We are back from our Jucy spring break.
DAY ONE - 3/28
We picked up our vehicle from the Lawndale location on Saturday, March 28th. There were a few people ahead of us so it took a little over an hour to get the van. They are only open for a few hours in the morning on Saturday so they get very busy. It is a good idea to get there when they open, which is at 9 a.m.
It took a little while to figure out the layout of the van. There is actually a lot of storage space but you have to really look for it. Here are the locations we used to store our belongings for 5 people:
- The cupboard where the pots and pans are kept
- The drawer where the cups and saucers are kept
- The washbasin/sink
- The 2 large storage basins underneath the moving bench that becomes the bed
- The area behind the bench and the front seats
- The area underneath the front seats
- The area underneath the center console between the 2 front seats
- The glove compartment
- The side compartments on the doors
- The penthouse
Then, we had 2 boxes on top of the "kitchen counter" where we kept our food.
Warning, Jucy uses a flowery cleaning solution that smells sickeningly sweet and permeates the whole van. I read a review about it so before our trip up I actually ran all the kitchen wares through the dishwasher. Nonetheless, the refrigerator had the smell. The van going up was not too bad perhaps because I had wash most of the kitchen items. The gross part was when the food in the fridge like the lettuce, etc. started to smell like the chemical.
In our van we packed 5 camping chairs, 4 sleeping bags, 2 duffle bags, 2 back packs, 1 tent, 2 sleeping pads, 1 portable porter potty, 1 tri-pod cooking grill, 1 disposable foam ice chest, 1 car seat, and other miscellaneous items. Yes, we were packed to the brim but the van still gave us about to 20 miles to the gallon and drove fairly easy.
By the time we hit the road, it was near 3 p.m. We drove the 405 North to the 5 north to the 99 north route and hit Bravo Farm just outside of Fresno. This is a cool little rest stop. It has a little petting zoo area where you can feed some goats and other livestock. There is a cool treehouse for the kids to climb. You can order food, grab some locally made cheese, etc. Just yelp it. Unfortunately, there are several places called "Bravo Farms" so look for the one where the reviewers talk about the tree house.
We ended Day One at a KOA campsite. It was dark and we thought it best and go with a private campground. We dined on hot dogs, hard boiled eggs, and hot chocolate by moonlight, campfire, and one lantern, then turned in.
DAY TWO and THREE - 3/29 and 3/30
The KOA we stayed at was just south of Yosemite. We were glad that we did not have to drive too much longer to get to Yosemite. We stopped by the local grocery store and bought our groceries for the next few nights. The tricky part was Yosemite's food storage rules. Yosemite requires that all food be placed in the bear locker provided at the camp site. The bears were known to break into cars to look for food. Unless you were driving a hard sided RV, all food had to be put in the metal bear food storage.
Our Jucy was filled to the brim as is so squeezing in not only more groceries but a disposable cooler and a bag of ice was a little challenging. It took us just under an hour to get into the Yosemite park. Then, we continued our drive into Yosemite Valley to look for some first come, first served campsites. Learning that the only one available was in Hodgdon Meadow. We were hoping to do the Starry nights Ranger led activity in Yosemite Valley and was pretty bummed because Hodgdon was about 30-40 minutes away. Nonetheless, the kids were excited about camping in Yosemite so we camped there for two nights.
Hodgdon Meadows campground was very quiet and serene. Each campsite had a firepit, picnic table, and a bear box. The campgrounds had flush toilets and running water. The amenities did not include showers or drinking fountain. The campsite cost $18 per night (plus the $25 admission fee to get into Yosemite).
The biggest annoyance at Hodgdon Meadows campsite was the HUGE flies that attacked when they smelled food. I used the tent we had set up as a changing station as a temporary spot to store pre-cooked meals until we were ready to eat. Once zipped up in the tent, the flies could not find the food and would disappear.
We spent the nights eating ginormous s'mores. The kids took turns sleeping in the "penthouse" with dad. The freakiest part of our trip was the mysterious happy face that appeared on one of our marshmallows. It was kind of creepy (see below).
Everyone pitched in with the camping chores.
From here, we drove out of Yosemite and headed towards the San Francisco area to drop off the Jucy Champ. Luckily, Hodgdon Meadows is close to the Yosemite park exit towards San Francisco. The "Gold country" of California is totally gorgeous.
DAY FOUR, FIVE, and SIX- 3/31 to 4/2
It took us a couple of hours to drive to San Leandro. We stayed at the Marina Inn. They had great reviews, was less than 2 miles from the Jucy Rental Northern California office. Also, they provided a free shuttle service to anywhere within 2 miles of the hotel, provided breakfast and all day coffee service, and daily milk and cookie service at 5 p.m. Our room had a queen size bed and a sleeper sofa.
Just before checking into the Inn, we stopped by Jucy to ask about the drop off and pick up procedure. Since we had to drop off our minivan on 4/1 and pick up the other van on 4/2, we wanted to coordinate properly so that we could actually reserve a day to visit San Francisco. Simon at the San Leandro office was totally cool and told us to just drop off the old vehicle and pick up the new vehicle on the same day. That totally saved us from having to unpack and pack twice.
At the Inn we all took hot showers and baths. It felt so great to have running water, hot water, and climate control ability. Then, we headed over to El Torito for their all you can eat taco special for $9.99. Bellies full, bodies clean, and warmly dressed, we headed back to the Inn to have some cookies and milk. Afterwards, while the husband took a nap with the baby, I took the older two to the heated pool and Jacuzzi.
The next morning we took the hotel shuttle to the BART station. Unfortunately, the Youth Clipper discount card had not arrived in time so we paid $8.40 per person for a round trip ticket to San Francisco. At the Embarcadero station in San Francisco, we opted for the unlimited all day bus and cable car ride pass for $17 per person. This was one of my regrets. We thought we would ride the historic cable cars ($6 per ride) easily making the $17 per person pass cost effective. However, the line to ride the cable car was ridiculously long (about an hour to an hour and a half) and it was cold. Also, it was more of a hassle catching the bus because we had to take the baby in and out of the stroller making walking the preferred method of travel. (Our 2 year old likes to run off.) So, in the end, we spent $64 for the pass but only used $24 worth of travel. Yes, it bothers me.
We ate fish and chips at a hole in the wall joint off Fisherman's Wharf frequented by locals, The Codmother Fish & Chips. It received great reviews. The portions were huge and prices were cheap given its proximity to the Wharf. For dinner, we ate a gourmet burger joint and spent over $10 per burger. The burgers were good, but not that good. However, our options were slim, we were tired and cold, and it was close to the Bart station to get back to the hotel.
In San Francisco we also visited the famous Chinatown. The long stretch of stores selling knick knacks. Word of caution, do not buy your trinket at the stores right next to the main gate They are more expensive at those stores. Several blocks down there are larger souvenir stores that sell the same items at a cheaper price. Unfortunately, it was cash only and I no longer have the receipt so I cannot provide the name. However, it was a large store. For example, my middle child wanted a plastic ninja sword. It sold for $4.95 at the first store. At the larger souvenir store, the same sword sold for $1.95.
We returned back to the Inn totally exhausted. We crashed. The next day would be the start of our trip back down to Los Angeles via the 1 and the 101.
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