Living the RV Dream

Living the RV Dream



Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Busy With Travel,Work and "FUN"

Since leaving the California cost we have been very busy. To say good bye to that beautiful area we did a day trip to Big Sur for one more look at the spectacular area.
We then headed into the Cali desert to Las Vegas to meet our friends and co- workers Ed & Liz. We spent a couple of day walking the strip, eating at buffets and seeing a great show.

From Vegas we caravanned north to the St. George Utah area for some hiking in Zion National Park and Red Cliffs State Park.

After that we made a stop in Salt Lake for some shopping and a museum where we saw Mummies of the World. It was creepy.
On to Jackson and our summer home at the KOA. There is plenty of work to do. Victoria is the store manager and is training all her counter help. I am the outside assistant Manager and working with all the guys transforming the park from a mud hole to a new and improved RV park.
On our off time we have been out looking for wild life
like these mountain goats


and enjoying the "spring" weather in the Tetons

and having close encounters of the furry kind

Victoria said hello to her very best friend in the whole world
"Chippy"

and still being amazed at the beauty of this amazing place

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Ease On Down The Road

Last Friday we gave our 1 week notice at the campground. We decided that would be a reasonable amount of time. The manager accepted our resignation and agreed we would work our final week. At the end of the day she informed us that the owners told her to have Friday be our last day and to be out of the park by Sunday. Although we would have preferred to stay our final week it was not a surprise to us. We witnessed how they handled the leaving of a couple of the other employees and we more than half expected this kind of treatment. We left the KOA knowing that we did a good job while there and with no hard feeling for the mangers who said they would give us a positive job recommendation.
We had a plan B, so Sunday we hitched up and headed just a few miles down the coast to a very nice RV park for a few days of R&R. We can walk to the beach here and to the village of Pismo Beach. Victoria has been spending her days walking the shore adding to her collection of sea rocks and sand dollars. I have been doing a few minor maintenance things preparing for the cold weather that will be greeting us in Wyoming. We have both taken the time to be a bit lazy and sleep in and take the occasional nap. This is a quiet park and not having the constant roar of big trucks on the 101 freeway has been very peaceful.
Pismo Bch. a short walk from the RV
Sand dollars
We are going to need a bigger rig


Thursday we will head about an hour north for a couple of days. We plan to take a day trip to Big Sur. We have been told it is a must see area. After that it is back into the desert as we start the trek north. We will make a stop in Vegas to meet up with some friends and maybe do the Cesar’s buffet. I love those Vegas buffets. Then it will be on to Jackson with a couple of sightseeing stops along the way.
Overall we have enjoyed our stay here on the central coast of California. Victoria has especially liked it here. She is a beach girl you know. We are both looking forward to being back in the beauty of the Rockies and seeing old and new friends at our summer gig in Jackson Hole. Victoria will have to once again start collecting river rocks and drift wood from the Snake River.





Thursday, March 14, 2013

Just A Nice Day

It seems like forever since we have gotten out to have some fun. Over the past month or so the weather has not been the best on our days off. And Victoria and I both got the flu that kept us in on camp couch. I still have a cough after 3 weeks.
Today we finally headed out to enjoy a beautiful sunny day with temps. in the high 60’s. Victoria had some packages to mail so we went to the Avila Beach post office. It is just a little room in the community center. Then we walked over to the beach and strolled out on the pier. Victoria wanted to take some pictures of the starfish that cling to the support pylons of the pier.

It was very foggy when we first arrived. The fog is called the “Marine Layer”. We could not even see the end of the pier it was so thick. The fog just rolls in and engulfs the beach and rolls up the mountains and down the other side. It is really something to see.


The two of us walked out to the end of the pier and down the metal stair way to the walk way under the pier. There were plenty of starfish although most of them were just below the surface of the water. As Victoria clicked away at the starfish I walked further down the walkway to find a sea otter floating on his back cracking shellfish open for his morning meal. We watched him crack open clams and eat them and then dive down and do it all over again. He hung out for several minutes and did not seem to mind us being there. He just floated on his back and ate his breakfast. After a while a kayak came along and scared him off. This was a great show. We have seen a lot of otters while hear but they have all been pretty far off. This little guy was no more than 10 feet from us.
Yum,Yum,Yum

By the time we made it back to the top of the pier the fog had begun to lift. We walked back to the street to one of the several coffee shops for a cup of Joe and a croissant. We sat outside and drank our coffee and watched the last of the Marine Layer burn off the hills above us as brilliant sunshine took its place.
For Victoria no trip to the beach is complete unless she walks the shore to find some treasures that the sea has washed ashore just for her. We walked the length of the beach and along the inlet of the little creek that empties in to the ocean. Victoria found “Some Of The Best Treasures Ever”. Most people’s souvenirs are tee shirts or maybe a coffee cup. We have been carrying sea shells and rocks and sticks from one side of the country to the other. I guess I shouldn’t complain she could want the kind of rocks you find in jewelry stores.
Sea Treasures

