RV Park Review – Orange Grove RV Park, Bakerfield, CA

Hanging in the orange grove at Orange Grove RV Park

An immaculate RV park set in a lovely orange grove in S. CA. Great stop-over spot for anyone travelling I-5.

Link to park here: Orange Grove RV Park
Link to map location here: Orange Grove RV Park

1. Site quality = 4/5 Very nice sites here. They are all spacious, flat dirt, but kept in very good condition with picnic table, individual orange trees (you can pluck as much fruit as you like in season) and good hookups (50Amp/water/sewer and cable). Most are pull-throughs with a few back-ins along the far rear. Only slight ding is that there is not much separation between sites (apart from the orange trees). Most sites are very similar, but edge sites (on end of every row) do have some extra space.
2. Facilities = 5/5 Very nice facilities here. Large, clean toilets with very big individual showers (huge in fact) with table and hooks for your clothes. Nice modern feel.
3. Amenities = 5/5 Very good amenities. There is a cute country store and lodge (with books, puzzles and tables), a decent pool area (just a tad small, but otherwise very nice), playground, laundry, fitness room (all new equipment). RV & car washing section in back (nice, little touch), plus free WiFi (which works well -> I gather it was just updated recently). Also on-site propane and dump station.
4. Location = 3/5 Bakersfield is not exactly a location destination (for most folks), but the park is a very convenient stopover for anyone travelling on I-5/99. In addition it’s nicely set ~9 miles out of town and inside an orange grove which means peace and relaxation -> a real bonus for the area. You are also just around the corner from the CA Fruit Depot.
5. Pet friendliness = 4/5 Great doggie spot. There is a walking area in the orange groves all around the park, plus a very cute (and nicely sized) off-leash area in the shaded grove on the SW corner. No bags, but poop-scooper areas all around. Only ding is no real hiking out the door. Nearest hiking w/ pooch is ~10 miles away at Kern River County Park.

Overall rating = 4.2
BONUS ALERT = Pluck oranges from the tree next to your site!

Summary: We needed a good stop-over with hookups (because of the heat) on I-5 and this park had been highly recommended by just about everyone we talked to. It definitely lived up to its reputation. Set quietly ~9 miles out of town the entire park is in the middle of an orange grove, with trees at each and every site. It’s immaculately kept with large, dirt sites, good hookups and great amenities (pool, hangout room, fitness room, RV washing station…you name it). Even the WiFi works well! The only slight dings are that sites do not really have much separation (apart from the orange trees) and there’s no real hiking directly from the park. In low-season the owners book everyone with space between, but in high-season (snowbird migration) I gather it’s packed. There are a few things to do and see around town. A lovely and relaxing stop-over and one I would definitely recommend to others.

Extra Info: Good 4G & 3G Signal on Verizon. Free WiFi on-site (works well). Sites $39/night ($35 for Good Sam’s or seniors), $195/week or $450/mo (all-inclusive).

Extra, Extra Info – Other Camping? There are a few other camping options which I can recommend in the area. For smaller rigs (I would say 35-max. It’s a tad tight for our size) nearby Kern River County Park is a lovely non-hookup park set beautifully right next to the river. Surrounding area has lots of hiking, trees, picnic area and recreation. For those looking for a “freebie” Camping World allows overnight camping in their lot.

Front view of our site (#161). All sites are very similar.

Another typical site view. RV in site #171

View down front empty row showing sites & picnic tables

Another view down a typical row. Our RV is on the left.

View down one of the back rows. Most of the monthly residents stay here. Front RV in site #67 on left.

View of facilities

View of pool area

View of playground

View of off-leash dog run

The Magic Mojo Of Random Travel Stops – Bakersfield, CA

Gas pump from the original 1936 Sonora Service Station

On yesterday’s post quite a few folks commented positively on the fact that we always take a “chill” day between drives. It’s actually been a habit of ours since we started RVing. We decided early on that, as much as possible, we were going to do short(ish) drives (our average is ~150 miles), take our time to enjoy the ride and stop to smell the roses along the way. This approach has meant we’ve ended up in some pretty godforsaken spots, but it’s also given us some of our best “surprises”, all from random travel stops along the way. There’s the cool vintage car museum we stumbled across in the middle of nowhere in Murdo, SD, the surrealistic Garden of the Gods that we discovered in the deep forest of Illinois, and the stunning Owl Canyon that was hidden outside Barstow, CA…..just to name a few. For me these unexcpected encounters are all part of the magic of travel. I believe everywhere has something to offer and I am always looking for that magic to reveal itself.

