Tag Archives: RVersOnline

Amazon Warms Up to RVers

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Some prefer to lay back in the shade of an old oak tree growing next to their long-term concrete pad in an RV park with a nice laundry facility, reliable wi-fi and a mail slot in the manager’s office. These are the think-outside-the-box’ers who, when choosing their home’s foundation, chose rubber over concrete and willingly gave up Saturday shopping sprees at Furniture World in exchange for a totally manageable affordable housing alternative. We have a lot of these sensible RVers at Floridays.

We also have the Rvers who prefer driving the open roads in search of RV campgrounds, truck stop bathrooms, acceptable fuel prices, and garbage and waste dump sites. They are from up north, out west, the south, and Canada. Their RV is in response to an irresistible calling to leave family and friends behind in order to experience the world up close and personal, one RV campground after another. We have these adventurous RVers at Floridays too! These are the people who have problems ordering from Amazon.

For this last group, you have options:

  1. Have family forward it to your campground or RV park.
  2. Rent a box at a local UPS store.
  3. Forward to a post office.
  4. Use a professional mail forward service like My RV Mail.

None of the above are ideal but #4 offers the best services—for a price. They scan your letters and packages and upload the images online. You log on to your account and choose to have a piece forwarded or shredded. And, because they accept FedEx shipments, you can shop on Amazon.
airstream - amazon Locker

But what about those Amazon orders for the rest of us? Use Amazon Locker. Lockers are placed around the U.S. so you choose which Amazon Locker will receive your package and are given a unique pickup code that includes the location address and open hours. The only caveat is that packages are only held for 3 days, so if you order a camp stove while driving through Columbus, Ohio, and have it shipped to Port St. Lucie, Florida, pray that you won’t need a new transmission in Atlanta, Georgia, because you’ll probably miss your pickup window. (By the way, the Amazon Locker in Port St. Lucie, FL is at the Speedway on US Highway 1.)

The Internet-connected RV has changed the landscape of RV ownership and services, making it not just possible, but smart, for retirees and even families to live the lifestyle. And here in Hobe Sound, this remarkable, historic and peaceful remnant of the old Florida with beaches and rivers and wildlife, we look forward to our very own Amazon Locker delivery location. We’ll let you know when it happens.

RV Dreamers

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roadziesOwning and operating an RV park was not exactly a childhood dream, but not a day goes by that we’re not grateful the opportunity presented itself. In many ways, we’re in the business of helping people live their dreams!

An article in this month’s Family Motor Coaching magazine illustrates my point. “An RV Dream Come True” is about the LA-based Rossitto family who homeschool their kids (they call it roadschooling) yet when they are somewhere interesting, like Mount Rushmore, they close the books and learn through experience.

The Rossitto’s are not yet full-timers, but are growing their home-based businesses in order to get there. You can follow their adventures through the Roadzies blog on FMCA’s website or the Rossitto family website. Miri Rossitto also accepts friend requests on the family Facebook page.

Ditch Suburbia

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Christmas in the parkWhen a typical suburban couple and their two adventurous teenagers decided to seek a life of significance instead of complaining about finances and lawnmower repairs, they sold their house, gave away their possessions, and hit the road to dream big while living the RV lifestyle.

Michael and Crissa Boyink travel the USA pulling over now and then to use a campground or national park for a classroom for their homeschooled kids or an RV park with WiFi to run their online business.

Michael blogs about their adventure at Ditching Suburbia, which he subtitles as “helping common families create uncommon lives.” He’s passionate about living your dream, and he’s sometimes brutally honest. For example, he admits that his Christmas blog in 2013 was more “inwardly-focused” that most. Not because any of the family had experienced anything tragic or terrible, but because it was their first time living without what they call “Christmas influencers”. They had to figure out to celebrate the holiday on the road and on their own. From reading their Holiday blog that year, you can surmise that:

  • They missed attending a Church where everyone knew their name with a service that was comfortable and familiar.
  • They missed snow. Well, at least they had the good sense to drive south for the winter, though it made it hard for them to get into the Christmas mood.
  • They missed going to the rounds of parties held by old friends and close relatives. The kind where all sorts of traditions are built and stories long told.
  • They missed the crowded malls filled with decorations, piped-in Christmas music, and so many Santas that it’s impossible to miss that fact that it’s Christmastime.
  • They didn’t seem to miss the commercialization of the season or the noise it creates.
  • They preferred the life of being centerstage with nature under a really black canopy of stars where one might see Santa’s sleigh against the moon, or point out the very star that led the wise men to Bethlehem.

You can read more about the Boyink’s on the blog and check out the book Michael is writing about ditching suburbia. We wish our Floridays RVers a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.

What’s a Good RV Park?

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RV bloggers Tom & Stephanie Goner from Bend, Oregon, enjoy and write about the RV lifestyle at RVersOnline. They freely share the information they gather, and as they say, “nothing is for sale here.”

So when we ran across their article “What makes a “good” RV park?” we scrambled to see if we fit the bill – considering that there are no “right” answers because everyone has different preferences, let’s take a look at how Floridays stacks up.

#1 First impressions.

RVers look for a park that makes a good first impression, one that says “that’s a place we’d feel good about staying tonight.” Floridays is a place that you just intuitively know is full of RVers who love life on the road. It’s not a low-cost housing option. At Floridays, we do have full-time guests, but they live by the rules so that when you look down a row of RVs it’s real hard to tell which one hooked up yesterday and which one lives here year-round.

#2 Site spacing.

RVers like ample space between sites with a little privacy. Site layout, as the article states, can be a challenge for the park owner who needs to maximize his return. Floridays was originally a mobile home park, so our sites are spacious by design. Today, Floridays’ park layout is treasured for its ample patio space, long driveways, and diagonal offset sites that are both private and pleasing to the eye. When you go out your door, you won’t run smack into your neighbor’s.

#3 Site landscaping.

Everyone has a concrete slab. Outdoor plants are allowed in moderation if they give the park a more pleasant overall appearance. We are always improving our landscaping and common areas.

#4 Friendly staff.

We get as many great reviews about our park manager, George Vryhof, as the park itself! George lives onsite and sleeps with his cellphone. There are no impersonal check-in counters here—just George to check you in, help you if need with your hookups, answer all your questions, and be available 24/7 (unless he decides to go fishing or cruising down Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway on his big pontoon boat—usually with a boatload of guests from Floridays!)

#5 Site assignments.

There’s always a trepidation about being “assigned” a site in a park never visited. Will the site be level? Are the utilities appropriately placed for easy hookup on the right side of my rig? Will we be able to open our slideouts without crashing into a pole, tree, or neighbor? Will we have gravel or concrete, and not mud or sand, at our doorstep? George is able to assess exactly where a rig will fit, alongside what (and sometimes who), and his choice will assure effortless hookups and the best site available for every RV.

#6. Settling In.

A big piece of the RV lifestyle is getting out to experience the local area. When the park is located minutes from one of Florida’s best beaches, fishing, boating, public golf, a state park with hiking and biking trails and kayaks and canoes, nature center, historic downtown, and renowned restaurants—well, enough said. Floridays, along the Florida’s Treasure Coast, has all these things and more. Just ask George for a local map and check our website for local attractions.

Based on RVersOnline, Floridays scores high marks.