LEGOLAND California

This one is a post I've been waiting to write for years, in a place we've been wanting to visit for years. LEGOLAND California is a dream come true for us. Our whole family are huge LEGO fans. An amusement park designed around our favorite toy? Yes please!

LEGOLAND did NOT disappoint!

Costco has this great deal for an annual pass for less than the price of a one day ticket. It covers LEGOLAND, the LEGOLAND water parks, and the Sea Life Aquarium. It does NOT cover parking, but still, even if you only go twice, it ends up being cheaper than buying tickets twice. 

For us, this is a great deal because we are not a family who can do a whole amusement park in one day. We need time to walk around and acclimate, time to stop and rest without feeling pressured to do more, and time to think about whether we're ready to go on that roller coaster. And our limit is about four hours, which is definitely not enough time to do a whole amusement park. So being able to return as much as the weather and open times allow is a good way for us to eventually get to everything we want to see at the park.

 LEGOLAND was SO much better laid out than Universal Studios was. It's much more spacious firstly, which makes it seem much less crowded for the most part. But also it has trees and lots of benches for sitting, and also lots of places that are full of LEGO to build and benches for the parents to sit while the kids build for awhile. And NOTHING is artifically scented!

Not only that, but there are LEGO sculptures everywhere to give everyone something to look at while you're walking or resting. It's loud in places but they're spread out so it isn't a nervous system overload - also most of the loud is happy children rather than noisy rides or music.

We loved every bit of it so much, and we didn't even go on a single ride. We DID go to the BIG shop because my son really wanted the LEGO Moana set. It wasn't in stock in the BIG Shop, but they called around the park to the other gift shops and found it at King's Marketplace in the Castle area, so across the park we went to get it. They'll send your purchases to the front for you to pick them up when you're ready to go so you don't have to carry them around all day.

Of course because the Castle was next to the Star Wars area, after going through the Enchanted Walk, we had to go see the Star Wars area. How could we not? So many fantastic miniature sets from the original movies. And the Death Star! And Darth Vader!

And then there's Miniland. A whole ares of scenes from famous places around the United States. My favorite scene was the UFO crash in Las Vegas with the Men in Black. I love that there was so much fun and humor in the details of the scenes. There was SO much to look at in each scene. I'm not sure if Santa IS an alien, or speaking to them, but it's a great touch.

We also went to the Sea Life Aquarium, but that's its own post because it was pretty darn cool for a small aquarium. We only ended up lasting about four hours, and I of course needed my wheelchair to do it, but I did NOT need my mask! And that was pretty amazing.

 Oddly, even after my family was worn out, I wanted to keep going, but I had been riding in the wheelchair after all. But the difference in my stamina without all the scented everything was just phenomenal. Thank you, LEGOLAND, for actually having breathable air! 

 

Universal Studios Hollywood - Spoonie Perspective

The good thing is that my son had a (mostly) good time the first time we went, particularly in the Simpsons and Minionsareas. But it was super crowded, they do not ever ask people to make way for wheelchairs or other differently abled humans, they pump in scents everywhere (I could NOT take off my mask even outside). I didn't see it the first time we went because my husband dropped us off at the front, but the second time we went, I noticed this at the tollbooth for parking. In California (and I love this) Prop 65 requires anyone using toxic chemicals to post this warning. 

 Every shop smelled like "cake" (no food being sold in them though), and outside and inside everywhere else smelled like fabric softener. We didn't go into most of the shops or restaurants. I thought I was going to see the inside of Hogwarts, but all I got to see was all the ways Universal is scheming to take even more money from people. Because charging $119 per person per day isn't enough somehow. This place was a chronically ill human's nightmare. I'm glad my son had a good time, though. 

 I think if one really makes an effort to go on a less crowded day it would be slightly better. But according to Google, less crowded only happens if you get there at 8 AM, which we just weren't willing to try and do when it already makes for such a long day even being in the park. Also bear in mind that in a wheelchair I'm about crotch height to overyone else and it really does make it a lot worse for me. Even with my mask, the petrochemical scents overwhelm my nervous system and cause brain fog, anxiety and general overwhelm, not to mention physical symptoms like pain. 

