Carolina’s Notes
I got up to rain and so I just threw on clothes and brushed my teeth and hair. We need to get moving so Tony ran to Starbucks to get a pitcher of coffee instead of brewing our own. Yesterday the grounds got caught in the coffee maker and neither one of us wanted that delay this morning.
The first part of the journey was flat which was delightful for me considering I decided to fly solo again to tackle the fear of heights issue. Then reality hit and here came the mountains; that up and down and rocking back and forth was awful. This was complicated by busy traffic. My nervous system was starting the countdown and I was trying hard not to continue its sequence. California just has a lot of people in its state so it is always Rush Hour. Our task at hand was to get centrally located to my brother’s house without being too far away. We scoped out a state campground first; it’s called Anthony Chabot Campground (East Bay). The mountainous terrain became bad to worse. We found ourselves on a two-lane road without guardrails and had a steep drop off. My panic went from Defcon 2 to TOTAL MELTDOWN. Yep, I started crying like a baby; I mean really bellowing. Tony boldly ordered for me to be quiet if I plan for him to keep his composure and drive safely. I couldn’t argue with logic so I immediately shut up and proceeded with my quiet nervous breakdown. Tony did accomplish reaching the campground safely despite my meltdown. His efforts were futile because there was no availability for our rig. This was just as well because the sites were unlevel since they were positioned right at the top of the mountain. The positioning of the campground made me even more upset to convince myself to want to stay. In other words, if the campsites would have been level I might have acclimated but because it was slanted and at a drop-off. It felt like we were going to fall off even if we could hook up. I didn’t get out to look and walk around; my viewpoint is based my position at the kitchen table in the RV. When I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown, I did manage to look out the passenger window to find some of the most breath taking views of Castro Valley area had to offer. I am sorrowful that I didn't have the composure to click pictures because I know Tony was unable to sight see. Tony would have loved some pictures of that mountaintop for our blog. The trip down was better probably because it wasn’t uncharted territory for me. When we arrived back into Castro Valley it was Rush Hour and we still had to figure out home base. We decided to scope out Half Moon Bay, CA. We found lodging for four days at Pelican Point RV Park. We lucked out because of a cancellation; the downfall was it wasn’t for a week. At this point, I am relieved not to have to be driving because I am ready to stop. We will have to find other accommodations because we plan on being here for a week. Some of our other choice accommodations didn’t have availability. Staying in California will prove to be more expensive then originally budgeted. I imagine when we go onward to different states will be have to sleep at rest areas or parking lots. For now, I am grateful to be stopped. I’m exhausted and don’t feel like doing a thing. When I have a panic attack it zaps all my energy. Tony is a trooper because he’s still trying to make our campground site perfect for our company. I’m not sure if my brother and his family will actually come but Tony is trying to get everything ready. Honestly, I’m just not thinking about that right now.
Tony’s Notes
Once we left Corning, California, it was flat on through the Sacramento Valley. As we approached the Bay Area, there were more hills. However, it was the drive up the hillside to the Chabot Campground that did Carolina in for the day. It was a white knuckle drive up. The drop-offs were straight down, and the road was narrow. The campground itself was beautiful. The camp sites were surrounded by very mature pines, and they did have about twelve full hook up sites. Unfortunately, they were all reserved. They were level sites for the RV, but once a person would step out they were standing on a slant looking almost 3,000 feet down, over the bay area and Lake Chabot. It was very beautiful. The sites would have been thirty-two dollars a night and even though they were within twenty-five miles of Ed and Lisa’s house, it would still take a while to drive/climb up and down the mountain. So, I was glad to move on and felt disappointment that we had wasted the time driving up there.
The drive over to Half Moon Bay was through some busy rush hour traffic and we had to cross the San Mateo Bridge. We were lucky to get a spot at Pelican Point RV Park because it was the Art & Pumpkin Festival this coming weekend, and it is evidently a big deal. I was told that over two hundred thousand people would come to the festival. Half Moon Bay is a small town with only a couple two-lane roads in or out. The RV Park was the most expensive one on our journey so far. There was no RV Parks any closer to Ed & Lisa’s house, and Half Moon Bay is a very beautiful area. Not to mention we were right on the Pacific Coast and had a pretty good view.
