Many Texans plan to spend Labor Day weekend camping at their favorite park.
CROWLEY, Texas, August XX, 2009 – Hotels have been offering great deals this summer as they struggle through another year of recession.
But if you ask Tom Ervin and David Ussery how they plan to spend Labor Day weekend, they’ll tell you it won’t be in a hotel.
They’ll be spending the weekend with friends and family at Surfside RV Resort in Port Aransas.
Both men have left their rigs parked at the Surfside since May, and used them as weekend getaway cottages.
“It’s a very economical vacation,” said Ervin, 61, a retiree from Gonzalez who has left his 26-foot fifth wheel at Surfside since April. He typically visits the park with friends, while enjoying the slightly cooler weather along the coast.
“We just go there and relax and have a good time,” he said. “The park is secure. You feel safe there. And it has a family atmosphere.”
Ervin, of Liberty Hill, said he has been going to Surfside for many years, and typically leaves his fifth wheel there from Memorial Day to Labor Day. But this year, he brought it there at the beginning of May and plans to leave it there through September.
“I use it like a beach getaway,” he said, adding that he frequently goes there with his wife and three kids as well as friends of the family.
“This year, my wife’s softball team is going to join us over Labor Day weekend,” he said.
The practice of leaving trailers at campgrounds and RV parks for use as weekend getaways isn’t limited to beachfront parks. “It happens all over Texas, wherever people like to spend their vacation time or time away from home,” said Brian Schaeffer, executive director of the Texas Association of Campground Owners.
Based in Crowley, the Texas Association of Campground Owners represents more than 400 private campgrounds and RV resorts. For help locating industry sources, statistics and other information about camping trends in Texas, please contact Brian Schaeffer at (817) 307-0129 or visit TexasCampgrounds.com.
