The Luxuries of Moochdocking

In case this post title makes no sense, let me start with the root word, “boondocking.” That’s when you park your trailer/RV/van/whatever, not in a campground, but out where you have no hookups (water, sewer, electricity). You’ve docked in the boonies.

Moochdocking is when you mooch off of friends by parking in their driveway and using their utilities (or none; maybe you’re just mooching a space to park in). This is our first moochdocking experience, at my friends’ Heather and George’s house in Caswell, North Carolina, and I gotta say, I’ve enjoyed it so much that you all with large driveways: lookout!

Frankly, what we’ve spent a lot of time doing here at is using their water. So I’m going to tell you about the oh-so-exciting chores we’ve been doing but illustrate them with photos from the walks we’ve been able to take on the beach between chores.

Tracy washed and waxed the Airstream, which took two full days, and I think his arm might fall off. I have washed not just all our clothes, but throws, pillows, blankets, sheets, you name it. In fact, I’m still washing clothes, and we’ve been here for four days.

With Heather’s leadership and manpower, I also steam-cleaned the two rugs we were about to throw out. We take them out only in cold weather, and otherwise they’re stored under Banjo’s bed (under the kitchen table). That’s where they get very dirty and musty. So, thanks to Heather, now they’re like new! The magic of hot water and space to spread out and clean.

I also took my first non-Navy shower in her guest bath since last May, which means I could stand under the hot running water for as long as I liked. It felt odd, actually, so I washed and shut the water off. I think I’m turning strange.

A true joy was being able to make our ritual Friday-night nachos on a full-sized sheet pan in a real oven! I prepped them in the trailer, then (masked) walked them inside to Heather’s oven and baked then ::drumroll:: broiled them to get them nice and crispy. I don’t have a full-sized oven or a broiler, so that was extra cool.

The bummer was I’d made enough for four people, and Heather and George were called out to pick up their dog from the vet (which is a good thing) but meant Tracy and I had to eat an entire tray of delicious nachos ourselves. Okay, maybe also a good thing.

I think by now we‘re all done with our mooching, and Heather and George might be all done with their stuff that’s kept them busy as well, so I’m hoping we can hang out for our last couple of days here. They’re fully vaccinated and we’re a few days away from that, but they have lovely porches on their beach house, and we’ve been masking to get to the porches, plus sitting around their propane fire pit at night. Not a bad system.

And then of course there’s the beach. You know what, if we’re able to moochdock in your driveway, would you please arrange to have a beach nearby? Yay, thanks!