Author: Easin' Along

Helen and I left San Diego after almost two weeks of “glamping” at Fiddler’s Cove RV Park on beautiful Coronado Island.  Although it was tough to say goodbye, we were not sad because our next stop included a weekend camping with Justin, our son, and his family in the wine country around Temecula, California.  Our home for a long weekend was Vail Lake KOA.

We made good time because of the light traffic on the freeway. The California Poppies covered the hillsides and made the one-and-a-half-hour drive delightful. In the distance, heavy snow blanketed the mountaintops to the east (above). More was predicted in the days ahead.

The drive to Temecula included one stop—a repeat from last year’s trip to the area. While in San Diego, we caught a local news program that included a piece on Peterson’s Doughnut Corner in Escondido. A second visit was a must. We stopped and shopped. Helen stood in line and filled three boxes with Bear Claws, Cinnamon Twists, Doughnut Holes, Glazed Doughnuts, French Crullers, and two varieties of filled doughnuts. Every item was as good as we remembered. We were glad to help out the local economy.

We checked into the KOA and followed a young man in a golf cart to our campsite.  Vail Lake KOA is enormous, with over four hundred campsites. Our site was in the rear, about as far from the office as possible. There were few campers in that part of the campground when we pulled in, but before dark, the entire area filled up with families and large groups, and music filled the air. Justin, Wendy, our grandchildren, and granddogs arrived soon after us.

As campgrounds go, this one is not a “glampers paradise.” There are no concrete pads for camping equipment, only sand…a lot of it. There are some excellent features, including a pickleball court and a restaurant and bar area featuring live music, but the roads are in bad repair, and the recent heavy rains washed out some of the curbs and drainage troughs.

However, the two dogs loved the place and were a delight.  Honey, a beautiful Golden Retriever, stayed close to the campsite but preferred to sit in the car when waiting for her next walk. Todd, the young, very light-colored daschund, didn’t venture far either—he was always in someone’s lap.

Carter, our grandson, loves to play games of any kind–board games, video games, card games, and sports. In the picture below, he explains a game on his phone to a befuddled grandfather. Helen pulled out her pickleball equipment, and Carter immediately challenged her to a match. Wendy and Abby, our granddaughter, joined in.

Abby is a dancer and practices four days a week in four-hour sessions with a dance group.  She is passionate about the art and hates to miss a session. Thankfully, no practices were scheduled for the weekend, and she joined us willingly. Abby often listens to music and lets me share an earphone occasionally.  I can’t remember the song names, but all have a catchy beat (I’m such an old fogie).

At one point during the weekend, we had a visitor. Bo, an English Bulldog puppy, strolled by our campsite on a walk with the owner. I almost dog-napped the adorable fellow but thought better of it. I LOVE English Bulldogs and vow to have one as soon as we give up the RV lifestyle. Helen is still thinking it over.

I wish I had more to report, but this was a casual family weekend, and relaxation was the rule of the trip.  We only get a few days a year with our California kids and wanted to make the most of our time. We enjoyed time around the campfire, cooked some great meals, and watched Helen complete her latest puzzle (Picture above). Everything went by quickly, but we still had two more weekends to spend with them before returning to Knoxville.  They pulled out on Sunday afternoon—dogs and all—it was sad to see them leave.

To console ourselves, Helen and I jumped in the truck later that afternoon for a trip into Temecula.  Somehow, we ended up at Pechanga Casino. Life is grand, and we’re still Easin’ Along.

Helen and I are very fortunate to have access to the campgrounds on military installations. They are very reasonably priced, well-staffed, and secure. We have used them all over the country, so choosing a favorite is difficult, but I have narrowed my choices down to two. Cliffside RV Park at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Oak Island, WA, is in second place. The setting is lovely, and the sunsets are staggeringly beautiful. In addition, a horticulturist serves as a camp host and plants gorgeous flowers in every spot available. I have a link to our visit to Whidbey Island here.