We did go back a second time to try and get our money's worth out of the tickets. Having the wheelchair does bump you up in the lines for the rides - even if the wheelchair user doesn't go on the rides, members of their party can still go through the wheelchair part of the line and just wait at the exit for them, which makes it easier because not as much waiting around, which also drains energy resources. (Spoons). But trying to push a wheelchair through the crowds is rather brutal. ESPECIALLY over cobblestone. People don't necessarily move out of your way or let you through, and they will even do things like run in front of you if they see space. 

The first time we went, we made some rookie mistakes - partly because my nervous system was so overwhelmed, my brain forgot to tell my body it had needs other than "shut down", or "escape this nightmare". Among them, that were correctable the second time, were:

1. Not checking the busy times on Google first. ApparentlyMondays (the first time we went) are a super busy time, but also so are any days around the holiday. So we were kind of SOL there. 
2. Not having a hat with a visor. When the sun is high, it's brutal and shines in your eyes, making it unpleasant. They seem to know this and sell baseball hats and other hats with brims at every gift shop, but BYO is so much cheaper. Which we of course did the second time. 
3. Staying too long. We just wanted to see so much, and I think for our first day we just stayed longer than was good. The second time we didn't stay as long, but we also didn't get to do but one ride. This was largely due to an accident (that's all you'll get from me on that -  everyone is fine) that cut our visit short (but the whole visit was still beyond overwhelming). 
4. Not eating regularly enough. This is for me personally. I need an infusion of fruit and greens (lettuce, celery, whatever) every hour or hour and a half. I've posted about the 16 adrenal snacks before, and I REALLY need to be eating those on the regular. I only ate once in the 3-4 hours we were there, and it was not enough. I did better the second time, makind sure to eat the adrenal snack rather than just a piece of fruit. It makes a difference, believe me. 
5. I also should have been drinking ALL the liquids I brought (lemon water) instead of practically forgetting I'd brought any. The second time I did way better on this. 
6. Also, extra supplements like B12, which I did bring but forgot to use - because B12 gets depleted really quickly when the nervous system is under stress. The second time I literally set alarms on my phone for all of this and FOLLOWED THEM. If I am properly supported nutritionally, I do MUCH better. At home this is so much easier, of course. I need to learn how to do it outside of my home now. Bringing the food/drinks/supplements isn't enough, I have to actually ingest them. This is a learning process.

The scents aren't anything I can change, so I still very much needed to wear the mask to be there. Even my husband said that the shops "smelled like cake" when there was no cake anywhere, and the rest of the place "smelled like fabric softener" so even Muggles can smell this stuff around. I wish when they have the toxic chemical warning at the tollbooth that they would also have a list of what chemicals are used, so you know what you're getting into. Had I had my wits about me, I'd have asked. I wonder if they are required to have a list? If you know, please comment and tell me.

Today I'm okay again with the help of a lot of cleansing foods and supplemental support. I don't want to gloss over what hapened, because it was a big deal, and I SO wish Universal would have "sensory sensitive days" without all of the extra sensory input or scents, because everything was VERY LOUD (one might even do well to have a pair of earplugs to help filter it out, too). It  wasn't the crowds so much as the loud music playing everywhere  - the noise of the park itself - and there was nowhere to go to get away from it. Or the scents.

I am not at all used to going out into crowds anymore, having been homebound for the past couple of years, and at the most going to a quiet grocery store with almost no people in it, or a Target, which is about as busy a situation as I've been in. So that bears mentioning as well. Someone more accustomed to crowds might fare better.

Pismo Beach

Pismo Beach  - I'd call it a must stop if you're traveling through California anywhere nearby. It's on the edge of an adorable little beach town that I didn't have the stamina to explore. I'm still healing, and my energy gets used in only the most important places - like on the sand and in the water. Not IN the water, but my feet in the water.

But I DID have the stamina to spend a couple of hours with my family on the beach, letting the gentle waves caress our feet, watching Muffins running in and out of the water, laughing and allowing the healing that the ocean and sand provide. A true gift. 

Muffins loves the water and the ocean so much that as soon as she smelled the sea air she started crying to get out of the car -  while we were still moving and nowhere near the parking lot. She was ready to go!

Muffins, my husband and my son play a game where they chase the waves as they wash out, then run away as they wash in. Muffins usually doesn't go in beyond the depth of her legs, but this time she felt bold and went in all the way past her belly, to 
where the water was halfway up her sides before she decided to run back onto land. It was hilarious to watch, and she had us laughing SO hard.

