Overnighting at the Cher-Ae Heights Casino

TUESDAY
It's Tuesday evening - and we are parked in the RV lot of the Cher-Ae Heights Casino in Trinidad, CA.  It's a couple of miles from the beach we spent time at this afternoon.

I called first to see if I could overnight in their lot, and they said yes, come to the casino and complete the paperwork and then I could stay.  They were very friendly when I went in, and now I'm here overnight.  They have the usual gaming options, plus a nice, more expensive restaurant and a less expensive over the counter deli restaurant where you can get hot dogs, hamburgers, hot fudge sundaes, things like that.

The RV parking lot is above the Casino, and I am parked facing the ocean, through redwood trees.

 At the RV parking lot at Cher-Ae Heights Casino.

 The view from The Palms.

Katie and I walked to the edge and I took this photo:

 A little cove below the Casino - there is a small sail boat on the left.

A beautiful location. 

Unfortunately I'm not a gambler and I'm too frugal now to eat in their restaurant, although it had some good choices.   I plan to go over tomorrow before I leave and get a hot fudge sundae.  I feel like I ought to purchase something in return for parking here overnight, so I'm going to sacrifice myself on the altar of ice cream and hot fudge.

I'm going to eat in tonight, and have a wine/iced tea with my dinner.  

The fog that was coming in at the beach has burned off, and it's a beautiful, warm early evening.  I have the windows open, and can't believe I'm in such a beautiful location.

On another subject, I know it's not usual to drive as much as I did on Monday, especially on that narrow, windy coast route, but don't worry about me driving too far.  If I'm tired, I have no problem pulling over anywhere that feels safe and either resting, taking a nap, or spending the night.  I did the same thing on my first trip to Vacaville.  I guess it feels new and exciting and I want to get as many miles behind me as I can at the beginning.  Maybe I was a long-haul driver in a previous life. : )

I really enjoy driving this rig.  I made myself two CDs from my favorite songs, and play them most of the time. When I get tired of them, I turn on talk radio if I can find a station, and that entertains me.

When I was driving along the beach or through the redwoods, it was such a wonderful feeling to be in that beautiful environment listening to songs like Hallelujah by K.D.  Lang, Come Away with Me by Nora Jones or You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban.  Included in the mix are Elvis Presley, Billy Rae Cyrus, Sarah Brighton, Enya, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, The Canadian Tenors and more.  All my favorites from CDs I had at home and I copied them to my computer.  Then I made two CDs with the best and it ended up being 49 songs.  All kinds of music.  An on-going constant change-of-pace set of CDs.  So I am cruising along, mellowing out on the tunes, drinking my coffee, enjoying the ride.

We also stop a lot.  Even if it's just to check out an area, take Katie for a potty walk (or me), stretch our legs, etc.  I stopped once for propane (that was interesting - I'll post about that another time), once for gas. I drive into RV parks and State Parks to check them out and check pricing.

I've seen quite a few smaller rigs like The Palms since I've been on the road.  I saw another 24'  Sunseeker yesterday.  It's the first one I've seen on the road.  We passed each other a couple of times, with each of us stopping and starting again.  We both ended up stopping at the same place, and I went over to see how they liked their Sunseeker, which was a 2011 model 2300.  He said they were renting it to find out if they wanted to buy one.  It had the down bed and circular dinette, but no couch, and was very nice inside.  When they saw mine, I think they liked it better with the kitchen in the rear and the long couch, but if they had those, they would have lost their queen sized down bed.

Today, Tuesday, I've driven 106 miles - completely Highway 101, good, wide lanes, easy driving.  I had planned to continue on north after our stop at the beach, but I had checked out this casino before we stopped at the beach, and I thought I might come back for the night if they had free RV parking.  

Oh yeah, AND they have free 5-bar wi-fi.  Really sweet!

I'll post this tomorrow, Wednesday, since I've already published a really long post today.   I'm looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.  : )

WEDNESDAY
PS:  Late yesterday afternoon, I heard a loud vehicle and looked across the parking lot, and this is what I saw:

The thing was huge, way up off the ground, looked like a tank.  They parked all night, all closed up tight, but with three side windows open.  Kind of a scary looking vehicle, but they didn't make a peep.  I slept like a log last night, and woke up at 9:45 this morning, just as they were leaving.  It's 10:30 now and Katie is still in bed.  What a lazybones!

