Los Angeles to San Diego

Track - Africa - Toto.
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall" Confucius.

Day 17.  We had an early start with the kids made interesting by Pete standing up too quickly during a game of hide of seek whilst becs was in the shower and clonking his head on a glass lampshade causing glass to shatter everywhere and more screams of Blood! Blood! from dylan.

Dressing in place on petes hand, we then headed to the dollar cinema as the Dooleys call it to see Wreck it Ralph and then went for a great chinese in downtown Lancaster with a remarkable ensuite shoe shop.

After packing up, another paddling pool session for dylan, and van cleaning for Pete, we said our farewells and headed off in no particular direction. Spoilt and over-relaxed after stay with the Dooleys we only started thinking of a plan when we had gone 20 miles in the wrong direction and opted for an inland route. Backtracking we then headed off to San Bernadino.

 Becs was for the first time given the responsibility of choosing the RV park for the night. She thought she had come up with a real cracker in Reche Canyon Mobile Estates.....how wrong she was! After an hour of driving around the trailer park trying to find the manager, the assisstant manager and then the assistant manager, we decided to park up aided by a pack of kids on bikes. It was 8pm and both boys were feeding when a horrible dutchwoman on a golf scooter came and literally chased us off. Much confusion ensued and quite a bit of map throwing and shouting out of the window into the night but with pete back at the helm, we were back on route to another place. Needless to say a strongly worded letter was threatened but of course will never be written.

They gladly took us in at the Fishermans Retreat Campsite (essentially a place for men to go and camp and hide from their wives) and we pulled in very late next to Chuck and Wren. We know this as it is written on the side of both their RV and pickup.

 Day 18

Woke up to the sound of a cargo train slowly trundling by and dylan asking about his porridge. The rvpark we were staying in had a pool and Jacuzzi so family ryell all braved the pool whilst on the look out for rattlesnakes, which were in season apparently, before setting off towards San Diego.

Becs was nominated for dumping duty as petes hand injury prevented the potential for poo to hand contact! Drive seemed long due to unsettled kids and the constant danger of exiting the freeway before the intended time. The outisde slow lane often just becomes an exit lane without much warning and there are regular shouts from becs of "don't get sucked off too early!"

Nervous about her previous poor choice so opting for the high end of the market 'campland on the bay' was a welcome break although we arrived to a slightly grey and drizzly san diego... we're nearly at the mexican border whats that all about!!! The rain put and end to the boys plans to hit the on-site skate park so Dylan and becs headed off to the pool while pete went to the shops for some bday treats.

Becs then handed sol back to Pete who made chilli in the van with him in one arm and becs hung out with dylan and several mexican kids in the pool, literally all of them hanging off her neck at one point shouting numbers in Spanish. Then both parents had separate encounters with park regulars. Becs's was with an obviously keen drinker doing his recyling ( its not foreplay but its still important) and pete was with an also inebriated widow from yuma in a neighboring rv.

Now upto datewith blog for first time. More effort needed to take photos on tablet.