Trippin' Down the Road: Charting New Territories

Kerby and Joelle Chart our Travels

Days 68- 69 Written 3/10/10
We awoke to about 50 degree temps and bright sunshine this morning. I’m looking out the back window of our camper at the beautiful, green, and lush rolling hills of San Diego, CA—quite a contrast to the barren grey flatness of the desert we’ve seen over the last 3 weeks. We arrived here (Sweetwater Regional State Park) after leaving LasVegas behind yesterday. It felt like coming home after being cooped up in a hotel room for the last 6 nights. We were all really missing our PUP. Funny, I thought on this trip we’d be begging for the conveniences of hotel rooms with their t.v.s and private baths, but we much prefer the cozy space, fresh air and the king-size beds of our camper. We're glad to be "home" again.

Las Vegas was a wild and crazy (and kind of creepy) place. But we had fun getting a small taste of the 'Sin City'. We stayed at a "family friendly" hotel casino (as if there were such a thing in Vegas) called Circus Circus. It had lots of kid friendly attractions (including some circus acts) that amused Kerby and Joelle. We didn’t leave any richer (I’m sure that’s a huge surprise to all of you). We left a little poorer but not much – I am after all, with Scott. How much do you think he’s going to let me gamble!?! It was fun to at least sit at the slot machines and take a little risk. I can see why people get jazzed from it – it’s a rush when you win (even when you’re already down); it gives you that little bit of hope that keeps you hooked. I think Scott was afraid to leave me alone for too long (I can't imagine why).

The detour to Vegas afforded us the opportunity to travel over the Hoover Dam which we thought we were going to miss this go round. There's a lot more too it than I thought there would be. It's quite a feat of engineering and an amazing site. I wish we'd have had time to get out and take a tour - I think it would have been quite educational and entertaining.

I don’t know if the economy is to blame or if this is normal San Diego lifestyle but, there are quite a few individuals/families living in the campground. The CA park system regulations, like most, allow guests to stay for 21 consecutive days, requiring them to vacate for at least 7 days before returning. It appears that some of these folks though have permanent shelters here, whether it be an RV, tent or pickup with a shell, it seems obvious that many of them haven’t moved in months. I spoke to one such “resident” and she told me that they “had saved enough to either get a place or upgrade their camper (an S10 with a camper shell)” but, they weren’t sure which they wanted to do. I guess living in the state park must not be too bad. I have to admit that this particular park is pretty nice and with the temperate year round weather, if I had to live in a park, this one would at least make the top ten.