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NorCal Bambi · 01-06-2010, 08:42 AM

Road Side Rest Yesterday.

silverleeper · 01-06-2010, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

Road Side Rest Yesterday.

So envious I can hardly type...

cclarkego · 01-06-2010, 08:58 PM

Then there is Leo Carrillo State Beach Park too.........

C

tallytwo1994 · 01-06-2010, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

Road Side Rest Yesterday.

Nice! Bet those two trailers traveling together draw a crowd.

Carol

jordandvm · 01-06-2010, 10:36 PM

We were happy to leave Casa de Fruta RV Park......a crumbling unkept place that should not still be in business. After gassing up in Hollister, we were back on the road. We did stop in Avila Beach for a rest and some warm CA sunshine......then decided to drive on to El Capitan SP, as we heard that was open in winter. We're now comfortably resting in our AS's after a great dinner together in the park. Tomorrow we'll get an early start and drive 101 to I405 thru LA and down to Chula Vista, about 250 miles total.
Don and Claudia had a scarey incident on 101 South of Soledad. A pickup pulling an empty low trailer passed him on his left and then pulled back over into the right lane before the trailer cleared Don's truck (we think he forgot he was towing the trailer). We were following and all I saw was Don's truck and trailer swerving severly to the right onto the shoulder. I radioed him with our walkie talkie and he told me what he had to evade to avoid getting hit. It gave his Reese anti-sway bar a good test and worked perfectly. It was pretty scarey to see it all unfold and I imagine I would have lost some bodily control if happened to me!

3Ms75Argosy · 01-07-2010, 08:47 AM

Wow! That's where the 'ol pilot instincts come into play... glad everyone was ok!

It's so funny to see the giant and the fly next to each other at the rest stop! You guys look great together...

living my vacation through you!
Marc

gail · 01-07-2010, 10:24 AM

Bill is slow on the mend from his knee replacement. We will be thinking of you all as you go south of the border. Keep us posted! gail and bill and blue
Boo Hoo! We would love to be streamin along.

**Stefrobrts** · 01-07-2010, 10:48 AM

Glad you're all safe! What a scary situation. Don, what hitch are you using on that little jellybean?

Oh, and I second Lee's observiation - I am also so envious I can barely type!

63Silver · 01-07-2010, 10:56 AM

OK, this may be a silly question but, do you have to have a passport to drive into Mexico? If not is there a specific amount of time you are allowed to stay? This sounds like an awesome trip.

Thanks,
63silver

CaddyGrn · 01-08-2010, 12:14 AM

Greetings from Dana Point! Made it through LA and the traffic today! Yay!!! Tomorrow will make it to Chula Vista and lay over before crossing the border. I have some pics but haven't figured out how to directly upload from my iPhone. Hummmm maybe there is an app for that....better check that out. We will post when we can. All is well.

Very sorry to hear the news of Darol. He was a good and kind man.

Mexray · 01-08-2010, 01:15 AM

63Silver....you don't actually 'need' a passport to go INTO Mexico, but you'll need one the get back into the USA! Passports are required of US citizens for all foreign travel - check out the US State Dept website for all the info...

You can visit Mexican border areas for up to 72 hours, I believe - but beyond that, or for visits in areas below the border, you'll need a Mexican FMT document (about $20) - available at most border town entry points...you can request up to 180 days visitation on the FMT form...

Don't forget to get Mexican Auto insurance for your car and any trailer...your USA insurance from home is not valid in Mexico, and if you have an accident, you run the risk of having your rig confiscated, as well as spending some time in the pokey till you've paid the other parties expenses - an ugly process!

CaddyGrn · 01-08-2010, 11:50 PM

Hello all.... last night we stayed at Dana Point, I never figured how to put a picture on the forum from my iPhone,

but tonight we have internet access so I can upload it from my computer...

so the picture below is from our earlier post. It was lovely at Dana Point during the day, but got chilly at night! Nice campground, the spaces were a little smallish for the larger trailers. Dana Point is a California State Campground. Now, with that said... California has raised the prices considerably for camping since the budget crunch. A bit spendy for the amenities. Nice fresh air, clean, but $35 a night, no electric, no hookups, no water at the sites directly. A bit high for boon-docking.... the Governor had asked to close a number of State Parks in the budget, but there was a large public outcry... the compromise was apparently to raise the prices a bunch. Better than a closed park.

We are having adventure on the road....

CaddyGrn · 01-09-2010, 12:17 AM

Today we made it to Chula Vista! The roads look fairly smooth-ish.... but once we got here we felt like we had been "shaken" not stirred! Yikes, with our state budget we will never see good roads again...

We are at a RV park with very nice accommodations, and lots of big white boxes and moho's.... we did see a Airstream motorhome however! We are right next to a harbor with lots of lovely yachts.

The 4 of us went out to dinner and had a delightful meal. Celebrating that we made it here!

Spent the day running around buying supplies, checking things, filling up propane, and all that... Don and I found our wonderful original fridge we have loved so much broke the little tiny ceramic part at the flame.

These are next to impossible to find. But hubby is inventive so maybe he can come up with a unique field repair.

