Not Quite Full Time RVers

Yosemite National Park - July 3-5, 2010

2010-07-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

My daughter Tanya, was able to get a much sought after campsite in Yosemite for the July 4th 3-day weekend by multi-tasking the very second it was allowed to make a reservation for that time. She dialed and redialed while she used the internet at the same time and it paid off when she got a site for us. We did not bring the RV because of size limitation at the site and so it was back to "real camping", roughing it out in a real tent. But before proceeding we had to get new equipments since we have given our tenting equipment when we got the RV. We got a real good bargain at the REI store in Santa Rosa where we got a North Face tent, some pads, and other misc. equipment.

We left early Saturday morning and got to the park right in time for the check-in time. We saved on the $20.00 entrance fee by using my "America the Beautiful" senior card for the very first time. I got this for $10.00 when I turned 62 and it gave me and 3 other adults plus kids traveling in the same car, a lifetime free entrance privileges to any national park. A good deal and every 62 year old should take advantage of this program.

We took several hikes when we were there and totally enjoyed Yosemite, one of our favorite places to go. We had not been here several years and have forgotten why we loved this place. The first night the campsite was visited by 3 bears who were quickly turned away by the rangers shooting rubber bullets very early in the morning. It was exciting. The second night was a little more dramatic when we had a medical emergency and I had to take my son in-law to the clinic at 2:00 am and then an ambulance had to take him down to Modesto, 3 hours away. Everything turned out OK but it was a night we will not forget. - To be continued - "Under construction".

Air traffic in 24 hours

2010-06-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Air traffic in 24 hours

Wow this is too many and too fast - - we need to slow down and travel on the unbeaten path or better still go to where there is no path and leave a trail.

Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

2010-03-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

I am trying out a new feature on blogger that integrates Amazon products at my blog. I will link one of the greatest and my all time favorite movie "Cinema Paradiso", which is available on "Amazon.com." You should check out this movie that won the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1989 and is a classic among avid movie buffs. You can click on the link to get more information and hopefully you will like them enough to order a copy and enjoy the movie. While you are on the Amazon site, go and read the reviews of the DVD and I am sure it will convince you of how popular and well loved this movie is.

Cayote Creek RV Resort - August 28-30, 2009

2010-02-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

We invited Nestie & Dan and their respective wives Jeffin & Lorelli to join us and Tina in our RV the weekend of Bing Lacambra's surprise birthday party. I made reservations at the Cayote Creek RV resort in Morgan Hill and not too far from Los Altos, where the party is going to be held. They arrived early afternoon and after unloading and getting everything in the RV, we proceeded to Newark and had dinner at the Tipanan restaurant, owned by a friend and a fellow La Sallite, Bobitt Soliongco. We had a very good dinner and the dishes recommended by Marilou Ante, who was helping at the restaurant.

After dinner, we proceeded to Hayward so the Southern California buddies can experience Ballroom & Beyond. We danced the night away and had a lesson on "Travelling 2-step" and we learned the 3 patterns that they taught us.

Saturday morning was spent at the RV park, where we had breakfast, walked around the campground and then spent some time at the clubhouse where we even practiced the dance patterns we learned the night before. We then got ready for the party and left early evening for Los Altos. It turned out to be a very nice party and we met a lot of friends that we have not seen a while. We drank, ate, danced, and drank some more. It was a fun weekend with some very good friends. We went back home Sunday afternoon.

Overnight Stop @ Fantasy Springs Casino - March 25, 2009

2009-04-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

We got out of the RV campground in Scottsdale, AZ. @ 11:00 am on Saturday and by the time we got to Palm Springs, CA. it was past 5:00 pm. We saw a tall building next to Interstate 10 and guessed correctly that it was a casino. As we got closer, we saw quite a few RV's parked and since we were tired and hungry, we decided to stop over and eat an early dinner and then take advantage of the free overnight parking at the Fantasy Springs Casino.

This was a huge Indian casino and the minute we walked in, it reminded us of Las Vegas. The hotel was luxurious and I've never seen so many slots and table games. It even has 24 lane bowling alley.

We went back to the RV after dinner and had a restful sleep until mid-morning. We then proceeded back to the interstate and continued on back home and got to Rohnert Park early Sunday evening.

It was a long trip but lots of fun and filled with memories that we will all cherish forever.

Giants vs Indians - Friday, March 27, 2009

2009-03-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Friday was a complete opposite of yesterday. In terms of weather. it was nice and hot unlike yesterday when the Chicago Cubs, brought their windy weather with them. We also had lawn seating today as oppose to the box seats that we had yesterday. After the game we were also able to go and had a nice dinner at P.F. Chang's in the Arizona State University area as oppose to a late Dinner at Denny's on Thursday. The other thing that was different was Tina did not make it to this game since she was not feeling too good. She volunteered to take care of baby Dominic and so we had an extra ticket that we gave away for free at the gate.

One thing the same is that the Giants won the game again. We're 2-0, so maybe the Giants should give the Estrella family a season tickets so they'll win whenever we watch. Fat Chance!!!.

We went home and rested to get ready for a long drive home Saturday. It was a fun filled trip and one that we should do once again in the future but this time Omar and his family plus Alexi should join and experience Cactus League Baseball in Arizona.

Giants vs Cubs - Thursday, March 26, 2009

2009-03-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Cubs games are always a prime ticket and hard to get because a lot of folks from the Chicago area go down to Spring Training to watch their Cubs play. I guess that is one proof of why the Chicago fans are considered the # 1 sports fan in the U.S. If you happen to visit Hohokam Park in Mesa, Arizona, their home stadium during the spring training, you will notice that there are a lot of cars with Illinois plates and this is also the only place anywhere that I can think of where you can buy a hometown paper at another state for the same price you would pay for it at home.

But the Estrella family from Rohnert Park are loyal SF Giants fan as any of them, and so we decided to at least try to see them play the Cubs. Although we were able to buy only the Cleveland Indians tickets online before we left California, we went to the Scottsdale stadium, the spring training home of the Giants to see if we can buy them from anyone and that includes the "scalpers". We left the campround early even though the game does not start until 7:05 p.m. We were told that it was sold out but we can line up at the box office which opens at 4:30 pm to see if any tickets will be made available.

We went to the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall and had lunch at the food court. We returned to the stadium before 3:00 pm and Tanya, decided to line up which already had around 20 folks ahead of her. I parked the car at the parking complex by the stadium which was FREE. Tina, took care of baby Dominic and Anthony, while I try to locate the Giants store and check out the "goodies". I heard later that Tina had some "fun" with the baby crying and Anthony needing to use the bathroom.