From Me and My Dog, on the road headed north, have a great Wednesday, everyone!  : )

Foggy beach weather - yeah!

Katie and I left Vacaville at 8:30 am Monday.  We drove over to Bodega Bay and then went up Coast Route 1 from Bodega Bay to Garberville - what a trip! From Vacaville to Bodega Bay to Garberville, it took me 11.5 hours to drive 246 miles. I was driving between 35 and 40 mph most of the way, with 10 to 15 mph around some of the turns.  There were quite a few hairpin turns.  

 We had the Pacific Ocean to our left most of the way, 

the rest of the time we were driving through farming communities or forests.  

Each was a winner for beautiful areas.

 Sun coming through the trees in the forest.

There were lots of areas with road construction and many places where the road was out and narrowed to a one-lane road with temporary red lights to control the lanes of traffic.  Coast Route 1 has pretty narrow lanes compared to 101 or Highway 5.

 One lane bridge

 

 Slide - construction ongoing to repair the lane.

 

 Super narrow lane - this is the worst lane I drove in.

I don't like these concrete barriers on both sides. 

No room for error! : (

101 - Yeah! Two wide lanes each way!

There were a lot of slides.  All the construction was very interesting when you aren't in a hurry.  I didn't take any photos of the most narrow roads or the hairpin turns, for obvious reasons.  I was holding my breath and not my camera.  Lots of narrow bridges - I discovered I love driving over bridges.  The lanes are more forgiving on the right side than the roads are, so I actually had more room.

This area had signs all along the road:  Danger - Tsunami Area.

I was very happy about all the pull-outs available all along the way on the coast route.  Most of the time I had the road to myself, and could drive as slow as I wanted, and I often wanted to drive pretty slow.  When I saw a car behind me, I just pulled over and let them pass.  They were grateful, and so was I to have the road to myself again.  This is not the route to drive when you're in a hurry.

The Palms drove like a dream again.  Katie seemed happy to be on  another road trip.  Here is her new place to sit while we roll along, where she can look out the windows on both sides of The Palms.  

 Katie's new perch while riding along. 

When I started getting tired of driving, around 6, I stopped at a state park and then a private park to check on prices, and they both wanted $35 a night - the state park had no hook-ups. There was no way I was paying that much to just sleep overnight and drive on again.  Around 8, I stopped for gas in Garberville, and right next door was an RV Park.  I called them, and he quoted me $28/night with water and electricity., $33 with sewer too. 

It's called Richardson Grove Campground and RV.  I went over and found a site. There were pretty barren sites and nice forested sites, but the ones with the trees were near a group of Christian teen-agers camping and making a lot of noise.  Nice noise - signing hymns, hooting and hollering, etc, but still...  They were pretty noisy, so I opted for the plain site area.  

 Pretty barren, but it worked for an overnight.

Office and store

Sites under the trees.

This is a great campground for overnights - I don't know about longer stays.  There was no Verizon coverage, no TV and no Internet.  Since I'm traveling alone - I can only talk to myself for so long, and didn't feel like reading.  

When I checked out this morning, I noticed they are also a Passport American park, which I just joined, so I got my site for half the $33 rate, or $16.50!  Nice park, nice people, nice price.  

    

 This tent is right next to the freeway, at a 4-way stoplight crossing.  

Can't believe they are getting away with camping here.

Katie and I are at the beach at Trinidad Bay right now, taking a break, having lunch and writing the blog.  This is where we are now:

 

Haven't seen many interesting birds.

It's really quiet and pretty here, a good place to stop for lunch.  After the mid-90 degree weather in Vacaville, this foggy beach weather is really nice.

I'm looking for a great, inexpensive place to camp for a week or two - probably in Oregon.  And now... the fog is coming in and my view is going away, so...  back to our road trip.

