There is a gem of a county park just a stone’s throw away
from the Fairplex. In less than 10
minutes, we arrived at the Frank G. Bonelli Regional County Park, where the East Shore RV Park is nestled
among the hilltops. After the hubbub of
the previous week, and camping out on a hot tarmac, it was a welcome and pleasant
surprise to find ourselves in a pretty wilderness area. Who would have thought this is located so
close to Los Angeles.
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| campsite with a view |
We parked and set up, checked in at the office, set up our
lounge chairs and relaxed. The RV Park
overlooks Puddingstone Lake, and we sat taking in the view, gazing at the
beaches below, a canoe quietly slipping through the water and one lone boat in
the middle fishing.
In the distance,
smog hung over the valley and slowly drifted eastward.
Across from us on another hill, huge mansions grew out of the hillside.
Above us, large hawks circled as they caught a
thermal and floated effortlessly over the lake. It was peaceful and perfect. Nature's restorative effect at work.
This is where, for the past few days, we have re-charged our batteries, and caught
up on sleep, laundry and chores, and slowly digested all the material we had
learned in the seminars.
Michael installed our new smoke detectors, and his tire
pressure monitoring system. It occurred
to me that RV-ing was a lot simpler ages ago, and today we arm ourselves with
all sorts of gadgets to alert you about problems in our sophisticated machinery. Having the warning systems may make us feel more
secure as we travel, and that’s a good thing, but I hope they remain silent.
We have enjoyed morning walks. This park is huge with miles of hiking and
biking trails, and we have barely scratched the surface.
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| a fishing spot at the campground |
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| funny little black ducks with white beaks |
Many prickly pears had lovely blooms.
We watched glowing sunsets.
We could easily stay here longer, but tomorrow
we head out and begin the long trek back to WA.
Michael has mapped out our route along scenic route 395, which is known for its breathtaking scenery.
I will keep posting as time and wifi
allows - some of the areas we will be
traveling may be more remote.