It must be our lucky day. Got 4 lower box tickets for the game and since the gates open at 5:30 pm, we decided to just stay and watch all the pre-game shows. It was all worth it. We watched batting practice from both teams and Anthony even got a player to autograph his baseball. The Budweiser Clydesdale horses with the wagon and the dalmatian sitting on top of all the beer boxes were there too and Anthony even shouted "Coca", when he saw the dalmatian.

The Giants won this game which ended before the 9th inning because the wind was blowing really bad and any "fly ball" is always an adventure to catch.

We tried going to a nice restaurant for a late dinner, but everything was closed for the night, even the restaurants at the Fort McDowell casino across the street from the RV park was not open. We ended at the Denny's 2 miles away from our campground.

Eagle View RV Resort, Asah Gweh Oou-o - Wed., March 25-28, 2009

2009-03-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

I googled for an RV resort in the Scottsdale area the day before we left Indian Wells and picked the Eagle View RV resort at Fort Mcdowell, AZ, just minutes from the Scottsdale. I picked this park because of all the things that I saw at the website a description of which I pasted below. But the thing that got me was "STAY FOR 3 NIGHTS AND PAY FOR 2" deal. Can't beat that for a premium site with full hookups for $47.00 per night. Upon arrival we knew that we picked the right place and that any future trips to Scottsdale would mean a stay at this same location.

* 150 sites, each offering water, 20, 30 or 50-amp hookups and waste disposal.
* Cable TV at additional charge; phone jack at each site.
* Heated pool and spa
* Complimentary continental breakfast
* Extensive Clubhouse complete with library, computer room, billiards, plasma TV, and group accommodations
* High-speed wireless Internet access at all sites (free)
* On site 24-hour security
* FREE shuttle to and from Fort McDowell Casino (1 minute away) - one of Arizona's first & largest casinos, featuring five restaurants, full gift shop, endless gaming, and live entertainment
* We-Ko-Pa Golf Club (2 minutes away) - ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 10 new public golf courses in the World - December 2001 and the #1 public golf course in Arizona by local PGA professionals. RV Resort discounts available
* Fort McDowell Adventures - horseback riding, Jeep tours, cowboy games, rodeos, barbeques, and much more. Discounts and packages available
* Full-service, large rig accessible BaJ'a gas station 100 yards away
* Adjacent to one of Arizona's most beautiful rivers, Verde River, which houses some of the state's last remaining eagle nests
* Desert landscape
* Saguaro Lake less than 10 miles
* 2 miles away from Target, Subway, grocery stores, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Denny's, and much more
* 2 miles away from Fountain Hills - home of the world's largest manmade fountain, golf courses, and incredible restaurants
* 2 hours away from Sedona, one of Arizona's greatest treasures
* 4 hours away from the Grand Canyon
* Just over 1 hour away from Payson
* Easy access to State Route 87 - "Beeline Highway" which allows access to all of Arizona's highways
* Pets are allowed, Pet Park on site

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS RV SITE !!!

Indian Wells, CA - March 24-25, 2009

2009-03-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia describes Indian Wells, Ca., as having the highest proportion of millionaires of any city in the U.S.

We just missed the ATP tennis stop at Indian Wells that weekend, where Nadal crushed Murray to win the championship BNP Paribas Open. I would loved to have watched that one.

We all had a wonderful time visiting with Carlos. Anthony enjoyed swimming in his pool, and we especially enjoyed the views! Carlos showed us around Indian Wells before spending the afternoon in Palm Springs. We sipped Margaritas, enjoyed Mexican cuisine, and Anthony kept busy tossing coins and making wishes in the fountain.

Cactus League Baseball Spring Training - Here We Come !!! - March 23, 2009

2009-03-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Baseball Spring Training. This is baseball the way it should be, the way it was in the beginning. Parks are smaller and the action is that much closer to the fans. The players are very accommodating and give authographs to people who ask for them.

When I was working for a bank in Novato, we use to perform our yearly disaster recovery testing in our Back Up site in Scottsdale, Arizona during the spring. One good thing that comes with it is that we stayed a few days after the test and watch the games at the Cactus League. It has always been a dream of mine to one day bring the family out here and so they can enjoy what I experienced then, on a game that my whole family loves. So when the opportunity presented itself, we decided to take the RV to Scottsdale and watch spring training baseball. Tanya and her kids Anthony Allan (4) and Dominic David (7 weeks) joined Tina and me on the trip. We missed our other huge Giants' fans, Alexi, Omar and his family who could not make it at this time. Ruben, Tanya's husband, was also missed, but not at the games since he's a Dodgers fan.

The plan was to start the trip at 9 am on Monday, March 23rd. It was going to be a long road trip, the first extensive trip since the month long RV trip in 2007. Tanya was not sure if she had time for a much needed coffee stop at Starbucks on her way to our house. Alexi told her that he could almost guarantee that she would have enough time...the RV would NOT be leaving at 9 am.

After running a few errands, we finally pulled out of the house at 2:00 pm for our 11+ hour trip to Carlos' house in Indian Wells, our first stop. Once we were on the road, Alexi, called and when he found out that we had just left, he jokingly remarked to Tanya, “ I told you; you would have enough time to stop for coffee, I could have delivered it myself to you from San Francisco”.

We stopped once for gas at Lost Hills and we averaged 7 mpg on that leg. We finally got to Indian Wells, Ca. at 1:30 am and Carlos was at the gate waiting for us when we pulled up.

Cache Creek Casino - Dec 27-28, 2008

2008-12-30T12:06:00.000-08:00

Our friends Phil and Naty Mercado visited us from San Diego for the holidays and the gang met at the Bacani's Friday night for a post Christmas party where I suggested that we go to Bodega Bay on Saturday for a picnic. Saturday came and it was really too cold and windy for a picnic at the beach and so everybody decided to go to Cache Creek Casino instead on my RV. It was a 2 hour trip one way but everybody had fun.

There were 5 couples that went, the Salazar, Pili, Bacani, Mercado and us. That was a total of 10 adults but with all the slides out, and the aero beds, we were able to fit everybody in. There were no hookups but I had the generator on for 3 hours while Rudy and I watched my favorite movie, Cinema Paradiso.

