Crossed Oaks Haven

Crossed Oaks Haven has been very very busy in July and many trips were taken, a few missed and much information gathered. We started out the month with 4th of July fireworks and ended up purchasing next years fireworks during our East Coast exploration.

Friends and club members enjoyed the fireworks at COH before we started off on the traveling. Lake Como was our first club trip  for the month and Carolina Foothills Resort was the last one. Cypress Cove got 2 visits, and the skinny dip was also held at COH. Avalon and Sunny Rest also welcomed our presence. Solair, MaHeSo and Beechwood, as well as Cedar Creek were on the potential visit list.

Lake Como and Cypress Cove were day visits this month rather than overnight stays. We are so lucky in Florida to have such welcoming clubs. It seems as a traveler that much of the entertainment is diminished during a week day and some of it is non-existent.

I had read years ago about travelers staying at resorts saved money and were able to enjoy themselves more naturally. It does not seem to hold true any longer to save money by staying in naturist venues. (At least not in a motorhome.) Our overnight fees ranged from $22 in the mountains off Route 77 to over $80 at the resort in West Virginia. The AANR discount does not seem much when there are also day fees added to the cost of the facilities. It seems like that day fees should be reduced for use of site when only staying 1 night during the week. The major expense for a trip traveling across country in a motorhome seems to be gas.

During our exploration trip the first resort we visited was Avalon. We had stopped along the side of the highway on our way to TN as well as spending a night in the driveway of family. GPS systems don't always find the exact address of places so it was good that I had internet at times before our stop and that I had been there once before. Once you get up to the mountain top you don't have cell signal. We arrived as the office was closing so did not see too many people but did get some help trying to level out the NV from the manager. The camping sites are very nice and we enjoyed making a campfire. They are just not nearly friendly for any  person who has trouble walking. They do have campsites much closer to the facilities but I am not sure they are for motorhomes.

Our next stop was within a days travel so that timing was not a factor. Also family does not generally close their doors at a scheduled time. This is what put us at a textile campground on our visit to CT. I learned last year that you need to call if you are thinking you will be late to arrive at a resort. When I spoke to the folks at Solair I found out it would be best to be there by 2pm. The office would be closing at 4pm and he said they roll up the sidewalks. I looked up another resort in CT on the internet and they do not allow non members to visit during the week.

When we left CT we took a little site seeing side trip that slowed our progress home and gave The NV a temporary driving break. This was a Ferry ride from CT to Long Island. I had not been to CT or Long Island before so it was a good experience except for having to drive across the George Washington Bridge in NYC to get back out. Despite the 45 minute delay we did arrive at Sunny Rest during daylight hours.

The staff in the office at Sunny Rest was nice and unobtrusive. The discount coupons in the Bulletin and from our trip to the Nudist Clubhouse Expo made our stay reasonably priced. I forgot to get a receipt because I paid cash. Unlike the staff at Lake Como no one showed us where our site was so we drove around a bit extra finding it. Also apparently the neighbors were parking their vehicles on our spot. They were very nice and helped us to back up being our spotters and directors. Once we settled the NV into it's resting place we decided to check out the restaurant. This may have saved us time in set up and clean up but the food was a bit disappointing. It seemed pretty much prepackaged and overcooked. Our mobility impaired members would have difficulty moving about the facility without a golf cart that is $40 per day. They do have paved roads but a lot of hills which made it good cardio workout. The bar and pool was open meaning that visiting with guests was possible. There was some nice people but there was also some Non AANR activity going on which takes the resort off my revisit list.

I wonder when you are using a GPS if you can set it up for a vehicle type. I think some are but we were borrowing one and not sure if it is programmable for that. We had to get out the maps to figure out an alternative to the route near Baltimore and Washington DC because it wanted to take us on a route that did not allow trucks. Traffic in that area of the world is always very heavy and no make a u turn directions from a GPS are needed to make you busy while driving. Since we were in the area I called MaHeSo to see if we could maybe stop and visit just to see the facilities. The person was very nice when they called me back but basicly I was informed that I would need to make arrangements 24 hours in advance. It made me miss Cypress Cove having such accessible facilities even during the week.

We were now into trying to travel faster and get as far towards home as we could go. This did not deter me from wanting to try and still accomplish another resort visit. My goals were achieved with a much more pleasant experience at our last club visit. I called once reasonable daylight hours had hit and the Carolina Foothills Resort answered the phone with a smile. We were welcome to stop in and take a road break for free. It was nice to have facilities to cook our lunch and take a break in the Hot tub and pool. My son was anxious to get home and gave me a bit of angst about making one more stop at a resort but for me it was well worth it.

So what can I say about traveling in The NV across the East Coast? I can say it is interesting, nerve wracking, expensive and best done with friends. Would I do it again? I probably would if I can schedule the resorts for staying at one a whole weekend to truly enjoy their activities. I would recommend that if the places want to grow their weekly clientele they offer incentives that encourage the non naturist traveler as well as the naturist traveler. I am finding that I might want to be taking my vehicle to places that charge the least rather than to pay 4 times as much because I want to be comfortable in my own skin. Still having fun Naturally.

Patti