San Diego, CA - Settling In

We made it safe and sound to San Diego by around 1pm (Pacific Time) today. We got an earlier start than planned because rain clouds were rolling in at Gila Bend when we woke up. So we hustled to pack up the Dolphin and hook-up the car before the rain started.

We decided to go as far as El Centro before stopping for gas. Turns out there aren't any gas stations off the interstate in El Centro (weird) and so we kept going, planning to stop in Ocatillo or Jacumba to fill up. We sailed right past Ocatillo because the one and only gas station there (Chevron) was charging $3.80 a gallon. Hell no! Well, when we got to Jacumba both the Chevron and the Shell were also charging $3.80 a gallon. We sucked up our indignation and pumped $195 worth of gas into the Dolphin - after paying an average of $2.45/gallon for the past several weeks, this stung a little. We got back on the road and passed a Casino about 10 miles west of Jacumba was selling gas for "only" $3.30; oh well, who knew?

Aside from gas prices, this drive proved to be really beautiful. A few minutes outside of Yuma, we found
ourselves driving through the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. These are the largest mass of sand dunes in California and they were formed by windblown sands of ancient Lake Cahuilla. This dune system extends for more than 40 miles in a band averaging about 5 miles wide. We saw LOTS of RVs, dirt bikes, ATVs, and dune buggies - people definitely enjoy this area.

As we approached Ocatillo, we came upon a wind farm  - there must be around 100 turbines clustered on the hillsides.

Continuing westward, we drove up and over several mountainous areas, including parts of the Laguna mountains, the Cuyamaca mountains, and the Jacumba mountains. It was beautiful, with long inclines going up the mountain sides, and 6% grades coming down the other side.

What was not so lovely was the gusting wind that was doing its best to push us off the mountain roads. There was
also dense fog in some places and wind-driven rain.

Shortly after getting gas in Jacumba, we were toodling along and suddenly heard a loud BANG! I pulled over on the shoulder, got out and checked the motor home, the car, the bikes, and the towing gear. Everything looked fine. I also checked the tire pressure in all 10 tires and that was fine. Hmmm..? the only thing I can figure out is that the gusting wind sucked the window awning out on the driver side of the Dolphin, and then the awning snapped back into place.

Then the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the wind died down as we drove through the rolling mountain hills of the Cleveland National Forest, Alpine, and down to El Cajon. Very pretty areas.

Once we got into San Diego, I was relieved to find that the Saturday traffic was not that bad. We found the Mission Bay RV Park easily enough and check-in was very efficient. This RV park is nice... luxurious even, compared to the Gila Bend FamCamp!

We are settled in and ready to begin our San Diego visit.