From Me and My Dog, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  : )

Swimming and squirt guns

Nothing much going on - it's been a quiet week, just hanging out with Katie, taking lots of walks, and laundry and some housekeeping.  It's amazing how dusty The Palms gets.

I'm still here in the same RV park, but I'll be leaving soon.  I noticed this morning that the water coming out of the tap is not clear - kind of a light tan color, and that concerned me. I don't want to use the water at all, I don't want to shower with it, or wash my hands in it, and tomorrow I'm going to unhook from the water.  I have a tank of clean water that I can use until I leave on Monday, and I can still be hooked up to the sewer and electric until then. 

It's been really heating up here, I had the A/C on all day for the first time, and rather than going up highway 50, I'm thinking of driving up the coast instead where I can enjoy the ocean air temps.  I'm not sure yet which way I'll go when I leave, but I'm leaning toward the coast route.

My grand kids came out again and spent the afternoon with me today.  I went to Lauren's gymnastic class first, then Kristy drove us here and we had a picnic lunch in the shade under the grape arbor.  When Kristy left to go to work, we took Katie for a walk and went over to the office and got ice creams, then the kids swam. 

After swimming we walked back to The Palms and the kids had their "outdoor shower" with my outdoor shower.  I like the idea of cleaning off the pool water, and they just love that shower and didn't want me to turn it off.  They danced around in the water showering down until I finally shut it off and got them dry.

After they were dressed we filled their new squirt guns and they played with them for a while until it was just too hot, and we went inside The Palms where the A/C was going.

We played computer games until Matt came after work and picked the kids up to go home.

I need to do some shopping and other errands, so Kristy is going to lend me her car to get those things done, and we'll spend the weekend together before I leave.

I'm starting to get excited about heading out again. I'm finding that a week or two is enough in one place, and then I'm ready to move on.  That was what I had originally planned to do as I move from place to place, and that seems to be what is working for me so far. I think the heat here and the poor water quality in this RV park have also given me a reason to think about moving on, too.

I had made an appointment to have vent covers installed as well as a back up camera and a few other things, but I canceled it.  I'm thinking I'll wait until I'm further north into Oregon where they have no sales tax, and look for a good RV place there to do the work.  If you have any recommendations, let me know.

From Me and My Dog, have a good Thursday tomorrow!  : )

Grandkids' visit

It's been a busy few days with my Vacaville family.  Kristy came to get me on Friday morning and we went to Lauren's gymnastics class.  Afterward we drove Kristy to her office to see a client, and we took the car to do some grocery and Camping World shopping and lunch. Then we got Kristy, and she drove us to the RV park, where Andrew, Lauren and I had a wonderful couple of days.

We played computer games, took walks, bought ice creams to drip on ourselves in the heat, tried unsuccessfully to take naps, went swimming, did fun crafts, ate good kid meals of little blueberry muffins and fruit for breakfast, hot dogs, cheese quesadillas, chips, popcorn and yogurt treats in the evening, stuff like that.

 Popcorn and TV after dinner

 Super-duper crafts and artistry in action

 Yummy Ice Creams - available in the office.  Messy and yummy on a hot day!

 Do these kids look like they are ready for a nap????

 Beautiful Lauren

Awesome Andrew

 Andrew splashing  :)

This was the most fun of the pool time - 

Bucking Bronco Brother!

Andrew has such patience and carried Lauren on his back over and over again, playing bucking bronco.  She loved it.  They both laughed out loud the whole time.  So much fun!

They were perfect little kiddles and this morning Kristy picked us up and we met up with their Dad (who had to work this afternoon and brought his own car), Grandma, Grandma, Aunt Allison and Uncle Wes at a nice restaurant where we all had brunch.   

After brunch, Kristy and the kids and I drove to Antioch where we visited with my Mom and Dad, who will both be 89 in a few months.  Afterward, we stopped at Denny's for “lunner” – wow, the food was great! – and then they dropped me off at The Palms.  

Katie had been here alone from 9 am to around 5:30, and she did great again.  I’m really proud of her, and so relieved that she seems to be okay with being alone here.

 This evening we are chilling out, and going to bed early, then tomorrow taking it easy.  Andrew has a T-Ball game tomorrow at 5, so Kristy is going to pick me up again to go with them.   