We went to scout out about the procedure about going across the border and what to expect. Jim was brave and we drove in their vehicle ~ it was easy to just drive across into Mexico. No questions, no stopping, just "go". We were looking where to stop and get our Travel Visa (it has a special name that I am forgetting at the moment) and see where other trailers might go (like a special lane, etc.) Didn't see anything to us that resembled a office for a visitor's travel pass/visa, or directions. So we just drove across and then tried to figure out how to get back to the good old USA!

We drove around Tijuana a little bit and realized we would get lost quickly, the GPS and our iPhones with google maps gave little information as we were out of our service area. The printed map we had didn't seem to have any of the same name roads that we were driving on! But Jim did some quick thinking and worked around to return in the direction from whence we came.... and before long we saw a big Costco that we saw when we first got to the Mexican side! We were glad not to be quite so lost! Jim maneuvered us around through small streets and around street vendors that were fearless that walked between and up to moving cars. So, he got us back on the right track and got back in line to return to the USA. We had a somewhat lengthy conversation with the border agent asking about the procedure for getting the correct paperwork, but when it was all said and done we still weren't sure we have quite all the info!

One can physically go to a Mexican consulate here in the US and get the proper paperwork before getting here. I would suggest this as a excellent choice. One less thing to have to think about besides all the traffic!

We will likely be here tomorrow, as it is going to be domestic day, laundry is to be done, a refrigerator to be fixed, and repacking all the things that have shifted around. We are all a little road weary as it has been a long drive, but the friendship is great and we have seen some wonderful countryside.

Not to mention the good food we have enjoyed and some good wine.

I am posting a picture from the backseat of Jim's car looking at the border crossing area on our "shake down" border crossing tour.

jordandvm · 01-09-2010, 11:43 AM

We decided to head to San Felipe on the gulf side of Baja on the advice of "UWE", who has been down there numerous times. We feel the border crossing will be easier and getting our tourist card should be a snap. The other thing we were told is it's about 5 degrees warmer on that side.....after all we're here for the warmth and sunshine!!

**Stefrobrts** · 01-09-2010, 12:23 PM

Jealous, so jealous! Have a great time, I can't wait to see pictures.

3Ms75Argosy · 01-09-2010, 12:57 PM

Wow! Be careful of using cell service in Mexico... I've heard stories that "it works".. but then the user has some astronomical bills (one person I worked with mentioned HUNDREDS!). I'd check with AT&T while in CA still.....

That said, we REALLY want to hear the realtime updates... hey! This is caravanning for the current times! Maybe the first forums "virtual" rally!

Wish I could help you with the fridge.... being the weekend I bet these folks are closed, but maybe rvmobile.com in WA could airfreight you something.... they specialize in rebuilding these things.... also... Chris might be of some help... wasn't he rebuilding his burner about a year ago? Can't remember where he found his stuff... or Frank in VA?

Regardless, I'm having a good time around the "campfire" listening to the tales... I turned on my gas fireplace as a conduit of fun!
Marc

**Stefrobrts** · 01-09-2010, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

also... Chris might be of some help... wasn't he rebuilding his burner about a year ago? Can't remember where he found his stuff...

Chris did a great job rebuilding his fridge. I gave him my old fridge when I replaced mine with a new one. He might still have some parts kicking around.

FlashSilver · 01-09-2010, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaddyGrn

We went to scout out about the procedure about going across the border and what to expect. Jim was brave and we drove in their vehicle ~ it was easy to just drive across into Mexico. No questions, no stopping, just "go". We were looking where to stop and get our Travel Visa (it has a special name that I am forgetting at the moment) and see where other trailers might go (like a special lane, etc.) Didn't see anything to us that resembled a office for a visitor's travel pass/visa, or directions. So we just drove across and then tried to figure out how to get back to the good old USA!

.

I always ask the Mexican border patrolmen where the visa office is. They have always been most helpful, one guy even led me there on his motorcycle. It is not far from the border and easy to find. I could lead you there, but don't remember the names of the streets. I always allow an hour to get this done, although it usually takes half that time.

If you have a Mexican Consulate near you, by all means get your visa before leaving home. But it is not worth a special trip, or stopping in Los Angeles to get one. LA is more confusing and harder to get around in a trailer than Tijuana, as far as I'm concerned. Plus more people speak English in TJ than LA, or so it seems.

I wish I was going with you, but my daughter is getting married next week. Next year!

**Janet H** · 01-09-2010, 07:33 PM

Ohhh warm weather - I am soo cold and very envious. I second the caution about cell service - It can get outrageously expensive fast. You can turn off the internet connection on your phone and I encourage you to do this unless you are sure it won't be too spendy. Use wifi only - at hot spots.

NorCal Bambi · 01-09-2010, 08:34 PM

Dinner tonight, Barbarqued ribs, asparagus, green salad, tea, wine. Outstanding rally type friendship. We also have the best dish "cleaner" in this part of the country. It's 7:25 in the evening and we all in our "T" shirts.

Navigation duties have been changing back and forth on a regular basis. It depends on who leads us astray first. Today it was me. We have used everything from the latest technology to yelling out the window at someone, "Hey California, how do we get the hell out of Tijuana?".

El Cajon and holding for a new entry point tomorrow!

We decided everything we've read about Tijuana is likely true.... we drove Hwy 8 to the East and had a interesting drive!