Another Day – Another Adventure – Weeks 11 & 12
Monday, July 17, 2017
There was not much going on at the park during the HOT weekdays so we had breakfast & did our normal chores. Then went home for the day. Beth had soap to make & Perry had a lunch appointment with one of his old friends.
We had dinner out again & didn’t return to camp until late. It was a great day off!
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Another gloriously beautiful day is what we saw when we woke up. All was pretty quiet in the park so we had a lazy morning, taking our time with breakfast & light chores. Then we went home for lunch in Statham.
Beth got some mail orders out & figured out how to put the mail program on her laptop. Her old desktop computer had lost internet connection again & it wasn’t worth paying someone to come out & “fix” it when that’s the ONLY thing we needed internet on it for. Frustrating!
Perry had a City Council meeting at 7pm so Beth went back to camp at 6pm to get dinner made. Fortunately, the meeting was a short one so Perry could get back to enjoy the evening a little. No matter what time we eat, it’s inevitable people will stop to buy firewood as soon as we sit down. And really not a problem.
Later, we sat in the gazebo & chatted with a few campers who passed by. Life is good.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
We had to help put up some canoes in Campground #2 as the host over there wasn’t physically capable. She’s a hard worker but tiny. It’s really no problem & we get to visit with more campers when we did those things. Perry cleaned out all the Tent Walk-in sites again as that host is off duty on Wednesday & Thursday. We did a light clean up at our bathhouse & Perry then stayed at camp to see if he could get our camp cart back from being repaired. Reminding the Maintenance Manager got it done.
Beth went home to “make stuff” in her Soap Studio. She needed to replenish stock on some products for store deliveries. Fall is a big time for sales.
We made steaks on the grill for dinner served with baked potatoes & salad. It was delish! We love grilling out!
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Beth left camp right after breakfast so she could deliver to a couple stores who needed stuff immediately. Although she had intended to wrap soap in her upstairs office the day before, it was WAY too hot – 93 degrees too hot. When we are not at home, the air conditioner is turned off to save on the electric bill. However, the house is BIG & takes some time to cool off. Leaving the upstairs unit on through the night made it possible to wrap the soap before doing her run about.
Perry stayed at camp most of the day & greeted & helped incoming campers. Thursday is THE big arrival day at Ft Yargo so, when Beth returned to camp at 6ish, all but one site was taken. Lots of activity, giggling little girls & bike riding boys were in abundance. Days like these are what we enjoyed the most about being Camp Hosts.
Friday, July 21, 2017
As was the case the day before, Beth left camp right after breakfast to get home & get to work. More deliveries & a couple more mail orders needed to be done.
Perry stayed at camp & took care of the chores & then helped with some repairs needing attention in a couple sites. One site had an issue with the electric box which Perry & the Assistant Park Manager were not able to fix. Since it was occupied by a tent camper, they just ran an extension cord over to the next campsite & plugged in. Then he helped another camper who couldn’t get their leveling leg down. That one needed some WD-40. Great stuff!
Beth returned to camp at 6ish again & quickly finished up getting dinner ready. Perry had turned the crockpot on with the meal Beth had set out that morning.
We had a great fire blazing & some folks stopped by to chat for a bit. The diversity of campers was so fun!
Saturday, July 22, 2017
The campgrounds were at capacity. And it was HOT! People were enjoying their time with family so even the temperature was not an issue.
The camp cart that was returned to us after repair on Thursday stopped working again. Perry called maintenance to pick it back up. Irritating!
Beth went home & had a long soak in the jets – she calls that “product testing.” Then she went over to our friend Ron Wright’s house to visit with him & his wife Jackie. Ron was one of Beth’s favorite Realtor friends when she did the Real Estate Magazine for years & she & Ron became great friends. Several weeks ago, Ron had a heart attack & had to have open heart surgery. WAY too young for such medical issues & he has always been in great shape. But he was predisposed to some issues that are beyond his control. We were just so thankful he pulled through this very scary ordeal & was well on the road to recovery.
Back at camp, there was a fella & his girl who drove by in an old corvette (think dilapidated) who asked about a parking pass. Beth sent him back up to the main office to get one as he wasn’t supposed to be in the park without it. This was after 5pm so the office was closed but people could still get the pass from the box up there.
The couple came back to the campground area. Beth spoke to them & reminded them the bathhouses were for campers only even if they got the pass. They immediately left so her instincts of their purpose was probably correct. Gotta keep the campers safe.
We had dinner with plenty of interruptions as per usual & laughed about it. Then we sat out in the gazebo & enjoyed just being. Life is good!
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Sunday is rather busy as far as camper movement goes. The majority of folks leave to get home & ready for their work week ahead. We usually put off the chores until after noon but Beth wanted to clean the exterior of the bathhouse, windows & walls had far too many spiders taking up residence. Perry got the ladder from Campground #2 & Beth set about cleaning.
Some years back Beth fell off a ladder at home & shattered her heal so ladders were not her favorites. She climbed up & down like a pro though & cleaned those windows inside & out. We brushed off screens & then sprayed Peppermint essential oil at the base of every window & door to keep the spiders from thinking it was okay to stay. Spiders & ants HATE peppermint.
Beth cleaned the bathhouse while Perry borrowed the camp vehicle in Campground #2 & did the firepits. We were not done until nearly 4pm. Then we went home to shower & rest. That was HOT work!
We went to dinner at Cheddars with our friend Nikki Tobias, someone we don’t see very often. It was great to catch up & hear what she was up to in her busy life.
