Seacliff to Pismo – Nov. 17th

Seacliff to Pismo – Nov. 17^th

Seacliff State Beach was a good place to stay for our first night on the road as it was RIGHT ON THE BEACH!  It had full hookups which was nice. 

Site Review:

Space 9, sand box, full hook up, back in ocean view,4G lte, $71.00/night

We left there on Thursday morning and headed to our next stop, Pismo State Beach.  That ride was mostly uneventful.  We had been asked by Brian & Bree to stop at Cambria and pick up their wine club selection which was an easy side trip.  Or so we thought.  As we are pulling into Cambria, a lady in a car came flying up beside us in the truck and was waving and pointing towards the back of our 5^th wheel, and yelling you are dragging a hose!  So I pulled over and ….

All that stuff on the cargo carrier is Patio Furniture that Brian & Bryanna wanted from the ole homestead.

 

Somehow the bumper cap popped off and the sewer hose began working its way out of its storage spot.  Instead of falling all the way out though, it got hung up and was dragging like a tail down the Hwy!  Well we were so embarrassed, and so upset, and so, so glad we had discovered this BEFORE we got to downtown Cambria!  Can you imagine?? J

Once we fixed that, we continued into Cambria to pick up the wine and then on down Hwy 1 into Pismo Beach.

Pismo was great, but I got a spot that was too close to Hwy 1, so we had road noise most of the nights.  This was dry camping.  We saw a GD Reflection in the campground and I was going to say hello since we were both GD owners, but we never saw them outside.  In fact once while we were walking around the camp and past their unit, we noticed that they were watching a movie.  Or rather we heard they were watching a movie… they had their outside speakers on, and everyone within a couple hundred feet could hear the soundtrack!!  J  It was a love story….

Our site at Pismo State Beach Campground.

That evening we were joined by Robert and Suzan Parisi who live in Santa Maria.  Bob, as most of you know is one of my friends from High School and beyond.  They came by to see our new living situation, and took us to dinner at Shell Beach Brewhouse.  Thanks Bob & Suzan.  And it was great seeing you both again.

Glenda and I walked Piper on the beach, down quite a ways toward the dunes on Friday.  The ocean really makes her like a puppy again.  She runs and jumps, chases the waves, it’s really pretty fun to watch.  But it wore her out. 

Which was ok since the rest of the day was a ride back up Hwy 1 to Harmony Winery, we needed some more wineglasses, and a stop at Moro Bay to pick up some clam chowder from Giovanni’s fish market. We made a couple stops along the way to watch the ocean for a while because we know we won’t be seeing that for a while…

Back at camp, dinner was the clam chowder and salad. 

 

Site Review:

Space 57, paved pull thru, smallish, dry camping, grassy view, 4G lte, $27.00/night

On Saturday morning we hooked up and headed to Tapo Canyon County campground in Simi Valley.  The trip was a beautiful sunny day thru the central coast valleys along Hwy 101, which then popped out to the coast around Ventura County.  We were going to try to stop for lunch somewhere in Goleta or at least before we got into Santa Barbara, but that turned out to be a lousy idea.  No place to easily get that big of a truck and trailer off the road at an In & Out!  So.  We motored a bit further until we remembered a place we had been told about where trailers and motorhomes just park along the Hwy next to the beach.  Thank you Annette Hawley!  When we found the spot, we stopped for a bite of lunch and decided this was way better than some In & Out.

Plenty of room to put the slides out.

Our lunch view

a school of Dolphins swam by our window...

 

The rest of the ride into Simi Valley and the campground was easy.

The Lippert Axle Issue

The Lippert Axle Issue

So, I know this was supposed to be posted previously, but the beginning of our trip got in the way.  So, to catch you up, here is a little post about how Lippert Components, Inc. has a problem in their manufacturing process regarding the axles they produce.

As I had mentioned in the GD Nor Cal Owners Rally post, I discovered that our axles might be some of the ones with too much grease in the hub that could migrate to the brakes, and we were going to have to take the trailer in for service/inspection.  I had made an appointment at Vintage Transport in Placerville to have the axle bearings repacked, but when they opened up the hubs they found all the brakes covered in grease.

