Tom_in_CA
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 20,637
Here's a humorous true story to shed light on the "signs" versus "private property" versus "trespassing" versus "permission" and "innocuous" versus "not innocuous" issue:
Upon reaching retirement age, and man & wife decided to do the typical senior citizens thing: Get an RV, travel the country. See the sites, visit the relatives, etc... They sought to learn all they could about the tricks of the trade. Eg.: join an RV travel club, buy a membership at KOA, and so forth.
As they were preparing for their first road trip, the man talked to another long-time RV enthusiast. The long-timer explained that sometimes, if you find yourself where there's no KOA or RV hookups, you can just pull into any Kmart parking lot at night. And just stay self-contained for those nights. The long-timer explained that Kmarts are always centrally located to easy freeway access. They are usually well lit, clean, safe, etc...
So the man and wife took off on their trek. And as one night approached, they realized that they were in a part of a state where they had no parks or KOA's on their list. The man remembered what his mentor had said about "Kmart".
As they approached the next city's limits, the man could see coming up the big familiar Kmart sign. He exits and pulls into the lot. And sure enough, he sees another RV or two at the remote ends of the lot. Parked, Wheels chalked, blinds drawn, awnings up. Clearly prepared to stay for the night. So he thought "aha. So it's true: RV's do indeed park @ K-mart lots for the night". So he chose a spot in the hithermost end of the lot, to prepare to park for the night.
Since it was still about 10 minutes before the 9pm closing time, he decided to go into the store to buy a few things. And as he approached the exit, he could see a man with a "manger" pin waiting to close the doors after the last customers. So he asked the manager: "Is it ok if I park our RV here for the night ?". The manager replied: "No, this is private property". To which the RV'r pointed out the door and across the lot and says "Oh ... well I saw they were parking there". The manager glances out at the far-away RV's, shrugs his shoulders, and says: "They didn't ask".
The man and wife therefore left to look for some other place to park. Took their chances on some other sidestreet somewhere. The next morning, as they return to get on the freeway, they pass by the Kmart. And see their fellow RV's milling around their RVs, never having been bothered.
Upon reaching retirement age, and man & wife decided to do the typical senior citizens thing: Get an RV, travel the country. See the sites, visit the relatives, etc... They sought to learn all they could about the tricks of the trade. Eg.: join an RV travel club, buy a membership at KOA, and so forth.
As they were preparing for their first road trip, the man talked to another long-time RV enthusiast. The long-timer explained that sometimes, if you find yourself where there's no KOA or RV hookups, you can just pull into any Kmart parking lot at night. And just stay self-contained for those nights. The long-timer explained that Kmarts are always centrally located to easy freeway access. They are usually well lit, clean, safe, etc...
So the man and wife took off on their trek. And as one night approached, they realized that they were in a part of a state where they had no parks or KOA's on their list. The man remembered what his mentor had said about "Kmart".
As they approached the next city's limits, the man could see coming up the big familiar Kmart sign. He exits and pulls into the lot. And sure enough, he sees another RV or two at the remote ends of the lot. Parked, Wheels chalked, blinds drawn, awnings up. Clearly prepared to stay for the night. So he thought "aha. So it's true: RV's do indeed park @ K-mart lots for the night". So he chose a spot in the hithermost end of the lot, to prepare to park for the night.
Since it was still about 10 minutes before the 9pm closing time, he decided to go into the store to buy a few things. And as he approached the exit, he could see a man with a "manger" pin waiting to close the doors after the last customers. So he asked the manager: "Is it ok if I park our RV here for the night ?". The manager replied: "No, this is private property". To which the RV'r pointed out the door and across the lot and says "Oh ... well I saw they were parking there". The manager glances out at the far-away RV's, shrugs his shoulders, and says: "They didn't ask".
The man and wife therefore left to look for some other place to park. Took their chances on some other sidestreet somewhere. The next morning, as they return to get on the freeway, they pass by the Kmart. And see their fellow RV's milling around their RVs, never having been bothered.