Where do I start? Grab a drink and have patience. I thank you in advance. My wife, Lisa, and I, have been talking about upgrading to a bigger RV ever since we bought our first one, a 26 foot Keystone Hornet Hideout 26RLSWE (rear living space, western edition) in 2017. In fact, when we visited the Pomona RV show that fateful October of 2017, we took my son and the dogs and were simply looking to get some ideas on what we would buy, say, 5 years from then. We found the Hideout and really liked the features and the price, but we were still years away.

A young, 20 something salesman who looked more like a surfer dude ready to wax his board kept bugging me about what it would take to buy this trailer. I politely kept pushing him off telling him we had no interest in buying and that he should spend more time with actual potential buyers-not us. This back and forth went on for about 10 minutes. Finally, he said, “give me a price, any price, no matter how low, we’ll consider it.” I rolled my eyes for the fourth time and looked over at my son and wife. We knew that the RV was going for $33,000 at an RV place. They, at the Pomona RV show, were selling it for the unbelievably low price of $28,500, but so what? WE’RE NOT READY TO BUY AN RV!

“Well?”, he said. “What will it take?” Ready to move on to the next RV to look at, I turned around to him and said off the top of my head, “OK, fine. $24,000, tax free, and you pay for my hitch hook up that I’ll need to tow the trailer. You do that and I’ll sign the paperwork right now.”

Exasperated, I thought I had finally gotten rid of him. The kid made a face like I called him an asshole and responded with, “I said a reasonable offer. C’mon, dude?!” I laughed at him. “I don’t want to buy an RV. We’re years away. So I could care less if it’s a crazy offer. I just want to be left alone.” He shook his head in disgust and finally walked away.

Of course, my son, who’s 15, and embarrassed by my very existence and any and every thing I might do, turned bright red. “Dad, that’s so embarrassing. Why would you make such a low offer? You humiliated us!” I turned towards him and said, “Jacob, I’m holding all the cards, dude. I don’t want to buy an RV.”

We chit chatted among ourselves discussing about lunch options at the Fairgrounds when I got a polite tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a 6′ 3″ clean cut guy in a business suit with a tie holding a bunch of papers. “I’m ready to start with the paperwork if you are?”

Flabbergasted, I turned back towards Lisa and looked at her with surprise. “Uhhh, what now?”

She smiled and said, “well?”

My wife was turning 50 in 9 months. I had been planning a trip to take her to the Galapagos Islands for 10 days and then hike Machu Picchu in Peru that following summer. The trip was going to cost me roughly $16,000 for the two of us to travel for about 3 weeks. Catching her insinuation, I said, “well, if you’re serious, it’s either the Galapagos or we buy this trailer? I can’t afford both.” The actual truth was that I couldn’t afford either, but I was willing to go into massive debt for one or the other but not both. Knowing there was no way she would say the trailer, I started to turn around and decline the trailer offer when I heard a “give us a few minutes will ya?” from my lovely wife.

“We can always go to the Galapagos, but this trailer, for this price, we’ll never get this offer again.” I still couldn’t believe what she was saying.

“Are you positive?” She nodded yes, I turned around to the financial officer of this racket and asked for a pen.

About an hour later, we were driving home in a car where you could hear a pin drop. Suddenly, my wife and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. My son started laughing and asked what we were laughing at. I finally got serious and looked at my wife in the passenger seat then a quick glance back to Jacob and said, “we know absolutely nothing about RVing.” A long pause and then, “and we just spent $24,000 on an RV?”

It was the boldest thing I have ever done. I am a man of research, sensibility, and careful with my money, and here I was doing the dumbest thing I could think of. Everybody will tell you buying an RV is a money pit, and they’re 100% correct. We learned a ton these past 4 years since we bought this 2018 Keystone Hornet Hideout. Through trial and tribulation, we have, undoubtedly, enjoyed every minute of owning this travel trailer. Therefore, over the 4 years and a ton of experience, we were always talking over the fire pit at night about what we would add to our Hideout if we could. I’ve since read many other stories out there on the internet and chatted with people at campgrounds, to know that this feeling is the norm. You learn what you need, what you don’t need, and what is essential for you to camp in an RV at your most perfect comfort level.

In November of 2021, my wife started looking up what we could get for our Keystone Hideout out of curiosity since everybody was buying RVs due to COVID. We ended up selling it for almost what we paid for it 4 years prior. Therefore, we would now have to upgrade. Of course, the same selling principles apply to us now as buyers: prices are up, way up. After about a week of massive research, we found our preferred camper, a 2021 30 foot Grand Design Reflection. They were selling brand new for roughly $83,000 plus. However, my wife found one in Laughlin, Nevada, that was used, a 2021 Reflection 297 RSTS (rear seating, theatre seating, I think). 4 feet longer, 3 slideouts compared to just the one that we had on the Hideout. Simply put, just more space in every area and storage as well.

By now, you’re on your 2nd or 3rd beer wondering when the hell I’m going to discuss Jalama Beach. Here goes. Jalama Beach is 55 miles northwest of downtown Santa Barbara. However, the last 25 miles is on a slow, windy road that will take you about 40 minutes once off the 101 highway. It is totally worth it. This campground ends up on the top ten list of most “best of” campgrounds in California. So you will have to book 6 months in advance for a weekend. It’s a crapshoot for weekdays, but you have an opportunity to get something a few weeks out for weekdays. Weekends? Forget about it. It’s in a very remote part of the beach. The CG says they only take up to 30′ maximum for the top of the hill, best sites (105-117). Ours is a 34 footer including the tongue but thought we’d take the chance. We learned that to get to these spots, you will need to climb a small tight hill road, and backing into your spot is a challenge. This was my first trip with the new trailer which was 4 feet longer than the old one, so I was doing a 15 point turn there just to get landed. The CG only has electric hookup sites, but there is a dump station that you can fill your camper with water and dump upon your departure. Very dog friendly beach though it does get windy there. They have a camping store that also serves hamburgers which are expensive but incredibly tasty (you won’t mind paying after you had a bite). Make sure you hit Costco or something before you drive out there because other than that small store, it’s a 45 minute drive to Lompoc (the nearest town). There is a small creek that feeds the ocean and I believe you can fish there as well. The water is too rough and dangerous for swimming or surfing, but the views are why you’re here and they are beyond incredible.