Southern California Vacation Value: Camping in Big Bear's Pineknot Campground

I just returned from a weekend camping trip to Pineknot Campground in Big Bear. We took our Toyota Dolphin motorhome and met several friends as we do once a year.

The Value

Our little one and friend - the sites are spacious

Is Pineknot a best value, good value or less than average vacation value in Southern California?

Price: We paid $30 per night for our 20-foot Toyota Dolphin RV.

Amenities: No showers, no electrical hookups and no dumping station. There are clean flush toilets in easy access to the sites.

Proximity: Pineknot borders the Snow Summit ski resort with plenty of mountain bike activity in the spring, summer, and fall.

It's a 10-minute drive to the Big Bear Village and the Pine Knot landing marina with boat rentals and sales.

It's close to the shops and other resorts.

You have to drive to hiking trails.

Layout

The campground is terraced on the hillside so it doesn't have the flat expanse one might enjoy. The sites are spacious, though, and you don't feel like your sitting on top of your neighbors.

We were camping with several others, including a few couples with no children, one family with two teen girls, and two of us with children aged 11, 7, and 3.

There are plenty of pine trees for the kids to play hide and seek and the more adventurous ones – and those with good balance – can roller blade but it's not flat for very long.

It's clean and it's not noisy at night. There's a camp host available.

Why We Chose Pineknot:

We used to camp across the lake at Serrano but getting sites for several families required calling about six months ahead of time. Pineknot was definitely more convenient.

My Rating:

Average / Good

This is my second visit to Pineknot at the end of June and I enjoyed the second time better than the first visit. For a camping experience really close to cute shops and a drive to the water, then Pineknot is going to be fine.

If there were electrical hookups and showers for $30 per night then I'd give it a Good to Best value rating.

If you want to pull your RV in or pitch a tent for a couple of nights to see Big Bear, then it's fine. For a campground so close to the city, it would be nice to have a few city-like amenities.

A Best Value Kitchen Product: Nesco Electric Water Kettle

This is an unsolicited and unpaid review.

One of the best values we got as a kitchen product in recent years was the Nesco electric water kettle that I now prefer to a teapot.

If you're looking to give a gift as a housewarming present, bridal shower, or other purpose or if you need a teakettle then I'll make a strong recommendation for this item. We received our kettle as a gift.

If you're concerned about people forgetting a teapot left on a gas or electric stove burner then this product is a safety solution.

About

The Nesco electric kettle is 2 liters. It sits on a round base and heats from the unit so there is not heat transferred to the handle. The kettle uses 1500 watts of electricity.

On the company's website, the product description says the water kettle uses 40 percent less energy than stovetop kettles.

Performance

The capacity is about 8 cups and requires a minimum of 2 cups of water. I found that 2 cups boils in just about 2 minutes and a full pot may take 4 to 5 minutes to boil. This is definitely faster than our gas-burning stove.

There's a cool blue light at the base of the kettle that looks a mini-lava lamp and the kids get a kick out of seeing the water roil as it moves to a boiling temperature.

There is no after-taste from the container when I pour the water.

Use and Price

The kettle is compact for homes, small apartments, or offices. The listed price on the Nesco website is $ 42.99 and a glass version sells for $ 59.99.

I wasn't familiar with the Nesco brand prior to using the electric kettle but the company has a wide range of energy-saving products and a line of camping cookware called Open Country.

I checked consumerreports.org for Nesco products but didn't see ratings that I could easily access.

Click here for Nesco's website featuring the kettles.

In another related post, click here to read about our refrigerator.

Personal Health Best Value for Chronic Pain Relief: Chiropractor Johnny Truong

Professional workers, laborers, and students in chronic pain know how it reduces productivity and treatments may cost money and only provide temporary relief.

A best value for treating chronic pain may be through Upper Cervical Chiropractics. In Los Angeles, I learned about the discipline through Dr. Johnny Truong who had me write blog posts for his practice. His office is on Wilshire Boulevard in the Koreatown section of LA.

He spoke to me about his success rate and I met several of his patients who told me they were grateful they came across him.

Upper Cervical chiropractors work on the brain stem to clear nerve interference affecting various parts of the body.

Dr. Truong told me about treating a woman who had been bedridden and saw about 18 specialists. He treated her and within a week she went back to work full-time.

Other patients have suffered Trigeminal neuralgia, the suicide disease and Dr. Truong has helped them recover and have full and productive lives.

 

He uses 3D X-rays to pinpoint areas of inflammation and problems in the joints.

 

Dr. Truong also told me that his form of adjustment is gentle and he does not typically "pop" the neck in an abrupt fashion. He also told me he will not do adjustments if the patient does not need one.

 

Dr. Truong also told me about a procedure at Cedars Sinai Hospital of drilling into the skull about the size of a nickel to relieve forms of pain. He believes his gentle adjustments have more favorable results than some forms of surgery.

 

You can click here for Dr. Truong's website.

 

Click here for the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic website.

 

Disclaimer: Dr. Truong did not ask me or pay me to write this post. After speaking with him and his patients, I believe he is a "Best Value" for personal health and pain management.