Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Pomona RV Show and Hiking Mt San Jacinto

Gotta love a long weekend that includes lots of RV’s and a big hike!

Last Friday we attended the Pomona RV show, the biggest RV show in SoCal. After touring 5th wheels for 6 hours (!) I’d say our top 3 are now: Nu-Wa Hitchhiker (Discover America or possibly Champagne Edition), Heartland BigHorn, and Carriage Cameo. Here’s the floor plan for the Discover America 345 LK WTB that we liked:


Really, when it comes down to the final choice, all 3 of these manufacturers make a good, solid product that is well regarded for fulltime living. Ultimately it will come down to price and availability of the floor plan and amenities we want.

After the RV show, we headed to Palm Springs for the weekend. As we entered downtown we were surprised to see hundreds of bikers in town for a motorcycle rally weekend. It all looked like fun...really crowded and noisy with the hundreds of bikes noisily zipping around and the bars and restaurants full to bursting. Luckily we were staying at a small hotel on the South end of town, away from most of the noise.

Saturday morning we picked up a sandwich and headed for the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. It’s a fun ride on a rotating tram car from the desert floor up to about 8,500 feet in the mountains. From the tram station we hiked to the top of Mt. San Jacinto, at 10,834 feet, one of the highest peaks in the continental US. At 11 miles round trip, this peak is very accessible for being over 10,000 feet. The trail has a couple of steep sections but if you take it slow and steady it is an excellent day hike.

By the time we got back to our hotel we were tired and hungry and not in the mood to be around the crazy crowds in downtown Palm Springs. We ended up going to the best rated restaurant (on Yelp) in PS: Palm Greens. What a joy it was to find this place, thank you Yelpers! Located in a strip mall on the South end of town, this small, casual restaurant has a serene atmosphere, with delicious, healthy, mindful food…it really was an oasis at the end of the day. We liked it so much we went back for breakfast Sunday morning!

It was great to get an RV fix this weekend. We can’t wait to be in the position to actually buy one!