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An Odin Adventure: Paso to the Pacific

Mark & Hilary Steves
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In this new adventure, Odin the Corgi has his first visit to an RV Resort in the wine country around Paso Robles, California, and then continues on to camp at a State Beach along the Pacific coast.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my first two articles chronicling the adventures that my brother Zeus and I have had in our mobile house, which Dad says is a Leisure Travel Vans Unity FX that we call Zephyr.

Resort Life

Our latest excursion wasn’t as far from home as our last trips to Napa/Sonoma or Lodi and Livermore. In fact, we started at a regular destination for us – Paso Robles. Mom and Dad like going to Paso Robles as it’s fairly close (only about an hour and a half away), and there are lots and lots of wineries, where Mom and Dad enjoy tasting and buying the red juice they like. Zeus and I have been with them to Paso many times, but only once before with the Zephyr, and that time was just for one night and we stayed at a winery. Based on the amount of supplies they loaded up, I suspected we might be gone longer than just one night. I get so excited when I see them loading up the Zephyr. I know it will be fun, so I can’t wait until they finally let us outside, point to the Zephyr, and say “let’s go!”

Once I overheard we were going to Paso Robles, I figured it would be another short trip and we’d stay at a winery. Not this time! We’re going upscale, and after a short stop at a winery on the way up, where we met up with some familiar friends (and got lots of pets, as we always do), we pulled into an RV Resort. This seemed different from our normal camping. The sign out front said it was Cava Robles RV Resort – I wondered what makes a “resort” different than the parks and wineries we’ve stayed at the other times?

“Camping” at the RV Resort.

It certainly seemed big. There were not really any trees around where we parked, but Dad says that is because it’s a new resort. Lots of other mobile houses were there, although I didn’t see any that looked like ours. [Editor’s Note: We’re always looking for more Leisure Travel Vans, but so far haven’t seen any where we’ve been staying. We know you’re out there!] It was pretty hot outside, so Zeus and I were very happy when Dad hooked up some cables, and the next thing we knew there was air conditioning flowing. Ahhhh… nice and cool.

It’s hot out there – we’ll stay inside for now.

Mom and Dad gave us an early dinner (not like we’ll complain about eating any time!) and then they headed off with their friends. Normally we go with them, but that first night they were going to something called a “concert” and apparently we weren’t allowed. [Editor’s Note: We saw Foreigner at the nearby Vina Robles Amphitheater.] Zeus and I were fine while they were gone, as we had air conditioning, water, and a comfy bed and couch to hang out on.

It’s our bed now!

When Mom and Dad came back, they let us outside to do our “business” and then we all climbed into our beds (Zeus joined Mom and Dad, I stayed on my own dog bed). Time to sleep…

Days of Wine and Sunshine

Morning was nice and sunny, and before it got too hot Mom and Dad took us for a walk around this large property. They even have a dog park where we met some other dogs while Mom and Dad talked to their parents. The dachshunds were fun. They’re kind of like me – down to earth.

Mom and Dad are always having us pose for pictures – it makes every walk into a photoshoot.

Then it was back to the Zephyr, cables disconnected, and we were off. We headed north to some new wineries we’ve never been to. Our first stop was called Graveyard Vineyards, and it wasn’t anywhere near as spooky as the name implies. There was a very friendly person behind the counter – and she had cookies! My new favorite place! They also have a nice pond out front, although Mom and Dad wouldn’t let us go swimming – no fair! It was so hot. So, so hot. [Editor’s Note: It was 102 degrees the days we were in Paso.]

Not a bad place for a “Graveyard” (winery).

I know one winery that we stopped at said we couldn’t come inside (for some reason), so Mom and Dad turned around and we went to another. It was air conditioned floors only for me that day! Mom and Dad brought some food into one of the wineries and ate cheese and crackers while tasting more of their red juice. I just relaxed on the floor. Did I mention it was hot?