It was also a very good gambling trip because most of us won at the casino. The food was very good with plenty of selections from the various restaurants.

This will probably be the last RV trip for 2008. I had the batteries recharged before storing the RV for the winter.

Cache Creek Casino - August 8-10, 2008

2008-08-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

We had not taken the RV for a while and so it needed some "exercise" to give the engine some needed workout. We decided to go to Cache Creek Casino about 2 hours away so we can play the tables and eat some good Filipino food which they serve over there at the same time.

We won at the tables and accomplished what we came up to do. Had a lot of fun playing with the 2 grand daughters riding bikes at the parking lot.

This place has an RV parking lot with NO Hookups, but FREE and if you're lucky you might end up with more money than you started out with.

Memorial Day Rving @ KOA Cloverdale - May 2008

2008-05-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

A trip by the family to the Cloverdale KOA over the Memorial Day weekend. It was a fun trip to a beautiful place where the Vineyards meets the Redwoods. They have a fishing pond, golf putting greens and plenty of hiking and biking trails. This place was also close to the River Rock Casino in Alexander Valley (a freeway exit away) and so we had a chance to visit and ended up with some extra money to boot.

We had a minor mishap as we were dumping the black water and so we ended having some extra clean up to do before leaving.

Bodega Bay RV Park & Doran Beach - April 11-13, 2008

2008-04-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Because of the beautiful weekend weather, we decided to head off to Bodega Bay on “spur of the moment.” Only about half an hour drive from Rohnert Park and practically just in our backyard, Bodega Bay offers a beautiful coastline, great seafood and interesting sights to explore. It is also the site of the famous 1950’s Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Birds”, starring Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette.
Tina and I took off Friday evening on the RV, followed by Omar and our two granddaughters (Anaka and Kaiya) later on that evening. Cortney couldn’t join the family at this time. We stayed at the Bodega Bay RV Park, which surprisingly still had a spot available, considering the many RV’ers, who just like us, might have just be so anxious to go out there and camp early this season.
The campsite was nice and clean, with full hookups. On Saturday morning, Tina cooked a Filipino breakfast of sinangag, longanisa and eggs set up at the picnic table outside, and then spent the rest of the morning just relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. By noon, we were ready to explore town and see the Fisherman's festival. We ended up passing up on the festival because of the outrageous admission fee they were charging. We opted to have lunch at Lucas Wharf, our favorite restaurant in Bodega, of barbecued oysters, clam chowder, filet of sole, salad, cheeseburger and chocolate mousse for dessert for the kids (meaning all of us) .
After a satisfying lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon at Doran Beach relaxing, wading, building sand castles and flying kite. Anaka especially enjoyed playing on the beach.
We returned to camp to get ready for dinner. Tanya, Ruben and Anthony joined us for dinner. Tina prepared picadillo, steamed vegetables, spaghetti and steak. Thanks for Ruben for doing the barbecue. They went home that same night.
We ate breakfast inside the RV the next morning and then started breaking camp. We left at noon and had a nice leisurely drive home. It was an enjoyable and relaxing weekend overall.

The only problem was the cost of diesel - $4.26 a gallon, ouch !!! It cost us over $222. to put in 52 gallons to top of the tank.

You should all join us next time.

Proud of Our Grandkids

2008-03-14T11:15:00.001-07:00

OCTOBER DAN GAMEL CAMPOUT - October 19-21, 2007

2007-10-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Our friend,Lorraine Datu, the current president of the Philippine/American Association of Rohnert Park and who works for the Dan Gamel RV Dealership, invited us to join the campout at the KOA in Petaluma. There is going to be a free barbeque dinner on Saturday and there will be 10 or so 2008 RV's that are on display to check out with no sales pressure whatsoever. We accepted the invitation. This gives us one more opportunity to camp in 2007 and because of the proximity of the camp to our home, we can also bring our grand kids with us.

I asked Omar to drive with me to the KOA on Friday afternoon so I do not have to hook up and tow the Honda Element. I also gave him a detailed RV setup training so he can use the RV when he wanted to.

Saturday, we took a side trip to the Adobe Pumpkin farm where the kids had fun with all the pumpkins and the farm animals.

We got back to the RV park late in the afternoon with enough time for the kids to play in the playground and to visit the park's animal farm. We ended the day with the free and delicious barbeque dinner.

Sunday morning we went and checked out all the new RV displays and got to meet my RV mechanic at Hansel RV (where we bought our RV) who is now working for Dan Hamel. He helped checked out the oven in our RV, which we have not used all this time. He gave us a detailed user safety training on it.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying all the park amenities before we had to break camp to go back home. I gave Omar, another detailed training on this part of the RV experience which including the dumping of the gray and black water. He did not like that too much but it is a very important part of the RV lifestyle and knowing how to do it will prevent something like this (click on this link to see) from happening.

This was a very nice campout and you can't beat a free 3-day 2-night full hookup camping at a KOA location and a dinner for free. I believe that the rates at this location is around $55.00 per night's stay for a party of 2.

Hoping that we can do some more camping in 2007.

e-album of the Trip

2007-07-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

Hope this works. I have created and uploaded an electronic album of the trip with music on iPhoto and then uploaded it to the blog via YouTube.

Water used as Fuel Invented in the Philippines 30 yrs. ago

2007-07-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have added a "You Tube" video on use of water as fuel. Could have save a lot of money on this trip if this was available.

Just click on the 1st screen showed on the link at the left side of this blog page. The video feed will show up right at the top of the posts.

We Are Back At Home - End of a Long Trip

2007-07-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 29, 2007

I drove all night, and a few cups of coffee enabled me to stay awake all night. We arrived at 5:56 a.m. with an ending mileage of 12,115. We drove a total of 4,269 miles through 15 states. Mileage averaged around 7.4 MPG and diesel price averaged $2.95/ gallon.

We said a word of prayer as soon as the RV stopped in front of our house, just like we did when we pulled out at the start of our trip, to thank the Lord for giving us a safe, enjoyable and memorable trip.

Valencia, CA. Thursday, June 28, 2007

2007-06-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Sally took us all (22 of us) out to lunch at a Japanese Teppan restaurant to celebrate Joy’s birthday. Sally knew Tina loves Teppan style Japanese food. Tina , Sally, Grace and Joy got to spend time playing Mahjong and the kids spent most of the time at the pool. We left Valencia at 10:25 pm.

