Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay

We stayed at Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay in Chula Vista, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Party city. We don’t like parties.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-04-08
  • Check out: 2023-04-16
  • 8 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly cloudy, one day with drizzle
  • High temps ranging between 57-70°F, lows around 48-52°F
  • Negligible wind, up to 16 MPH gusts

Noise:

  • Some distant freeway noise
  • No road noise
  • No train noise most of the time; once or twice distant noise
  • Frequent helicopter noise from a naval air station
  • Lots of neighbor noise (this was a bit more of a “fun” resort than we usually prefer)

Site:

  • #16, back-in, concrete
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked next to coach
  • Level
  • Small site: about 50 feet long by about 25 feet wide
  • Patio table, chairs, plumbed-in gas fire pit on concrete
  • Shrubs (in need of a trim)

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 45 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 35-46 Mbps down, 13-21 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • AT&T: 1 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • Verizon: 2 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Central garbage compactor, not very convenient (a resort really should have garbage collection from site)
  • Swimming pool & hot tubs
  • Onsite cafe with delivery to site

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Party central, not the place for quiet contemplation

This was the most expensive place we’ve ever stayed and I really wanted to like it but wound up counting the hours until we departed. Perhaps it was because it was spring break, but this resort was packed with rowdy groups and masses of kids. You could hardly drive down the road without dodging the corn hole games, kids on bikes, adults on skateboards, etc. And, oh the noise, noise, noise. If the neighbors weren’t blasting their music or shrieking, the park itself had music blaring from the pool area or roving the streets. We work during the week, so it was unconducive to concentration. It’s petty, but the biggest complaint is that for $165/night they should have trash pickup at your site. They have one dumpster/compactor and it’s equally inconvenient wherever you are in the park. They also have annoyingly planted trees right next to the patio on the northern sites along the fence. We couldn’t get between our front door and the patio without squeezing between the tree and our slide. On the plus side, the cafe and bar were nice and we enjoyed several meals there, and the plumbed-in gas firepit at our site was a nice addition. The Bayshore Bikeway runs right by the park and it was nice to ride around the bay. We camped at Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay in a Motorhome. 

Tip for Other Campers: San Diego Zoo is worth the hype (order your tickets online to save a few bucks and avoid the line at the park), and Balboa Park has so much to see. The Cabrillo National Monument is also a great place to check out.

Interactive map; the RV park is too new for the satellite image as of this writing, but may be there if you check later:

Campground map:

Map

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

We rode our bikes:

Our site

This shrub was touching our coach; I trimmed it back so we could access the patio:

Our site

A nice plumbed-in fire pit:

Fire pit

Fire pit

We like places with on-site restaurants, even better when they will deliver to our site, which we took advantage of on travel day; we’re always tired then, so nice to not to have to cook or go out:

Food delivery to site

We went to the cafe a few times:

Cafe and bar

Cafe and bar

Bar

Breakfast:

Breakfast

Another day, free drinks from tokens given on arrival:

Free drinks

Dinner:

Dinner

Dinner

Another breakfast:

Breakfast

This place had a definite party vibe, including roving live music on our first day:

Roving live music

Other sites:

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabins

Cabins

Cabins

Concrete stamps

Cabins

Community center

Game rooms

The Commons

The Commons

Pool area:

Pool area

Pool area

Pool area

Pool area

Finally, another view of our site, with our coach packed up and ready to leave:

Our site

This was a nice, new resort. We enjoyed the convenience of the cafe. But we didn’t enjoy the noisy neighbors, with lots of people having large gatherings in front of their sites (and on the roads), with loud talking, loud children, and loud music. Not our kind of place.

Travel from Orange to San Diego, California

We drove our coach 99 miles, about two hours of driving, from Orange (Los Angeles), California to San Diego, California.

Here’s the map route, heading south:

Route

An interactive map, showing our stops and potential stops:

Leaving the RV park; Jenn drove our coach around the block to the check-in area so we could toad up:

Leaving the RV park

Leaving the RV park

Honda Center:

Honda Center

Paladin on the steps; this has become one of his favorite places for travel days, so I’m happy to leave the step cover open for him:

Paladin in the steps

Bright green hills:

Bright green hills

I-5 freeway traffic:

I-5 freeway traffic

I-5 freeway traffic

The Pacific Ocean and yellow flowers:

Ocean and yellow flowers

A stop at a rest area to kill some time (since it was a relatively short drive) and have lunch:

Rest area

Annoyingly, the truck parking was overrun with cars:

Cars parked in truck parking

Back to heavy I-5 freeway traffic:

I-5 freeway traffic

Heading to Chula Vista:

Heading to Chula Vista

Checking in:

Checking in

We had a back-in site, so I untoaded while Jenn checked in, then followed the coach to the site:

Following coach

Our site before parking:

Our site before parking

Open Roads fuel discount card

Our coach has a 150 gallon diesel tank, and gets about 7 miles per gallon, so we can use a fair bit of fuel in our travels.

We are glad that there is an option to save a bit of money: the Open Roads fuel discount card.

This service offers significant discounts off diesel fuel at select fuel stops, and enables paying at the pump, instead of having to go in to authorize the purchase (except in Oregon and Nevada).

It also includes an app that helps us find the discounted locations, and compare prices:

Open Roads app

The detail page has additional information:

Open Roads app

As a recent example, we filled about 76 gallons of diesel (half our tank capacity; we usually fill when it gets about halfway). The pump price was $376.66:

Fuel pump

But we saved $92.82 on that fuel up, so “only” paid $293.77:

Fuel discount savings

To learn more about Open Roads, take a look at this blog post and video on the Our Journey in Miles blog. They have a spreadsheet to help track the savings, too.

We don’t have a referral code or anything, so if you join, you could use theirs, or could enter “Jennifer Sinclair” as the referrer to give us credit.

Orangeland RV Park

We stayed at Orangeland RV Park in Orange (Los Angeles), California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second stay here; a nice park, just a few miles from Disneyland.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-04-01
  • Check out: 2023-04-08
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temps ranging between 64-82°F, lows around 44-54°F
  • Little wind; one day of 28 MPH gusts

Noise:

  • No freeway noise, some road noise
  • No train noise, but distant horns a few times
  • Some neighbor noise

Site:

  • #96, pull-through, asphalt
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
  • Fairly level
  • Small site: about 50 feet long by about 30 feet wide
  • Patio table & chairs on asphalt
  • Orange trees that can be harvested

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
  • 80 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Unthreaded sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 78-86 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • AT&T: 20 Mbps down, 6-18 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • Verizon: 21-28 Mbps down, 16-23 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage collection from site
  • Swimming pool & hot tub
  • Package delivery to office
  • Just a few miles from Disneyland

Our review on Campground Reviews:

The place to stay for Disneyland

This was our second time staying here, and I would happily stay again. For an urban setting so close to Disneyland and other attractions, they could easily charge more than they do. This park is genuinely a park, with lovely landscaping and attention to service. We had site 96, which was an interestingly located pull-through site right at the end of a row close to the office. The only downside to the location is there is no privacy screening between your living area and the check-in area. There’s entertainment value in watching the flow of people coming into the park, but I would’ve preferred a nice trellis or hedge to look at. We also enjoyed being close enough to civilization to order food delivery and get some service done on our rig while here. But the main draw, of course, is being a 10-minute drive to Disneyland. We camped at Orangeland RV Park in a Motorhome.

Interactive map:

Campground map:

Map

They also have a map on a wall showing where all of the fruit trees are:

Fruit tree map

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site was near the registration area:

Our site

Setting up our site; here’s a video of a leveling jack going down:

Griddle, filters, and water softener stored for transport:

Filters and water softener

Setting up utilities:

Setting up utilities

Setting up utilities

Utilities

A nice thing about being in a city; we can get pizza delivery:

Pizza delivery

Working outside:

Working outside

The registration area was so close:

Registration area

A nice thing about this park is they offer trash pickup from the site (and even provide a bag):

Trash pickup

The Orangeland RV Park entrance:

Orangeland RV Park entrance

Entrance

Office:

Office

Registration area:

Registration area

Pool:

Pool

Pool

Hot tub (which was undergoing renovations last time we were here):

Hot tub

Putting area:

Putting area

Games:

Games

Pool table:

Pool table

Outdoor livng area:

Outdoor livng area

Outdoor kitchen:

Outdoor kitchen

Covered playground:

Covered playground

The local bus goes through the park:

Bus

A Tiffin Phaeton arrival:

Tiffin Phaeton arrival

Other RV sites:

Other RV sites

Other RV sites

Travel from Palm Desert to Orange, California

We drove our coach 103 miles, about two hours of driving, from Palm Desert, California to Orange (Los Angeles), California.

Here’s the map route, heading west:

Route

An interactive map of our route, with potential stops marked:

Leaving our site:

Leaving our site

Toading up:

Toading up

Toading up

Leaving the campground:

Leaving campground

Palm Springs overpass:

Palm Springs overpass

There were lots of yellow flowers below the wind turbines:

Wind turbines and yellow flowers

A stop at a rest area:

Rest area

A school bus next to us at the rest area:

School bus

Exit:

Exit

Green hills:

Hills

Snowy mountains:

Snowy mountains

Exit:

Exit

Castle Park theme park:

Castle Park theme park

Heavy traffic:

Traffic

Green hills:

Green hills

Exit:

Exit

Honda Center:

Honda Center

Our destination, Orangeland RV Park:

Orangeland RV Park

Orangeland RV Park

Guided to our site by a guy on a Segway; the site was that empty one on the left, but we needed to loop around the block to get into it:

Orangeland RV Park

Going the wrong way, and crossing grass, to pull through into our site:

Orangeland RV Park

Engine compartment door stop replacement

One weak point in our coach is the door stop of the rear engine compartment. Twice I’ve had it break.

Here’s the rear door:

Engine compartment door

It is held closed with a couple of latches, that hook onto door stops like this (the left one):

Door stop

Twice the right-hand one has broken off:

Broken door stop

So I ordered some replacements from Tiffin, part number 5116094 (“REAR ENGINE DOOR STOP BRE 2016”):

Door stop

I didn’t have any of the weather stripping padding, so I used some self-adhesive cupboard bumpers instead, which works fine:

Door stop

I now have a couple more spare, so if it breaks again, I’ll be ready!

Thousand Trails Palm Springs

We stayed at Thousand Trails Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second stay here; a working date palm farm as a Thousand Trails park. Tricky to get positioned, but convenient once there.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-03-25
  • Check out: 2023-04-01
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny
  • High temps ranging between 65-76°F, lows around 47-51°F
  • Little wind; one day of 24 MPH gusts

Noise:

  • Distant freeway noise
  • Some train noise, but no horns most of the time
  • Some neighbor noise

Site:

  • #282, back in, sand
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
  • Fairly level
  • Small site: about 45 feet long by about 25 feet wide
  • Picnic table on concrete pad palm trees
  • Super difficult to park due to palm trees, light post, and wacky sewer position

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, very inconveniently located
  • 50 PSI water, very inconveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 26-88 Mbps down, 60 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
  • AT&T: 3 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 8 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Swimming pool
  • Package delivery to site

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Parking here is not for the faint of heart

This was our second stay, and it was pretty much the same as the last time. The check-in staff are very helpful and informative, giving you a rundown of the park and the best way to wedge your RV between the trees. With a 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle, the best way to find a site is to park your rig by the pool, unhook, and then drive the tow vehicle around to scope a decent site. Not all sites are created equal; some have palm trees that lean more than others, some are quite a bit shorter than others, and some are narrower. Once you find the best site you can, parking your rig in it is a community endeavor. Between the trees and the narrow roads, you may have to enlist the aid of your neighbors to move their vehicles so you can back in. Compromise may be required. I saw smaller rigs than ours balk at sites along our row. But once you get in, it’s very nice under the palms. We camped at Thousand Trails Palm Springs in a Motorhome.

Interactive map:

Campground map:

Map

Our site; it took literally half an hour to get positioned between the trees, sewer, and light pole; the most difficult park to get situated in. But once set up, we enjoy the proximity to Joshua Tree National Park and the desert cities:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

The electric and water utilities are at the back of the site, rather inconvenient:

Utilities

The sewer is conveniently located, though, other than in terms of the palm trees:

Utilities

Working outside:

David

We drove our truck around to scout for a site (this being Thousand Trails). This is the site we chose; a little tight between the palm tree and sewer at the rear, and a light pole and another palm tree at the front:

Our site when scouting

Other sites we considered:

Scouting for sites

Scouting for sites

Scouting for sites

Scouting for sites

Scouting for sites

A nice thing about this park is UPS, FedEx, and Amazon will deliver directly to the sites:

Delivery to the site

For USPS or packages without site numbers, they post a notice on a message board near the entrance:

Message baord

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabins

Cabins

Entrance:

Entrance

Swimming pools:

Swimming pools

The sky with palm trees:

Sky

Sky

Sky