She was also particularly interested in those birds. 

Laughing! Now even there is something I had done so rarely in my life with chronic illness, if ever. It's not easy to laugh when a person is in so much pain that it's all they can do to breathe, or when they're so exhausted that they can't see straight.

And here I was, laughing joyfully. Happythankyoumoreplease! This day, this beach, so much healing, so much life. 

So much life! The bird life was abundant at the beach. I don't know them all but we saw plovers, gulls, pigeons, pelicans, hawks....and those are just the ones I was able to recognize.

I think these birds are western snowy plovers. I'm no bird expert but I sure am fascinated by them. Birds have such grace and personality, and they are so funny to watch sometimes. 

These little guys would run in as the tide washed out and start eating something - brine shrimp or brine fly larvae perhaps. Something too small for us to see, but clearly a delicious treat for them. It was like a meditation watching them over and over as the tide washed in and out.

The pier against the sky. What contrast! There were so many beautiful visuals here. And apparently the water gets pretty high at times, we just lucked out with a lower tide day.

The water made these ripples in the sand. The sand itself was so fine it felt velvety on our feet rather than sand-papery. This beach just made me want to live here.

After a couple of hours (on my feet the whole time, go me!) we decided it was time to go, so I climbed the stiars to the pier to sit on the bench with Muffins while my guys enjoyed swinging on the beach.

So to recap: I spent almost two hole hours on my feet in the sand and water, and I don't remember it hurting until the end - whoa! That is unheard of for me. Then I walked UP THE STAIRS of the pier to sit on a bench to recover a bit - pretty impressive after already being on my feet all that time!

 Now, I'm not saying that it will only get better every day from here on in, because let's face it - flares happen. My body still has a great deal of healing to do from the onslaught of viruses it's been carrying around all its life, and the damage they have done. My liver has a lot of cleansing and healing to do yet. And that's okay with me. 

I know I AM healing now, finally, after years of seeking answers. I see the difference and how each outing shows me that I AM moving forward, I do keep improving, and sometimes I am blown away at what I can do now. Things I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do again. It feels amazing.Talking with a dear friend tonight I realized that when I was first on this healing path, trying the Medical Medium recommendations, if a flare would happen sometimes I'd get that panicky feeling like, "No, it's not working, it's all coming back, nothing can heal this." It would terrify me to have a flare of my symptoms or feel more pain or even have a day of grumpiness from not enough sleep.

But I'm noticing now that it doesn't scare me anymore, because it's a part of the process, and I really KNOW that I am healing, and if I just do the things I need to do to keep that going, it will keep happening. And that's pretty amazing in and of itself.

I had been watching the hawks soaring over the beach, just gliding, circling, flowing so gracefully back and forth. I have been thrilled be the sheer number of raptors I've seen in the skies everywhere we've been in California - I think hawk must be one of my spirit animals, because I have been so completely drawn to them these last few years. I really wanted to get a good photo, but my lens isn't very long, and I didn't know if I could. 

As we were leaving, however, the hawk must have heard my wishes, because it literally flew right above our heads, over the pier we were walking down, and I took as many photos as my camera would allow as it flew over. I could have cried with joy. So close! I was actually calling out thanks to the hawk as it flew overhead and I was clicking away.

I'm not exactly sure the type of hawk - I tried to look it up and maybe it's a Ferruginous Hawk? If you know more about birds than I do (likely), and know what kind this is, please educate me, I really want to know!

Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA

So far we've been really lucky with the places we've stayed. We use RV Park Reviews to find places that meet all of our needs, and I look at the reviews to find out extra information the websites don't tell you, like train tracks nearby, traffic noise, level sites, etc. Thus far it's been a win.

Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA has by far for our needs been our favorite campground/RV Park ever. It has cabins, RV spaces, spaces for longer term stays, staff spots for RVs and then....the amenities. KOAs are known for being family-friendly, and some of them take that designation VERY seriously, making the park itself the attraction rather than relying on what's nearby. This KOA was so much fun that we would have just stayed in the park and had plenty to do.

For us, our main attraction (and the spot we chose to park in) was the Bounce Pillow. This is a huge inflatable pillow made from the same material gym mats are made of, and it is for bouncing upon. Not quite the give and bounce of a trampoline, but enough bounce and enjoyment to give my son some happiness at having a place to bounce his cares away, because yes, he does.

