For the last hoorah of summer we decided to camp in Maine, again (it is our favorite place) but we thought we would try some place different — Old Orchard Beach otherwise known as OOB. The attraction of camping for vacation as opposed to a hotel is that it is one of the most economical ways to find lodging. If you do your research you can usually find a nice private campground but most of the time its a crap shoot.
If you choose a KOA you pretty much know what you’re getting — clean bathrooms and showers, activities and most of the time a pool or mini golf and more than likely a pet friendly area. But also with a KOA you’re likely to get small sites which can be crowded and loud, you might be elbow to elbow with your neighbors and then there is the chance that you will hear airplanes, trains or traffic noise all night. All of which is what happened to us.
When we got there Friday evening they wanted to put us into a tight site that was wedged between 3 sites, one on each side and one in back. Needless to say it took some maneuvering to get the trailer into the spot in the dark, even though I made the reservations over the internet and told them the size of our camper.
Now most of the time we use our camping site just to sleep. We pick a spot based on how close the campground is to the attractions we want to be near and then take our day trips from there. But at this KOA there were some attractions that the girls wanted to do like the night time movie and the heated pool; that was one of the reasons we chose it. But it shortcomings made it clear that won’t be staying there again, not when there were other campgrounds more isolated and closer to the attractions, like the beach and the amusement park.
I do have to say that is was Labor Day Weekend and that every place was crowded but having to listen to maniacal laughter after 10 pm or airplanes flying low over head day and night, I would have rather have spent the extra money and stayed in a hotel. According to the KOA website this campground was an award winner, but I’m not sure why they received those awards since it was obviously cramped to get the most campers in the smallest area, although they try to make it up with activities, they still need a lot of improvement.
Next time:
Old Orchard Beach
