I spent my first night in a Walmart parking lot in Monroe, MI. The managers were very nice about it. It was easier considering I arrived late due to my work schedule and I needed to pickup my prescriptions there the next morning since they filled them once before. Spending a night with no electric or TV was somewhat boring but I did have a windup radio at least and I could still cook dinner on my stove. Having the slideout in was a little cramped but still useable. Only thing that bothered me was some idiot walking around the parking lot at 2am with a leaf blower like that could really clean it. Aargh!
Next day, headed out through a rain storm to Lancaster, Ohio and Lakeview RV Park for a week. Ohio landscape is flat with lots of farms and cornfields. Saw a sign to watch for horses and buggies. I got to use my Delorme Street Atlas GPS on my laptop to guide me. I love that it talks to me and I can command it with voice commands. I chose a slightly different path at one point and it recalculated immediately. I missed a turn and it got me right back on track. The best thing is it only cost $40 on sale at Best Buy. Came with the GPS device and software. The interface is non-Microsoft and weird but I’m learning it.
Lakeview RV Park was chosen because it is cheaper than the other parks with wifi nearby and close to a major highway. My trailer sits on a spit of land between two small lakes. I have a lovely 360 degree view of them out all my windows. I have a cement patio, lots of grass, a fire ring, electric, water, gray water hookup, and they run a honeywagon around once a week to empty black water tanks. The staff have been so nice and they guided me back into the site like champs right next to the patio.
The park has fishing, scuba diving through the underwater attractions they placed in the lake, an air station for scuba tanks, a pavilion to gather and chat at, good wifi, and a dump I almost hate to use when I leave because it is so prettily decorated and landscaped. 🙂 Even the geese are staying here on the way south.
Yesterday I went for a walk and stopped in at the pavilion just to say hi. The staff invited me into their barbecue. I had the best potato salad there that I have ever had! The conversation was light and cheery. Many of them seemed to know me already. For those of you worrying about me being lonely while traveling, stop worrying. I meet a lot of super nice people in campgrounds, far more than I ever met living in my house.
There are several people here who work over the Internet. One does medical transcription. Have seen several Ebayers and customer support folks in other parks. Some run their own businesses on the road. Wifi is becoming a very important necessity in campgrounds though many are still missing the boat and losing income from full-timers who stay awhile longer and traveling workers like myself. The key to having good wifi in a park seems to be having 3-5 antennas strategically placed according to the size of the park. One will not do. It takes some tweaking but once tweaked, wifi runs pretty smoothly,
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