Trip from Las Vegas to LA - Wed., June 27, 2007

2007-06-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

We left Las Vegas at 12:15 p.m., after spending two hours in the swimming pool. We took 15 south and then 18 west right after Victorville. We then proceeded to 138 west and then 14 south and arrived at Sally Puatu’s (Tina’s sister) residence at Valencia, California. We had planned to stay there overnight and park the RV in front of their house, but ended up parking at John’s (Sally’s son) house. It took a long time finding John’s house because his address was not on GPS, and so we ended up making a few turns around the neighborhood before finding it. In one of our turns, we found ourselves again stuck in a cul de sac. We had to disconnect our tow which took about five minutes while a lady was waiting for us to clear her driveway. We finally got out and got the RV set up at John’s place and we then proceeded to Sally’s. The whole family came to see us --John and Sandy and kids, Grace and Scott and kids, Cindy and Joe and kids, and Joy who drove from Santa Barbara (unfortunately, Adam had to work and wasn’t able to join us). We had a very nice time there, and our grandson, Anthony, met his cousins for the first time.

Tuesday, June 26th

2007-06-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Because of change of plans, we are staying in Las Vegas for one additional day. Tina, Tanya and Anthony went swimming and I went to do some shopping. I got Anthony a Spiderman swimsuit with a floating device. Anthony loved his new swimsuit and enjoyed swimming and jumping into the water even more. He thinks he is Spiderman and acts as if he is saving us from drowning in the pool. We were surprised to see how much it built up his confidence and independence in the pool. After lunch, we went back to the Fashion Show Mall so Tanya and Tina could do more shopping while I watched Anthony and worked on the blog right in front of the Apple Store, using their wireless network.

Monday, June 25th

2007-06-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning at the pool and then went to the strip for some shopping at the Fashion Show Mall. We then continued with more sightseeing "tours". We watched the volcano eruption at the Mirage Casino, but this time we were close to the "volcano" as oppose from watching it across the street from the Venetian casino. From there we went the the Caesar's Palace and visited the Forum shops and checked the statue of David, an exact replica of the original in Florence, Italy. We then proceeded to the Bellagio to watch the water fountain show. Dinner was next and then back to the RV park. We decided to spend an extra day in Las Vegas if the spot we are in is available for Tuesday.

Las Vegas

2007-06-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 23, 2007

We left Williams, AZ at 11:25 am and drove on I40 west and then 93 North towards Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. Beginning Mileage was 11,225 and the drive was 213 miles. It was a smooth drive until we got to 5 miles away from Hoover Dam. There was a Homeland Security checkpoint checking all traffic. Trucks and RVs going through Hoover Dam are getting special attention and have to go to a more rigid check. They checked all the exterior compartments and came inside and inspected the closet and the cabinets. It looked like the construction was to built a bypass so that traffic will not pass over the dam. This is expected to be completed in 2008.

It was another 30 miles drive until we arrived Outdoor Resort in Las Vegas, where we will be staying for the next 3 nights. It is a gated park that catered only to Class A motor coaches. They have a huge clubhouse, a 50s diner, a fitness center, two tennis courts, six swimming pools and six Jacuzzis. They have a real grass-putting course. We learned that some of the sites were privately owned. Many of them had multiple cabanas and full outdoor kitchen witb barbecue grills and all. The RVs that were there were like 40 - 45 footers with Hummer and MB tows. For what we paid with our FMCA club card, it was a good deal.

After the set up we immediately proceeded to the pool and spent the rest of the afternoon there. We drove to the Las Vegas strip, about 4 miles away, to have dinner at Harrah’s and then watched the Pirate ship battle show outside the Treasure Island casino. To secure a good spot, we stood outside for the next show for one hour. It was close to midnight when we got back to the RV park.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Tina, Tanya and Anthony had breakfast at the clubhouse diner, while I stayed at the RV so I could stick to my normal low cal, high fiber diet. They went swimming and I worked out at the Fitness Center. I joined them at the pool until 2:00 p.m. Anthony took a three-hour nap, and when we woke up we went to dinner at Orleans. To our disappointment, the Café at Orleans no longer offer Hong Kong Fried Rice (our favorite) on their menu. From there, we went to the strip to the Venetian casino and viewed the Mirage volcano show from there. We drove to Bellagio to see the water show (click on this video link to see the show), but the last show was just ending when we were passing by and the next show was not going to start until 11:00 so we decided to go back to camp and return to the strip the following day for the rest of the things we wanted to see and do before we leave Las Vegas. On the way home, we stopped for groceries and had Halo-Halo. Anthony loved it, especially the Ube ice cream in it.

Grand Canyon

2007-06-22T22:10:00.001-07:00

On Friday morning, June 22nd, we drove to Grand Canyon National Park by traveling on Highway 64 from Williams, AZ. It was a short 54-mile drive and took about an hour. Our America the Beautiful annual pass, which we got in Yellowstone for $80.00, saved us another $25.00. This pass is turning out to be a money saver as it will continue to save us the entrance fee to every national park we visit for a year. In two years, when I turn 62, this will even be a better deal at $10.00 per year.

The Grand Canyon is impressive, whether you are seeing it for the first time or the fourth time. Although this is our fourth time here, we are still awed by the sight. Anthony, our two-year old grandson couldn’t help but express, “Wow!” at his first sight of this magnificent view. People around who heard him smiled and were amazed at this reaction from a two-year old. At lunch, after scooping out a portion of his Jello dessert in a cup, he looked at what remained in the cup and said to his mom, “Mama, look. Grand Canyon.” We took a picture of his carved out “Jello canyon” to remind us of his association.
We spent the whole day at the park, taking the shuttle buses (blue, red, and green lines) and getting off at the various lookout points to enjoy the scenery and take souvenir photos.

We arrived at the campgrounds in Williams late in the afternoon. We did a little shopping and drove Tanya and Anthony on the historic Route 66. We then proceeded to the playground so Anthony could play and go down the slides. We were there for over an hour and had to leave because it was getting dark.

Here's a video clip showing the beauty of the Grand Canyon & Monument Valley for your enjoyment.

Tanya & Anthony Joins the RV Trip

2007-06-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 21, 2007

We spent most of the morning preparing for Tanya’s and Anthony’s arrival – cleaning up and washing the RV exterior and Tina cleaning up the interior. Around 1:30 pm, we proceeded to Flagstaff mall and bought Anthony’s surprise welcome presents. We promised we would buy him a green car, but ended up buying him three cars – a yellow Hummer a Buzz Lightyear car and another green car. Tanya called us to let us know her flight was delayed. Their flight arrived an hour late.

