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	<title>Family RV Fun &#187; California camping</title>
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	<description>Family RVing Information and Resources</description>
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		<title>Something New at Avila Beach</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/avila-beach/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/avila-beach/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:35:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Avila Beach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family RV Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family rv fun]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.familyrvfun.com/?p=726</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We decided to go back to one of our favorite places for the kid&#8217;s Spring break this year. Yes we went back to Avila Beach yet again (map). But we found so much new stuff to do that it didn&#8217;t seem like we were hanging around the same old place doing the same old stuff. [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/avila-beach/">Something New at Avila Beach</a></p>

Similar Family RV Fun posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/santa-cruz-harbor-rv-park-nice-place/' rel='bookmark' title='Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park: Nice Place, But&#8230;'>Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park: Nice Place, But&#8230;</a> <small>We  decided to spend a quick weekend at the Santa...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-season-addition-family/' rel='bookmark' title='A new RV season and an addition to the family'>A new RV season and an addition to the family</a> <small>As I&#8217;m writing to you it is pouring rain here...</small></li>
</ol>]]></description>
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<p>We decided to go back to one of our favorite places for the kid&#8217;s Spring break this year.</p>
<p>Yes we went back to Avila Beach yet again (<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;source=s_q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=avila+beach+ca&amp;aq=&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=64.92025,79.365234&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=&amp;hnear=Avila+Beach,+San+Luis+Obispo,+California&amp;ll=35.176509,-120.751757&amp;spn=0.004179,0.004844&amp;t=h&amp;z=18" target="_blank">map</a>). But we found so much new stuff to do that it didn&#8217;t seem like we were hanging around the same old place doing the same old stuff.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 360px"><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/old_port_beach.jpg"><img class=" " style="margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 4px; border: 1px solid black;" title="Old Port Beach is a dog beach" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/old_port_beach.jpg" alt="Old Port Beach" width="350" height="236" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Old Port Beach is a dog beach</p></div>
<p>We did park the trailer at the same RV campground (the <a href="http://www.avilabeachpier.com/information/port-san-luis-camping.html" target="_blank">Port San Luis RV park</a> on Babe Lane). But what made this trip a little different was that we had our new dog <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-season-addition-family" target="_blank">Phoebe</a> with us on the trip. And with her we spent a lot of time on the dog beach which was just below where we were camping.</p>
<p>On the Saturday that we were there, we spent the whole day on the beach with Phoebe and all the other dogs and people who came down to walk their dogs.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 325px"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/lighthouse.jpg" alt="Lighthouse" width="315" height="256" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Point San Luis Lighthouse</p></div>
<p>Also on this trip we had a chance to visit the <a href="http://www.sanluislighthouse.org/" target="_blank">Point San Luis Lighthouse</a> which was open for the first weekend of the Spring season. We took a short bus ride to the lighthouse and enjoyed an excellent tour of the lighthouse from a very knowledgable lighthouse guide.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 370px"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/lighthouse_lens.jpg" alt="Lighthouse Lens" width="360" height="264" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Lighthouse Lens</p></div>
<p>What made this a special trip is that we spent the evening on the dog beach eating our dinner by moon light (a full moon night) and dancing the night away on the beach.</p>
<p>That is the kids did all of the dancing, while us parents talked and drank wine.</p>
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<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/avila-beach/">Something New at Avila Beach</a></p>
<p>Similar Family RV Fun posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/santa-cruz-harbor-rv-park-nice-place/' rel='bookmark' title='Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park: Nice Place, But&#8230;'>Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park: Nice Place, But&#8230;</a> <small>We  decided to spend a quick weekend at the Santa...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-season-addition-family/' rel='bookmark' title='A new RV season and an addition to the family'>A new RV season and an addition to the family</a> <small>As I&#8217;m writing to you it is pouring rain here...</small></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park: Nice Place, But&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/santa-cruz-harbor-rv-park-nice-place/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/santa-cruz-harbor-rv-park-nice-place/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2011 04:06:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Campground Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Santa Cruz Camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[santa cruz harbor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[santa cruz harobr rv park]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[We  decided to spend a quick weekend at the Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park recently (map). Yes that Santa Cruz Harbor. The one that was hit by the Japan tsunami recently. Though we were there many weeks before the flooding at the harbor. The RV park looked like it would be a fun trip and [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/santa-cruz-harbor-rv-park-nice-place/">Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park: Nice Place, But&#8230;</a></p>
]]></description>
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<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 280px"><img style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/santa_cruz_harbor_RV.jpg" alt="Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park" width="270" height="249" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park</p></div>
<p>We  decided to spend a quick weekend at the Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park recently (<a title="Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;source=s_q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=Santa+Cruz+Harbor+RV+Park,+Santa+Cruz,+CA&amp;aq=2&amp;sll=37.09024,-96.503906&amp;sspn=61.323728,133.681641&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=Santa+Cruz+Harbor+RV+Park,&amp;hnear=Santa+Cruz,+California&amp;ll=36.972087,-121.996876&amp;spn=0.007474,0.016319&amp;t=h&amp;z=17" target="_blank">map</a>). Yes that Santa Cruz Harbor. The one that was hit by the Japan tsunami recently. Though we were there many weeks before the flooding at the harbor.</p>
