Twin Oaks RV Park - "Halfway to Everywhere!"

This post represents another installment in The Big Switcheroo series – tales from last spring’s epic journey from the northeast to the Florida Keys and back – involving family, friends and an extraordinary range of adventures.  With the exception of the first photo, all the pics in this post were taken at Twin Oaks RV Park in mid-May of last year.

As regular readers know, Alan and I are huge fans of our country’s State and National Parks.  We began checking off National Parks and Monuments that were on our bucket list within a week of our marriage back in 1979 during our honeymoon – a month-long, cross-country camping trip to visit a number of National Parks out west.  Since then, we’ve made three more cross-country National Parks camping trips, and have checked off many of the Parks that were on our “must see” list.  We would have managed to cross more off the list, but some of these Parks are just so spectacular that, prior to our escape from the workforce, we used up vacation time to return to Parks we had already visited – Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Teton.  What can I say?  They keep calling our names.

At this point, both Alan and I have been to most of the National Parks that we felt we absolutely must see, and we’re finding that our trips are ranging a bit beyond the boundaries of the Parks to encompass all kinds of other experiences.  Our prior stop in Nashville was a good example, as was the next stop: an overnight stay at Twin Oaks RV Park.  Actually, Twin Oaks has been on my bucket list for a while.  Here’s why . . .

Let’s go back in time, more than ten years ago.  Alan was still working full time; I was working part time.  We were talking about what the next stage of life would look like for us, and decided that it would be beneficial to add another income stream to our savings and the small pension Alan would receive from his company in order to further diversify our income in retirement.

Entrance sign - can't miss it!

As long time campers, Alan and I considered buying a campground and either running it ourselves during the early years of our retirement or hiring managers to do so.  We also considered rental properties, including mobile home parks, and the possibility of flipping houses.  Alan had built our home, and I had been the “hired help.”  Plus, I had a career in business, so we weren’t concerned about a lack of ability or expertise in any of these scenarios.  But we had no knowledge about any type of large real estate transaction.  What to do?

That's the office on the left, with some of the pull-through sites to the right of it.

As it so happened, a realtor down in North Carolina specialized in sales of campgrounds and, at the time, was running “Buyers’ Workshops” in eastern Tennessee.  Alan and I decided that one of us should attend and, for whatever reason, I was the one chosen for this mission.  So, in June of 2009, I found myself in a conference room in Tennessee with a number of other potential campground owners, settling in for a two day workshop.

The conference attendee sitting next to me, John, lived in the Atlanta area and worked in construction.  He and his wife, Sue, who was a graphic designer, were also considering a campground purchase to generate an additional stream of income.  John and I grabbed lunch together, sat next to each other again on Day 2 and have stayed in touch over the years.

One of the restroom/shower facilities

Alan and I came “this close” to purchasing a campground in the Lake George resort area of New York, but the deal fell through.  We continued to look for a campground, but didn’t like the numbers or the condition of anything else we found on the market in the northeast.  Eventually, we went on to purchase rental property instead of a campground, but the knowledge I picked up at the Campground Buyers’ Workshop proved to be useful throughout that transaction, too.

The Community Building with Laundry Facilities and a TV Lounge

As for John and Sue, well, they DID buy a campground – Twin Oaks RV Park in Elko, Georgia.  Twin Oaks is located just off Interstate 75 at Exit 127 – approximately two hours south of Atlanta and two hours north of the Florida state line.  (I shamelessly borrowed the phrase “Halfway to Everywhere” from their web site.  Sssshh!)  Both John’s and Sue’s professional skills came in handy as they freshened up the Park’s web site and immediately began making improvements to the property.

Guess what this is!

Since I hadn’t seen John in the ten years since we met at the workshop and had never had the opportunity to meet Sue, our intent was to connect as Alan and I made our way through Georgia.  Sadly, the fates would not cooperate, and John and Sue were both out of town on business when we passed through their lovely state.  While it really would have been fun to get together, and I’m so disappointed that we didn’t have the chance, the fact that they were out of town didn’t stop us from overnighting at Twin Oaks on our way to the Georgia coast.

Another restroom/shower facility

Twin Oaks really IS right off the interstate (less than a half mile), so getting off and back on is easy-peasy.  The location makes it a perfect overnight stop for anyone traveling through Georgia on I-75 or visiting this central area of the state.  The managers, whose names I cannot, for the life of me, draw from the deep, dark recesses of my mind, were exceptionally friendly and helpful.

Of course, I checked up on all of the updates John had spoken about, and it’s obvious that attention has been paid to improving the Park facilities.  The pool is lovely, and whimsical decorations are plentiful throughout the Park.  Alan and I chose a back-in site, but there are plenty of pull-through sites available – and park model cabins, too!  If you’d like additional information on Twin Oaks, you can easily access the web site through the link under “My Favorite Places” in the column to the right.  To answer the question that may be lurking in the back of your mind:  No bribes were accepted and no compensation was received from John or Sue in reference to this post.  Plus, we paid in full for our campsite.  So HA!

Here we are, tucked into our site at Twin Oaks!

While I’m still disappointed that we missed seeing John and Sue, I’m quite happy that I can now put a “face to the name” of Twin Oaks RV Park.  Alan and I are considering a southern states loop in 2021.  If our itinerary takes us down I-75 through Georgia, you can bet that we already know exactly where we’ll be staying.  Maybe next time, we’ll even catch up with the owners!