Wal-Mart Was a Tad Creepy

[CrawfordGene]

Originally Posted by redwoodguy

When I was 30 I once drove from coast-to-coast non-stop. Those days are long gone!

You bet! Did you sleep along the way or are you Neil Cassidy?

We have 5 hour days too. It all depends what we are doing and the highways we are using. It makes a big difference if two can drive, so we may go further than others.

Gene

[Foiled Again]

The presence of another AIRSTREAM is enough to encourage me to use a WalMart or a Truck Stop.

Church parking lots are actually sometimes very scarey. Stopped in one in the mountains of Appalacia on a Wednesday evening - just planned to make coffee, take a bathroom break and have a 20 minute nap. Ended up getting invited to their Wednesday service

...... complete with rattle snakes.

10 second pause and there was only dust where I and my Airstream had been. Coffee pot dropped into the sink, and hauled ASS! Put the steps up 20 miles down the road. Thank goodness that the FB's don't have the suicide door.

Paula

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

The presence of another AIRSTREAM is enough to encourage me to use a WalMart or a Truck Stop.

Church parking lots are actually sometimes very scarey. Stopped in one in the mountains of Appalacia on a Wednesday evening - just planned to make coffee, take a bathroom break and have a 20 minute nap. Ended up getting invited to their Wednesday service

...... complete with rattle snakes.

10 second pause and there was only dust where I and my Airstream had been. Coffee pot dropped into the sink, and hauled ASS! Put the steps up 20 miles down the road. Thank goodness that the FB's don't have the suicide door.

Paula

Hmmmmm, was it the offer....or the snakes that scared you off?

An NRA sticker on the other AS in the Wally World parking lot would be reassuring too!

[doug&maggie]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

The presence of another AIRSTREAM is enough to encourage me to use a WalMart or a Truck Stop.

Church parking lots are actually sometimes very scarey. Stopped in one in the mountains of Appalacia on a Wednesday evening - just planned to make coffee, take a bathroom break and have a 20 minute nap. Ended up getting invited to their Wednesday service

...... complete with rattle snakes.

10 second pause and there was only dust where I and my Airstream had been. Coffee pot dropped into the sink, and hauled ASS! Put the steps up 20 miles down the road. Thank goodness that the FB's don't have the suicide door.

Paula

Rattle snakes! Yikes!

We have stayed in church parking lots a number of times, never a first choice but sometimes nothing else presents itself and we are lookin' just for a place to spend the night.

We are always careful not to pull into those on a Wednesday or Saturday evening. Did once pull in to the lot of a small, rural church in WVa on a Friday, only to have the annual bake sale and barbecue to pay the winter heat bill commence early the next morning---while we were having our coffee. We made a donation to the fund and left quickly.

Have to share this experience from this past fall. We were somewhere in eastern TN, I think. Pulled onto a dirt road to find a spot to turn around and go back to a church well off the road we had just passed. Were hailed by a man waving his arms who asked if we were looking for a spot for the night. He had created this little piece of heaven for himself, urged us to stay "as long as you like" with water, electric and sewage---offered to open up his bath house, etc.

What a sweetie he was! He got us hooked up, finished his mowing and choring and headed back to his condo about 45 minutes away. We accepted electric, only, let Lily rip around and play in the creek and left the next morning.

Southern hospitality.


Maggie

[LI Pets]

Stayed at a great Flying J last week in SC X 181, they had an RV area no trucks running, there were about 50 RV's, up at 6 grabbed coffee and hit the road.

CB are ok but sometimes too quit, Walmarts are our last choice had mixed results.

The Walmart in Homestead Fl had about 100 RV's many with awnings out grills going, that was a few years ago, it looked like they were there long term.

[62overlander]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

The presence of another AIRSTREAM is enough to encourage me to use a WalMart or a Truck Stop.

Church parking lots are actually sometimes very scarey. Stopped in one in the mountains of Appalacia on a Wednesday evening - just planned to make coffee, take a bathroom break and have a 20 minute nap. Ended up getting invited to their Wednesday service

...... complete with rattle snakes.

