December 23, 2005 at 7:40 am · Filed under Tips & Ideas
Here’s a picture taken this morning … fog today, but the weather report says it will clear up soon. Still, you can see how little space there is between the RVs and the Pacific Coast Highway.
For the past week I have been noticing that we need to get a wash. (Not us, the truck and trailer!) After a couple of weeks of traveling by highway, and near the coast, the entire rig gets coated with a brownish oily film. It doesn’t look dirty, but the sticky mixture comes off on our clothes, hands, and makes the Airstream looks less shiny. Can’t have that! 😉
We can wash the truck by unhitching and removing the bikes from the roof — then it fits in most car washes — but the trailer is a another story. We had a few “interesting” experiences trying to fit it into manual car washes. They don’t usually have enough entry/departure area for a 30-foot trailer.
Washing by hand would be an option except that all campgrounds prohibit this. I was hoping we’d end up at someone’s house (courtesy parking) and they’d let me wash it, but this hasn’t happened since we visited Lou & Larry in Ohio.
So a truck wash is the most practical option. Blue Beacon runs a chain of them across the country, co-located with truck stops such as Petro and Flying J. There are usually local truck washes in major cities as well. It’s expensive (about $40) but worth it. They do a nice job and everything gets clean, including the bikes. A whole crew of guys comes out with high-pressure wands, spray everything about six times, and voila! shiny again.
Our last wash was in Nevada, a couple hundred miles after we boondocked in central Nevada (see November archives for details). We’re due. I did a little research online last night and found a truck wash that is approximately along our route out today, so we’ll try to stop there this morning.
December 22, 2005 at 8:36 pm · Filed under Places to avoid
We arrived at the Bolsa Chica State Beach campground before 8:30 this morning, but they have a policy of allowing no “check in’s” before 2 pm. So we bought a site and parked the trailer in the Day Use area, while I headed off to Costa Mesa and Chino Hills to meet some Airstream people (research for future articles). When I got back at 4 pm, I hitched the trailer back up and towed it into the parking space — er, I mean “campsite”.
None of us are wild about this spot. The beach here at Bolsa Chica is long and broad, but also flat and featureless. The high surf and cold water meant frolicking at the beach was not much fun (despite daytime temps in the upper 60s), and the campsite is so close to the Pacific Coast Highway that the roar of cars is nearly constant. Campsites here are really just parking spots on asphalt, delineated by painted white lines. There are no trees. All this for $39 — the most expensive site we’ve purchased to date. We’ll be outta here tomorrow morning, in search of a better place somewhere down the coast.
December 22, 2005 at 7:33 pm · Filed under Tips & Ideas
Our Wal-Mart experience was a bust last night. At 10:30, we were surprised to hear a knock on our door. The manager of the store was there, apologetically explaining that although he had no problem with us parking, the Torrance police were known for placing “very expensive” tickets on RVs parked in the lot. The security guard who had told us it was OK was not aware of this. So, off we went — driving in pajamas — in search of a new spot to park. (The Bolsa Chica State Beach campground in Huntington Beach, our original destination, was not an option. The gates are locked at 9 pm.)
The good news is that the L.A. area is loaded with neighborhoods and industrial areas where one can park overnight, if you are subtle. The bad news is that our trailer, 30 feet of gleaming aluminum festooned with giant colorful graphics, is not subtle. So Eleanor punched “Camping World” into the GPS and it turned out there was one just a few miles away on I-5. By 11, we were tucked away behind a few big motorhomes in the Camping World parking lot, and back in bed.
