As hard as it was to leave the grandsons, it feels good to be back in adventure mode.

After a month with my daughter and her family in Oakdale, CA, we moved south to see more family near and around Visalia. We stayed a week at the Elk’s Lodge there with hookups (water and electric). It is the best option for us when we’re in that area, and at $20 a night, also the cheapest. The few other RV parks in the area cost more and are worse than staying in a parking lot. Plus we were just a few miles away from Tom’s daughter, Jenna and her family.

Also, it’s always a challenge to find a place to stay over a major holiday weekend – in this case it was Labor Day. So we were happy to be holed up for a week. The heat made it easy to spend time indoors and I hoped to get some catch-up blog work done – butt in chair as they say. However, I fell short of my two-a-day goal. Our blogs are typed up on time (as I usually type while on the road), but culling through the accompanying pictures takes an inordinate amount of time and that’s why I get so far behind. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it, but it’s so nice for us to look back on our travel adventures that are all laid out chronologically in the blog. So I keep plodding along.

One of the must-visits while in the area was a trip to Tom’s favorite Mexican Restaurant of all time: Sal’s in Selma. He ordered the Fancy Burrito (on the left below) and I had a delicious tostada.

While in Visalia, we mostly did a lot of visiting. As I get this blog ready to post I realize how strange it is that I have pictures of the food we ate rather than the people we spent time with! I have to remember to take pictures of those precious moments.

We were able to see all the family and friends who wanted to see us. We spent time with my Mom and my son and his wife. We spent time with Tom’s brother and his wife and Tom’s daughter and her family. I got to have a lovely long visit with Dana, my BFF since junior high, and Tom’s former boss invited him to stop by and say hi to the old gang. My former boss invited me to stop by as well, but we rant out of time.

It’s so nice to see old friends and to pick up right where you left off. It was great to visit and spend time, but they all have their own lives to lead – as it should be – and why we chose to go on the road in the first place. Now it’s time to get back to our life of full time travel. We are on our way to our favorite part of California: the Central Coast.

We are anxious to get to the Elk’s Lodge in San Luis Obispo (first come-first serve) to get a spot before the weekend crowd arrives. Then on Sunday we have reservation at the neighboring Elk’s lodge in Oceano – which is a short walk to the Pacific Ocean. Yes, I’m excited! At $30 per might, it’s outside our nightly budget, but still cheaper than staying at the state campgrounds there.

We didn’t know about the Elk’s Lodges offering RV parking before we hit the road, but friends quickly filled us in. Tom became a member and it has been a life saver.

When searching for camp spots, the Elk’s Lodges are not our first choice because they’re usually in downtown areas. Which is exactly why they’re so valuable while traveling.

Donna, our new RVer friend from the Oakdale Boondockers Welcome is in charge of the Elk’s group on RVillage, which of course is another valuable membership. If you are members of  both you should definitely be posting your stays, as we have promised to start doing. (Donna is putting together a nationwide directory on the RVillage site where you can see what the Lodges have to offer us travelers.)

The Central Valley is “home” to both Tom and I as that is where we started out and where the majority of our families still are. But it is not our favorite place to visit. Outside of family and friends, the area is unappealing: Dirty air, congestion, high prices and just plain hot. At lease in Oakdale, they get the Delta breezes at night and the evenings were comfortable outside. Not so this past week in Visalia – our AC was running 24/7.

In addition to catching up with family and friends, Tom was able to sell our RZR while we were there. It has been stored at my son’s property in Tulare, and Tom decided we just weren’t using it enough to justify keeping it. Although he has mentioned buying another one in the future!

Now on we go as we travel south for a job in San Diego. As we are crossing the coastal range of mountains, I’m beginning to get giddy at the thought of blue skies and cool breezes.

Happy Travels,

Peace & Love, Joy