spoon059 wrote:
I'll be honest, I side with the park on this case. They reserved 8 sites and someone got there before you and picked those sites. As someone who travels in a group quite often, I appreciate a campground that will accommodate and allow us to get sites together. The purpose of camping as a group is to spend time together, eat together, sit by the fire together, etc. It doesn't work as well when 2 families are on the other side of the campground.
This weekend we are camping in a group of 5 or 6 families. Most of us can get there earlier in the day, buy my one good friend can't leave until 3pm or so, when his wife gets off work. Thankfully we have reserved sites (preferred method with a large group), so his site will be waiting for him when he gets there. Without reservations or the ability to have someone else "claim" a site, he would be at the mercy of luck.
Would you have been equally as upset if the sites were reserved and that group made reservations before you and got the good spots, but those 2 spots were still vacant the next day? The premise is still the same... they paid for the site and didn't occupy it.
I get that you are upset about it and that you struggled to find a site big enough for your large rig in a state park... but isn't that an inherent drawback to a large rig? We intentionally keep our trailer on the smaller side so we can go to more places. Our first camper was a 22' non slide. We could literally fit on any site... even a tent site if everything else was occupied.
I understand the other side of the coin and the challenges the groups face. But If I am under the premise that it is first come first serve. Than that is what I expect. I also expect everyone is first come first serve not just me!
WHen I made my reservation VA state parks are guaranteeing me a spot.
What spot? Well that's where the first come thing comes into play.
I know if I get there early I'll have decent selection of sites I can fit.
I did get there early only to find decent sites were not available because they were being held for people who were not there. Is that first come first serve? I think not.
If it were a typical site specific reservation. I would know the exact site I have a site waiting for me.
However with 1st come 1st serve I know I need to get there early to get as decent site. That means I need to make the extra effort to get there early. Leave work early, pick up kids etc. we all understand the challenges of leaving for a trip.
In this case I met those challenges, beat traffic etc. only to find the 1st come 1st serve was just for me. Others had gamed the system and had reserved sites that were not available to me even though I arrived first.
As you put it I was at the "mercy of luck", but I was there in the CG at a decent time. I was denied access to unoccupied sites
The reality was getting there first did not get me a a desired spot.
The desirable sites where for those arriving later.
I guess I expected the rules to be enforced or adhered to however they were not and I was just S.O.L squeezed into a tighter site even though they were larger unoccupied sites in the same loop.
Little did I know we were all not playing by the same rules.
That 1st come first serve thing was just for single campers.
I have nothing against group camping, but the group should not have privileges/advantages in a first come first serve CG.
CLaiming a site for a buddy is one thing. Claim 8 sites for 8 buddies is another