After visiting with a couple from New Hampshire for a bit we headed back home for some lunch. After lunch we washed both the truck and the RV. By 4:00 we were heading to the last of our photography classes we have been taking at the local collage. It was a fun and busy day. Just the way we like it.
Marine Layer (Not at the beach)

Thursday, February 7, 2013

So Far So Good

It has been over a week since Victoria and I have returned from our 2 week visit back to Florida. We had a wonderful time catching up with family and friends. While there several people asked me how we liked the full time RV lifestyle. That got me thinking. I have also recently read a couple of blogs where the writers were questioning their full time decision.
Well, here is my take on it so far. We started about a year and a half ago working for Amazon.com. That was not a great experience and we decided we would not do it again. It was hard work in a dirty warehouse in a depressed little town.
On the up side we met some wonderful people that we are still in touch with. Although Amazon was not great I look at it as a learning experience, as I have tried to do with this whole adventure. Adventure, that is, what this is. It is not all fun and games and a lot of it is work. The adventure comes after work and while traveling from location to location. And that part words and pictures cannot describe. Our country is a magnificent land of wonder and beauty.
Our next stop, 3 months volunteering with the National Park Service. It was an unexpected and unplanned job. This was a lot of fun. We helped the rangers take school kids on nature hikes in the Mohave Desert. I never knew the desert was so full of life and beauty. We didn’t get paid but we did get a great RV site in the national park.
From there we headed north to Jackson, Wy. for the summer with stops at Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Zion, to name a few. We are very blessed to be able to see these wonders of nature. In Jackson we worked at a KOA campground. We worked 40 hours a week, me outside doing everything from fixing plumbing lines to building campsites. It is sometimes hard work and the weather does not always cooperate. 35 degrees and snow flurries in mid April can make a guy wonder what the heck he got himself into.
The weather warmed as the summer went on and we had 5 months to explore Jackson and Grand Teton and Yellowstone Parks. As those of you know who follow are blog it was AWESOME. We worked hard and we played hard all summer long.
October found us back in the Mohave Desert at a campground that catered to off roaders. This was not a good experience. It was in the middle of nowhere. It was an hour to the nearest grocery store. It was hot (105 in the shade). There were scorpions the size of a Honda Civic, and the flies were unbearable. Needless to say we started looking for something else right away.
We got lucky; we are now on the central coast of California. We are only 3 miles from the beach. Victoria loves that. We have everything we need within a few miles of the campground. The area is beautiful and we spend our off time exploring. That is why we are doing this, for the adventure of seeing what our current location has to offer.
As with the other places we have been, we have to work. We work 40 hours a week, five days a week. None of these jobs are very hard. I think that the owners of these parks understand that people in their 40-60 have worked a life time and it has been my experience that nobody has asked me to work near as hard as I did in the real world.

Victoria working in the office

Rows of Rv's
Needless to say though it is work. I am re-piping water lines which requires crawling around under damp and cob web invested cabins. Every morning I have to clean the pool and spa. The up side is I know it is clean and I have enjoyed the spa. Victoria has worked in the office at all our Camp ground jobs. Her job can be hectic and she has to sometimes deal with unhappy campers who are not always very pleasant.
The pool & spa
I get a golf cart to use
Building fences
Our RV spot is not the prime spot in the park. They have use next to the shop and the dumpster. It is not great but the site is part of our compensation so we don’t have to pay for a spot that cost $75. a night. I can stand looking at the dumpster.

Hey, that looks like a nice spot

Except it is really 2 spots and there is the dumpster
This park is also located only about 100 feet from the 101 freeway. This is a major highway. Think about I-75 or I-95 a 100’ from your door. There is a constant roar of traffic 24-7. That is probable our biggest complaint about our current location. That and the weather is a bit cooler than we would like and it rains a lot. But, it is not snowing and it is not 105 in the shade. So all and all this is a pretty good gig.
A big truck on the 101 Hyw.  they go 24/7
On our time off we explore the area and see all there is to see. We have seen some great wild life
and the scenery is fantastic. The beach is close by. There is a bike path and Victoria is taking
yoga classes down the road.