10 second pause and there was only dust where I and my Airstream had been. Coffee pot dropped into the sink, and hauled ASS! Put the steps up 20 miles down the road. Thank goodness that the FB's don't have the suicide door.

Paula

I think you freaked on what might had been an experience of a life time. The Holy Ghost People are quickly disappearing and you might had witnessed something soon to be only something of tales. The Lord moves in many ways, who says I am right and others are wrong. Why not experience it all?
The difference between an adventure and an ordeal is the Attitude.

[polarlyse]

During our couple of Walmart stay's I too find it comforting to see other RV'ers there. Perhaps it's simply that misery loves company. But really I have never had an issue with doing it. Ask permission, pick up a few necessities as a thank you and off early in the AM. I like the idea of their security people checking in. I'm a retired police officer but do not carry any handguns when traveling. But in case of that late night knock at the door I do keep a can of pepper spray in a kitchen cabinet. I can make a nuisance intruder pretty darned uncomfortable quickly. Roadside rest areas, while inviting, just don't appeal to me. Maybe I've watched too many TV shows but they scare me. Nice to have some people around.

[redwoodguy]

Originally Posted by polarlyse

But in case of that late night knock at the door I do keep a can of pepper spray in a kitchen cabinet.

Ok, that's not a bad idea.

Paula - - HA HA! +1

I think the consensus is clear here:
- Flying J -- pretty good
- Casinos - pretty good
- Wal-Mart - only if desperate
- Any place with rattlers - - haul ass!
I can't wait to hit the road again! I think this is going to be a real fun thing. But, I think we are grounded until the Feb. rally in Napa. Tick, Tick, Tick...

[wheel interested]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I understand the desire to get somewhere fast and sleep several hours and get back on the road. I feel the same way sometimes, but after a couple of nights of little sleep, driving is harder and my attention is not too good. We want to relax in the evening, maybe watch some TV, become attached to wifi, have a good meal and get enough sleep.

It doesn't seem that Walmarts, rest areas and Flying J's make for enough sleep and a relaxing evening. If I were 30 years younger, maybe I'd see it differently.

Even on those long days driving cross country, we rarely get to a campground after 6 or 7 pm and we rarely leave before 10 am. That leaves 9 or 10 hours to drive with a short lunch break and a few gas fillups—500+ miles with interstates—and around 15 hours to regroup our minds, relax, sleep and eat. A campground seems worth it to make the trip better. Even after that approach, when we are traveling 3,000 miles or more to get somewhere, we take a two night break before we need to be admitted to a sanatorium on a 48 hour hold. There's usually something to see—maybe a museum, historic site, or just be lazy—and we can recover before we become road warriors again.

I think campgrounds average around $35 and it seems small price to pay for some semblance of sanity. A road trip should be fun.

And most important, Barb would not allow me to stop at Walmart, rest area or a Flying J, not that I haven't thought of it because I don't like paying $35. I have learned to keep my mouth shut (sometimes).

