On The Road in My Westfalia: 2021 Travels

Benton Hot Springs

How is your summer going? You soaking it in? 

Unlike 2020, more people are going and traveling this summer…

including me, Art Predator!

I’ve been on the prowl in our 1990 Westfalia having adventures and researching wines for the Slow Wine Guide which highlights organic and biodynamic producers in California, Oregon, Washington, and New York.

I’m responsible for about three dozen wineries in the Sierra Foothills, Santa Barbara, and Southern Oregon, and I’ve just returned from a three week road trip! 

It’s been great to get back on the road again– from ski trips to college visits to camping to winery stops.

In May, we joined a group of VW van lovers on the Carrizo Plain, a national monument a few hours north and east of our home, where that time of year usually means an abundance of wildflowers.

Not so much in terms of wildflowers in 2021, a drought year. 

Over Memorial Day weekend, we traveled in our van to Mammoth for mountain biking and the final days of the ski season.

Yes our Westy is in the picture hidden along Rock Creek!

For Father’s Day in mid-June, we explored El Dorado County in California’s Sierra Nevada “Gold Country,” camping in our VW Van and we spent a day rafting on the American River with All Outdoor Rafting. 

We left the van in the parking lot for that one…

and we will again later this summer for another planned rafting trip on the Tuolumne! 

We also stayed close to home, taking the van on local grilling adventures…

Unfortunately that night our beloved pup Cisco got into something poisonous and died soon after; $4k in vet bills didn’t save his life (grateful for that stimulus check to help pay for it!). 

Cisco loved traveling with us in our van and whenever the van was in the driveway with the door open he was inside ready to go! I miss my adventure and hiking buddy desperately.  I try to remember that we almost lost him twice before, once after the Thomas Fire when he also got into something he shouldn’t have and again in January 2020 when he was hit by a car and dragged down the street. 

Along the Rincon near Ventura County line

I wrote about our visit to Waypoint Ventura for Ventana Magazine which you can read here.

Vintage trailer hotel Waypoint Ventura offers campsites for vintages vans and trailers

Stay tuned for more VW van adventures — from me and from MusiKaravan who we met up with during fall 2020! They’ve been nominated for “Best Streaming Series 2020-2021” and you can vote for them at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7XBB5C5

However or wherever you travel, be safe!

And if you’re interested in WINE, check out Wine Predator — I publish there 2-3 times a week about wines from all over the world! 

If you just want the pretty pictures, please follow me on Instagram! Click on the insta images above to go to insta where you can follow me. 

Happy trails! More soon I promise!