<p>The RV park looked like it would be a fun trip and no big deal. A 40 minute drive over the hill to Santa Cruz from San Jose for fun on the beach (and a whale watching boat ride on Sat.)</p>
<p>The campground turned out to be a very nice pretty place to camp, even though it is just a strip of asphalt (and a kind of picky camp host) . But it has a nice view of the harbor, full hook-ups and a great kids park just up the hill. Also the beach is a short bike ride. Throw in that we had a fantastic weather (low 70s, sunny and little wind) and you have the makings of another Family RV Fun trip.</p>
<p>But, we had a couple of incidents on our trip where we felt our personal safety and personal property were in question. We almost had a bike stolen and also the same evening a homeless person hanging out outside our trailer at 3 in the morning. Not good.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 280px"><img style="border: 1px solid black; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" title="Kids on the beach in Santa Cruz" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/kids_on_santa_cruz_beach.jpg" alt="Kids on the beach in Santa Cruz" width="270" height="221" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Kids on the beach in Santa Cruz</p></div>
<p>I did read about the theft issue on a review of the park on another site, but I didn&#8217;t give it a lot of thought. After our experience, and talking with a harbor official, it&#8217;s clear that theft has been a big problem at this place and anyone planning to stay here needs to be aware of this.</p>
<p>Apparently neighborhood juvenile delinquents come down in the early morning hours and steal anything left outside. Luckily for us we did have our bikes locked-up but they almost got my bike pulled out of a padlock right before I scared them away.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 235px"><img style="border: 1px solid black; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" title="Frederick Street Park" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/frederick_street_park.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="202" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Frederick Street Park</p></div>
<p>So do I recommend this RV park and will we come back? I guess it is a yes, mainly because the kids love the park near by and the great beach. Just don&#8217;t leave anything out of your rig over night.</p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/santa-cruz-harbor-rv-park-nice-place/">Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park: Nice Place, But&#8230;</a></p>
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		<title>10 Days in the Mountains &#8211; Part one &#8211; Mt. Madonna Santa Clara County Park</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/10-days-mountains-part-mt-madonna-santa-clara-county-park/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/10-days-mountains-part-mt-madonna-santa-clara-county-park/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:18:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family RV Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mt Madonna County Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Santa Clara County Parks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ca rv parks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family RV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rv camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rv travel trailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[santa clara county parks]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Our 4th of July week vacation with the travel trailer was spent in two sets of mountains: Mt Madonna (in the Santa Cruz Mountains) and Shaver Lake (in the Central Sierra National Forrest). The actual 4th holiday weekend we spent close to home in Mt. Madonna County Park.  This was a very nice getaway and [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/10-days-mountains-part-mt-madonna-santa-clara-county-park/">10 Days in the Mountains &#8211; Part one &#8211; Mt. Madonna Santa Clara County Park</a></p>
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<p>Our 4th of July week vacation with the travel trailer was spent in two sets of mountains: Mt Madonna (in the Santa Cruz Mountains) and Shaver Lake (in the Central Sierra National Forrest).</p>
<p><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/mt_madonna_sign.jpg" alt="Mt Madonna County Park" width="140" height="99" />The actual 4th holiday weekend we spent close to home in Mt. Madonna County Park.  This was a very nice getaway and allowed for hiking, biking and even some very fun strawberry picking!</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 210px"><img style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/mt_madonna_facility.jpg" alt="Mt Madonna facilities" width="200" height="112" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Mt Madonna Facilities</p></div>
<p>The park is tucked up in the mountains above Gilroy, CA (<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;source=s_q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=Mt.+Madonna+County+Park&amp;sll=37.007644,-121.711792&amp;sspn=0.107472,0.154324&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=Mt.+Madonna+County+Park&amp;hnear=&amp;ll=37.003688,-121.707852&amp;spn=0.003359,0.004823&amp;t=h&amp;z=18">map</a>).  The RV sites are spacious and shady, and many of the facilities are fairly new. The bathroom/shower building by our site seemed almost brand-new and was a very short walk from our trailer. The campground offers power and water at the campground RV sites but no sewer. There is a dump station at the campground though that is very conveniently located.</p>
<p>One word of warning about the road at the campground turn off (at Pole Line Road). It is really steep! Use your lowest gear if you are pulling anything when driving up the road. It is an almost constant climb to the ranger check-in station. The first time up it can be a little hairy.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><img class=" " style="border: 1px solid black;" title="The kids castle in the redwoods" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/kids_castle.jpg" alt="Kids castle at Mt Madonna County Park" width="300" height="181" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Kids castle at Mt Madonna County Park</p></div>
<p>Right next to our campsite site the kids found a grove of redwood trees in what is called a &#8220;fairy ring.&#8221; Younger redwood trees grow in a circle around the stump of an older tree and take nutrients from the old tree. The kids thought it looked like a castle because the stump was hollowed out making a perfect lookout/castle.  This provided HOURS and DAYS of fun for the children staying in the RV campground for the weekend.</p>
<p>During our stay there we noticed the campground was not as full as the website had indicated. I&#8217;ve noticed many times people book a reservation but just don&#8217;t show up. It&#8217;s always a good idea if you can&#8217;t initially get a reservation to try again a little closer to your desired arrival date. You may be surprised a month or so before you want to go…you may actually get in!</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 260px"><img style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/kids_miller_house.jpg" alt="Kids at miller ranch ruins" width="250" height="158" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Kids at the Miller Ranch Ruins</p></div>
<p>Our first morning there we went on a guided hike to the Henry Miller Ranch Ruins.  Only the foundations remain of these historical homes, which would have been considered legendary in their day. Henry Miller and his family would love to come to Mt. Madonna in the summer and enjoy the coolness and beauty of the area. It is a short hike, but bring bug spray. the mosquitoes were out on our hike.</p>
