Thursday, March 31, 2011

Bay area treats



Of course one of our original goals when planning our trip on a napkin was to
try new and interesting foods and places to eat.
Sorry, this post has been removed! You can read this psot and much more in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams - which can be found on Amazon.!

Alcatraz National Park




Sorry, this post has been removed! You can read this psot and much more in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams - which can be found on Amazon.



 

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Lombard Street, Golden Gate Bridge and Pier 39


Sorry, this post has been removed! You can read this psot and much more in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams - which can be found on Amazon.






 



 

 



Monterey Aquarium


Sorry, this post has been removed! You can read this psot and much more in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams - which can be found on Amazon.


 
 

Friday, March 25, 2011

Los Lobos and Pinnacles NP



Sorry, this post has been removed! You can read this psot and much more in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams - which can be found on Amazon.





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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Kevin Shutterbug interviews Emma


We have been visiting my sister’s family in Monterey, California and we took the opportunity to have Kevin Shutterbug interview my niece Emma. You can also learn a little about Kevin’s favorite food in this installment!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Campground review - Lake Elisnore RV Park and Marina




Enroute from San Diego to Monterey we stopped at a Passport America park -
Lake Elisnore RV Park and Marina. We did some fishing but with no success. We also stayed here during the recent "Super Moon" and enjoyed the view of the moon over the lake.

Nearby attractions - 7 - Probably 90 minutes for LA.

Staff - 8 - Very helpful and friendly, shared donuts with us.

Natural surroundings - 7 - Several trees and on Lake Elisnore.

Value - 8 - We paid $26 a night for full hook-ups, back-in site with Passport America.

Bathrooms - 5 - They were older, showers did not all work.

Roominess - 7 - Long enough, but not super wide.

Facility fun - 7 - Right on lake with fishing, boating and swimming.

Cleanliness - 6 - A slightly older park.

Facility usefulness - 8 - Cable at each site, laundry, propane for sale, small store.

Overall - 7 - A nice lake to camp on, but the RV park needs a little TLC.



Monday, March 21, 2011

Living Life on the Wild Side!



So we had a couple of funny encounters with some creatures the last couple of days and captured them on these videos. Enjoy the visual fun!





Friday, March 18, 2011

Campground review - Mission Bay RV Resort

We traveled back to San Diego this week for Children's Pastors Conference to promote Kidology to Go. We decided to try the other Passport America park in San Diego this time - Mission Bay RV Resort and we liked it a little bit better than Santa Fe.

Nearby attractions - 9 - Right on a bay in San Diego, they are super close to Sea World, Balboa Park, the zoo, etc..

Staff - 8 - Very helpful and friendly, although the security guys never cracked a smile! ;)

Natural surroundings - 7 - A few trees and on the Anza Cove with lots of walking and bike trails nearby.

Value - 8 - We paid $28 a night for full hook-ups, back-in site with Passport America.

Bathrooms - 7 - They were little older and some of the showers were cold and drippy, while others worked.

Roominess - 6 - Long enough, but not super wide. Had a hard time finding a place to park our van.

Facility fun - 7 - Near the beach where you can rent ski jets. Snack shack open for breakfast and lunch. We had their green snow cones for St. Patrick's Day.

Cleanliness - 8 - A well-kept park.

Facility usefulness - 5 - Cable at each site, laundry, not much else.

Overall - 8 - This RV Park feels more like one for vacationers than the Santa Fe RV Park that we also stayed in while visiting San Diego.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Campground Reviews - Rio Bend RV Park and Sky Valley Resort

In this post we review two Passport America campgrounds in snowbird country. We had a very positive experience at each of the parks and would recommend them both. Beautiful weather helped make them an enjoyable experience. First we look at Rio Bend RV Park and Golf Resort in El Centro, CA


Nearby attractions - 6 - At least 90 minutes from San Diego. Close to Mexicali, Mexico. Not a ton to do in El Centro. We were here fro the air show.

Staff - 8 - Pretty nice, even gave us an extra day on our Passport discount!

Natural surroundings - 7 - A few trees, mountains in background. Lakes on site.

Value - 8 - We paid $25 a night for full hook-ups, back-in site.

Bathrooms - 8 - Nice bathrooms, plenty of them with lockers. Clean with nice showers.

Roominess - 9 - Nice big sites with a cement patio and room to park your toadie next to the RV. Big streets for kids to ride bikes and scooters too.

Facility fun - 7 - Heated swimming pool and hot tub. Golf course, volleyball court, shuffleboard on site. Exercise room is limited to adults.

Cleanliness - 8 - A well-kept park.

Facility usefulness - 8- Dump station, laundry, propane. Cable, small camp store, exchange library.

Overall - 8 - A nice park to hit in the winter or spring or fall. I am sure it is quite hot here in the summer.


Next we review Sky Valley Resort in Desert Hot Springs, CA, near Palm Springs.

Nearby attractions - 9 - Close to Joshua Tree NP and Palm Springs. 90 minutes from Anaheim.

Staff - 9 - Very helpful and nice.

