California or Bust?

[Jerry Winchester]

Okay, I need some help from the California brain trust. Looks like we will be making the 4500 mile Houston-San Diego-Anaheim-San Francisco-Lake Tahoe-Yosemite-Sequoia-Tucson-Houston loop this summer in the vintage Prevost and I am trying to figure out where to park / camp during the trip.

From all the info I can glean, this is where were're at.

San Diego - Best park seems to be in Chula Vista. The RV reviews were not nice to most of the others. Is there a don't miss site for being near the ocean that is close to the zoo and taco shops?

Anaheim - Again, the best rated park close to Disneyland is the Anahiem Resort RV Park. Shuttle bus to Disney and close enough to Universal, etal. Anyone know about this place?

San Francisco - No clue. Looks like a few places at Half Moon Bay, but I don't know anything about the surrounding areas, so I need some help with this one for sure.

Lake Tahoe - Looking for a good place with a view of the lake, but again no clear choice.

Yosemite - No clue :confused:

Sequoia - No clue #2 :confused:

Tucson - No problem, we'll stay at Harry's place.:)

Tombstone - Looks like Wells Fargo is the only game in town.

We are going to attempt this trip the last week of May / first week of June to hit the good weather window and hopefully get in and out before the rush.

848

[garyde]

Hi Jerry We would love to have you stop here in Santa Barbara. I will check out San Francisco. I believe there is Parking by Moscone Center but I do not know about overnight. Yosemite and Sequoia have sites within the Park. I will see what I can find out. Gary

[garyde]

Here is some info. Good Luck .
San Francisco;' www.sanfranciscorvresort.com'

South Lake Tahoe; www. Zephyrcove.com/pr-park-campground.php

Yosemite; www.yosemitepinesrv.com
http://jrabold.net/yosemite/campn.shtl

Sequoia; www.sequoia.national-park.com/camping.htm

[BUSTER]

Jerry,

Jean and I will be returning from the East Coast in late May/ early June.
Maybe we can run with you on the way out and then you can layover a day or 2 at our home :) in Laguna Hills....close to everything in OC...but will not have power in the street...hot set up in Newoprt Beach is the Dunes...keep me posted...we even have a great rib joint not to far away...Tulsa Ribs...best ( ?) you have ever had!!!!

[merle&louise]

Jerry,

Stay away from Candlestick RV Resort; it is operated by the city of San Fransico and is located in a rough neighborhood. I had to move 3 times before I found good 50 amp service. Sites are narrow. It is an asphalt parking lot across from Candlestick Park. However it is close to the sites.
I think your best bet would be San Fransico RV Resort in Pacifica. Any park will have narrow sites because of the land costs. In the Napa area, we stayed in Valleigo, CA (can't remember the name of the CG). It too was crowded, but nice gravel sites. You can drive into SF daily and also be close to the wineries in Napa.

Zephyrcove RV Resort is the clear winner in Lake Tahoe.

Yosemite: If you can't stay inside the park, I would stay at Mono Vista RV Resort on Hwy 395 in Lee Vining, CA. Coming from Lake Tahoe on Hwy 395, it is close to the east entrance to Yosemite. It is located on Mono Lake and I've heard that the views are breathtaking. It is Big Rig friendly, however the sites are grass. Reservations are suggested.

You are right about San Diego, Chula Vista is the best bet. It is a fabulous park, 5 stars. The Valencia Hotel in La Jolla is a great place to eat. LaJolla is really neat. Expensive!!!!

Have fun!:D

[BrianE]

JDUB,

Sounds like a great trip. In the SF area the choices are very limited. Marin Park in Larkspur is not bad (narrow sites) but is close to SF. Novato RV Park is a little further and marginally nicer. Both are north of the Golden Gate Bridge and are listed in Woodalls. In Napa our choice is the Napa Expo RV Park, very nice and very reasonable. Would think you may be a little early for the Sierras and would definitely be too early for the beautiful drive from US395 to Yosemite via Hwy 120 over Tioga Pass. (Sorry Tuga but Northern Cal is my old stompin' grounds.) :)

BrianE
94Liberty XL

[Petervs]

What Brian is trying to say about being a little early might need some clarification for folks from Houston.

Some of the roads that cross the passes in the Sierra Nevada are completely closed each winter due to snow. I mean like 10 feet of snow. They open them sometime in May or June depending on the weather, and how much snow they have to remove. It is weeks and weeks of work to clear 100 miles of road for each pass.

Interstate 80 and US Hwy 50 near Lake Tahoe are kept open all winter, and way south near Bakersfield Hwy 58 remains open. In betweeen, all the roads close.

