2016 CA Bay Area fall gathering

bdornbush · 03-17-2016, 01:37 PM

We had a very small CA Bay Area gathering in February at Bodega Dunes campground, part of Sonoma Coast State Beach, with two trailers and one other couple as day visitors. There seems to be interest in having another SF Bay Area gathering based on my informal polling. The most popular location was a beach state park with hookups, not so easy to find in northern CA.

I suggest we gather at New Brighton State Beach in Capitola, CA ( New Brighton SB ) on October 14-16, 2016. This is the weekend after the fall NOG and the weekend before Lake Casitas. The campground has 109 sites, 10 of them with full hookups (sites 47-56) and the rest are dry sites. You can see site photos at Campsite Photos, Camping Pictures, and Campground Reviews - campsitephotos.com The campground is on a bluff just above the beach. Although I have not visited there yet, it seems very nice. We will be there in early May and I will report more after that.

It is also very popular, so make your reservations very soon after they are open. October reservations open on April 1 at 8:00 am PST.

I enjoy meeting others but not so much rallies with many activities. I am thinking about a gathering with a Saturday potluck but no more organization although some may want to get together to hike or tour or otherwise organize. I'll post my site for October after April 1.

Steve Clark · 03-17-2016, 07:35 PM

Great Bill! We've got in on the calendar! Thanks.

denjess · 03-18-2016, 12:04 AM

We are interested. Thanks for setting this up !

Scuba55 · 03-18-2016, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdornbush

We had a very small CA Bay Area gathering in February at Bodega Dunes campground, part of Sonoma Coast State Beach, with two trailers and one other couple as day visitors. There seems to be interest in having another SF Bay Area gathering based on my informal polling. The most popular location was a beach state park with hookups, not so easy to find in northern CA.

I suggest we gather at New Brighton State Beach in Capitola, CA ( New Brighton SB ) on October 14-16, 2016. This is the weekend after the fall NOG and the weekend before Lake Casitas. The campground has 109 sites, 10 of them with full hookups (sites 47-56) and the rest are dry sites. You can see site photos at Campsite Photos, Camping Pictures, and Campground Reviews - campsitephotos.com The campground is on a bluff just above the beach. Although I have not visited there yet, it seems very nice. We will be there in early May and I will report more after that.

It is also very popular, so make your reservations very soon after they are open. October reservations open on April 1 at 8:00 am PST.

I enjoy meeting others but not so much rallies with many activities. I am thinking about a gathering with a Saturday potluck but no more organization although some may want to get together to hike or tour or otherwise organize. I'll post my site for October after April 1.

Although we are no longer living in CA (originally from Napa) we are very interested in attending. Thanks for the info.

Jill · 03-18-2016, 10:12 AM

We intend to be there. We're going to try to get one of the ocean front spots. If not successful, is there any area of the park that anyone would recommend? It would be good to get sites relatively close together I think?

Thanks for organizing!

bdornbush · 03-18-2016, 06:12 PM

I agree it would be nice to get sites relatively close together. However, I have heard that there are varying requirements. Some want ocean front, some want hookups, so I don't think it is likely that we will be together, unless some are at ocean front and others are at hookups. I suggest that if you don't want ocean front or hookups, then choose a site between these sets. I haven't been to the campground yet, but there is a map on the park web site. there are only 3 sites separating ocean and hookups, so it could work.

Jill · 03-31-2016, 05:04 PM

I almost forgot about this so thought I would send a reminder. Hopefully we might be able to encourage some others to join us too!

Campsites open up tomorrow, April 1. And the earlier you reserve the better, as this is a very popular campground.

bdornbush · 03-31-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jill

I almost forgot about this so thought I would send a reminder. Hopefully we might be able to encourage some others to join us too!

Campsites open up tomorrow, April 1. And the earlier you reserve the better, as this is a very popular campground.

Thanks for the reminder. Reservations for October can be made starting at 8 am PDT per their website.

P&L · 04-01-2016, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jill

We intend to be there. We're going to try to get one of the ocean front spots. If not successful, is there any area of the park that anyone would recommend? It would be good to get sites relatively close together I think?

Thanks for organizing!

