There are many days where we just stick around in the campground and do “absolutely nothing” all day long.  On Mondays, we dump our tanks.  Daily, I walk the campground for exercise.  I still cook.  Because of COVID, we don’t go to restaurants.  Cleaning is quick and easy.  Washing clothes is the same.  Quick and easy.  We watch TV.  Hubby is addicted to a series on Netflix.  He goes to the bedroom at 8 pm every evening and watches the Heartland series until I come to bed at around 11 pm.  Isn’t this what retirement is all about.  Relaxing and just doing whatever we want to do?  And NOT feeling guilty about doing nothing.

Much of my time is spent planning our next destination and what campground we will need to stay at.  I love to research.  Keeps my mind fresh.  When we leave here, we are going to the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  After that, the Green Mountains in Vermont.   It takes hours of research to find the perfect park.  Just to give you an idea of how many campgrounds there are in a small area, below is the area around the White Mountains.  I have reservations at a campground in the area circled.  I use TripWizard for my research.  First I find the area I want to visit.  Then I start to look at each campground for amenities and reviews.

TripWizard has so much introductory information.  First I look to see how large the campground is.  The one below has 440 sites.  We like larger campgrounds so we can walk around and look at other RVs.  We also like to walk for exercise. The overview tab also lists the campground’s website.  Just click on Website and BAM, you are on the campground’s website where you can see the rules and rates.  Rules are important because we have three fur babies.  Many parks have a 2 pet limit.

Next, I go to the features tab.  So much good information on the features tab.  I look for a few things on this page.  For example:
*50 AMP
*Big Rig Access
*Sewer
*Pull-Thru sites (this campground does not have Pull-Thru sites)
*Connectivity.  (I already know this is going to be a bad park for Verizon and ATT, my WIFI unlimited programs.  At this park, I might need to have their WIFI.  We will be in the mountains in the middle of nowhere)

Then I like to look at the reviews.  This is very important to me.  I read every review.  I look at how many reviews there are and then I make an educated common sense decision depending on my needs as to if I am interested in the park.  I can tell the difference from a review written by someone that is angry because they had senseless issues that were not resolved.  Some people are so picky.  I saw a review the other day about the bathhouse having toilet paper on the floor.  We don’t use campground’s bathhouses.  I do pay attention to a bad review of unlevel sites, sites that are too close to each other, or trashy sites.

I never reserve online.  I want to make sure the campground can accommodate our big rig and pups.  So I get on the phone and call the campground.  I tell the reservation rep my needs and check availability.  Once I am sure I want to stay at that campground and they have availability, I pull out the credit card.  Only one park I ever stayed at didn’t ask for a deposit.  We have so much money tied up in deposits and paying in Advance.

Every time I get on the phone to reserve a campground, I threaten Hubby with bodily harm if he lets the pups bark.  The last thing I want the reservation rep hearing is three barking dogs.  For some reason, when I get on the phone, the pups think it is their queue to start barking.  After a successful call and the reservation is made, hubby tells me:  “good job”.

God Bless, Stay Safe, and Be Kind to Every Kind.