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:
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:
On a personal level, we enjoy our independence and seeing this vast and diverse country as we drive our home around the states.
Here’s the map of our journey so far, and up until the end of this year — the 2021 Yellowstone trip is in brown, 2021 coach travel in green, 2022 travel in blue, and 2023 travel in purple:
The same map as an animated GIF, adding each year:
Looking forward to exploring the east side of the country over the next couple of years.
We visited Disneyland for Jenn’s birthday last year, and were in the area again this year, so decided to visit again, this time to celebrate our anniversary (28 years, if you’re curious). And just three days at the two parks, instead of five like last year.
We were very pleased that the trams were running again; last year, they had suspended the trams due to COVID, so we had to walk the half mile or so from the parking garage to the resort. Which is not much compared to walking around in Disneyland, but not the best way to start or finish the experience:
On the tram:
First thing after entering Disneyland is a photo op below the train station (once again we got the Genie+ service, which includes PhotoPass photos all over the park):
We enjoyed the Rise of the Resistance ride (again; we did most of the rides last year too; we used the Genie+ service to snag LightningLanes for most of the rides, where available, to minimize waiting):
Then we went on the Mark Twain Riverboat for a cruise around the Rivers of America:
A duck on a moose back:
For our anniversary dinner, we had a reservation at Blue Bayou Restaurant, overlooking the start of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride:
Here’s the menu:
Castle at night:
Viewing area for the evening Fantasmic! show (included with the dinner package):
The show featured projections on water, fire (but not dragon on fire), fireworks, dancing, etc:
Mickey photo op:
A couple of days later, we went back to Disneyland a second time.
The Pixar ball at the parking area:
We bought Magic Bands, which were very useful; they can be used to get into the parks, access fast lanes, link photos, and have bonus interactions, among other things:
Main Street:
We used the lockers; a great way to bring in extra clothing, batteries, etc, but not have to lug them around all day:
It was rather dodgy, though; near the end of the ride it shut down, and all the lights came on. We had to wait several minutes before being evacuated:
We were given a credit to come back later, which we did. The ride seemed to go down frequently. And when we went on it the second time, it had long pauses towards the end. Some more debugging needed, I think. Still, it was a mostly fun experience, and fascinating to get a behind-the-scenes peek.
