August or September camping?

[zamboni]

When is Kelly due?  Will 2 carseats fit in the Mustang?:yikes:

Around early-mid January... it appears that Shelby will have a younger sister.

I hope a second carseat will fit; with the 'tang only 6 months old, I'm keeping it for a while!  Of course, it is easier to put kids in the back seat when the top is down


So, back to the camping - anyone for August?

Both Seacliff and the Russian River/NACO are 3 hours from us... a maybe, but Seacliff means going through San Jose area on a Friday evening... ugh!  We'll keep them in mind if enough others go -- if Kelly is not working that Friday before (Aug 17), we could leave early and miss the Bay traffic, making it do-able.  I'll try to remember to talk to her about it this evening!

[6Quigs]

but Seacliff means going through San Jose area on a Friday evening... ugh!  We'll keep them in mind if enough others go -- if Kelly is not working that Friday before (Aug 17), we could leave early and miss the Bay traffic, making it do-able.  I'll try to remember to talk to her about it this evening!

Glen,
Seacliff is not going to work, as reservations have to be made 6 months in advance with reserve America, and by 8:20 all 26 sites are booked up for every weekend in that month. Cancellations do sometimes become available, but not very often. Also, Seacliff does not allow popups any more.

I hear what you are saying about going through San Jose on a friday afternoon. We are the same for going anywhere north of San Francisco for the weekend, What would normally be a 2 hour drive turns into a 4 hour drive, and the constant "I thought you said we would be there by now" from the back seat doesn't help. That's why most of our camping is done heading south of the bay area.

[harleywolf]

Yes Kelley and Glen congrats on the next addition!!!

I just checked the calendar and we

[The Flyer Crew]

It's official, I'll be going to Lawson's Landing this weekend and next.  For the first trip (Aug. 17-19), I'll go with my daughters and as many of their friends as they can find.  I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment!  It's fun, really...  And the following weekend (Aug. 24-26) I'll go with just my wife.  Ahhhh, peace and quiet.  The best of both worlds!

Anyone else going?

[zamboni]

It's official, I'll be going to Lawson's Landing this weekend and next.

Wow!  Kelly and I were talking about camping next weekend -- and I was about to post something here.  We were considering doing "dispersed camping" down Jackson Highway, since that way (from our house in Mather) we avoid Friday Rush Hour traffic.

However, if you're up for it, I'll ask Kelly if she's up for joining you at Lawson's next weekend (be honest if you'd rather just have a quiet time with your wife).

[The Flyer Crew]

Nawww, we would love to hang out with some fellow campers!  It's just the crowd within my own motorhome that sometimes frazzles the wifey...  She needs somewhere to retreat (as do I), that's all.  Sometimes the girls can be a bit much, and leave us no quiet place to hide if we want to read or nap or something.

Also, I don't have my heart all set on going the same place twice in a row, I am open to suggestions.  Were you thinking someplace closer?  I've heard Lawson's Landing can be kind of cold (I'll find out...) and Rita doesn't enjoy cold much.

[zamboni]

I am open to suggestions.  Were you thinking someplace closer?  I've heard Lawson's Landing can be kind of cold (I'll find out...) and Rita doesn't enjoy cold much.

Lawson's should be pretty good this time of year.  We had been talking about going back - but, we have a 3-year-old who loves to hike over the sand dunes and jump in the waves crashing on the shore.

That said, temperatures for Lawson's this weekend are:
High: 60 (Google) - 75 (weather.com)
Low: 47 (google & weather.com)

For you and Rita, for your second weekend, Lawson's Landing should be your destination IF you want to enjoy the ocean and chilly beach.

Otherwise, there are lots of other places.  Note, I personally would love to go to Lawson's, but my wife is less enthusiastic - she'll "go along".  There are lots of CG's down Highway 16, heading towards and around Jackson.  We've stayed at Indian Grinding Rock State Park twice (it is dry, small, but nice - near Daffodil Hill (which is only appropriate in March when they bloom)).

