The Maine and Eastern Seaboard Trip, Just the Facts, Maam!

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Wine Country RV Resort
2500 Airport Road
Paso Robles, Ca
After leaving a park with no amenities, we arrived at one with lots of them, and the price to with them.
We have been to this resort several times in the past, but recently we have avoided it do the cost of the sites. They have various levels of site pricing depending on how your site is outfitted.  The current rates are from $52 for a dirt site with a small grass strip between  sites, to $93 for a site with concrete drive and patio, with furniture. 

While this has always been a nice place to stay and ideally located to visit the myriad of local wineries, it was not without it downsides.  One big negative for us was that in the upper ?premium? sites, they were also the closest to Highway 46.  Even  at night the traffic noise was significant as it is also a trucking route.

About a year ago the place was bought out by ?Sun RV Resorts?. A large company that owns dozens of RV campgrounds across the country.  We came back this year to determine what if any changes were made by the new owners,  and there were several.  The primary reason we stayed a week though was because Diane, being ever on the lookout for a deal on RV sites, received an email after Thanksgiving last year offering a 50% off rate if you booked right then and paid in advance. She jumped on it and we wound up paying about $38 a night, a real bargain!

As far as the changes, one of the biggest ones was the addition of a new premium section of RV sites in a lower area that used to be for RV storage.  The pads are double wide and all cement, and probably the quietest ones in the park. Another is the addition of several camping  cottages that were built on existing RV pads. They are quite nice and well appointed from what I could see from the outside. These too are pricey, ranging from $159 a night during the week, all the way up to $279 a night on holiday weekends.  We saw several of them filled during our stay.  We had reserved one of the newer premium lower sites, but found that we  were moved due to new construction in the area.  We wound up in an older site with concrete parking pad, but mostly grass in the patio area.

The restrooms are all top notch and easily handicapped accessible, as is the pool.  There are two hot tubs, one by the pool, and another up the hill a bit that is for adults only. Park WiFi is strong all around the park due to many repeaters. Our Verizon air card worked well here too.

Another nice amenity they added was a separate outside wine and beer bar. They serve many local wine and various beers on tap.  It is right across from a event area where bands are sometimes booked. We lucked into 2 free events the week we were here. One was a wine tasting event in the clubhouse on a Friday night. 10 local wineries were there and had tables set up and were doing free tastings for their wines. The resort also put out a small buffet of meats, cheese and  crackers.  It lasted about 3 hours and was great fun.  The next  night a band played in the outdoor club area. It was 60's and 70's music, and they were really good. It appears that Sun Resorts is intending to keep people interested and returning to the park again and again.

We are hoping that they offer the same Black Friday deal next year, we would jump on it! We also toured a few of the local wineries, and even a olive oil farm and tasted their olive oil. We had some relatives stop in for a visit, and worked out regularly in the resort exercise room. 

On a side note, VMSpc, my engine monitoring software came out with an new release of the Windows tablet software.  I installed it,  and it worked much better than the previous build. I have become quite well acquainted with Art Renda, the VMSpc guy at Silverleaf.  I will be calling him for some further insight into a few of the new features.

I also got around to installing my latest mod, a string of LED's under the slide on the patio side of the coach. They were really inexpensive on Amazon, and included a remote control to operate them and select from dozens of different colors that they would display.

As for repairs, I replaced a failing HDMI splitter in the entertainment cabinet, and changed out the water valve in my Thetford toilet as the original one was starting to leak.  All parts came from Amazon Prime, and were delivered to my door.  I also paid a local wash crew to hand wash and dry the motor home. After spending the previous weeks at the ocean and a few rain storms, it needed it.

Another thing I forgot to mention earlier on is that I have a new bicycle on this trip. I purchased a folding bike from Amazon and carry it in the back of the Jeep. It is a Schwinn Loop, a 7 speed bike that comes in it's own carry bag. It weights about 30 pounds, and folds easily. After going through 2 sets of bikes in about 10 years, hauling them around on the back of the Jeep, and them getting slowly destroyed this seemed like a reasonable alternative.  So far it has worked out great, stays out of the way, and is easy to store when the weather gets bad.

