Doran State Park, Bodega Bay

Camping at Doran Beach in Bodega Bay California

In mid March, we made our first motor home trip of 2019 to Bodega Bay.  It was also our first venture using the tow system I installed to tow our 2018 Jeep Wrangler JKU behind us.  I was amazed at how smooth and easy it all went.  The monster GM workhorse engine in the RV handled the added weight like it was nothing.  I kept the speed to about 60 mph, to help with the gas mileage and also because of California speed limit of 55 for vehicles towing.

We had to cancel and replace several reservations because of weather, but ultimately this date turned out perfect with no rain, lots of sun, and mild temps, however, we did have some seriously windy days.  In fact one of the three nights we stayed there the coast guard had issued warnings of gale force winds and we sure felt it.  I pulled in the dining slide which faced the wind to save destroying the canvas topper.

We had site #14 and pulled straight in (instead of normal back in) which gave us a great view of the harbor.  We watched kite surfers that were taking advantage of the strong winds, leaping 10-12 feet into the air.  It was really awesome to watch.  The depth of the water in the bay outside our site was only a couple of feet deep.

Some friends joined us and we met some  nice people in our loop.  Lots of dog people here, even though generally dogs are supposed to be leashed at all times.  We brought our bikes, went out to Bodega Head (extremely windy)  and drove to Marshall on Tamales Bay looking for our favorite BBQ oyster house, Tony’s Seafood.  Unfortunately it was only open on weekends so we ended up at Nicks Cove which was very disappointing.  Overpriced and lousy food except for the six BBQ oysters we had, which came to almost $4 each!

The drive is about 3 hours, 160 miles each way.  Dump station available for $7, dogs cost $2 each per day extra.  We had a little trouble with our shower.  It would go hot, cold, hot cold etc.  Project for when I get home.  Being the RV was idle for five months, that’s not so bad an issue to pop up.  Ultimately I put in a new check valve on the hot water heater and replaced the shower head with an Oxygenic, which should fix the problem.

Author: Geoff

Quick rundown: Grew up in Lombard, Illinois, went to Arizona State University, worked as a CPA with Arthur Andersen & Co, then Laventhal and Horwath, then Rolling Stones, then Heron International, then Goodby Berlin and Silverstein in San Francisco. Moved to the foothills in 1990 and traded futures and designed websites. Married to Kate Stewart, now living in Colfax, CA. We have six grandchildren. I enjoy camping in our RV, hiking, kayaking, fishing, droning and cross country skiing Also conga drumming, photography and dogs.