The Grand Design warranty person I’d talked to said to replace all brake assemblies if even one of them had shown any grease, so I had Vintage Transport replace all the way around.  And I upgraded to self-adjusting brakes.  (The OEM brakes were not self-adjusters).

The bill totaled $948.00 which I submitted to GD and received a check in 8 days. 

It’s been more than 400 miles on those new brakes and I feel they are now seated well and working correctly.

For the record, I’d like to mention that even though we’ve had the brake issue, a window leak, shower leak, the body molding repair, this is still the greatest rolling earthquake on the road.  We are totally happy with our Grand Design 5^th Wheel.  And I know it’s because of the service we’ve gotten from GD that makes the difference.  If I’d had even the slightest push back from them on anything, I’d have a totally different opinion.

First day away from work - Nov. 16th 2016

Well, we did it.  We drove away from El Dorado County, with no intentions of returning other than for family/friends visits.  We left Placerville at about 0830, and headed west. 

Butt shot

Our destination for today was Sea Cliff State Beach in Aptos, CA. 

The Tin Tent Two and the tow vehicle ran perfectly, and stopped well too!  It was a beautiful day to drive thru the Sacramento and northern parts of the Central Valley and over to the coast. 

We checked into the campground and found our space and then proceeded to back in, and level up.  These spots are great, paved and with grass in between AND full hook ups.  The pictures wont do it justice, but imagine backing your trailer against the beach.  With only a walkway between you and the water.  NICE.

Truth be told it took me a few extra times to get the TTT into the spot correctly, but there were only a few people watching, so, no news reel at 1100.

Glenda was in heaven.  We walked down the beach and then back the other way.  We cooked dinner, ate, and then took another walk at night along the beach.  Here are a few of our pictures.

Afternoon view out our windows

 

going to be a nice sunset.

Grand Design Owners Nor Cal Rally Oct. 27th thru 30th.

We last left our intrepid travelers returning from a Dry Camping excursion at Bodega Bay.  Soon after that trip, we embarked on our first ever RV owners rally.  Now, this wasn't your every day group of RV'ers, no, This is for the owners of Grand Design RV's only.  And this particular rally was a regional gathering as opposed to the manufacturers rally at the factory in Indiana.  The owners of Grand Design Rv's, of which there are several types and many models, have developed an online forum to discuss their interests, ask questions, and plan get togethers like a regional rally.  It started as a small discussion online, was iniatiated by one of the owners, and then grew by leaps and bounds to be the largest regional rally ever.

The group over took the Durango RV Resort in Red Bluff CA,  They literally booked them solid for those 4 days.

Glenda and I had gotten our reservation in early, but not early enough to get one of the prime spots around the fountain.  But our space was REALLY NICE!.  This was the opposite of dry camping.. we had full hookups including cable TV.  And NO sand....

Space 112

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and were lead to our spot by a nice older guy in a golf cart.  (nice retirement job, I'm thinking.)  we unhitched and hooked up, popped out and leveled up.  And then began meeting our neighbors.


The weather could have cooperated a little bit better, we had light rain that first night, so not too much was happening that evening, but it was fun to watch the park fill up with GD RV's.


The next morning was the start of many seminars and talks by other owners.  Because of the rain, we gathered in a large tent. 

Grand Design had sent several of their corporate officers to kick off the rally and they made everyone feel great.  They also gave away a ton of stuff which is always a good start.    A solar panel, a set of shocks absorbers, a set of new Torklift steps, and some other great gifts.   We had a talk from a solar panel company  ZAMP SOLAR, the company that supplies many of the major components in our RV's, Lippert Components, and a Suspension outfit that I can't remember the name of.  And that was  only the main ones, there were also talks given by a local vet about travelling with your pets, a couple that have been full timing for 15 years.  (That was eye opening.)  There was plenty of time each afternoon to walk around the park and visit with the other owners, many of whom would invite you right into their RV and offer a beer or glass of wine. 

