CAMPGROUND HOSTING

When my summer travel plans to Maine were canceled due to the COVID-19, I had to make other plans.  Who knew what parks would be open?  I knew pools and bathhouses might also be closed.  Some are some aren’t.  Pools are closed.

What about campground hosting? 

I contacted the Virginia state volunteer coordinator and got lucky!  Previous hosts get the first choice, but many hosts were making other plans.  Thus, I found myself hosting at my first choice Westmoreland State Park in Montross, VA.  The beauty of an RV lifestyle is the ability to change plans on short notice.  Thankfully, I had not yet paid my FL space for June, so I gave notice, packed up, and arrived on June 2.  Westmoreland is just down the road from Washington, D.C. my old stomping grounds.  The bathhouses are open, and VA has hired cleaning staff for additional protection.  Unfortunately, the pool is closed.  Westmoreland is described as:

On the Potomac River’s Northern Neck, Westmoreland is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has an Olympic-sized swimming pool and an adjacent bathhouse, meeting area, snack bar, camp store and power-boat ramp. You’ll also find a visitor center, campgrounds, camping cabins, cabins, a playground, a fishing pier, boat rentals and 6 miles of trails. Fossil collectors enjoy hunting for ancient shark teeth along the Potomac. Offshore breakwaters are great for fishing. Birding enthusiasts find the park an excellent site for spotting American bald eagles, ospreys, kingfishers, great blue herons, common terns, green herons and gulls, as well as wintering waterfowl. Its waterfront location provides docking space at a boathouse. Murphy Hall, atop Horse Head Cliffs, offers a superb view of the Potomac River.

Hosting is easy duty.  I do twice daily campsite checks, making sure campers are in their proper spots, and after campers leave I clean the fire pits in the handy utility golf cart.

In July I will move to Occoneechee State Park, in southern VA on the NC border, near Clarksville, Virginia. “Occoneechee State Park is 2,698 acres in size. It is named for the Occaneechi Indians, who lived in the area. “Bacon’s Rebellion abruptly ended their prominence in 1676”.  So much history in VA and NC, and everywhere.

In August I move across the border to host at Kerr Lake State Park in NC.  If you read my earlier post I was supposed to go to Cliffs on the Neuse, but decided cleaning bathhouses was more than I wanted to do.  I again got very lucky to find hosting slots on short notice.

Three visitors have come to hang with me around the campfire.  Dave and Annie in their brand spanking new Airstream maiden voyage, and Tim in his not so new VW popup!  It is great hosting in VA, so friends can come and visit outdoors and still be socially distant.

There is nothing nicer than friends around a campfire, and marshmallows.  Last week we had exceptionally wonderful weather with no humidity.  It didn’t feel at all like June.

Occoneechee has Forty-eight campsites available for tent and RV campers on the shores of the John H. Kerr Reservoir, better known as Buggs Island Lake. The park also has 13 cabins for those of you who don’t own camping gear, that provide the comforts of home as well as beautiful views of the lake.   Come VISIT!

 

About Alison Reardon

Working hard on retirement and my golf game.
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2 Responses to CAMPGROUND HOSTING

  1. Dave says:

    Certainly enjoyed Westmoreland State Park, and seeing the park host (Alison). I can appreciate her hard work on the weekends when the park is full. Cheers

  2. Brenda Hudson says:

    I, too, had a job in Maine that crashed. I decided to go back to my house for a few months. I’m old and have some immune deficiancies so thought it might be a good thing to stay in my remote home for a while. I enjoy the FT style and love camp hosting. I’m hoping, by Oct, I can find a camp host job in the west or along the SE coast–below the snow line.

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