From the airport, we drove directly to Sedona. Tanya said that she’s heard much about this city and would like to see it too. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant there before returning to the campgrounds at Williams.

Flagstaff, Williams and Sedona in Arizona

2007-06-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 19 - Monument Valley, Utah to Williams, Arizona

We left Monument Valley, Arizona, at 10:30 a.m. to drive to Flagstaff, Arizona, instead of the original plan of driving to Mesa Verde, Colorado. Our daughter, Tanya, and her son, Anthony, will fly in to Flagstaff on Thursday, June 21, to join us for the rest of our trip.

We made reservations for four nights at a campground near the Grand Canyon -- Grand Canyon Railway RV Park. It is a complex, consisting of a hotel, RV park, and a railway that has trains that make several trips daily to the Grand Canyon.

We arrived here at about 2:30 p.m. Since it was still early in the day, we thought we’d drive to Flagstaff downtown mall and also to find a theater to see a movie. To our disappointment, the theater at the mall no longer existed and the only other theater was all the way across town, and because the movie Sicko was not showing there anyway, we just spent the afternoon window shopping at the mall and then had dinner at a restaurant along the historic Route 66. When we returned to the campgrounds, we spent a couple of hours working out in the Fitness room until 11:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

At 8:00 a.m., we headed to Sedona, Arizona, a little over an hour of winding drive from Williams, with forests and mountains on either side of the road; a picturesque city, surrounded by red-rock mountains with shapes that resemble Coffeepot, Cathedral and Bell, and Snoopy. It was named the No. 1 Most Beautiful Place in America by USA Weekend, a weekly supplement to major newspapers throughout the United States.

We had breakfast at Sedona before getting on an hour trolley bus tour that started at 10:00 a.m. It took us around town, to Cathedral Rock, Crescent Moon, Red Rock Crossing, and then back to town again. We then drove to other sights on our own.

Here's a very short but nice video clip on Sedona, AZ. Enjoy!!!

We got back in the campgrounds at 3:30 p.m.

AFTER DINNER DRINKS

2007-06-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

While walking around the campgrounds, as we normally do every night, we found a spot on top of a hill, overlooking the campgrounds with a backdrop of the monuments. It was a perfect spot to rest and so we ran back to the RV, took a bottle of wine, two wine glasses, a battery-operated candle and brought it to the top of the hill. There was a picnic table and we sat there and watched twilight turned to darkness. It was a perfect day.

GOULDING'S RV RESORT, MONUMENT VALLEY, UTAH

2007-06-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

It was Sunday, June 17, Fathers Day.

We left Corral Campgrounds at Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 11:00 a.m. We stopped at the nearby Camping World to stock up on supplies, including two Dahon folding bikes that were on sale.

It was a rather long drive to Arizona. Of all the places we have been, this was where fuel was most expensive and gas stations were few and far between. We paid as much as $3.19 per gallon. Ouch!

We arrived at Monument Valley, Utah at about 6:30 p.m. It was called Land of Room Enough and Time Enough. It was a spectacular sight -- a city of sandstone monuments. There are not enough words to describe its beauty, not enough pictures to capture the beauty of every angle. It was a gift from the Creator.

Goulding’s RV Resort is also one of our favorites on this trip. It was a lodge and campgrounds in the middle of nowhere, with shady trees, a swimming pool, grocery store, museum and a magnificent view of the monuments so close that it almost seemed like you could touch them.

After dinner, we assembled the bikes – and got them ready for an early morning ride.

On Monday morning after breakfast, we rode the bikes around the campgrounds. Afterwards, we drove to the Navajo Tribal Park. We toured the valley, driving down the dirt road on a trail to view the backside of the monuments, which was just as beautiful as the front side. Actually, I’m not sure if there’s really a backside to it. As we got closer, it just got more beautiful. We made it through the trail, without getting stucked in the deep sands, as someone warned us before starting the trip. We were told that some automobiles get lost in the trail and get stuck in the deep sands, but we made it.

As we were driving, our curiosity was caught by a group of people and cars on the side of the road. Alas! There was someone selling Fry Bread. We have tried this before and were actually looking forward to having it again. Tina bought two, but I wanted to stick to my diet, so I only had a few bites. This is probably one time that Tina is happy that I am on a diet. She can eat the rest of it.

We proceeded back to the museum at Goulding’s Lodge. There was a lot of exhibits about the many movies that were shot here, including Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Eiger Sanction, and some of John Wayne’s western movies. We had lunch at Stage Coach restaurant and then returned to camp. After a short nap, we took swim at the indoor pool. That was refreshing after spending the day in the desert.

What a great day!

Drive From Texas to New Mexico

2007-06-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

We left Corral RV Park in Dalhart, Texas at 11:00 am, driving towards Albuquerque, New Mexico and arrived American RV Park at 2:30 pm (Mountain time). It is a beautiful park situated just about 10 minutes from downtown Albuquerque. It is one of the best rated campgrounds in New Mexico, with first rated facilities, connections, and each site has a pad that makes leveling easier. It also provides continental breakfast everyday.

We went downtown Albuquerque for dinner and to do some shopping. On the way back, we got caught in a thunderstorm and hail. We were fortunate enough to get back safely and with no damage to the car. It's amazing how weather changes here so quickly. It could be sunny and then pouring down rain in a matter of minutes, but I guess this is really mild, compared to how much worse it could get. It has become our practice to constantly scan the skies when we are driving to see if there are any dark clouds towards our destination.

Trip from Kansas to Nebraska, Oklahoma & Texas

2007-06-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

We left Kansas at 10:45 a.m., a later start than usual, since we did not anticipate that we would be doing any sightseeing along the way. Our goal was to get to Texas by early evening and spend the night there. We took interstate 70 to 83 then 54 through four different states -- Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas -- stopping only to gas up. The drive was flat and uneventful; there were no u-turn maneuvers either -- we had studied the map more carefully to make sure that none of those occurs again. Time moved from Mountain, to Central, back to Mountain, then again to Central.

One thing we noticed here was that diesel was cheaper -- $2.78 in Oklahoma, and $2.77 in Texas.

We are staying at Corral RV Park, in Dalhart Texas, a non-KOA campground, which worked out great for us. It had all the amenities of KOAs, plus more, and the rate was better.