2 of the 4 units that were on display from Happy Daze RV

The momentum was also on display, and see those solar panels??  They were still producing enough power to charge the battery.. amazing.

That was really the best part of the whole weekend, meeting other like minded folks and then getting to see inside their trailers and 5th wheels some of the upgrades and modifications they have made.


On SAT there was a potluck lunch.  The rain stopped that morning and afternoon long enough for us to have that lunch outside and then get a group picture.   One of the owners took that picture with his drone. 

 There is also a cool flyby video showing just about the whole campground, full of GD units.

In line for lunch

Another of the planned activities was a show and tell of sorts, of the modifications that you may have made to your 5th wheel.  You gave your site mumber and a brief description to the organizer who put that on a big poster board so all the other guests could see and decide if they wanted to walk around the camp and stop by your space so you could show off your  project.  So, I put down my battery box solution, and our stacked washer/dryer installation.  That turned out to be fun, because you know how much I like to talk,,, and people would come by to see and have me explain what I'd done.... fun.
A local Grand Design dealer was also onsite with several of their repair technicians to take care of many minor issues that the owners had.  I actually had them seal a leak around the kitchen window, seal the shower door, fix a piece of molding that had popped off the wall and a light switch that was loose.  All for free and done onsite immediately.  Two guys came in and whipped thru the repairs and then went on to the next trailer.  It was all warranty stuff for me, but many of the other guests had trailers that were way out of warranty, and that didn't matter in the least.  Grand Design  had them do all the repairs in the whole group.  And did I mention, all for free?

sealing the window leak

Shower door leak

While people were walking around  each others rigs, someone pointed out to me that I had the dreaded grease on my wheels.  This is a known issue, and was talked about in length by the Lippert Components rep..  So having discovered the grease, I made contact with the GD folks at the rally and they assured me it would be taken care of .   My next post will explore this in detail.

Bodega Bay Oct. 19th thru 24th

For the last 7 years  or so, we have made an annual trek to Doran Beach Campground at Bodega Bay with 3 other couples that somehow molded into what we call the Fall Follies.  So this year was no different,,,, except that we now camp in the Solitude 5th wheel instead of the previous 24 ft. travel trailer.  That is pretty different.
This trip is dry camping, meaning there are no hookup's for power, water or sewer or cable TV.  Oh my, how will we ever survive?? :-)

But it was the first time we dry camped in the Solitude, so we needed to see how long we could go before the tanks were full and the battery was dead.  Which was good practice, in a mostly controlled environment.  And truth be told, we do have a little Honda Generator, and there is potable water at the campground that you fill your tank with, so really, how hard is it? :-)

We arrived Wed. afternoon, met up with 2 of the other couples and went off to dinner in Bodega Bay.  We ate at the Fishetarian on the Lucas Wharf. We all highly recommend this little establishment.  Great food and drink.

The following day was spent mostly around camp, on the beach, kayaking in the bay and hanging around the campfire.

Piper likes the beach

On Friday though, we all drove into Santa Rosa to look at travel trailers for Whitey and Diane.  Apparently, we got them all excited at the previous nights campfire...  New trailers are in several families future..
That was a fun little excursion.  I of course had the most fun, because I was in no way shape or form going to spent any money,, so I was having a great time.  It really is fun to watch others get ready to drop a pound of flesh on a new toy!

Let's Buy a new Trailer

Saturday was the hiking day, or really it was more of a walk, but still way fun.  Scott Garrett and I paddled from the campground across the channel to the rock jetty, pulled the kayaks up to dry land and met those who drove over to Bodega Head.  Then we walked the north trail to the overlook of Horseshoe Cove.  Along the way we introduced the Johnson's to Geo caching!  Found 2 caches along the trail.

Breakfast at the Mancuse Caboose

The Sausage King

Sunday was relax day.   A couple kites were flown, many walks were accomplished, lots of stories were told, and of course there was a campfire at night.
Monday was go back home day, or in our case, back to where we were previously parked.


I had to put in a day or 2 of work, on Tuesday and Wednesday, but on Thursday of that week, we had reservations to attend the Nor Cal Grand Design Owners Rally in Red Bluff.
See next post for that story.

