I am now officially homeless, I suppose, but I am at a RV park in St. Marys, GA. St. Marys is about five miles above the Florida border and I will be here until late March. Last year, I stumbled on Crooked River State Park and spent about ten days there. It was warm and I just let myself soak in it after a nasty winter. There was a small RV park across the way and I stopped by when I needed a part. They didn't sell parts but the woman I talked to, Cricket, was extremely kind and gave me directions to several places.
I wanted to stay at Crooked River a little longer, but my site had been reserved for the weekend. So I decided to go across the street to the RV park and as Cricket registered me, she told me to be sure to attend the Sunday night pot luck supper. As I settled in, Cricket's husband, Bill, asked me why I hadn't attached my hose and sewer lines and I told him that I had just purchased the rig (a very inexpensive and old trailer I was trying out) and hadn't a clue how to use the water system and was afraid I would screw something up. He spent several hours teaching me how to use it.
At the pot luck supper, I met a number of people and learned much about the RV lifestyle. I knew that it was something I would eventually want to do.
From there, I went on to Lazydays in Florida, the nations largest RV dealer, and purchased a new model which was more to my liking. The queen size bed sure beat the bunks in my first model where I had laid a board across them and tossed on a full-size mattress.
I also stopped here on the way back up to New York and again was made to feel very welcome. Bill and Cricket also talked to me about workamping and showed me some web sites.
I spent last summer at a campground near my home and made a decision to become a nomad at that time. So I gave up the apartment and am spending a month here in Saint Marys before moving further south.
When I arrived, however, I was saddened to learn that Cricket had died last weekend. Bill has been wandering around the campground like a lost child and I immediately went to him and gave him my condolences and shared a couple of things about Cricket. Bill, a merchant marine sailor who was hurt on his last cruise to the Middle East last summer, has been forced to retire. Right now, he is trying to figure out what to do.
I am really enjoying this place. We had a pot-luck supper and I mashed some sweet potatoes with marshmallows and the people, especially the owner's kids enjoyed them. Many of the people who were here last year are here this year and I have been invited to campfires and card games. At the campfire, people shared how they dealt with the legal aspects of being homeless and I learned much. Most of them have different political views from me, and I don't really discuss politics. The most appealing part of this campground is the physical layout. All the sites are pull through and concrete. It makes leveling the trailer quite simple and I set up everything in less than an hour. I am right across the street from the clubhouse and its hot showers with unlimited water. There is decent space between the sites and as I write this I am looking at a palm bush.
It is quite a contrast to the campgrounds I had been staying at thus far. The first site was in Winchester, VA and is decent for overnight and weekend camping, but there are no pull-through sites and the road is gravel. The people are professional, but not very friendly. When I was there last October, some friends visited my site for a moment to see the trailer and someone came to them and told them they had to register as guests. I had to explain they were simply dropping me off. Earlier this month, I had an issue with them because they shut off my water while I was away getting the truck repaired. When I asked why, they told me I shouldn't park on the grass. I hadn't. It was the tow truck jumping me. I was pretty ballistic for a couple of days and won't go back there.
And I was then at a state park in Santee, NC. The people were friendly and the ranger gave me a site with an absolutely stunning view overlooking Lake Marion. But there was no TV or Internet and in a remote area, cell phone service was iffy.
So here I am, staying for a month. I love the birding that is in the area, and I will venture to Cumberland Island, a national park in town, later this week. The park's "summer" schedule starts March 1. The weather has been changing from day to day. I arrived here to 83 degree sunshine and a gentle breeze. However the last couple of days have had nearly constant rains. Just about 30 miles to the south, the Daytona 500 stock car race had been postponed for the first time in its history due to the rains. It rained most of yesterday but they got the race in. There's still a little residual rain but the forecast for today calls for it to end later this morning and we'll be back to the 80 degree temperatures by tomorrow. Being along the coast, the warmth and rains have brought out a lot of misquitoes but my activities yesterday involved laundry, car maintenance and shopping so I wasn't bothered too much.
So why am I spending such a long period here? Location, location, location. Since I am only a few miles from the Florida border and five minutes from Interstate 95, I can do things in Florida without paying the tourist taxes that can increase the cost of camping by 30 percent. So I expect to do some day trips and spend some overnights at friends. I then will move to Lazydays for some complementary free days at their place co-inciding with spring training baseball and then the Florida Keys and splurge a few days before heading to Oregon.
So, what's new with you????????
