the trail from Blaine, WA to Santa Monica, CA

[Jack & Donna Smith]

Hello: Not real sure about Blaine to Santa Monica, but we have
reversed the route, Lake Forest to Ferndale a couple of times. What
most everyone says is good. Three days is doable, but not much time
for sightseeing. If you need a RV Park 1/2 way down California,
Corning has a nice one. You should have no trouble on "The
Grapevine". Our 73FC31 with the 391 chugs up at 17mph pulling the
Jeep. I just try to get behind a slow truck in the truck lane and
follow him up.
But, in case of snow, things might change, and (sometimes) they close
it when conditions are real bad.. Just check the weather before you
leave.
It is possible, at Los Banos (or so) to cut over to the 101 (by
Salinas), and taks that one to Santa Monica, bypassing The Grapevine.
This is not a bad road, might be slightly longer, but shoild be OK.
If you go this way, stop at the Madonna Inn for lunch and see the decor...
Jack & Donna Smith
1973 FC 31
SoCal



--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Jo-Ski" wrote:
>
> Greetings, folks--
>
> Well, we may just be spontaneous this year and head south towards
Santa Monica, CA in December--probably around the Christmas holiday,
of course! It's my old teen-age stomping grounds, and we've got some
long-time family friends there. Though the scenic route (Hwy. 101)
would be lovely to consider, time constrains us to take the I-5 route.
>
> Some questions, please:
> a.. Any suggestions for pleasant campgrounds once you get south,
past Portland, OR please? From our great experience this past summer
at Jantzen Beach campground (just outside of Portland), we'd stop
there for sure for the first night--was lovely. Was wondering if folks
had suggestions for good campgrounds/logical overnight stops for the
rest of the legs of the trip to the LA/Santa Monica area, please. We
were figuring 3 days' travel from Blaine, WA to Santa Monica (does
that sound reasonable from anyone else's experience?).
>
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>
> b.. We've heard of two campgrounds near Santa Monica--Malibu RV
Park and the Dockweiler RV Park in Playa Del Rey. Is anyone familiar
with those campgrounds, please, or does anyone have other
recommendations?
>
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>
> c.. Also, what can we expect at this time of year down in that
neck-o'-the-woods, please? Are the RV parks likely to be booked and
jam-packed full? In other words, are we kidding ourselves to even be
able to camp at these places? Being still relatively new to the RV
world, we don't have a feel for how big this really gets in that area
in the winter months.
>
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>
> d.. And, what about the notorious stretch of I-5 known as "the
grapevine" at this time of year? I remember from driving through there
in my teens that just about every service station along the way had 20
stalls to accommodate cars whose radiators had blown from the heat. Is
it gonna be a stinker to deal with in a Blue Bird at this time of
year, por favor?
> Many, many thanks in advance for any suggestions and advice!
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jo-Ski (and Stew)
> "The Bird Abides"
> '83-FC 35 RB
> Blaine, WA
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>