I was the first one up today. I’m not surprised that the teen and tween we’re still sleeping, but the puppy? Could we have actually tired him out on the beach last night!?
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| While you were sleeping: Santa Cruz |
The Santa Cruz boardwalk was only 16 miles away, so after packing up I decided to do a flyby just to check it out. I spent some time here in this town, and on the boardwalk, with an old friend from high school one summer, but I don’t think I’ve been here since. Some things have changed, and some have not. It was kind of eerie seeing the old boardwalk and amusement park totally empty. There were a few others, like myself, taking pictures, but otherwise it was completely dead. I was even able to pull up and park right out in front of the old Big Dipper roller coaster. That would never happen during regular times…
One thing I have noticed on this trip so far is that there are times when I’m the only one awake to see something spectacular, and/or not so spectacular. In the case of the Santa Cruz boardwalk, one kid was asleep, the tween, and the other was awake. So, in an effort to share was one kid, or both kids miss at any given time on this trip, I am now starting a new series of pictures called “while you were sleeping.“ The first pic is above.
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| The pantry |
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| Fruit stand on the Pacific Coast |
Since the original trip was to be coast to coast during a pandemic, my plan has always been to carry enough food for the complete trip. The exception of coarse being milk and produce. I figured we'd get milk at camp stores would just pick up at produce at farm stands along the way!.
Because rolling thunder has a bathroom, we don’t even need to stop for bathroom breaks at gas stations. Just pay at the pump gas and go!
Now, I’d be lying if I said we didn’t stop at Starbucks from time to time, just to keep the teen in good spirits… And generally, I will find nice places to stop for puppy pitstops as well!
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| Daddy/Daughter trip 2017 |
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| Puppy pit stop: Lighthouse |
As we made our way back down toward the bay, it was clear that San Francisco wasn’t built for an RV this size. Luckily, many years ago I did drive my dear friend Tina‘s dad‘s extended Econoline van in San Francisco, which was an experience in and of itself! Even with my prior experience, it’s not possible to cut through San Francisco and not experience a very steep hill up, and a very steep hill down. I can tell you I did not drive it like they did in the Streets of San Francisco TV series, or in the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" music video!
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| Bay front Realestate! |
There are some definite advantages to traveling in an RV during the pandemic. Nobody is out! And places that you would never, ever be able to park an RV this size, or a car for that matter, are wide open! I was shocked to find an almost empty parking lot down by the bay in The Presidio (Crissy Field), so took advantage! This would be an awesome place for lunch, and a puppy run by the bay! We had a great view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge, which, as always, was hidden in the fog!
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| Getting the wiggles out |
Taking orders? Grilled cheese sandwich for one. Cheese quesadilla for the other. I'm going with a grilled cheese sandwich as well. After our lunch by the bay, we headed over the Golden gate Bridge, which never gets old for me! North NorCal, here we come!
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
Jaden‘s favorite root beer is A&W. I’ve always told him about how, when we traveled across the US as kids with Grandma and Papa D, it was always a treat for us to stop at A&W for a root beer float. Well, he spotted one along the way, so we decided to stop. Now, the A&W root beer he spotted was in a KFC restaurant. It's definitely not the same magic as seeing an A&W root beer stand along the highway in Colorado, but we decided to stop nonetheless. And, unfortunately, it was closed. Conveniently, he found two more along the way. The first one was drive-through only, so with Rolling Thunder, this was not going to happen.
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| A&W Root Beer drive-in. Circa 1970s Arizona |
While we were searching for the next A&W, Jasper chewed the microphone on Jaden's headphones. He was not a happy boy, so I decided to stop at the third one just to cheer him up. Ahhhh! This one was drive-through only as well. Aargh. So as not to throw my young boy into a total tailspin, I did what any dad who was trying his best to "fix" the situation would do... Luckily neither kid got a picture of me standing in the drive-through on foot! One driver was annoyed because he thought I cut the line. Either that or he was pissed because I was proudly wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers hat in Giants land!
With all these delays, we were really pushing it to get to the redwoods by nightfall.
The sun was setting as we continued up the Redwood Highway. The expanse of these magnificent trees is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. And this is just from the 101 Freeway. Wait until we are in it, I told the kids.
We rolled into Ancient Redwoods RV Park, which is on the Avenue of the Giants, around 9 PM. After getting set up in our spot, it was getting late, so tonight was a bean and cheese burrito night! Tomorrow we are off to see some really big trees!
Day 3 – July 27, 2020
Start: Santa Cruz CA
Destination: Avenue of Giants CA
Where we stayed: Ancient Redwoods RV Park
Mileage: 319 miles
Love the post. Enjoy the time and drive safe.
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