Winter Excursion 7, Day 179 The Life of a Camp Host

I cleaned my last fire pit of the year.

I made my last trip to the office of the year.

Put my last site slip on a post of the year.

We cleaned our last bathhouse of the year.

I found our last find of the day of the year, this mauled up rabbit.

I'm glad we don't own the dog that did this!

It's been another nice four months as a camp host. Tomorrow we are just campers again!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 178 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground filled up today. We are 100% full! Naturally it's our next to last day. I spent the morning prepping sites for all the incoming campers.

We said our goodbyes to some of the staff that won't be here for the weekend. We will see them next year when we are back.

The find of the day was this pirate ball.

I'm not sure where it came from as I've not seen any pirate ships or heard any cannons!

One more work day and we are outta here!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 177 The Life of a Camp Host

Our last day off as Camp Host, with two workdays to go!

We drove to the BBQ joint that has the best pork rinds I've ever had. Ate lunch and then took a little drive to visit a local friend and say our goodbyes. Filled up the truck on the way back to camp in preparation for our drive on Sunday.

Back at camp we just chilled and waited for the rain to start. It finally did around 1700 and lasted most of the night.

We are anxious to get these next two workdays done and get back on the road.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 176 The Life of a Camp Host

We actually slept in a little this morning. We had a nice breakfast on the flattop and then headed out to do some shopping.

We hit Wally World, Walgreens, and our favorite butcher shop, Pinetucky. We stocked up on everything in preparation for our month long journey back home.

We spent the afternoon in camp putting more stuff away. We are almost fully packed.

I did some trail riding. It will probably be the last at this park for the year.

One more day off tomorrow, then two on, and then we are gone! 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 175 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was just as easy as yesterday. We had no campers leaving and just five arriving! I had all the sites cleaned up yesterday so I didn't have to do any site prep for the incoming folks.

We spent most of the morning and the afternoon packing up to leave on Sunday. The truck bed is a puzzle and after four months I'd forgotten the secret, so when I finally got it packed I took a pic this time.

We got the site cleaned up a little, but will finish that right before we leave.

I did have a few finds of the day:

Another damn tent stake. I bet I have 50 of them!

And another poison dart. That kid is on my short list!

We are off for the next two days. Shopping and relaxing is on the agenda.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 174 The Life of a Camp Host

We were back on duty today, but it was the easiest day this year. We had two campers leaving and one arriving. There is only four campers in the campground!

We spent part of the afternoon starting to pack up to leave Sunday. After four months in the same spot things get a little out of place!

The find of the day was this thing:

I'm not sure if it's an idler pulley or a caster wheel. Whatever it is I'm sure someone, somewhere, is missing it!

  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 173 The Life of a Camp Host

Nicole and Kennedy got back to the house around 0930 after their camping trip. Brian is off today and we all just hung out at the house. It was a lazy Sunday morning.

Kaylee found a piece of one of Ringo's bones and kept in her mouth for most of the morning.

It was quite funny to watch her guard her little piece of the dog bone!

After lunch we all got ready to go to Kennedy's piano recital. There were ten students there and the recital last for about a half hour. It was fun watching all the "artists".

Cath and I headed back to camp from the recital and arrived around 1730. We had a few toddies and then enjoyed our KFC fix for dinner.

It's been a whirlwind weekend and we had a great time. We probably will not see the Kids and Kiddos again until our winter trip begins in November.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 172 The Life of a Camp Host

Saturday morning came early after being up so late last night. We are not used to that!

Brian left for work after a nice breakfast on his flattop. Nicole and Kennedy left for a Girl Scout Campout around 1100. That left Wesley and us for the afternoon.

We headed to the PX for a few thing and picked up some football cards for him. He is nuts over his football cards!

Wesley had a birthday party to go to at 1600. Cath and I drove him there, then stopped at the Westbrook Brewery. Afterward, we waited in the parking lot at the party and enjoyed a really nice thunderstorm. Talk about a free truck wash!

We took Wesley out for dinner then headed back home.

Brian got home around 2000 and we talked for a little while.

Cath and I hit the rack around 2200 and slept like babies after a long day.  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 171 The Life of a Camp Host

We are off for the weekend and headed to the Kiddos in Charleston. We left camp around 1000 and arrived at the Kiddos house about 1330. 

We were going to meet the Kiddos at the bus stop, but Kaylee was having none of that, she put the brakes on, and would not move. The older she gets the more of a scare-dee-cat she is. So Cath stayed at the house with Kaylee and I walked to the bus stop with Ringo the crazy Corgi.

We spent some time at the house learning all the new things the Kiddos are into, then we took a walk to the boat ramp in their neighborhood.

