Natalie Vartanian's Blog

Winding Down Round 1 of RV Adventuring

Friday, August 5 – Got to see my friend Tom one last time since he dropped off Bess’ registration papers to us (what service … hand delivered). That guy … fuggin love him. Can’t believe we have stayed in touch this long (almost 6 years!). Then again, I knew he was an important person in my life back then and that our friendship would stand the test of time. Also, love our tea times. Sally and I get to plan our day and stay present to all the amazing things we are experiencing as well as give voice to the lessons we are learning. After tea and our usual breakfast of apples and peanut butter, we hit the road again, heading back to Southern California. Left early so that we would have the spaciousness to take our sweet time on the return drive. While driving the 70 the saying “it’s darkest before the dawn” popped in to my head. After breaking up with my ex in 2008, separating from my mom and brother and then breaking up from the last relationship, life has seemed so unbelievably painful and hard. That was a tough year and a half. Felt like it lasted forever and the few highlight moments were overshadowed with an ever present grieving and sadness. Loneliness is what I felt. Decided to stop in Moab per my good friend Richard and boy was it stunning: Red rocks and deserts everywhere. We couldn’t go in to Arches National Park because of puppy again, however we didn’t need to. We chose to find a campground along the route to Dead Horse Point State Park as the RV park in Moab was $45 a night. First one we came across on the 313 was closed and we were starting to get discouraged and cranky (it was late and we hadn’t eaten dinner). However we did find one (Horsethief Campground) and drove right on in. Campsite Host was nowhere to be found so we picked a spot, #5, and set up shop for the night. It was pretty damn dark and a wee bit scary but we figured oh well, it’s just for one night. Well, not too much later … 1:30am in the morning we were fearing for our lives. ….


Moab, UT


Sunset in Moab, UT

Saturday, August 6 – Went for a hike around our campground (Horsethief). There was a trail that looped for a mile. It was quintessential desert scenery. When we got back from our hike we did some work by using the generator for the first time. We figured it was desolate enough where we were that we wouldn’t bug anyone with the noise. Before this, we only turned it on once, but it seemed to have throttle issue. THIS time, we figured that issue out and were good to go. From there we drove on the 70 all the way to Southern Utah. Stopped at a rest stop along the 15, 30 miles from St. George, UT. While stopping for gas, Sally noticed the tires and their lack of tread. Wondering if we needed an alignment or NEW tires, we parked it for a bit until we discovered what the hell was wrong. The thought of additional costs triggered old tapes of lack of money, debt and being taken advantage of monetarily. You could say it was turning out to be a not so good day. My first instinct is usually to shut down and self-sabotage. But talking about it helps and I get to do different in order to break my pattern. I was reminded of the mantra I picked up in Reno and am choosing to have this be my current perspective: “Keep your eyes on the Prize and KEEP moving.” It’s just money after all. It comes and goes. There will be a day I have so much of it that I’ll look back on these moments and think it silly how much I stressed over it. I have a feeling that one day is pretty soon too. We called it a night at the rest stop.


Horsetheif Campground Hiking Trail, Moab UT


Sally and I hiking at Horsethief Campground, Moab, UT


On our drive through Utah

Sunday, August 7 – After hearing back from Derek, our friend and owner of Bessie Lou we decided the tires were fine and we will make it back to SoCal in okay shape. See those are the times I think “And I stressed out for NOTHING!!” We did one final dump in Hurricane, UT before heading back. I mean, common courtesy right? Give Bessie Lou back dump free and in better condition then when we first got her?? We drove all the way from Hurricane, UT to the Vegas area. Best part of the day: We were driving along the 15 just past the Vegas Strip and this big hauler truck with a bed full of cars pulls up along side of us and waves. It was a guy and a girl, young looking, in the driver and passenger seats. They pull up a second time and wave again. Well the third time (and we could tell they were intentionally trying to keep pace with us), we look over and see nothing but boobies. The girl in the passenger seat not only was flashing us, she was dancing around and playing with her boobies too! We laughed SOOOOOO HARD! We were sure if it was the fact that I was wearing a tube top and daisy dukes or Sally wearing only her bra (since it was so DAMN HOT) that may have warranted that attention. But hey, we’re not complaining. Seriously. Ha ha. Shortly after that entertaining encounter, traffic came to a near stop so we pulled over at the first gas station we saw. As we always do, we made ourselves right up home by putting our chairs outside the RV where we parked in the shade and setting up shop until the pace of traffic picked up again. Later in the evening, we got back on the road and drove until we found a rest stop just shy of Barstow to park for the night.


Sally doing one of her favorite RV activities: The Dump! Hurricane, UT


Filling the water in good ol' Bessie Lou, Hurricane, UT


Coach napping during our stop in Vegas, NV

Monday, August 8 – The next morning we drove from Barstow to Burbank. I have to admit it was the strangest feeling driving by my hometown of Pasadena (where I grew up as a kid) in the RV. It was as if I clearly saw how much I had changed and grown and it blew me away. I feel super grateful for the experiences I have had (ups AND downs) that have led me to here. We got to Burbank and parked outside of Sally’s old apartment to wait for her friend Stu who was coming by pick us up. We had been dying for a pool party and finally got one. It has been so freaking hot. The water was calling us. BIG TIME. We had a pool party at Stu’s who lives in the West LA/Hollywood area. After some laps, laying in the sun and a shower, we drove back to Burbank for dinner. We ate at Viva Campo, a Mexican restaurant near the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Bonus was listening to a live Bluegrass Band who was ridiculously amazing! Awesome way to wind down our trip.

Tuesday, August 9 – Since we were in town, I contacted Rose (last minute of course) to see if she would be available to meet up with us and see our get up. We had breakfast with Rose Tuesday morning. Picked up food from Paty’s Diner in Burbank and ate at the park near Bess because Coach was not allowed in the patio area at Paty’s (health code violation, apparently). After breakfast we hung out in Bess for a while, chatting, brainstorming, comparing stories, the usual! It was one of the first times I was SO excited to show off my “place” … there is a feeling of pride that formed from the amazing adventure we had been on and not only survived but changed as a result of. After a couple of hours with Rose, we finally headed back to Camarillo to complete the first round of our RV adventures! We parked good ol’ Bess in the exact same spot from where we drove off merely five weeks ago. Except what was not the same was us.


Oh the Places we have been (only a fraction)


Rose and Coach ... Love at First Sight

Sneak Preview of what’s to come … Sally and I are in Austin right now for the month of August. No, Bess is not with us … we are renting rooms for the month of September. We will be back for Bess (and our Videographer) in October to go on the next round of RV adventuring. As with the first round, all we know is one or two destinations and the rest is up to the adventure gods. Will keep you all posted along the way!!

posted by Natalie Vartanian @ 9:16 AM