Kristy did well on her crutches today, but after an entire day of up and down and walking, she was pretty done when they dropped me off.  Hopefully she will get a lot of rest tonight and the kids will help her, since Matt works this evening.  With Home Depot, his schedule can be early mornings to open, mornings, afternoons, evenings, and even overnight if needed for inventory.  I’ve never had a schedule like his, but he’s always had varied hours, and it doesn’t seem to bother him.

And now I'm going to relax and sip my new favorite drink - don't laugh, it's really good - iced tea and white wine with lots of ice. 

From Me and My Dog, Katie - have a great Sunday evening, everyone!  : )

Great lunch at Putah Creek Cafe, and contaminated water

I had to show you this window sign - right next to the Putah Creek Cafe was a business named "The Palms."  I thought it was a great logo!

My lunch yesterday at the Putah Creek Cafe was as good as the first time.  I wanted to get a photo of the sandwich, but I was so looking forward to it that I forgot until I was halfway through.  Pete, who came up from Merced to visit and take me to lunch, ordered the same sandwich.  I knew he'd love it, and he did.

 Tri-tip French dip with caramelized onions and delish Cole slaw

 The Putah Creek Cafe

Featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

 This oven was right in front.

Last Thursday there was a big fire in the oven.

 The back of the "oven" where the wood is stored.

It was a beautiful day, warm, but not hot, and nice breezes.  Just like today.  We took Katie for a walk around the RV Park, visited a little, and then Pete left to return to Merced.  We keep in touch often by phone, but hadn't seen each other for at least three years, and it was really nice to get together.  Thanks again, Pete, for driving up to Vacaville and taking me to lunch!  : )

Pete and The Palms 

When we were at lunch, I put Katie's bed on the kitchen floor and put the gate up so she couldn't leave the kitchen.  I closed all the window covers and turned on music for background noise.  I put the Endless Breeze fan on the floor and turned it on low so it would stay cool.  When we got back she was fine and I asked a neighbor if she heard Katie barking, and she said no, it was quiet while we were gone.  So, I think Katie will be fine if I need to leave her alone in The Palms.

All in all, a nice day, and I brought half my lunch home to eat for dinner tonight.  Yum!

But... there was a glitch in the day yesterday.   When we got back there was a note on my door, and I thought it going to be about Katie barking.  Instead it was a notice from the park that our water is and has been contaminated with fecal coliform and E. coli with a notice from the CA Department of Public Health explaining the situation.  

They said we needed to boil all water used for consumption and they had bottled water in the office if needed.  I walked over with Katie and got four bottles for my coffee and Katie's water bowl.  The lady across the way went out and bought a bunch of gallons and brought one over to me - so nice of her!

I boiled a pot of tap water and washed the few things that have come in contact with tap water, including Katie's water bowl and a few coffee cups and glasses and spoons, and my toothbrush.  I've been using paper plates and bowls, so I was lucky.  Some people had to re-wash all their things.  And I've only been here since Monday.  I'm fine; Katie had a little diarrhea yesterday morning, but is fine now, so I don't think we'll have a problem. The man across from me had flu-like symptoms Tuesday, but was fine yesterday.

The problem should be resolved within 24 to 72 hours.  They are chlorinating and flushing their water system and repairing the water storage tank.  What a pain for the RV park owner.  

I've added a water filter to my list of things to buy.  And as soon as the water is okay, I'll add a bit of bleach to my water tank, which unfortunately I filled up when I arrived here so I'd have it for boondocking when I leave, and then flush it out.  My Forest River paperwork explains how to clean a contaminated water tank, so I'll just follow their directions.  I think I'll flush it twice, then leave it empty and fill it up with my clean water hose at Kristy and Matt's house on my way out of town, so I'll know the water is clean.  I guess I'll have to clean out my water hose, too.  Maybe pour some bleach/water through it?

Today is a quiet day, nothing planned but hanging out with Katie.  I do love these "nothing" days.  

Katie loves her chew toys!