There was a nice sunset.

Here's Nicole and the crazy Corgi.

And we did get Kaylee to walk to the boat ramp with us!

Here's Cath enjoying the sunset.

Kennedy had a birthday party to go to. 

We stopped for our pizza fix and the Kiddos shot some pool while we waited for the pizza.

We hung out at the house for the rest of the evening.

Brian and Kennedy got home around 2000 and we stayed up till midnight yakking!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 170 The Life of a Camp Host

It was another easy day. Only had a few leave and five arrive.

Saw my first snake of the season today. It was a Brown Water Snake. The thing was around 5 foot long and hanging in a tree at one of our sites. I think it was waiting for a camper to arrive, drop down from the tree, and watch the camper pass-out!

Find of the day was this used grill brush.

It was so "used" that it's in the trash now.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 169 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a nice cool morning, but by 1200 it was pushing the mid 80s. Spring in Georgia is more like mid August at home!

As I was cleaning one of the sites this morning I got this pic of a blue/black butterfly. It just hung out at the site in some of the sunny spots. A few hours later it was still there!

At the same site I got a good shot of some of the cypress knees as the lake is low.

We spent the afternoon relaxing at our site as the temps climbed into the 90s.

Towards early evening we started heating up some cooking oil on the flattop to deep fry some of the fish our friend had given us. We were just about ready to start frying when one of the neighbor campers came over with fried fish, fries, beans, and fritters.

So we put our fish back in the fridge until tomorrow. We reciprocated with a few jugs of maple syrup. 

It was a fun day as host. Only had a few campers leave and just three arriving. The campers we have now are really nice folks. We enjoy talking with all of them.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 168 The Life of a Camp Host

As usual I did my first check of the campground at 0800. The folks with the hydraulic issue were packing up and getting ready to leave. I waved at him and he gave me a thumbs down! I asked what the issue was and he said he wasn't sure his hitch was hitched correctly (it's a fifth wheel). Last night I had asked him repeatedly if his hitch was good to go as once those stabilizers were removed there is no moving the camper up and down. I looked at the hitch and the safety pin was in place and looked OK to me. I had our maintenance guys check it also.  We had them move the truck and camper a foot forward and backward. All looked good so we had them tow it to the dump station. They had no issues, so they dumped and hit the road. I wish them a safe trip. 

The rest of the day was easy. We only had two campers leave and just a handful arriving.

The find of the day was this bobble head.

I found it in the cart so my Co-host must have found it yesterday. I super glued it the top of the cart mirror.

Today was my birthday! Cath made me a blueberry pie that we baked on the Big Green Egg. It came out great!

After a nice steak dinner and a few toddies, we sat by the fire and burned some of the wood that I'd collected from cleaning up sites.

It's been a fun birthday!

 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 167 The Life of a Camp Host

We were off today and left camp around 1000 to visit Carolyn (our previous co-host) at Hamburg State Park.

Before we left one of our campers was having trouble with the hydraulic system on their Fiver. It looked to me like the pump was bad. The called Mobile RV maintenance and they were supposed to show up sometime today. As we were off, we left to visit Carolyn.

We had a good time catching up with Carolyn and trading stories. We will stay in touch with her.

Back at camp the camper with the trouble was still in camp (they were scheduled to leave today). The mobile repair never showed. They finally got a mobile semi-truck repair team to look at it. They showed up around 2000 hours! Sure enough the pump was bad so they can not retract their stabilizers. The team had to remove the front stabilizers so the fiver could be towed. I got back to our trailer around 2200 hours. The folks with the bad camper are from Maryland and are 87+ years old. We felt bad for them. We will see tomorrow how this story ends.

It's been a long day and sleep will come fast.

 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 166 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was Sunday and that means everyone is leaving and all the new campers are arriving. I cleaned 18 sites this morning! We cleaned the bathhouse and then tried to relax, but this new group of incoming campers are very needy! We stayed busy all afternoon.

The find of the day was another dart!

That kid must be back. This one had a ballistic tip! I'm keeping my eyes open for him.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 165 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was fairly easy as all the weekend campers arrived yesterday. We only had two leaving and two arriving.

We spent most of the day relaxing, watching all the comings and goings, and answering questions from the campers.

The find of the day was this tent stake.

I'll add it to our collection, but we have so many now I'll have to reweigh the camper when we get home!
  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 164 The Life of a Camp Host

We are back on duty for the next three days.

The campground is booked full for tonight and the rest of the weekend. As I was checking/cleaning sites for all the incoming campers I had one site that was terrible! They had a dog and it dug about 10 different holes in the campsite. I wish I'd taken a pic, but I was so mad I forgot. It took me 20 minutes to repair all the damage. I did get some revenge as the dog left it's ball. I will not forget this camper!

