Spring in California

Post covers end of March through mid April 2017.

We decided to spend some time visiting with family and enjoying some of Southern California. Our first stop was Palm Springs. We have stayed at the Thousand Trails there before and made reservations again there. They are of course dog-friendly and we can set up all the fences so the babies can have a lot of freedom. The weather was great and spending some more time in the warmth was great. Vinnie is continuing to walk better but does occasionally have some balance issues but with all he has been through, he is doing great!

We got to spend some time visiting the different markets in the area. On Thursday evenings there is a nice street market in downtown Palm Springs that we visit every time we go to the area. We also found another market by the college on Saturday that has all kinds of items from craft vendors to fresh produce and lots of food.

Alan had some classes to teach in Washington and Oregon during this time and went from nice warm Palm Springs to snowy Wenatchee, WA for one of the classes. At least the other class was on the Oregon Coast and much better weather.

After about a week in Palm Springs, we moved over to Sweetwater Regional Park in San Diego to be closer to daughter Danielle and grand-dog Gucci. We have also stayed here before, right after getting the new motorhome last year, and really enjoyed the park and area. There is no issue with the dogs and fencing and being at a large regional park, there are great trails to take the babies for walks on. Also, the trails meander all over the area and Kim and I got some great walking in.

Grand-dog Gucci & Prada sunning

Kim had found a craft fair to attend with her business, Rescue Me Dog Treat Company, in San Marcos. She and Dani had made lots of fresh treats for the the fair. They had a great turn out at the booth and Kim was able to donate a fair share to a local animal rescue. This is the reason for her business, to be able to give back to rescues and shelters that care for the less fortunate four-legged babies.

We spent one day with Dani at The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch. It is an incredible display of flower fields. It was easy to spend hours walking around the area and enjoying all the displays.

After some great weather, spending time with Dani and enjoying the area, we had to leave for Reno and then will be moving on to Oregon after that.

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Driving to San Diego

This post cover March 12 to 19, 2017

We left Galveston to head to San Diego for a visit with daughter, Danielle. Along the way we looked for a fun place to stay for Alan's birthday and decided on visiting Tombstone, AZ area for a couple of days.
The first stop after leaving Galveston was South Llano River RV Park & Resort in Junction, TX. We've stayed here before and the spaces are decent size and the babies have some places to walk right at the park. The park sits close to the river but no great access to let the babies wade in the water but we did get them out for a nice walk after getting settled in.

The next stop was at the Van Horn RV park in Van Horn, TX. Another quick overnight stop but they have nice size spaces and all pull through so made for an easy overnight stay (no unhooking the toad). The babies are welcomed here and there are chickens wandering around for the babies to yell at! Also, a little cafe at the park that has good simple food and is a good break from cooking after getting settled after a day of driving.

One more stop before getting to the Tombstone area. This one in Deming, NM at the Dreamcatcher RV Park. It's run by the Escapees and has wide spots and lots of places for the babies to go for walks. Also, the rates are about the most reasonable of any parks with full hookups. We didn't get a chance to do anything in Deming this time but we've stayed here before and even found a winery close by to visit.

We decided to stay in Benson, AZ to explore the area. Somehow I missed the Encore park here and we ended up staying at the KOA. While it is dog-friendly and no issues with setting up our fencing. The spots are tight and the park is in need of some updating.

We got to spend a few days here and visited Tombstone along with some other spots in the area. Kim took Alan out for a nice birthday dinner and we had a relaxing time while there. We visited the Kartchner Caverns State Park and took a tour of some of the caves. Kim got to try on some stylish hats as well! 

We left Benson heading for Palm Springs with an overnight stay in Buckeye, AZ (just outside of Phoenix) at Leaf Verde RV Resort. The park was still full of snow birds and they had a big party and concert planned for the night we stayed there. It was fun seeing everyone having enjoyed their winter in Arizona. We didn't partake much as we were tired when we got there and just took advantage of being close to lots of grocery stores to stock up and get laundry done while at the park. The weather was great and the babies (especially Prada) enjoyed sunning themselves.

Prada and Spella sunning in Arizona

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Back to Galveston

Post covers Feb 12 to March 12, 2017.

So after spending the week at Matagorda, we decided to go back to Galveston for a longer stay. We  liked this area and wanted to spend more time there to see what we really think of the area. We are starting to consider finding a place we like to spend the winter months over the next few years. We don't want to just bounce all time. Both us and the fur-babies have decided we like a little more stability in staying places from time to time. We got reservations back at Stella Mare as we enjoyed our last stay there. They have reasonable monthly rates so we decided to go with a month long stay. We got a nice spot in the back part of the resort, the only issue with the spot was that it backed up onto a well traveled road but it wasn't too bad.

We took advantage of the time there to see some of the sites in the area. We had a great time visiting the San Jacinto Monument, Battleship Texas and NASA. Seeing the Johnson Space Center and taking the full tour was great. It does make one proud of what that agency has accomplished and continues to do. We of course took time to drive around and get to know the area better. We found Bolivar Peninsula just east of Galveston, across the bay, a wonderful place. The ferry ride across the bay is fun and the babies got use to being on a boat. The area had been devastated during Hurricane Ike in September 2008 but has done a good job of rebuilding. We saw that the area allows stand alone RV ports on most of the peninsula without having to build a house. Some of the ports are quite elaborate with large, raised decks, garages and some were even on canals leading to the intercostal waterway and had their own docks. The beaches on Bolivar were mostly empty while we were there and we were able to drive onto them and let the babies play to their hearts content.

The babies enjoyed the beaches and got to go there most days. Stella Mare is dog-friendly and besides allowing the pens to be set up, the people working there always say hi to the babies. Vinnie is doing great and continues to walk well with assistance and a little bit without assistance. The little guy is such a fighter and is exceeding what we expected him to be able to do all the time.

We had decided that after the month in Galveston, we would head back towards San Diego to visit our older daughter. We left on the 12th and spent a night in Junction, TX and another night in Van Horn, TX and then a night in Deming, NM before getting to Tombstone to spend a couple of days, more on Tombstone to come.

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