It was a nice evening, temperature was in the 80s, so after dinner, we took a walk around the park. Before we knew it, it was about 10:00 p.m. and had to take care of some chores. I almost forgot that laundry had to be done, even on vacations.

Edited Picture Size

2007-06-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

I just changed the picture size settings so you can see them better.

Deadwood, SD to Nebraska, Colorado & Kansas

2007-06-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

Left Deadwood, SD, at 8 a.m.; destination - we were not sure.

We just drove south through Nebraska Colorado, Nebraska again, and then Kansas. We were on the road all day. Due to navigational mishap, we took a wrong turn to a two-lane highway; drove about 6 miles hoping to find a spot where we could make a turn, but without luck. We had no choice but to make another u-turn, only this time we had to unhook our tow. That process took about 30 minutes. We arrived at the campgrounds in Goodland, Kansas, at 6:30. We decided not to go anywhere tonight. We stayed at the campgrounds -- had dinner, did laundry, and watched TV. (It was one of our best dinners during this trip. Tina cooked.)

BTW, the odometer reached 10K in Kansas.

Close Encounter with a Devils Tower in Wyoming, Deadwood & Sturgis in South Dakota

2007-06-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

We left the campgrounds at Deadwood at 10:30 a.m. for an hour and a half drive to Devils Tower in Wyoming, the weird looking mountain and the alien landing spot on the movie Close Encounter of the Third Kind.

Rising from the horizon is this striated core of an ancient volcano, that could be seen from miles away from all directions. It got more and more awesome as it got closer. It is about 1255 feet high and the top of the tower is the size of a football field (large enough for extra terrestial spaceships to land on.) He..he..he. We hiked around the tower and climbed rocks and boulders to get even closer to it. It was a strenuous 1.6 mile hike. We also sighted a snake between the rocks while we were climbing. After seeing the snake, Tina insisted that it was time to go.

We left there at about 3:00 p.m. and headed back to Deadwood. There were many restaurants, shops, and gaming places. We also took photo of the famous "haunted" Bullock Hotel. We watched a street cowboy show and then had an early dinner. We went to the place where famous Wild Bill Hickok was shot. We proceeded to the cemetery where he and Calamity Jane were buried.

It was about 6 p.m. but we still had to make one more stop. We went to Sturgis, South Dakota, the annual rally site of motorcyclists. Much to our disappointment, every shop was closed and the town was very quiet. They say that it is like this until August of this year when the rally starts once again. I got some pictures of last year's rally at Sturgis from the web and included them in the slideshow above.

Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota

2007-06-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

We made an exceptionally early departure from Medora, North Dakota, this morning due to an exciting, almost terrifying experience with the weather last night. We were out until late (socializing and blogging) when suddenly there was lightning, thunder, and gusty winds. We went back to the RV, turned on the TV, and the weather warnings of severe weather warnings covered the exact spot where we were. It said the severe thunderstorms were going to hit in 2 minutes, and then a countdown to 1 minute (not even enough time to put on our shoes). We immediately secured the awnings, put in the slides, opened the blinds and watched the winds and the heavy rain poured down. We didn't know what else to do; there was no place to hide.

I didn't get much sleep last night. I got up at 4:30 a.m.; decided we should leave at once before we get caught up with another storm somewhere. We stuck to our plan of going to South Dakota after checking the weather channel. We drove 3-1/2 hours to Deadwood, South Dakota, arriving at the KOA on Tuesday, June 12. Deadwood is a town with a lot of gambling places and restaurants -- a little more alive than the others we've been to. We arrived there shortly after noon, and after lunch drove to Mt. Rushmore and to Crazy Horse Memorial. The soaring portraits in stone of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln was a sight to see. The presidents had been carved in granite by hundreds of workers under the direction of Gutzon Borglum between 1927 and 1941. So far this is one of our favorite places on this trip. It was raining for several hours, so our hiking of the trails at the bottom of the mountain was put off until very late in the afternoon.

We proceeded 18 miles to Crazy Horse early evening -- another impressive sight. Although a lot of work is still needed before it gets completed (which we probably won't see in our lifetime), we found it to be a remarkable sculpture. This project has been under way since 1948, started by sculptor Korzack Ziolkowski and continued by his family and volunteers after his death. It is dependent on tourist donations. We paid $20.00 for admission and it was well worth it. It has progressed quite a bit since the last time I was here about 15 years ago. The 9-story face of Crazy Horse is now completed. It is supposed to be the biggest monument in the world, and the figure of the four presidents on Mt. Rushmore can fit in the head of Crazy Horse alone. When completed the monument will be over 563 feet high and 641 feet long, bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza and more than three times the height of Niagara Falls.

The Black Hills area is beautiful. There was a lot of greens, granite, and wildlife. We returned to the campgrounds at about 9:30 p.m., had dinner, and went to bed for an early rise the next day for a trip to Devil's Tower, Wyoming.

Here is an informational video clip on Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. It is very good and gives a lot of information. Enjoy!!!

Stay tuned.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

2007-06-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

We went to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park today. It is known to be one of the most beautiful park in the U.S. The landforms carved by nature were spectacular. It was a 28 mile drive around one of the two parks, and hiked a few short trails. We specially liked the Ridgeline Nature Trail, which was a steep uphill hike to one of the higher points of the park. The view from the top overlooking the valley was a sight to see.

By early afternoon, we went horseback riding at Peaceful Valley Ranch . My horse was named Chewy and Tina had a white horse named Stormy. The ride was exciting. Some trails were next to ridges of over 100 feet drops; went down on shallow streams, and went on open spaces where horses could gallop. We saw prairie dogs and deer during the ride. There were 13 total riders, some of whom were from the same campgrounds we were staying in.

We returned to the camp late in the afternoon, ate a late lunch and took a short nap, before heading to see our camp entertainers, Vern & Rita. In preparation for our very early start off tomorrow, I hooked up our tow car.

We are off to South Dakota tomorrow.

Live Entertainment at Red Trail Campgrounds in Medora, ND

2007-06-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the campgrounds and from our morning walk to town today. We have live entertainment provided every night by this retired couple who live here at the campgrounds. They sing "champagne" country music and they are actually very good. It's amazing how they know so many songs; they sang every song requested by the audience. Of course we requested the song I've Got a Never Ending Love For You, from the movie RV, with Robin Williams, and many of the old country songs we remember from when we were younger. The audience started with just the two of us at 6:00 p.m. for about 2 hours and grew to about 20 by closing time at 10 p.m. We didn't really intend to stay that long at first, but didn't have the heart to walk away with no other people there. As soon as other people started coming in, we left for a short dinner break at a nearby restaurant. Since this is a cattle country, Tina had steak, and I had the only fish in the menu. After dinner, we went back to our live entertainment until 10 p.m.

