Gripe about my first Walmart overnight parking

[jaxtonsgram]

I am spending my first night in a walmart.  Very large parking area. I didn't want to be too isolated so I parked fairly close to other parked cars.  Huge parking lot was mostly empty.  Everything is going fine, I get settled and am reading.  After about 15 minutes I hear talking. That's reasonable...but then it continues on.  I peak out and there are 4 young adults (teens?) Playing frisbee.  Obviously just enjoying themselves.  But... why in this big parking lot did they decide to do this right near me?  Then sit right outside my van and talk/laugh.  All harmless fun but because I am an old grouchy  woman I found it irritated me. I guess if that is the worst thing that happens on my first night in a parking lot it isn't going to be so bad.  Thanks for listening. Nora

 

[VanGuy6678]

Just bad luck. Won't always happen. You could also just start the engine and move to a different part of the lot. It'd startle the kids, who will likely leave soon after anyway. Curfew

 

[Hippiechk]

I hope you rest well Nora.

I hate it worse when I am literally in the middle of nowhere & someone parks 15' from my bumper...

 

[TrainChaser]

Walmart is really close to the bottom of my list of places to stay. The only real advantage I see is that they don't have bedbugs in the parking lot.

 

[NickTheoBennett]

Walmart is really close to the bottom of my list of places to stay.

Agreed. I guess they are nice enough if you are just passing through and need some place to sleep or if you are stuck in the city for an extended period, but I certainly wouldn't want to spend any time there if I didn't have to. I'll even take most truck stops over a Walmart. For some reason the noise of big trucks moving in and out bothers me less than people talking and messing around


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[rvpopeye]

Parking lots are by nature noisy. Try ear plugs.

Some people will park next to the only other vehicle in a 10 acre lot !
And then run their generator , arrrgggghhhhhhhhhh
I seem to have some kind of invisible magnetism in my rig....like moths to a light bulb.
Just move .

 

[DannyB1954]

They may have been in the other vehicles wondering why in the heck would someone park in their play area when there was so much room elsewhere.

 

[jaxtonsgram]

I did move and then it was quiet and I slept well. I think I may be able to do this.  I didn't see the other walmart thread or I would have posted there. Have a great day everyone. Nora

 

[rvpopeye]

Glad you finally got some peace and quiet , parking lots usually quiet down after 12 or 1 am.

By starting your own thread it makes it easier to find your particular subject in a search query.

 

[ccbreder]

I also dislike threads that run into 50 or hundreds of posts. They get far off track and the whole point of the OP is often lost.

 

[SoulRaven]

From my experience, an RV park can be nearly as bad. The management doesn't really like to enforce the rules and will buy excuses like "hard of hearing and likes to have the TV on all night" and also very reluctant to enforce barking dog and loud music rules. Once you paid your $35.00 plus, driving away is much more annoying. When something is "free", well it is at least "free".

I had a friend that said she was going to breed her dog, purebred, but give the puppies away to select people looking for one because people were less likely to complain about a free puppy then one they paid for. With age comes wisdom, well, usually.

 

[Queen]

Parking lots are by nature noisy. Try ear plugs.

This.  I am a ridiculously light sleeper, have been my whole life.  It wasn't until I started using ear plugs on long motorcycle trips and subsequently wore them one night in a super noisy cheap motel, that I slept really hard, it was great!!  Now I wear them often, best things ever.

 

[Marie]

Queen, and everyone else, I have a real, honest to God question about earplugs - which I have often considered using. Do you feel safe not being able to hear? Sometimes a noise will wake me up. Sometimes I'm glad it did - and I move my van! So, is there a safety issue here???

 

[Queen]

They do not block all sound, they muffle most enough to let you rest, but unusual sounds will be noticeable in a background kind of way. Best example I've got... my beloved sleeps like a log so she is unaware of pretty much everything; she got up and used the restroom and while this nice normal sound didn't disturb me, about a half hour or so later I heard a vague unusual sound that did disturb me, I took out my earplugs and recognized the sound as the toilet overflowing and splashing on to the floor.

When I use them on the road they muffle people talking and vehicle sounds, but I would be very aware if something unusual happened.

 

[gcal]

If you don't want to be bothered by people, you have to park away from people.

 

[Wanderer]

I am spending my first night in a walmart.  Very large parking area. I didn't want to be too isolated so I parked fairly close to other parked cars.  Huge parking lot was mostly empty.  Everything is going fine, I get settled and am reading.  After about 15 minutes I hear talking. That's reasonable...but then it continues on.  I peak out and there are 4 young adults (teens?) Playing frisbee.  Obviously just enjoying themselves.  But... why in this big parking lot did they decide to do this right near me?  Then sit right outside my van and talk/laugh.  All harmless fun but because I am an old grouchy  woman I found it irritated me. I guess if that is the worst thing that happens on my first night in a parking lot it isn't going to be so bad.  Thanks for listening. Nora

Well, I got my passenger window busted out one night....

I now park at the local movie theater...No hassles there...No wait, my bad. Now I work grave, so I sleep at the library (Till 9:30 am) then come in surf the net till 1:30-2 pm then go back to the van and sleep till 7: 30 pm and go into work...I do park at the theater on weekends though...

I well remember the night I was there with my side doors open (The heat was a bit high) trying to sleep and had some guy come up and start knocking and I finally told him to go away as I was trying to sleep...His parting words "Well, you don't have to be a jerk"...

I don't avoid parking at Walmart, I have done so again, but yeah, I park near others now and not alone...

 

[Wanderer]

This.  I am a ridiculously light sleeper, have been my whole life.  It wasn't until I started using ear plugs on long motorcycle trips and subsequently wore them one night in a super noisy cheap motel, that I slept really hard, it was great!!  Now I wear them often, best things ever.

Totally agree...They calm the road noise to a slight hum and that actually helps me sleep!

Plus a night mask and I'm down for the count!

 

[frater secessus]

X2 on earplugs. I've worked overnights for many years and am used to wearing foam earplugs nightly,

ProTip: a lingerie bag (it's that mesh thing your SO washes delicates in) works great for cleaning foamies. Toss them in the washer and let the whole bag air dry for a day or so. Nice and clean!

 

[MrNoodly]

I stayed at the Walmart in Cody, Wyoming, a couple of nights ago. The were a bunch of RVs, trailers, campers and vans parked on one side, away from the store entrance. It wasn't too bad. It was better than being closer to the shoppers with the constant slamming of vehicle doors and starting of engines (damn diesels and Harleys).

 

[Yogidog]

I move constantly, I plan on it and don't unpack, had to do it yesterday really load guy!