Winter Excursion 7, Day 149 The Life of a Camp Host

We left camp this morning and traveled to another Georgia State park that we may be interested in hosting at. Dames Ferry Campground is about 125 miles from here just north of Macon.

We toured the campground and day use area then talked with one of the host there now. It is on Lake Juliette and is the only campground on the lake. There is less than fifty sites. Some can handle big rigs, but most are medium to small size. Time will tell if we end up hosting there in 2025.

On the way home we got a pic of this place.

Open the pic and you can see Whisky City Package store is right next to the Deluxe Inn! Check out the bright red doors on the rooms. I'll bet this place is rocking on Saturday night!

Back at camp we did some fried Pacific Oysters on the flattop. The turned out great!

Our co-host re-gifted us the Yard of the Month sign along with a new plant. We will have to think of somewhere else to put it!

Back on duty tomorrow. We can't wait to see what the campers try to do this weekend!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 148 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was our first of two days off.

First chore was laundry, our favorite!

Then it was off to Wally World for shopping, our second favorite!

Back at the camper I remembered that I had forgot to take the empty propane tank along. So back to town I go and get the tank filled, our third favorite thing!

Back at camp again and I got a few minutes to try out our new invention.

These are little battery operated "fans" used to keep the bugs out as the blades are reflective. I hung five of them in the awning track. I'll post how they work in a few days when the weather warms up and the bugs return. Or should I say when the bugs don't return!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 147 The Life of a Camp Host

Another easy day, only had two campers leaving and just a few arriving.

After the rains yesterday I was able to clean up the cypress seeds on our campsite today as they had dried a little. I literally had to shovel the majority of them off. I don't know which host site we prefer here. We fight the cypress seeds on this one and the pine cones (and limbs) on the other one!

The find of the day is this kid's bracelet.

Or maybe it was used as handcuffs!

Here's a pic of Kaylee in her normal state.

We washed her bed cover for her inside bed (notice the pad) and let her sleep on her outside bed, or should I say inside her outside bed!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 146 The Life of a Camp Host

Back on duty, but it was not to busy today. Just had a few campers leave and a couple arrive. We were all done with our duties by 1300. That was a good thing as we had some really strong storms almost all afternoon. We got over 2 inches of rain in just a couple of hours. The campground was like a lake. We watched a few campers arrive in the middle of this storm. They tried to keep from getting drenched while setting up, but eventually just gave up and were soaking wet. We just played cards and watched the rain.

After the rain stopped almost everyone came out for a walk. We swapped stories with quite a few campers.

The find of the day was this set of keys.

I found them on one of the sites that some folks had just vacated. I hope they were not their house keys. I can just see them in their driveway in their camper until they can get a locksmith!

After the rain stopped our neighbor decided to build a campfire.

I thought they were going to have to close the campground road due to poor visibility!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 145 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was just about a repeat of yesterday. The forecast was for thunderstorms all night and all day. We did not get a drop! The weather folks around here are terrible.

It is Sunday so we watched the "mass exodus" of all the campers. After it was all done there are about ten campers left and some of them will be leaving tomorrow.

Cath made a really good Jamaican Chicken Stew for dinner. After dinner it was more reading, a little TV, then off to bed. 

We are on duty tomorrow. 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 144 The Life of a Camp Host

We hung out at camp all day. The campground is full, so we did get to talk to a few folks.
We had a few rain storms, but nothing really bad.

Both of us were involved in our books and spent most of the day reading.

We did get a game of cribbage in; Cath won!

The humidity is high so we've been running the ACs. I'm hoping it goes down before we have to work again.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 143 The Life of a Camp Host

First of three days off!

We left camp and drove to Vidalia, GA. We had been there last year, but wanted to get a magnet for our board. We stopped at the onion museum and found just what we wanted.

His name is Yumion!

We had a sub for lunch and then headed to Little Ocmulgee State Park.

This park has a golf course that was really crowded. The campground is nice with 60 sites or so. We've been checking out other Georgia State Parks for future hosting opportunities. This one is not on our list of possible candidates.

Back at camp we sat outside in the shade as temps are in the high 80s. Had a nice dinner on the flattop, a movie, then off to bed.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 142 The Life of a Camp Host

It got hot today. It was in the mid 80s with lots of humidity. Of course that brings out the gnats. I'm sure the skeeters will be next.

Duty was easy again today, only a few arrivals. It will be packed for the weekend, but we are off!

Find of the day was this clip.

As one of our campground clothes dryers is broke so I'm sure it was used on one of the numerous clotheslines that have been springing up! It is now in my miscellaneous box.
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 141 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was a repeat of yesterday. Super easy with just a few departures and a few arrivals. The bathhouse has been a breeze to clean (Oops! I may have just jinxed us!).

Carolyn (our other co-host from Jan - Feb) stopped by and spent a few hours with us. It was good to see her. She is heading to Hamburg State Park to host for the summer.

Weather was nice today, but it's going to get hot (high 80s) for the next few days with thunderstorms for the weekend. I'm glad we will be off duty.

The find of the day is this hair tie.

That means there is a Gal running around with her hair all down....or maybe it's a Guy!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 140 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a super easy day. Had a few campers arrive and a few leave. By 1230 we were all done.

We spent the afternoon outside as the weather is turning a little warmer. Kaylee was happy to be out.

The find of the day was this shiny star.

I'm thinking it goes along with the heart so people can tell me what a star Camp Host I am! Believe that and I'll think up some more lies.
All is well at the Boss Camp in George L Smith State Park!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 139 The Life of a Camp Host

We are off today. We left the campground around 0930 and drove to Costco. One of our camping friends mentioned gyros in an email and made my mouth water thinking about the Costco pre-seasoned gyro meat. We picked up a few other things and had a slice of their pepperoni pizza for lunch.

From there we headed to Claxton, GA as we are out of fruitcake also. 

We had planned to drive down to Vidalia after Claxton, but we ran out of time. 

We drove back to Swainsboro, stopped at Wally World, and picked up the supplies we needed for the next three days. We owe our co-host a day, so we are on for the next three days.

We got back to camp around 1600, had a few toddies, and had our "KFC Fix" for dinner.

It's been a fun day with lots of sights to see in the south Georgia countryside.  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 138 The Life of a Camp Host

On duty today and as usual the campground is full. We just don't remember it so busy last year! It keeps us busy and the days flies by.

Our Co-host found their sign this morning. They asked if we knew who put it there. I didn't even have to answer the question, they knew by the look (grin) on my face. They thought is was great and left the sign up. It's still up as I write this.

The find of the day was this black rubber fishing worm.

It's been a good weekend for finding fishing tackle. I may have to buy a new tackle box to fit it all!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 137 The Life of a Camp Host

Second day on duty and the campground remains full. The weather is cool so we sold a bunch of firewood. Craig's delivery service was in full swing.

We had some rain last night so there was some debris to clean up.

Late in the afternoon our co-host left to go see family. We had been waiting for this opportunity as they are rarely both gone at the same time. These folks are full-timers and full time camp hosts. They do a great job of decorating their site. So we decided to have a little fun!

They got home late last night and as of 0900 this morning have not discovered their award!

The find of the day was this fishing bobber.

It now lives in my tackle box. I almost never have to buy tackle anymore!

  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 136 The Life of a Camp Host

Back on duty and the campground is 100% full, which is the new norm for weekends! Spent most of the morning prepping sites for all the incoming campers.

Our host cart went to maintenance yesterday to get two new front tires. The old ones were bald! In the interim they gave us a Polaris gas model with a bad exhaust. It is so noisy that I don't want to drive it around the campground. I'm sure the campers hate it. Good news was they gave us our regular ride back late in the afternoon. It's electric! 

The find of the day was this little heart.

I'm hoping it was left because the campers love us so much!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 135 The Life of a Camp Host

We left camp around 0900 after a nice breakfast on the flattop and headed to Hamburg State Park.

It is a really nice park with a campground of 30 or so sites. We met the current camp hosts and talked with them for the better part of an hour. It's fun to trade stories and see the differences in host duties.

On the way home we did a little food shopping as we are on duty for the next three days.

We spent the late afternoon around camp. I did a little bike riding and Cath did some people watching.

It's been a nice couple of days off.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 134 The Life of a Camp Host

Day off!

We were a little lazy this morning and were in no hurry to leave camp.

We headed to Swainsboro mid morning to do our laundry. Our campground laundry had one of the dryers die yesterday. That left us with two washer and one dryer. We decided it would be faster to go to a laundromat. I only took about two hours to do 7 loads and this laundromat is one of the best and cleanest we've ever used. I left them a rave review. The on site Gal was top notch! If the machines at our campground don't get fixed or if we ever camp here again will will use this laundromat.

While Cath was doing laundry Kaylee and I went looking for a battery water fill jug. We went to every auto parts store in town with no joy. Back at camp I ordered one from Amazon and it should be here tomorrow. We need it to service the host cart batteries. I'll leave it here when we go with the hopes it will still be here when we arrive next year.

The best part of the day was the software update we got to Android Auto, Google Maps, and Ford Sync 4. It now allows us to have a full 12 inch screen, satellite view, with turn by turn voice directions in the truck! Here's a pic:

I've been waiting for this update since we got the new truck.

Back at camp it was put away the laundry and relax. One more off day tomorrow! It's been a good day!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 133 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was nowhere as busy as yesterday. Had a few leave and only two arriving. That gave me a chance to catch up cleaning sites from yesterday.

The weather remains chilly, but that makes working a lot more comfortable than that 80 degree stuff. With the cooler weather we are selling a lot of firewood.

The find of the day is this silver straw.

I'm thinking of melting it down to make a spoon, but with the price of silver going up I may just put it in a safety deposit box!

We are off for the next two days. Laundry and food shopping is in our future.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 132 The Life of a Camp Host

We were on duty today and it was busy. The campground is 100% full and it's a Monday! I spent most of the morning cleaning sites. It rained almost all day yesterday and there was plenty of debris around to clean up.

It was 40 this morning and warmed up to 60 by the afternoon. We enjoy the cooler weather. It is forecast to stay cool with nights in the 30s!

Sitting outside in the afternoon I got to looking at one of the cypress trees on our site.

Using a little imagination it looks like a sad face!

The find of the day was this spring.

Not sure what it was used for, but looking at the top I think it exceeded it's weight limit!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 131 The Life of a Camp Host

For our last day off we made a nice breakfast on the flattop. While I was cooking I noticed there was some firewood missing from the rack we sell firewood from.

Notice that the bundles are missing from the bottom. I always sell from the top first. After a few choice words I let the park staff know what I suspected had happened.....theft! Later in the morning before the rains started Cath and I were sitting outside. I happened to look a the Big Green Egg right next to me and noticed some paper. On further inspection I discovered A $20 bill hanging out from the lid.

I felt a little bad for suspecting the worst, but my faith in mankind is restored. By the way That $20 covered the $16 price of two bundles of wood and the park gets an extra $4 (I won't take tips).

The rest of the day we were camper bound with a lot of rain. Movies, snacks, and dinner.

 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 130 The Life of a Camp Host

We had a fun day off!

Left camp around 1030 enroute to Statesboro (it's a little a larger than Swainsboro) on the hunt for some box wine. Swainsboro had none yesterday..LOL.

The first wine store we stopped at was not there (gone), although Google said it was?? So we decided to head to Claxton as we wanted to get some fruitcake anyway. When we set the GPS for Claxton Bakery it immediately said it was closed on Saturdays! By this time we were thinking that today was going to be a bust. As we were setting the GPS for the long way home it took us by a Publix that we did not know was there! This was a beautiful, brand new store just on the outskirts of Statesboro. They had the wine we were looking for and a few other things.

So we set the GPS to head back to camp and decided to stop at the BBQ joint in Portal, GA.

The food was good and we will go there again. The surprise was the bread. We ordered a pulled pork sandwich and a rib sandwich. The meat on both was very good, but the sandwich bread was a surprise. It was Wonder Bread! We were expecting rolls. The other surprise was the rib sandwich, it was bone-in ribs! Good thing I didn't try to take a bite out of the sandwich!

Back at camp we are still enjoying this cooler weather.

This 1969 VW Campervan came into camp. The van is from Germany as the US version did not have the tented popup top. Their front plate read "Damn Hippes".

Cath is making "Sticky Chicken" for dinner and we did the chicken frying on the flattop. Here is the head cook and bottle washer:

Thunderstorms tonight and early tomorrow. We have enough supplies to last for weeks. And lots of Wine! 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 129 The Life of a Camp Host

Our first of three days off. After a nice breakfast on the flattop We spent the morning around camp. It rained on and off last night and then started raining hard after breakfast. We decided to go do our shopping in Swainsboro. By the time we were finished the rain had stopped.

We spent the late afternoon watching the arriving campers and watching some TV. The campground is 100% full. 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 128 The Life of a Camp Host

Back to work today, but only for one day then we have the weekend off.

It was not very busy as it is a weekday. Checked all the sites and cleaned a few for outgoing campers. We were all done by 1300.

I discovered that my dislike for pistachio and peanut shells at campsites now includes uncooked rice. I wish folks would at least try to clean up their messes.

Spent the afternoon playing cards and yakking to anyone stopping by.

The find of the day was this:

If anyone can tell me what it is I would sure appreciate it. It's made of rubber and it weighs nowhere near 3.5 lbs.

Our weather has cooled off nicely and we are even expecting some freezing temps at night!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 127 The Life of a Camp Host

Kaylee and I left camp around 0830 to pickup Cath at the Savannah Airport. The drive was uneventful except for all the trees and flowers in bloom. Some of the colors are great.

We got Cath around 1100. Cath, Brian, and I headed to World of Beer for lunch. We were the only ones in the restaurant. Lunch was good and the Weitzen Beer was even better.

Back at camp we both just hung out in the camper and watched a little TV. We were both tired after Cath's whirlwind trip and we were in bed by 2030.

Kailee was happy that Mom's home again.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 126 The Life of a Camp Host

Kaylee and I were off today, so we slept in!

After breakfast we got a walk in before it got hot. Forecast is for 88! We went into Twin City for a few supplies for dinner.

We stayed in the camper most of the afternoon and watched some TV. Kaylee slept.

We got in another evening walk after it cooled down a little. We hit the sack early as we have to drive to Savannah tomorrow morning to pick up Cath.

Kaylee says she still misses Mom!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 125 The Life of a Camp Host

Our first of three days off.

We left camp at 0900 enroute to the Savannah Airport. Cath is traveling home with our son to attend a Mass and Reception for a departed friend. She will be returning in two days.

I got back to camp around 1400. I did a few camp chores, but mainly just relaxed and enjoyed the weather, sunny, low humidity, temps in the low 80s, and a nice breeze.

Kaylee is missing her Mom and keeps looking around for her. 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 124 The Life of a Camp Host

The weather continues to be fabulous, so none of the campers wanted to leave. I had 16 campers leaving and most waited until after 1100 to leave. Checkout is 1200. Check in is 1300 and we have 10 new campers arriving. That did not give me much time to clean the sites. Most of the sites were easy, but there is always that one! I hate peanut shells almost as much as pistachios shells! As always it all worked out and by 1430 we were playing cribbage at our picnic table.

The find of the day is this safety snap pin.

RVers use this pin on our weight distribution hitches. I sure hope this camper had an extra!

All is well in the Boss Camp.......we are off tomorrow!
   

Winter Excursion 7, Day 123 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground is full. We have two campers leaving and two arriving. For the most part it was an easy day. The weather is perfect so the park is also full. Most folks are out riding bikes, hiking, or kayaking. We just sat in camp, watched the comings and goings, answered tons of questions, and just had a great day.

The find of the day was this tablecloth holder.

Just like tent stakes I've found tons of these. I will add them to my online, get rich quick store!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 122 The Life of a Camp Host

Back on duty for the weekend and it will be fun!

Had a few campers leaving today, but a bunch arriving. By the late afternoon the campground was booked full.

Sites 3 & 4 are a Camp Host nightmare. They share a single driveway, but once you are in the sites you can reach out and touch each other. Which ever Host is on for the weekend ends up being a referee. Years past these were "buddy sites", but not any more. Two complete strangers could be shoulder to shoulder in 3 & 4! Some weekends we have a vacant site we can offer to to one of the campers in 3 or 4 if they are not happy with their neighbors. This weekend (Friday) there were no vacant sites, so here is the story.

Site #3 showed up first. They are tenters. I asked them if they knew the folks coming into #4. No, they did not, but knew the folks coming into #22, they are friends. I asked if they would call the folks coming into #22 and see if they would swap with the folks coming into #4. The #22 folks said OK, so it all hinged on the folks coming into #4. Site #22 showed up first, and #4 was almost right behind them. At this point I was sure I could make this happen. We got the swap squared away and all parties are happy. My new title is Camp Host Negotiator and Coordinator.

There is a find of the day.

I gave it to a couple of the Kiddos on one of the sites. They we thrilled and promised to hide it again.

We didn't get to eat until after 1900. The life of a Camp Host can be exciting or maybe a better word is trying. I would not trade this experience for the world.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 121 The Life of a Camp Host

We are off today so off we went exploring. We headed north into South Carolina to check out Barnwell State Park. We have reservations there next year while we are with the Kids. It's an older park, but very nice. The campground is small, but has five newer renovated sites with full hookups. While we were there we stopped at the office and was lucky enough to chat with the park manager for awhile. I inquired about the campground host position for 2025. He seemed interested in us. I will pursue this farther next year. 

On the way home we stopped at the oldest roadside welcome center in the US. It on Rt. 301 between Georgia and South Carolina on the Georgia side. The folks there are employed by the Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites (same as us). We yakked for awhile and then headed back to camp.

We enjoyed the afternoon sun and light breeze and chatted with a few of the campers. Dinner, a movie, then off to bed. 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 120 The Life of a Camp Host

We can tell it's camping season in Georgia. Today is Tuesday and the campground is full! We were not too busy as we had all the sites squared away yesterday.

Our co-host is all settled in and their first workday is tomorrow. Cath and I are getting out of here and go do some exploring.

The find of the day was this "blinky".

I'm guessing there is an irate Mom out there somewhere wishing she had not lost it as her baby is wailing.