The Long and Winding Road (not so much)

Rien and Sarah just sent a batch of photos to us all the way from Holland, and I must say they are outstanding! I think this particular photo was taken near Death Valley... not the place you'd want to travel to at the moment, seeing it's summer and all, but the perfect destination in our 'off season' here in Southern California.

Rien owns his own vintage rental business back home in Holland called Vintage Road Trips.

Vintage Travel Trailers @ Modernism Week :: Palm Springs, California

Modernism Week is fast approaching - February 17 - 27th in Palm Springs, California.


Check out the vintage travel trailers at the Riviera Hotel February 25 - 27th. I believe admission is $15., but don't hold me to it... there will be open-door tours Saturday and Sunday, where you can see the interiors and talk to the owners. Hours are 10 am - 3 pm Saturday, and 9 am - 1 pm Sunday. There will also be several vendors on site, with all kinds of modernism / vintage trailer inspired goodies.

Hope to see you there!

Christmas Camping in Southern California :: Joshua Tree, Salvation Mountain, Salton Sea Hot Springs, Death Valley

A picture review of Gina, Jay and the kids' Christmas in the deserts of Southern California!

First night and second nights in Joshua Tree.

 A night in Salton Sea Hot Springs and Salvation Mountain the next day.

 A van meet-up! The folks in the green van were Jacques and his daughter from Paris, France.

The next campground was Mojave Hole in the Wall and the one after that is at a Mojave roadside pull off on Christmas eve/morning - the bobcat was from the Sony Bono wildlife refuge at Salton Sea  and if you look closely, you can see those little red stars adorning the baby Joshua Tree in our Christmas morning photo.  oh - the one with us eating the box of candy is in Mojave hole in the wall.

 Back at Mojave at sunrise... all but Jay were asleep.

 Scorpion found at Tecopa

 Death Valley

We love to hear about your adventures and see things through your eyes!
Thanks for sharing your story with us Gina, Jay and kids!

A 3 Day Tour :: From the Coast to Palm Springs, Joshua Tree and Back

DAY 1 :: We head out from home base in the Kukui Nut, our 1987 VW Vanagon and the latest edition to our wee fleet. We haven't camped in Kukui yet, and I, Diane, am curious to experience the 80's VW camp vibe as opposed to the 70's camping experience since I've already had plenty of those.

Our goal is to try to stay off of the main FRWYS, spend 3 days meandering without reservations or an agenda. Here we go...

 

 We drive south on back roads to HWY 74, turn left and head east.

Hurkey Creek is where we stopped for our first night. We've never stayed here before, located in a mountain plateau, over 100 camp sites and only a handful of us camping. Ahhhh, we have the place to ourselves! The first thing I notice is the sound of the wind in the Pines, and what's that I smell, fresh air? My senses haven't been stimulated like this for a long, long time. YES, there are showers, flush toilets, and a fresh water supply. Sites are $20. USD per night and an extra $1. per dog. No RV hook-ups.

DAY 2 :: We make breakfast, clean-up and pack-up. It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to camp in these vans. They are self contained, it takes but a few minutes to set up camp and tear down camp. I only wish I had discovered this way of camping years ago, especially when I was single, I would have camped a whole lot more.

Back on HWY 74 we discover a lake just a short jaunt from our campsite, there are more campgrounds around the lake and this day there's a collection of folks fishing on it's banks.

We continue to wind our way along 74, up over the mountain pass and down into Palm Springs. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it's in the high 80's and it's mid December!

After poking around Palm Springs, happening upon an estate sale, and buying a new set of camp chairs (we forgot ours), we decide to head on over to Joshua Tree. We've camped at Jumbo Rocks before, so this time we're going to try a different campground.

This is it, White Tank, site #7, the last camp spot available. We roll in at dusk, pop the top, climb a jumbo granite rock and witness the most spectacular sunset EVER! Before the darkness of the night sets in we head back to our site, start the fire, feed the doggies, feed ourselves, reminisce around the campfire, star gaze, then head into the van and play Gin Rummy (neither one of us can remember the exact rules, and there's no phone service here, so no accessing the Internet to get the skinny on Gin Rummy rules).