<p>The week before our trip to Mt. Madonna, Sunset Magazine&#8217;s ran an article on <a href="http://www.sunset.com/travel/california/things-to-do-watsonville-california-00418000068194/">spending a day in Watsonville</a>, which is just on the other side of the ridge in the valley from our campground.</p>
<p>Of the activities listed, we choose to take a bike ride along a wetlands reserve park which was scenic and  beautiful.  The ride began at the wetlands center which we should have taken more time to explore, but the kids were rearing to get going on their bikes.  Luckily there were several informative wildlife stations with information about what you were looking at along the way.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 260px"><img style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/claire_strawberries.jpg" alt="Claire picking strawberries" width="250" height="203" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Claire picking strawberries</p></div>
<p>After the wetlands we headed to a &#8220;pick &#8216;em yourself&#8221; strawberry farm. It was really fun and the strawberries were very tasty.  We ran into some friends from San Jose, who had done just what we were doing … following the Sunset Magazine article and enjoying their day.</p>
<p>Sunday (the 4th of July) we decided to go to Morgan Hill for their fireworks show.  The fireworks were set to music and were very well coordinated.  It was a good experience and the kids had a great time.  We were able to take the back-roads back to Mt. Madonna and were in our beds before 11 p.m.</p>
<p>Our final day at Mt. Madonna started with a bit of high fog which burned off quickly but left a breezy day.  We looked at the park map to see if there was anything we could do before pulling out. There was an accessible trail to visit historic twin redwoods which had been deemed to be almost 250 years old!  We headed out on our bikes to visit the trees and walk a bit on a little wooded trail.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 260px"><img style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/ben_big_tree.jpg" alt="Ben tries to climb the giant redwood" width="250" height="177" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Ben tries to climb the giant redwood</p></div>
<p>We spent the rest of the morning cleaning the trailer for the next leg of our holiday trip which would take us to Shaver Lake and Camp Edison in the Central Sierra Nevada.   The kids spent the time in the magical castle and enjoying Mt. Madonna to the very last minute!</p>
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<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/10-days-mountains-part-mt-madonna-santa-clara-county-park/">10 Days in the Mountains &#8211; Part one &#8211; Mt. Madonna Santa Clara County Park</a></p>
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		<title>Avila Beach Didn&#8217;t Disappoint</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/avila-beach-disappoint/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/avila-beach-disappoint/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 May 2010 04:23:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Avila Beach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family RV Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RV Camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family rv fun]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.familyrvfun.com/?p=509</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We were able to escape to Avila Beach for part of the kids spring break this April. This was another AMAZING experience. Our favorite place to camp is on Babe Lane with the San Luis Harbor RV spots. There has been a lot of improvements just since our trip in November. The highway leading to [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/avila-beach-disappoint/">Avila Beach Didn&#8217;t Disappoint</a></p>
]]></description>
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<p>We were able to escape to Avila Beach for part of the kids spring break this April.  This was another <img class="alignright" style="margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 4px;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/avila_rv_park.jpg" alt="Avila RV Park" width="200" height="141" />AMAZING experience.  Our favorite place to camp is on Babe Lane with the San Luis Harbor RV spots.  There has been a lot of improvements just since our trip in November.  The highway leading to the harbor has been resurfaced and there has been considerable work done to make sure the maximum number of RVs have the best area to park in  along the edge of the bay.</p>
<p><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 4px;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/babe_lane.jpg" alt="Babe Lane" width="180" height="129" />We like to stay up on Babe Lane which overlooks the Highway and the bay, we stayed here last April and didn&#8217;t have a problem getting in this April.  It is a first come, first serve RV area and we&#8217;ve heard from others in the area it is nearly impossible to get in over the summer.  What we really like about the Babe Lane location is that there are 1. full hookups, 2. a place for the kids to ride their bikes and explore and 3. very little traffic.  We took in a lot of favorites and enjoyed some great weather.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 210px"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/star_fish.jpg" alt="ben and the star fish" width="200" height="162" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Ben and Star the starfish</p></div>
<p>The first day we spent entirely at Avila Beach.  We got there early and we stayed through the Farmers Market which happens on  Fridays.  While we&#8217;ve experience a lot of wonderful sand castle and kite flying days here, this day brought something even more memorable and will cement us to continue our visits to Avila Beach.  While playing in the morning surf and all that an earlier in the week storm stirred up, Ben pulled on a long segment of seaweed and came up with a gorgeous ochre starfish clinging to relatively small stones.  The starfish was very much alive and seemed to be really healthy.  We noticed that a lot of children were going in to the new Avila Beach Sea Life Center and decided to take the starfish over there to see if they could help us with where we should put the starfish.</p>
<p>We found out that the Sea Life Center was still pending their grand opening which is happening on April 24, 2010.  We got a great sneak peak and the director of the Sea Life Center took in our found starfish right into their new aquariums.  She asked Ben what he&#8217;d like to name his starfish and he said&#8230;Star.  So now we have a permanent place to visit Star every time we come to Avila Beach.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 210px"><img style="margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 4px;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/sam_swim.jpg" alt="Sammy Swimming" width="200" height="151" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Sammy enjoying the pool</p></div>
<p>On Saturday we checked the weather and saw that it was going to be a mid 70s day which is wonderful in the area and perfect for swimming at the Avila Hot Springs Resort which has two water slides that my kids would be happy to go down even in low 60s temps.  There is also a sulphur hot springs pool where adults and kids 8 and up can warm up!  We were pleasantly surprised by the cafe that is now at the resort and they took our orders and brought our food poolside.  We stayed from 11 am to 4 pm.</p>
