Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 14:29:55 bst
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: A.C.Erskine@lut.ac.uk (Andy Erskine)
Subject: Re: Street camping
>I have not seen the street camping topic discussed on the list.
>
>Our first time street camping was in the Los Angeles area. We were at the
>DisneyLand and when we came out it was around midnight. Instead of checking
>into a hotel we found a safe neighborhood and slept in our 85 Westy on the
>street. On that same trip out west we did this several times and did not
>get into any trouble.
>
>With three kids now I don't think we can do it anymore but I am curious to
>hear what are others experience in this regard. Is it illegal to sleep in
>your car on a public street?
>
When I was a student I took a trip to the US with a friend and drove from
New York to LA (in 5 days, including stops at the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas
and a few other places). We slept in the car, a VW Golf BTW, every night.
One night we slept in the parking lot outside Caesars Palace without any
trouble and had a shower under a fountain at 6 in the morning. For some
reason, the white-coated washroom attendant wasn't impressed when I messed
up his sparkling wash basin having a shave and used his hand towels to wash
my armpits. Usually we'd find a dark, but safe, out of the way spot where
there was nobody to bother. In Europe it is usually illegal or at
least-frowned upon to camp in a parking area or on the street, but the
police generally turn a blind eye as long as you're not doing anything else
to upset them. It helps to have foriegn license plates so they know you are
just a tourist and not up to anything suspicious. Panel vans are good for
camping in cities because you don't get kids/drunks/psychotic murderers
banging on the windows in the night. I've done this all over Europe and just
try to be discreet and leave early in the morning to find somewhere to wash
and have breakfast. I wouldn't put up the pop-top or get out the deck-chairs
or anything.
Andy E.
A.C.Erskine@lut.ac.uk
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