We spent most of the day relaxing and watching all the campers arriving. Around 1700 I checked the bathhouse, but was not able to get in the women's side, so I asked Cath to ride over and check. All was well and she had the find of the day. Actually it's the find of the whole 4 months we are here.

It's a slightly used Gerber pocket knife. I actually hope someone asks about it so we can return it to the owner.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 163 The Life of a Camp Host

We were all up by 0800 and the Kiddos helped me with the "Waffle House Breakfast".

After breakfast we had a short walk and then played a little catch football. They got all their stuff together and were on the road around 1000 as they had to get home and rescue Ringo.

It's been a fun, whirlwind, 18 hours.

We will see them one more time in two weeks as we will travel to Mt Pleasant the weekend before we leave here.
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 162 The Life of a Camp Host

Our day started early as Nicole and the Kiddos are coming today.

We were at the laundry by 0900 and finished that chore by 1100.

Then is was off to Wally World for a few things we needed for the Kiddos visit. 

Nicole and the Kiddos arrived around dinner time. We heard all the stories from their trip to Kennedy Space Center. Kennedy showed us her knitting skills. Shew did a great job!

We all enjoyed a good Granma dinner, caught a movie, and then off to bed by 2200. They had a long drive today, sleep came easy.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 161 The Life of a Camp Host

It was an easy day only had two campers leave and five arrive. The bathhouse looked like it had not been used. By 1300 we were sitting outside enjoying the weather.

The find of the day was this tent rope.

I figure the next time they set up their tent it will probably fall down!

We are off for the next two days. Hurrah!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 160 The Life of a Camp Host

We are back on duty and it was a busy day. Had 11 campers leave and 13 arrive. The campground is full.

The weather is perfect. Temps are in the mid 40s at night and climb into the low 70s during the day with no humidity. Forecast is the same for almost all week.

We were able to spend some outdoor time this afternoon and some of the campers stopped by for a chat. It is fun to hear all the stories.

The find of the day was this Dog Kong.

It hasn't been shaved yet!
 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 159 The Life of a Camp Host

Happy Easter!
Everyone liked their Easter Baskets! They were a big hit.

Our Co-Host wanted to go to church this morning, so we covered for them. They were back by noon, just in time to do the bathhouse.

We spent the afternoon watching the Master's. It was a pretty exciting final round.

Cath made a really nice Easter dinner of Rack of Lamb and baked veggies. With a good bottle of wine to go with it we had a great dinner.

The weather remained very cool all day. We sure like it better than 90 degrees!

The find of the day was this little feather.

I'm sure there is a bird out there somewhere missing it! I hope it can still fly!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 158 The Life of a Camp Host

The rain never materialized as forecast so we headed back to Swainsboro to hit our favorite butcher shop. Picked up what we needed, stopped for some pizza and headed back to camp. It rained cats and dogs on the way back.

The rain continued all afternoon and the wind was kicking! We decided to get in the Easter mood!

We even made Easter Baskets for our Co-Host and the park office staff.

We did get a cribbage game in. Finished our pizza for dinner, watched some TV, and the rain finally stopped. The temps plummeted from 80s to 40s! Sleeping will be great!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 157 The Life of a Camp Host

We left camp this morning and drove to Statesboro and the Publix. Cath wanted some lamb for Easter dinner. Back at camp we unloaded and put the Publix groceries away, then headed to Wally World in Swainsboro for the rest of the stuff we needed.

I buttoned down the hatches as we are forecast for high winds, thunderstorms, and rain for the next 48 hours. We will see if the forecasters and wrong again!

We spent the late afternoon and evening in the camper relaxing, watching TV, and enjoying a nice dinner. 

Winter Excursion 7, Day 156 The Life of a Camp Host

I was starting to think I was somehow cursed after yesterday. Today was a breeze. A few campers left, a few arrived, most everyone behaved, the bathhouse was easy to clean, and all was well. 

Until 2145 when a camper arrived with no reservations, so out of bed we came. Luckily I was able to put them in the one unoccupied site we had. Funny thing was they have reservations for tomorrow night. So why would you arrive a day early expecting to get a site? We are staring to think we've seen it all, but something new happens almost everyday.

In the afternoon Nick (assistant manager) came by and asked if I would go ride the trails with him as there were no Maintenance guys on today. There might have been issue with one of the primitive sites, but ended up being nothing. On the way we saw this guy.