I was not expecting this at all! The green glory of Kern County Park.

Take our layover day here in Bakersfield, CA. We had no expectations and no plans coming into this town, other than to take a break on our route north. But with a combo of tips from blog readers and some travel magic mojo it’s turned out to be another one of those surprising and educational stops.

It all started out bright and early with a tip from blog reader Jerry B. that directed us to green glory at the Kern River County Park. This total surprise of a place is only ~10 miles from our RV park and is a huge, deep-shade-lined recreation area with camping (bit small for our size, but otherwise gorgeous), fishing, a golf course (!), a living museum, miles of hiking & endless reams of squirrel-chasing (for the furry ones of us that like that kind of thing). Total peace and relaxation (we only saw one other person on our hike) in what is otherwise a pretty hot and dense town. What a find!

A reproduction of a mining era courthouse and jail at the Kern County Museum.

The afternoon continued my intrepid exploration with a visit to Kern County Museum where I was inspired to go based on a random link I’d seen in the park brochure. It was actually closed today (duh!), but I wandered around and found an open gate in the back which practically begged me to enter the Pioneer House exhibit (it did, really it did). Serendipity! The next hour I was treated to a private viewing of the 55 fabulous reconstructed original houses with a fascinating history of the mid-to-late 1800′s from gold rush to oil boom. Not bad for a total fluke.

Dark chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. Oh, bestill my beating heart…!

To round off the day I motored over to the California Fruit Depot which had been recommended by blog readers Jim and Luke (double tip!). Score again! This cool little store must have at least 80 different versions of dried, spiced, chocolate-covered, candied, roasted…you name it…fruits and nuts. And each and every item is open for tasting, meaning you can literally munch your way around the shop. To top it all off they sell a book that tells “the gripping firsthand account of one of the most miraculous rescues from certain extinction ever achieved“. It’s the dramatic and suspenseful story of the Medjool Date…and no, I’m not kidding. Should you feel swept away by the tale you can even buy a home-made Date milkshake right on-site. Oh, and there’s a hidden Geocache here too. Well worth the stop!

And finally wouldn’t you know we met a fellow blogger here too. Smitty & Sandy’s Tour are staying in the same RV park we are. Smitty came over to say “hi” yesterday afternoon and even picked us a bag of oranges from the grove. Groovy!

An unexpected day in Bakersfield, one new friendship, three unplanned visits and a whole lotta cool memories. The magic mojo of random travel stops is alive and well!

Blacksmith shop from 1890 at the Kern County Museum

Local color in the gardens

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Northward Bound We Go…..

One shot from I-5 San Diego, and one from I-5 LA -> Wanna guess which is which?

Finally, after what I can only call the long, long winter we are back on the road again! This morning bright and early (and bushy-tailed…well, at least one of us that is) it was jacks up, engine revved and off northward on our journey to Oregon.

Now the only problem with journeying to Oregon is that you have to go Northward through California, and despite this State being the most populous in the nation (by a good margin too), road planning has never kept up and there are really only three viable ways to go. Your choices are:

1/ Follow The Coast (Hwy 1 & 101) - An absolutely gorgeous drive if you’ve got the time, but it’s packed (and expensive to stay there) in summer. And you DO need time.
2/ Go Straight Down the Middle (I-5) - Possibly the most boring route on earth, but it’s the biggest road and it’ll get you there in the straightest way possible.
3/ Take The Eastern Route Thro’ The Sierras (Hwy 395) – We did this last year coming South and it’s our absolute fav route….scenic, relaxed, pristine & road in near-prefect condition (which is really saying something in California). Everyone should do this drive at least once in their life-time, but again you need some time.

Our goal this time was to high-tail it, so we reluctantly submitted to choice #2. Now I admit there are a few scenic bits to I-5, but these rare moments of joy are completely obliterated by the fact that you have to drive through Los Angeles, the fact that much of the road resembles a discarded cheese-grater, and the fact there are at least a gazillion trucks doing the same thing….oh and then there’s that seemingly infinite flat, flat, pancake-stretch in the no-mans land between Bakersfield and Sacramento in the middle. In case you can’t tell it’s not my favorite drive.