We’ve stayed at Wal-Marts and other such places many times, but never have we been “moved on” by The Man. Still, we always knew it was a risk. We have enough experience finding places to park that there was never any doubt we’d find a good spot. There are no commercial campgrounds to be had in most of the L.A. area, but we have a long list of free places to try:
Wal-Mart
Super K-Mart
Cracker Barrel
Camping World
truck stops
certain fast food restaurants
municipal and county parks & parking lots
neighborhoods where RVs are visible on the street
harbor and industrial areas
unnamed pullouts
The first thing to do when checking out a spot is to look for a sign that says “Overnight parking prohibited” or words to that effect. The second thing to do is to ask anyone in authority (parking lot owner, local police, security guard) if they mind if you park there “for a few hours”. The third thing to do is to make sure you feel comfortable with the spot, and finally the fourth thing to do is to park subtly (no satellite dish, no awning, no slideouts, etc) and leave early. With this strategy we have successfully parked for free many times in at least a dozen different US states.
We are going to have a bunch of articles on this subject in the next Airstream Life magazine (coming out in January). We’ve got a piece on boondocking, another on how Wally Byam selected free parking spots in the 1950s, and a third piece on selecting a generator to use when you are parked far away from town.
December 21, 2005 at 8:30 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
The big waves of yesterday got bigger. We woke today to find the parking area wet between our row and the “front” row of campsites that border the beach. Around 5 a.m. a giant wave came all the way up the beach and splashed into some of the campsites. No damage at all, but it got everyone’s attention. The state police beach patrol came by to tell us they were expecting more high surf when high tide arrived at 11:50 a.m. By noon, everyone had moved out of the front row to higher and drier ground.
The incredible waves made the beach uninhabitable later in the morning, but we did get in a little time earlier to play and marvel at the pounding, churning water. Emma tried her best to hold them back but the waves wouldn’t listen.
We met up with a fellow named Manuel who was camping for Christmas with his two teenage boys. Manuel has been coming to Carpinteria for over thirty years, and even he was impressed by the surge of water. So we all stood as close as possible to the high water mark to chat and act brave, and then got chased back repeatedly as random waves completely covered the beach.
Manual was fascinated to hear about life in Vermont, how cold it is back home right now (15 degrees F), how early the snow arrives, how much land we used to own (11.6 acres — in his area it would cost millions for a parcel that large), etc. We agreed that standing in shorts and t-shirts on the beach was an ideal way to spend Christmas. Santa can come in on a surfboard this year.
I want to meet with some folks in the Los Angeles area before Christmas, so we headed out around noon with the intention of reaching a state park in Huntington Beach. On the way we stopped at the Channel Islands National Park visitor center, and then of course we got mired in traffic as we got closer to L.A. Finally, after parking on I-405 for half an hour, we bailed out and got mired in even more traffic on city streets. Two hours later, we gave up completely, having managed to cover only 10 miles since we entered the traffic.
L.A. is not a friendly place for RVs. We knew it would be bad, but not THIS bad. Our timing couldn’t be worse: rush hour the week before Christmas. We couldn’t even park and rest because every parking lot was full of shoppers. We tried I-405 again but it was still jammed. That’s when I said, “If we could just find a place to park, I’d quit this and try again tomorrow.” And suddenly … a Wal-Mart appeared.
We took it as a sign. So here we are. It’s not glamorous but it beats the alternative. We talked to the security guard (we asked if overnight parking was OK, and he said “I get off at midnight and I’m not calling the tow truck,”), walked around the corner for Mexican food, picked up a few items at the Wal-Mart, and settled in. Tomorrow is another chance at L.A. traffic.
December 20, 2005 at 9:32 am · Filed under FAQs
I just tallied up some of our expenses for the trip. Our total campground expense to date has been $848.50, which includes all of our overnight stays from October 1 through December 20.
That’s remarkably low, because we have taken every opportunity to boondock and courtesy park. For example, our 13 days at Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora CO cost us $318.00 ($20 per day plus a park pass). But 14 days of courtesy parking in California and Oregon (Nov 5-18) cost us nothing. The savings of courtesy parking are huge, and we appreciate it when people offer us a space. Plus, it’s more fun!
Our camping expenses have risen lately. California state parks are generally more expensive and we’ve had fewer courtesy parking opportunities in the crowded areas along the coast. Paradoxically, the closer we are to cities, the fewer people can offer us a space. Neighborhood covenants, zoning restrictions, and limited parking space are the culprits.