How'd this happen?

As promised, I'm going to try to catch you up on the previous year or so.  So this might let you know "where our heads are at".  And on that subject, if you find our heads,,, send them back.
So we are full timing in our 2017 Grand Design Solitude 300GK.  How'd that happen?  Well about a year ago we decided to sell our house, do some travelling, and settle into our WA Condo for the duration.. :-)  We had a yard sale, tried to get pictures organized, and clean out the closets.  Then we chickened out of selling the house. 
We did a lot of hand wringing, and had a lot of conversations about what we were really going to do in the next 10-15 years during the winter of 2015.  Then about Jan. or Feb. of 2016 we decided to sell again in the Spring.  We figured that the property looks it's best in the Spring, and we had about 3 months to get the house ready.  So we began in earnest to do the deferred maintenance, had another yard sale, took stuff to the dump, Hospice etc.  That lasted about 2 months and then we chickened out AGAIN !
During the late Spring and Summer we regrouped, and thought long and hard.
On July 15th, we both had an Epiphany... We did NOT want to stay in our house another 37 years.  We were not entirely sure just what we wanted to do with our time, or where we wanted to spend it, but we wanted OUT of the old homestead.  Why you ask...maintenance takes all your free time.
So, it was then that we decided to sell, and there was going to be no turning back.  :-)
We went full tilt at the cleanup, pack up and throw away tasks ahead of us and listed the house on Aug. 16th 2016.  Four days later we had two offers, decided on the full price offer, accepted it with less than a 30 day escrow "please and thank you.."  WE closed on Sept. 16th 2016.  That was a whirlwind!


Now, as fast as the house sale took place, the other part of our decision was to buy a 5th Wheel that would provide a roof over our heads while we travel these United States then figure out the rest of our life.  It happened just as fast.  We had bought a pickup last year that was going to be our tow vehicle, but had not really decided on the 5th wheel.  So there was a lot of shopping, RV shows, Internet research etc. that helped us decide on a make and model that we thought was the best option for us.  (There are sooooo many options out there.)  And then there was the actual purchase.
WE kind of feel like the Lord led us to a particular place, a particular dealer and a particular 5th wheel.  And we bought it on June 3rd.  So far we've been extremely happy.


Our plan.....  Glenda is turning off her real estate activity, but would LOVE to make referrals for anyone that needs the services of a Realtor.  I have the opportunity to use a lot of vacation time that I've built up as well as some sick time and I'm going to leave work on The 16th of Nov.  We will go to Brian and Bryanna's for Thanksgiving, then spend a couple days at the Disneyland RV park to celebrate Hailey's 3rd Birthday with our Granddaughters.  (and Jason & Leia.)  Then we'll move to a different RV Park for a couple days so Glenda can attend Bryanna's baby shower.  After that we hitch up and head east across the southern route to end up at Glenda's Dad's for Christmas. 


Then I'm taking Glenda back to the scene of the crime in the Florida Keys where me met 40 years ago.  We'll only spend a couple nights there and then we will do some driveway surfing at Joe and Cindee 's in South Miami for New Year's Eve.
The return trip begins that first week of Jan. 2017.  We'll have more time to make the return crossing because we don't have to be anywhere until our 4th Grandchild is born about Feb. 21th 2017!  YEA!!
 
So we'll spend some time near B&B's house in late February.  On March 3rd we bounce to Incline Village NV for our niece Lisa Schnoll's  marriage to Jeff.   


After going back to So Cal to get to know our new Grandbaby for a couple weeks.  Then we head north to visit friends and family in Placerville on the way up to our Condo at Silver Lake WA and visit Jason & Leia and the Girlies by about mid April. 


Then we start a 3 month trip to Alaska from Memorial Day thru Labor Day along with our very good friends Wayne and Annette Hawley.  Oh, the adventure!!  Any takers?  Wanna Go?


That is the end of our penciled out year in the life of the Tin Tent Two.


So, that's WHERE are heads are at. 
Hopefully our silly selves can keep up with our big ideas.
See you on the road.
Scott & Glenda