Santee, CA - Jan. 26 - Mar. 2, 2008

We left Salton Sea bound for Santee Lakes in San Diego County with some trepidation.  While the weather was warm and calm where we were, the previous day there were high wind warnings on I-8 across the mountains to the San Diego area.  Our concern was well founded.  But once again, Bill did an admirable job of wrestling the beast through wind gusts up to 45 mph.  When the wind abated we were treated to drizzle and dense fog.  Along the way we passed a small vehicle that had spun out of control due to the high winds on a rather high bridge.  While Bill was playing the role of heroic driver, Susan was emulating an ostrich by hiding her head under a pillow - no sand was available.

Thankfully, we safely arrived at Santee Lakes County Recreation Preserve. This beautiful park is located above the fogline in gently rolling hills about 15 miles northeast of downtown San Diego.  There are five small lakes stocked with trout, bass, catfish and perch and populated with an abundance of pelicans, egrets, herons, coots and an amazing variety of ducks.  The park provides numerous walking opportunities and has many services and shops nearby.

San Diego received substantial and much needed rainfall in February, which kept us inside and made us very happy we had purchased a woven ground cover.  Our site had a low spot just outside our door.  On rainy days it provided a nice pond for the ducks and a challenge for us.  But that was a very minor annoyance in such a lovely environment.

On one of the first sunny days we drove down to Mission Beach to take a long stroll along the beach and boardwalk.  On the way back we toured through La Jolla and did a little shopping.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way we picked up a rather large nail in the sidewall of our rear tire.  The puncture was irreparable and nobody carried a replacement tire in stock.  Consequently, we were driving on a 'donut' for a week waiting for delivery of a tire.  Since the recommended maximum speed on these sub-sized tires is 35 mph, and not wanting to be the victims of a road-rage incident, we were quite limited on where we could go.

The high point of our San Diego stay was our niece Amanda's visit over President's Day Weekend.  Amanda is currently living in Los Angeles so she had a fairly easy 150-mile jaunt south to our home at Santee Lakes.  She has spent several family vacations in San Diego so it proved challenging to find places she had never been. 

Our first 'never been there' destination was beautiful Balboa Park where we attempted to find a geocache - along with a couple of boy scout troops and a few families.  It was rather amusing watching about 30 people unsuccessfully searching for a matchbox size cache in a cactus garden.  More than a few tears were shed by kids that got too up close and personal with a cactus.  Ouch!

It was Museum Month in San Diego County so we visited the Museum of Art and the Mingei International Museum. We especially enjoyed the Mingei's colorful folk art, craft and design exhibits.  We then drove to Old Town to join the hordes of tourists and dine at Casa De Reyes, a long time favorite.

The next day there was a report of high surf so we headed to Sunset Cliffs to watch the surfers.  It was a perfect day for roaming the cliffs and enjoying the sun and surf.  On the way home we stopped at Shelter Island to take in the wonderful view of the city.

On our route home we went in search of bread and discovered the ever-elusive perfect loaf of sourdough French bread in the fascinating Hillcrest district.  Bill was in heaven.  The bread capped off a perfect February day in San Diego.

The next day, after a late night of Dominoes, we just hung-out and enjoyed the soft, warm day, the ducks and the park. That evening we sadly bid Amanda adieu as she headed back to LA.

Our remaining week at Santee was spent selling items on Craig's List and preparing for our China trip. 

Just before we left the area we visited the USS Midway anchored in the San Diego Harbor.  We were awed by the size and complexity of this aircraft carrier.  In addition to touring the ship and the flight deck, visitors can experience being a Top Gun in a flight simulator, or take command of flight control and communications.  We experienced a simulated launch from the flight deck and tail-hook landing - a rather tummy-churning experience.

Alas, on February 26th it was time to leave sunny San Diego and head north.  Our route took us over the Tehachapi Mountains on I-5.  The hills were covered in wildflowers and we were very impressed with how effortlessly the Beast climbed the mountains. 

After one night on the road we checked into  Cal/Expo RV Park in Sacramento.  Cal/Expo is basically a big parking lot with utilities, but it has an excellent location on the American River Parkway.

After three days at Cal/Expo we hauled our home north to "Rancho de DeMille", our friend's house, in Yuba City where we would leave it during our trip to China.  Then on March 4th we joined Claire and Ken for the initial leg of our Asian adventure.