Tomorrow Kristy is picking me up to go the Lauren's gymnastics practice which will be fun, and she's taking me to do a little shopping.  Then she is driving me and Andrew and Lauren back to The Palms and the kids and I are going to finally have our sleep over.  We'll have dinner and popcorn and play computer games and walk Katie and either tomorrow or Saturday or both, we will go swimming.  The kids have been very patient about their sleep over.  We might also walk over to the office and buy some ice cream.

Poor Kristy is having a tough time with her fractured foot.  She went to the doctor yesterday and got a permanent cast put on her foot/leg.  The doctor doesn't have any idea how long she will need to have a cast at this point.  She can't put any pressure at all on the leg and has to use her crutches all the time.  She said she doesn't care about not swimming or the other things she's had to cancel, like a wine tasting in a limo that was scheduled for today, or Marine World visits during the summer that she bought passes for.  

She said just normal things are really hard; anything she has to do is so much harder.  She has a backpack she is using to carry things from room to room, but even bringing food from the kitchen to the living room, or a glass of water, she can't do because she has no hands free while she walks.  They have a two story house, and that doesn't make it any easier.  I told her this is a good experience - when someone else is complaining about using crutches, she will be able to empathize with them.   She said, oh, yeah, she would certainly emphasize!

The one good thing is that she was able to get a handicap placard to put on her car, and there are three handicap parking spaces right outside her office, so that will limit the amount of distance she'll have to walk to get to work.  

From Me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  : )

Day of rest, answering comments

WELCOME to new follower Michael Kane.  If you have a blog, let me know so I can check it out - thanks for following along with us, Michael.  The fun has just begun!

To answer some comment questions:

The price here at Vineyard Park RV is $265.20 a week including pet fee and full hook-ups plus free wi-fi and cable.  Regular rate is $48/night and they are a Good Sam park.  VERY expensive.  There were three options here in Vacaville, where I wanted to be close to family.  I had planned to be here for only a week, but will probably extend that by another week so I can see my grand kids a little more before I leave.

The first option, which I originally thought I'd take, was Solano County Campground.  It was $18/night for seniors, and I liked that it was in the forest, but it didn't seem to be well maintained, and was pretty empty, which concerned me since the other two private parks were pretty full.  I didn't feel comfortable about staying there, just had a weird vibe.  Plus it's further from Kristy's, so would have been a longer drive for them to come out to visit or pick me up. I sure did like the price, though!

The other option was Midway RV Park, which is right next door to this one.  We drove through that park, too, talked to the Manager, who was very nice and helpful, but I just liked the feel of this one better.  Midway was comparably priced, but had fewer free amenities.

I hope to be waaaaay more frugal when I leave Vacaville, which is between San Francisco and Sacramento, so is still in a pretty expensive area.  As I go north, the RV parks should be cheaper and boondocking opportunities will be more available.

THANK YOU, Judy, for your suggestion to change the TV setting to get cable.  You were right, and I just changed the option (using the TV remote) from antenna to CATV, and it worked.  I'm glad I read your comment before I got going for the day, or I would have looked everywhere else.

When we leave here, I plan to drive to Placerville, and am hoping to see some old friends there.  Maybe stay a few days to a week.  I've been researching the campgrounds around Placerville, and it's not looking good for being frugal. I've e-mailed a friend who works with the Forest Service in that area, and asked him if there is a public campground he'd recommend.

I filled up at Costco on Monday morning.  They have a $100 limit, and I put my cards in again to get more gas until the tank was full.  I paid$3.60/gal.

When Kristy took me around looking at campgrounds, we stopped for lunch at Patuh Creek Cafe in Winters. Matt drove over from work and joined us during his lunch time.

It was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and it was delicious.  This is what we all had, except the kids:

Davis Farmer's Market Sandwich

Thinly sliced medium rare Buckhorn Char-Roasted Sirloin Tri-Tip with caramelized onions on a rustic French roll.  Served with our famous Granny Smith Cole Slaw.

It was sooooo good.  I wish I had a photo of the plate.  It was actually a French dip, and the meat was so good and tender. When I get a French dip, I always take out the meat and remove anything fatty.  This sandwich had no fat, just tender beef.  The caramelized onions were delicious and added a sweet flavor.  The Cole Slaw had apples and raisins in it and was a perfect side.  The sandwich was salty and soggy and the salad was sweet and crunchy.

