We are beginning our camping season this year with what has become our annual trip to Valley Plaza RV Resort. Our season is starting a bit later this year due to some medical issues that Terri has been having. She has been really excited about getting out and camping again. Due to her condition she has been stuck in the house a lot and she is looking forward to seeing something new other than the four walls of our living room.
There were a half dozen or so RVs at the campground when we arrived. The site we wanted right up front was even available. There was a Class A Motorhome in line ahead of us in the check in line and guess which site he took. We chose a different site near the back as a result.
My parents showed up a couple of days later to join us at the park. We went up front to help them register and found out the site we first wanted was now available. We then changed our site location. As we moved into the new site Mother Nature decided it was a good time to open up the clouds and rain on our parade.
I could never figure out the reservation policy here. They will not let you reserve specific sites unless you know the manager or someone. The rest of us just get what is available upon arrival. My dad asked for a site next to us and was told that is was not available. He checked out 2 days later and nobody ever even pulled into that particular site.
Another change since our last time here was that now there are no trash cans in the park. They require you to haul your trash to a big dumpster. I am sure it is a cost savings for them. It would be nice if the dumpster had doors on it though. Instead you need to try and whip the trash bags over the top.
Later I ran into the resort manager Carrie Wonsey and spoke with her about the reservation policy. She said that they manage the resort like they manage the hotel. They apply a site number to the reservation but don’t disclose the number in case they need to move people around. The park also has seasonal reservations to deal with as well. She also informed me that the entire resort had been sold to a group of individuals who have cut back on operating costs.
We recently discovered a new restaurant nearby. It is called Bone Daddy’s BBQ and we go for the pulled pork sandwiches. We also really like the baked beans. Of course the ribs are pretty good as well. The food there has a really good smoky flavor and they even make their own BBQ sauce.
Our son, Spike did me a huge favor and took the truck home to wash and wax it. When he returned the truck it looked simply spectacular.
The next morning I went outside to discover that the truck had been trashed by some vandals. I spoke with the resort manager. She said that 7 fire extinguishers were stolen from the Valley Plaza Resort Hotel last night. The vandals went throughout the RV Park blasting parked vehicles. I found out that they took beer from mini fridges and coolers as well. The other RVers that I spoke with were very upset.
I was surprised to discover that no one from the resort had called the police so I called 911. A local Midland City police car showed up along with a fire truck. I made a comment to the officer that arrived explaining I was from Saginaw (listed as the most violent city in America for several years now) and that this kind of thing has never happened in our neighborhood back home.
We tried a new sandwich this trip. It was from Willie’s Rear. As humorous as it sounds the sandwich, called the Willie’s Special, was really quite good.