This floor was so, so cool. Ahhhhhh…

We didn’t stay out too long this day, and before long we were back at the resort. We even got our same parking spot! With the air conditioning back on, Zeus and I were more than happy to take a nap while Mom and Dad went somewhere. [Editor’s Note: We went to one of the two pools at the resort, but we didn’t tell the dogs that since they weren’t allowed.] In the evening it cooled down a lot, so we could sit outside while Mom and Dad drank red juice and we all ate dinner.

Don’t judge me. It was a long day.

The next morning, after the all-important breakfast, Zeus and I got another walk to another dog park, and then on a nice trail that wraps around the property. We chilled out for a bit on our own while Mom and Dad went off by themselves, bringing their bathing suits and towels again. [Editor’s Note: Jacuzzi time!] Once they came back and took their showers (glad I don’t have to do that every day), we made the mobile house smaller and then we were driving once again.

From Paso to the Pacific

I figured we’d be heading home, since normally we’re just up in Paso for one night, and already we’d stayed two! But we didn’t head towards home, nor towards other wineries. Instead we went to the coast, stopping in Morro Bay to have lunch and see the otters in the bay. Mom and Dad liked looking at them, but they were in the water so Zeus and I were more interested in some of the squirrels in the rocks. Still, the otters looked friendly.

Pretty soon we were off again, heading to a place called Montana de Oro State Park. This was a new park for Zeus and me, and after a winding road through beautiful trees and ocean overlooks, we pulled into a bare bones campsite and parked. It was very different from the resort we had just been at. For one thing, there were lots and lots of trees. The spaces were also farther apart from the other people here, most of whom didn’t even have their own mobile houses.

It was a LOT cooler here by the beach than in Paso Robles.

As we arrived, Zeus and I were happy to see some old friends of ours, who were staying just a few spots away. But their “mobile house” didn’t seem so mobile, or very house-like.  In fact, it kinda looked like a large bag that they put sticks into in order to make it taller. Dad says it’s called a “tent” and that it’s where they sleep, but I much prefer our mobile house. There’s more room, and we have a bed we can sleep on if we want. There was no place to hook up the cables to the Zephyr, so there was no air conditioning here, but we didn’t really need it as it was much cooler than the previous two days had been.

We set up the Zephyr, with Mom and Dad being very amused at how high the front end was after we lowered the sticks on the bottom.

Mom is getting her morning workout in.

Our friends took longer to set up, so we headed out for a short walk to the beach. There’s a nice cove there where dogs are allowed (on leashes though, so no running around like we’re used to… Boo.). Zeus and I still got to splash in the (very cold) water. Zeus was fine with it, but it was too cold for me, so I was happy to walk on the beach. It’s not a big beach, so we all sat down and enjoyed looking at the ocean.

After our friends joined us, we walked back to the campsite. There are lots of trails in this park, but they have signs saying dogs aren’t allowed on them. [Editor’s Note: The park has miles of hiking trails, but they don’t allow dogs on any of them except the campsite and the beach.] I was okay not going for a longer walk, since Zeus and I were pretty pooped after the last few days. All six of us hung outside the Zephyr while Mom cooked steaks (which they didn’t let us eat! Not fair!) and the adults had some red juice and ate.

Eventually it got cold outside, so Mom and Dad turned the front chairs around inside and the grown-ups talked while Zeus and I got an early start on our sleep.

The next morning we walked back down to the beach. I guess since we were heading home we weren’t allowed in the water again, but that’s okay. Did I mention the water was cold? Mom and Zeus looked for shells and I hung out with Dad. Then we said goodbye to our friends and before we knew it, we were home again.

Another walk, another photoshoot!

I’m not sure when our next trip will be. Since this one, we’ve stayed in our home state of California, but there’s so much to do here that I’m fine with it. Look for more articles from me after our next trips – maybe I can even convince Zeus to write one.

About the Author

It’s hard to think of witty things to say.

Odin is a Welsh Pembroke Corgi and the top dog around the house. His older brother, Zeus, is a Golden Retriever, so he just wants to get along with everyone. Odin has become excited about blogging his travels in the Unity FX Zephyr, and has been encouraged by the great comments, so keep them coming!

Mark & Hilary Steves

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