I have a friend visiting tomorrow and he is going to take me to lunch.  I'm going to suggest Patuh Creek Cafe, he is going to love that sandwich!

Katie yesterday - I've never seen her sit like this. She was really tired.

She is a Deer Chihuahua, and this pose reminds me of a deer.  

Don't they lie down like this?

Look close and you'll see a lizard - the only critter we saw yesterday on our walk.

We are taking it easy today, so nothing exciting to report.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone, from Me and My Dog!  : )

Settled in at Vineyard RV Park

I started out early this morning - I got up around 7 and at 7:30 went into the house and helped Kristy get the kids ready for daycare.  Matt works for Home Depot and opened the store today, so he left really early.  I drove the kids to daycare, Kristy to her office and helped carry things for her to her office.  She's on the second floor, but luckily there's an elevator, so she didn't have to go up any stairs. 

She had a busy day, appointments all day long, so I'm sure the day went fast.  After work Matt picked her up and they got the kids and went to Drew's T-Ball game.  When I called her at 8:00, she was home and doing fine.  She said she's not worried about driving tomorrow, so she should be fine.

I stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond to get some full-sized sheets for the bunk, then a little grocery shopping, then to Costco for cherries.  After returning to Kristy's to leave her car there, I washed and dried the sheets so they would be ready to put on the bed at the RV park.  When the sheets were dry, it was check-in time at the park, so we drove over.  It's about 10 15 minutes from their house.  Nice and close!

We checked in around noon and spent the rest of the day getting hooked up, dumping tanks, filling up the water tank, etc. 

Note to newbies:  in a site where you can pull in head first or back in, figure out whether or not your sewage hose will reach to the sewer before getting everything else set up.  I went in head first, got all my cords and water hose attached, leveled the rig, and was all set up when I attached the sewer hose and, wow, I had about half the hose I needed to reach the sewer outlet.  I have two hoses, but they wouldn't reach.  So I had to unhook everything, go out and back in, and start all over again.  Backed in I only needed one of my sewer hoses.  I won't make that mistake again. I'm not sure what the temps were this afternoon, but I'd guess low 80s.  I was too hot and too tired to be doing all this twice.   

I vacuumed The Palms, washed the floors, got everything out and organized, put the new sheets on the mattress and made up the bunk.  Finally showered, I was still hot, but with the A/C it didn't get out of control, and when I sat down to relax, I was really comfortable.  I was too tired to make dinner, so I had a big bowl of sweet cherries, I love Costco cherries.  It's the beginning of the cherry season, so I'll be having them for lunch or dinner a lot for a while. 

It's after 10 now, and I'm about ready for bed, the day flew by!  Katie is already asleep in the bunk.

Here are some photos of the park I took today when we were out for our walk:

 The Palms in her new campsite.

 This is the view out the kitchen window.

 Each site has lawn on three sides, a picnic table and a b-b-q.

Fenced dog area where dogs can be off leash.

Swimming pool.

Kids play area.

Vineyard RV Park has free cable, free wi-fi (works really well), two laundry areas, 2 off-leash dog walks, horse shoe pits, rest rooms, showers, propane filling station, and clubhouse.  There are large shade trees in the older area, but the new sites where I am have smaller, new trees, but this new area has free cable.   I can't figure out how to get the cable working, but my antenna works well here.  I'm going to tackle the cable tomorrow.  I have the cable hooked up, and have to find the switch to turn the antenna/cable off and on.

For those commenters who suggested plugging my electric cord into an outlet in the compartment so the generator can run the A/C, I checked and I don't have a plug.  Only phone/cable hookups in the electrical compartment where the cord is stored.  But it does say on the outside of the cargo door that the plug works with 120, so I was fine plugging into the house and running the A/C.  My rig might be different than yours with a different electrical set-up.  But thanks - it was worth a try.

 Katie  needs her beauty sleep.

Good night, everyone - from Me and My Dog!  : )