Review Detail

4.8 105
Washington 123380
August 31-September 4, 2007
(Updated: November 15, 2015)
Overall rating
 
4.9
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Having arrived late in the evening on the once-a-day ferry from Vancouver Island to Whidbey Island, my first impression of this campground was from the host, Ken King. We were greeted at his door with a smile and a warm welcome. I knew then, that this would be a nice place to stay. We had no reservations, and the campground was full for this Labor Day weekend. He saw that we were tired from our long day, and told us to pull into the site next to his because, even though it was reserved for first thing the next morning, we could at least bunk down for the night. He said that in the morning we could move to a small overflow area (It holds only 3 or 4 SMALL campers, and fortunately ours is small). Next morning we awoke to find a note on our winshield saying he had received a cancellation last night, and that we could have site #11 for Saturday & Sunday, and that there would very likely be an opening in another site for Monday night. woo hoo! Ken is an outstanding host: courteous, friendly, understanding, and above all, helpful. The morning light revealed a million dollar location overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with the gentle sounds of the surf lapping on the shore. The view out the side of our RV was of the sea, and distant islands in the strait. The site we occupied was gravel surrounded by grass and was quite level. Most of the other sites appeared to be level too, although at a couple of them folks were using leveling blocks. The bath house is small, old and well worn, and could use a general facility upgrade from the MWR funds. Some fixture maintenance is also in order since, when I sat on the men's commode, it didn't appear to be bolted down, and moved around a lot. However, the host has taken what he has to work with and, instead of leaving us with just another tired old bath house, has added homey touches inside and out. The bath house location leaves much to be desired too, being some distance away, and shared with a public picnic area. From the CG, you're pretty much obligated to walk between someone's campsites to get to it, with no clearly marked path. The host's sculptures of flotsam and jetsam, flip-flops, rocks painted like ladybugs next to a "ladybug crossing" sign, and more, all add a bit of whimsey and humor and are further indications of a host who loves his work. I've seen many dump stations in my travels, and among them, this one stands alone. The host has planted a beautiful, well-tended flower garden immedately adjacent to both sides. The effect is to have a visually pleasing place in which to perform a generally unpleasant task. The large, well-stocked commissary and exchange are located a few miles away on the old seaplane base, next to the Oak Harbor Marina. There's also a small exchange on the main base, as well as a nice, modern galley in which retirees are welcomed. For our money, this place is a treasure and a pleasure. Side note: For Sprint users, we had decent cell phone and broadband card signals (with EVDO), as long as we were out in the open and not up in the piney woods at the top half of the campground. Side note 2: The host handed me an MWR business card with contact info on it, and on the back was the following: "If you enjoyed your stay, please take a few moments and do a review at: http://www.militarycampgrounds.us" So, Larry, your efforts are becoming the military RVing standard. Soon you'll replace the ICE standard (at least for RVers). Way to go!
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