We’ve done our fair share of “overnight parking” on this trip. It’s free, it’s convenient, and there’s no check-out time. But unless you like acres of asphalt, the ambiance is lacking.
Wal-Mart is the undisputed King of Overnight Parking. It offers reasonably secure, reasonably quiet, massive parking lots in every corner of our continent. And if you need ANYTHING WHATSOEVER, there’s that cute little store…
Speaking of cute stores, Cracker Barrel makes for a pleasant overnight stop. Its Country Store is filled with interesting items built mostly from discarded golf tees and yarn. Hungry? You can always partake of Granpa Holcomb’s Old-Timey Skillet Griddle Cornpone Mash Platter. Or something like that.
In trucker parlance, Flying J is affectionately known as “The Hook.” (Usage: “We’ll be stoppin’ right ‘chere for a nightly spell … at THE HOOK.”) These truck stops are usually pretty busy, which translates to being noisy. There’s also a squawk box loudspeaker that occasionally bellows phrases like, “CUSTOMER NUMBER SIXTY-TWO, YOUR SHOWER IS READY!” But they offer dump stations for RVers, so you can empty your water tanks if necessary. And hey, they also have wifi for $5 a night!
What little girl doesn’t daydream about spending her honeymoon at a romantic locale such as Love’s? These truck stops are quite similar to Flying J — I mean, THE HOOK. They offer plenty of parking space, but can get a little noisy due to the presence of big rigs. There’s nothing like drifting to sleep to the symphony of a big rig diesel engine rumbling next door. Ah, the romance of Love’s…
It’s easy to poke fun at overnight parking, but I sincerely appreciate the fact these businesses offer the option. It makes the great American RV road trip that much more affordable for us all. Honestly, overnight parking may be an “only in America” type of phenomenon. In most countries, would be overnight parkers are chased from the property after a couple of hours! So we offer a big MUCHAS GRACIAS to these businesses from grateful RVers everywhere…