Which sites are oceanfront? I can't tell. Is it by the fire ring?

Jill · 04-01-2016, 09:43 AM

The ocean front sites are 73, 75, 76, 79, 82. Note that they don't have hookups though.

bdornbush · 04-01-2016, 10:05 AM

We just booked a full hookup site, 52, for three nights October 13-16. I clicked at 8:00 am and by the time I got to the select, several sites were already gone, so jump on it if you want to go!!

P&L · 04-01-2016, 10:11 AM

We had the same experience so we took site 46 with hookups -- the beachfront areas are already taken. October is the best time for the coast so we are competing with others. See you there!

Jill · 04-01-2016, 10:23 AM

I'm such a newbie! I thought developed meant hookups

We didn't get an ocean front site either. We got site 72 which does not have hookups. Not to worry, we have our solar, we'll be fine. See you in October!

drwilliamelaw · 04-01-2016, 11:06 AM

P and L: My wife and I are to the point of ordering, as yet unseen, an Escape. Would you be willing to show us yours, or know of someone who would

Bill and Kathy Law (San Diego, CA). dlaw3468@gmail.com

P&L · 04-01-2016, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwilliamelaw

P and L: My wife and I are to the point of ordering, as yet unseen, an Escape. Would you be willing to show us yours, or know of someone who would

Bill and Kathy Law (San Diego, CA). dlaw3468@gmail.com

sent you an e-mail. We will be off the grid for a few days starting this afternoon....

P&L · 07-17-2016, 02:52 PM

Ouch! We have reservations at New Brighton State Beach and an unforseen event is overriding this trip.

If someone else would like to capture our spot (Standard # 46), we could time our cancelation and you could make your reservation about the same time for optimum results. We are out of town until Tuesday, so shoot us a PM to coordinate. I'll be happy to see other Escapees get together..

Lorna

If you do this next year, I hope to be a part of this gathering.

bdornbush · 07-17-2016, 04:37 PM

This has not been my best attempt at planning a get-together. As far as I know, only 3 were able to get reservations for this very popular park. Right now, in addition to Lorna, the other participant is Jill. Any others?

In the future, I would suggest we look for a location that is not so popular so that more can participate. That probably means a private campground or a public campground without hookups and not located on a beach. Last spring, we camped at Bodega Dunes State Park which fits this description. Other thoughts were something closer to wineries so people could go wine tasting, or something closer to a freeway for easier access. Other suggestions?

escape artist · 07-17-2016, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdornbush

This has not been my best attempt at planning a get-together. As far as I know, only 3 were able to get reservations for this very popular park. Right now, in addition to Lorna, the other participant is Jill. Any others?

In the future, I would suggest we look for a location that is not so popular so that more can participate. That probably means a private campground or a public campground without hookups and not located on a beach. Last spring, we camped at Bodega Dunes State Park which fits this description. Other thoughts were something closer to wineries so people could go wine tasting, or something closer to a freeway for easier access. Other suggestions?

Hi: bdornbush... My wife's interest peaked at wineries... even though we're on the right side of the Continent!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

P&L · 07-23-2016, 07:37 AM

We are still hoping to coordinate our cancelation with an Escape owner who'd like to join bdornbush and Jill! Send us a private message if you are interested!

CADreamin · 07-23-2016, 01:10 PM

Hi Bill! Kudos to you for organizing this get-together. We're signed up for the Fall gathering in Oregon and have plans for camping in Washington after or we'd be attending (and New Brighton is practically in our back yard). If you're looking at places for future gatherings in the Santa Cruz/Monterey area, you might look at the Santa Cruz/Montery KOA which is a very nice park away from any city/town and not too far from the beach -- AND there are wineries in the area (or maybe plan your own private wine tasting ...). Another option is the Costanoa KOA in Pescadero, just up the coast, which used to be a private Lodge/RV park and still retains a lot of the amenities it was originally known for. Seacliff State Beach is good but only if you want to be close to the ocean as it's really just a long parking lot with great ocean views.

Of course, there's always the option of going a little further south where you might capture some of the Southern CA or Arizona folks too. I'm sure there are lots of us who would be willing to help plan/organize a gathering.

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