From here is it back to the California Coast for one last look at the Pacific before we head east.  For those following Diane's blog, she just updated hers as well with lots more info on the places we visited.
 

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Sarge, that is a very nice park.  On one of our RV searching adventures, we were in the Paso Robles area and came across the park by accident.  We took a self guided tour and found it to quite nice.  Hadn't thought about the traffic noise but am sure as one of the major routes between CA 101 and I-5, it gets a lot of traffic.  I'm getting quite anxious and ready to head to Yellowstone.  Just got the Jeep back from the hitch guy.  Hardrock bumper installed, new tow bar and braking system installed.  Checked it out today and was very happy with the install.  Now all we have to do is get our new traveling companion ready and we're off.  Hopefully one more visit to the vet and we're good to go. 

Keep the reports coming.

Gary
 
Marty, sorry for not reading your entire thread yet, but I'm curious to know which route you're planning on taking to go east. We are heading out to Tucson and Las Vegas the middle of May and then will head east on I-40 to the Midwest before working our way back home. I was wondering if we might be near each other in late May or early June.
 
John Stephens said:
Marty, sorry for not reading your entire thread yet, but I'm curious to know which route you're planning on taking to go east. We are heading out to Tucson and Las Vegas the middle of May and then will head east on I-40 to the Midwest before working our way back home. I was wondering if we might be near each other in late May or early June.

John-

If you go to the link in his signature with the blog, the first blog entry has a photo of a map of the route.  They will be taking the northerly route, through Yellowstone, SD, MN, IA, IL (including a meetup with me!), etc.  Sounds like you will be further south.
 
garyb1st said:
I'm getting quite anxious and ready to head to Yellowstone.  Just got the Jeep back from the hitch guy.  Hardrock bumper installed, new tow bar and braking system installed.  Checked it out today and was very happy with the install.  Now all we have to do is get our new traveling companion ready and we're off.  Hopefully one more visit to the vet and we're good to go. 

Keep the reports coming.

Gary

Us too Gary! Sounds like it's going to be a great turnout. Besides, Diane wants to meet your new furry friend!

John Stephens said:
I was wondering if we might be near each other in late May or early June.

Yep, Scott's right John, late May early June we will be in South Dakota in the Spearfish area.  We are staying a bit north trying to avoid tornado alley. Maybe later in the year as we head back west we can bump into each other.
 
Doggone Marty, you just gave me something else to worry about. We'll be crossing Texas on our way out and Oklahoma on our way back. And this will be at the height of tornado season, if there is such a thing anymore.
 
John-

You'll be fine as long as you don't do anything stupid.  I lived in Tulsa for four Springs during college and never saw any tornadoes.  Oddly, the only tornado I've ever seen (from a great distance) was in Minnesota.
 
I have been hit by two tornadoes in my life, once in St. Louis and once in Lafayette, Ind. I lived in the tornado belt for half of my life until I decided to wise up and deal with the hurricanes instead. ::) I have been fortunate in the respect, however, to have never encountered one while on the road and hope I never do. I've seen videos of twisters picking up fully loaded 18 wheelers and tossing them, so I can only imagine what one could do to a motor coach.

Marty, what I said was more tongue in cheek than anything else. But since I usually take my trips in late summer and we're leaving in May this year, what you said gave me pause to realize there was a potential danger I hadn't thought of before now. Keep us posted on your travels; it's always good to hear from you.
 
Santa Cruz Harbor Park
7th Ave at Brommer Street
Santa Cruz, Ca

This was our last stop on the California coast and the Pacific ocean this trip.  The next ocean we will see will be the Atlantic.  This RV spot, and I hesitate to call it a “park” because there is not much there to define a RV park.  It is basically a lined off set of parking spots with a power pedestal and a picnic table. There was enough room for  our 37' motor home, and we were able to pull the Jeep all the way to the back of the site so we could put chairs in the front for a view of the boats and the marina. There is a real love/hate relationship when talking about this stop. 

The parts to love are backing into your site and and having a view of Santa Cruz harbor and marina out of the front window.  The sites are full hook up and the water pressure is strong. The sites are all pavement so dirt or sand is not an issue. The cell signal is strong and the Verizon air card worked well. There is no public WiFi offered. There are walking/biking paths all along the marina that will take you to the beach and surf if you walk far enough (about a mile). 