Just like at home on the trampoline, with the exception of the rainy days, he was bouncing.

 The KOA also had a playground with five different slides, a climbing structure, and swings. It had an outdoor pool and hot tub which were both open, but it was a bit cold and we never did get to them (the bounce pillow was right outside our door, whereas the pool was a bit of a walk away and down the hill by the office). 

There were recumbent bike rentals in several different sizes, and my husband and son made good use of these while we stayed - they rode three or four times. And the KOA is so large, there is plenty of space to ride, as well. There was also (upon request since we were in the odd season) a train that would take you around the park in the afternoons. And a mini golf course as well as an indoor game room with billiards and ping pong tables.

 And for Muffins, in addition to the whole of the park and plenty of things to sniff as we took her on walks, there were two fenced in dog areas for her to enjoy, with a great view of the hillside and farms across the way. And an outdoor dog wash - which did not have hot water though, so we only did that once - she cried because the water was cold, so that was that.

RV speak: all the sites (that we could see) were gravel and sand but not difficult to level on. There were full hookups with 50 AMP power. Oh, what a joy is having 50 whole AMPS of power after having been hooked up to our 20 amp house for months! We can run alltheappliances at once! (We don't.) We can do laundry, run the heater and cook at the same time! It's so wonderful to have those 50 AMPs, let me tell you. Even 30 AMP is a huge step up from not being able to run the washer and the heater at the same time. Or anything and the heater (laptops excluded).

 Oh, electricity, how we love having you! (And water and sewer, which is just grey water for us, but so important still). 

Also, the staff was friendly and always had a smile for the guests, and rode by several times a day to pick up trash and recycling from the sites, do general tidying and maintenance of the property. And yes, they did offer recycling - a great plus to us, because not a lot of parks do, at least in our brief experience. 

We enjoyed this particular KOA so much that we very seriously considered staying on an extra month and pushing the rest of our travel plans. But several repeated checks of the weather (like the refrigerator, maybe it's different now if we look again?) told us that no, it wasn't going to be this nice for another month, so it was time to roll down the road to the next place.

We were there in the off season, so we pretty much had the run of the place while we were there, and that works well for us. Kiddo doesn't like a lot of other humans around, because he finds it overstimulating, and he doesn't feel comfortable injecting himself into the unpredictability of group play. But on weekends and sometimes beyond there would be other kids there, and he did even start feeling okay about talking to some of them and even bouncing with them as well. That was pretty cool.

 We would absolutely stay there again, long term even. It has pretty much spoiled us for other KOAs and even other RV Parks, because when they say "family friendly" at a KOA, they really really mean it. If you're an RV family and you ever get the chance, stay there. It's not that far to Monterey or Santa Cruz, it's pretty darn easy to find organic groceries and sushi (we really really loved Ocean Sushi Deli in Monterey - it's a deli-style restaurant that serves sushi made by authentic Japanese sushi chefs), and there is so much great stuff to do, you will never get bored. KOAs vary widely by location, but this one is the one that will impress. 

Asilomar Beach in Pacific Grove, California

When we went to the Monarch Butterfly Santcuary in Pacific Grove, we knew we were right by the beach, so we decided to have a look while we were just right there.

We found ourselves on Asilomar Beach, which was as windy as it was beautiful. We climbed around on the rocks a bit, exploring and enjoying the view. 

At first the beach was sandy, but as we got closer to the water, it became instead of sand, remnents of seashells and pebbles and beach glass and rocks. 

We looked around and collected a few cool pebbles and shells. 

And then, just views.

And the wind washing the waves against the rocks.

Foliage, what I believe to be Aster. 

Information about the great tide pool.

Ocean meets sky.

Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary

One of the things we discovered while in Monterey was that there is a Monarch Butterfly Grove Sanctuary, where the Monarchs go to overwinter every year. From their website: 

Arriving in October, monarch butterflies cluster together on pine, cypress and eucalyptus trees in the Sanctuary. Their migration to Pacific Grove is so unique that Pacific Grove is nicknamed "Butterfly Town, U.S.A." The community has always welcomed the butterflies and advocated for their protection. Citizens of Pacific Grove voted to create an additional tax to create the Monarch Grove Sanctuary which is cared for by dedicated volunteers. 