<p>We visited the Fisherman&#8217;s Beach which is directly below Babe Lane and the kids helped a friend they met dig a huge sand bunker while the tide came in.  In their digging they uncovered a sea slug.  These enormous slugs of the sea usually are trollers of the deep and a retired fisherman said we should drop it back out in the ocean as far as we could take it.  There was a kayaker there who did the job.  I wasn&#8217;t able to get a picture of the Sea Slug because I didn&#8217;t have a camera but I did find some pictures on line which sort of resembled it.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 338px"><img src="http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_04/slugAPEX2610_468x319.jpg" alt="Sea Slug" width="328" height="223" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Sea Slug</p></div>
<p>After the beach we realized we didn&#8217;t have anything to BBQ so we decided to treat ourselves and try out The Custom House restaurant.   There was a live band playing at the adjoining Rick&#8217;s bar and we enjoyed a great dinner of shrimp and scallops.   The kids then enjoyed winding down the evening by flying kites on the beach.</p>
<p>Though our time at Avila Beach was considerably shorter than we would have liked, it is one of the trips we&#8217;ll likely be talking about for years!</p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/avila-beach-disappoint/">Avila Beach Didn&#8217;t Disappoint</a></p>
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		<title>The Big Holiday Trip: On the Road in Economy Class</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/big-holiday-trip-road-economy-class/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/big-holiday-trip-road-economy-class/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 07:33:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family RV Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traveling with Kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family RV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[getting better gas mileage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traveling economy class]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traveling with kids]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.familyrvfun.com/?p=470</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tomorrow we take-off for the longest (by distance and time) of our family RV trips this year. We are going to San Diego for two weeks. My wife is off work and the kids are off school, so we are going for it. I will have to do a little work during the trip, but [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/big-holiday-trip-road-economy-class/">The Big Holiday Trip: On the Road in Economy Class</a></p>
]]></description>
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<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 250px"><a title="IZEAFest 2009" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/63409533@N00/3988128527/" target="_blank"><img style="margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; border: 1px solid black;" title="SeaWorld" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2481/3988128527_c87a26cde6_m.jpg" border="0" alt="IZEAFest 2009" width="240" height="160" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The big tank at SeaWorld</p></div>
<p>Tomorrow we take-off for the longest (by distance and time) of our family RV trips this year. We are going to San Diego for two weeks. My wife is off work and the kids are off school, so we are going for it. I will have to do a little work during the trip, but when you work for yourself your time is never really your own.<br />
<small><a title="Attribution-NoDerivs License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a title="kwalk628" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/63409533@N00/3988128527/" target="_blank">kwalk628</a></small></p>
<p>We are going to try to be as economical as possible. Our trips to SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo and Animal Park are already paid for because we bought a year membership to both last year (yes we did this same trip last year).</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 170px"><a title="Sulin" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22352868@N05/3902129743/" target="_blank"><img style="margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; border: 1px solid black;" title="Panda at the San Diego Zoo" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2675/3902129743_1acb4e536a_m.jpg" border="0" alt="Sulin" width="160" height="240" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Panda at the San Diego Zoo</p></div>
<p>But unlike last year we are trying to stay at county parks and other more economical places. Last year we stayed a really special RV park, Campland on the Bay. It was a little expensive (but very cool), so this year we are going to be staying at three different campgrounds and they are all under $35 per night.<br />
<small><a title="Attribution-ShareAlike License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a title="PedroCancion" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22352868@N05/3902129743/" target="_blank">PedroCancion</a></small></p>
<p>We only considered doing this again this year if we could keep expenses way down. So we won&#8217;t be eating out much and we are really going to watch everything we buy. Needless to say our biggest expense will be gas. And the next biggest expense of course will be food. I will be using every trick I know to keep our fuel use to a minimum and most meals will be at the RV. Also the trip will be one of the kids Christmas presents, as we keep telling them.</p>
<p>I think it will be fun to see how cheap we can be. So I will be tweeting along our trip (twitter username: FamilyRVFun).</p>
<p>Follow our exploits in family fun and economy. I will let you know the nitty-gritty on what we spend on and how much. And also I&#8217;ll try to pass along anything we learn on economical RV travel.</p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/big-holiday-trip-road-economy-class/">The Big Holiday Trip: On the Road in Economy Class</a></p>
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		<title>Thanksgiving dinner on the beach</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/thanksgiving-dinner-beach/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/thanksgiving-dinner-beach/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:33:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family RV Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traveling with Kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beach rv camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thanksgiving camping]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[So we always go to the Pismo Beach area every year for the long Thanksgiving weekend. This has been the second year with our trailer. Before that we rented a house. And before that we rented an RV and spent the weekend before Thanksgiving at a Pismo RV park (we couldn&#8217;t get a reservation for [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/thanksgiving-dinner-beach/">Thanksgiving dinner on the beach</a></p>
]]></description>
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<p>So we always go to the Pismo Beach area every year for the long Thanksgiving weekend. This has been the second year with our trailer. Before that we rented a house. And before that we rented an RV and spent the weekend before Thanksgiving at a Pismo RV park (we couldn&#8217;t get a reservation for Thanksgiving). This was the start of our RV bug.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 260px"><img class=" " style="margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/thanksgiving_beach.jpg" alt="Thanksgiving at Avila Beach" width="250" height="250" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Thanksgiving dinner at Avila Beach</p></div>
