App File
Free Overnight Parking
Many places allow RVers to stay a night, gratis. Just remember: If you plan to park in a store’s lot, common courtesy, as well as policies that may change, dictate that you always seek prior permission from the manager. See page 75 for more overnight parking etiquette information.
Harvest Hosts: By joining a membership network, RVers can stay overnight at 735 North American locations, including wineries, breweries, farms, and museums. About 80 percent of hosts can accept RVs of any size. Members are asked to support their hosts by making a purchase. The cost of a classic Harvest Hosts membership is $79 a year. (An optional upgrade adds 314 golf courses.) FMCA members receive a 15 percent discount by using code FMCA15. The app is available for iOS and Android. https://harvesthosts.com.
Overnight RV Parking: This app provides access to the overnightrvparking.com website, which has a subscription fee of $24.95 a year. Map-based search results reveal free and “under $20” overnight parking near your present location, or any location. The developer claims this is the largest and most current online database of its kind covering the United States and Canada. Information is submitted by users (who receive free subscription extensions for their reports) and verified by administrators, or researched and added by administrators. Available for iOS and Android.
Walmart Overnight Parking: This app, from Allstays, has a database with the location of every Walmart store in the United States and Canada. The app’s users submit information about which stores allow overnight parking, as well as tips such as where to park in a lot. The app shows your location as you travel. $2.99 for iOS. www.allstays.com/apps.
Health
Healed By . . . Trees?
June is here, signaling the arrival of summer. Time for a cool, shady stroll in the woods. Did you know that spending time walking in a forest has positive effects on your body and mind? Following are some conclusions based on various studies conducted by doctors and psychologists.
Hikers traverse a trail beneath a wooded canopy in southeastern Ohio’s Hocking State Forest
Physical benefits of a walk in a forest:
*Lowered blood pressure
*Lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol
*Reduced inflammation
*Enhanced immune response
*Increased energy level
*Improved sleep
Mental benefits:
*Improved mood
*Improved short-term memory
*Restored mental energy
*Improved concentration
*Enhanced creativity
Hikers explore lush greenery along the Brown Creek Nature Loop Trail in Olympic National Forest, near Hoodsport, Washington.
How can walking in a forest do all that? Scientists say some of it has to do with the chemicals plants give off to protect themselves from insects and to fight diseases. These chemicals have antibacterial and antifungal qualities, and when we inhale them, our bodies respond by increasing the number and activity of a type of white blood cell that kills tumor- and virus-infected cells. Another reason is simple: Forests reduce stress, the root cause of many ailments.
Simply living around trees and looking at them is beneficial as well. A medical study found a 12 percent lower mortality rate for people who lived near green spaces, with fewer incidences of a wide variety of diseases than people who lived in urban areas.
So, next time you’re near a swath of towering timber, go right on under their welcoming limbs and take a hike.
Sources: www.businessinsider.com; www.natureandforesttherapy.org
Campground Spotlight
Lakewood Camping Resort, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Lakewood Camping Resort, an FMCA commercial member campground, was the first privately owned campground on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina’s Grand Strand. In 1959, Carl and Mary Perry opened the campground with a specific vision of serving families. Sixty years later, their children and grandchildren continue the legacy.
Lakewood Camping Resort offers approximately 1,300 full-hookup sites in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
This special anniversary year finds the campground retaining its family focus. Kids and kids at heart love the water park and pools; mini golf; free bicycle rentals; and available activities that range from basketball and sand volleyball to surf fishing, bocce ball, cornhole, horseshoes, and shuffleboard. Adults can rent golf carts, too. Sites include digital cable TV and Wi-Fi.
The all-inclusive resort has a new wristband system that enables guests to buy snacks, souvenirs, and gear without having to carry cash around with them. And the events schedule is full in the summer. You’ve probably never seen a golf cart, bike, and float parade quite like the one that takes place at Lakewood every Fourth of July. And the park’s “High Steppin’ Country” — which is free to guests — is the longest-running live musical show on the Grand Strand.
Lakewood has won numerous awards from national and state campground associations, and will be hosting FMCA’s INTO (International) Area Rally October 21-25, 2019.
For more details, contact:
Lakewood Camping Resort, C10902
5901 S. Kings Highway
Myrtle Beach, SC 29575
(877) 525-3966
(843) 238-5161
www.lakewoodcampground.com