We have found that a local park is the ideal solution to two busy work schedules. We spent yet more time at Kitsap Memorial State Park (review to come!) as it is fairly close to both of our jobs. Because we are in an RV we have all the amenities of home (shower, kitchen, etc) so that we are able to go from camping to work with ease. Hubby has a job that is fairly stressful and sometimes he gets assigned to a project that entails long days (think 12 hour days, 7 days a week, for months at a time!). I have watched this man come 'home' from a 12 hour day and as he gets close to the campsite, I can see him visibly unwind. Yup, camping can do that to a person!
Anyway, I digress. Finding a local park is a great way for a family to get a lot more time in their RV. When 'heading for home' means a 20 minute drive, you can get a lot more time into a weekend than when you head further afield. Closer to home also means you can camp for more than a weekend. We are blessed that our two youngest (the last 2 at home....we have 5 remember!) are old enough, and responsible enough, that we can leave them at the rv while we work during the day. They have bikes, skateboards and movies (a fun feature of an rv!) to keep them busy.
Because we live locally, we are able to bring firewood from our own property for campfires (in WA state you cannot bring firewood into a park from more than 50 miles away, this is to prevent any cross contamination from any fungi, bugs, or other such nastiness). As we own 2 1/2 acres right against state forest land, we have a LOT of trees, several of which need to come down every fall or spring dependent upon the weather. This translates into a lot of firewood, which we use in bonfires on our property on chilly autumn evenings (and at our annual New Years Eve Burning of the Tree party!). For this trip we had brought a lot more firewood than we ended up using, leaving us with a nice firewood pile left over on the day we were ready to leave. We have found that in the RV/camping world, there is a whole sense of 'community' much like bikers hold their left hands out and down when they pass another biker. So as we were ready to leave, the hubs went from camp to camp asking if anyone was camping longer and needed firewood - if so, come and get our pile. Two lovely Scotsmen took him up on his offer and came with a dolly and gathered up our pile. It was a win for us as we didn't have to take the pile home, and a win for them as they didn't have to buy wood (remember the more than 50 mile rule. I think Scotland is a tad more than 50 miles....just sayin...).
As we were almost ready to leave I felt a hand on one shoulder. I turned around and one of the gentlemen had one arm on my shoulder and with his other hand passed me a bottle of sparkling Pinot (who knew such a thing existed?).
So there you have it, wood for wine. Seven degrees? Maybe not.....but in the end it all worked out.....they got free firewood, and I got a bottle of wine. Hubs was the only one who really lost out as he was the one who chopped down the tree, cut it up, stacked it, eventually loaded it up on his truck, unloaded it at the campsite, made the campfires, and walked around the campsite asking if anyone needed firewood. Well ok, seven steps from tree to free firewood.
Whatever, I still ended up with free wine.
Happy Camping....
Jaye
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