At 7:00 this morning (Monday, June 11,) we took a walk to town. We were hoping to have breakfast early so that we can start our day, but found out that they start sort of late around here. None of the coffee shops were open and the place was pretty quiet. It wasn't until 8:00 or so that some activity started.

BTW they also have the North Dakota Cowboy Hall Of Fame museum in this town which we intend to visit later on.

Fourth Leg - Yellowstone to Hardin, Montana.

2007-06-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

We left Yellowstone KOA at 10:20am headed for Devil's Tower in Wyoming. We took highway 20 and discovered that we were going the wrong direction, and so again, we made another "fun" u-turn at this point, which can be considered minor in comparison to the one we made in Idaho. We ended up going around a church parking lot. Lessons learned: (1) the GPS cannot be relied on to give speedy directions; (2) the old-fashioned map is still a reliable back-up.

It was going to be a long day and the driving time alone is going to take longer than we we would like to drive. We would not arrive there until 8:30 p.m., so we thought we would spend the night in a town called Little Big Horn, where Gen Custer was killed. Another huddle: About 5 miles away from our destination, Interstate 90 was closed both direction due to flooding and it would take at least 15 hours for the roads to open. We were stucked. It was about 4:30 pm and luckily, our handy Woodall Campground Directory showed a KOA at Hardin, about a mile away from where we were. It was a warm evening, so we took a walk around the camp. We were constantly monitoring the flood situation and weather conditions in the nearby areas on TV.

The following day (Sunday, 6/10), the roads still had not opened and the new projected opening is 4:00 pm. We were told that alternate routes were available. At 9:00 am we left the campground. Mileage: 9092. We took country road 47 to interstate 94. There was a change of itinerary. Some people we talked to told us that the Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a spectacular place and can be considered as one of the wonders of the world. Since the detour had brought us less than 200 miles closer to North Dakota, we changed our plans and decided to drive to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park there instead.

We have attached a road map of Montana as a reference.

We will post more pictures tomorrow.

See you all on the web

Friday Trip to Yellowstone

2007-06-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

We started the day early at 8:00 am; stopped for breakfast and drove 6 miles to Yellowstone Park. We discovered the "America The Beautiful" Annual Pass that you could buy for just $80.00 and will give you free admittance to all National Parks, Bureau of Land Managements and other park services for a whole year. What a savings because we will be going to many of those places. Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, & Zion National Park alone will pay for that card.

It was a bit cold this morning. We took the road that loops around the park and we saw wildlife except for that bear. We noticed that there seem to be more bisons now than when we were here last, 20 years ago. They were all over the place and at one point they were on the road resulting in a major traffic jam - it delayed us for over an hour.

We stopped to see the Old Faithful geyser, Morning Glory pool, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and many others.

Double click on this link to see an awesome video of Yellowstone that will give you a virtual tour of the park.

We went back to camp at 8:00 pm and had dinner. After dinner, we drove and parked outsite the KOA office to get a better internet connection because the wireless access in our area was not very good.

Third Leg - Idaho to Montana

2007-06-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

Left Anderson Camp in Idaho at 10:19 am and stopped to gas up (23 gals for $68.68 at 2.98.gal). The wind has died down but it was stil overcast and raining in some areas. The temperature was in the 40's to 50's.

We took interstate 84 and then took 86 where Tina took over the wheels and drove for 50 miles. She drove like a pro and enjoyed the experience. We checked in the West Yellowstone KOA in Montana at 2:40 pm with around 1/2 tank of diesel (used up around 45 gallons)

We stayed at the camp and rested the rest of the afternoon. Tina took a nap while I watched CNN.

60th B-Day in Idaho

2007-06-08T07:22:00.001-07:00

After getting the much needed rest, we did more exploring. We went shopping for coveralls and a pair of gloves so I can save my clothes and keep my hands clean everytime I hitch and unhitch the tow car. Looking for it was an adventure in itself, but we found a store that sells one.

For my birthday we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant and had a "Tokyo Sushi Boat." We had Alaskan King crab, Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, Salmon Terriyaki, Gyoza, Fried Fish, California rolls, etc. The portions were astonishing!!!

We are hoping to leave for Montana tomorrow if the weather permits.

Weather Update - Delays

2007-06-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

There is a weather front in this area today and it won't clear until around 10:00 pm tonight We are staying an extra day in Idaho and have rescheduled our reservations for Yellowstone KOA for Thursday and Friday instead of today. We will continue to explore this area today and then take some time to make up for all the lack of sleep we've experienced lately

Second Leg - Reno to Idaho

2007-06-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

We left Reno at 4:05am after filling up with diesel at $2.979/gallon; took 80 to Elko, Wells and then 93 to the Idaho stateline. We originally planned to stay at Wells, but since we made good driving time, decided to go all the way to Twin Falls, Idaho via Interstate 84. This leg was pretty flat drive with some minor hills here and there. State 93 is a 2 lane highway that leads to Idaho. There were some "last chance" casinos at the border of a town called Jackpot for those interested.

We got to the Anderson Camp at 2:00 pm after getting a little lost on a narrow 2 lane country road where we had to make a "u-turn" on a small driveway leading to what we thought was an open lot; turned into it but did not notice that there was a wire fence blocking the entrance. Luckily, we barely made the u-turn, otherwise we would have had to disengage the car tow, since backing up with a tow bar is not possible.

The sights in Idaho were beautiful and we got to see Snake River, where Evel Knievel jumped over. We went to Shoshone Falls . Click on this video link to see a short film of the falls.

We ended the day with a dinner at a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant because Tina was craving for Asian food.

Total miles for this leg was 482 miles. MPG was a little better at 7.635 during our midpoint but will give the final MPG as soon as we fill up today. The midpoint gas expense was $102.00 and I expect another $50.00 when I fill up later.

First Leg - Rohnert Park to Reno

2007-06-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

We are just posting this now because we left home at 4:05 pm Monday and did not get to Reno, NV until 8:40 pm. Grand Sierra Resort did not have any Wifi facilities available and we were too tired to go out and look for one. We had dinner at the Johnny Rocket restaurant inside the casino hotel and then tried the tables for a while. We ended up making a small deposit of $40.00 which we intend to withdraw in Las Vegas with INTEREST. We parked at a designated RV parking for free.

