Today’s big event was driving back to Oakland! I had to pack up everything that was strewn about the RV – which looked like a lot given the small size of the van, but I was able to get it all cleaned up in just a few minutes! I also had to do “RV Chores” that' I’d managed to avoid for a whole week! Empty the toilet cartridge (much easier this time because I only used it at night!), fill the fresh water tank and put the bed up.
We left The Yosemite Ridge Resort a little before 10 am and headed west! The drive down was uneventful and it was a little before 11 when we arrived in Oakdale.
I requested a potty stop and Dad pulled off in a vacant lot. He saw a Starbucks and went to get coffee while I informed Mom that the Mifi card should work! It was about an hour later when we decided that we should just grab lunch here and we walked over to Mr. Pickles, a local-ish sandwich shop franchise. It was really good! :-)
We then continued the last 2 hours of the journey into the Oakland area and found our campground – Anthony Chabot Lake Campground – which is really in Castro Valley.
The campground has a few sites with hook-ups but most are “dry camping”. While I generally enjoy “dry camping” this is now bringing back to the surface many of the frustrations of this RV – the battery, or rather lack thereof, and the toilet. Not being able to have electricity means that I really no longer have a fridge – I turned it off because keeping the battery charged enough to keep it cold takes too much effort, and I can’t use lights because they drag down the battery. I really like the camper van, even though it’s small it’s just about perfect for me, but it’s this particular one that has issues I can’t fix because it’s not mine that irritate me!
The campground is up on hill about 10 miles outside of Oakland and the rest of the bay area, yet there is limited cell phone signal. Seriously? I was fine with not having a signal at Sequoia and even at Yosemite because I wasn’t expecting one, but here, I was fully expecting to have full wifi in my parents RV and full cell phone signal, but no, it’s weak and iffy at best! This evening we were all three using the Mifi and it was working ok, but it was very slow and it would fade in and out. Oh well, I’ll be home with my FiOs on Tuesday!
The other thing about this campground is that it’s in a huge grove of eucalyptus trees! They have a very strong odor – woody yet fruity, not like the fake-y eucalyptus you get in the dried plant section at Michaels, but simiar in some ways. Mom and Dad can’t smell it at all, but I find it overwhelming. It hasn’t made my allergies go yet, but it’s probably a matter of time!
One good thing about this campground has been the wildlife! Right after I parked the van and got out to inspect my park job there was a flock of at least 8, maybe 10, wild turkeys just walking through by the picnic table! Then on our way to dinner we saw what we think was a fox, and we saw one (another one? The same one?) on the way back in! Later we saw a raccoon!
We went down into the Castro Valley for dinner at Round Table Pizza, it was pretty good! They had personal pizzas so we could all get what we wanted! Then we found a local ice cream joint with yummy banana nut ice cream (the cherry Mom got and the butter pecan Dad got were good too). Last we stopped at Safeway to pick up a few things before returning to the campground.
When Dad drove me back to my site (I’m about a 1/4 mile from them and there’s a big hill between us!) he pointed out that I should have pulled in straight instead of backing in so the picnic table was on the correct side. That would have been perfect considering that my windshield privacy screen broke last week and if I’d pulled straight in then my windshield would be facing the woods and I wouldn’t have to worry about flashing anyone! I guess I’ll turn it around tomorrow!
We are meeting my mom’s cousin for breakfast in the morning then heading over to John Muir’s house in Martinez and we’ll see what else we find to do later.
The campsites around me are filled with people, yet it’s totally silent! Strange, but nice! It’s getting cold – going down into the 50s tonight – so I need to brush my teeth and snuggle down into my sleeping bag! I need to enjoy these chilly nights while they last – it’s ridiculously hot in DC and I’ll miss being cold in just a few days! I might be willing to trade internet access for being cold…
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