MY MEMORIES

Raymore (continued)

That winter we stayed for two months at a swanky, upscale, exclusive, elite campground. I can’t use enough superlatives to describe the place. We had never seen anything like it before. It was exclusive in that only Class A Motorhomes under 10 years old were allowed. No fifth wheels or pull-behind trailers were allowed. It was upscale in that it cost more per month than Shady Brook did for three months. It was elite in that most lots were privately owned, some were for rent like the one we got, most were for sale at a cost of $80K to $120K. Talk about swanky, when you checked in, the lobby looked like a very prestigious hotel. Each lot was wide enough for a separate ‘carriage house’. There was well manicured foliage separating each lot so you could hardly see your neighbor. Each lot had a large Queen Anne palm at the entrance to the paved parking space that was deep enough so the car parked behind the motorhome and all trailers were parked in a separate storage area which was out of sight from the camping lots. Our lot was a lakeside lot facing east so our front window afforded us beautiful sunrises and evening lights from camp lots across the lake. There was a heated lap swimming pool and a nice restaurant overlooking the river. Compared to other places we had been where our 40 ft motorhome was the best thing in the campground, at this place we were just above trailer trash.

We had a marvelous stay and wanted to come back the following winter but they couldn’t guarantee a lot until August and the price the following year was double this year’s rent. We found another more reasonable campground just a few miles down the road, with nicer less snobby people, plus a nine-hole golf course. We stayed there the next two years. In each case we finished the season with a stay at Shady Brook where our friends of many years were.

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