 The Monarchs, like the bees, are a threatened species, so protecting them is incredibly important. Our planet needs the pollinators!

 The photos on the website are better than we could get with just a regular camera lens, but I'll show them to you anyway.

I particularly loved this, I kind of made my son put his face in here to appease my need to take a photo, but he was a trooper.

The monarchs come hang out in the eucalyptus and the cypress trees every year, essentially in the backyard of some of the residents - how lucky are those people! They get to live by this gorgeous beach AND they get to house the tens of thousands of Monarch Butterflies every year - what a treat!


There's a main area where there are docents to answer questions about the monarchs, and they have scopes that are pointed at the butterflies so you can see them better. Without the scopes, they're far away in really tall treetops and tend to look like clusters of leaves. See? Those things that look like leaves are the Monarchs. I promise.

If you look through the scope, they look like the photo below. This photo is from the website linked above. It was NOT taken by me, but by someone with much better camera equipment or possibly through the lens of the scope. I did see someone trying to do that with their camera phone while we were there. Why didn't I? Missed opportunity.

But it was still really cool to see them, since I haven't seen a proper Monarch butterfly that I can remember since my childhood in New Hampshire and in the Catskill Mountains. There was tons of milkweed there (a plant they need to be able to lay eggs), and so the Monarchs loved it. I wonder if it's all still there and if they still go. 


We weren't there very long, less than an hour. The short trail goes down thrugh the grove to a street below, so we just walked down and back up and looked through the scopes again, then chatted to the docents a little. It was a nice little quick stop, which was lucky for us because my son didn't have nearly as much patience for just hanging around looking through scopes as we did.

Still, the area is amazingly beautiful, and the neighborhood businesses have all embraced the Monarchs, as we saw them on signs everywhere as we drove in and out.  

Monterey Bay Aquarium - Victory Check!

My healing continues, friends. You know, I was homebound before I started on the Medical Medium journey. I couldn't go anywhere because 1) I reacted to everything in my environment and was too afraid of anaphylaxis; and 2) I just didn't have the spoons (energy). No gas in the tank. COULD. NOT. GO. Even the thought of taking a shower was just too much and I could barely manage more than one every 4-5 days. And while I am a conservationist at heart, 4-5 days without a shower is a bit much, you know?

So while I HAD a wheelchair, it really didn't get much use. I couldn't wheel myself around in it at home - that took way more energy than I had, not to mention it would have thrown my Ehlers-Danlos joints out of socket. And leaving the house was pretty much an imposibility. So mostly my wheelchair just sat around folded up in the garage.

And if you've been reading, you know that lately, I've been able to leave my house. I've gone to the Farmers' Market several times, the organic grocery store (smaller than a Safeway-sized store, which is still too much for me). I've been to the Portland Tram and the food carts and I even went to a Target! Although I had to wear my mask, use the mobility scooter, and leave after about 15 minutes. That vanilla scent they pump in plus all the plastics, lighting and petrochemicals they sell is just too much stimulation for my overworked mast cells.

But the point is, I've been able to leave. You might also know we've been traveling in our RV, which has given me more opportunities to go outside and explore new places and do new things. Like I went to a swimming pool - a chlorinated one even! And it was a lot for me, but I did it!

And yesterday we did a really BIG thing - because they were spraying, we stayed out of the RV ALL day - and that is a first for me, to not be able to rest - really rest - for the whole day. But we took my wheelchair, and thank goodness we did - I never could have done it without it. And my wheelchair got some REAL use for the first time!

We were in the Monterey Bay Aquarium for something like 5 hours give or take - we saw every exhibit - some of them two and three times. We spent quality time outside enjoying the ocean view and watching the pigeons and seagulls. We spent time at the touch tanks learning about tide pool critters. We held a hermit crab and pet a sponge and a decorator crab and watched the barnacles poke out of their shells. I didn't ever realize that barnacles were living critters. I mean I vaguely knew, but I didn't KNOW (if that makes sense. Probably not).