The rain started on our way back to camp which meant we spent the evening inside Wilbur instead of out by the fire. No matter. We still enjoyed being together.
Monday, July 24, 2017
Although Monday & Tuesday were our scheduled days off, we had the audit to do (twice daily) & ALL the other hosts were preparing to leave for future posts & such the following weekend. There was also much to do in getting things ready for new host arrivals.
After doing the morning audit, having our fabulous breakfast & cleaning our bathhouse, we tootled around camp making sure as many firepits as possible were cleaned out in ALL the areas, the sites were blown off & things looked good. This practice will continue through the week so the new hosts would hopefully see the standard that is expected.
Sandra, the Host of Campground #2 brought over a beautiful afghan she knitted just for us. What a sweet, kind thing to do & most appreciated!
We went home for showers & had lunch at Savvy Cakes in Statham, a new sandwich shop that was very good.
Back at camp by 4pm, we ran around & did the afternoon audit & took it by the office. We grilled chicken for dinner & just relaxed in the gazebo as the sun set. Blissful life!
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Another busy day with chores & audit. No new or exciting things happened necessarily, just a really good life experience continued.
We met up with Daniel & Ramona – Maintenance Hosts Extraordinaire – at Ruby Tuesday in Winder for dinner. These two became very special to us! They knew how to laugh at life & enjoy each other’s company. We were so pleased to spend time with them & carry on about the fun experiences we each have as hosts in Ft Yargo. Hoping to do this double date thing again sometime!
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
We had plenty to do in camp during the morning – chores & the audit – & then Beth left for home while Perry stayed in camp to do some more work on campsites.
The soap business stayed busy no matter that Beth had been falling behind with product making. It was hard to juggle both jobs but Beth was doing her best to keep up with mail orders & deliveries to wholesellers who sent in their orders.
Beth returned to camp & did the audit while Perry ran home for a hot shower & a little down time. Then we went to Cheddar’s for dinner – a good steak was a reward to ourselves after such as busy day.
Thursday, July, 27, 2017
It was another busy day in camp with the usual chores. And then the weekend campers started arriving! The park would be full by Friday night but more than ¾ of the people arrived earlier. Firewood sales were brisk & the smell of campfires filled the air all evening. Perfection!
Friday, July 28, 2017
Beth had to go home after our initial chores to fill LOTS of mail orders & mix up a few products. That left Perry in camp all day alone. He keep very busy with new campers, helping one with his leveler, another with a slide out that was stuck, a new RV camper that needed help figuring out how to disconnect the camper from the hitch (the sway bar systems are multi-part & pretty complicated at times), & another needed instruction on how to turn his gas on. That last one is the most forgotten set up chore for most new campers. Often they think their new stove & water heaters are not working instead of realizing the gas tank just needs to be turned on.
Friday evening is usually when Robby & family come for dinner but Robby had been working at home (pressure washing & such) all day & was exhausted. So we grilled steaks for just the two of us & had leftover camp potatoes & a salad. It was good, as usual, & interrupted multiple times, as usual, with people stopping by for info & firewood. Gotta laugh.
We sat out in the gazebo most of the evening & several campers stopped by to visit. Fun times with new friends!
Saturday, July 29, 2017
The audit, breakfast & cleaning took up a good bit of our morning. Then we went over to help Campground #2 host, Sandra, get some of her stuff packed up in preparation of her departure the next day. Sandra was going to host at another park further north for the next six months. Then she may return to Ft Yargo. Time will tell.
The majority of the day was filled with happy sounds from all the campers in the park. Children riding bikes & scooters, dads & their sons walking down to the pier with fishing poles slung over their shoulders, & the delish smells of campfire cooking in the air. We had many visits from campers who were enjoying some quality family time.
We made a crockpot meal & veggies for dinner. Again, campers come to buy firewood as soon as we sit down to eat. It’s truly comical.
Sandra dropped off the camp cart she had been using to us. The carts aren’t necessarily assigned to a given host & were swapped around often, as needed. Ours had been down for the most part of the preceding month but we wanted Sandra to have the working one since she didn’t have a personal vehicle to use at all.
Loving life!
Sunday, July, 30, 2017
The mass exodus started early. Campers going home & sites being vacated. We got busy after the usual morning routine, cleaning firepits & blowing off the pads. Then we deep cleaned our bathhouse.
Will & Kimberly, the Hosts for the Walk-in Tent area invited us to join them for lunch at Fatz. We met up at noon & enjoyed some good conversation. They would be leaving for Tugalo State Park for a six month stint. Fun times!
Perry went over to Campground #2 to help Sandra disconnect from electricity, water & sewer. She had never done it before on her own – the motorhome she has is new to her but worn in years & proved to be challenging. Her brother-in-law came to drive it to her next assignment but she didn’t get on the road until mid-afternoon.
Perry cleaned all the firepits & sites in Campground #2, including the Yurts while Beth & Ramona did a deep cleaning of the bathhouse in preparation of the new host’s arrival on site. Daniel & Ted, the Maintenance Manager, helped the incoming hosts move their RV from the reserve area to their host site. They had arrived a couple days in advance but had to wait for Sandra to leave. There was a scary moment when the RV fell off the caulks but that was just to get everyone’s heart pumping good. Meanwhile, the bathhouse was covered in spiders. YUCK! We girls were proud of our accomplishments & glad the new host would have a “clean” slate to start with.
We were dirty from all the work & exhausted so we went home for showers & a late dinner out. That had us returning to camp after 10. It’s a good thing we had the code to the gate. It would have been nice to sleep at home though – just sayin’.