Yin Feng (Silver Wind)

The Day After Thanksgiving Camping, a first for us.

It was cold, but yet hot (or maybe our thermometer was broken). We confirmed later during the trip that it was indeed hot during the day, but it was also cold enough for a jacket at night. Very extreme temps.

We had our two nieces with us. It was a good time for all. They worked hard and pulled their own weight on the camping trip.

Beach weather in the morning. They all had an awesome time.

The girls stayed in the tent, while the boys stayed in the Airstream with us.

Do you think Lana is having fun yet?

Everyone else is working…..

Of course, I had the dog to keep me company, while the Marcia and the kids went to the beach.

Our usual dinner, a favorite of the family, spaghetti.

Maverick with his beloved Poke ball made from sand.

He also made a creepy looking eye in the sand. He used his Poke ball as the iris.

The kids got to do some boogie boarding and swimming.

Marcia got to meet the grandfather of surfing.

It was cold at night, so cold that Marcia needed her ski jacket.

No mishaps on this short weekend trip, just fun in the sun and surf.

Foreword Thanks to Jay, who thoughtfully donated a campsite to us, we had a great weekend in Carlsbad.

Now to the good stuff.

May 2011 Day 1: Drive Down/Setting up camp

The day started out overcast and gloomy. By the time we arrived at the campsite, the sun broke out and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon.

The drive along the coast was very pretty. The campground made you feel like you are really secluded, but actually you are so close to civilization.

The minute we arrived, the kids wanted to go down to the beach.  But once we told them that it would be dark soon and they would have no place to sleep, they got to work right away.

The dog was quick with her sleeping quarters.  She was done, resting and waiting for the kids…..

Come on….hurry….I want to play fetch or something!

The kids did an awesome job with the tent. There were no arguing or fighting, only cooperation and teamwork.  In no time at all, they had the tent up and their stuff organized inside the tent.  By the way, you probably noticed that we added 2 kids to the lot. Maya’s friends Sam and Savy.

As a reward, they got to go down to the beach with Marcia for a walk.  I got to finish unpacking in peace and quiet.

Marcia took a great shot of the kids with the glow of the sunset on them.  Awesome Job Marcia! (kind of fuzzy…..but awesome sunset color)  I love the effort.

Marcia really did a great job with my two adopted children’s silhouettes.

After unpacking the Airstream and setting things up, I was rewarded with some time to enjoy the view of the coastline and a beautiful sunset.

Same sunset, but taken with a bit of trickery from me.  Filtered light, but not with a camera filter.  It was taken about 10 minutes before the clouds rolled in, as depicted above.

We just had a small fire to roast some marshmallows for Smores.

This was my favorite sunset shot, but Maya liked the other one, so it gets a bigger space.

Day 2: Nothing but Fun

I was fortunate enough to bring all the kids with me down to the beach for some boogie boarding fun.  Marcia got to stay at the Airstream for some alone time with her Kindle.

The day started out a bit overcast, but it was warm enough to dip into the Pacific Ocean.

Lana was so good.  We only had four boogie boards and 5 kids.  She waited on shore and played by herself, while the older kids went first into the water to have fun.

Lana was later rewarded by her loving sister.  Maya taught Lana how to boogie board. She stayed by her side until she felt comfortable by herself.  Good job Maya.

Lana having a great time with Justin.

After a few hours of boarding, they needed a rest.

After a 10 minutes rest period, let the digging commence.  They just started digging a hole in the sand and looking for sand crabs.  But it evolved…..

The finished product:  A Savy Mermaid with claws…..I wonder who would put claws on a mermaid…..hmmmmm

Remember when I said we are not too far from civilization?  We had a Costco lunch….yummie and cheap.  It’s only 10 minutes from the campsite.

There were a lot firsts on this trip.  But nothing surprised us more than seeing Marcia’s aunt and her son camping at the same campground as us.  All the years of camping, we have never bumped into anyone we knew.  It was a very nice surprise.

On the second night, we had a rip roaring fire.  It was a lot of fun.

On the beach we found these river rocks.  They were so pretty.  I am using them as my background on my iPhone.

Here are just some misc fun pictures I took during our trip.

Day 3: Going Home

This is a first…..Marcia driving?  She was so willing, I thought I was in a parallel universe. She actually drove it out of the campsite and parked it along side the road.

The kids were so good on the trip home that we rewarded them with a stop for ice cream before getting home.  Thanks for coming with us Sam and Savy.  It was a delight to have you guys.  You guys are so easy going.  You are always welcome at our house and on our trips.

04/13/11   Day 1:

We started our trip with a visit to our old friend’s house and slept outside of his house on the street in Folsom.

04/14/11   DAY 2:

We met up with Roger and Roxie at the Jelly Belly Factory for our tour and free samples.

After the interesting tour and yummie treats, we headed out to Casini Ranch for the Airstream rally.

Checking in at Casini Ranch.

Our very plain campsite compared to everybody’s decorated Airstreams.

04/15/11    DAY 3:

We discovered the Russian River right at Casini Ranch.

Shiao Niu Discovered the Russian River and loved it.

Shiao Niu found her favorite stick while at the river.

Submarine Shiao Niu.

