Camping at Walmart

Last time I told you about the beautiful sites and wonderful adventures we’ve had on our month-long tour of the New England states. This time, I’m going to share the not-so-fun parts of our trip—just so nobody thinks that traveling in a camper is always fun and games and joy, joy, joy.

I’ll start by telling you that we woke up in a Walmart parking lot on Saturday morning. Boondocking in a Walmart has been on our bucket list, but it was not on the schedule this time. I haven’t wanted to share our woes from this trip because: A. We really have had a wonderful time despite numerous camper issues. B. Given all the problems in the world, and especially dear friends who are dealing with the aftermath of the hurricanes, our problems are minor by comparison. C. Camper issues are boring compared to the beauty we’ve seen on our travels.

See us way off to the right-middle of the photo?

However, we’ve spent most of this trip showering in shower houses, flushing with a jug of water, washing dishes without running water, and wondering what will go wrong next. I started a list of the issues we’ve had and gave up at #11. Everything from waterline leaks to propane issues to a hook falling off the wall. And more! (Turns out nearly all of our issues were due to a bad install of our Aqua-Hot water heater and furnace. Well, not the hook falling off the wall. )

There were days we prayed, “Lord, are you trying to tell us to turn around and go home?” But we always felt He was saying, “No, keep going.” We were glad. We especially didn’t want to miss a meet-up with our friends, Wayne and Melanie, in New York that we hadn’t seen for three years!

We did get to see them and had a fantastic time. Wayne’s brother even fixed our leaky waterline and refused to let us pay him! But after we left NY, yet another issue reared its head and we spent a couple of chilly nights without heat (except for a little electric heater that kept us alive. )

Finally, Ken called a reputable RV repair guy in Pennsylvania who’d been highly recommended. Alas, he was totally booked. Ken asked if he’d please call if by chance he had a cancellation. Wonder of wonders, he did—and on just the right day that we could spend the night plugged in behind his shop, get the camper in the next morning, and not mess up the rest of our campground reservations! (Thank you, Jesus!)

A couple from Illinois just happened to be spending the night there too for the same reason. We visited around Mike and Diane’s little Solo stove in the parking lot that night and spent 12 hours in the waiting room with them on Friday. By the time we both left with working vans, we were friends.

Huge kudos to Nick and crew at Northeast RV in Beavertown, PA! They were awesome! Our next campground reservation was four hours away and we didn’t want to check in after dark, so we drove 30 miles, camped at Walmart, and by Saturday night, we were back on schedule—and showering in the camper.

Sunday morning we made hot drinks for the road and left Shenandoah National Park before sunrise. We drove the stunning Skyline Drive until the sun began to peek over the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Then we pulled in to an overlook, opened the doors of the camper, cooked oatmeal, toasted English muffins, and watched a breathtaking Sunday morning sunrise. Thank you again, Jesus! I think we’re back on track.

If I always had a view like this, I’d never complain about doing dishes!

Thanks for coming along on our travels, even when things aren’t going so well.