<p>The weather is always really good during Thanksgiving. The locals call November their Indian summer. And I have to agree with them. We have spent many a sunny afternoon on the beach. And this year we had Thanksgiving dinner on our favorite place Avila Beach, which is just a few miles south of Pismo. We had a really fun time and went to the beach every day that we were there.</p>
<p>We stayed at a really family-friendly RV park in Oceano Beach (just north of Pismo). It is a small county RV park called Oceano Memorial Campground. It has a little kids park at the center and it also has a very large kids playground down the street. For families with kids you can&#8217;t ask for a better place to stay. And we are definitely coming back to it next year (we made our reservation for 2010 while we were there).</p>
<p>So if you want to stay at the beach and be at a really family friendly RV campground. Check out <a href="http://www.slocountyparks.com/activities/oceano.htm">Oceano Campground</a></p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><img style="margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/park_by_campground.jpg" alt="Great playground by campground" width="300" height="225" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A really good playground by the RV park</p></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 260px"><img class=" " style="margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/kids_on_beach.jpg" alt="Kids on the beach" width="250" height="277" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Having fun at Avila Beach</p></div>
<p><img style="margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/area_shot.jpg" alt="Overhead shot of Oceano campground and area" width="400" height="236" /></p>
<p>Ben is having fun on the beach. I think he is digging to China.<br />
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<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/thanksgiving-dinner-beach/">Thanksgiving dinner on the beach</a></p>
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		<title>A Trip to the Pinnacles National Monument</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/trip-pinnacles-national-monument/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/trip-pinnacles-national-monument/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:44:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family RV Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Parks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hiking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pinnacles National Monument]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rv camping sites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.familyrvfun.com/?p=440</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With a couple of days off in the middle of the week for Veterans Day, we decided to take a short trip to the Pinnacles National Monument for some hiking, cave exploration and family fun time. Pinnacles is a funny place. Driving up highway 25, the area seems unremarkable with a lot of farm and ranch land. Even [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/trip-pinnacles-national-monument/">A Trip to the Pinnacles National Monument</a></p>
]]></description>
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<p>With a couple of days off in the middle of the week for Veterans Day, we decided to take a short trip to<img class="alignright" style="margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/pinnacles_sign.jpg" alt="null" width="200" height="240" /> the Pinnacles National Monument for some hiking, cave exploration and family fun time.</p>
<p>Pinnacles is a funny place. Driving up highway 25, the area seems unremarkable with a lot of farm and ranch land. Even when you turn off to the park area on highway 146, it just seems like there isn&#8217;t much there: Oak trees, grey pines and rolling hills. Ok. so why is this a national monument? Teddy Roosevelt made it one over 100 years ago for gosh sake.</p>
<p>When you get to the campground, there still isn&#8217;t much to look at. And right now the campground is in a state of renewal and repair. They are currently building a new RV campsite area in what is currently the group campsite area. They are also building a beautiful new wood rail fence along  the park road &#8211; I think they got some Obama money.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 360px"><img style="margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/rocks_1.jpg" alt="The rock formations of the Pinnacles National Monument" width="350" height="322" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The rock formations of The Pinnacles National Monument</p></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 260px"><img style="margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/magpie.jpg" alt="Yellow Billed Magpie" width="250" height="254" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The yellow billed magpie</p></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 210px"><img style="margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px;" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/ben_on_trail.jpg" alt="Ben on trail" width="200" height="267" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Having fun on the trail</p></div>
<p>But when you get to the hiking trails it all starts to make sense. When you look up at the rock formations, you&#8217;ve just got to say <em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WOW</span></em> at just about every turn on the hiking trail. It almost seems like you are in the Utah hills with the red rock formations that rise above you. Also the wild life is incredible. We saw tons of deer and an interesting bird, the yellow billed Magpie.</p>
<p>Once the new RV camp site is complete (probably by late spring), we will be coming back to enjoy the hiking trails and spring flowers.</p>
<p>One thing you should know is that there is no water hookup for the RV sites. As long as you bring your own water can to fill-up your tank (we have a six gallon one), you will be fine.</p>
<p>Below is a video of some deer that were grazing right by our campsite close to night fall on Nov. 12th.<br />
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="445" height="364" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_8Y6zQORtMA&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;border=1" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="445" height="364" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_8Y6zQORtMA&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;border=1" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/trip-pinnacles-national-monument/">A Trip to the Pinnacles National Monument</a></p>
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		<title>Cal State Parks &#8211; Closure Details Finally Released</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/cal-state-parks/cal-state-parks-closure-details-finally-released/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/cal-state-parks/cal-state-parks-closure-details-finally-released/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cal State Parks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.familyrvfun.com/?p=435</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well the last shoe finally dropped on the on-going saga of the California state budget and the Cal State Park system. The &#8220;Service Reduction Plan&#8221; was released on Tuesday. The Service Reductions are one part of the $14.2 million, one-time budget savings plan Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on September 25 to keep parks open with [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/cal-state-parks/cal-state-parks-closure-details-finally-released/">Cal State Parks &#8211; Closure Details Finally Released</a></p>
]]></description>
