Go big or go home, right? Not exactly our motto on our first trip in the new RV, which we’ve aptly named “Doug The Dolphin” in honor of Hailee’s Dad. His nickname is Snowflake. If you’re familiar with 90s comedies, you’ll get the snowflake/dolphin reference.
Doug, The Human Version
We didn’t pull it out of nowhere though. It stems from the fact that the RV we purchased is a 33 ft 1999 National Dolphin. For being a 1999, she’s in really nice shape. We are still going to re-do the interior because there are some interesting decor choices happening in here. Not the worst I’ve ever seen, but let’s just say the previous owners were very into patterns.
For our first trip we went small and close to home — which turned out to be very wise. Crystal Cove is just 45 minutes from Redondo Beach and only 10 minutes from Hailee’s parents house in Aliso Viejo. It already came in handy having them close because on the first night Harper peed the bed, we ran out of diapers for Hudson, and we were low on drinking water. There are a lot of moving parts with this life on the road thing.
The only other wrinkle was that the entire time from Aliso to Newport, there was a loud beeping noise telling us to drive the RV because the leveling jacks weren’t retracted. After some inspection we noticed that they were indeed retracted so we proceeded with the incessantly annoying “DO NOT DRIVE” beep happening. We turned up the music loud enough to drown it out at times.
Then when we arrived, the light went off and the beeping stopped. A sign of good things? Let’s hope.
So far everything has worked flawlessly in the RV. It’s been cool enough we haven’t needed the AC and Hailee has been cooking up a storm: black bean burgers, potato salad, tuna-less tuna salad sandwiches (made from chickpeas), blueberry pancakes, and fruit salad. Recipes to come.
The Kitch’n was obviously extremely important and one of the deciding factors in why we choose this particular RV. It was in our price range and has more countertop/storage space than many other models we toured.
On our first day we got set up and worked out the kinks of being a new RV owner. We hung out in the campsite for a while and then went down to the beach. The surf was strong and the wind was whipping, but the water was gorgeous. I dove in and the girls played in the whitewash.
After the beach, we downed those black bean burgers and then walked down to watch the fireworks over the water. They tow out barges full of fireworks and light them up over the Pacific. I didn’t bring my camera, but if you’ve never seen a show like this before, it’s definitely worth checking it out. Here are some other highlights.
On the morning of Day 2, I was able to get a quick surf in down at the furthest southern break. There was a small left and I was the only out there. Sometimes that’s scary, sometimes it’s awesome, but usually a combination of the two. The waves were pretty mellow on this particular day, but still fun.
Overall, it was a fun, but slightly rough first go of it. Even though it was a short test, I think Hailee and I were both envisioning what it would be like to live out of this thing full-time and I think it stressed us out. The kids were acting like kids – adorable and hilarious at times, difficult and bratty at others.
To be continued…
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