Gene

Different styles for different folks and Airstream has us all covered for whatever it is we want to do. Make me a passenger and I am the biggest baby and want to stop all the time and do any number of a million other things beside sit in the truck for hours, go figure. But there is not as much to do when you are traveling by yourself. Cranking out the tunes and watching all the big rigs and tooling along watching landscape and weather changes from sunrise to sunset on the highway is pure euphoria and intoxicating to me...better than TV. It's my kind of fun. Being on the road is often times more exhilarating than being at many destinations. I love stopping at truck stops (especially Iowa 80!) Should we have the time and money and health to actually tour America at our leisure some day, we would certainly take our time and stop to smell all the flowers we can. In fact, returning from Washington I did just that, exploring and lingering, attending the WBCCI International Rally unscheduled, even taking an impromptu caravan to Yellowstone and the Tetons with another woman traveling alone with her dog whom I met parked next to me in her 25' OB FB in Bozeman Montana. We spent a night at Wal-Mart too, I do believe. I also was invited and stopped to meet forum friends and Airstream dealers. We have spent the night at various Airstream dealerships and Zip Dee awnings and casinos in a couple of states, and even the kids' fancy smancy subdivision. We're not snobs. But for now we are destination oriented and must drink in the local flavor on the fly. I have driven solo to Florida several times and Washington state from Michigan without a single proper overnight stay, with every waking hour spent driving except when necessary to pull off the road for shut eye or substinence or gasoline. 16 hours at a shot isn't a problem behind the wheel and 20 in our younger days from Navy base to home or back was not an infrequent occurance by either of us. However on my trip to Oregon I stopped one night to catch a break because I was plain ol' weary of the sensation of moving and treated myself to the down time of a grounded sunset and sleeping without road noise and continually being buffeted by wind and traffic (even stopped) before heading back out in the morning. It can be challenging negotiating up down curvy roads in the darkness in some stretches. It was difficult just to stretch from gas station to gas station at one leg of that journey. We would love to live out West some day. Where we live now, we have to drive like crazy just to get out of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, etc... before we even begin to be anywhere without big city congestion, so we don't delay at all on our way away. I truely enjoy the spontaneity and adventure of playing it completely by ear. We almost never make a reservation in advance but keep our options open as much as possible. And what's nice is when we do stop at Wal-Mart we can use our employee discount while restocking the Airstream! Isn't it more expensive to drive all day than to stop and camp over night anyway?

[FlashSilver]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

The Bay Area isn't RV friendly, and I'm unsure whether one can park an RV anywhere overnight on the street (especially, if it's occupied).

The closest RV resort that I know if is in Pacifica, about 15 miles south of SF:

San Francisco RV Resort | Park your RV on the Cliffs overlooking the Pacific Coastline

I think it's about $65 per night this time of year. There's another one at Candle Stick Park, but I haven't heard any good comments about that part of town. It probably isn't much better than what you describe. Although, I think they lock the place down at night.

There's also a KOA in Petaluma that is OK, and it's about $60. However, it's about 40 miles north of SF, over the Golden Gate Bridge.

San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA | Camping in California | KOA Campgrounds

If anyone knows of any better places near SF or Fremont, please let us know. I know that I'd sure appreciate some advice on RV camping in the Bay Area.

Just returned from Oakland, CA, visiting our son and his family for the holidays. We stayed at Chabot Regional Park, $30 per night with hook ups, $20 without. This was the first time ever we used hookups, second time we used electricity. We stayed 10 days and it was great, 8 miles from downtown Oakland and the campground is on the lake in a Eucalyptus grove. I don't think I will use the full service sites in the future, and pay $10 a day for sewage when there is a free dump station onsite, but it was nice nonetheless. Reservations recommended. Great hiking, biking, and a gun club nearby. http://www.ebparks.org/parks/anthony_chabot.

[richinny]

Originally Posted by LI Pets

The Walmart in Homestead Fl had about 100 RV's many with awnings out grills going, that was a few years ago, it looked like they were there long term.

overnights are no longer an option at that location because of the 'residents'.

[Lothlorian]

Walmart's are great for power naps, lunch, and down time. I like them to pull off and nap for about two hours eat some food then hit the road. I have spent the night in a Walmart before. It worked out great. We were parked with about 6 truckers who were doing the same thing. Security gurad was always around. Slept hard and was ready to roll in the morning. We always call ahead before we stop to find out if other travelers will be there.

Brian

[w7ts]

Originally Posted by wheel interested

.......................
But there is not as much to do when you are traveling by yourself. Cranking out the tunes and watching all the big rigs and tooling along watching landscape and weather changes from sunrise to sunset on the highway is pure euphoria and intoxicating to me...better than TV. It's my kind of fun.

.................................................. ......

It's scary to me that you didn't mention paying attention to the road and traffic, etc.

I hope that was an oversight.

Ken

[polarlyse]

What, Pay attention to the road ???? Now there's a novel thought.