Honestly I don’t think LA traffic ever has down-time

But human nature is a mysterious thing. Despite having driven this same route many (many) times in my past, I somehow always imagine that this time it won’t be so bad. I guess it’s the same natural instinct that causes women to forget about the pain of childbirth? In my fantasy-land, I see the RV driving effortlessly through LA, coasting the middle bits with ease and arriving refreshed and satisfied at the northern end.

Light at the end of the tunnel….our relaxing spot in the Orange Grove

Well our little day-drive to Bakersfield, CA managed to shatter those dreams. Instead we got the welcome of bumper-to-bumper cars in LA (and this on a Sunday morning no less), 2 accidents which managed to stop traffic yet again (why does everyone always stop to look?), and a ride so bumpy I’m surprised it didn’t scramble the eggs in the fridge and shake off everything attached to the rig (our front TV actually DID come loose requiring me to do some emergency towel-stuffing of the cabinet to keep it in one piece). To put the cherry on top we entered Bakersfield to a breezy 96 °F (~36 °C) which put all question of free-camping out the window.

Fruit, goat cheese and walnut salad with oranges from our RV park!!

But there was light at the end of the tunnel. My back-up plan for Bakersfield was an RV park set in an Orange Grove which had been recommended by just about everyone I’d talked to. So after our long, stressful, jaw-jarring drive we arrived to blissfull peace in a luscious, green grove with space to breathe and relax. Ahhhhhhhhhhh…..We set-up the rig, went for a walk in the grove with pooch and snabbed a fresh orange right off the tree for dinner.

We never drive two days in a row, so we’ll be taking a day to hang out here before our next leg north. Forecast is for 94 tomorrow so we’re happy for the hook-ups…and the little ray of light in our long journey north.

An Alternative State Of Mind – Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA

The OB Hostel. It’s a whole other state of mind…

Sometimes a place is a whole other state of mind, and going to Ocean Beach is exactly that. Hang out for a day in OB and you embark on a journey into an alternative psychedelic universe to a place that remains locked in time and spirit. Yeah it’s kinda like a hippy version of Star Trek. This is THE original free spirit hangout of San Diego, THE original dog beach and the only place where that hang-back surfer 60′s vibe is still abundant.

There is no other spot in San Diego that is as unique and fiercely independent, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

The fabulous OB pier

Ocean Beach viewed from the pier

I originally became involved with OB back when we lived in San Diego and I was running health classes around town. Before I started running my class there I only had a faint idea of what the place was like, but once I got involved in the local community I realized it was completely different from anywhere else in San Diego. This is the melting pot of melting pots -> a grand ratatouille of hippies, surfers, alternative families, musicians, Deadheads, politic misfits and students that have all bonded to produce a beach community with a totally alternative vibe. To say the locals love OB is an understatement. They are passionate about the place and everything here reflects that unique view!

Ocean Beach was developed in 1887 and remained largely isolated from the rest of San Diego until Hwy 8 was built in the mid-1960′s. The location and isolation was probably part of the reason it developed such a unique personality. The town attracted free spirits from the beginning and retained it’s personality by keeping building development curtailed. Today’s OB has a  has a very cool downtown strip (Newport Ave) packed in with antiques, food and shopping that reflect the original spirit of the town. Here’s just a few of our favorite jaunts:

The interior decor at Hodad’s

Paul chats to the waitress at The 3rd Corner

Downtown seating on Newport Ave

Sooooo OB….surf board and bike

Going for a splash at Ocean Beach Dog Beach

• Hodad’s: Our main food-hunt is the eclectic Hodad’s, a practical institution when it comes to burgers in San Diego. The shop is a hole-in-the-wall packed with surf-boards, licence plates and blasting music that is almost always packed to the rim. We come for the juicy fare, the vibe and the fact that they’ll offer lettuce-wraps (great for gluten-intolerant like ourselves). My favorite is the Blue Jay, but just about any burger on the menu is a home run. If you’re feeling particularly gourmet order one of their milk shakes, a delectable desert all in itself.
• The 3rd Corner: This cozy wine-shop/restaurant is where we go when we want to have a romantic dinner in town. Buy the wine from the fabulous collection in-shop and drink it with your fresh California-cuisine meal for only $5 corkage fee. We love it so much we’ve been here 3 times since we’ve been in San Diego.
• Shopping: OB is definitely a shoppers paradise for the alternative minded. The Black is a famous head shop for all things hippy, but there are also thrift stores, antique shops and record stores on the main strip.
• Ocean Beach Pier: At 1,971 feet OB pier is one of the longest concrete piers in the world. Opened in 1966 it dominates the beach landscape and offers sunset walks, fishing and even a Cafe (what a view!) at the far end.
• Dog Beach: This is THE original off-leash dog beach in San Diego, so much so that’s it’s simply known as “Dog Beach”. It’s 10 acres of brilliant sand that also doubles up as a great surf-spot too. It’s always full of paws, but has lots of space for everyone to run around. For those that need it you can head over to Dog Wash for a rinse after the run.
• Wednesday Farmers Market: If you’re in the area do not miss the Wednesday down-town Farmers Market. This is the most original of the San Diego markets with a focus on crafts and live music. Every Wed from 4-8PM. Feel free to bring doggie too (everyone else does!).

Fishing on the pier in OB

Paul enjoys the view on the pier

We met our RV friends Kathie and Bob on another perfect afternoon for a burger and a walk around town. It started at Hodad’s (of course) after which we meandered down the pier to check out the surfers and enjoy the view. Kathie and I both commented on the fact that we both would have loved to live here in our 20′s. It’s a city-in-one (many OBers never leave the place) and exactly the kind of spot that inspires creative thinking and living. Our spot by Mission Bay is right around the corner making this an easy hop and a skip from the RV park (there’s even a great bike trail all the way around the bay and into the beach). If you’re in the area and looking for something different, definitely make the trip. Like I said, it’s a whole other state of mind!

Interior of the iconic Hodad’s

The “Cow” shop…LPs anyone?

View down the main drag of Newport Ave

An old VW, surf boards and color sums up OB in one pic

RV Park Rating – Santee Lakes, Santee (San Diego, CA)

Reblogged from Wheeling It:

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REVIEW updated as of latest stay Jan 2012

Biking along one of the many gorgeous trails by the lake at Santee Lakes

This was one of the first parks we stayed at in San Diego and continues to be one of our absolute favorite in the area. It’s a public park run by the water district, but has all the feel of an upscale, yet very natural private park.

Read more… 1,088 more words

Just updated our review of Santee Lakes with lots of new pics & details. This is one of the parks that is always on top of our list when we stay in San Diego area.

Frolicking In Nation’s Largest Urban Cultural Park – Balboa Park, San Diego CA

The Botanical Building & Lilly Pond at Balboa Park is one of the original structures from the 1915 exposition

Every time I go to Balboa Park I always end up wondering why I don’t go more often. It’s one of the hidden gems of San Diego (that is if you can call 1,200 acres in the smack middle of a city “hidden”) but with so much going on here it always seems to fall on the wayside list of places to go.

And that, honest to say, is a darn shame.

Paul and Polly pose in front of one of the typical spanish architecture buildings

In matter of fact Balboa Park is the largest urban cultural park in the nation (oh yeah, much larger than that famous jobbie in NYC) and you could easily spend a whole week exploring the area and still not be half-done. I promised you a few more blog posts on San Diego before we left and this was one of the ones I just had to include. It goes on the absolute “must see” for the whole family, including your furry friend, and if you come here you simply have to go!

