by JudyJB » Fri May 17, 2024 11:40 pm
Staying at the Turnpike rest area broke my drive from 270 miles (including some shopping driving the second day) to one day of 115 miles when I was exhausted and a second day of 155 miles. I've also used those stops to break up a 4.5 hour drive from his house to the campground I used south of Detroit. That means I can leave late in the afternoon, drive 1-2 hours, spent the night, then finish the drive the next day. As I am getting older, that really helps. It also gives me more time with the kids. I mentioned what I was going to do with some of the people at the REV Fleetwood service place, and several mentioned that it would make you feel less guilty than taking up a space all night in the truck area. Trucks do drive by, but I had a good night's sleep and barely heard them. Max size of rigs on newer pull-through sites was 40', but older back-ins at older rest areas would be closer to 30' and electric does not always work.
I did stay at a Love's in Georgia and paid $55. It was expensive but there was nothing near Andersonville that I wanted to stay at, and I wanted to give Love's a try. It was full hookup, but sites were very close together. They had picnic tables and fire pits behind them, plus you could tell they were trying to justify the price by including pickle ball, a dog park, laundry, and a splash pad, but I did not see any water running in the splash pad, and none of the other extra facilities were being used. I would not spend that money again, unless I was really desperate for a place to stay. Also, it was a little noisy, though not as noisy as staying directly in the truck area. (It was in a separate area with a fence dividing the two areas, though frankly a 6' high wooden fence does NOT do a good job of blocking noise!) Will post some photos I took of Love's site tomorrow on my blog. (Gas was only $3.19 a gallon, so that paid for part of my stay, I guess.)
One interesting thing I did find at Love's near the campground area, but not inside it, was a little building which was a dog wash!!! Did not take photo, unfortunately. Anybody else ever seen one of these?
Generally, I look for COE parks, then state parks, and sometimes county parks, in that order. I get a 50% discount in Ohio on weekdays and 10% on weekends.