Winter Excursion 7, Day 92 The Life of a Camp Host

Super slow day! We have no new campers scheduled to arrive and two leaving, Spent part of the morning cleaning up debris from the rain storms. Hopefully this place will dry up, we've had plenty of rain!

Cath spent the day reading her book, playing with her new tablet, helping with bathhouse clean up, and making CHICKEN FRIED STEAK for dinner (yep that is a shout out..LOL).

The find of the day was all of these tent stakes.

I know I've posted finding tent stakes before, but I've found so many in the past two years that I'm thinking of opening an internet store called TSC (Tent Stake City). I'll be selling them for $.50 each and figure I'll be a millionaire in a few months. If anyone wants to purchase stock just PM me!

Off for the next few days. We will see what our travels bring us!

 
  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 91 The Life of a Camp Host

The heavy rain that was forecast for last night happened! It rained hard all night. When I went out this morning the campground looked like a lake. It took all morning for the lake to subside! There is only three campers in the campground, the place really cleared out yesterday. A few more arrived this afternoon, but we still only have five in camp.

After the rain stopped I did some debris clean up. It's easy to see all the paper after a rain storm.

We did a little camp maintenance at our site as the flood washed in all kinds of leaves, pollen, and cedar seeds. 

The find of the day is another painted rock.

I pretty sure it washed in from Magnolia Springs State Park 25 miles up the road!

Forecast is for a few dry days, we sure need them.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 90 The Life of a Camp Host

We were off today. Our co-host had 16 campers leave! They all got out before the rain started.

We just relaxed, watched the rain, and waited for the NFL playoff games to start.

We had our football food, pizza and wings,

The games were good, but some of the official's calls were suspect.

Heavy rain is forecast for tonight. Time will tell.

Back on duty tomorrow, it should be fun. 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 89 The Life of a Camp Host

Well the girls and their kids had a good night! This morning they all piled into their SUV and headed to town for some food shopping and propane. They got the filled tanks all hooked up and everything is working fine. They were so happy with the help I gave them yesterday they gave me a TSC gift card. 

Cath and I ran into town for a few things and then spent the rest of the day at camp doing our favorite pastime...people watching!

One more day off tomorrow, then back to work. 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 88 The Life of a Camp Host

We were off today and just hung out at camp and relaxed. We did a little camp maintenance. I had a nice ride on the bike.

Best part of the day was dinner. We did a turkey breast on the Big Green Egg and had all the trimmings. You would have thought it was Thanksgiving. We invited our co-host over for dinner and had a fun evening.

Around 2000 we had a camper pull in and head for their site. We could watch them from our camper. After awhile one of the girls knocked on our door. She asked if there was something wrong with the electrical hookup on the pedestal or on her camper. I went over to check. Turns out they had no 30 to 50 amp adapter, so I lent them mine. Next question was how does the heater work. I checked and both their propane bottles were empty, so I lent them one of mine as temps are going below freezing tonight. One of the girls was an Army vet from Ft Stewart. I'm not sure who the other girl was as she never said a word. Between them they had 2 toddlers and a newborn. Neither of them had ever setup or run a camper! I'll check on them in morning. I'm crossing my fingers that they have a good night! 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 87 The Life of a Camp Host

The rain stopped sometime during the night and a steady wind dried everything up pretty fast. Temps only got into the low 50s and with the wind it was chilly.

Only had one camper left so site clean up went fast.

The find of the day was this really nice, new lighter. It's even full of butane. 

Too bad it doesn't work! It's now in the trash.

We made a really good cashew chicken stir fry for dinner on the flattop. We both decided it is a keeper!

After dinner we sat by the fire and had a few toddies, then off to bed.

We are off for the next three days.
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 86 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was a washout! The rain started around 0900 and lasted into the evening. I was able to get my work done before it started raining. We only had 3 new campers arrive.

We spent most of the day in the camper playing cards and watching TV.

I did manage a find of the day. 

Due to all the flooding, this crappie lure floated by my cart today. It floated its way into my tackle box.

 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 85 The Life of a Camp Host

We left camp around 0900 and drove to Ft Stewart. Did some shopping at the commissary, grabbed some lunch, and were back home by 1400.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and doing a little more camp maintenance.

We are back on duty tomorrow and the forecast calls for thunderstorms and heavy rain. We hope it's not a repeat of this past Sunday. The campsites flood easily, but also drain off quick as they are very sandy.  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 84 The Life of a Camp Host

We were off today, but I did clean up some firepits that I couldn't do yesterday due to flooding.

We drove into town and topped off the propane tanks. Weather is forecast to be below freezing tonight.

The rest of the day we just hung out and did some camp maintenance. The place was a mess from all the rain we had yesterday.

All else is well in the Boss Camp! 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 83 The Life of a Camp Host

As was forecast it rained almost all day and almost all night. We had sixteen campers leave and I managed to get most of the sites cleaned up in between the raindrops, but the sites were for the most part flooded. I'll have to clean the firepits in the morning when the flooding subsides....LOL. We got a lot of rain!

We spent almost all day in the camper. Watched a few shows and the NFL playoff games.

The find of the day was this rubber glove.

The name on the site post was Addams! I'm betting "Thing" lost his glove when they were packing up!

We are off for the next two days. A little relaxing and a little shopping is in order.
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 82 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground is 100% full today. We had two campers leave and two new campers arrive. All in all it was an easy day.

When I greeted one of the new arrivals she pointed out a pile of doggie poop bags near her site. She didn't want me to think they were hers. All the bags were green and under a green bush. I had missed them when I cleaned up the site. I counted them as I put them in my trash bucket. There was 16 of them! The previous camper had only been there two days. That dog was full of it!

The find of the day was the poop bags, but I didn't get a pic. Here's another find:

This thing looks like a miniature radish, but it's just a tiny red styrofoam ball. I'm not sure what it was used for, but there were around 20 of them on the site I had to clean up.

For the most part we just hung out in the camper. Outside temps were in the cool side today. low 50s. Watched a few of the NFL playoffs, had a good dinner, then off to bed.

Tomorrow will be interesting as we have 16 campers leaving and we have 100% chance of rain all night and tomorrow.  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 81 The Life of a Camp Host

Started at 0800 checking the bathhouse and the campground in general. All was well.

Drove the cart to the office at 0900 to pick up the slips for incoming campers. There was 18 of them, we will be 100% full tonight.

Back at the campground, checked all the sites for the incoming campers, cleaned up a few, then sat back and waited for the rush to begin.

Cleaned the bathhouse at 1200 and got the find of the day in the ladies bath room.

I'm sure there is one happy gentleman this evening!

We've had a camper (Tenter) in one of the sites all week. This guy has been alone. He leaves camp around 0530 to go fishing, and doesn't return till after dark. I've greeted him each morning and every evening. I ask how the fishing has been and get various answers every evening. Today his wife arrived for the weekend. Turns out she is a mortician and he is an EMS. She says he saves them and I plant them! They brought us fresh caught fish from the lake, fried, and ready to eat!

We traded some NY maple syrup and all parties were happy! They will be here for a few more days and we look forward to spending some time with them.

The campground is full, tomorrow will be easy, but we are not looking forward to Sunday when everyone leaves.
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 80 The Life of a Camp Host

We took over from our co-host early today as she had some business in Statesboro.

I got an e-bike ride in after we got back from shopping this morning.

Installed two new LED lights in the camper. One is over the table and is flush to the ceiling. I won't be bumping head any more!

We are on duty for the rest of the weekend and the campground is going to be full.

Steak, baked potato, and salad for our last supper, before the crazy weekend starts.

Best news today: We are approved as hosts for 1 Jan 24 - 30 Apr 24.

Find of the day starts tomorrow.

All is well in the Boss camp.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 79 The Life of a Camp Host

Off to day so we did a little camp maintenance and just relaxed. We did run into town for a few essentials, but for the most part just hung out at camp.

Cath made a spicy chicken stew over rice for dinner. Then we just sat out by the fire as the weather is perfect, mid 60s and no wind.

One more day off then it will be busy for the weekend. We are 100% booked!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 78 The Life of a Camp Host

We were on duty today, but it was a super easy day. We had two campers leave and two campers arrive. We were finished with our morning chores by 0930!

Cath spent the afternoon doing laundry and I had babysitting duties at the camper for Kaylee. She was for the most part a BRAT!

The find of the day was another painted rock.

Although there were no kids in camp, one must have snuck in and planted this rock on the site post at #6.

We are off for the next two days with no plans.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 77 The Life of a Camp Host

We were back on duty today. Had 18 campers leave after the holiday weekend, so cleaned 18 sites. The good news was only three campers came in today.

Our new bedding arrived today. Cath has been wanting to go from a queen sleep sack to a king. Here's a pic.

We were all finished our chores by 1300 and spent the rest of the day relaxing and yakking with the other campers.

The find of the day was this tablecloth holder.

I found a better use for it. I use it to hang up my headband on the cart to dry when I've been working to hard!

We had a nice sunset, the pic doesn't do it justice.

We ordered some new lava rocks for the propane fireplace. The rocks have colored glass mixed in. The results are nice.

We are on duty tomorrow and then two days off!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 76 The Life of a Camp Host

Once it warmed up this morning I took a nice ride on the newly opened trails on the other side of the park. The trail was nice and smooth with only a few tree roots. It was a good ride!

We spent the rest of the day being really lazy. It was NFL football day. We watched three games!

Off to bed, we are on duty tomorrow.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 75 The Life of a Camp Host

We spent most of the morning in camp and then headed to Eagle Creek Brewery in Statesboro, GA (https://www.eaglecreekbrewingco.com) Their website said they make a Hefeweizen, but it is seasonal and they had none on tap or in cans. I did have their Blonde Ale which was really good. We will go back our next time in Statesboro.

We drove back to Metter to check out a Mexican Restaurant (Taqueria El Sol)  that was suggested by one of the local campers for a late lunch. It was excellent!

The place is a "hole in the wall", but the food is fab and the portions are huge. We will definitely be going back for our "Mexican Fixes". We sat right next to the Salsa Bar which had a dozen or so homemade salsas. I'll get a pic of that next trip.

Back at camp I made a call to Dish Network to change our service address to our location. We now get our local channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) from Augusta, GA. Now we can watch the NFL playoffs and that's exactly what we did the rest of the evening.

Temps will be in the low 20s tonight. We are going through some serious propane.
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 74 The Life of a Camp Host

We had the day off and the next two days also.

We drove into Swainsboro to fill one of the propane tanks. The forecast is for below freezing temps for the next three nights. The birds have been chowing down at our feeder, it's only been up for a week and we needed another bag of birdseed already. Guess I'll have to budget for that!

Back at camp we just hung out and played some cards. Cath kicked my butt in cribbage. She won three games in a row! Tomorrow there will be a re-match. We watched a little TV and did some people watching., the campground is full for the weekend.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 73 The Life of a Camp Host

We had eight new campers arrive. I spent the morning getting their sites ready. Cath and I cleaned the bathhouse (it wasn't bad) and then relaxed almost all afternoon.

The highlight of the day was the Gyros we made for dinner. Thanks to a friend who pointed out the Gyro meat at Costco. We did the meat on the flattop, Cath made homemade tzatziki sauce and sliced everything up. The result was great, we have a new "go to" meal.

   

The find of the day is this awesome fire poker. I'm sure some camper is going to miss it, but it's new home is with the Boss Camper!

We are off for the next three days. No real plans, but time will tell!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 72 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a very slow day. We had two campers leave and two arrive. There is only six campers in the park!

We checked all the sites, stocked firewood at the host sites, and cleaned the bathhouse.

Here's a few pics of our "drive-thru garage".

Here's a pic of Cath at her favorite fireplace.

And here's a pic of the sunset looking out from the camper.

The find of the day was this USB cable. I'm guessing that there is a camper whose phone is dead! 

 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 71 The Life of a Camp Host

We were off again today, but will be on tomorrow.

We had a nice breakfast from the flattop and then headed to town for a few supplies. Stopped at Tractor Supply (TSC) for some propane, they were out! That's the first time in 7 years that has happened. I called them late this afternoon and they have refilled their tank. We will try to get there in the next few days. It is supposed to get cold, but we have enough in tank #2 to get us through the weekend.

We spent late morning/afternoon stetting up our screen canopy, I now call it my drive through garage as the e-bike lives in there on the charger. There is a front door and a back door! I can drive right through!

I unloaded/loaded all the stuff from the truck into my new garage. I'm thinking our MPG will improve with a few hundred pounds less.

Our camp co-host came by for a few toddies and some conversation. She has a tiny dog and it is a hoot. It sticks his tongue out all the time and does not like me (not really), barks at me all the time. Here's a pic of our co-host (Carolyn) and Rennie (the biter)!

We are "on" tomorrow for two days. Weather is getting cooler, but all is well.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 70 The Life of a Camp Host

We were off today.
We left camp around 0930 and drove to Pooler, GA to the Costco. We were able to score some gyros pre-seasoned meat that a camping friend had shared with us. We are anxious to try gyros on the flat-top with Cath's homemade tzatziki sauce. We will post a pic when we make them later this week. The JD did not come with them!

After Costco we made our was to Ft. Stewart for a few supplies and then to Claxton, GA for some fruitcake.

On the way home we picked up some KFC for dinner, Cath was happy; no cooking tonight.

I did a little e-bike riding and then just relaxed.

They are starting to do some controlled burns in the area. The smoke will be thick sometimes when there is no breeze.
  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 69 The Life of a Camp Host

As was expected today was busy. We had 19 campers leave and a few arrive. Cleaned out enough fire pits that I'm probably a considered a professional chimney sweep. Really was no real issues or problems.

We had one site that left a raging campfire burning when they left. I waited till 1630 to clean out the firepit, but still had hot coals, so I had to add some water, stir, and then take it to the ash pit.

The find of the day was this gold nugget! As usual I have to get it assessed, but it could be worth a fortune! 

We are off tomorrow and have a new adventure planned. Costco, Ft Stewart, and Claxton. Looks like a fun day.

All is well in the Boss Camp!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 68 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was a super easy day, only one camper leaving and two arriving. Tomorrow will be a different story as we have 19 leaving!

Cath & I just did normal duties today. I did a little maintenance on the host cart, but for the most part it was slow today.

Here's the find of the day:

Kaylee will be super happy, but the dog that lost it will be sad.

Tomorrow will be busy, but that's the life of a camp host. 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 67 The Life of a Camp Host

We were off today, so it turned into laundry day. Cath had it all done by 1300.

After we got it all put away I jumped on the E-bike and hit the trails. It was fun riding and the trails they are really nice, hardly any roots.

We spent the late afternoon by the fire. It started to get cool as the sun started to set.

Dinner and a movie then off to bed. Temps will be in the mid 30s tonight!

 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 66 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was our first day off. We slept in until 0800!

We spent most of the morning hanging around camp. We said goodbye to two friends, Jim and Kathy (the folks we met at French Creek) they left around 1100. We will be staying in touch with them as we all get along great. Also, there was a couple that I struck up a conversation with. Turns out he was an Army Helicopter Pilot. He was also in 12th Aviation Brigade and deployed with us to Desert Storm...Small World!

We made a trip to Walmart for a few things and ate lunch at our favorite fried shrimp joint along the way.

Back at camp we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the weather, mid 60s and low humidity. Weather is forecast to be great for the next ten days.

We were off so there is no "Find of the Day".

Winter Excursion 7, Day 65 The Life of a Camp Host

With only six campers in the campground it was easy work this morning. No campers are leaving today and none are arriving.

The storms started around 1130. They were strong at times, but the wind was not bad and all was over by mid afternoon.

We had some friends we had met at French Creek SP, PA this year in camp. They spent the evening with us and are only staying for two nights. They will also be hosting at their destination campground.

The find of the day was this dart.

I'm thinking some kid shot it at me from the bushes!

We are off for the next two days with no plans!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 64 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a lot less work today. Checked the bathhouse around 0800, all was well. Raked a few sites I'd missed yesterday, drove to the office, and picked up today's slips. Only three new campers, so we will have 6 in camp tonight.

I stocked both host sites with firewood to sell. We should have enough for quite awhile.

Had a new camper arrive today and complained about how unlevel the site was. They are staying through the weekend so there is not a lot of wiggle room for them to get another site. I finally got them into their site and they are happy, waterfront and all. An hour later they came to our site complaining about the power at their site. They have a large Class C and are hooked to 30 amp service here. We changed all of their circuit breakers to newer ones and it seems to be working fine. There is a lot more to this story than I'm not writing. It all worked out OK. 

The find of the day is this Christmas tree ball.

It now lives in our Christmas decoration container.

Rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Sounds like camper bound and cribbage.

 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 63 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was one of the busiest camp host days we have had (and it had to be our first day this year). This park has 22 sites, 15 of them left today after a New Years Weekend. I raked 19 sites! I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow. I think everyone had a camp fire all weekend so the fire pits were the worst for clean out. I probably made ten trips to the ash dump pit.

OK, enough whining.

There is only four campers in tonight, so tomorrow will be a breeze.

The find of the day was this fire pit.

I've cleaned lots of fire pits, but have never seen one full of cotton. These folks are obviously not from Georgia, but it would have been nice if they'd burned them or took them home. It definitely stinks if you try to burn it, so I will give them that.

Cath & I cleaned the bathhouse together for the first time. All went well! I love my new Camp Host Partner.  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 62 The Life of a Camp Host

We spent the day getting the site set up and squared away. Ran into town for a few things we had forgot.

We got the bird feeder set up, hoping it doesn't become a squirrel feeder!

Late afternoon we just relaxed. Here's the view from the site.

The park road is on the other side of the fence.

This park is "famous" for this silhouette of sasquatch. Visitors to the park will walk all over searching for it and then get a photo. It's probably 100 yards away from us and across the street. The other thing in this pic is the cane grinder. The park staff grow and harvest sugar cane, grind it, then boil in down in syrup.

We are for the most part "set up" and assume duties tomorrow.

All is well in the Boss Camp.
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 61 The Life of a Camp Host

The rain today was not as bad as forecast. We finished up what little packing up we had to do and were at the dump station by 0900. Then on the road by 0930, 30 minutes ahead of schedule, but actually we have no schedule.

On the way we witnessed a Police Office in pursuit of a vehicle. The vehicle went off the side of the road, with the Officer in pursuit. The Officer stopped in the right lane of RT 17, jumped out of his car, pulled his gun, and probably started shouting expletives at driver in the vehicle. The guy in the vehicle (young guy) exited quick with hands over his head. That was all we saw as we passed by at 45 mph. I wouldn't to be that kid or his parents!

We arrived at our new Campground, pulled into our host site around 1400.

Rudy (one of the maintenance guys and a friend from last year) greeted us. We met our new co-host (Carolyn) and then spent the rest of the afternoon setting up. Here's the new site, we were in host site #2 last year, but in host site #1 this year.

We are off tomorrow and will spend the day setting everything up. We will be here for four months. I'll post a few more pics tomorrow. Our first "work day" is Monday