And of the places I've been in my wheelchair - which remember are few - the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the most ADA accessible place I've ever been. Accessibility didn't seem to be at all an afterthought there - there was nowhere I couldn't go, including the restrooms - which anyone who uses a wheelchair will tell you, is uncommon and hella important. They even had family restrooms if need be, and made sure we knew about them. At every turn, some friendly helpful volunteer would approach us and say, "Oh, did you know about this thing?" and it would usually be some shortcut so my husband didn't have to walk all over the place just trying to get me places.

They even had a special elevator for the otter exhibit, which was just the size of the wheelchair, and you could operate it from the inside or outside. And when we couldn't figure out the controls at first, a cheerful volunteer appeared out of nowhere and helped. And when there was a thing like a feeding, the emcee would say something like, "Look behind you. If you see someone in a wheelchair, please move and let them come to the front." I ALWAYS had a view of whatever it was. 

We all had a great time, too - the exhibits are some of the best maintained I've ever seen. All those tanks full of water were CLEAN. And not from chemicals, but because they just maintain everything so darn well.

I only smelled chlorine in one area, and that was the petting pool, where the rays were supposed to be available to pet, but all of them were about as far away from reachable as possible. I don't blame you, rays. (Yes, that is a cuttlefish, I know. I told you, the rays weren't having any of it.)

 There are SO many volunteers there, it's just amazing. And this - we were there on a Wednesday! And not just clean, but boy, do they kow how to set a mood. Each exhibit had just the right kind of lighting, music, ambience and it really created an EXPERIENCE.

The jellyfish - I cannot even begin to explain how much in love I was with the entire room of jellies. It was the most hypnotic, meditative, gorgeous experience being in that room. Had my son not been there saying, "Can we PLEASE go to the next thing now???" I'm pretty sure I'd have sat captive in bliss in front of any one of those tanks for HOURS. There is something SO incredibly satisfying about just sitting and watching jellyfish swim, and listening to that hypnotic meditation music, and it just felt like, "Yeah. I could come here and do this and just feel the healing happen in my soul."

I'm not even kidding you, whomever designed this exhibit is a freaking genius. Kudos and hats off and I bow to the brilliance that had you put those things together so perfectly. I was so entranced I forgot to take video, despite having two different cameras that were capable. I only took stills and I am kicking myself for it. I want to watch the jellies forever! #jelliesforever #bliss

What other exhibits? Oh, right.

We got to watch the feedings of the otters, the penguins, and the sharks. My favorite was the sharks, because 1) the divers had to go into the tank to feed them, 2) It took a long time because the sharks apparently had zero sense of urgency about being fed, and 3) the giant sea bass were like begging puppies hanging around the divers and nudging at them and trying to get in on the action. I never knew a giant fish could be so adorable. They totally reminded me of Muffins with the "If I just hang out right here in your space and stare at you long enough, eventually you will feed me," schtick.

The penguins, who by the way were from South Africa - um, did YOU know that penguins can live in temperate places? Even South Africa? I did not. And they are adorable. The more I get to know about birds - ANY birds - the more smitten I become with them, because oh my gosh, they have SO much personality and sass. The penguins like the humans coming like we like coming to see them, because for them, it's the human show. They watch us watching them, they seem to love the kids, and different ones will act differently, just like any other animals. Kiernen spent some time bonding with a couple of really mellow girls who were just chilling by the glass, which is again, closer than we've ever been to them. The penguins are his jellyfish.

Of course I would be remiss if I didn't mention everyone's favorite cepholopod, the octopus. And can I just say my new camera didn't disappoint, because these two were NOT this visible with our human eyes. I was blown away when I saw these photos. #canonFTW

Again, mad love for these bizarre clearly alien creatures of the deep, I heart them so much for all the things they can do and how amazing they are. They were all napping when we were there, and also: Monterey Bay, why no octopus feedings on the schedule? I didn't catch whether these guys were nocturnal, and perhaps they are. But they sure are beautiful to behold. 

Mad props to the Medical Medium and all he has restored to my life by writing his books and sharing the information he has been given. I would never, ever have been able to have this day had I not found his book and started the celery juice and the cleanse. My body is coming back to health, I am healing and regaining strength, I am so much more capable of being out in the world than I was before June of this year. I am so grateful to this knowledge and for my ability to practice it. It just keeps getting better. 

RV Travel Life - The First Few Weeks

A travel update seems appropriate since we've been on the road a few weeks now.