It all started in 1915-16 with the Panama-California Exposition (celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal). San Diego was chosen as the host city and created a park with Spanish-Renaissance style buildings to commemorate the event. Luckily the park “stuck” and grew, staying true to its original architectural roots and expanding steadily to become the fabulous attraction it is today. There is so much to do here that it’s almost impossible to list everything in one post, but I’ll give you just a sprinkling of the fun items for the taking:

Paintings on sale in the artists colony

Sculptures in the artists colony

• Museums Galore – The park has 15 major museums with constantly updated exhibits including the Museum of Photographic Arts, the Air & Space Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Art just to name a few. If you like museum-hopping be sure to buy the park pass “Passport“ that gets you into all of them for one low fee.
• Artistic Culture – The park contains 4 grand theatres including the iconic Old Globe and hosts a fabulous “artists colony” with over 200 working artists with free access to all.
• Garden Hopping – There are 14 separate gardens each with their own draw. All are free and paw-friendly except for the Japanese Friendship Garden.
• Doggie Heaven – The park hosts 3 off-leash dog areas and has several outdoor restaurants where you can sit and eat with pooch.
• Sport Swinging - Within the park grounds there is a full (and recently upgraded) golf course, several tennis courts, lawn bowling, archery course, gymnasium and sports field.
• Zoo – The well-known and well-loved San Diego Zoo is right on-site.
• Hiking/Biking - Believe it or not there are 65 miles of hiking/biking trails within park grounds!!!

Oh this thing is HUGE!!!! The majority of the park is free and your 4 paws are welcome everywhere except within the museums and a few of the gardens!

Inside the colorful artists colony

The Spreckels Organ Pavillion hosts many free concerts all year

We headed on over to Balboa Park on a perfect spring afternoon with pooch in tow to walk around and enjoy the sights.  It’s only a few minutes drive from down-town and after a quick stop at the visitor center for a park map we wondered off to enjoy the free sights and architecture of the park. Our walking tour took us past several museums, gardens, outdoor restaurants, theatres and finally into the artists colony at the Spanish Village Art Center (which is probably my favorite spot in the whole place). We literally spent the whole afternoon strolling around, and would have stayed for one of the many free concerts if they’d been on that day.  We’ll be back for another jaunt and some hiking before we leave too.

A great park, a paw-friendly place and a “must see” for everyone who comes to San Diego. Have you been to the park?

P.S. Thanks so much for everyone who sent in tips for our trip to OR. We’ve got LOTS of ideas of stuff to see and places to go. Really looking forward to sharing it all with you on the blog!

The Natural History Museum always hosts awesome exhibits

Flowers in bloom. The various gardens are well worth the visit and many have spots to hang out and relax.

“Arial” view of the Japanese Gardens

Expresso anyone?

Planning, Planning…and Oregon Bound!

Spring flowers in San Diego

Well it’s been a few days since I’ve blogged, but your comments and words of support have been AMAZING. I am truly humbled by everyone who has shared their story and will be taking time to comment to each poster individually. My love and support goes out to all of you who are dealing or have dealth with things far, far more difficult than I. For the moment I still can’t quite wrap my head around writing about everything that’s happened here. Suffice to say it’s been a loooong 5 months and I’m ready to have it all behind me, at least for a while.

The one silver lining to all this is that we’re finally ready to move and making plans for our next months of travel. This is mucho-exciting and means we’re back on the road, baby!

Polly & Taggart are peas in a pod

This past week we knocked around a few different locations including Utah & Colorado, but decided in the end to follow the cool coast and explore the southern part of Oregon. It’s the perfect follow-on to our 2-month trip through Northern Oregon last year and means we’ll get many more paw-happy-sand-lovin’ moments on our very favorite coast. And in true beauty and the beast style it’s ALL going to be deep nature a-la national forest, county parks and state parks along the way. So, for a few days I’ve been scouring natural and inexpensive locations and have come up with a rough plan.

Basically we’re gonna high-tail it to Oregon up the 5, stopping at Mt Shasta for some mountain hiking & exploring and heading over from there to Ashland, OR for their annual Shakespeare Festival. From there it’s up to our fav spot in Eugene, OR for yearly RV maintenance & stocking up on fabulous produce. Then we hit the coast and take our fine time south along the 101, stopping at as many State Parks as we can physically manage to book. It’s a fine plan if I do say so myself and will take us to many new and unexplored areas.

Paul chats with our friends Terry (and Lu) at their workamping spot in San Elijo State Park

Our adventure starts 2 weeks from today. In the meantime we’ll be wrapping up stuff here in San Diego, and hopefully cramming in a few more blog posts about the area. If any of you have thoughts on our trip or are planning to be in Oregon in the next few months do let us know. We’ve gotten some of our best visit ideas from other bloggers/commenters and always love meeting folks on the road.