While cooking our dinner a fellow camper comes on by and asks if we have any tea that we might spare. Oh yes, we have tea, in fact we have all kinds of tea! You see, we rent these vans to a host of European travelers who appreciate their tea, they buy it while on vacation in SoCal and then leave it in the vans for the following renter to enjoy (BTW-We Thank You!). So the fellow camper strikes it rich as I unload all of our tea upon him. He is most grateful and via our conversation we discover that he's from Israel! A student at UCLA studying for his PhD in History. I think camping is the best way to meet people... apart from owning a dog :)

Joshua Tree is an awesome place to camp in California's winter months. There's plenty of hiking and rock climbing here, spectacular sunsets and star gazing. It's unbelievably quiet too! It can get cold at night, so a down comforter is a good idea, however we didn't need one on this trip, nor did we need a portable heater.

A couple of things about Joshua Tree: You'll need to bring your own water, there isn't a hose bib in site. There aren't any showers, and toilets consist of pre-fab outhouses, extremely clean outhouses I might add. Camp fees are $10. USD at this time of the year.

DAY 3 :: Breakfast again, fresh coffee, sauteed spinach (leftover from last night's dinner), eggs, grated cheese, salsa, bread, grapes, a pear and some juice. We pack up and head out, good grief, it's only 7:30 am!

On our way out of the park we check out the other camp spots, yup Jumbo Rocks remains my favorite, it's like being on a Disney set, but these rocks are REAL! There's an overlook called Keys View, here you'll find a gorgeous view of the valley below; the Salton Sea, Palm Springs and a clear demarcation in the earth of the San Andreas fault line.

We leave the park on HWY 62, ditch the plans to drive the less traveled roads and head back to home base via the FRWYS. Fortunately it is early in the day Sunday and we don't have to contend with busy inbound LA traffic.

Back home again I realize we've been away but a few days but I feel as though it's been a solid week. Camping in the 80's van wasn't much different than the 70's vans. A little roomier and definitely more comfortable on the road, but this didn't alter the experience one bit. How refreshing that was, okay we need to do this more often!

Camping in Gilroy, Garlic Country, California

This is a sweet camp spot up in the hills behind Gilroy. We stopped here for 1 night after retrieving Eddie in San Francisco, we had the whole place to ourselves! Wish we could have stayed longer :(

Martina's mom arrives from Switzerland, they rent Kukui Nut and travel to Zion and Lake Powell...

Hey Bill,

Just wanted to thank you again for the great service, support & the entire "Kukui" experience (funny, my mom couldn't pronounce that so she called him "Cookie" during the entire trip;)

Let me know if you ever need a 'happy client testimony' - will sure promote you guys among the people I know!;)

Attached some picts from Zion & Lake Powell...

I'll definitely contact you if we need help finding one to buy or need a rental for our next trip!

Mahalo & enjoy life (I really like your tagline;)

Martina

BIG WEDNESDAY :: It's just around the corner!

Each year during the second Wednesday of August San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente is jam packed to the rafters with VW buses! This is all in honor of the movie Big Wednesday... if you haven't seen it you seriously need to before heading down to the beach. The philosophy is ditch work, grab your board and head down to the beach.

The Marvin Family Surfari

Check out the Marvin's coastal adventure here.

The Rogers :: 30 Days & 30 Nights

 

The Rogers blogged a fabulous photo journal of their travels to 5 National Parks and 6 states during their 30 day and 30 night journey in May 2010.

What better way to check out U.C. Davis than in a VW bus!

Hi Bill and Diane!

Just wanted to drop you one more note to say THANK YOU! This trip was the most memorable, enjoyable, adorable, non-affordable trip ever! The boys are still talking about it with their friends and the pictures are priceless! I have better pictures than the one attached, but I think you get the idea when you see these kids smile (you can actually see their teeth!).

