Thursday, May 23, 2013

Malibu Beach RV Park


Our first real RVing trip! We booked a site, full hook-ups, at Malibu RV for a Friday through Sunday, May 17th - 19th. Thankfully we were both out of work early that Friday, or else traffic really would have just been unbearable. We also planned ahead and Mr picked up the trailer Thursday night. So that really helped. We were able to get most of everything loaded and ready to go in the trailer that night, and really only worry about packing our clothes and cold food items Friday afternoon.

We ended up departing right around 5:15/5:20ish, us and the pups in the truck, everything else in the trailer. And we really didn't hit much traffic until we got on PCH. Theeeeen it was pretty much stop and go for about 20mins. We did pull off during the traffic slow down for gas and to walk the puppies, so in the end, the traffic really didn't impede us too much. Oh! Speaking of those wonderful puppies! They did soooooo good the whole drive up/end! Normally they aren't too thrilled with being in the car and just sit there and shake the whole time, but not this trip! We had them secured to the inside of the backseat, put a sleeping bag down, and they did great. 

"Where we goin'?" they seemed to say....

We pulled into the RV park right at dusk, got checked in and found our site. And what a site it was! We booked an ocean view, but figured with the busy season we would be on the top of the park, its tiered, and were 100% OK with that. But! But our site was right in the front, right at cliffs edge. It was amazing!


Panoramic view of the camp site
After a few minutes of getting the trailer in just the right spot (i.e. working out the kinks of backing it up for the first time) we were all set to set up camp! :-) Unfortunately we did miss sunset that first night, but we were too busy getting everything set up, making sure the pups were OK, and getting food out for dinner to really be upset about missing it. Our first RVing meal consisted of Hot Dogs, Cheddar Chex Mix, and our favorite Wine! Such classy folk, I know! Even though we didn't eat dinner until 9pm, we still sat outside and had a great night.
Dark photo of the trailer at night with the LED lights at the bottom

Hot Dogs! And camper plates!
Our classy-ness knows no bounds
The Mr waiting for dinner

Yay.
The next morning the Mr got up at his normal butt-crack of dawn time schedule and took the pups out for a nice walk along the walking trails that lined the RV park. I had thought about getting up to watch the sunrise (!!), but the way the hills are situated we really couldn't see it anyway, so I opted to get more sleep instead. Once up and about I was able to make coffee with our new Camper Coffee Maker (read:tiny & plastic) which was a lovely indulgence. We did bring a few Monsters (I brought a Pink Rockstar as those really seem to do the trick for me) with us just in case the coffee was a "no go". The rest of the day was spent re-organizing the inside (me) and the outside storage (the Mr) of the camper. And boy did it need it! I ended up making so much more room in the cabinets and it just gave me a sense of "Ahhhh" to have found a proper place for everything. We still need to get storage bins for the under side so that can also be as organized, but that will be waiting until our next trip. We took quite a few walks, played cards, the Mr napped, I read my magazine & got sunburned (really wouldn't be a vacation if I didn't get sun burnt).
My view from the bed. 
Pups enjoying the view too

How could we not get a red & white checkered tablecloth?!
Love!

Just awesome

After another meal of Hot Dogs we were so ready for the Mac & Cheese I pre-made for the trip. The oven is a little weird, and not knowing the true temperature inside made things a little funky. In the end the Mac & Cheese was tasty (albeit more luke-warm than hot) and we learned of something else needed to put on the next shopping trip - Oven Thermometer. :-) There was quite a bit left over mac& cheese, which was good since we were out of hot dogs for lunch the next day. D'oh! (Sadly the next morning the Mr had some for breakfast, covered it with foil, took the puppies on a walk, and came back to the crows poking into the foil and also enjoying the left overs! lol)
Yum!
Tuckered out puppies!
On our way out we stopped off on PCH to take a few pics before jumping on the freeway. Since we filled up on gas on our way up we were able to make great time heading directly to Pomona to park the trailer. Ended up leaving the RV Park around 11:15ish, and got home around 2. Not too shabby.

HA! So ready to be home!


Hey! Thats me!

Things we learned our 2nd night of RVing:
  1. Mattress pad/futon we got at Ikea was THE BEST PURCHASE EVER! Yay for real sleep!!!
  2. Need to remember to bring dog treats in the cab with us, not just in the trailer.
  3. Need better stabilizer jack thingys. Every step we took rocked that thing like no tomorrow.
  4. MORE real FOOD!! We had plenty of chips, s'mores fixings, drinks, etc, but not a lot of real protein based food.
  5. Everyone is so friendly. Its weird.




Monday, May 6, 2013

And so it begins...

We bought our very first travel trailer on April 21st 2013, it's a Cruiser RV Fun Finder 210UDS.

So far we have taken it out once, leaving directly from the dealership, on its maiden adventure into the wilds of Lyttle Creek, CA. Haha. Our new home away form home has a stationary bed, u-dinette, stand up shower, and an oven. We can comfortably sleep 3 to 4 people (as long as the 3rd & 4th people like to be crammed together on a tiny uncomfortable table-bed).

Our first adventure was more of a testing the waters outing, as neither of us have ever owned a trailer before, and we wanted to make sure we were relatively close to home before planning a whole weekend away. We had the Mr's dad come with us, as he has had trailers before and was able to assist in the hooking up process. Our one night away was wonderful! It was just "camping" enough to get the experience, and civilized enough for me not to freak out too much.

Things we learned our first night of RVing:
  1. Mattress pad! Gah! The mattress felt like we were sleeping on the ground! No thank you!!
  2. Getting up in the middle of the night to pee is no longer a 10min endeavor! Woot for indoor plumbing!!
  3. The air vent above the bed works freaking amazing!
  4. We need an actual comforter...see above. HA!
  5. We (I) need to get used to driving muuuuuuuch slower while towing a trailer. 55 to 60mph really is our max now. Eck.