Summer Trip Stop 1: Cloverdale

We stayed here just one night. The goals were 

• to have a relatively short drive, 
• to stay somewhere we can get to before dark, and 
• to gain forward momentum toward the rest of our stops. 

Typical road trip protocol is to get as far as you can the first day, but we had a few limitations. When renting a travel trailer, it can take some time to wait in line, sign everything, then get connected. Sometimes this takes a while. So we didn’t know exactly what time we’d be leaving. (We got to Cruise America around 11:30 am and we were on the road by 1:00 pm.) 

Also, we had to drive through the Oakland maze, which we always find disorienting. And we had the dog with us, which sometimes means we have to make extra stops for her to go pee or take a breather.

Also, when hauling a trailer, you definitely want to arrive at your destination well before dark so you have time to set up. Have you heard of the 222 rule for RVing? Limit your travel to 200 miles per day, check in to your campground by 2 pm, and camp in the same spot for at least 2 days. 

On our first trip with a trailer two years ago, we didn't leave the rental company until almost 6 pm, and we had a three hour drive ahead of us. We arrived around 9 pm and it got dark as I was setting up the trailer. No fun.

Stayed at: Cloverdale Citrus Fair. We held PACE square dances at this location in the early 1990s. So I knew the area. We stayed in a large fenced parking lot that had a gate with a code. It was all paved so easy setup. They have full hookups, restrooms, and showers. They had a doggy lawn where Gia could do her thing. 

Ate at:  Zini’s Diner. I couldn't find any suitable restaurants in the gluten free app, so I just looked on Google Maps for something promising. This diner had Joe's Special on the menu, so I called them. Most diners will make you a breakfast that has gluten ingredients. But can we bring the dog? The temperature was in the 90s. They let Gia come inside, which surprised us. The employees all loved her. She had a hamburger patty. They seated us in a part of the restaurant where there were no other customers.