Fiddler’s Cove RV Park and Marina, operated by the Navy in Coronado Beach, CA, tops my list of favorites. We have camped at Fiddler’s Cove for the previous three years and hope to return often in the years to come. The campsites are spacious concrete pads, and every site has a view of Coronado Bay. A reservation is not easy to obtain, so we call six months in advance to secure a spot for as many days as possible, then build a trip around that reservation.  We had eleven days this year.

Driving to San Diego from El Centro, CA, takes a little over two hours, which is manageable and offers some fascinating scenery. The desert sands of Southern California are intriguing and always filled with dune buggies and dirt bikers. Helen captured the picture below while driving through.

As we neared San Diego, the now-green landscape began to fill with California Poppies lighting up the hillsides with brilliant colors of yellow and orange. Entire mountainsides were covered along the highway. We didn’t have this display on our previous visits and were delighted with the show.

After checking into Fiddler’s Cove, we were assigned a middle row with an unobstructed view of Coronado Bay. The image below is the view from our front bedroom window…it was now time to relax and let the fun begin.

Helen and I can set up our trailer and connect the utilities in less than thirty minutes.  The nice weather facilitated things considerably, and we completed the task quickly.  I needed to stretch my legs after the drive and was eager to work with my new camera, so I grabbed it and searched for photo opportunities. It didn’t take long. The mountains and flowers overlooking the bay were easy to target, as was the view of the Marina (image at top).

A few nights later, I wanted to try again to capture a night shot after my frustrating attempt in Las Cruces, NM. I mounted the camera on a tripod, attached a remote, and aimed the camera at the lights of Coronado and San Diego across the water. The result is shown below. The daytime image of that view is posted below the night shot.

Downtown Coronado Beach and the Coronado Hotel are charming, and we took advantage of the accommodating weather to stroll the town.  Helen found bargains along the sidewalks and walked away with a new jacket and a colorful top.

The beach is across the highway from the campground and usually has no beach walkers late in the afternoon when the temperatures drop quickly. Once again, I grabbed the camera and walked over to capture a sunset.  Unfortunately, we arrived a little too late for sunset, but the beach was scenic enough by itself.

The charming town of Imperial Beach is about four miles south of Fiddler’s Cove and sits right on the border with Mexico. We decided to visit the city after a couple of our neighbors told us about the lovely time they had walking on the Imperial Beach Pier. A walk along the pier takes visitors to the most southwesterly point in the continental United States…and we were there. 

Readers have probably heard about California’s incredible snow over the past few weeks.  The many feet of snow have overwhelmed many mountain towns, and snow was recorded as far south as San Diego County. We experienced several days of heavy rain while at Fiddler’s Cove, and when the skies cleared, we could see snow on the mountains to our southeast. Although the snow caused much disruption to everyone except the ski resorts, it was a welcome site to the farmers and city managers because extreme drought conditions had prevailed for most of a decade, and water shortages were severe. Californians may now get relief from rationing.

Thanks to the many following us on this journey and kindly commenting. If anyone wishes to reach out, feel free—the comment section is below. Please stay with us—Temecula wine country and Seal Beach are up next, and we want you Easin’ Along with us.

Last month, Helen and I were asked to give a presentation to her civic club (Civitan) about the RV lifestyle. We were delighted to do it because accepting the invitation helped me accomplish two tasks. I needed to sort through the thousands of pictures we took on RV trips—a job I had put off for too long. Moreover, I was forced to learn PowerPoint, which I had somehow avoided all these years.

I was up and running on PowerPoint rather quickly.  I can’t say I’ve mastered it, but I’m familiar with enough of the process to crank out a short presentation. Sorting through the pictures took much longer, but the exercise was fun because of the memories that came flooding back.

