Last impressions of Bodega Bay
This morning we woke to the marine layer instead of a bright sunny day. Not that I’m complaining mind you since the cooling marine layer is one of the reasons we chose to come out to the ocean. The expected high is 61 and that’s fine by me. Used the griddle on my new Weber Q 220 BBQ and it appears to work as advertised. Cooked us some bacon and spuds and the view from my kitchen was delightful. Check this out …
Left my Camp Chef stove with the BBQ & griddle accessories at home. Like anything else, the more time you spend on the road the more you learn. I learned that the Camp Chef is great for a crowd but it’s too much for the 2 of us. I’ll be using it at home and taking it on the road when we have an extended stay with friends. Maybe at the next West Coast Titanium Rally. The added weight and setup time of the Camp Chef is too much for quick daily stops. That’s where the Weber Q 220 BBQ comes into play. I won’t bore you with the pros and cons of the Weber Q 220 cause you can do an internet search and read what the experts have to say. I did the research and I must attest to their opinions. The Q 220 is all they say it is and then some …
Porto Bodega Marina & RV Park
On our way back from Santa Rosa yesterday we took a look at the local golf course, The Links at Bodega Harbor. Many of the holes are on the water (the ocean side and not the harbor) while the others are intertwined among homes. Looks like it might be a fun course to play. The slope and rating from the white tees is 67.9/119. I need to make sure that I always carry our clubs – I know better than to keep my clubs home. We then took a tour of Doran Beach and it turns out that there is a nice Sonoma County Park with 128 dry camp sites. It appears that many of these sites will accommodate large rigs. Next time we swing up this way again we’re going to try our hand at dry camping. It has a beautifully sandy beach on the ocean side and the bay on the other side. The width of the park at this point is probably less than a 100 yards and there aren’t too many bad sites that we could see. There is a jetty that protects the bay and I saw many fishermen trying their luck. I might join them tomorrow.
Today we journeyed out for a leisurely bike ride to the other side of Bodega Bay. We heard that Spud Point has a hole in the wall restaurant with the best clam ‘chowda’ in Bodega Bay. We chose to have lunch there but not before we biked out to Bodega Point Head to work up an appetite. The fresh Dungeness crab sandwich with a large bowl of chowda hit the spot and was worth the wait even though it was a bit pricey. The prices around here, not in the RV Park, are in my opinion higher than they should be. Maybe they think that since they’re just north of Frisco they can command these prices but I for one don’t think so.
Check out the sites from our bike ride
Bodega Bay – August 2009
Porto Bodega Marina & RV Park in Bodega Bay is where our latest adventures have taken us. Having never been to Bodega Bay we wanted to be next to the water. Had to dig to find this park since most internet searches steer you towards Bodega Bay RV Park located about 1 ½ miles from the water. Our site is about 30 yards from the Marina and it’s all it’s supposed to be – a nice relaxing atmosphere with sea gulls chirping and I even heard a seal yesterday morning. There are some dry camping sites between us and the water but their generators are not causing too much noise.
See photos of Porto Bodega Marina and RV Park
The drive here was relatively easy considering we came through the Bay Area on I580. Had our moments with traffic and some inconsiderate drivers but all in all it was a nice 3 hour drive. The Titanium (Ti) handled flawlessly and setting the brake assist to 7 stopped the Ti nicely when needed. Getting into the site was a no brainer since it’s a pull-thru and the gravel sites are more than wide enough. We have a nice view of the marina and bay from our living room which adds to the tranquility of the area. One nice thing about being retired is that you can travel and camp during the week and in our case, the park right now is basically empty since most people have other obligations to attend to. I presume that during salmon and crab season that this park is more than full. Right now there are daily trips available for rock and ling cod. Spoke to some people about crabbing and they were talking about red crabs which are tasty but a lot of work.
One thing Porto Bodega does not have is WiFi. I know that we’re supposed to be camping but when you have a nice 5th wheel with all the conveniences it provides, satellite/cable TV, and full hook ups it’s not too much of a stretch to expect internet access for things like email, blogging, etc. We’ve learned that many places either have no WiFi or very poor service. The few that have proper services do not make up for all the other parks. So we bit the bullet and now have G3 Broadband services through Verizon. The first benefits were reaped last night when Karen got me a recipe on how to BBQ corn. Oddly enough I have never put corn on a BBQ. Chose to use the wrapped in foil recipe cause I must admit it was the least risky selection. I’ll have to play with other recipes in the future.
Day 1 with our new Titanium in route to Seattle
The first leg of our 13 day trip took us to Weed, CA and it almost didn’t happen. Friday I discovered that I didn’t have any trailer brakes due to the incompatibility of the Titanium (Ti) and the built in GMC brake controller. Turns out the GMC needs a magnet installed in the Ti in order for the built in controller to see that there is a trailer there. Got it fixed by the dealer but that sure could have been a mess … Anyway, after hooking up this morning I thought I once again did not have any brakes but it turned out that the Ti cable connector and my truck connector don’t stay connected. If it wasn’t for my son the electrician and some tiewraps I would still be in Ripon. When I get back, it’s going to be my top priority on the hit list.
I must say that the Titanium tows as good as advertised and then some. For a 36 ft 5th wheel with an overall length of 41 feet it sure does handle nicely behind our GMC.
Homeward bound
No matter what we do, we seem to get underway at 9 AM and today was no different. As we were breaking down, one of our neighbors informed us to be careful cause we might get snowed on crossing into California. The last leg of this trip was 391 miles and I was confident that I would not have to stop for diesel which I didn’t have to. As you can tell, I really do like that 45 gallon tank cause we only had to stop once for food and visit a couple of rest stops … to rest!
Well, the neighbor was prophetic cause as we reached the summit crossing into California it started to snow on us. We even had a couple of near whiteout conditions. It was our first time traveling in the snow with the fiver. Some snow was starting to collect on the ground at the summit but all in all, we weathered the storm – so to speak.
see photos of crossing into California
Once we got into California, it was a routine travel day. I was curious to see what the water level at Lake Shasta looked like cause last September it was a mud puddle. I’m not an expert but I think the lake might be reaching half full, maybe less. Sure hope there’s lots of snow up on Mount Shasta. Unfortunately, Mount Shasta was covered by clouds. If you look carefully on some of the photos, you can make out the peak.
see photos of Mount Shasta, Lake Shasta, and surrounding areas.
It was a wonderful trip and seeing Eric, Jeanne, and the boys was a joy cause we don’t get to see them as often as we would like due to the distance. We truly are blessed to have Adam, Melissa, Matthew, Mackenzie, and Abby so close to us. Family and friends is what it’s all about.
It’s always great to get home but as we were reaching Ripon, Karen wanted to know where we were going next. I do believe we are getting hooked on this traveling stuff and we’re going to be doing a lot more of it. Stay tuned …