Natural surroundings - 7 - This is a resort community with lots of park model homes. Lots of citrus trees and palm trees and lakes on site, but the place where the short-termers go is more sparse.

Value - 7 - We paid $28 a night for full hook-ups, back-in site.

Bathrooms - 7 - Nice bathrooms, showers are mineral water showers. Very long ways from where we were parked.

Roominess - 4 - Pretty tight spots.

Facility fun - 7 - Heated swimming pool and hot tub that are fed by natural hot springs. Very small playground and basketball court.

Cleanliness - 8 - Decently kept up and many of the sites had fun decor and yard art.

Facility usefulness - 8- Propane trucks deliver to site. Secured facility. Cafe, weekly church services at resort. Lots of activities geared toward the retired set. Weak wifi included.

Overall - 8 - We loved swimming each night in the warm mineral water!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Kevin Shutterbug at Joshua Tree NP



We recently visited Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs, California where Kevin Shutterbug spoke with Patsy about their visit to this park and the upcoming Children’s Pastor conference in San Diego where the Kidology to Go RV will be making a special guest appearance!!

Special thanks to One Way Street for letting The Martin family adopt Kevin during their travels!

We had a great time at Joshua Tree NP climbing rocks and finding lizards. We hiked to Barker Dam and we saw tons of lizards along with antelope squirrels and a black-tailed jack rabbit. The weather here was so nice, on the 80s this week. We just arrived in San Diego today for CPC and it is 20 degrees cooler here. Brrrr

Monday, March 14, 2011

El Centro Air Show



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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Mexicali


Sorry, this post has been removed! You can read this psot and much more in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams - which can be found on Amazon.

 

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Campground Review - Santa Fe RV Park

We found a decent Passport America campground in San Diego called Santa Fe RV Park. Not too shabby.

Nearby attractions - 9 - Very near San Diego sites like Sea World and Cabrillo and Legoland.

Staff - 7 - Slightly above average.

Natural surroundings - 7 - Lots of mature trees but Interstate 5 is quite close and a train track is not too far. didn't hear the train that often and it was quick.

Value - 7 - We paid $32 a night for full hook-ups, back-in site.

Bathrooms - 8 - Nice bathrooms, keycard protected. Clean with nice showers, only three of them for men.

Roominess - 3 - Sardines, you have my sympathy.

Facility fun - 7 - Heated swimming pool and hot tub. Game room where we had a family ping pong battle.

Cleanliness - 7 - A slightly older park.

Facility usefulness - 8- Dump station, laundry, propane. Cable, BBQ and picnic table at each site. no camp store.

Overall - 8 - A nice park if you just want a place to crash while seeing San Diego and a hot tub at night to unwind in!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Dining Out

Sorry, this post has been removed! You can read this post and much more in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams - which can be found on Amazon.



.

TRY FEEDING THIS HUNGRY CREW!


Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Cabrillo, a little jewel




The next to last day of our family reunion was spent taking group photographs and then we went off to explore a little jewel of a national park, Cabrillo. It is a nice park out on Loma Point that overlooks the entire city and bay area around San Diego. We could see Coronado Islands in Mexico quite clearly (later they were shrouded in a mist which was quite beautiful).

There is a nice yet small lighthouse at the peak of the park and a very nice visitor center. We could see tons of ships, sailboats and even a boat that looked like an old 18th century schooner in the bay. After a nice picnic lunch we headed down to the bottom of the cliffs where we explored tide pools by climbing cliffs, jumping rocks and falling into the water. It was a bit scary with all the kids, and we were all exhausted after our adventure. We did see some hermit crabs, periwinkle crabs, sea slugs, anemones, barnacles and shore crabs along with a bunch of shore birds.

We ended the day with more swimming and a trip to Cici's Pizza!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Sea World



Notice the Baby?





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Campground Review - Glen Ivy RV Park

Staying in the Los Angeles area can be an expensive proposition, even in an RV. So we elected to stay in the inland empire at Glen Ivy RV Park, near Corona.

Nearby attractions - 8 - As long as you don't mind driving a bit, Greater LA is within striking distance. Plus there are several things to do in the inland empire. 30 minutes with no traffic to Anaheim. Really close to Tom's Farm.

Staff - 7 - Nice people.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Small bushes and trees near sites, mature trees and lakes nearby.

Value - 6 - We paid $34 a night for full hook-ups, back-in site.

Bathrooms - 5 - They older, slightly out of date ad not super clean. Still there were plenty of them and the showers were hot.

Roominess - 8 - The sites were decent sized with a picnic table and plenty of room to park the toadie.

Facility fun - 8 - An older playground, a teen center and two swimming pools.

Cleanliness - 7 - A slightly older park.

Facility usefulness - 8- Dump station, laundry, showers, propane. Cable and fire pit and picnic table at each site.

Overall - 7 - A nice alternative to the costly parks of Orange and Los Angeles county.


Sprinkles




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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Le Brea Tar Pits




Sorry, but this post has been deleted because it is a part of our new book called Napkin Dreams!



 



 



 

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