All About Relaxing RV Park (Theodore, Alabama) - November 2023

This was our second time camping in this park and we were in the overflow area both times. We were not alone in the overflow area this time as two other RVs joined us there. 

The main difference between the regular sites in this campground and the overflow area was that the overflow area didn’t have sewer connections. That was OK with us since we were there for only three days and we knew how to conserve the amount out waste water going into Rosie’s tank. (Rosie is the name of our Airstream trailer.)

Rosie in the overflow area

This was a very nice and well maintained “mom-and-pop campground during our visit. The owners made good use of their property by adding extra pavilions and individual site decorations. But, we were not there to enjoy the park. We picked this park because it was near our son, daughter-in-law and grandson and gave us an opportunity to share Thanksgiving with them. 

Due to our grandson's dog allergies, Suzy, our Yorkie, had to stay in Rosie while we visited our family. We would go back to Rosie several times during the day to check on her and to take her for a walk. We both enjoyed these breaks. 

Since this campground was all about visiting family and not a true camping experience, we didn’t experience the many amenities of the park, which normally would be a shame because this is a very nice RV park. Again, we were there to visit family and we enjoyed being with them. 

It rained more than two inches the first night we were there. Water drainage was good and our site did not flood nor did it have standing water. What it did was encourage ants to invade Rosie. We had to to start full ant protocol while there. We found our unwanted and not invited ant invaders days later inside Rosie. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There was one loop in the campground plus the overflow area
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites had some shade. Our site didn't
• Sites in this park were closer than normal
• Our site was gravel and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean
• Our site had only 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection 
• Trash left outside your camper was picked up every morning 
• There was a bathhouse in the campground. It may qualify as the nicest and cleanest we have ever seen in a campground 
• The park provided WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We found more than 54 TV stations using Rosie’s antenna. This included network stations ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and PBS. Digital channels seen included Antenna-TV, Circle, Comet, Court-TV, Dabl, ION, ME-TV and Rewind
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

All About Relaxing RV Park - Theodore, Alabama (April 2023)

We were exposed to COVID and decided to leave the Cajun Caravan one day earlier than planned. We called All About Relaxing RV Park to see if we could arrive a day earlier than our reservations. The park was full, but we could stay in their overflow area with 50 amp power and water connections. We quickly agreed and hitched up for an early morning departure. 

We left Louisiana before sunrise. Our tire monitor system hadn’t registered with all of Rosie’s tires when we pulled out of the campground. (Rosie is what we call our Airstream trailer.) When it did, the alarm told us we had low pressure in one tire. It was dark, but we pulled into what we thought was an old gas station and got out the air pump. That was when we noticed a growing number of school aged children gathering next to Rosie. Yes, we were at a school bus stop and the number of students indicated that the bus was on the way. We were thankful that we were able to pump up the tire and pulled away before the bus arrived. 

The remainder of our trip was uneventful and we arrived at the campground early in the afternoon. 

We stayed at several campgrounds during the WBCCI Cajun Caravan that included the word “resort” in their names and I wondered what amenities they had that came up to to the level of a resort. This campground did not have “resort” in its name and we both recognized that it clearly qualified as a resort. It was more than the great swimming pool, which was open. It was more than the meeting areas around the park. It was more than the restrooms and showers, which may qualify as the nicest we have seen in any campground before. It was more than the manicured lawns and shrubs there. It was more than the friendly and helpful staff in the campground. The park's name didn’t include the word “resort,” but it clearly deserved that name.

Rosie in the overflow site

A nice meeting area in this campground

One of several spots in this campground to "relax"

Since we were exposed to COVID, we kept our distance from other people. That was perfect because the overflow site was away from the main camping loop. We walked around the park while avoiding crossing paths with other people. Isolation  was also hard on us since our son, his wife and our grandson were only a few miles away and we could not risk potentially exposing them to COVID. 

Walking Suzy in around the main camping loop

We pulled out early the next morning. We needed gas so we pulled off the Interstate Highway at a truck stop. Imagine my surprise when we merged back on the Interstate and saw our son’s car beside us in the other lane. He was headed to work and was as surprised as us to be sharing the road with his parents and Rosie for a few miles. 

Rosie in our son's mirror

Becky waving to our son as he exited the Interstate

All About Relaxing’s overflow spot didn’t have a sewer connection so we needed to stop at a rest stop with a dump station to drain and rinse our waste water tanks. Fortunately, most Alabama rest stops have dump stations. 

Dump station at an Alabama Rest Stop

Our return to the Interstate was memorable, but not as enjoyable as being on the road next to our son. I never returned to our cruising speed because traffic was at a standstill. We found out that a semi truck carrying hazardous materials turned over ahead of us about four hours earlier. It took more than two hours to travel a mere 10 miles. Then the bottleneck cleared and we were again headed home at our normal towing speed. 

By the way, we talked with our daughter-in-law as we headed home. She is a clinical pharmacist at a major hospital and she gave us the timeline of how long we should isolate ourselves if we continued showing no symptoms of COVID. We followed her instructions and ended up not getting COVID. Whew!

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• We found one loop in this campground
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites had some shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with gravel and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie 
• Our site had a 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• As the overflow site, it did not have a sewer connection 
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Bounce, Charge, Comet, Court-TV, Grit, ION, LAFF, ME-TV and Stadium
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park