Sara's Campground Erie, PA {Wanda the Wander Wagon}

 Last year during a day trip to Presque Isle State Park, I saw a sign for Sara's Campground and thought it would be a fun place to camp. I checked the website which directed me to call the office for reservations. I called the office and a very sweet voice on the other end of the phone asked for my name and address. I obliged and was told I'd receive a reservation request post card in the mail. About a week later I received a yellow post card. I filled it out with our camper type and five dates we would like to camp. Then I read the top that said to send in the post card after January 1st. It was September. I placed the request card on the fridge and waited hoping I wouldn't forget. I forgot. I did remember to send out the request in February. A week after sending off my hopeful postcard I received an email letting me know they had two spaces left for two of the dates we chose. Of course I couldn't remember the dates I had chosen, but they were happy to remind me. I selected the shorter of the stays since this was our first time camping there. I was able to pay and reserve our site over  the phone. The owner or manager of the campground was amazing throughout the process. She even refunded us for a night when I called to let her know we would be coming in a day later than expected. 

The date of travel finally arrived and we loaded up Wanda and hit the road.  Erie is about an hour and a half from us so it wasn't a long trip. The area entering Sara's Campground is very busy and a little confusing, but they did have a staff member in a golf cart waiting to take us to our site and give us all the information we needed. We received a tag for our car that included basic camp rules, the code for the bathroom/showers, a long list of everything you could possibly want to visit in the area broken down into catagories, and coupons for Crazy Oven, an on-site pizza place. The one thing we didn't receive which would have been helpful is a site map, but you can easily access the site map online and there is a large map when you enter the campsite that you can take a cell phone picture of for reference. 

All of the camper sites are on cement pads so backing Wanda in and getting her level was easy peasy. My first impression of our site was not a good one. There was one tiny tree and we were surrounded by gravel. I immediately thought of my poor hammocks which we would have no where to hang. Still I was hopeful. We were a little closer to our neighbors that we are used to. Make that a lot closer, and we were backed up to a fence that separated us from Sara's Restaurant. 

Luckily Sara's Campground is very close to just about everything so when we needed an extension cord to reach the outlet which was to the front of Wanda and actually closer to our neighbors popup, we didn't have far to travel. This is only our second time taking Wanda to a site with electric so we are still learning the ropes. 

Once we were back and had Wanda lit up, we headed across the street to the beach. There is a pedestrian walkway with flashing lights. Motorist are very attentive and crossing the road was easier than I expected on such a busy road. 

The beach just across the street is rocky and does not have a lifeguard. We let the kids play in the water up to their knees. They enjoyed throwing rocks and searching for sea glass. After playing for about an hour, we headed back to the campsite to rest, but knew we wanted to go back to the beach at sunset. It was a decision we didn't regret. The sunset was beautiful.

After sunset we went back to the camper. Started a fire and had hot dogs and s'mores. This was a little awkward due to the proximity of our neighbors. Our fire pit was only a few feet from their car. It made it difficult to truly relax and I found myself reminding our kids to be quiet more often than is usual on a camping trip. 

After our campfire and s'mores we called it a night and headed to the bathroom/shower house. We ended up driving because it was just a little farther that I thought Grayson would walk at 10 o'clock at night. We made it back to the camper and went to bed. I had a moment of anxiety when I imagined our neighbors being able to hear me snore, but it turns out I was too tired to care. 

When I woke up at 7 the next morning it was already warm. It turns out a cement pad surrounded by gravel and no sign of shade is a heat magnet. David woke up and somehow managed to make breakfast in the heat and with some fuzzy white things from the trees flying around. At that point I knew we wouldn't do much more cooking at the campsite. 

After breakfast we headed over to the private beach owned by Sara's Campground.  It just a little bit more of a walk than the beach just across the street. This stretch of beach is not life guarded and there is tent camping so be prepared to see a lot of people coming and going. Like the other beach, this one is rocky. We let the boys play and search for sea glass. The water was mostly calm but the rocks were a little slippery and difficult to walk on. After about an hour of playing we headed back to camp. We decided play cards. For lunch we ordered pizza, wings, and a hoagie from Crazy Oven. The restaurant is so close we were able to order over the phone and walk over to get it. Eating out while camping is not our norm at all, but this was no normal trip and we are pretty good going with the flow.  The food was delicious and it meant we didn't have to cook on the hot cement pad. 

After lunch we headed out to Bundy beach which is out on the peninsula. Bundy beach is one of our favorites for swimming! The beaches are sand, there are lifeguards, and you can walk out pretty far and the water still isn't too deep. The kids loved playing in the sand, swimming, and burying me! 

After the beach we headed back to camp to clean up. The showers in the shower house are $0.25 for 5 minutes, $0.50 for 10, $0.75 for 15, and $1 for 20. We weren't aware there was a charge for showers, but luckily we had a quarter stash in the Jeep. The bathroom and showers are well maintained. Given that most people had big RV's, my guess is they don't see a lot of traffic. 

Clean and sand free, we hung out at the camper untill it was almost sunset time. We went to Sara's Restaurant for some ice cream and then made our way across the street and found a nice log to sit on as we watched the sun set. The sunsets were by far a highlight for me. 

On what turned out to be our final morning,  we ventured out for breakfast. We had seen an IHOP, but we found out it wasn't open yet. With a little googling I found Dave's Diner which wasn't too far away. I wish I had gotten photos, but I was busy keeping Grayson entertained. The food was delicious and the service was great. The only caveat is that they have metered parking that only took quarters and we had just used all our quarters at the showers! Luckily we found a space with a meter that still had time on it. The waitress also told us there is an app called meterez that you can use to add money. We set up an account for next time.

We headed back to camp and decided we'd like to go on a surrey ride. So, we drove to Yellow Bike Rental Co. Rented a four person surrey, and cycled our way through part of Presque Isle State Park. It was a fun ride with lots of laughter and we saw a hereon. 

After our ride we visited beach 6 and searched for more sea glass. When we returned to camp we saw that the weather looked like storms for the next day so we decided to close up Wanda and head home after grabbing dinner from our favorite BBQ place Underdog BBQ. They of course. Did not disappoint. 

A quick trip back to hook up Wanda, and our trip to Sara's Campground was complete. This trip was nothing we expected, but was exactly what we needed. The beach and sea glass searching, the surrey ride, sunset gawking, and even trips out to eat were fun and offered just the rest we needed. 

My final thoughts on Sara's Campground. It's always good to know what to expect. If you like a quiet secluded campsite with lots of trees and grass, this probably isn't the place for you. If you don't mind a crowded campground and want close proximity to the beach and lots of activities this is your place! Just remember to bring quarters for the shower, an extension cord and extra long water hose of you want full hook ups. Make sure you take a surrey ride and if you get the urge to eat out checkout any of the places I mentioned. You won't be disappointed. And trust me on the sunset gawking.