We’ve been full time RVing for 53 days, having sold our house on August 31st. We’re on our ninth campground, and 17 days ago we got our new camper, 5 months after ordering it from Lazy Days in Tampa, FL. What a month October has been! Today, I’m taking a break from avoiding my homework to update you on our progress.
We were at Cane Creek Campground in Waxhaw, NC when we got the notice that our new camper had arrived, way earlier than expected, in Tampa. Because I had already committed to spending a week at Brunswick with one of my team members, we kept our reservation at Holden Beach RV park but cut it from two weeks to one. That was fine by us. The campground was nothing special, a few miles away from the beach, and I spent a lot that week working. That was also the week I made my announcements at work.
That Friday, we were up early and headed to Tampa, with a one night layover in Eagles Roost RV Park near Valdosta, GA, arriving at Lazy Days resort on Saturday afternoon.
Lazy Days was a frustrating experience — a lot of hurry up and wait while we waited for the last upgrades to the camper to be finished and struggled to find someone to respond to our questions. A lot of ups and downs — excited when we got to see the rig a day early, depressed when we realized the factory had forgotten to install the awning over the back patio, excited to finally move from the resort (with the worst wifi) to the delivery lot, only to dry camp for a day on the delivery lot while waiting for the new camper to be delivered.
Finally, late Wednesday afternoon, I looked up from the kitchen table where I was doing homework and saw Big Mo coming down the lane in front of us, towed by a forklift. “Oh my goodness, it’s here!” I grabbed my camera and ran out the door, Chris right behind me. They backed the new camper in so that the front doors of both campers were facing each other , and after making sure it was level, the porter dropped the new rig and was gone. Lazy Days is like what it must be like in a beehive — golf carts, campers, and forklifts going every which way, all hours of the day.
Thursday morning dawned hot and humid — the picture of the weather the entire week — and Chris and I got to experience yet again the joys of unpacking and repacking a house in 90 degree weather, 90% humidity. I would say I had never been so hot and tired and sore before, but oh wait, yes I have — just a month or so ago. At any rate, it was GO time. We gutted the old camper and just tossed everything into bags and boxes in the new camper’s garage, if we didn’t have a ready place for it. If we didn’t need it, we threw it away or gave it away. I hope that guy in the new Imagine enjoys the new grill we gave him! At one point in time, I had to run to Walmart down the street for plastic totes. Herein lies the second reason we didn’t like our time at Lazy Days. Seffner, Florida — where Lazy Days is located — is a pit. Dirty, hot, rampant poverty, homelessness, and drug use. I walked through so many stains and unidentified substances in the Walmart parking lot, I wanted to set fire to my shoes when I got home. Needless to say, we stayed pretty close to Lazy Days resort and store while we were in town.
We had completed our “walk through” with Nea that morning. What was supposed to be a 3-hour, you’re-gonna-want-to-record-this session turned into a 42 minute session of Chris teaching her about the camper. Bless her heart — nothing against her, but her orientation basically consisted of “this is your door. Oh, and here’s your couch…” It’s not her fault. She had been on the job for a total of 3 months, and her training consisted of watching YouTube videos. Are you kidding me? I told Chris that’s shameful on Lazy Days, what if we had been some rookie without any clue as to how to tow a camper and you send a 20-something year old, safety pins in her hair as decoration, with 3 months of YouTube videos as our orientation guide. Wow. At any rate, by the end of Thursday, we had our old home buttoned up and empty, and our new home was a disaster of boxes and bags.
Friday morning, we up early and out before 11 a.m., headed up the road to our one night pitstop at Fair Harbour RV Park in Perry, GA, home of the Georgia State Fair, which just so happened to be in session, the same weekend, on the same exit ramp off I75. Perry, GA is freaking adorable little town, and I discovered the town treasure of Acres and Oak, a boutique store that sold fully-cooked, frozen and packaged homemade meals and desserts. I swear I heard angel’s voices when I opened the front door– dinners, breakfasts, and desserts — all delicious, all prepared, just heat and serve. Yes, please!
And then Saturday morning, we finished up our drive and landed at Palmetto Cove RV Park, where we’ve been since October 9th, the last 14 days. I’m not gonna lie, the view from the park is pretty top notch but the way we’re filed in here like index cards in the card catalogue draw leaves a little to be desired. And I am NOT a fan of camping in the grass, especially when I have to walk two knucklehead dogs early each morning while the dew is thick.
The times we have been able to lower our back patio door, I have had the best view for my office.
But all of that aside, I’m ready to move on to the next campground. This one’s pretty, but we have to walk on our neighbor’s mat in order to get into our back storage compartment. Our side awning literally extends over the camper beside us. Chris is eager to climb under and on top of the camper, which he doesn’t want to do while Scott is outside on his patio smoking. (Yes, Chris has already made friends with our neighbors — Scott and Pam.)
We have enjoyed the time sitting still, to unpack and organize and settle in. We love, love, LOVE this camper — so much space, so solid and secure. We have been sleeping really well, and then I have space to work and think in my office. The dogs are tucked away in the office/garage, and in the evenings, Chris and I are on opposite ends of the super sofa with the dogs in between us. It feels like a home, not like a camper, so peaceful and simple. We look forward to the turn of the new year, when we can branch out from the South Carolina/North Carolina area and explore other places. But for now, I think we’ll be okay.