Wild Shiao Niu…..having a wonderful time.

Looking at the beautiful California Coast at the Sonoma Coastline.

Seagull whispering secrets to Lana.

Seagull going home after telling her nature’s secrets.

Dancing with the surf!

04/16/11  DAY 4:

Lots of beautiful Airstream of all different styles and ages.  We met lots of good people and made some new friends.

Starting from the top/back of the pict: Roger & Roxie, Bob & Phyllis and Ken & (Shauna not in picture)

Putting up Bob’s awning.

One of the Airstreamers brought a genuine restored army jeep in the back of his truck while towing his Airstream.  It was quite a sight.

He was even offering rides to people at the rally.  I am sorry that I missed my chance.

Marcia going to the potluck.

There were so many people there at the rally.  It was somewhat intimidating.  I was not use to so many stranger that was actually nice people.  Everyone was so friendly and welcoming that it threw me for a loop.  It just makes me that much happier that we bought an Airstream and had the opportunity to meet so many nice people.  I look forward to meeting more Airstreamers.

I met a lot of people there, but as always I can’t remember everyone’s names.  As I see their faces, I can tell you stories about their Airstream.

This line of tables were full of Airstreamers.  People come from all walks of life and all very nice.

Here are some photos of some vintage Airstreams.

04/17/11  DAY 5:

Packing up for the trip home.  We all had a great time and again it was a valuable learning trip for me.  I listened and learned from everyone’s experience.  Roger again came to the rescue and save the day.  Roger was able to help me in fixing my power jack problem.

Everyone pitches in when we camp.  From the oldest to the youngest.  Always something to do.

One last picture before leaving the area.  The redwoods were impressive.  Marcia! where are the redwoods in the picture?

Crossing over the San Rafael Bridge into the Richmond Area.

March of 2011, we took a trip to San Francisco and camped at San Francisco RV Resort in Pacifica.  We arrived late Friday evening to torrential rains in the dark. Luckily, set up was not too painful.  It was so dark we really could not see how close we were to the coastline.

Day 2, we awoke to dark clouds all around but realized we were right on the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  With the storm brewing all around, the sea looked grey and menacing.

We headed into SF after breakfast and took a driving tour through the City… Golden Gate Park, Lombard St, Fort Mason Center.  It pretty much rained the whole day.  Marcia met up with her colleagues from 20+ years ago from California Tomorrow for the afternoon and reminisced about advocacy work.

Saturday night, the storm came in even stronger… by midnight, our Airstream was rocking back-n-forth and shaking sitting on the cliff top above the Pacific Ocean.  It really felt like we could get swept up by the wind and thrown into the ocean.  For about 4 hours in the middle of the night, we decided to move our Suburban away from the cliff edge and sit tight closer to the RV Park Office.

In the early morning, we returned to the Airstream.  We woke up to clear blue skies and a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean from our window.  What a magnificent view!!

Day 3, we decided not to stay for another night of rain and wind. We headed south to Palo Alto and stayed in Jerry and Gloria’s driveway.  We had a chance to take our family broods (9 kids in all) fishing at a local park and enjoy a walk through Stanford University.  

Maverick and Justin had a chance to ride in Jerry’s VW Westfalia.  This is Maverick’s dream car at the moment and it cemented his ideas for his first car.

Monday morning, on our way out of Palo Alto, we did a drive-by to Steve Job’s home to thank him for inventing the iPhone, iPod, etc.

The rain continued on and off the remainder of our drive home.  We feared the CHP would shut down Fwy 5 at the Grapevine if the road became icy.  We drove through the snowy wonderland through the Grapevine.  Though we had a very rainy weekend trip, we had a great time visiting old friends.

Luckily, we got pass the Grapevine prior to closures.  We made it home, safe and sound.  Another adventurous trip.

In November 2010, we were lucky enough to meet with Roger and Roxie again for more lessons in using our Airstream.

We had an awesome time.  I took the kids into the dunes on quads and had a bit more adventure then I had bargained for with the boys.  At one point, I didn’t think I was going to make it back.  Unfortunately, I was too mad and panicked at the time to take pictures.  It’s funny now looking back and wished I had taken some pictures.We were also fortunate enough to see thousands of Monarch Butterflies.  Usually there are millions of them, but there was not enough food for them this year.  They were still magnificent.

In October 2010, we had our first lesson in camping with an Airstream from Roger and Roxie.  They were nice enough to drive down from Visalia to help us and teach us about our Silver Wind.

Roger was helping me and educating me way before we made our purchase.  He was nice enough to also hook me up with Rich in AZ.  They drove out of their way to look and evaluate possible Airstream for us to buy.  Assisted us in searching for an Airstream to purchase.

If it wasn’t for Roger, this blog would not be possible.  Many thanks to Roger and Roxie.  I am also hoping someday I will have the opportunity to meet Rich and thank him in person.

Our first outing was to Pt. Mugu, dry camping.  A quick overnight trip….not too far from home.  Just in case of problems.

Only problem we found was that we had too much fun and was hooked.

In September 2010, we bought our 25′ Safari from C&G Trailers in Bellflower from a retired judge from the San Luis Obispo area.

That was the beginning of the fun.