11 – 16 March 2017 Santee, CA
Packing up the RV in Anaheim to pull away was less than smooth. We lounged around longer than we should have and then while breaking down, we had a lovely older couple sharing their full-time RVer stories and telling us of the gentleman’s miraculous health recovery. We loved chatting but realized the time, and we needed to get going! We made quite a mess while dumping (gray, not black, thank GOD)! The hose kept detaching, and there was wet sand all over the ground and thus our hands and then just all over us. Good times! Remind me to shower tonight. Yikes! We pulled away from Anaheim RV Park at 11:45 AM and hit the road!
We spent a wonderful week at Santee Lakes. We pulled into spot #232 at 2:30 pm. Check-in was a breeze. The recreation area is run by the water bureau and is a set of 7 lakes used to manage and reclaim storm and runoff water. It’s a fantastic place, and we regretted not spending more time there.
Our nighttime campsite in Santee Lakes – notice the bareness indicating our transient nature
It was our first real experience spent around full-timers who live there or spend most of their time, at the park. We learned we’re called “transients” (those who move between parks regularly). Interestingly, you can tell full-timers based on how much stuff they have on their porch (like potted plants, etc.) and bling (such as LED lights) around their RV. We met some wonderful people like Clive (originally from West Lynn, OR) and Teresa, his mother-in-law (from Ontario, Canada). Our children made fast friends with Megan and Ryan, their children and spent most of the day digging and chasing the plentiful lizards.
Sergio working outside in Santee Lakes
Our neighbor, Steve, also a full-timer was super helpful troubleshooting our leaking black tank flush. He gave us two washers and hose quick-connect. People have been so kind and helpful to us newbies as we learn the way.
They had a great pool. The first day we went to the pool too late after the sun went below the hills, and even a pool heated to 76 degrees is cold when the temperature drops. However, we found the best time at the pool was after 2 pm when it was hottest. We also met a couple who lives in Denmark half the year but spends the winters at Santee Lakes.
Homeschool at Santee Lakes
At night and even early morning, you can hear the coyotes – an active bunch at the lakes not only howling at night but roaming around your campsite in the morning. The sounds of their padded feet on the sandy soil easily distinguishable in the quite calm.
This isn’t all a vacation, although we try hard to balance, we work every day, and the kids keep up on their homeschool too 🙂
On Tuesday the 14th we went on the paddle boats and while it was at 10:30 am it was quite warm.
While in San Diego I’ve heard you have to try the Mexican food – so we went out to discover something awesome, and we found it at El Rancho in Santee. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! The tacos and enchiladas are great. We ate there for lunch both Tuesday and Wednesday.
While we spent most of our time at Santee Lakes and around the Van de Camp, we did get out to see the USS Midway on Wednesday.
We pulled up stakes at 11:30 am and headed to Lake Isabella, CA!
