Travels in a Tin Can

Most nights all we did at the campsites was eat dinner in the van and then
sleep. Occasionally - and increasingly as the journey went on - we did take
advantage of the extra facilities sometimes available. These included laundry
rooms with coin-operated machines, which we used as little as possible, due
to our fear of cleanliness alluded to earlier. On the three occasions when we
did admit defeat and do the washing it was a whole evening spent feeding
quarters to the washers and dryers until all our clothes were bone dry.
Although this was 'energy deficient' we had no alternative having nowhere to
hang our clothes in the van - unless we wanted to block the windscreen - an
extreme sport we declined to attempt. The other facility that we made a lot of
use of was swimming pools - once the weather warmed up - and, when
available, hot tubs.
Nearly all the campsites also had stores ranging in size from a fridge
containing homemade cake to full on grocery and camp supply shops
(normally in KOA Camps). At times these were a lifesaver when we found
ourselves in the middle of nowhere with no dinner. Generally we avoided
them however, because they applied the law of the captive audience and had
very high prices.
In a bid to get more trade, or from a less cynical viewpoint, out of a
desire to provide better customer service, some sites had Value Added
Things. This 'VAT' can be divided into two groups - things that looked good
but were actually money makers, and genuine bonuses for the camper. In the
first group we encountered: On-site shuttle from campground to San
Francisco city centre (in actual fact the manager's car driven by an old man