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:
We stayed at San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA in Petaluma, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Another nice RV park in another wine country.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
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:
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 244 miles from Paso Robles, California 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!):
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.
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 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:
While staying in Paso Robles, we visited a few wineries. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, we figured we’d just head out on a Saturday for a bit of wine tasting, stopping by wineries that looked good. Imagine our surprise when we learned that that is not how things are done in California — apparently one needs reservations pretty much everywhere.
We did manage to get an inside table at one place without a reservation, but that surprise really put a damper on the experience that day.
The place that took pity on our backward ways was McPrice Myers Vineyards:
We purchased a couple of bottles:
After that, we didn’t try any other wineries that day; instead we went to Rustic Fire for a tasty lunch:
Learning from our experience, we made reservations for some vineyards on subsequent days. The first was Calcareous Vineyard:
Inside the tasting room:
Outdoor table:
Tasting menu:
Food menu:
Order form:
View:
Outdoor seating:
Jenn:
Tasty food:
We bought three bottles (provided with a nice box):
Another vineyard, DAOU Vineyards and Winery:
Vines:
The security station on the driveway; we were turned away here the previous weekend, but this time we had a reservation (and nobody was staffing it this time, of course):
Fancy gate:
View:
Tasting room:
Patio:
Gardens:
Bottle list:
Flight and food menu:
Charcuterie platter:
Bottle:
Views:
We bought three bottles:
Another winery we visited (on another day) was Parrish Family Vineyard:
Patio area:
Tasting menu:
Food menu:
Price list:
Super tasty (and messy!) BLTA:
Our last winery in Paso Robles was Le Cuvier Winery:
They are situated on top of a hill, so have a nice view:
Though the covered patio is tucked away, not taking advantage of that view:
The experience there was a bit different, with wine and food parings to bring out the flavors:
A timelapse of our stay at Sun Outdoors Paso Robles.
We stayed at Sun Outdoors Paso Robles in Paso Robles, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice RV park in wine country.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Gorgeous campground in the heart of Paso Robles wine country
We stayed here for 10 days in order to experience the wine country scene and explore the central coast. Our site was a deluxe back-in, overlooking a greenspace and vineyard, which we absolutely loved. Our site was meticulously clean and perfectly flat. During the week, this place was absolutely wonderful and quiet. On the weekends, however, it got very busy with groups and families, so it was a bit noisier.
I have to agree with another review that pointed out they don’t enforce the “no political flags” rule because there were quite a few during our stay, which is unfortunate and creates a less-welcoming atmosphere. We also had issues with our neighbor not keeping their three dogs leashed or under voice control, and we had to repeatedly shoo them away from our living area.
The one thing keeping me from giving this a 5-star review is the lack of garbage pickup from our site. At such an expensive resort, it really should be a standard amenity. We camped at Sun Outdoors Paso Robles in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Do the food & wine pairing experience at Le Cuvier, have lunch (and get the BLT!) at Parrish, and experience the art installations at Sensorio. It’s also an easy (and beautiful) drive to Hearst Castle and the coast.
Interactive map:
Campground map:
Our site before parking:
Our site:
Our site and beyond:
Moon:
Utilities:
Working outside:
Patio with our griddle, rugs, tables, chairs, and Starlink:
Hot dogs and beans:
Another day, a griddle pork loin and pasta salad:
A nice view from the patio:
A somewhat reduced view once a neighbor turned up:
Open space behind our site:
Other sites:
The Valley Pavilon:
Grills, fire pit, etc:
Hot tub; we enjoyed having it to ourselves on our first evening:
Welcome Center:
Entrance sign:
