Home Away From Home, But Not Far

Sometimes the journey is 3,000 miles, sometimes it’s barely three.

Frank Sanborn loves to travel. Every year he takes his wife, their dog and the family motor home on a faraway trip, usually to the East Coast. But Sanborn also reels in his wanderlust, barely worries about filling the gas tank, leaves the maps at home and instead chugs around the corner to the Newport Dunes Resort, an RV park in a pretty stretch of Newport Beach next to Back Bay.

“We love the long trips, stopping at Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, heading down to Florida and the Keys,” said the 67-year-old Newport Beach resident. “The thing is, there are also lovely opportunities right here (in Orange County), almost in our back yard.”

The county has several public and private RV courts that mostly cater to a clientele of distant out-of-towners stopping during a cruise through California and beyond. But park managers note that locals make up a good portion of their business because they want the motor home experience without the demands of planning a big getaway.

That’s the appeal for Sanborn and his wife, Jerri. They said the urge to leave their condo behind comes up, often on the spur of the moment. Unlike their longer, more costly RV vacations, these spontaneous excursions don’t require a lot of thought, just the desire to go.

“What do we have to do to get ready?” asked Jerri Sanborn. “Practically nothing, maybe an overnight bag, some snacks and the dog food, then we’re off. Besides, if we forget anything, all we need to do is drive the car (to the condo) and pick up what we need, whether it’s beer or whatever.”

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The Sanborns have tried most of the region’s RV and trailer parks and especially like San Onofre State Park in San Clemente and Huntington-by-the-Sea in Huntington Beach, mainly for their proximity to the ocean.

But their favorite is the Newport Dunes because it offers a range of activities from sailboat rentals to wildlife kayak tours of the nearby Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve wetlands to big screen showings of recent videos in the clubhouse.

And if Jerri gets bored hanging at the Dunes, there are always the beckoning shops of Fashion Island Newport Beach or the touristy pursuits of Balboa Island just a walk away.

“It’s the perfect match, going from a nice setting with sand and sea to (a place) with lots of people and activity,” she explained. “Anyway, it doesn’t take much to get me to shop.”

Of course, there are RV enthusiasts who would rather avoid anything civilized. Bob and Annette Roberts, an Irvine couple in their late 40s, said they usually head to San Onofre State Park when the urge to stay local hits. For them, the beach access is more satisfying than any shopping mall, and they’re willing to live without the utilities and television hook-ups provided at other courts.

“We just love the ocean and, I think, we’d stay at (RV) places along the coast whenever we’d travel,” Bob Roberts said. “We like to get up early, walk on the sand, hear the birds, enjoy the sunshine. San Onofre is the best for us. We’d probably go to a place like the Newport Dunes if we had friends from out of town. They’d go for all the attractions.”

By any comparison, the Newport Dunes does offer more than most motor home parks in the area. The 100-acre, 405-site Dunes is more fancy, and pricier. The most expensive site at the more humble Huntington-by-the-Sea during winter is $27.95 a night, whereas it’s $45 at the Dunes.

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Most RV parks raise their rates during the somewhat busier months of summer; the Dunes jumps the top single-day charge to $50.

The philosophy behind the Dunes is simple: roughing it doesn’t mean you have to get roughed-up. When people drive their motor homes into the Dunes, they know the bonuses are many, said resident manager Steven Barrett. There’s the usual TV and utilities access, but also a pool and various recreational activities; the park even has an on-site market providing the essentials. There’s a small gym, too, allowing StairMaster junkies and bench-pressers to do their thing.

The hot months, literally, are during the summer, when the Dunes becomes a focus for picnickers and bathers seeking a calm beach spot away from the open seas. But the winter, Barrett noted, can also be an attractive time at the Dunes, especially for those with motor homes or trailers.

Of the approximately 100,000 RVs that stay there each year, about 45,000 come between the months of October and May. Barrett said a big draw is the nearby marshland, which feature an abundance of wild birds in migration, providing environmentalists or the simply curious the opportunity to see them in a natural setting.

“One thing that’s great is that the birds are so close,” noted Frank Sanborn. “Sometimes you don’t even have to go (to the wetlands); they come right into the bay that’s right in front of the RV site. I’ve seen egrets just sitting out there.”

Still, even with all the pluses the Sanborns and Roberts talk about, it’s clear motor-homing isn’t for everyone. Professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal probably wouldn’t like RVs, no matter how nice. With airplane-scaled bathrooms and barely standing-room showers, even the most accommodating RVs can get cramped.

But the Sanborns point out that the personal touches can help a lot. Their 40-foot-long coach has a TV in the back bedroom, which is equipped with a queen-sized bed. There’s a small sink and a stove in the living-room area and a special closet for a mini-library of magazines and mystery novels. The Sanborns have plans to install a VCR and a CD player.

When the word “claustrophobic” is brought up, Jerri Sanborn just laughs. “We prefer to call it comfy . . . although I do agree that you have to get used to it. We bump into each other every now and then.”

Frank Sanborn added that they’ve had friends who bought RVs only to let them sit in the driveway. “You have to be sure about this. It would be disappointing to get one and just let it gather dust.”

A way to discover if the RV experience is something you can live with is to rent one. There are a handful of companies in the county that rent motor homes for varying lengths, but it isn’t cheap.

Bob’s Motorhome Rentals in Anaheim, for example, rents top-of-the-line RV’s for $819 to $850 a week this time of the year, with a 10 cents per mile charge. Any rental for more than four weeks is 10% less.

“This is a real good way from someone to get a feel if it’s a thing they want to do,” said Jack Norris, the company’s manager. “I don’t think anyone should just go out and buy one without testing it out first.”

To Try a Getaway, RV-Style

Here’s a sampling of RV rental companies:

* Bob’s Motorhome Rentals

8911 Katella Ave., Anaheim

(714) 827-2810

* Cruise America Motorhome Rental & Sales

1710 S. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim

(714) 772-9030

* El Monte RV Center

1321 N. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana

(800) 367-2201

* Executive RV Center

2100 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton

(714) 680-0295

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Here are some privately owned Orange County RV sites:

* Canyon RV at Featherly Regional Park

24001 Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim

(714) 637-0210

(no hookups)

* Huntington-by-the-Sea

21871 Newland St., Huntington Beach

(714) 536-8316

* Newport Dunes

1131 Back Bay Drive, Newport Beach

(714) 729-3863

* Orangeland

1600 W. Struck Ave., Orange

(714) 633-0414

* Vacationland

1343 S. West St., Anaheim

(714) 533-7270

And some public RV sites:

* Bolsa Chica State Beach

17851 Coast Highway, Huntington Beach

(714) 846-3460

(no hookups)

* Caspers Wilderness Area

33401 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano

(714) 728-0235

(no hookups, pets or campers under 18)

* Doheny State Park

25300 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point

(714) 496-6172

(no hookups)

* O’Neill Regional Park

30892 Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Canyon

(714) 858-9365

(no hookups)

* San Clemente State Park

225 Avenida del Calafia, San Clemente

(714) 492-3156

* San Mateo Creek Campground

830 Cristianitos Road, San Clemente

(714) 361-2531

(no hookups)

* San Onofre State Park

3030 Avenida del Presidente, San Clemente

(714) 492-4872 (no hookups)