Total Mileage for this segment was 223 miles and total gas was $86.62. The good news is that diesel is cheaper as you get farther away from the Bay Area. It was $3.059 in Rohnert Park, $2.959 in Sacramento and $2.899 in Reno. The bad news is that my MPG was 7.43 miles per gallon. It was probably because of the big hills in the Sierras.

We were really happy with the performance of the RV. It handled the big hills with no problem and we were passing the truckers with no problem .

That is all for now and we will keep you posted. See you all in the web.

Little Late in Leaving for the Big Trip

2007-06-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

It is now 1:10 pm, Monday, June 4th and we are still at home. The plan to leave early did not happen. We got home from a party around 2:30 am this morning and I figured that we better get some sleep to stay away from an accident. Our dear friends Phil and Naty Mercado, were in town from San Diego and their mahjong club (Tina, Naty, Aida and Rudy, a last minute substitute for Nap) had a little reunion.

Our original plan was to go all the way to Utah but because of the late start we will stop by at Reno at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino (formerly Reno Hilton Casino) since they have a big parking lot and an RV park. Tina is also talking about trying her luck at the table and so we will see what happens.

Till then, "see" you at the web!!

One Day and Counting

2007-06-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had the RV serviced last Friday at Camping World in Fairfield and have gone over the check list of things we need to bring. We had the RV gassed up @ $3.059 per gallon of diesel yesterday and everything is set and we're ready to go. We plan to leave Monday morning.

Getting Ready for the BIG trip

2007-05-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

This coming June, we will be taking our RV on an extended trip to go to Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and some other states if we have time before heading back to California. This will be around 4,000 mile trip and with a 8 mpg diesel consumption, we hope that the price of diesel does not continue to go up north. Just wishful thinking.

Tina and I both love camping and the outdoors. We started with tents and then moved to our 1st camper right after our eldest son Omar, was born in 1972. We bought a 1972 VW Contempo Camper that had a stove, a cooler and even a porta potti. It had enough space to sleep 3 adults and 1 child. We went camping all over California and the neighboring states on this VW.
In 2004, we bought a used 2004 Rexhall American Clipper (26') but found out that it was too small for our family and so we moved on to a 2005 Fleetwood Expedition Diesel Pusher that same year. This was our dream RV, complete with satellite TV, washer/dryer, oven and a full size fridge.

One of our dreams is to be able to travel all over the continental USA, Canada and Mexico on an RV with the whole family which now include daughter Tanya, and our youngest son Alexi. We also have Anaka, 3 our grandaughter, Anthony, 2 our grandson and another grandaughter coming in July 2007

Our 3 children are adults now and have jobs and families out their own and so they are not able to go with us on this trip. It will be just the two of us 24/7 and we both are looking forward to our dream trip. We are however taking some of our favorite DVD's (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Malena, Il Postino, Casablanca, etc. ) just in case . .

We will keep you posted !!!

Olema Ranch Trip Memorial Day, May 25-28 2007

2007-05-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics from our last RV trip to the Point Reyes National Seashore last Memorial Day weekend. A beautiful place close to the beach and of course the famous Johnson Oyster Farm.. This is a mini trip before we go on our month long RV adventure next month.

La Salle RV'ers Trip to Lake Shasta - September 2-4, 2006

2006-09-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from the trip taken by the La Salle RV'ers to Lake Shasta. Jerry and Tina Gutierrez, Bob & Nanette Da Rosa, Jimmy Brown and his son Jay, Allan & Tina Estrella made it to Lake Shasta. We missed Jojo & Tess De La Fuente, Ramon & Ella Del Rosario, Manolo Relova and Bobbit Soliongco on this trip

River Bend Resort - Russian River - August 5-6, 2006

2006-08-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures taken from our trip at the River Bend Resort - Russian River area in Northern California. Omar, Cort and Anaka joined us for the day.

One memorable experience we had here was a dinner at a lesbian restaurant/bar, next to the campground where I was only one of 2 male in the whole very crowded place. We ate and quickly left the place. The food was very good though.

Mendocino Coast- Labor Day - Sept 2-5 2005

2005-09-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of the RV Trip we took at the Mendocino Coast in Northern California on Labor Day September 2-5, 2005 Alexi, Tanya, Ruben and Anthony joined us on this trip.

RV Trip to Lake Tahoe - May 25-30, 2005

2005-05-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

This is the family trip we took to Lake Tahoe in May 2005. It was a nice drive on the 2-lane mountainous highway 50 all the way to South Lake Tahoe. Tina and I went a day early and the kids followed in their cars the next day. Very early that Friday morning, after breakfast, we took a 10-mile bike ride to the stateline, and then had lunch at a Thai restaurant on the way back. Tina had a pretty bad spill, when she encountered some loose gravel on the way back to camp and we ended up walking the bike the last couple of miles. That was not fun.

Omar and family arrived later that day and that evening it snowed and we had a blanket of white snow when we woke up the next morning. We ended up shoveling and brushing the snow away from our campsite. Ruben and Tanya arrived later that afternoon and the weather stayed nice and clear the rest of the stay. If you look at the photos, you will see the contrast of the conditions.

We went back Monday with Omar following the RV on Hwy 50 until we got down to the flat lands.

RV Trip to LA - April 7-11, 2005

2005-04-12T13:44:00.001-07:00

We took this trip to LA with Mama, Ronnie, Toby, Phil, Chit and myself to visit Tito Lunas and other relatives who live in Southern California. Tina did not make this trip with us because she could not get the day off.

This was our first "long" trip on our new RV and our first stop was in Bakersfield, where we visited the family of cousin Nitoy Verde. He was not there but we got a chance to meet his children.

Our next stop was in LA, where we saw Tito Lunas, Tia Adeling and their children. We then camped out in Malibu RV Park right at the Pacific Coast Highway and where you can walk to the beach from the park. Val Gonzales, our cousin, visited us at the park.

The following day we proceeded south to Orange County, where we visited Ate Zeny Diza and Kuya Romy and his wife Patty.

RV Trip to Olema Ranch - September 3-6, 2004

2004-09-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

This was our RV trip to the Olema Ranch by the Point Reyes National Seashore in September 3-6, 2004. This was one of the first trip we had using our 2004 Rexhall American Clipper RV.