Turnkey Camping

We had the most magical day possible with my aunt and uncle at Lake Tahoe!  We rolled out of our campground at 11 and graciously, my uncle and aunt had gone ahead of us and reserved a spot on the beach - complete with umbrellas and chairs!  We met my aunt at their house and unloaded food and then went to a gorgeous beach.  They graciously pulled out all of their fun toys!  The kids kayaked and paddle boarded and they even took us on their boat!  It was so fabulous!  Afterwards, we went back to their house - with a stunning view - and enjoyed a delicious bbq meal.  The day was absolutely perfect!  

Thankfully my husband is basically a magician when it comes to vehicle purchases.  Throughout our marriage, I can’t even count the number of wheels we have owned - but what can you do?  It’s in his genes!  Stuart and Jude’s first words were “bus” and Charlie is following in their footsteps with his love of wheels.  All that to say, when our engine blew, what could we do but pivot?   We’ve typically preferred GMC’s but after this engine blow, we were a little spooked.  Stu started the hunt for how to get us home.  Trucks that seat 6 are few and far between - thus the stretched truck we used for hauling the nine living creatures that we cart around the country!  We were in San Fran on the hunt for a tow vehicle and Stu found a Ram 6 seater about three hours from our campsite.  Yesterday around noon, Stu, Charlie, and I set out on the mission to buy this truck.  We tried to make a dealer swap from San Francisco the day before, but the deale...

  Today Stu worked and I drove the kiddos into Chinatown.  Driving in a big city was not the easiest thing for me but we made it to a parking garage.  We started out getting boba tea and then headed to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.  For $4 you can make two fortune cookies with your own message inside.  It was a really unique experience.  C was desperate for a playground, so we ventured toward Willy “woo woo” Wong Playground.  C loved it and the boys played basketball.  We ended with a little shopping and got treats at a bakery.  I wanted to get L some dim sum to go but all of the restaurants had long lines.  Instead we met at Stu’s sister’s house for a yummy pasta dinner.  Still working on truck details, but it was nice to have a SF adventure.

  Stu took the day off and we explored SF a bit.  We took a cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf - the kids enjoyed the seafood at the wharf.  After we met Stu’s sister and kiddos and went for ice cream at the Ferry Building then to a playground.  We spent a few hours at the Exploratorium and headed back to the camper when they closed.  It was a spaghetti kind of night and were trying to figure out what to do about the next leg of our trip.  The repair shop said the issue is engine related and we should know more of the scope tomorrow.    

We had a great family day yesterday!  We met Stu’s sister and her family in Ocean Beach at this awesome food truck called Dad’s Luncheonette.  It was started by a Michelin star chef who wanted to move to a surfing area.  We got our food to go and took a hike down to the beach with the kids and dogs.  Afterward, we got reorganized at the camper and went to their house for dinner.  It was a wonderful day!

The trip took a bit of a turn…  we were driving along - about two hours from our destination - and suddenly there was an explosive sound.  This was about 3 pm.  We pulled over to survey the damage and everything looked fine.  We tried to pull back on the highway and could only go about 20 mph.  The truck simply didn’t have any power.  We called roadside assistance from our insurance and they were able to tow the truck to the closest GMC dealer who had already closed for the day.  The campground called about our reservation and we explained our predicament.  She gave us the name of an Rv repair guy who could maybe tow the camper the two hours to our campsite.  The tow truck company was also able to get a taxi to come to the side of the highway with a minivan - so the kids and pets and I hopped in and tried to go to a rental car place at the Salinas airport.  He was cash only and the fare was $40.  I had $42 haha.  When we got th...