We hiked in Muir Woods National Monument in California.
A map; we did the Bridge 4 two-mile loop, returning via Hillside Trail:
Gift shop:
Pressed penny machine:
Woodpecker:
Sign:
Author: David
Baseball: Mariners at Athletics
While staying north of San Francisco, our Seattle Mariners happened to be in Oakland, so we attended a game.
Jenn’s game summary:
It was the final game, and a sweep of the A’s by the Mariners with another come-from-behind win. Taylor Trammell had a 2-run homer in the 3rd. A’s pitching was not good. Walked Trammell in the 4th to score Cal Raleigh. Bases loaded, Kolten Wong singled to score Teoscar Hernandez and J.P. Crawford. Kirby settled in after the 3rd, and Sewald closed it out. Sad to see so few fans at the crumbling Coliseum, but it was a good Mariners win. The A’s will be in Vegas in a few years anyway. I feel bad for the loyal Oakland fans.
Rooted in Oakland… but not for much longer, as they are planning to move to Las Vegas:
Tailgating:
The Coliseum:
A peek of the field:
Looking back from our seats:
Selfie from our seats:
We could see into the camera and ramp area, as the Mariners gave autographs on the way out:
Play ball:
We did a mobile order for food, which was a mistake; I spent over half an hour standing in line to pick up our food after the “ready” notification, while the ad hoc order line was moving much faster:
Finally, our chicken and fries:
Some slow-mo videos:
Sweep:
Mariners win!
Autographs:
Scores:
Napa and Sonoma wineries: Domaine Carneros, Iron Horse, Korbel
Paso Robles isn’t the only wine region in California; while in Petaluma we visited three Napa and Sonoma wineries, sampling their sparkling wines.
First was Domaine Carneros, a fancy winery:
Charcuterie platter and sparkling tastings:
Wine list:
Jenn:
David:
Next was Iron Horse Vineyards:
Lastly, something a little different: the industrial Korbel winery:
We had lunch at their deli:
Then a tasting:
Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center
Jenn is a fan of the old Peanuts comics, so while staying in Petaluma we headed a little north to Santa Rosa, California to visit the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center.
A recreation of his office:
Gift store:
Snoopy’s Gallery and Gift Shop:
San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA
We stayed at San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA in Petaluma, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Another nice RV park in another wine country.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-04-30
- Check out: 2023-05-07
- 7 nights
Weather:
- Cloudy and drizzle
- High temps ranging between 58-64°F, lows around 43-47°F
- Negligible wind in the shelter of redwood trees, apparently up to 25 MPH gusts nearby
Noise:
- No freeway noise
- No road noise
- Distant train noise, rarely heard
- Occasional neighbor noise (kids)
Site:
- #17, back in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
- Very unlevel; used blocks on front jacks
- Medium site: about 40 feet long by about 40 feet wide
- Swing seat, table & chairs, fire pit on nice concrete patio
- Tall trees; shrubs and hedges between sites
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 55 PSI water, conveniently located
- Loose sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 5-14 Mbps up, 45-140 ms ping
- AT&T: 11 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
- Verizon: 16 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Swimming pool
- Petting zoo
Our review on Campground Reviews:
A bit expensive, but pleasant enough after the initial hurdles
We stayed for a week in a deluxe patio back-in site in the redwood grove. The beginning of our stay was not auspicious: firstly, my husband went to check us in but didn’t have his wallet, and they demanded ID, so I had to go in with my full wallet because they not only wanted ID but to also actually physically see the “card on file” and made me swipe it instead of just charging it from the computer.
Secondly, unlike most KOAs, we did not have an escort to show us to our site…which was occupied by a long-term resident. So we had to drive our rig back around to the office to get that sorted out. They were due to leave the following day, but we got the (almost) as good site next to it. So even though I’d paid the site lock fee (like a chump), I didn’t get the site I’d selected (and did not get a refund).
The site was unlevel front-to-back and was just big enough for our 40-foot motorhome. Any longer and we would have either 1) hit the berm behind the site or 2) had our nose out in the street.
However, once we settled in, we enjoyed our stay here. The large family groups were in another part of the park, and the redwood grove area was nice and quiet. We also enjoyed the hedges between the back-in sites, which provided some privacy on the lovely patio. We camped at San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa is fun for Peanuts fans. Lots of fantastic wineries in the area. If you enjoy bubbly, definitely check out Iron Horse. Head to Muir Woods for a beautiful walk and take the scenic route along Hwy 1 back to camp.
