It’s hard to capture how great of a time we had in San Diego. On this adventure, each place we stay really seems like “home”. With each new discovery, it has been easy to keep slipping into thoughts that this could be the place we stay. I think it’s partly because the coach has been so comfortable and we have met so many wonderful people at nearly every location. I’m writing this after spending three days so far in Palm Springs, and San Diego already seems like it was weeks ago. I’m going to break up the experiences of San Diego. I should have recorded each moment in the blog, but I was having too much fun.
We stayed at Mission Bay RV Park. It’s essentially a parking lot surrounded by water in the pretty Mission Bay area of San Diego. We fell into the easy-going beach vibe as we were surrounded by beach cruisers and people relaxing. The RV park was perfect — with great walking paths nearby, a beach, and even a snack bar. The coaches were parked close, but we had excellent neighbors. The park also is centrally-located near all the fun activities. San Diego definitely has cool things to see and do. This park is especially family-friendly. Kids ran around the park playing and biking. Corbin had lots of time to meet friends. I can see how some people would want a more relaxed environment than this park. It was very active with people coming and going. Being next to the water, we enjoyed adding some humidity to our lives after the desert. The weather was perfect the entire time, with only light rain late in the evenings.
We had easy access to grocery stores, several good libraries, and even a pet hospital. Our poor little Bongo was having problems, so we took him in. After surgery, he spent the two weeks in San Diego in a “cone of shame”. Bekki, the thrifty one, found a 20% off coupon for the vet online, thus saving some money on the surgery. I lost my new bike fund to pay for the unexpected expense, but our little doggie is worth it. We had a fun REI shopping spree though – our yearly dividend came through and we bought some camping items for the coach. Bekki bought a french reclining outdoor lounge chair that is the most amazing thing ever. It may be part of a divorce settlement, it is that comfortable! For now, she is forced to share.
Activities
We went to the zoo with Bekki’s cousin and his son. The zoo is a huge, world-class facility with tons of animals. Corbin had a blast running through the different areas of the zoo. We got to see Giant Pandas. At the Lion exhibit, a male lion started roaring at the crowd. Corbin got a little frightened since it was so close and so loud. The zoo has great play areas and pretty good places to eat lunch. Bekki and I had been to the zoo several years before on a vacation, but it was so much more fun to go with family and see it through Corbin’s eyes.
The zoo is located in Balboa Park. A huge municipal park, it hosts most of the cities museums. Corbin and I took a morning walk around the grounds before they were open. It was a lovely morning without the crowds. We then went to the Air and Space Museum. It’s a great museum with a cool collection of planes. They had a room with toys and different activities for small kids to play with half way through the museum. We spent most of our time in there. Corbin loves running around and screaming “avion”. Corbin and I came back to Balboa park to walk around and play. We spent another morning at the Model Railroad Museum. It was a very nice museum and talking to the builders was fun, but I wouldn’t say its the best place to bring a toddler. Everything looks like a toy but is behind glass. Corbin would get upset that he couldn’t grab the toys. Walking the grounds was amazing and we ate lunch one day under a shade tree. A pirate and a man with three giant poodles came by to talk to us.
We spent a lazy sunday in Old Town San Diego. It was a nice surprise since we had never been there. It seemed like a tourist trap that presents San Diego as it was a hundred years ago. In reality, it’s a very nice park with some very cool exhibits and good restaurants. We bought some souvenirs and lingered among the nicely kept gardens. Great way to wear out a baby. Picnic lunch of BBQ pork sandwiches.
The RV park is near the beach as well, so we were able to take Corbin on some long walks while he learned to master his bike. It was a wonderful way to pass the time and enjoy the fresh air. We missed out on many restaurant recommendations and only went out for coffee and one burger stop. Blowing the grocery budget earlier than expected help us make some decisions about where our money was best spent. Walking out of the coach we could walk to the water in less than three minutes.
New Friends
Our neighbors in the RV park were Rick and Roxanne. They were full-timers who had been in their coach for four years. They had retired early and hit the road. They were very nice and very easy going. We had them over for happy hour and they gave us some advice on traveling, while scaring us with some of their heart-stopping tales of emergency tow unhooks and u-turns. It was nice to have a little community around the park of people to chat with. Bekki would disappear with the dogs and come back some time later sharing how she met so and so. Corbin’s new bike was a nice icebreaker as everyone stopped to ask us questions.
One evening we were playing in front of the coach and we saw an RC drone flying overhead. I followed it and found a cool dad flying it around. It was a phantom quad captor set up with a camera that transmitted the image to a screen mounted on the remote control. I was drooling over the copter while Frank explained the rig. Frank introduced us to his family. His wife Violette and three daughters played with Corbin. It was so much fun hanging out with them and Corbin loved having the attention of bigger kids. In the morning when we woke up, Corbin spotted two stuffed dinosaurs that they left on top of the Mini. It was such a nice gift from people we had just met. The family atmosphere of the park was great. Another camper had set up a projector with kids’ movies against their trailer. Meeting so many nice people continues to be one of the best things about our adventure.
We also got a chance to catch up with one of Bekki’s friends from WWDC. Bekki got to get into some adult geek speak with another developer in La Jolla while Corbin played at a playground.
Family & Food
We had fun hanging out with Bekki’s cousin and his son the following weekend as well. We had a nice lunch of slow roasted pork, watermelon, and terrible potatoes. I have really come to love my convection oven in the Coach. Its a Microwave/Convection oven and it’s amazing. I have gotten used to the limited space, the small burners, and zero counter tops. But without that oven, I would have regretted moving into an RV. It has a normal gas oven but I haven’t even lit it. Its only been storage for pots and pans. The oven is very similar to the small convection oven I had in Madrid. Since Bekki stays in the coach working, I can set the oven and roast for hours. Electricity is included in the campground fees, so I feel no guilt leaving my oven on for 4 hours to make mouth-watering, meat-falling-off-the-bone roasts. I’ll leave it for a future post, but not being afraid of big cuts of meat makes day to day meal time so much easier. Roasting a 4 lb piece of pork turns into lunches for two weeks.
We took a trip north to Oceanside to see Bekki’s aunt and uncle. They took us for a nice pizza lunch and ice cream. Oceanside is one of those picture-perfect small California beach towns with a pier and endless beaches. It was a great day to catch up with family and take Corbin on a very long bike ride in the sun. Being able to see family is such a nice perk on the road.
I want to move here
Overall it was a great stop that was painless as far as the RV went. Painless in getting settled and up and running. We celebrated our fourth week on the road with some beers under our awning and reflected how lucky we are. Bekki had a thought that I wanted to share. She can probably say it best but the gist is that what we are doing is deliberate and takes work, it’s not a passive life. We could have easily moved back into house and built our new lives and been static. But taking this opportunity to see the country is a risk that we have been valuing and savoring each moment of. San Diego is definitely on my short list of places I would love to end up. The climate is great and you are surrounded by cool things to do. The cost of living certainly would make it a difficult home-base, but it’s clear why so many people consider it an oasis in California.
Our first days in Palm Springs arrived with a huge surprise for us. But I’ll leave that for another post, it’s not baby-related, I promise.
tinycirco 