From Jacumba, California we headed west to Santee Lakes, which is east of San Diego, to visit Michael’s dad for Christmas and New Year’s. Santee had all the amenities including a Costco. After a couple of weeks in remote Jacumba, it was nice to have the luxuries of a large city again.
Santee Lakes
Santee Lakes is a 194 acre privately owned park, but has the feel of a city/county park. There are 300 full hook-up sites.
Many of the sites are along one of the seven lakes on the property. Each lake is stocked with trout and fishing does not require a State license. There are paddleboats and canoes available to rent. Although there was a pool and hot tub, we did not have the opportunity to use them. We enjoyed the over 5 miles of hiking trails around the lakes.
Our site was large. We had 50 amp service, adequate water pressure, sewer and good satellite reception. The basic internet was too slow requiring us to pay a fee to upgrade.
Birding
The main attraction were the over 200 different bird species that can be seen in the area, like American White Pelicans.
We were entertained watching a Kingfisher catch a meal and beat it to death before eating it. This one caught a fish that seemed too large to swallow.
Wood Ducks, so handsome!
Great Blue Herons.
A Snowy Egret. It was amazing watching them team up against the Cormorants and steal their fish.
Jake was interested in the American Coots, who constantly splashed and chased each other.
A Black Crowned Night Heron.
Acorn and Nuttall’s woodpeckers.
Ringnecked Duck, Mallard Duck and a Double-Crested Cormorant.
Sandy and Jake really enjoyed identifying and watching all the birds outside the motorhome each day.
Cold Moon
A Cold Moon is a full moon on the winter solstice, the least amount of daylight of the year.
What a nice surprise to find this winery in Lakeside, California. The views were stunning. The owner and wine maker, Michael Larranaga, is extremely personable, knowledgeable, tells some good stories and makes very good wines.
Christmas and New Year
We got a kick out of visiting Michael’s dad Jim for Christmas and the New Year. He is 93 and overall doing well and enjoying life.
