Note from Shelly: Here’s the second in a series of guest posts written by friends we’ve met on the road. We’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Shana and Marcus several places in Southern California; I wrote previously about our afternoon on Pacific Beach with them, and here’s their fun review of their longer time there.
About Us
We are a post-pandemic retired duo who decided society was too much of a crazy breed. We bought an RV and took off on the road so we could get back to nature, reflect on the beauty that goes unnoticed and focus on recreation.
Pacific Beach
Full-timer Tip: Large trucks are not easy to park here.
It’s so odd to introduce ourselves on an RV blog from a hotel, but we were too excited to say hi, so goes everything!
After spending the winter in Winterhaven, CA, in the LTVA (where we met our amazing new friends, Shelly and Tracy), we were excited to get some warranty work done on the RV, along with increasing our solar power. We dropped it off in Temecula, CA, and reserved a room at a Residence Inn right down the road from the RV shop.
Seeing as we had such a wonderful time at Roger’s Ranch (also located in Temecula), we figured spending more time in the area would be just as great.
Not even close! The hotel had an oddly stale feeling, along with also having the stiffest couch on the planet. To escape the claustrophobic room, we sat in the truck for entirely too long after walking the dogs around the parking lot, mindlessly staring at an awe-inspiring view of a Walmart and a CarMax dealership. Oh yeah, we even chatted it up with the security guard while sitting in there. We had become parking lot regulars!
What a shock it was to realize that our mentality had changed so much that we were miserable being so far away from nature’s reality, so, Pacific Beach make room, here we come!!
Picture this, a small two-story motel located adjacent to the “Boardwalk” in Pacific Beach named the Diamond Head Inn. This hotel does offer an ocean view, but we had a view of the veranda that gave fruit to an overabundance of people watching, and we got to meet and greet all the newcomers. We immediately felt at home when we spotted all the “stealth campers” wisely parked as close to the coast as possible.
Being this close to the Pacific made us early risers, eager to get out and soak it all in. First, we made a beeline for “Kona” coffee: an outdoor coffee bar with a cool beach vibe, where you can order your favorite latte or drip coffee, with the sound of the ocean waving for anyone to order an “Americano” for her. From the cliffs you can see the waves carrying would-be surfers, or Pacific Beachers doing yoga or socializing in a circle.
Making our way down the walk, we encountered so many people going about their day on cellphones, running (yuck), or pushing a stroller with two- (or four-)legged babies, all taking in the day and beauty of Pacific Beach.
One of our best encounters had to be with the creator of @cans4books, who runs an effort to clean the beach of trash by providing the tools to anyone who wants help. She then uses the recyclables for funds to provide books for kids. Such an amazing effort had us both wanting to help, as well, so we grabbed a bucket and a squeeze-activated grabber stick … and promptly set those down to grab our credit card to donate instead.
All I could think is: this would be a hell of a first date. “Want to spend some time with me volunteering to grab trash on the beach and save the planet?”
The best part of the day comes at the very end, much like a crashing symphony, but in the form of one crowd-drawing sunset. The big orange ball in the sky grabs its indica then slowly slides on its sleeping mask, lending a view to a crimson lightshow, set to the sound of crashing waves that will make you think the sun is in show business. This is a must-see for anyone.
We have decided that this is our new go-to place when our rig is in the shop from now on!
Wow! Fantastic article! I look forward to hearing about many more adventures.