Fuel has been another story. Since we spent most of October and early November logging about 6,000 miles, we purchased about $1,200 worth of gasoline. The way to reduce this cost is to drive less, but in our case we needed to get west before the cold weather set in, and so we had a large upfront expense to get out here. Now that we are here, we are spending much less on gas.
We also bought several 30# tanks of propane due to the cold nights in Denver and other high altitude areas, totalling about $150. Our usage is going down now, as we get into warmer evenings in southern California.
Although everyone focuses on the cost of campsites, the real expense turns out to be meals out and splurges. We can easily spend more on eating out in one day than we can on the campground, and a set of tickets for the family to go to an attraction (Monterey Bay Aquarium, Hearst Castle, etc) typically runs $30-50. We keep that under control by aiming for free natural attractions, like hiking, cycling, visiting friends, and beachcombing. Our ASTC Travel Passport is a big help. It gets us into science and discovery museums all over the country for free. Our National Parks pass is also great.
No matter which way we look at it, it is cheaper to travel in our Airstream than live at home. Of course, if we still had a house back in Vermont it would be a different story — a life on the road would be an added expense. I recognize that is the reality for most people, but hopefully our experience gives you an idea of ways you can keep the expenses down and have fun while doing it.
December 19, 2005 at 5:38 pm · Filed under Places to go
Well, our luck has changed. Not only has the weather improved (upper 60s and partly cloudy), but we stopped in at a state beach and found a really nice spot to camp just south of Santa Barbara.
To be honest, it wasn’t all luck. We picked up a copy of the California state park brochure called the “Guide to Reserving State Park Campsites” several weeks ago, and it has become our cheat sheet ever since. We knew that Carpinteria would offer us hookups. After three nights of dry camping we felt like not having to worry about using the lights and water as much.
On the way, we stopped at the famous Madonna Inn. The last time I was here was in 1979. I am pleased to report that the Men’s room has not changed significantly. The waterfall urinal is still there. Those of you who have visited the Men’s room at the Madonna Inn will know what I mean.
We also made a shopping stop, for Christmas stuff. Although we had Christmas in Vermont, we have advised Emma that Santa will visit us no matter where we are. Eleanor wants to get the trailer ready, so we bought a little potted rosemary plant, which looks remarkably like a small fir tree. This will get decorated with tiny ornaments, and after Christmas it will probably be eaten! Eleanor is hanging cards and stockings in the trailer as I type this, and Emma is making paper decorations. Everything is lightweight, small, and either recyclable or edible — perfect for mobile life.
Our campsite at Carpinteria is right next to the beach, with full hookups. We are literally forty feet from the sand, and can hear the waves crashing and the beach stones tumbling with every wave. The evening is balmy, many of our neighbors have festive lights up, and there’s even an Airstream Classic motorhome (a 290) parked just a few spaces away. (I’ll go see them in the morning.)
We arrived so close to sunset that I pushed Eleanor and Emma out of the truck as soon as we pulled in, and said, “Go to the beach! Now!”, which they did happily. They caught about 20 minutes of fun collecting shells and splashing in the surf before it got too dark to see. I ran over to join them as soon as I had the truck unhitched, but of course that meant I had to set up the utilities in the dark. Not a big price to pay.
We’ll definitely stay a couple of nights here at least. Our thought is to try another state beach campsite in Huntington Beach and stay there through Christmas. If anyone has experience with that campground, let us know how it is.
December 19, 2005 at 6:48 am · Filed under FAQs
In response to your requests, I have created a map which shows all the places we’ve stopped so far on our Tour. You can see it by clicking the link below.
I used a new service called “Frappr” to make it. You might note that Frappr allows you to add yourself to the map. But please don’t do that in this case, otherwise it will be hard to tell which of the pinpoints are Tour stops and which are blog readers like yourself.
Each “pin” on the map is a place we’ve spent at least one night. I’ll keep updating this map as we travel.
Click here to see where we’ve been!
« Previous entries ·
Next entries »
