January ‘25 Road Trip

We just got back from our 4th annual January RV trip to Southern California. This was the best one yet. We stayed in 5 different RV parks for a total of 15 nights, starting January 1, 2025.

Here’s the list of RV parks we stayed in:

Buellton, CA: Flying Flags RV Resort

Palm Desert, CA: Emerald Desert RV Resort

Borrego Springs, CA: The Springs at Borrego RV Resort

Santa Paula, CA: Ventura West KOA

Pismo Beach, CA: Pismo Coast Village RV Resort

Buellton/Solvang

Our first stop this trip was in Buellton, Ca. We stayed two nights at the Flying Flags RV Resort, our third time visiting this resort. We ended up in the same site we were in the first year (2021), one of their “Super Premium Sites”, at the end of a row. When we got there, the RV park was nearly full, with lots of kids playing. It was sunny and warm, reaching almost 80F for a brief moment in the afternoon.

A beautiful sunny day at site 16 in Flying Flags RV Resort, Buellton, CA

Staying for two nights meant that we had a day off for some local activities. We started that day with breakfast at Ellen’s Danish Pancake House restaurant, walking distance to the RV park. After that, we walked over to the City of Buellton’s “PAWS” park, which is a large, really nice community dog park. Rosie enjoyed running around with some dogs from the neighborhood.

In the early afternoon, I did a long bike ride along Highway 246, through Buellton, Solvang, and Santa Ynez, which was great, but ended with a flat tire. Luckily, it happened at a point when I was almost all the way back to the RV. I found a small nail in the tire, managed to purchase a new inner-tube at a nearby bike store, and installed it so I’d be good to go for my next ride (or so I thought…).

Later, we visited the nearby Ostrichland USA, where we fed a few ostriches and emus, while Rosie mostly just barked at them. Then, we headed to Solvang, for some schmoozing in their tourist shops, and dinner at the Craft House At Corque, our third time eating dinner on their dog-friendly outdoor patio.

Palm Desert / Palm Springs

Our second stop of this trip was the Emerald Desert RV Resort in Palm Desert, our fourth January visit to this RV park. We stayed there for six nights this time, the longest stop on this trip. Like previous years, we stayed in the “Elite” section of the park, which are the sites farthest from the train and I-10 noise (but you definitely can still hear both). We really like this park, because it has lots of grassy areas for walking around, and multiple large dog parks for Rosie to play in. The park guests are mostly retired snowbirds, who stay for some/all of the winter. It feels pretty upscale, with its multiple pools, a fitness center, and daily activities (like water aerobics which Andrea participated in and enjoyed). It’s also easy access to Palm Desert and surrounding towns. This year the park seemed emptier than previous years. The weather was clear and beautiful when we got there, and even though the winds picked up later in the week, the days were warm the entire time we were there.

Our site at Emerald Desert RV Resort. Palm Desert, Ca

Emerald Desert RV Resort. Palm Desert, Ca

Relaxing on my hammock at Emerald Desert RV Resort.

Rosie, queen of the Bark Park at Emerald Desert RV Resort

As with previous January trips to the area, our main focus initially was a family get together weekend in Palm Springs. This year’s family attendance grew to 16, the largest gathering yet. The house they rented in Palm Springs was large and beautiful. We enjoyed multiple meals together at the house, and we spent the weekend catching up on all the latest family news, and sitting by the pool and hot-tub enjoying the sunshine. We also did a fun photo shoot at the house, and got some great family photos, all of us in tie-dye. Some of us had a nice lunch on the patio at Bongo Johnny's in downtown Palm Springs, and schmoozed around the nearby shops. We also had a nice brunch at Sherman’s Deli in Palm Springs, on Sunday, after dropping the kids at the airport for their journey home.

Our big family get together in Palm Springs, Ca

Relaxing by the pool at the Palm Springs rental house.

Our immediate family (and their significant others)

Sunday afternoon, I did another bike ride, this time a big loop around Palm Desert. And, like the last ride, I ended up with another flat tire (in the same wheel as the flat in Buellton, in the new tube I just installed). This time, I had to have Andrea come rescue me in the truck.

On Monday, after most of the family had gone home, we still had a few days left in Palm Desert. I dropped my bike off at a bike shop in Palm Springs for a scheduled tune-up (since there are no bike shops near home that service my GoCycle electric bike). Then, Andrea and I went to schmooze The Shops On El Paseo, and had lunch there at The Fix Restaurant. For dinner, we drove back to Palm Springs and ate at Clandestino, a Mexican restaurant we really like, with my brother, Peter and his wife, Lisa.

Tuesday morning we met up with Peter and Lisa, and hiked the fantastic “Canyon View Trail” loop at the “Whitewater Preserve” near Palm Springs. We saw beautiful scenery as we hiked from the riverbed to the top of the mountain. Then we had a late lunch at The Sandwich Spot in Palm Springs, before heading back to the RV park for a relaxing evening.

Rosie, at the top of the mountain we climbed.

Wednesday, I picked up my bike from the shop, and I was really happy with the job they did. Mostly the fact that they had replaced both tires with nice new tires with good treads. Hope that fixes my recent flat-tire issues. For dinner, we got Chinese take-out from the China Wok restaurant in Palm Desert.

And the next morning, we left Palm Desert.

