Since I’ll be staying in a lot of RV parks over the next year, I thought I’d keep a record of them, from the perspective of a nerd travelling full-time. My priorities are different (in at least a couple of ways) from Woodall’s and other reviewers, and so a good review there might not equal a good experience for me.

My first real RV park stay, where I’m currently parked, is Morro Dunes RV Park in Morro Bay, right on the bay, across from the rock. I did a short trial run to a KOA in Monterey before giving up my house, and I’ll review that one, as well, though in less detail, since I used so little of the facilities. Woodall’s gives Morro Dunes 4 W’s for facilities and 2 W’s for recreation.

Internet

My #1 priority for an RV park is Internet service. I’m not on vacation…I’m living and working in my RV. So, I have to have good, reliable, and reasonably fast Internet.

Morro Dunes has great Internet. I don’t know if it’s just dumb luck, or if RV parks in general now have good Internet service, but as I’m typing this I’m watching Torchwood on Netflix and uploading a dozen huge photos to flickr, and everything is working well. It’s got nothing on the 30-something Mbits I had in Mountain View, but it’s perfectly usable.

3G

When I arrived in Morro Bay last night, too late to check-in at the RV park, I parked on the street (which I’ve now been told I could be ticketed for), so I was stuck using my phone for Internet service. T-Mobile 3G is not available anywhere that I’ve traveled in this area, and so the phone and its Internet access is spotty and slow. This is, obviously, not the fault of the RV park, but it’s relevant. If the park’s Internet keels over, I’d be running at less than phone modem speeds until things get working again. My G1 GPS also seems utterly baffled by the area; it’s never great, but here it is at least a mile off, which doesn’t help much for biking or walking places. Since the network is slow, maps are also slow to display in this area.

Staff

The folks here are quite nice and helpful. They are a little cantankerous about dogs, in terms of rules (dogs are excluded from pretty much everywhere within the park, with “No Dogs” signs all over), though the ladies in the office were smitten with Gidget sitting on the dash. They were extremely emphatic about the dog rules when explaining them, as well, almost aggressively so.

There’s always a lot of staff around during business hours. The office usually has three or four people in it at any given time, and all are helpful and friendly. I asked about vegetarian eating options nearby, and they called over the resident vegetarian (his name is Kevin) for advice. Turns out there are quite a few vegetarian-friendly restaurants around town.

Facilities

The sites are crushed gravel, somewhat level but jacks are definitely needed, and pretty spacious. My space was short and wide, and it made it a bit inconvenient to hookup; both water and sewer were too far away for my lines, so I had to buy much longer ones. Water has pressure regulators preinstalled, which is nice.

The laundromat is nice and clean and well-maintained. Nice machines. Big front loading dryers.

The restrooms are older than Jesus, and not in fantastic repair, but seemed clean. I opted not to shower in the showers here, and instead used my RV shower (I was a little nervous about that, but I had plenty of hot water and it was a very nice shower).

The office doubles as a shop with a reasonable selection of necessities and junk food and such. Prices aren’t cheap, but aren’t outrageous, either.

What’s Near Enough for Walking?

Nothing much. I’ve been told that when the weather is nicer and the water isn’t so high, there’s a walking path over to the downtown Morro Bay area, where all the restaurants are, but without that path, it’s a long way around. About 1.5 miles, and a long trip on foot. It’s acceptable on bike, though it’s been cold and rainy, so I haven’t gone out much. I much prefer restaurants to be within 10-15 minutes or so walking distance (so close that you’d feel dumb getting in the car, but not so close that you don’t get a little exercise and fresh air). Otherwise, it’s quicker for me to cook at home, which sort of defeats the purpose of being out on the road.

The nearest supermarkets and such are also an uncomfortable slog away, so I wouldn’t want to stay here for more than a week, as it would require driving the RV out for food and supplies…as far as I’m concerned, if I’m already stowing everything, pulling in the hookups and slide, and lowering the jacks, I’m not stopping until I hit another town.

Overall, for a nerd nomad like me, this park only shines on scenery and great Internet. I’ll stay for a few days, but I’m not settling in here for long.