We also drove through Healdsburg and Calistoga checking out the various stores and micro breweries. Yes, there are a few micro breweries that compete with the wineries. No, we didn't do any wine tasting.. $15-$25 per person is a little steep for my uneducated palate. I will say, the country side was beautiful in full fall colors. All of the vineyards exhibited various shades of oranges and red.
We left Cloverdale and headed to Jason's in Portola, California, and arrived on Saturday before Thanksgiving. Our lot is level and we were able to park the Airstream very easily. Joel and Jason rigged up 30 amp power so we could have heat. Temperatures were expected to be in the 30's. It was a good thing we got the power going, because temperatures fell to the teens at night and a high in the mid-20's during the day with snow. We went through two 30# tanks of propane in five days. Burrrr. The Airstream seem to fair well with no plumbing freezing.
My son Jeremy, cooked a beautiful turkey for Thanksgiving. He had marinated it in buttermilk and some kind of hot sauce which sounds weird, but the Turkey turned out moist and delicious! We also had some additional guests in the back yard:
While in the area we made several trips into Verdi so Joel cold retrieved his tools which he had stored in the Verdi house last Spring. Needless to say, the rest of our travels were with a very full truck. ...and very poor MPG. :)
With temperature so cold, we cut our stay in Portola a little short and shelled out $$ for two nights at the Sparks Marina RV park, in Sparks. The Sparks Marina RV Park is probably one of the nicest RV parks in the area and reasonably priced considering all the amenities. Joel and I stayed there when we were part of the Amazon Camperforce a few years ago. It was still cold, but at least 10 degrees warmer, in the low 30's vs the mid to low 20's.
Next stop, Pacific Grove, California, staying at the Monterey Elks Club. At this point my body went into shock with nice warm temperatures in the 70's. Yes!! We had a nice visit with Mom and I was even able to catch up with my dear high school friends, Jennifer, Nell, and Marion and have an old fashioned "hen party". Three days is not long enough, on the Peninsula but Joel was anxious to get to Casa Grande to start unloading the truck and figure out where he is going to put everything.
On to Santa Ynez, California, for a quick overnight of "driveway mooching" at Joel's sister and brother-in-law, Joanne and Chuck (thanks guys!), and then on to an overnight stop at the Thousand Trails in Palm Springs. The TT in Palm Springs is huge with lots of activities, but not for us. It is right on the highway, (very noisy and also there is a trail close by) and the sites are close together. Yes it was warm...but for me, that's about the only positive.
We arrived at the Escapee Park, Ro-Vers Roost in Casa Grande on Sunday. The last few days have been 300 mile days, three times what Joel prefers to travel. However, pulling the Airstream for 300 miles is much, much easier than driving the Beaver for 300 miles. It good to finally land in one place for a while and we will be here for most of the season. Joel has many projects he wants to complete, so he'll be quit busy. First, he needs to figure out where he is going to put all of his "stuff". The shop he built last year will be filled to the max. I, and the Airstream may take a few short trips to get out of Joel's hair. Stay tuned.
