we’re home! (probably)

Current status: we’re finally “home” at an RV park in Hoquiam, Washington. Deron has applied for a few part-time positions at the local Home Depot, and we’re about to try out our first church, Harbor City. There are some cute houses on the market, but we probably won’t really start looking to buy until after Deron’s been working for a few months and we’ve found a church we know we want to call home. As soon as we’re moved in, though, we hope you come visit! (Of course, you’re welcome to come camp with us even sooner.)

If you fancy a fun road trip, read on! This week I’ve described the first half of the route we usually take to Hoquiam along the beautiful Highway 101 – and all the things we like to do and see on the way.

We took it slow this time, limiting driving time to three to four hours and stopping for two nights at most places, so it took almost two weeks for us to get to Hoquiam. If you’d rather drive about 10 hours per day, you can make your trip as short as about three days on the 101, or two days on the I5, or you can fly into Seattle and we’ll pick you up. But you’ll be missing out!

Stop 1 – Orangeland RV Park, Orange, CA
Though Orangeland is somewhat pricey, we like it because it’s a short drive for that first day, and kind of breaks up the LA traffic experience. The park is full of citrus trees, from which campers are encouraged to pick (the office has fruit pickers available to check out). The park is in the middle of the city of Orange, so there’s not much in the way of “nature” to enjoy, but you can walk around the nearby Santa Ana River flood channel and see snow-capped mountains in the distance. Of course, there’s lots to do in Orange County – the park is a 15-minute drive from Disneyland, and within walking distance of Angel Stadium (home of the LA Angels) and Honda Center (home of the Anaheim Ducks). If you’re not in an RV, you’ll have to find another spot to camp – or just skip this one and go straight through to Stop 2.

Stop 2 – Pismo Sands RV Resort, Oceano, CA
Once you make it out of traffic and over to the coast, it’s a beautiful drive to Pismo Sands, which is a very pretty park. So many things to do in that area! We liked walking through the Monarch Butterfly Grove, which is less than ten minutes away, and visiting Grover Beach to see if any whales are hanging out off the coast. SLO is about 20 minutes north – we’ve had some fantastic ice cream there – and visiting Bubblegum Alley is always a fun time-waster. If you feel like driving a bit further, Wine Country RV Resort in Paso Robles is very beautiful, situated conveniently close to several wineries. In addition to RV hookups, both the Pismo Sands and Wine Country parks have cottages for rent.

Stop 3 – Coyote Valley RV Resort, Morgan Hill, CA
We only stayed here one night, so we didn’t explore the area – but it’s right outside of Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world, so I’m sure there are lots of garlic-related things to do. The park features a golf course and a large saltwater pool and spa. An alternative park that we enjoyed is Yanks RV Resort in Greenfield, CA. It’s in the middle of lush farmland, and about an hour away from Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is a beautiful town in which to dine, shop and stroll. Neither Coyote nor Yanks offer cabins or tent camping sites, so you’ll have to skip this stop or find another park if you’re not in an RV. We always enjoy the thrill of driving over the Golden Gate Bridge on the way to the next park.

Stop 4 – Mendocino Redwoods RV Resort, Willits, CA
This RV park also offers cabins for rent and tent camping sites, and has a ton of fun kid stuff to do – including a disc golf course, RC track, petting zoo, arcade and water park, and a train depot right in the center of the park. Nearby Lake Emily is a popular fishing spot, with a pretty path that runs alongside it. On the way to the next park, we highly recommend you take the Avenue of the Giants to see the most majestic redwood trees you can imagine.

This only represents the first half of the beauty and fun available on the way up the 101 to the Grays Harbor area! Check back next week to read about the rest of our journey, and to hear what progress we’ve made in our goal of planting roots here.

praise & prayer

We have a limited amount of time at our current RV park, so we’d appreciate prayer for things to line up quickly while we’re here – a church home, a job for Deron, and a house to purchase or rent so that we can sell the RV and still have somewhere to live – or that we’d find another dog-friendly RV park nearby that can accommodate us for a longer period of time.