Part 4 - the last part of the California Road Trip
The zoo is set in Balboa Park, which is a lovely park also housing a railway and museums. Paul and I visited San Diego briefly many years ago to visit a friend Lisa Lewek. We remember going to La Jolla and all we saw really of San Diego was where we picked up our hire car. I remember there being lots of parking lots and not much to the city. It has changed so much over the years, we missed Comic Con by a day, but it does house a huge convention centre, lots of stunning hotels around the waterfront and in the older buildings in the gas lamp area. It is a modern city with lots of high rise buildings, and more building work going on.
We visited the USS Medway, which is docked at the harbour, across from the newer and more modern Navy fleet. The Medway is a huge aircraft carrier that saw service in both Vietnam and Desert Storm and was home to 120 aircraft. Being in San Diego, it pays homage to Top Gun, with the F14 on board for you to see, and pretend to be Tom Cruise! It is really interesting to visit, the size is hard to get your head around, the aircraft flying overhead on manoeuvres really add to the experience. As well as the modern San Diego you can visit Old Town San Diego, which is about 7 miles away. This is a carefully maintained area that gives you the feel of what San Diego was in the 1800’s. It also shows the history since it was created as the birthplace of California in 1769 by the Spanish Missionaries. In the 1800 Mexico took control of the area and that influence is very strong still today.
We also visited the Whaley House, which is supposed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. It was built on a hanging site and the history books show about 8 deaths in the house and land. I am sorry to say we had no ghostly experiences, but we did find the connection that the family were linked to the Whaley abbey, in Whaley Lancashire! San Diego was a fantastic and interesting couple of days. It was an easy city to get around. We travelled in my the Pacific Surfliner or Coaster which is great value at $15 a day.
Our final camp stop was at Oceanside. It is a community North of San Diego by approx 30 miles. It is easy to access the whole Californian coast by train from the station using either the coaster or the surfliner.
The area is a really eclectic area very popular with surfers and boarders. The beaches are daily with families and groups of friends and you can hire rods to fish off the pier. The beach is famous for the volleyball scene in Top Gun and also the house used in the film as Kelly McGillis’s home. There is also a replica of the motorbike outside the house. It is an area with a lot of craft breweries and restaurants and on a Thursday evening holds a fun sunset market with lots of food stalls and small traders. There is live music on every corner and it has a great vibe. It was a great place to finish the trip, as the drive back upto LA is only 74 miles!
After living in an RV for nearly 3 weeks, it was nice to get back into a house with space for us all and a big comfy bed! Disneyland seems so long ago, but was a great way to start the holiday. In the RV we covered 1595 miles!
There has been so many highlights for all of us, but for me personally I loved the stunning landscape of Yosemite, the clear night skies and stars in the desert and San Francisco. If you are thinking of this type of trip, it is a great experience for a family or a couple. The sense of freedom is great, and once you are away from the campsites in the cities you can really feel the nature around you. The city campsites are proper communities as some people spend months on them, and a weekend turns into a cook out around the camp. The forest and desert campsites have a different feel and are people travelling around. You meet all different nationalities.
Some things that we have learnt, especially as a family of non campers..... The van is basic. It has 3 rings to cook on and a microwave/oven. We only really used the rings to boil water on. The only proper mattress is on the double bed. The other beds are the converted sofa and the space over the driving area. The table can convert down into a bed as well, but we never used this. You will need to go to Walmart or Target for outdoor chairs and maybe pillows and more towels. You can re gift these at the end of your trip. Be prepared to be resourceful. We did have issues with some leaks from the water tank inside and outside the RV. We did report them, but as we were moving on we could not stop to get them fixed, however we managed to resolve most of these by either not refilling the water tank past 2/3rds and also turning off the city water when we were not using it or asleep. Use campsite facilities. For the sake of your fellow travellers use the campsite and not the RV facilities when in camp! Be aware that the campsites are usually quiet isolated and have food in the freezer. Most do allow BBQ's so long as wood is not burned. We even stayed at one that had big burners you could use. If you want to eat out in the evening you would need to unhook and drive the RV there usually. In cities it is easier as you can use Uber.
The most important lesson was to relax and go with it. It is so much fun to do and for parents with teenagers, most sites do have WIFI! It was great in the evenings to relax and play cards together, or just to sit outside and take in the view.