Again, thank you thank you thank you!

Wende

Corinne et Benoit :: St Jeannet, France :: Cali Coastal to San Francisco & Back

Corinne and Benoit came to visit from 'across the pond' as many of our guests do. This adventuresome twosome operate a charming boutique hotel with a twist in the south of France. The twist being they offer their guests a wonderful 4 day/3night sojourn... a customized personal tour of Sanit Jeannet and the surrounding area, complete with Corinne's handcrafted meals, using organic, local food products!


We are so looking forward to the day when we can sup at their table!

Corinne BENOIT et Benoit COUVREUR

The FrogS'House / L'Auberge des Baous

35 rue du saumalier

06640 St Jeannet

www.thefrogshouse.com / www.aubergedesbaous.com

tél: 00 33 (0) 4.93.58.98.05

Mob : 06.28.06.80.28/06.28.06.80.29

Email : info@thefrogshouse.com

Beth & Hilary :: Ottawa, Canada :: Desert Get-Away

Hey Bill,

I just sent you a link to some of my images.
I've also started to post about our trip.
Part one and two are up and I'll be updating with more posts over the weekend.

Thanks again - we really had an amazing time - a much needed get away. Hilary e-mailed me yesterday and the subject was "Missing Hale Pua already..."

I'm already thinking about when I want to return.

Cheers,
Beth

Barry & Salwa :: Whitby, Ontario, Canada :: Joshua Tree & California Coast

These folks from Canada rented Nalu Imi from us last winter. They have 7 uploads on YouTube, and I must  say they are very clever videos indeed! I especially like the Block Island Wedding video. Here is their Nalu Imi video, and yes, it snows in Southern California in the winter time!

Hi Bill and Diane,

Great to hear from you - and I've been meaning to send you a link to the video for ages, seriously. I'm glad you went ahead and posted it on your blog. I've attached a few photos of our wonderful little bus for you to post if you like. We can't thank you enough for the memories you've given us by providing us with the most amazing vehicle to take us on our adventures across California - even a wicked snow storm didn't stop us from having one of the best Christmases yet. 

Thank you for your well wishes and many happy returns to you. You guys have a lot of fans up here in Canada - maybe we'll have to convince them to come on a convoy with us!

Chris, Ottawa :: Canada :: Joshua Tree, The Grand Canyon, Mojave Preserve

Bill / Diane

Please find attached a few pics from my trip. I just want to say thanks again for being a huge part of my trip, which turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The van was great and the advice and service received from Bill was fantastic.

Cheers - hope to see you again someday.

Chris

Joshua Tree Park

Mojave Preserve Campground

The Grand Canyon

Roman & Corina :: Switzerland :: Surf Camp in Southern California

Thank you for those 2 weeks in that great car!

Roman & Corina

Guillaume & his Brother :: Paris :: Surf Trip in Southern California

Hello,

Here are some pictures from our trip with your beautiful van + a weird one... lol!

We had a blast in California.

Thanks again,

Guillaume

Tom & Nicola :: England :: Coastal Journey to San Francisco & Back

Some Long awaited Pictures! Hope you are both keeping well.

We want to come back.....soon!

Tom

Bernd & Sandra :: Germany :: Big Sur, California Trip

Hi Bill,

As discussed on the way to the airport, find enclosed some pictures of our trip and some information about the campsite we found on Highway 1. The name is "Kirk Creek", 35 miles south of Big Sur, directly on the coast. For us it was one of the best campsites we ever found! You can find more information, also about the nearby "Plaskett Creek" on Recreation.gov. It was really a great trip with Taos along the Californian Coast, and for us it was like taking a little bit home with us because we are so familiar with the bus. If you ever will go on your trip to Europe and come to Germany, feel free to visit us (and our bus); perhaps we can share a short part of your Europe-trip together with two buses.

Cheers,

Bernd + Sandra