Yosemite and the Hantavirus

 I thought my 5 year old son's rat drawing was fitting for  a Hantavirus post. Much more fitting than for   his homework...but I digress.

You may remember my last experience trying to camp in Yosemite. If not, here it is. Well, since that disappointing time in 2002, I have been trying every single year to score campground reservations in the Yosemite Valley for a vacation. Each time, I've been denied. Of course, there is always the first-come first served reservations, but 8 hours is a long time to drive to a "possible" site. Especially with our kids.



So this year, we were really trying to get a week in Yosemite in October. Our eldest has a week vacation from school, and we thought it would be perfect. So, I decided to try for reservations in September, just to practice and fine-tune my reservation skills. At 7:30 am I was up, coffee in hand, reservation screen up, mouse finger pointed...7:59....and 8:00 am, GO!! By some miracle, I got the first spot I tried for. Wait, what?! I got a spot? For September? In Yosemite? YES!! So, my kid's just gonna have to miss some school. This is monumental. I had also sent the reservation link to my brother in the hopes that they could camp with us as well. Again, this was a huge reach, as it is nearly impossible to get a reservation in the park. And my brother is not quite as er...meticulous okay, anal as I am. But about 9:30 or so he called me and told me he had gotten a site too. What?! Awesome. Apparently he had forgotten about it being reservation day until about 8:40 or so, when he remembered, and managed to get a site anyway. Have I mentioned what a terrible time I've had trying to reserve at this place? Maybe it's me. Anyway, I asked what site he got & it sounded way higher than my number. Just to be sure, I checked the campground map. Turns out, our spots are right next to each other. Right next door! Isn't that crazy? We hadn't even tried to get neighboring spots. Just got really, really lucky! I was elated. It looked like my Yosemite luck had changed.

Well, looks can be deceiving. Or dead wrong as the case may be. Now, just weeks before our trip, there are all these stories about two people passing away from the hantavirus, which they contracted in the Yosemite Valley. Yikes!! Very sad for those campers and their families.

Right now, we are still planning on going. We are staying in an r.v., not in the tent cabins, and we're not staying in Curry Village, which is the place where both victims contracted the virus. I have read all about the virus, and will bring Lysol, bleach, and be prepared to do a lot of hand-washing. Still, I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't a little nervous. Just another reason for me to hate rodents. I hope this is not an omen for the rest of our vacation!

Bike Riding with three small children

Beautiful view of the overlook on our family bike ride near Mammoth Lakes, California

Because my husband didn't think I was crazy enough, he suggested we get some bikes for our family. Our oldest daughter already had a little bike, and she was getting very good at riding. So good, in fact, that we could barely keep up with her, even if we were running at full speed. Her Dad had resorted to riding her little razor scooter while she zoomed along on her bike. Hilarious to watch, but very sweet. "Big man on a little scooter!"(Tommy Boy, anyone? Big Man in a little coat...okay, nevermind).

Our First Trip-- Silver Strand State Beach: Coronado, California

After my good-natured husband had fully recovered (after a good shower, and a good night's sleep) we began planning our first RV trip in "The Skinny Winnie" as these rv's are sometimes called. We wanted to go somewhere pretty close by, since we weren't totally familiar with our new rig and wanted to be near home in case something should go wrong.

We decided on the Silver Strand State Beach in Coronado, California. I knew there were beachfront spaces there...and how can you go wrong with that?! It was very easy to get reservations, as the campground is not terribly in demand in February. There are no hook-ups or dump stations there, and rv's must be fully-contained in order to camp there.

We arrived on a Friday evening, and pulled in to our space. The spaces there are like large parking spaces in an asphalt lot. Beachfront spaces (like ours) allow your back end to be directly over the sand.
Here is a pic of our spot:

Beautiful spot at Silver Strand State Beach

Our 2008 Winnebago View J- RV Tour

Here she is, our 2008 Winnebago View J, or as we fondly call her, "Winnie." We love to explore in our little rv, and get out as often as we can. 

