Memorial Day 2018
Petaluma KOA
When planning our inaugural trip, we wanted to stay close to home so we settled on the Petaluma KOA which had a few sites left. Being a camping newbie, I got a late start on booking campsites and I didn’t realize that all the good sites book up months in advance, especially for a Holiday weekend, duh. I remember Petaluma being a charming little town which excited me about visiting this area first. Besides, Sunset Magazine had just done a write up on all there is to do there.
It didn’t take us long to hook up the trailer since we had done our practice run last week. The drive was about an hour and a half. After the first 20 minutes, my nerves of pulling a trailer subsided and it’s really not that complicated. The hardest part for me is staying at 55 mph. Remember, I’m towing with my BMW 128i convertible.
Those with small children would LOVE the Petaluma KOA on Memorial Day weekend. It reminded us of summer camp. Kids riding their bicycles all over, a pool, bounce house, play structures, games, they even have a petting zoo! For those that don’t want to pitch a tent, they have adorable log cabins and even bigger cabins if you have a large group.
After Checking in and unhooking, we immediately headed into town, which is a 5 minute drive from the KOA. Our plan was to visit Della Fattoria for their amazing tuna melt that I had loved the last time I was in town. They have remodeled and expanded and the Tuna Melt was fantastic. The whole menu looked great and the interior is eclectic and charming. We then headed to the Roaring Donkey, which is dog friendly; has amazing beers and a super yummy pink cider made with apples and raspberries. You can play pool, shuffleboard or darts and if I owned a bar it would be just like this one. They hand out dog biscuits with the drinks!
Two games of pool, a dart game and off we went to Barber Cellars for some wine tasting (also dog friendly and kid friendly).
They have a Ms. Pac-Man machine, board games and a piano. Video games while wine tasting was a first for me……Did I mention I love Petaluma?!
Back at the KOA we fired up our Everest Camp Chef stove to whip up the taco meat for the first official camp dinner, Taco Salad! It’s easy, healthy and a perfect dinner for camping.
Justin had seen S’moreo’s somewhere and wanted to try them. You take an Oreo cookie, break it open, insert a piece of chocolate, roast up your marshmallows and smash it between the cookies. It’s delish!
Day 2
We Drove out to Dillon beach, it was only about 35 min away. It’s dog friendly and Sato had an absolute blast fetching the ball in the waves. That night we met friends at Lagunitas, another good reason to camp close to home, which is dog friendly and sometimes has live music.
Day 3
We wanted a relaxing last day so we headed back into town for brunch at McNear’s which has good Bloody Mary’s and a large outdoor dog friendly patio. The inside is really cool too, it’s an old saloon.
Packing up was simple as we really are trying to keep it light and uncomplicated. We decided we do need to add an umbrella and stand to our gear as the site didn’t offer any shade. We think the flexibility of an umbrella over a fixed awning will serve us better. We scoped out the sites we think are best for those that want some shade, more privacy and a more camp-like setting.
The ends of rows B, C, D, F
Numbers 30, 39, 48, 57, 66
Stay tuned for our next trip to Jenkinson’s Lake in June.
Until then Happy Camping!