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<p>Well the last shoe finally dropped on the on-going saga of the California state budget and the Cal State Park system. The &#8220;Service Reduction Plan&#8221; was released on Tuesday. The Service Reductions are one part of the $14.2 million, one-time budget savings plan Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on September 25 to keep parks open with the least disruption to visitors.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 250px"><a title="Pacific Redwood" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124372247@N01/391581317/" target="_blank"><img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/128/391581317_5089f60dc0_m.jpg" border="0" alt="Pacific Redwood" width="240" height="160" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">One of the majestic redwood at Big Basin State Park</p></div>
<p>It didn&#8217;t turn out to be as drastic as we all feared, but the cuts were still pretty deep and wide spread. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and one of my favorite State Parks, Big Basin will see campground closures Sunday through Thursday from December through March. Well I guess I can live with that given how much that the State needs to make-up in the budget deficit. I&#8217;m just concerned that these cuts will become permanent. Let&#8217;s all hope for a better economy and more tax revenue for the state.</p>
<p>You can read about the details of the park reductions at the <a href="http://www.calparks.org/takeaction/">Cal State Park Foundation</a> website</p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/cal-state-parks/cal-state-parks-closure-details-finally-released/">Cal State Parks &#8211; Closure Details Finally Released</a></p>
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		<title>Cal State Park Foundation President Speaks</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/cal-state-park-foundation-president-speaks/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/cal-state-park-foundation-president-speaks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:56:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cal State Parks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Camping]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Watch this impassioned speech by the President of the Cal State Park Foundation, Elizabeth Goldstein. She lays down the law on what we need to do to save our parks. The closure list has been delayed until late next week. Make a donation to the Cal State Park Foundation fight to stop the park closures. [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/cal-state-park-foundation-president-speaks/">Cal State Park Foundation President Speaks</a></p>
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<p>Watch this impassioned speech by the President of the Cal State Park Foundation, Elizabeth Goldstein. </p>
<p>She lays down the law on what we need to do to save our parks.</p>
<p>The closure list has been delayed until late next week.</p>
<p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uhGjP-n-y4k&#038;color1=0xb1b1b1&#038;color2=0xcfcfcf&#038;hl=en&#038;feature=player_embedded&#038;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uhGjP-n-y4k&#038;color1=0xb1b1b1&#038;color2=0xcfcfcf&#038;hl=en&#038;feature=player_embedded&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p>
<p>Make a donation to the <a href="https://secure.ga3.org/03/donations_budget">Cal State Park Foundation fight to stop the park closures.</a> </p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_camping/cal-state-park-foundation-president-speaks/">Cal State Park Foundation President Speaks</a></p>
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		<title>Cal State Parks Still in Way of Govenor&#8217;s Cut</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/california-camping/cal-state-parks-govenors-cut/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/california-camping/cal-state-parks-govenors-cut/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:46:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cal State Parks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ca rv parks]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Cal state parks are still at risk, but there is some good news. Senate Bill 679 passed the Ca State legislature and waits for the Gov. to sign. It requires that no land acquired for the state park system may be used for non-park uses without the express authority of an act of the Legislature [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/california-camping/cal-state-parks-govenors-cut/">Cal State Parks Still in Way of Govenor&#8217;s Cut</a></p>
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<p>Cal state parks are still at risk, but there is some good news.</p>
<p>Senate Bill 679 passed the Ca State legislature and waits for the Gov. to sign<strong>.</strong> It  requires that no land acquired for the state park system may be used for non-park uses without the express authority of an act of the Legislature and without a plan to replace those park lands with lands of equal environmental and fair market value.</p>
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<p>Let&#8217;s hope the state gets creative and works with private business to keep the parks open.</p>
<p>But senate bill 679 insures the state won&#8217;t lose State park land.</p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/california-camping/cal-state-parks-govenors-cut/">Cal State Parks Still in Way of Govenor&#8217;s Cut</a></p>
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		<title>Wrights Lake: It was a beautiful week</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/wrights-lake-beautiful-week/</link>
		<comments>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/wrights-lake-beautiful-week/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:04:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eldorado National Forrest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family RV Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrights Lake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dry camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rv camping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traveling with kids]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.familyrvfun.com/?p=381</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well we just got back from Wrights Lake and boy did we have a good time. If you don&#8217;t know where it is, Wrights Lake is located 30 minutes South of Lake Tahoe in the Eldorado National Forrest. The lake looks up at the majestic rocky peaks of the Sierra Nevada and Desolation Wilderness. We [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/wrights-lake-beautiful-week/">Wrights Lake: It was a beautiful week</a></p>
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<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 410px"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/kids_wrights_lake_panorama.JPG" alt="The kids are loving life at Wrights Lake" width="400" height="239" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The kids are loving life at Wrights Lake</p></div>
<p>Well we just got back from Wrights Lake and boy did we have a good time.</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t know where it is, Wrights Lake is located 30 minutes South of Lake Tahoe in the Eldorado National Forrest. The lake looks up at the majestic rocky peaks of the  Sierra Nevada and Desolation Wilderness.</p>
<p>We left early Monday morning from our home in San Jose and were up at the lake by 2pm.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 260px"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/road_in_wrights_lake.jpg" alt="Road in to Wrights Lake" width="250" height="184" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The road coming in to the Wrights Lake Campground</p></div>
<p>When we saw the Wrights Lake campground sign and then caught a glimpse of the lake, we were beside ourselves to find our camp site and get out on the lake.</p>