The pic doesn't show it, but he's a little over a foot long. He's a gopher tortoise. They dig and live in burrows. His burrow is across the road from the campground. He crosses the road  sometimes to eat the flowers and weeds in the field near the campground/day-use-area. If you get to close he will hiss at you.....so I thought he was a female!

The find of the day was this poison dart that probably came from the same kid that's been trying to dart me!

We are off for the next three days, rain is in the forecast, but we just plan on relaxing and avoiding darts.

Winter Excursion 7, Day 155 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was probably the worst hosting day we've had in the 7 months we have hosted.

First off the bathhouse was a disaster. I did a quick clean when I checked them at 0800. At noon it took us an hour and a half to clean them. I think someone had a mud wrestling contest in some of the showers!

Second was the amount of campers leaving and the time they left. I had 11 campers leaving and 11 arriving. Checkout is 1200, but I had three campers that didn't leave until after1230 and one that left well after 1300. Problem is we needed to clean those sites for incoming campers. Some of the sites were just as bad as the bathhouse. Check in time is 1300.

Third was the weather. 90+ degrees and high humidity. I was drained by 1400.

We spent the rest of the day in our airconditioned camper with both ACs full blast!

The find of the day was this tennis ball.

I'm sure it belonged to a dog, but it could have belonged to someone who shaves tennis balls!
We are hoping for a better day tomorrow!  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 154 The Life of a Camp Host

After walking Augusta National all day yesterday today was a relax day.

We did do a little shopping, but just hung out at camp for the most part.

We are back on duty tomorrow and naturally temps are forecast to be close to 90!

All is well in the Boss Camp!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 153 The Life of a Camp Host

We were up at 0600. Brian & I had a quick breakfast of scrapple and eggs. Then we were on the road to Augusta by 0700. There are no phones allowed at Augusta National so the pics I'm using are from the internet.

We arrived at the EZGO Hospitality House around 0830. Brian said Hi and thanks to everyone there as they had provided our tickets. We got on the shuttle and arrived at Berckmans Place.

This place was truly amazing! There are two general admission gates at Augusta National and one private entrance. Our tickets got us into the private entrance. We had to go through metal detectors to enter. It reminded me of being at an airport. From Berckmans we got on the course and toured the back nine. We were able to watch Tiger Woods and Freddy Couples play #15. We checked out every hole. The highlight of the back nine for me was Amen Corner, holes 11, 12, & 13. Although the azaleas were a little past peak it was still breathtaking.

After the back nine it was lunch time so we headed back to Berckmans Place. It is hard to describe this "place". It is amazing! There are five restaurants, all with bars and with our tickets everything is free! There are outside replica putting greens, so we tried one of them. These greens are super fast and it takes real skill to putt on them. We had fun. We did a little shopping at the Berckmans Place golf shop and then headed out to tour the front nine.

To me this was a once in a lifetime experience. It is really hard to describe this place unless you've seen it. It is the golf course that all other courses strive to be. There were tens of thousands of people there. There were also hundreds or maybe more volunteers and workers. The landscaping is pristine. Everything is perfect.

Around 1600 we walked back to Berckmans Place and grabbed our shuttle back to EZGO Hospitality House. As we were saying our thanks and goodbyes the staff gave me a Birthday present of some really nice Kentucky Bourbon.

It was a super day. This blog post does not do it justice. Thanks to my son for a really memorable day!
 

  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 152 The Life of a Camp Host

We had a bunch of campers leave as it was Sunday, but had about the same arrive as it is also Spring Break around here.

My mind was not really on the job today. Brian is arriving later in the afternoon and spending the night here. Tomorrow he and I are heading to Augusta to check out the Master's! I'll be posting about that trip in a day or so.

The find of the day was this label.

I don't know why they even made this label. I thought all labels were made in China!
  

Winter Excursion 7, Day 151 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground remained full and busy today. There must be 30 kids around. We have a good time watching them.

Even though the campground is full, folks are taking good care of our bathhouse. We think if we keep it clean, campers will help us keep it clean. Cath and I can knock it out in 40 minutes even if it's a little bad.

The find of the day was this prehistoric monster.

He was hiding in wait on Site #15, but is now back at the zoo!

Winter Excursion 7, Day 150 The Life of a Camp Host

It's Friday and we are back on duty. The campground is 100% booked and full! Spent the morning getting sites ready for all the incoming campers. We have lots of tenters which means the bathhouse will get lots of use.

The find of the day was this dart.

I thought this kid was gone (see post #97). But it looks like he's still trying to ambush me! I'll have to keep my eyes open!

Here's a better view of the fans we put up. They seem to work fairly well at keeping most of the bugs away.

It's going to be a busy weekend, but all is well!