I got up to rain and so I just threw on clothes and brushed my teeth and hair. We need to get moving so Tony ran to Starbucks to get a pitcher of coffee instead of brewing our own. Yesterday the grounds got caught in the coffee maker and neither one of us wanted that delay this morning.
The first part of the journey was flat which was delightful for me considering I decided to fly solo again to tackle the fear of heights issue. Then reality hit and here came the mountains; that up and down and rocking back and forth was awful. This was complicated by busy traffic. My nervous system was starting the countdown and I was trying hard not to continue its sequence. California just has a lot of people in its state so it is always Rush Hour. Our task at hand was to get centrally located to my brother’s house without being too far away. We scoped out a state campground first; it’s called Anthony Chabot Campground (East Bay). The mountainous terrain became bad to worse. We found ourselves on a two-lane road without guardrails and had a steep drop off. My panic went from Defcon 2 to TOTAL MELTDOWN. Yep, I started crying like a baby; I mean really bellowing. Tony boldly ordered for me to be quiet if I plan for him to keep his composure and drive safely. I couldn’t argue with logic so I immediately shut up and proceeded with my quiet nervous breakdown. Tony did accomplish reaching the campground safely despite my meltdown. His efforts were futile because there was no availability for our rig. This was just as well because the sites were unlevel since they were positioned right at the top of the mountain. The positioning of the campground made me even more upset to convince myself to want to stay. In other words, if the campsites would have been level I might have acclimated but because it was slanted and at a drop-off. It felt like we were going to fall off even if we could hook up. I didn’t get out to look and walk around; my viewpoint is based my position at the kitchen table in the RV. When I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown, I did manage to look out the passenger window to find some of the most breath taking views of Castro Valley area had to offer. I am sorrowful that I didn't have the composure to click pictures because I know Tony was unable to sight see. Tony would have loved some pictures of that mountaintop for our blog. The trip down was better probably because it wasn’t uncharted territory for me. When we arrived back into Castro Valley it was Rush Hour and we still had to figure out home base. We decided to scope out Half Moon Bay, CA. We found lodging for four days at Pelican Point RV Park. We lucked out because of a cancellation; the downfall was it wasn’t for a week. At this point, I am relieved not to have to be driving because I am ready to stop. We will have to find other accommodations because we plan on being here for a week. Some of our other choice accommodations didn’t have availability. Staying in California will prove to be more expensive then originally budgeted. I imagine when we go onward to different states will be have to sleep at rest areas or parking lots. For now, I am grateful to be stopped. I’m exhausted and don’t feel like doing a thing. When I have a panic attack it zaps all my energy. Tony is a trooper because he’s still trying to make our campground site perfect for our company. I’m not sure if my brother and his family will actually come but Tony is trying to get everything ready. Honestly, I’m just not thinking about that right now.
Tony’s Notes
Once we left Corning, California, it was flat on through the Sacramento Valley. As we approached the Bay Area, there were more hills. However, it was the drive up the hillside to the Chabot Campground that did Carolina in for the day. It was a white knuckle drive up. The drop-offs were straight down, and the road was narrow. The campground itself was beautiful. The camp sites were surrounded by very mature pines, and they did have about twelve full hook up sites. Unfortunately, they were all reserved. They were level sites for the RV, but once a person would step out they were standing on a slant looking almost 3,000 feet down, over the bay area and Lake Chabot. It was very beautiful. The sites would have been thirty-two dollars a night and even though they were within twenty-five miles of Ed and Lisa’s house, it would still take a while to drive/climb up and down the mountain. So, I was glad to move on and felt disappointment that we had wasted the time driving up there.
The drive over to Half Moon Bay was through some busy rush hour traffic and we had to cross the San Mateo Bridge. We were lucky to get a spot at Pelican Point RV Park because it was the Art & Pumpkin Festival this coming weekend, and it is evidently a big deal. I was told that over two hundred thousand people would come to the festival. Half Moon Bay is a small town with only a couple two-lane roads in or out. The RV Park was the most expensive one on our journey so far. There was no RV Parks any closer to Ed & Lisa’s house, and Half Moon Bay is a very beautiful area. Not to mention we were right on the Pacific Coast and had a pretty good view.
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