<p>This is the place where we caught the RV bug last summer when we tent camped here. We thought, wow this is great but sleeping in a tent and cooking over the campfire is just ok. So one month later we bought our Thor Cal travel trailer and yes the rest is history and being chronicled in this blog.</p>
<p>So we spent a full week at Wrights Lake this year, six nights and seven very full days coming home late Sunday evening. We filled our days canoeing on the lake, playing on the beach and trying our luck at fishing up the filler stream for the lake (no we didn&#8217;t catch any fish, but we saw a lot of them). Wrights Lake is a totally non-power boat lake. You can only have canoes, kayaks and sail boats on the lake. So this means the type of people who come to the lake are the more &#8220;environmental&#8221; types and also the campground is quieter in the evening. If you have a power boat I recommend you go to Icehouse reservoir which is on the road to Wrights Lake (about 10 miles below the lake).</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 260px"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/family_boat_wrights_lake.jpg" alt="The family canoeing on Wrights Lake" width="250" height="201" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The family canoeing on Wrights Lake</p></div>
<p>We also met a lot of friendly people. And many of them with children the same age as our kids. Our last night we were invited to dinner with a family who were having a sort of family reunion. The grandfather has been going to Wrights Lake since the 1940s!</p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Bm_kkFUiOnk&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Bm_kkFUiOnk&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p><strong>Camping Recommendations for Wrights Lake<br />
</strong>If you are passing through Placerville on your way to the lake (and your a Safeway shopper), I highly recommend you stop at the Palcerville Safeway (<em>at the </em>Missouri Flats off-ramp).  Buy your food there and then fill-up at the Safeway gas station. You can save up to 60 cents a gallon.</p>
<p>Check-in at the campground isn&#8217;t until 2pm, so plan a late afternoon arrival.</p>
<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/wrights_lake_cg_map.gif" alt="Wrights Lake Campground Map" width="461" height="460" />There are two campgrounds. The one closest to the lake is for tent campers only (sites 1-19). The campground for sites 20 -68   inlcude spaces for RV camping (though no power or water hookup. It&#8217;s dry camping only).</p>
<p>One note about water: It isn&#8217;t allowed to hook a hose up to the facet to fill your water tank. So bring a large water bucket to fill you tank (I bought a six gallon jug for future trips).</p>
<p>The best spaces for RVs are on the side of the campground of sites 38 &#8211; 68 . The campground road is wider and easier to maneuver.</p>
<p><img class="alignright" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/wrights_lake_tree_scrap.JPG" alt="Wrights Lake Tree Scrap" />The picture on the right is of a tree on the side of the campground with the narrow road. As you can see many an RV has made its mark.</p>
<p>So we had a great time and will be back next year. And next year we plan to do some hiking up in the hills above the lake. There are many small alpine lakes nestled up among the granite cliffs.</p>
<p><strong>Reservation Information</strong><br />
- CALL 1-877-444-6777, four days to six months in<br />
advance of your first night’s stay.<br />
- WEBSITE: www.Recreation.gov</p>
<p>The campground is generally open between late June and mid-October. These dates are affected by snow conditions. The campground is at about 7,000’ elevation.</p>
<p><strong>Location</strong>: 23 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50, 11 miles north on Ice House Road (Forest Road 3), 9 miles east on Forest Road 32 (Wrights Lake Tie Road), and 2 miles north on Forest Road 4 (Wrights Lake Rd).</p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/wrights-lake-beautiful-week/">Wrights Lake: It was a beautiful week</a></p>
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		<title>CA Camping: Calaveras Big Trees State Park- June 19 – 21, 2009</title>
		<link>http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/ca-camping-calaveras-big-trees-state-park-june-19-21-2009/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:49:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[My family and I spend the long weekend (from 6/19- 21/09) at Calavaeras Big Trees Stat Park. It is located 10 minutes above Arnold, CA in the Southern Sierra Nevada.  Below is the account of our stay and some tips on how to make your stay there more enjoyable. Getting to the Campground &#8211; No [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/ca-camping-calaveras-big-trees-state-park-june-19-21-2009/">CA Camping: Calaveras Big Trees State Park- June 19 – 21, 2009</a></p>
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<p>My family and I spend the long weekend (from 6/19- 21/09) at Calavaeras Big Trees Stat Park. It is located 10 minutes above Arnold, CA in the Southern Sierra Nevada.  Below is the account of our stay and some tips on how to make your stay there more enjoyable.</p>
<p><strong>Getting to the Campground &#8211; No Wide Turns</strong><img class="alignright" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/big_trees2.jpg" alt="The beauty of Calaveras Big Trees State Park" /><br />
Upon driving into the park, we were so stunned by the beauty of the forrest that we missed our turn for the campsite and we ended up on a dead-end road, which once had been the RV dump station area (now not in service). However, that was blocked off by some very heavy logs, yes, we did try to move them but couldn’t, because making a U-turn was impossible.</p>
<p>As we worked on trying to turn our travel trailer around in the dead-end road, we attracted the attention of a state park ranger who came to assist us in backing out of our mess (which was about 5 car lengths out with cars parked on either side).  It was a real nail biter and we were tired of driving so it just added to the frustration of being at the camp and not yet at the campsite.  We made it though and the Ranger followed us in and helped us back into our wide and expansive site.  He was great!  Thank you Barry!</p>
<p><strong>About the Sites</strong><br />
The sites at Big Trees are expansive and that is a plus, however, many are close to Highway 4 so they suffer from highway traffic noise (not what you want to hear at a high sierra camp site).  We have done a bit of legwork and we’ll recommend the sites we think you should look for when you go.</p>
<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/big_trees1.jpg" alt="The overwhelming beauty of the Calaveras Big Trees" /></p>
<p>What we didn’t expect was a spigot that wasn’t set up to accept a regular water hose.  So while there is water…you have to find a way to actually get it into the RV.  We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy fix.  On the second day we did buy an extra water hose and we cut off one end in order to make it larger to fit over the spigot.  That helped us out but we weren’t able to really cut off all the water from spraying out all over.  We will keep this modified hose and a few clasps within our trailer in case this happens again.</p>
<p>We didn’t have electricity and were a little concerned if we could make the two days on the battery power we have with the trailer.  We also did not have a sewer hook up at the site and had to conserve water and how we used our bathroom.  We decided it was only for those nighttime, and early morning nature calls and that by no means would we ever be doing number 2 there.  We used the nice bathrooms that were there at the campgrounds. We did great!  We washed our dishes outside with a collapsible plastic side-by-side sinks and used our outdoor shower to clean up under so that our water usage did wash way into the ground…versus into our tank.  We left with only 1/3 full tanks and drove all the way to where we store the trailer where we can use their dump station.</p>
