For the majority of our time on the road we do not have to worry about looking for an RV park because it is covered by Korey’s employer during each of his jobs (shout out to workamping!). We still need to find a place to stay in between those jobs and while we are traveling to areas we would like to explore.

Last year when we decided to start traveling, my grandparents gifted us their Thousand Trails membership. They had been members since the early 80’s and are no longer able to travel, this was such a kind, thoughtful gesture and we are so thankful! The transfer itself took roughly 2 months to complete before we officially had our membership cards. We were in no rush, as Korey had jobs lined up where we wouldn’t be staying in one of their parks until 2019.

Our 1st Thousand Trails stop was at Sherwood Forest in Kissimmee Florida. It is an Encore Park and it was hoppin’! We knew it would be a busy location due to it’s proximity to the amusement parks, so it was expected. It was surprisingly quiet for how many people were there and we lucked out with a pull thru site that was easy to get into. Since we enjoyed this park, and it was our 1st TT experience, we had high hopes that the rest we stopped at would be just as nice.

We didn’t get so lucky with stop #2. It was also an Encore park, this time in North Carolina. We stayed at Whispering Pines. We had a 2 week reservation and although it started off pretty rough, we stuck it out so we could explore the area. The appearance of this “RV Resort” (adding “resort” to a campground name at this point makes me laugh, most are definitely not a resort) leaves a lot to be desired. Our biggest issue with this location and why we will not return was due to the obvious drug activity of a few people who lived there full time. Our view was this RV that had been sitting for a while, every once in a while people would come and stay a night then leave…not an issue at all, but an interesting view out of our dining room window 🙂

After this stop we were really looking forward to our reservations in Virginia at Chesapeake Bay. This was our first Thousand Trails that was out of the Encore/Trails Collection park….. and it was our FAVORITE! We loved this park. It wasn’t necessary extra close to the tourist locations, but it had spacious sites and fishing in either one of their ponds, lakes or off the dock on the river. Korey was in heaven as he was able to fish daily.

Since we are parked in South Dakota for the summer, we won’t be able to visit another park until November. We plan to stay at the La Conner location in Washington and really looking forward to it! We are so happy that we have this membership and look forward to staying in more of their parks.  When traveling full time, it can really be a money saver to be able to stay for free (aside from our yearly dues). Having this membership as an option is great for us and we are so thankful to have it.