Tioga Pass in Yosemite is absolutely stellar and not to be missed, but you have to go when it is open. You will cross the pass at 9990 feet above sea level or so. Besides, in May at 8000 feet it gets really cold at night.

Compare that to Houston weather in June!

Peter vS
94 Marathon XLV

[garyde]

Jerry, your gona wanta stay on the west side of the Sierras coming down from Tahoe.

[gmcbuffalo]

I stayed in Candlestick RV this year it was not bad. They have a shuttle to downtown. I was told it was run and owned by a Korean company.

Two years ago I stayed at Half Moon Bay. Went to check in and was told owner would not accept bus conversions. As I was pulling thru to turn around the manager saw my RIVA sticker on my bus and the clerk ran out and told me I was ok. As it turns out they would not accept private bus conversions. We spend most of our time in the bus the wind was so strong my 100# bride could hardly walk outside.

GregM

[win42]

Jerry: Glad to hear your coming to the promise land. Don't sweat the details. We'll get you started on the right track when we see you in Kerrville. There will be a special meeting of the CA POGers with you to get you on the right roads, or as POGers do, throughly confuse you. You and your family will love the trip. Think about the FMCA August Rally in Oregon as a turn around point. The Oregon coast is a summer must see. See you in Tehas.

[Jerry Winchester]

Many thanks for all the useful information. When we hold the "Help JDUB Plan His California Vacation" forum at Kerrville, I will have a special gift for each of you.

And no, it's not a stainless toilet bowl brush holder........

However, I doubt a$$crak4u Tom even comes to the rally for fear of retribution :eek:

[truk4u]

I'll be the first one there butt boy, you told me I could sleep in the V35.:D

[Jerry Winchester]

As we say in Oklahoma, "We're gettin down to the nut cuttin" and that means the trip to California is at hand. But I still need some help.

I wanted to drive along the coast from Anaheim to San Fran. Then I looked at the map and the road. I'm betting a little bit of Hwy. 1 goes a long way, so have any of you taken a coach up that road and if so how far? Looks like I can do 1 for a ways and then to over to 101 and make the rest of the trip on it. Any thoughts?

It also looks like we will be in Anaheim for 4 days starting on May 30 thru June 2nd, so does anyone live close enough for us to have the POG 3.10 dinner one night?

And not that it matters, but diesel is $2.51 here today, but I would not be surprised if it were $3.51 in California. Any news on that?

[garyde]

Hi Jerry. Hwy 1 from Santa Monica to Port Hueneme and Oxnard is not a bad trip. There is commuter traffic in the morning and late afternoon. You will see most of the Beach enclaves in the Malibu area where the Hollywood types live. Back to 101.
Hwy 1 from San luis Obispo to Cambria and north to Big Sur is kind of tough. There are some areas where the road has no shoulders and there are 90 degree-120 degree radius and tighter curves. Check with AAA on that one. It comes out at Monterey. Back to 101 @ Salinas
Hwy 1 @ Santa Cruz; I believe you could get to this from San Jose, but I do not believe it ends up in San Francisco.
There are areas North of Santa Barbara on the 101 where you will be on the Coast . (Santa Barbara to Gaviota State Park)
Keep in touch regarding Anaheim and a get togeather.

[gmcbuffalo]

I drove Hwy 1 in my 4107 35 footer and would never do it again. On many of the curves I was in all lanes and had traffic behind me who couldn't pass me. The curvy road made it hard to get any speed so this cause problems with traffic also. Hearst Castle is worth going to, but I would get off Hwy 1 before it becomesa hwy of no return. The last time I went up North on hwy on I got off on a Hwy 46 that took me over to 101 near six flags RV park. My brother went to Big Bear one time in his 40 footer and got a ticket for holding up traffic, so I would not take Hwy 1 all the way Carmel.
GregM

[BrianE]

Jerry,
A good dry camp RON is Camarillo Airport. There is a CAF Museum there and a great airport cafe. Check in at the airport admin office and they will tell where to park. The Ronald Reagan Library is nearby and is very worthwhile. Continue up 101 through Santa Barbara and would recommend a visit to Morro Bay, just north of San Luis Obispo, very scenic, great restaurants and a nice RV Park across from the beach, "Morro Dunes". Would continue to San Simeon and visit the Hearst Castle, make reservations in advance. Would not recommend continuing up Hwy 1 at this point but backtrack to Hwy 46 which is a good road and easy climb back to 101. Salinas, on 101, is the home of the John Steinbeck Museum, very worthwhile. A short drive over to Monterey and you can stay at Laguna Seca Raceway which has electric and water hookups for $25.00/night or you could try the Monterey Fairgrounds which has full hookups for about the same price. Don't miss Carmel's 17 mile drive and the sights of Monterey. You can continue on Hwy 1 through Santa Cruz, visit the Boardwalk and on up Hwy 1 through Big Basin Park and Half Moon Bay. Enough for now, the options through and around San Francisco are too many to list. Fuel prices this week in both AZ and CA are about $2.90 in truck stops.

