that it was our first rally, we had no idea what to expect. We just thought we would maybe meet up with the families officially once, maybe twice, and the rest of the time would be free time. But boy were we wrong. Rallies mean lots of gatherings and activities. We were pleasantly surprised. Here we are at the Meet and Greet that occurred at an empty site that we all chipped in for.

(Photo courtesy of FamiliesOnTheRoad.com)

As soon as we got to the event, we were asked our names… with the caveat that we can add anything we liked to our names to describe ourselves. Dan was ‘Surprise me Dan’ because he is a smartass. I was ‘Just Marlene’ because I have pregnancy brain and that was the best I could come up with. And Ava was ‘No nap Ava’ for obvious reasons.

Every night, the families gathered around the beach and held a bonfire. We unfortunately didn’t attend these bonfires. Dan spent the evenings working and I was in bed by 8pm. That night, our friend Nicole stopped by. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at a Mexican restaurant down the street and headed right back to the Airstream for some sticker fun…

… and to drill this book into Ava’s mind since she is not longer allowed to bounce on my belly. Watch out someone else’s belly. You know who you are. Hehe.

the end,
marlene

Related Posts:
FOTR West Coast Rally: Day#2
FOTR West Coast Rally: Day#3

Thornhill Broome State Beach is a stretch of beach along side highway 1 just south of Point Mugu Naval Base and north of Malibu. It is a beautiful stretch of beach with the Santa Monica mountains just to the north of it. Much of California Highway 1 around this area actually goes more east to west than north to south because of the angle of the coast.

We live just over 20 miles from this place but surprisingly we have never camped here. That is actually true for many of the local campgrounds. Maybe we are more into traveling to and seeing new places rather than just going camping for the sake of sleeping in the trailer. The Airstream is just a convenient mobile hotel room we get to drag around with us.

Lucky for us, we got to meet some great new Airstreamers on this trip that made it all worthwhile. Some have owned multiple Airstreams and others are like us who are on their first silver bullet. There were a total of 5 Airstreams lined up in a row at our part of the campground.

Starting from the right of the panoramic photo above, Dennis and Cindy with their daughter Madison hail from Los Olivos, CA near the wine country made famous by the movie Sideways. Their trailer is an Airstream International Ocean Breeze 25 SS (six sleeper). It is a 2007 just like ours with the only difference being the layout of the interior. Our trailer is an Ocean Breeze also but it is the FB (front bedroom) model. To the left of us we have David, Ari, Willie and their pup Oreo who camp in a very rare and desirable Airstream 28 Safari with a slide-out dinette. The are also from our home town of Ventura, CA and we have known about them since our visit with the Luhrs of Airstream Life in Tucson, AZ. Rich Luhr from Airstream Life had mentioned that they knew of another family from Ventura who they have gone on many trip with. Just recently they had been camping together at Anza-Borrego in the California desert. David and Ari also are the proud owners of a polished 1962 Airstream Globetrotter which is at the far left of the panoramic photo that they generously brought out on this trip for their friend Dan and his 3 children from Goleta, CA to camp in. Between David and Ari’s Airstreams is Eric, Chris and their 2 kids from Santa Clarita, CA. They are proudly represented by their beautiful Airstream Safari Special Edition 25 also in a Six Sleeper floor plan.

This is the first time we have ever camped with other Airstreamers. It is not going to the the last time as we have plans to join the Browski’s in Newport Beach at the ‘Families On the Road’ rally in about a month. It is definitely a different experience and it was a refreshing change from the other trips we have been on. We tend to spend a lot of time either inside the trailer or out and about exploring the town we are visiting. This time we got to enjoy the campground a lot more and best of all, being with so many others in the Airstream community allowed us to exchange ideas, tips and tricks we have all come up with to make the mobile life easier.

Did I mention that we are dry camping? That’s right. We are wusses. We have so far limited our dry camping / boondocking experiences to only 1 night at a time. Most of the time in a parking lot the night before checking into a hook up campground. We are not yet setup to be able to go on extended boondocking trips without at least upgrading our house batteries to larger capacities. We did do our best to conserve by not running those battery killing halogen puck lights Airstream decided to install everywhere in the trailer. We did squeak out all 2 nights at the camp site thanks to the abnormally warm, mid 70s degree weather that saved us from having to use the furnace blower at night.