We decided to purchase this model for several reasons. First, its diesel engine is dependable and long-lasting (knock wood). Made by Mercedes, these little guys have a great reputation for quality. So we were able to purchase an older model and not worry so much about it falling apart on us. Also, the View consistently gets between 15-17 mpg, making it a very fuel-efficient vehicle. It gets better gas mileage than many passenger vehicles on the road!

Possibly most important to our family, the Winnie is slim and trim (relatively) making it easy for almost any driver. We wanted to get an r.v. that both my husband (who can drive anything) and I would feel comfortable driving. I have even taken her out on a solo trip, and have no qualms about doing so! It's actually really fun to drive. It's also very easy to park and because it is so little (again relatively) it can almost fit into a standard parking space, so parking and camping spots are simple to find.

For those of you curious, here is what some of the interior looks like. The fabric is a little 70's chic, but since we have three (messy, VERY messy) kids, it's almost always covered in protective fabric (read: dropcloths for children) anyway. 

Here's the dinette. We were enjoying Thanksgiving dinner in Sedona, Arizona here. As you can see, it comfortably seats four, so we purchased this little stool which is comfy enough for us, and super-easy and light for storage during our drives.

Our fridge and freezer have been perfect so far. I can always (barely) squeeze in just enough food for our trips. Our longest time out has been for 10 days so far and we made it perfectly. Any longer than about a week, we need to shop and replenish our fresh supplies.

Little vanity sink outside bathroom.

Toilet and shower. It may look tiny to you, but it's a glorious, amazing commodity to me, a mom of three active kids who love to play in dirt or beach sand. It's so nice to let them fully enjoy themselves, knowing they'll be neat and clean at bedtime. Ahhhh....

Our master bed. Very cozy and comfortable. We sleep better in the r.v. than at home. Maybe it's the vacation, but I'm seriously thinking about getting a bed like this for our house. hehe. We've topped it with a memory foam piece purchased on amazon and cut to size. Then use regular sheets and blankets. Perfect!

Our kitchen includes a stove-top, and microwave/convection oven combo unit. It also has a great large sink. 

Just some of the plentiful storage in the View. There is so much well-thought out storage that we always have extra space left after packing. And with five campers, I think that says so much about the Winnie's design. We love it!

The kids love the bunk above the cab. The girls sleep up here normally, but all three of our kids have fit there and slept well on occasion. There is also a TV/DVD player but we need to do some upgrades as the player stopped working right after we got it! Anyway, it's a great feature for the drives, as we can use it to play our own movies on it through our own devices.

 So, that's our tour of the Winnie. Hope you've enjoyed it. We sure love our mini-home away from home, and are very thankful for it!

RV or not an RV? Winnebago View or Bust

So, my husband and I had the RV bug. Well, really we had the camping/outdoors/hit the road/see more scenery/get out of the house/get to hike again bug. And with our three kids we really felt like the easiest and most enjoyable way to do that was to buy an RV. 

As I mentioned, my hubby had been researching them for quite some time now, and had really taken a liking to the Winnebago Views. Of course selecting the right RV is so subjective, but after really evaluating everything, this model seemed to fit our needs best.

Big Sur & Big Changes for us

 
 In 2010, our family experienced some big changes. We sold our house, and moved to a slightly larger one, and welcomed our third child into the family. Little baby boy L made his appearance in the summertime, and we were thrilled to have a bedroom for him when he arrived. hee hee. Unfortunately, when we moved, we had to give up our little pop-up trailer, as we no longer had room to store it at our new house. Don't worry about "old trusty," she was re-homed with my brother-in-law and his new wife. They are still enjoying the heck out of her.

El Capitan, San Simeon, and wind storm in Gaviota

So, we had such a great time at El Capitan last time, we wanted to try it again. This time, feeling more confident, armed with our trusty camping book, and better able to navigate the reservation web site, we decided to take another trip there when our youngest (at the time), "K" was a few months old.

We reserved our now favorite site (sorry, I just can't share, some things just must remain sacred). You probably wouldn't like it anyway. I mean, these favorite spots are so subjective. I'm sure you understand, right?

Pretty private space, with a few trees and a view of the ocean behind us. However, this was also the favorite site for an ENORMOUS raccoon who visits us every time we reserve it. He is not easily scared away either.