It's quiet at night, except if it's windy you may hear the clang of the rigging’s on the sailboats in the marina. You are not far from town, and many stores and shops are within minutes of the park. There are some good restaurants along the harbor and a few right on the ocean. 

The hate part of the relationship is that the RV spaces are bordered by a road directly in front of the sites. Our rig was inches from the white line that represented the edge of the traffic lane that runs in front.  While exiting the rig if a car was going by,  it would be mere feet from you. There is a 10 mph speed limit on the road, which is universally  ignored by just about everyone.  Vehicles usually sped by at 20 to 30 mph, oblivious that pedestrians were walking and living within inches.  Great care was needed when taking Heidi (our pooch) outside so she didn't turn left into traffic. 

Another oddity was the lack of any restroom and shower facilities available.  While there are two shower toilet rooms along the marina walkway, signs are posted that they are for the use of the marina slip renters only.  One of the buildings had a sign that is was open to the public between the hours of 8 AM to 6 PM, but the doors were never unlocked.  The doors required a key or a pass code to enter. Some really tall Eucalyptus trees on the ridge in back of the sites prevented us from using our roof top satellite dish. I  was able to set up the manual dish and  find one lone gap in the trees to enable us to get our Direct TV hook up going.

The RV camp  host was also kinda flaky. He was in the site next to us, but he was rarely there, and when he was he was never available. We spent much of the week answering questions from campers that arrived and were trying get info on their site. He was basically of no help except to occasionally show up and collect payment.

We paid $52 a night for the park, with no discounts or break for staying for a week. All in all it was not a bad park, but there was not much to make it memorable either.  Diane just updated her blog as well with more area information.
 

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It's all about real estate Sarge.  Location, location, location.  Years ago, Santa Cruz was a great college town.  Took my daughter there for a visit in early 90's.  Never RV'd there but like any place on/near the water on the coast, the $$$ will be on the high side.  Sounds like you're having a great trip.  We're hoping too begin ours Monday. 
 
Yeah, it seems to be that way anywhere on the coast Gary. The town itself was nice, but pricey as usual. Good luck on your trip, let us know how it goes!
 
The camp host was demonstrating the talents required to be a camp host. :eek: Let the guy next door do all your work.
We spent last week in Fredericksburg Texas. Interesting place. Who would think to find The National Museum of The War of The Pacific in a small Texas hill country town. Well there is the Admiral Nimitz Museum, he might have had a little influence.
Just down the road is the LBJ Ranch and Texas Whitehouse. This place is a total time machine. It is just like it was during his presidency.
Just some things to look at as you swing back through.
http://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/
https://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/visitlbjranch.htm
Bill

 
 
Enjoying your updates as usual Marty. By the way, your LED install looks great. That's an excellent place to install them for indirect lighting.

Kev 
 
WILDEBILL308 said:
Just some things to look at as you swing back through.
http://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/
https://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/visitlbjranch.htm
Bill
Thanks Bill, that sounds great. We will keep them in mind.

Kevin Means said:
Enjoying your updates as usual Marty. By the way, your LED install looks great. That's an excellent place to install them for indirect lighting.
Kev 
Thanks Kev, what can I say but you inspire me! And it was fairly simple (just my speed!).  I did have a neighbor tell me this morning though, "I saw your lights last night, I thought you must have been Hippies"!.  What a crack up, there is showing your age though!
 
Nothing against old hippies but "Hippie" is not a word I would use to describe you or Diane... Ya know what I mean? :) You should have it shine red, like a red light district, and then see what they start callin' ya!

Kev
 
SargeW said:
We are staying more north to hit the Yellowstone rally on the way by. 

We are delighted that you are joining the YPN rally.  We are following your trip to the Eastern Seaboard.  I would be great is someone organized a rally there next year.  Anyone volunteers?
 
If we are still in Minnesota when you come through Iowa, we would be glad to run down and meet up with you. We have to stick around the state till we get our house sold. Right now we are staying at Crystal Springs RV resort just north of Albert Lea.
 
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