Things that have happened while traveling thus far: 

1) Our windshield wipers stopped working while we were driving down the highway in the rain. (This had happened previously in the rain in the dark and we paid someone to fix them. But.)

2) The lower part of our passenger side mirror flew off on the highway. In a 40' RV you REALLY rely on the mirrors to drive.

3) We discovered our radiator hose was cracked and paid a guy to fix it. (Thank the goddess there are lots of traveling RV repair people, and the RV parks usually have a relationship with someone they can recommend. Also, our radiator needs replacing. So that's going to be fun to pay for. 

4) When pulling into the RV park a kiddo was asking us to blow the horn. We tried and discovered it didn't work. Something to do with the same issue as the wipers, perhaps? 

5) I-5 between Vacaville and Watsonville, CA is so jacked and raggedy that our curtain rod literally bounced out of its holder and fell onto the floor while we were driving. Several other things bounced out of place as well. We must have gotten spoiled by those smooth Oregon highways?

6) I had a strep flare-up while in our first park, which we liked so much it wasn't the worst place to be. I called upon my intuitive practitioner, Carolyn, who works with Anthony, the Medical Medium, and she had me up my sovereign silver, zinc, Vitamin C, lysine and drink copious amounts of honey lemon ginger tea, and it knocked it right out. 

Things that have been a delightful surprise thus far: 

Right now we've been driving through California during their off season for camping. This means it's been delightfully easy to find accommodations for us - well, as easy as researching on the internet (using rvparkreviews.com) where the decent places are, then booking, usually via the internet but sometimes via phone. 

The parks have also been accommodating about receiving packages and us changing our dates. In Weed, CA, we just got there too late to get any decent weather. It was cold, and we have not winterized our RV for cold. We were planning on staying a week, then maybe 4 days, and once we were there we left after a night - it was just way too cold for us to be comfortable, even with the extra space heater the office mamager lent us. We ended up paying for two nights, but because of their written policies it could have been for the whole week we'd have had to pay. Off season plus kind humans made that compromise, which we felt was fair and reasonable. 

We've gotten a Good Sam discount at every park we've stayed in thus far. Except the KOAs, which give a KOA discount. Both memberships pay for themselves after about 3 mights camping. Worth it. We do know about Thousand Trails, but we're  not sure we want to make that investment yet, and I haven't really seen TT parks in many of the locations we've been in. And when I have, the ratings on rvparkreviews.com are usually pretty low. 

The campground we're in now is a KOA and they have been most accommodating. Firstly, off season means we have everything to ourselves pretty much. For the first day or two there were a couple of other families here with us, but they've gone now and we own this place. There are long-term renters here somewhere, but they're nowhere close to us since we're in the playground area - and this park is huge. I'm sure we'll get more folks come the weekend, but right now it's ours.

They've been great at notifying us about everything. Off season also means maintenance, so they're doing something with the water that they told us about in advence so we wouldn't be showering or something when they had the water off and on. They are spraying for weeds (gah, don't get me started) and notified us of that. I'm highly allergic to most chemicals as you might know, so my husband called the ofice to see if maybe they could leave off spraying anywhere near us until after we leave. They spoke with the manager/owner and got back to us and said no problem, they won't spray near our site and the sites around it. While we can't ask them to not spray the park, we feel this is a reasonable compromise. And we'll be gone tomorrow when they do it, the RV will be locked up tight, and Muffins will go to her first doggie daycare. 

Speaking of Muffins, she is LOVING the life of a travel dog. She LOVES exploring each new stop, and it's gotten to the point where once she realizes we're stopping somewhere, even at a rest stop, during travel, she cannot WAIT to get out of the vehicle and go explore. She is in her element. She is loving all of the sand at this one - so many places to dig! And almost every park we've been in have had a dog run - a fenced area where she can go off leash and sniff all of the other dog scents that have been before her.

The kiddo has been loving almost having the park to ourselves. There might be one or two other kids at times, but that's a doable number for him - less intimidating and anxiety-producing. And right now staying someplace for a couple of weeks is nice for all of us. We can just relax a little bit, get some groceries, do some maintenance on the RV, get some things fixed, do some rearranging of the under storage areas, and get out the holiday decorations. And in between those things, we'll go see some really cool stuff, and I'll tell you about that another day. But right now we're feeling pretty good about this travel life, and are looking forward to more adventures to come!