Obviously, since Kelly won't get to our house (Mather Field) until 4:45, we would be better off with a destination down Hwy 16 (Jackson area) to avoid traffic.  However, we love Dillon so would be happy to go there.

We have a Honda 2000 generator, so don't need electricity - and can power your rig if you need it.

[The Flyer Crew]

This weekend fell through.  The girls can't get any of their friends to go, and just spent over a week on a long road trip with their mom.  I really didn't want to go this week without the large crew.

For next weekend, I just picked Lawson's Landing because you don't have to reserve it ahead of time, and Rita likes the ocean (but doesn't like to be cold...).  But Kelly doesn't like traffic, and to be honest the Hwy. 16 idea sounds good to me too for the same reason, plus it's not as far away.  I'll see what Rita thinks of not going to the ocean next time I talk to her, probably tomorrow morning.  

So, it seems we have entered into a waffling contest.  We may have to actually decide soon...     : )  

I've never gone to the Indian Grinding park yet, but it sounds interesting.  Do we need to reserve it or anything, or would we be OK just rolling in off the street at around 5 or 6 on a Friday?

I have a 4000 watt Onan generator built in.  But it's not shiny and new, and has proven less than completely reliable, especially when it's hot outside (and the AC would be nice...).  My theory is that it gets vapor lock or something.  When it shuts down, it's just done, but after an hour or few it starts and runs again.

[zamboni]

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=553

Indian Grinding Rock does not have reservations - first come, first served. We've not had any issues the 2 times we've been.  It is 45 miles from us (takes about 1 hour to drive), so we'd be able to get there by 6.  I think it was about $10 or $15 a night or something like that.

That said, we do like Dillon Beach (Shelby loves the sand) - and if it is hot here, it is usually nice there.  Realistically, "traffic" only adds about 20 minutes; we normally get there in about 2.5 hours.

So, either would be fine for us...

[The Flyer Crew]

OK.  So, I've talked to Rita, and her preference is Dillon's Beach.  She has been in the Nevada desert wearing armor and eating dust for two weeks, and any place warm or dusty doesn't sound good to her.  We are hoping to add Six Flags to the adventure on Sunday, and so will have to stop at Travis before 6 on the way down there Friday to get the ticket.  Worst-case scenario is we don't get it together in time Friday, and roll in to Lawson's Landing on Saturday for just one night and then leave fairly early Sunday morning.  But hopefully, we should be able to get down there Friday night.  Anyway, that's our plan (such as it is).

I ended up taking my daughters down to Six Flags today.  We needed some kind of adventure after aborting the camping with the crowd plan...  We left yesterday afternoon with the idea of getting the discount tickets at Travis, but the place there closes at 1 on Saturday.  So, I paid full price for the three of us but it turned out that they give you passes good for the rest of the season with full-price admission!  A cool unexpected bonus!  So, I will be going back there with my daughters at least one more time this fall.

"Urban Adventuring"...
After wandering the BX and then the Solano mall for a while, we "camped" along the frontage road off the American Canyon exit, on the south side towards the last hill before Vallejo.  The girls and I slept great!  The freeway noise is actually kind of soothing, like the ocean...  Plus the girls had been in a campground every night except Friday for a week and a half, so it was something different.  I can't recommend it for everyone though, since trailers would have a hard time turning around on that road and I think its a dead end.

[The Flyer Crew]

Yay!  Rita is home and we're looking good for a Friday departure for Lawson's Landing.  Maybe we'll see ya down there!  Still planning for Sunday morning blast-off to Six Flags.

[zamboni]

I have to work late Friday (after hours testing on computer that are not "free" during the business day), so we don't think we're going to go.

We definitely want to do Dillon again before winter sets in.  Obviously, next weekend (Labor Day), we are not going anywhere due to crowds.

Sept is full:

Sep 7-8 Russian River (CalState crew)
Sep 14-15 or 21-22 - would like to do Peninsula
Sep 28-29 Clearlake (with Starcraft camping club)