Elephant seals fighting on the beach
Awsome beauty
Nature at its finest
So in conclusion, are RV lifestyle is great. We have had some not so good experiences and some great ones. We plan to keep it going as long as we can. For those Rv’ers who wonder if your decision was a good one I would say hang in there. Take everything in stride. Enjoy the adventure.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Hearst Castle,Solvang,Morro Bay

We have been busy here at Avila/Pismo Beach KOA. I have been painting the Men’s Bath House along with doing my regular duties of pool cleaning and garbage patrol among other things. Victoria has been hard at work keeping our guest happy in the office while taking reservations and fielding phone calls.
The weather has been a bit on the nasty side. We have been getting a lot of rain and the temperatures have been a bit colder than we would like. We really can’t complain though, temps in the 50’s and 60’s are better than a lot of the country is having.
Hearst Castle
On our days off we have been lucky and the weather has been cooperative on at least one of our two days off a week. We have been venturing out to see the local sights on those days. On one of our trips we went to The Hearst Castel. It is one of the homes of the late William Randolph Hearst. The estate is now owned by the state of California and open to the public (for an admission fee).

 This is a spectacular place set high on a hill overlooking the coast. We took a shuttle bus 5 miles up the hill side. We toured the main house which consisted of a walkthrough of several of the 150 or so rooms. After that we explored the grounds which included two way over the top swimming pools. There are also several guest houses were guests such as Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin stayed. Victoria really enjoyed the gardens that offer all types of flora and a verity of fruit trees.


Back at the visitors center we watched a movie about the castle and then headed down to the coast. We stopped in a local little restaurant that has been there forever. It is called Sebastian’s and we had one of the best burgers I have ever had. Trust me; I have had a lot of burgers. And for six buck you can’t go wrong.
We ended the day with a great west coast sunset.


Solvang
While at Hearst Castle we saw some advertising for the town of Solvang. It is only about an hour away from us so we decided to check it out. It is a little community that was established by the Dutch. The whole town is built to resemble a town back in the old country. It is mostly shops of all types and restaurants.



Victoria and I walked the streets and enjoyed the architecture. Victoria checked out several shops while eyed all of the treats in the bakeries and candy shops that seemed to be at every third or fourth door. We settled on a bakery to have a cup of coffee and a local bake good before heading home.


Morro Bay
Morro Bay is a seaside town that we passed by on our way to Herst Castle. It is hard to miss due to the Morro Rock that is a huge chuck of land that towers over the town and appears to rise right out of the ocean. It is actual attached to the mainland and there is a road out to the rock.

We really enjoyed Morro. The bay is lined with shops and restaurants and there is a walk way that is built right over the front of the shops that wined along the bay front. We walked the boardwalk stopping every so often to enjoy the views of the dozens of boats moored in the harbor.

As we walked we could hear the barking of Sea Lions and we followed the ruckus to discover three of the sea dogs begging for treats as a local fishing boat off loaded its catch of Anchovies. We stood and watched the show for a good half hour or so. One of the best things about our lifestyle for both of us is seeing all the different wild life of the areas we visit.

We wondered down the walkway saying hello to all the dogs (and there people) we met along the way. At the end of the walkway was a harbor side park with a sidewalk that completed this very enjoyable stroll.
We hoped back in the truck and drove out to the rock. It creates one side of the inlet to Morro Bay. We stopped and watched several surfers catching waves on the ocean side before heading out to the end of the road on the opposite side of the rock. There we gathered with the growing crowd to watch another spectacular Pacific Coast sunset.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Our Avila Beach Days

We have been here at Avila Beach for a couple of weeks now and we are getting accustom to our new jobs and our new surroundings. We had a big weekend for Thanksgiving. The park puts on a Thanksgiving dinner for all the guests. The park provides the turkeys, six of them and everybody brings a plate to pass. It was a big success. We had over 100 people and a ton of food. We were able to bring home leftovers and ate turkey for the next few days.
Victoria and Judy guarding the dessert

Dave the boss and turkey cook

Lining up for diner

Our jobs are going well; we are doing similar duties to what we did in Jackson Hole. Victoria is working in the office checking in guest and helping the manager Judy. I am doing maintenance and upgrades to the park. We are replacing sewer and water lines in all the cabins and building privacy fences between the cabins. We also have a nice pool and spa and I have learned how to maintain them both.
This live is not all fun and games

On one of our days off we went to a local attraction. A park where monarch butterflies nest for the winter. It was amazing to see thousands of the little critters all hanging together in the trees. After that we visited a few of the local beaches. This area is a series of beach communities called the five cities. Each one has a public beach and there are 3 piers for fishing.

These are all butterflies, not leaves

We walked the beaches and people watched all the folks swimming and walking along the beach. This is a very beautiful area and Victoria loves being so close to the ocean. This time of year is the rainy season so we have had some rain. It has been a year since we have seen any real rain. Last winter in Arizona and the summer in Wyoming were very dry. That is fun part of this lifestyle seeing and experience all the sights and environments of the areas we stay in.


One of the local beaches

Sand dollors are all over the beach, Victoria has started a clollection