Day 19-22 - Redwood, Napa, Monterey & Carmel, California

We thought we had seen all the Redwoods but we traveled alittle farther south and there were more!  We read (in our "1,000 places to see in USA and Canada" book - thanks Jen & Ben!) about a little Victorian town called Ferndale, and so we checked it out.  It was like traveling back in time - the shops were set up and had all the turn of the century shelving etc. - it was like shopping in the stores at Heritage Park but they had up to date things in them.  Very cute!  

We camped right in the Redwoods...this time of year is great to camp - there was us and only one other camper in the entire campground!  The next morning, we did another little hike and then headed for the Napa Valley.  Travelled a lot and ended up at our first KOA up in the rolling grassy hills of Napa Valley...we are obviously getting into the more populated and ritzy area as this campground was $60/nite!  I thought the chick was joking.  It was 5:30pm and everyone was getting hungry and grumpy and they had a pool, so we set up camp.  Jack went to bed early and we headed with our baby monitor to the hot tub under the stars.  Ok, maybe it was worth the $$.  

Had a morning swim (in the hot tub as the pool was freezing!) and travelled the miles and miles and miles of grape vines.  The valleys are beautiful and green - like the Okanagan a bit but much more lush and green.  Stopped at a Robert Mondavi winery for some wine tasting.  Yum.

Travelled further south and camped just north of San Francisco.  It was hopefully the ugliest campground we will see on this trip.  It was difficult to figure out if it was an RV park, a RV storage facility or trailer park/parking lot.  Our trailer was about 6 inches from our neighbors (no joke).  

Got up early (for us, this is 7:00 am), did laundry (yes, again) and were on the road by 10:00 - the earliest yet!  We needed to miss rush hour going into San Francisco.  All this meant was that we weren't in grid lock but wow, there were still a zillion cars!  At times there were 6 lanes of traffic going in one direction.  Yuck.  We spent $18.75 in toll charges going over 2 bridges (yikes!).  That is reason enough to live in Canada - no tolls (that I know of).  We drove over the Golden Gate bridge and then through San Fran on our way to the coast highway.  We didn't stop because we have already been there (although I do love it)...but I don't know if we would have anyway...it is not a city for a 35 foot RV towing a car.  I thought we were going to take off the mirrors of a few cars parked on the side of the road!  I had to switch to John's side of the Beast because it was making me sick.  Kudos to John that we didn't sideswipe anything.  

We traveled along the coast which was beautiful.  Stopped for a great lunch and did some tide-pooling and watched the kitesurfers.  We are now high in the hills at a nice campground near Carmel-by-the-sea.  

Jack had fun "helping" me put the sheets back on the bed.  I bet you can't see him..."Where's Jack"  is his favorite game in the pile of pillows.  

The people here seem extraordinarily nice and we plan to relax for a few days and see the area.