I have been reading with interest on the stopping overnight at WalMart, and think it's a bummer that people are ruining it for all. On our trip home this past week, we actually stopped at a T A (I think that's the name of it). It was a HUGE trucking Travel Center. They actually had slots for RVs to park and huge trucks to park. The slots were around to the side and the back, so we just filled our gas tank up, and then pulled into one of these slots and slept. (Arrived at 1030 pm and pulled out at 5 am). I don't know if anyone else has done this, but it was very nice! (Also, now that I post this, I am not sure if it was "legal" or not--LOL! )

Introduction--We bought our very first motorhome (1987 Class A) in October and we have already posted 5 different reviews for 5 different sites! We quickly became addicted to camping! Reasons for buying: My boys are 10, 9 and it won't be too much longer before Mom/Dad aren't "cool" enough to hang out with, so we wanted to get as much family time in as as possible. Also, we are military and after my husband has deployed for 3 different tours in Iraq and more to come, the family time was (again) number one on our list!!!! Plus, if there are any other military out there--my biggest stress about the military (aside from year long deployments!) is they move us and we have no home! We have to either wait on housing or find a place--NOW I have my own home to stay in until housing opens up for us!

We just traded our 1987 Class A in for a 2006 Class C and I am excited about the more sleeping space, so we will see....

Anyway, that's a little about me--thank you for this site! I am on it FIRST thing when we decide to travel and FIRST thing when we get home! I am open to all the wisdom that you all have to offer a newbie!

Kathy
Fort Benning, GA

Kathy, welcome to the forum. As you no doubt have found, we have some people here who can answer any question you could possibly ask. Give your hubby a great big thank you from me for all he has done and will do for our country and our freedom. Congrats on the new motorhome. Savor every minute with those young boys. We are "empty nesters" and I can't tell you how many times I have wished that we had started rv'ing sooner than 2 years ago, so we could have taken them with us. They had wonderful vacation, Disneyworld (many times), SeaWorld, numerous cruises, etc., but I think they would have enjoyed rv'ing when they were younger. Or I like to think they would have, in reality, they probably would have argued over who got to sit where while on the road and who got to play which video game - but being in my late 40's and my children being grown, those memories have faded. Hope you post often....

Duchessofall:

Welcome to this site and welcome to camping. Families like your's make me proud to be an American, and I wish you well in all your travels and other matters.

Kathy,

A big welcome to the RV board and yes you will pick up a lot of good information from this group. You will find a lot of old x-military people like myself in this group. It is good that we have large numbers of great military men and women to keep the bad boys at bay.

You can park overnight in the TA or Flying-J truck stops if you like. You will find the new truck stops have added RV parking. It is better to stop here than on side of the road. You need to be safe at night.

Enjoy your travel around the USA, lots to see on the road.

Kathy,

Welcome aboard and thank you for making America our proud homeland.

You will find that the information regarding campgrounds on this site is the best on the internet. Enjoy FlyingJ, the other truckstops, and Walmart. Most of these establishments welcome RVers. Treat the property like you would treat your home and you will not have any problems. Use caution and saftey in all campgrounds and rest stops.

Happy New Year!!!!

Hi Kathy. One of our boys/men is heading to Ft. Benning following being sworn in here 1/23.

Glad to meet you and look forward to chatting

jmo/Kate/Kathleen

Thank you all for your welcome! And a HUGE THANK YOU to all those retired servicemen and women on here--thank YOU for your service to our country. We love the Army, and I am trying to convince my husband that staying in until he is 55 really isn't that bad! He said it's not MY body that is having to do PT every morning...

JMO/Kathleen--I am assuming your soldier will be going to SAND HILL for Basic Training. Is that correct? Let me know if you need anything or if you decide to come out here. There is an AWESOME campground right here on Fort Benning, and we can hook you up for anything down here at Benning. We have been here over 4 years which is a LONG time for military to be in one place, so I feel like we know everyone/everything!

Thanks again!
Kathy

You ARE an insider I have no idea and he is away for weekend, will see if I am now one up on him with Sand Hill

Thanks for offering your help...I will for sure let you know if we were to come down. Guess it would be summer !

Kate

Kathy>A big laugh about the PT comment. It doesn’t get any better the older one gets. I retired last year after 34 years in the Army and in all those years never once enjoyed that particular social gathering. Mostly because it was held at an uncivilized time of day… Zero-dark-30!! For the non-military folks who read this, that would be before a normal person would even think about getting out of the comfort of their bed.

By stay in as long as I did, I was able to retire completely – meaning no civilian job after the military, no schedule to keep, RV travel whenever I want, and still have the health to enjoy it all. Perhaps a reason for your husband to stick it out to 55.

We who are familiar with the deployment issue empathize with you. I have been to four continents, twenty-one countries, all fifty states, and in three conflicts. The family separation is indeed one of the worst parts of a career military life. You deserve a medal. Would that be the Medal of Honor or Purple Heart? :-)

Having the RV as “home” while waiting on housing is certainly a plus. That’s not the only one. While on TDY, Uncle pays close to 50 cents/mile, all campground expenses, and per diem. You get those same benefits on a PCS, and if you transport HHG in the RV or tow vehicle, you get paid for it by the pound. You don’t even have to pack extra stuff in the RV if you don’t wish to do so. Anything that you already have in the RV, like clothes, cookware, etc is considered HHG.

I wouldn’t say you are lucky to be at Ft Benning (LOL), but you are within a few hours drive of some very nice state, Corp of Engineer, and military campgrounds in GA and AL.

Welcome to RV life. You’ll find the community has some of the nicest and friendliest folks you will ever meet.

Rich