Borrego Springs / Julian

Our third stop of this trip was Borrego Springs. This was our second time visiting Borrego Springs, and like last time, we stayed at The Springs at Borrego RV and Golf Resort. Our site was on the fairway of the golf course, and was very spacious, and quiet. We stayed a total of 3 nights there, and didn’t see any clouds the entire time. In fact, the humidity was down to 9%, so it was quite dry overall. Since there were no clouds, we were looking forward to good stargazing, but the bright, nearly full moon was just too bright in the night sky to see many stars

Our site at The Springs at Borrego RV and Golf Resort. Borrego Springs, Ca

The Springs at Borrego RV and Golf Resort. Borrego Springs, Ca

The first night, Peter and Lisa visited us at the RV park, since they were also staying nearby in Borrego Springs for a few days. I made them dinner (mostly just heated the left over Chinese food). That night, I noticed that our hot-water heater had stopped working (for the second time since we owned the RV). I suspected it was the control thermostat that had failed (same failure as last time), and a quick test with a bypass cable I had previously created confirmed my diagnosis. Luckily, I had a spare control thermostat with me, and after a few trips to the local hardware store, I also had all the tools needed to do the repair. I did find a local mobile RV repair tech, who wasn’t familiar with the AquaHot, but was willing to come and watch over me as I did (most) of the repairs myself. Next time, I think I won’t need any help for that particular repair (and yes, I did already order another spare).

Me, happy after a successful AquaHot repair job.

On Friday, we ate lunch with Peter and Lisa at the Red Ocotillo restaurant in Borrego Springs, then did the “Erosion Road Self-Guided Auto Tour” through Anza Borrego State Park, including driving the off-road trail up to Fonts Point.

Enjoying the views from Fonts Point. Anza Borrego State Park.

No dogs allowed on the trails in Anza Borrego State Park.

On Saturday (after fixing the hot-water heater in the morning), Andrea and I drove to the town of Julian, which we had visited on a previous trip. It is a cute mountain town in San Diego County, that features Apple Orchards, and local cider and beer production. We ate lunch at The Julian Grill restaurant, and schmoozed the shops along Main Street. We bought a whole Pecan Caramel Apple Pie at Apple Alley Bakery. After lunch, we drove to the nearby Lake Cuyamaca, and did the hike around the lake with Rosie. Then we drove back to Borrego Springs, and spent the evening at the RV.

Pecan Caramel Apple Pie from Apple Alley Bakery in Julian, Ca. Very yummy!

Santa Paula / Ojai / Ventura

For our fourth stop, we stayed at the Ventura Ranch KOA, in the hills between Santa Paula and Ojai. Initially, we were only going to stay one night at this park, but we ended up leaving Borrego Springs a day early, and extended our stay in Ventura county to two nights. That would give us a day off to explore Ojai, Ventura beach, and Santa Paula. This also meant we could do the drive North through the Los Angeles area on a Sunday morning instead of a Monday morning, which I figured would be easier traffic wise, especially given we would be driving right through Pasadena/Altadena where the Eaton fire was still burning. Note that other than a few freeway exits closed on I-210, we saw no evidence of the fire or any smoke that day. The KOA was nice, with lots of trees separating the sites in the area of the park we stayed in. There were wild peacocks roaming the park, and roosting in the trees above.

In the middle of the first night, the power company shut off all power to the area for safety, due to high winds. It didn’t come back on for the remainder of our time there. Luckily, with our RV batteries, and a bit of generator use during dinner prep and in the morning, we had no issues.

Our site at the Ventura Ranch KOA. Santa Paula, Ca

One of the many peacocks around Ventura Ranch KOA.

Rosie, too distracted by the peacocks to pose nicely.

On our day off, we first started with a drive to Ojai. I hadn't been in Ojai since I went to summer camp there as a kid. It’s a really nice town, and while schmoozing, we found a cool store that had a bit of everything (and we picked up quite a few things). After Ojai, we did a quick stop near Ventura Community Memorial Hospital to say hi to Dr. Ari (who is doing his surgery residency there), then we went to the Ventura Pier, and had lunch at Eric Ericsson’s Fish Co. In the afternoon, we drove to Santa Paula, and explored that town a bit, before heading back to the RV for the evening.

Pismo Beach

Our last stop this trip was Pismo Beach. We stayed at the Pismo Coast Village RV Resort, which we had previously stayed at during our January 2022 trip. It’s a great place to stay, within easy walking distance of the town’s shops and restaurants, and right next to the beach. We enjoyed walking on the beach, especially at sunset. The first night, we watched the sunset as we ate at Wooly's Beach Bar & Grill, the restaurant closest to the Pismo Pier. In the morning, we went to breakfast at Penny's All American Cafe, then schmoozed the town’s shops before heading back to the RV for lunch. After lunch, I did a 20 mile bike ride to Avila Beach and back (and found an amazing new RV park for a future trip), while Andrea and Rosie did a walk along the beach and to the nearby Monarch Butterfly Grove. For dinner, we did takeout from the Cracked Crab restaurant, and got a “bucket for two” containing crab, lobster, and shrimp. It was a feast worthy of our last night on the road.

Pismo Coast Village RV Resort. Pismo Beach, Ca

Andrea, walking on the beach near the RV park. Pismo Beach, Ca

And then we drove home from Pismo to Ben Lomond, happy to have survived another exciting road trip, and ready to start planning next summer’s trip up north.

Buellton/Solvang

Palm Desert / Palm Springs

Borrego Springs / Julian

Santa Paula / Ojai / Ventura

Pismo Beach

Summer ‘24 Week 8