The image below was a selfie taken in the Cruise America motorhome we rented for a trip across the country to meet up with our son and his family.  Helen and I were somewhere in Texas when I took this. What strikes me about the picture is the look of freedom and pure joy on my face at the prospect of a new adventure, learning something entirely new for us, and the promise of continuing this lifestyle journey well into the future. Six years later, the journey continues, and we’re rollin’ on one now with only two issues so far. Our icemaker quit producing ice, and the microwave oven died—more on these later.

Montgomery, Alabama

We began our current trip earlier this month. Whenever we travel west from Knoxville at this time of the year, we usually travel south initially to avoid inclement weather. The first stop is always at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, usually for one night. The happy camper is the guy waving to the camera.

Gulfport, Mississippi

After a good night’s sleep, we left for Shields RV Park on the Navy Base in Gulfport, MS, the next day. We hoped for good weather, but rain moved in the next day, and we moved into the Gulfport Casino that night for a few hours. We drove to our next stop in Iowa, Louisiana, three days later.  

Iowa, Louisiana

We chose this stop because it was within our preferred driving distance of fewer than five hours. Blue Heron RV Park was a delightful surprise. When I made the reservation, I had concerns about the RV Park because I knew nothing about the town. Nevertheless, the reviews were good, and few options were available in the area. Blue Heron was even better than the reviews.  Lake Charles, Louisiana, is ten miles away. Helen and I stretched our legs in a lovely park along the lake. The weather improved enough for us to enjoy the day.

San Antonio, Texas

We have learned that the campground on Joint Base San Antonio is an excellent place to spend two nights because there are large pull-thru campsites, spotless showers, and a superb commissary for us to re-stock our pantry. We didn’t venture out much there because we used this time to do deep cleaning inside our fifth wheel. Next stop—one night in Fort Stockton, Texas.

Fort Stockton, Texas

Windy conditions prevailed on our drive along I-10.  The strong winds significantly reduced our gas mileage to a level we’ve never experienced. The picture below exemplifies what we faced on this leg of the trip. The campground’s name is Hilltop RV Park, and, indeed, the wind always blows harder at the top of the flagpole. I’m also sharing the intriguing statues across I-10 from the campground. 

Las Cruces, New Mexico

On last year’s trip across the country, we stayed at the KOA in Las Cruces, New Mexico, both going out and again on the return home.  This campground offers an amiable, helpful staff, coffee, and Honey Buns for breakfast.  What’s not to like about that? Our site is on a bluff overlooking the valley below. The nighttime view is the lights of downtown Las Cruces. Recently, I purchased a used Canon DSLR camera for a song, and I was itching to try it out on the lights.  Readers can see that I have room for improvement. 

Tuscon, Arizona

Helen and I were eager to reach Tucson, AZ, and Voyager RV Resort. The campground is a plush RV resort filled with snowbirds from all points north. Our plans included exploring the desert with our friend Pete who took us on an unforgettable outing during our first visit to Tucson.  Unfortunately, Pete was under the weather, and we had to cancel our day trip.  Helen played pickleball instead.  She walked onto one of the many pickleball courts and joined the many people waiting for a turn on the court.  She played two games and enjoyed herself immensely.

While Helen played, I replaced our microwave oven, which died somewhere in Texas. We found a new one at Lowe’s in Tucson. It went in without difficulty, but, given a choice, I probably preferred to spend time in the hot tub. I estimate I installed nearly one hundred built-in microwave ovens while building houses.

El Centro, California

Our last stop before reaching San Diego was the Naval Air Field in El Centro, California—the winter home of the Blue Angels.  We only spent one night there, but I always look forward to stopping in El Centro because the millions of acres devoted to agriculture at the lower end of the Imperial Valley are fascinating. I’m convinced that everything in a capsule of Balance of Nature came from a field around El Centro.

We’re two weeks into this adventure, and San Diego is next…I hope you’ll join us there. Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to subscribe to follow the next stops on this winter’s journey.  We’re Easin’ Along.