Wow, we did it! We bought the RV! Now we needed to somehow park it near our place on busy 24th street and pack it up to go. The first night we parked it in the church lot by our house, the lot in which we happen to pay for two monthly spots that are routinely taken by other people and nothing ever done about it. So we figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to park our rig there for the night. Wrong! As soon as we got it parked a guy who LIVES in his RV in the lot told us to move it immediately. We waved him off, but soon after the guy in charge of the lot found us at home and yelled at us to move it. Where to? Where to park our brand new (to us) 28 foot RV in the heart of the Mission in San Francisco? Where it wouldn’t get tagged or broken into? And where we could start moving stuff into it? Finally a bribe calmed the attendant down, though he refused the money. “One night only!” he called after us. Agreed, we want to get out of here in our giant vehicle as soon as possible.
The next morning we rose with the street cleaner at dawn to get a spot right in front. By 9 am we were moving along on errands and out of the city. The RV didn’t seem so large once we were on the highway, and we got to our first destination quickly.
Night one we spent in the Wine Country Sonoma RV Park, in Rohnert Park. The plan was to spend the rest of the day and evening putting away all the stuff we’d thrown into the RV earlier. So we picked someplace close with easy access to stores in case we forgot something essential. Only problem with the Wine Country Sonoma RV Park was that it was a dump. The RV parking was in tight rows on gravel, the tiny fish pond was filled with algae and had no fish, and it was clear that many of these RVs never moved and their residents were barely making ends meet. At least everyone we met (including the meth heads) were very nice and welcomed Lukas into the maelstrom of children circling the park on bikes and scooters and rollerskates. We popped a nice bottle of wine and cooked up our organic ravioli with wild mushroom cream sauce and toasted to our new adventure.
The rest of the week was spent criss-crossing the Bay. We had no real plans at the start, so once the day was over and Lukas finally asleep it was time to figure out the next day. That usually took about an hour of computer time to pick a location, find an RV park that looked passable, and plan an activity or two. Our journey took us from Sonoma to Pt Reyes to Sonoma to Pt Reyes to Sonoma on the way back to SF. We spent a lot of time on curvy, narrow, potholed roads and navigating parking spots in random towns. We also loved the cows on green hills, crashing ocean, vineyards and seafood. Overall it was a good tour of the North Bay and we broke in the new rig: goals accomplished.
We had to head back to SF to pick up our car that will be living at the in-laws during our travels. We picked an RV park in Pacifica and Brian then made his way to the house for a few more things and the house. Two call to AAA later, he finally made it back from the city. Turns out that Lukas had tampered with the dome light of BOTH cars. One was jumpable and the other needed a new battery. Of course the second dead battery was discovered only after the repairman had already left. Lukas completed the “disaster of threes” by locking the RV bathroom door, luckily leaving the bathroom before shutting the door. Brian eventually was able to get the door open, but it required buying a different screwdriver. That little bugger is trouble and we’ll have to keep a closer eye on him!
On the seventh night we “kamped” at the West Sacramento KOA. Lukas was running around naked as his un-showered parents ate burritos seasoned with Taco Bell packets off of paper towels and discussed the merits of various RV sewage hoses. It seems we have settled into trailer life well.
Highlights of our first week out:
--oysters at Hog Island
--buying a live crab from a Bodega Bay resident, borrowing a pot, and cooking that sucker up
--seal in the churning waves at Bodega Bay
--jogging down the quiet streets of Calistoga and seeing steaming water rise out of the culverts on the side of the road
--our first night at a state park (so quiet that this city girl had to retreat inside after dark)
--the castle at montelena winery
Things I have learned about RVs this week:
--RV toilets require special toilet paper or the drain will get clogged
--You must put chemicals in the toilet EVERY time it’s drained to avoid your home smelling like a port-a-potty
--The water tank needs to be sanitized before you drink off it
--Things WILL move around as you drive and WILL fall out and hit you on the head when you open the cabinets
RV Park Ratings:
Wine Country Sonoma RV Park: D
Kinda sketchy
Porto Bodega RV Park: C+
Spots by the water, very industrial feel, not much within walking distance, bonus points for the local who sells crabs from the park
Bodega Bay
Dungeness CrabBothe-Napa State Park: B
Gorgeous, quiet, creek trail, lots of poison oak, no RV hookups
Calistoga Fairgrounds: B
Right next to a golf course, some trees and grass, walking distance to town
Olema RV Resort: A
Beautiful location, redwood trees, fields, creek. laundry, store
San Francisco RV Park: C
Actually in Pacifica, super windy, tightly packed into a parking lot, ocean views, pool and hot tub, playground, walking distance to stores and restaurants
West Sacramento KOA: B
Spots near a manmade lake, trees and grass, bikes and paddleboats for rent, game room, playground, pool, laundry, store, friendly staff, short drive to downtown Sacramento, freeway noise
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