[Kevin Erion]

JW,
I have you on my calender for June 5th, I am out of town the week of May 28 thru June 4th. And I was hopping to be a part of the West Coast POG dinner. Next time we have to plan this a little better.
Kevin

[Loc]

Jerry,

We have done the trip to California four times in the bus. We have visited most of the stops that you want to make with the exception of Tahoe. Here are the places that we have stayed and would recommend:

San Diego - Chula Vista RV Resort - ask for one of the pull through sites that has a view of the marina. There is a nice park that ajoins the RV resort.

Anaheim - we always stay at Anaheim RV Resort because of its proximity to D-land. It isn't anything like Buckhorn, but the sites are paved and it is a clean park. Ask for the pull throughs in middle of the park, they have the most room.

Paso Robles - There is a great park called Wine Country RV Resort which is close to a number of central California wineries just off the 101 in Paso Robles. Ask for a space in the upper section of the park.

San Francisco - ask for one of the oceanfront pull in sites at San Francisco RV Resort which is just south of SF in Pacifica. You have a fantastic view of the Pacific out of the front window. You will need to call early because they only have a couple of oceanfront sites that will fit a 40 footer. It is about a 20 minute drive to downtown. We have stayed at Candlestick RV Park by the stadium and while it is clean, I don't recommend it because of the nice view of cargo containers and old airport buses and its not the greatest area.

Yosemite - We have stayed at the KOA in Mariposa which is the closest to Yosemite. The park is older and the spaces are tight for a 40 footer, but we managed. I would not have wanted to drive the bus any closer to Yosemite. The road from Mariposa is rather steep and will have a lot of traffic in May / June.

Kings Canyon / Sequia - We have also stayed in the KOA in Visalia for our visit to Kings Canyon and Sequoia. It is nothing to write home about, but is relatively close to the NP's. I would strongly suggest against taking the bus to Kings or Sequoia. You can do it by coming into Kings, but you will have to return the same way and the roads are steep and twisty.

Palm Springs - you already know about ORA Motorcoach Country Club.

Tucson - Beaudry RV has a large park. Ask for a site with a hot tub. The kids enjoyed it in December, although, May / June may be another issue.

I am sure you have done so, but I would also pull out the Mountain Directory West and look at the routes that you are going to take to Tahoe from SF and to Fresno from Tahoe. These are gonna be really exiting drives - steep and twisty - I would be tempted to take I-80 over and back to the 99. Also that drive from El Centro to Alpine on I-8 will be a fun pull with May/June heat. When we crossed the Arizona / California line in 2003 at the same time of year it was 109 degrees.

I have taken Bubba Bus up the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I even called the CHP to see if this was a doable in a 40 foot camper towing a jeep. The trooper told me it would be no problem and even suggested a stop along the way just north of San Simeon to see the elephant seals on the beach. I won't do the drive again in the bus. It isnt that bad going north because you have the southbound lane as additional comfort from the dropoffs. However, the northbound lane presents its own problems with tight turns with rock outcroppings that require you to swing wide into the southbound lane to avoid scraping the side of the bus on the rocks (it is amazing how big the eyes of a southbound driver can get when they round a corner and see the front of your bus sticking out into their lane). In addition, I felt the need to pull over about every 3 miles to let the long line of cars backed up behind me pass. If it was me, I would take the 101 (I love how every highway has a "the" in front of it in California) with a stop in Solvang and spend the night in Paso Robles. Take the tow car over to San Simeon and see the Hearst Castle. While in SF take the tow car south to Big Sur - you will get the same scenery, but with much less stress and it is easier to find a place to stop and take pictures. If you do decide to drive the PCH there is a campground at Laguna Seca in Monterey which is convenient, but is has a 13% grade getting into it which makes it fun.

Good luck with the trip. The recommendations are worth the price paid and there are no warranties or representations either implied of expressed.

Loc

[Ray Davis]

JDUB,

When you planning on being near the southern CA, OC area (near Disneyland)? I'm sure the OC group (and maybe Warren too?) would love to get together for dinner one evening?

Let us know your plans! If you time it right, I may be able to sign 3 into Disneyland for free (if it's not blacked out).

ray