Lodi to Pacifica – 13 March 2022
This was a day of challenges. After packing up and preparing the inside for travel I took Jax for a walk. Derek in the meantime disconnected all the utilities, closed the slides and got ready to attach the Fifth wheel. Then he noticed that one of the windows was open so had to unlock the door and open all the slides again to close the window. Once that was sorted out he prepared to back the truck up to connect the hitch. Well it just wouldn’t click in place. He must have tried about 10 times till eventually some of our neighbours took pity on him and walked over to help. So there were the three of them all trying to get the hitch to work. After about another 10 tries and some manhandling of the hitch, it eventually slid into place and we could leave. Poor old Minnie min was in the meantime in her carrier on the backseat going backwards and forwards. I was suprised she didn’t get sick!
I was very excited to go to San Francisco again. This city has special significance to us as we had visited it during our honeymoon some 29 years ago. Also this was our first “longer” stay and we both needed a break from the RV packing and unpacking the last few weeks. The traffic coming into San Francisco over the Bay bridge was horrific but the views of the city were amazing.
The San Francisco RV Resort is situated in Pacifica on a cliff overlooking a rough and glorious ocean. The view was spectacular. Our site was extremely narrow and on top of it we had to back in. Luckily we only had a neighbour on one side.The motor home we were parking next to was parked face forward and we had to be very careful that we were able to open our slides and our front door without hitting them. When Derek backs in he firsts lifts up the utility closet on the outside of the RV which gives him access to the levelling components. After a few tries and some mad waving from me we were snuggly in. Derek went about his connections and opened the slides. I got the animals into the RV and began the task of putting everything back in place. Because we were going to stay for a couple of weeks I unpacked everything including my office. Usually when we are only staying over for a night or two, we keep most items packed so it is easier and quicker to move the next day. After a couple of hours I had everything I wanted in place, lunch was on the table, animals all fed and we were settling in. Thats when Derek realized that he couldn’t close the utility closet door as there was a concrete post in place. OMG. This meant packing away stuff again, and all the slides had to come in again so we could move out and in again. I don’t have to tell you what a business that was with poor old Minnie min shoved back in her carrier again. Lessons learned!
The next few days we caught up with work and explored the immediate area. There was a trail running through the RV resort that led on the right along the cliff to a sandy, steep walkway down to a fantastic beach which dogs are allowed to run on. There was also a Safeway close by as well as a post office, walgreens, gas station and a number of smaller shops and restaurants. On the left there was a trail along the coast again where there was a long pier which was full of fisherman. Behind us we could cross over the busy road to some more shops including Starbucks – whoopee.
About 20 minutes from Pacifica is Lands End which is a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is a rocky and windswept shoreline at the mouth of the Golden Gate, situated between the Sutro District and Lincoln Park and abutting Fort Miley Military Reservation. A memorial to USS San Francisco stands in the park. We took Jax for a great walk there with stunning views of the San Francisco bridge and a gorgeous beach below.
One of the highlights of our stay was a trip downtown where we took in the sites at Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. So much to see and do. It was a little hard to do much stuff with Jax in tow but we decided to take him first to c out the area and then come back another time to target areas. Unfortunately we didn’t make it downtown again due to work pressures and weather. We did however go for a really good hike around the Golden Gate park. This park is over 1000 acres and has an assortment of museums, lakes, frisbee park, dog parks, bison park, etc. We headed towards the windmill I had seen from the road and took pictures of the tulips in bloom in Queen Wilhelmina’s garden. So beautiful. Reminded me so much of my dear old Mum. On the way back we passed a man made lake where there were a number of older men sailing remote controlled sail boats, and stopped to watch their fierce competition.
A couple of days before leaving Minnie Min started acting strangely and trying to pee everywhere. We found an emergency vet – really cool guy who looked like an aged surfer with scruffy jeans and a reversed ball cap. He was very nice and after an ultra sound and a few tests we were given some antibiotics and on our way home. Thank goodness the meds kicked in very quickly and before we knew it little Minnie min was back to normal.
Derek was excited to receive his waterless mop and solution and happily started cleaning the outside of the RV which by now was caked with salt and sand. Seemed to work pretty well. In the meantime, I caught up on work as the weather started to turn and was a little chilly.
