In 1999 we hit the road traveling fulltime and our sixth campground was Rainbow Plantation near Summerdale, Alabama. We stopped for a couple of days and found the park so friendly and active we ended up staying two weeks. We have been back many times since then and in January of this year we went back for the seventh time. A few times we have stayed several months before hitting the road again and we always feel like we're "going home" when we arrive at the Plantation.

Rainbow Plantation is located in southern Alabama also know as LA (Lower Alabama). It is in a quiet rural setting with shopping and medical facilities in Foley (8 miles) and Fairhope (15 miles). Mobile is 30 miles, Pensacola, Florida is 40 miles while Gulf Shores and the Gulf of Mexico and while sandy beaches are 20 miles away.

The Park was developed by the Escapees RV Club and opened in 1992. The front of the park contains 87 camping sites with each one being about 50' x 100' with parking on grass / packed sand with full hook ups and many sites have shade trees. At the west side of the sites are 10 lease sites that can be rented long term. Down the west side of the park heading north there are 22 ERPU lots that are leased for five years with an option for another five years. Leasers of these lots can erect storage buildings, landscape their lot and do other improvements.

The north side of the park contains 111 owner lots and most lots are 100' x 220' which is one-half acre. These are deeded lots and owners can use their lot as a RV site, install a single or double wide manufactured home or build a custom built home. There are no restrictions so RVs can be parked on the lots and friends RVs are welcomed too. There are no membership fees or HOA (Home Owners Association) - everyone just wants to be a good neighbor. Most of the lot owners travel during the summer and return in the Fall for the activities that abound.

Smack-dab in the middle of the park is a large clubhouse where daily activities occur including meals, social gatherings, ice cream socials, free and paid entertainment, crafts, computer classes, stock market watchers, games, seminars, etc. From the first of November through the end of March the park has an activities director and a cook who prepares three meals a week for a very modest price. The clubhouse has a library, video room, craft rooms, rest rooms, laundry and an outdoor solar heated swimming pool. Most activities are run by volunteers and we enjoy volunteering our time.

During our stay in the winter of 2006/2007 we looked for lots for sell and didn't find any and this year we decided we would get serious about buying. We talked to several lot owners and asked them to let us know if someone wanted to sell. We got a couple of leads that didn't work out so we got real serious. We walked and drove around the park and stopped at every lot that looked promising and then we got a list of who owned the lots, their address and phone numbers. Linda started calling them and asking of they would be interested in selling and everyone was friendly, but no one wanted to sell. We only looked at vacant lots (only two) and lots with old single wide manufactured houses (about ten) that could be easily removed.

There was one lot that caught our eyes, but we could not find out how to contact the owner and we finally got the information from a man who lives across the street. We called them and yes, they were thinking about selling and the man and his wife wanted to talk it over and Linda and I did too. The next night we called back and worked out a price and terms that were acceptable to all of us. We closed on the lot just before we left Rainbow Plantation the end of March.

Our lot is 100' wide and 220' deep with trees across the rear and the property behind us is farmland with trees. The lot has electric, city water and a septic system with hookups for one RV. We have three options for our lot.  1) Camp of the lot during the winter.  2) Build a small retirement home.  3) Keep the lot a few years and sell it for a profit. We were at the Plantation only one week after we bought the lot and two couples asked if we would be interested in selling.

So now we own a piece of dirt.