There's No Comparison

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There's no Comparison

The above three pictures show the view we had while camped at the Castiac RV Park in Castiac, California. It wasn't pretty, but we were with family and that was the reason for our choosing to stay at that campground. Pictures 2 & 3 don't show how terrible that site was; there was junk all over the place and several small children running around. You might be able to see the refrigerator outside if you look carefully, but the piles of what looked like clothing or blankets and discarded junk don't show up. We have a name for these permanent residents of urban RV parks; we call them "oozers" because their stuff seems to ooze out from all the spaces under the RV.

As I mentioned earlier we picked that campground because it was where we wanted to be. It was only a few miles from my son's house and we were very happy to be so near and to be able to have them over to our house so we could celebrate Mark's 40th birthday. It would also be an okay place to stay if you wanted to visit Magic Mountain or be near Los Angeles. The park has a nice pool and store and could have been very nice. Unfortunately quite a few live in the park year round and apparently the management doesn't care if some of the sites look like junk yards. The nightly rate for a full hookup site there was $25.00 and they did have Good Sam, FMCA, and Escapee discounts.

After we left Castiac, we drove west about 50 miles to the Rincon Parkway (a county park) near Ventura to meet up with Dick and Carol Stewart. There were no hookups but the view and sound effects were breathtaking. The price was right too at only $18 per night. They wisely limit the stays to five days at a time and one has to be out for 14 days before being allowed to spend another 5 days camping at the beach.

It was not really a park but simply parking spaces along the highway. Although the Trailer Life Campground directory said the sites could only accommodate rigs up to 35 feet in length, they were plenty long enough for our 40 foot motorhome and wide enough that we could park the car on our spot too. There were no picnic tables and no pool; but the ocean was wide and beautiful, dolphins paraded by, and the waves thundered as they crashed onto the shore. We were lulled to sleep by the music of the ocean and caressed by the gently breeze that drifted into our window. There was no comparison between the two camping spots.

We met up with Dick and Carol Stewart at the beach and shared a few meals and good talks. These good friends are part of our full-timing family whom we also love.

Carol and Ron Dick, Barb and Carol.

Sometimes we need to be near the city or family and the choice of campgrounds is not good. The prices are high, but we stay and pay the fee to be near loved ones. When we need to refresh our souls we go to the beautiful places and thank God that we have these choices. We are so blessed.