The Pacific ocean was just steps away from our camp site. On this end of the campground the shores are lined with large pebbles that makes beach frolicking a little more difficult.

To get to a sand beach, we had to trek to the other end of the campground. Ava was loving the sunny and warm weather and got right away into shoveling sand and burying her own feet in it.

There were a lot of other kids there in our group but Ava was by far the youngest one there. Being in a shy phase of her 2 year old life, she didn’t get to mingle with the other kids much.

Even when she eventually warmed up to making some new friends, she was just too little to get in on the action. Luckily, our good friends Justin and Isabella came for a little visit with their boys Matheus and Gabriel.

“Hey Matheus! Do you like my hat!?”

Ava was glad to pull out her box of toys we stashed in the Airstream to share with Matheus during their visit. He took a little spill at day care the other day that gave him a little road rash on the tip of his nose. I guess that’s what boys do.

Ava also loved having the dogs our new friends brought with them. Looks like she was trying to dig a tunnel with her shovel for Oreo to escape from his playpen so they can go skipping down to the beach.

Since we had Monday off of work we considered staying another night but on Sunday the Santa Ana winds picked up and we were running low on juice so we headed down to Heart Attack Hill for a little exercise before heading back home.

Yeah, she loves her dadda. And dadda needs a hair cut.

Heart Attack Hill is probably named after guys like me after they tried to climb to the top of it. Luck for me, Ava’s enthusiasm faded well before we got anywhere near the top. The hill is just to the side of Highway 1 that runs along the coast and the view was beautiful from the top. I couldn’t tell you for sure but that’s what the others told me.

Next time Ava. Next time dadda will take you to the top.

over and out,
dan

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

This is their famous mural on the street side of the office wall that greets visitors as they pull into the campground.

Looks even better as it is lit at night.

Dot’s Diner is on the grounds but it has not been open the last 2 times I have visited them. This time they are under going restoration until February of next year. I’m dying to try the burger.

It was lit up one evening and someone was working hard getting her back into prime shape. I need to come back for my burger!

You can see Dot’s Diner at the right edge of the photo here and a number of vintages trailers dot along this side of the property.

The Shady Dell loves their vintage outdoor decor. These little Chinese lanterns are a nice touch.

So are these red chairs, white picket fence and the ACME Fast Freight wall painting. This guy is a little 1950′s home built trailer.

Many of the trailers have painted outdoor chairs and white picket fences. Check out this beautiful 1949 Airstream.

Some even have the obligatory pink flamingos. This little guy is called the El Rey.

This is not a permanent trailer but rather one in a pull-thru camping spot right next to us. Even though it’s not an Airstream, it is polished and beautiful. (I believe it is a vintage Silver Streak Trailer from the 1960s?.)

We feel like posers here with all the other vintage and restored trailers around the park.

There were lots of trailer companies making aluminum trailers between the 30′s to the 60′s. Nearly all but Airstream are no longer doing business today.

This is a Spartan Royal Mansion Trailer. They were very popular in its day and I think The Shady Dell has 3 of them for visitors to stay in.

Other than trailers, they have other vintage vehicles converted as sleeping quarters for rent. For example, Randy’s White Elephant.

It is a converted bus with painted vintage chairs and outdoor tiki bar to boot.

If silver isn’t your thing, how about gold?

The Airfloat Flagship Trailer might just be your thing. I love how the trellis shadow makes it appear that the trailer has a sad face.

How about this? Captain Harbie likes to welcome you to your very own yacht.

She’s named the Rita D. It’s land locked but I swear I smell salt in the air…

Its still got the helm station but you won’t be sailing off anywhere soon.

Next to Harbie’s yacht, there is a little space in the metal fence you can squeeze through… Are you interested in seeing what’s on the other side?

GASP!!!!

That’s right! It’s the corner of B Avenue and 1st Street.

Also known as the Evergreen Cemetery.

Many men back in the day who gave their lives in the mines are buried here. Bisbee is well known for its haunted houses so if you are into ghostly encounters, The Shady Dell is your kinda place.

The current owners Jen and Justin had just bought the property earlier this year (2008).  They have kept the place in more or less the same condition as when we stayed here back in Halloween 2005.

Until next time, happy trails!

over and out,
dan