<p><strong>All the Fun</strong><img class="alignright" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/big_trees_meadow.jpg" alt="The campground surrounds a meadow" /><br />
Big Trees State Park has a wonderful camper activity program.  On Friday night we took in a sing along at the campfire area. It was quite good.  The two who were leading the sing along seemed to be regulars and had strong voices.  They did a lot to involve the children in the audience and had a round of jokes, which both our little hams (Ben 7 and Sam 4) had to participate in twice!  Though we still can’t quite figure out their jokes, they both thought they were hilarious!  The evening finished off with marshmallows over the campfire! We made smore’s as we always have to do at least once on our trips!</p>
<p>On Saturday morning the kids took in the Jr. Ranger programs and they were great!  Ben got to explore and find bones of little creatures that were eaten by owls and Sam learned all about butterflies and made a butterfly kite.  In the afternoon we took out our new Rockport Old Town Canoe and had fun on a small man made like called White Pine Lake, which is just a few miles from the park.   This was fun and we enjoyed breaking in the canoe and finding a nice beach to picnic on.   On our way back we went ahead and drove up to the Stanislaus River and sat along the riverbank where the kids could throw in rocks and just enjoy the sound of the rushing water.</p>
<p>Though not all of us got to go on hikes, I did manage to get in a walk and was amazed by the Big Trees for which this park is named.  The trees are over 2000 years old and massive giants. It was very peaceful and tranquil and would be an enjoyable 1-mile hike for any family.</p>
<p>On our trip the campsites were full of families enjoying the first few weeks off of school.  Our neighbors all had kids and that is where our kids chose to spend their time, playing with the other kids and that really what camping is all about for the kids&#8230; meeting new friends who are enjoying the great outdoors as well.</p>
<p><strong>When we go to Big Trees again….</strong><br />
We’ll be sure to turn into the campgrounds….very important.</p>
<p>We’ll also try to go to one of the campsites 4-12 (See North Grove Campground map below). They are far enough away from the traffic noise, but close to activity areas. If you want to get really away from it, you can stay at the Oak Hollow Campground in the park. It is a few miles into the park through a narrow paved road. Though if you have a large RV (28’ plus) I wouldn’t recommend it.</p>
<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/images/north_grove_campground.jpg" alt="Big Trees North Grove Campground" /></p>
<p>We’ll seek out more hiking, be sure to take in the Campfire singing on Friday nights, go canoeing, maybe at another lake (Alpine and Spicer Lakes are close by).  Be prepared with the modified hose contraption.   We know our battery power can handle a 2-day trip, we only used 1/3 of our battery power.  All in all….we’ll be ready to have a nice, relaxing time at Big Trees again!</p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/ca-camping-calaveras-big-trees-state-park-june-19-21-2009/">CA Camping: Calaveras Big Trees State Park- June 19 – 21, 2009</a></p>
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		<title>Camping at New Brighton State Beach</title>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:54:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[We had a really good time at the New Brighton State Beach park. The state park is located off of Highway 1 just outside of Capitola, CA. It is a state park (though its not threatened of closing with the Cal budget crisis) sitting on the bluffs above the beach. We had power and water, [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/camping-brighton-state-beach/">Camping at New Brighton State Beach</a></p>
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<p>We had a really good time at the New Brighton State Beach park. The state park is located off of Highway 1 just outside of Capitola, CA.</p>
<p><object width="425" height="344" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/vmNEMmREoHM&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vmNEMmREoHM&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object></p>
<p>It is a state park (though its not threatened of closing with the Cal budget crisis) sitting on the bluffs above the beach. We had power and water, but no sewer (there is a dump station at the entrance to the park).</p>
<p>A nice campground, though the sites were a little close together. The best sites, the ones with a great view of the ocean, don&#8217;t have power and cost extra ($10 more a night on top of the $35 a night).</p>
<p>New Brighton is one of the best camp sites you can stay at in the Cal state park system. It has a nice beach below the buffs and it is 10 minutes from the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk.</p>
<p>See the video for the highlights of our trip.</p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/camping-brighton-state-beach/">Camping at New Brighton State Beach</a></p>
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		<title>California Camping in Danger by State Budget</title>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:19:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Family RV</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California camping]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[You may have heard of the budget problems with the state of California (my home-sweet-home). It seems we are $20 billion in the red. Well the governor is proposing some prettry draconian measures with the State Park system. He wants to close up to 220 state parks with over 50 in Northern California alone. This [...]<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/rv_camping/california-camping-danger-state-budget/">California Camping in Danger by State Budget</a></p>
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<p>You may have heard of the budget problems with the state of California (my home-sweet-home). It seems we are $20 billion in the <a title="Pacific Redwood" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124372247@N01/391581317/" target="_blank"><img class="alignright" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/128/391581317_5089f60dc0_m.jpg" border="0" alt="Pacific Redwood" /></a>red.</p>
<p>Well the governor is proposing some prettry draconian measures with the State Park system. He wants to <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090529/ap_on_re_us/us_california_parks_5">close up to 220 state parks</a> with over 50 in Northern California alone.</p>
<p>This could mean that Big Basin State Park (one we plan on camping at this year) could be closing.</p>
<p>There is something we can do about it though. Go to the <a href="http://www.calparks.org/">calparks.org</a> web site and sign the petition to tell the govinator that we don&#8217;t want this.</p>
<p><small><a title="Attribution License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.familyrvfun.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a title="jeffk" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124372247@N01/391581317/" target="_blank">jeffk</a></small></p>
<p>This post via the: <a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com">Family RV Fun</a> blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.familyrvfun.com/rv_camping/california-camping-danger-state-budget/">California Camping in Danger by State Budget</a></p>
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