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What to do when the weather isn’t perfect – Sunset State Beach

Family RV — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:58:03 +0000

Set for a mid-May trip, we finally got a weekend reservation at Sunset State Beach (Map) located south of Rio Del Mar, CA.

Sunset State Beach campground and beach

We’d heard a lot about the campground and looked forward to going there and having a great weekend trip on the coast.

It being mid-May we thought the weather would be no problem, but this is no usual weather year so yes we did run into some not so perfect weather.

We pulled into our campground late on Friday night with little problems (though me backing-up the trailer always involves some level of drama).

On Sat. morning we got up to a little fog but it burned off pretty quickly. So we packed-up and headed to the beach.

It is a short drive down to the beach with some really nice picnic and barbecue facilities.

Sunset State Beach

What makes Sunset State Beach so unique is that it is an extremely long and flat beach. I’m not sure how long it is but it sure looked like you would be walking for hours until you reached the end of it.

But we never really got the chance to walk along the beach for very long.

The trouble was that the wind was howling in from the surf and making our day at the beach a little difficult to enjoy.

First we tried to make a wind break with our chairs and sun umbrellas. But of course the wind was just too strong and we had to retreat to the other side of the dunes where the wind wasn’t so strong, but alas not on the beach itself.

Of course the kids took the weather hiccups in stride and seemed to have a great time no matter what.

Kids at Sunset Beach Campground

Later at the campground the kids had fun in a field of wild flowers just outside our trailer door.

Sunday morning we woke-up to a cloudy and raining morning. All the tent campers were very quick to pack-up and leave at the first sign of rain.

We also left Sunday morning, but stayed cozy and warm in our travel trailer until we were ready to leave.

This campground does deserve another try when the weather is better. But it is hard to get a reservation in the summer.

Also the campground doesn’t have hook-ups but we could dump our black and gray water at the New Brighton State Beach campground.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

What to do when the weather isn’t perfect – Sunset State Beach

A Trip to the Snow and Sierra Summit

Family RV — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:47:47 +0000

With the President’s holiday (and the kids being out of school for the entire week!) we decided to go up to the snow for the long weekend Friday through Monday.

We didn’t want to go to Lake Tahoe and deal with the crowds and the attitudes we have experienced there. So we decided to go up to the Southern Sierras and go skiing at Sierra Summit. Which is about one hour and a half East of Fresno, CA.

Sierra Summit is East of Fresno

It turned out to be a really good choice. The roads were pretty much traffic free and the resort was busy, but not uncomfortably crowded.

But before we got up to the snow, we had to decide where we would park the travel trailer. We were a little squeamish about driving up to the snow with our trailer, so we decided to park it at an RV park in Fresno and drive up to Sierra Summit for our day trips to the snow.

Two bugs watching a movie

In hindsight there was no need to worry about taking our trailer up to the snow (there were even RVs camping in the parking lot of the resort). The roads were very clear and there was space at Camp Edison at Shaver Lake. Next year we will probably do that. But only if the weather is guaranteed to be clear and the roads are plowed and dry.

We may have to do a little winterizing of the trailer (maybe buy a heat

Sam learning snow boarding

blanket for the water tank or an insulated water hose), but nothing major because it only get down to around 20F at night.

We drove around Camp Edison when we were up there and it looked like a really great place to park the trailer. They were recently rated very high in a Sunset Magazine article on the best campgrounds in the Western US.

Both kids loved the snow. Sam seemed to take to snow boarding, while Ben liked skiing. They are both now telling their friends they are accomplished at their chosen sport after only one lesson.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

A Trip to the Snow and Sierra Summit

A New RV Camping Accessory

Family RV — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:49:37 +0000

We just got a new canoe last week and we can’t wait to use it.

Luckily we only have to wait until this weekend. We have a trip planned to the Calaveras Big Trees National Forrest in the Southern Sierra Nevada.

It is along the Stanislaus River, so I’m sure we will have a chance to use it. (Video to follow after our trip).

Also in the picture is our two bikes. They just barely fit on the rack with the canoe.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

A New RV Camping Accessory

Family RV Camping: There is Nothing Like It

Family RV — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:12:41 +0000

This is a great video that demonstrates how special family RV camping is.

KCRA a Sacramento TV station interviews RV blogger Brad Herzog about his (and his wife and two boys’) summer adventures RVing throughout the United Sates. Watching this video I had a few pangs of jealousy as he talked about their travels throughout the US.

One great idea they talked about was having the kids put together a travel calendar. The kids wrote down where they would be on what dates and what they planned to see, complete with pictures and notes.

We haven’t had a changes to do any multi-location trip longer that one week. But possibly in 2010 when Claire (my wife) has a sabbatical scheduled.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Family RV Camping: There is Nothing Like It