Interactive map:
The RV park map; it says our site was #16, which was the one we had chosen (and paid the site lock fee to reserve), but when we pulled up to the site, it was occupied. So we went back to the office, and they reassigned us to the site next to it, #17:
Our site:
A nice fairly private patio, with shrubs and a hedge providing screening, and attractive stamped concrete:
Bear and fish stamps:
Not much clearance:
Utilities; I used a water-weighted bag to secure the sewer, since it was unthreaded:
This is site #16, which we were supposed to have, next to where we ended up; a bigger site, being on an angle, but otherwise much the same:
A free range peahen:
Other sites:
Most of the sites seem rather unlevel:
Entrance gate:
Office:
Petting farm:
Goats:
Games:
Deflated jump pad:
Picnic area:
Chicken run:
Chickens and peacock:
Rooster and peacock:
Donkeys:
Dogrun:
Games:
Feral cat:
Cabins:
Covered seating:
Playground:
Video: Paso Robles to Petaluma, California motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 244 miles from Paso Robles, California to Petaluma, California.
Travel from Paso Robles to Petaluma, California
We drove our coach 244 miles, about four hours of driving, from Paso Robles, California to Petaluma, California.
Here’s the map route, heading northwest:
An interactive map, with potential and actual stops:
A steep hill in the RV park on the way out:
Joining US-101 for our trip up the coast (somewhat inland at this stage):
Listening to a Mariners baseball game, streaming from the MLB app:
Pump jacks; when did we get back to Texas?
Vineyards:
Roadside artwork:
A lunch stop at Wildhorse Cafe in King City:
Back to our coach:
Paladin on the steps, with my feet up:
Historic El Camino Real bell markers:
Roadside artwork:
Bright pink flowers:
A bald eagle:
Paladin looking a little freaked out:
A fuel stop at SC Fuels in Gilroy:
It’s a cardlock fuel station, but works with our Open Roads discount fuel card:
A snack (fun fact: the Pringles can sticks magnetically to the MacBook Pro in that spot):
Oakland Coliseum:
Oakland:
Flowers:
Toll booths:
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge:
Green hills:
Drawbridge:
Our destination, a KOA:
Following our coach to our site (with some adventures with that; stay tuned!):
A bubble level helps us check when leveling our coach
Our coach has built-in hydraulic and air leveling systems, with a display that shows the level:
We pretty much always use hydraulic leveling, as it is more stable. In theory we just use Auto mode and it works… but sometimes on a rather unlevel site we have to switch to Manual to convince it to actually be level:
A useful addition to help check how level it is is a bubble level that shows two dimensions at once:
We put it on the floor to help see how level the coach is, and guide adjustments to get it level.
Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio
An artistic installation in Paso Robles, California is Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio.
It features a field of thousands of lights, and some light towers.
We arrived just before sunset:
Path to the light towers:
Light towers, made of wine bottles (of course):
An interesting shed:
We got a couple of beverages from the bar:
Sunset:
Light towers:
A shot from my 360 camera:
A 360 camera effect:
Back to the Field of Lights as it gets darker:
Back to the Light towers, now that it’s dark:
Grass lights:
The Field of Lights again:
360 camera effects:
Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle is an iconic mansion about midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
They offer a number of tours, from the basic Grand Rooms Tour, which we did 22 years ago when we first moved to the US, to a more exclusive Julia Morgan Tour, about twice as long, limited to just eight visitors, and gets to go places not seen by other tours. We opted for the latter this time; a very worthwhile experience.
The experiences starts and ends at the visitor center:
The visitor center includes food, a gift store, and exhibits:
Everyone takes a bus up the hill to the castle:
The tour started with the outdoor pool; we were on a side of the pool where the other tours can’t go:
Castle:
Exploring one of the guest cottages:
View:
Another cottage:
The castle:
Dining room:
Another room:
Game room:
Theater:
Another room:
Julia Morgan’s room:
Kitchen:
Stairs:
Bedroom:
Stairs:
Ceiling:
Library:
Back of cottage:
Underneath a large patio are some old hidden steps, that were built then covered up as Hearst changed his mind:
Indoor pool:
I recorded a timelapse video of the tour with my new 360 camera as an experiment. Unfortunately, the timelapse is designed for static subjects, morphing any movement, which isn’t great with motion. I really should have done a hyperlapse instead, but this is still interesting:
The view looking down the hill, including the winding road to castle:
Hearst Castle sign:
Photo:
