Winter Excursion 8, Day 181

We were up early packing to head to Dames Ferry. It felt strange to be leaving GLS. We said our goodbyes to all the staff, our Co-hosts, and was on the road by 1100. We arrived at Dames Ferry around 1330. We did a minimal setup as we will only be here for three nights. Here's a pic of site #35 (50 amp, pull thru) at Dames Ferry State Park, GA.

Here's the view of the lake from the site.

It took awhile, but we got good satellite signal on this site.

After we got set up and were relaxing with a toddy when this little guy showed up.

It's a cicada! Since we arrived here we have been hearing a "noise". Turns out it is the cicadas emerging! This one bit the bullet at our site. After I ID it with google lens and told Cath what it was she asked, 10 minutes later, about the Casa-de-as (Quesadillas) I laughed my butt off!

I got a couple of pics yesterday that I didn't post, so here we go.

This sign was at the coffee/pizza/bakery place where we picked up our dinner last evening.

This big guy (18") was crossing the road near the campground.

He was definitely taking his time. I hope he made it by tomorrow..LOL.

It's nice to be campers again. We will be really relaxed very soon.

  

Winter Excursion 8, Day 180

"The Life of a Camp Host" is over until next year. It's been wonderful for our third year as Hosts here at George L Smith State Park. We will be Hosting next year at Dames Ferry State Park in GA just north of Macon GA. We have made lots of friends in the park and the local area here, but it's time to move on. If we don't enjoy our new job next year we will return to this area.

Here's the end of the saga of the broken black tank handle.

I woke up this morning at 0600 and drove the 45 minutes to the Claxton GA (think fruitcake) Ace Hardware store. They had two Camco dump valves in stock and I bought them both (think spares). I prefer the Valterra valves, but could not be guaranteed that the one I ordered would be delivered today. Back at camp I tried the procedure I saw on YouTube. It did not work. When I hole-sawed the valve it messed up what was left of the broken valve closure paddle. I was glad I had decided to move the camper to the maintenance area instead of trying to repair it in the campground. The maintenance guys backhoed me a pit and we crowbarred the valve open without any dump hose attached. It worked great except of the SMELL! One of the new maintenance guys almost gagged. I told him to get used to it as every dump station in every campground has that smell. Later in the day the pit drained, the odor left, and the pit got filled back in. All went well with dumping! I towed the camper back to our site, installed the new valve, tested it, and all is well once again with the BCBTDV (Boss Camper Black Tank Dump Valve) by 1000! Horray!

Here's a side story. 

When I left our site with the camper and headed to the maintenance area, I left Cath and Kaylee sitting at the site with no camper. Cath said it was just like the Clampet's saga (Beverly Hillbillies). She also said (and our Co-Host backed it up) that Kaylee was distraught, sad, and moping, that Dad had left them. It was like she thought her house and Dad were leaving! When I came back her tail was wagging!

We did a lot of food and supply shopping in the afternoon. Got some Pizza for dinner as is our tradition for our last day in a campground.

We will say our goodbyes to all the staff tomorrow and head to Dames Ferry for a few days before we get to see Jacob in Birmingham.

It's been a long few days. Sleep will come easy tonight.     

Winter Excursion 8, Day 179 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was our last day as Hosts and it was a busy one! The campground was full last night and we had 13 leave today, but had 13 arrive. I spent the whole morning cleaning sites. As all these campers were leaving they all wanted to chat. By the afternoon we were all talked out, so we sat in the shade and said nothing to each other!

I'll post the results of my black tank valve issue tomorrow after I get it fixed.

The find of the day is all the finds I've been "banking" in case I didn't find anything. But that was not the case, I had extras! 

I'll be danged if I can remember what they all are, but it's quite the collection!

It is nice to be Campers again. We are looking forward to some relaxation for the next month. 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 178 The Life of a Camp Host

It was for the most part an easy day hosting. We had two campers leave and two arrive. We cleaned the bathhouse and then started packing up. Cath has been working on the inside getting ready to travel. I took down the "gazabo" and got the truck all packed. It's like putting a puzzle together, but I'd taken some pictures when we got here so I did have a reference for packing. We had a few of the campers stop by to chat and our local friends, Bob & Deb stopped by to say their goodbyes. We will see them next year at Dames Ferry.

I think I may have found a solution to my black tank valve issue. After searching the internet I found a YouTube video where the guy cut out the valve sidewall with a hole saw to gain access to the "guts" and was able to open the valve with the sewer hose attached. We will see tomorrow how this works. In the meantime I was able to order a new valve from Amazon and it should be here on Monday. If I can get the tank dumped it is a simple job to replace the valve. Time will tell. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The find of the day was this sign at the local hardware store where I went to buy a hole saw. 

What can I say!

Winter Excursion 8, Day 177 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a very busy morning. We have 17 new campers arriving and six leaving. That means almost every site is "turning over". By 1100 we had all the sites finished and tackled the bathhouse. We relaxed in the afternoon and chatted with many of the new arrivals.

Late afternoon the fun started. Cath had washed the shower and sprayed it down with wet-n-forget and then rinsed it all down. I decided to dump everything as she had used quite a bit of water. When I pulled the black tank handle the entire handle came out and the valve did not open! I'm going to have to figure something out, but not sure how to get the valve open without a huge mess. I'll post the results when I figure it out.

The find of the day was brand new dump adapter someone left at the dump station.

How ironic was that find after the events of the day! It now lives with my RV sewer parts.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 176 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a very easy day for us. A few departed and only four arrived. We will make up for this tomorrow (Friday) when the campground will be full. We expect 17 arrivals tomorrow.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and doing a little camper maintenance in preparation for our move. We are slowly packing up.

The find of the day was this thing.

Even with a google search I've no idea what it is! The green thing is just the handle on my picker-upper.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 175 The Life of a Camp Host

Nothing unusual with our hosting duties today. We have noticed this year that the camping crowd is mainly older folks. We have had very few families (children) here this year. 

Spent the afternoon starting to get ready to pack up the camper. I cleaned and inspected the roof. After 7 years it is still fine, but we are getting a new roof coating next year. I finally found the secret to removing pine pollen. Mix some isopropyl alcohol with water in a spray bottle, spray it on and wipe the pollen off. It's like magic!

The find of the day was in the women's bathhouse shower.

I was particularly interested in the White Tea & Honey. I'll have to give that a try to see how it tastes!
 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 174 The Life of a Camp Host

Back at camp and back on duty. There were only four campers in the campground when we got home yesterday. We had a few leave this morning and about eight arrive. The campground is really quiet (no Kiddos). That will change this weekend.

We had an older couple with a new fifth wheel pull in this afternoon. They had just picked it up from Camping World (1st mistake) and wanted to try it out. Their first question was why the site was not 50 amp. I explained that the site they were on was 30 amp and the 50s were all full today. They did not like that as they wanted to run both ACs. Next came a water issue. When the camper was hooked to city water there were two "leaks" under the camper. One was the fresh water tank drain, I closed that. I have no idea what the other "leak" was, but water was just pouring out of a line with no shutoff valve. I asked if they had the owner's manual, but they had left it at home. I guess they called Camping World and decided to take the camper back. They left a little while later. I felt bad for them, but a good PDI would have caught all these water issues.

Had a complaint this morning about a lady smoking in the women's bathhouse. I think I know which camper it is. We will be keeping an eye open .

Had another camper arrive and want to buy some firewood. He wanted two bundles at $8 each and wanted to pay with a $100 bill! We keep some change, but not that much. I gave him a ride in the cart to the office and he paid with a card.

The find of the day was this wheel bearing grease cap.

I hope they don't drive through any rain. That might ruin your day.

It's been a "fun" first day back "on". We are "on" for the next 5 days then hosting is over for this trip and we are campers again!

  

Winter Excursion 8, Day 173 The Life of a Camp Host

Nicole, Cath, and I met our Maine friends at Big Bad Breakfast after the Kiddos left for school. It was good to see Terry and Kathryn again. We all had a good breakfast and there was lots of gabbing. We said our goodbyes and Cath and I headed for "Home" (GLS).

The drive was nice and the weather was perfect. We got back to the camper around 1400. After we got everything put away we drove to the grocery store.  There is a good chance we will be "On" for the next six days.

Back at camp we sat by the campfire and had a few toddies. Clam Chowder for dinner as we ate enough this past weekend to feed an Army!

A few TV shows then off to bed. It's been a fun, fast, four days off.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 172 The Life of a Camp Host

Another lazy morning (day), but we liked it!

Nicole got home late last night from visiting her Dad. He is doing great!

We (the Kiddos, Us, & Nicole) relaxed after all the goings on yesterday.

Brian got home early and the cribbage matches began again.

Tennis matches were in order for the Kiddos but got cancelled due to weather.

We went out to dinner one last time and had a great meal (hamburgers) at a local joint,

Check the signs! LOL!

Back at home we took in a movie. "Strays" was an absolute hoot!  But do not watch it with Kiddos, it is very explicate, but absolutely hilarious. Even some of the Kids were tired.

Notice good old Ringo in the forefront.

It's been a fun weekend with the Kids and Kiddos.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 171 The Life of a Camp Host

We hung out with the Kiddos today and played with the crazy Corgis. Beau (the puppy) is quite the instigator!

Kennedy and I took Wesley over to a friend's for the afternoon and picked up lunch for us at "Chickies". There was some milkshakes involved!

Brain got home early so there was a cribbage match! The Kiddos helped me win.

After the match we all went to Home Team BBQ for our BBQ fix!

After dinner we watched a movie and then hit the rack. We will all sleep good tonight.
 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 170 The Life of a Camp Host

WOW! First of four (yes FOUR) days off. We left camp at 0930 enroute to the Kids and Kiddos for the weekend.

As usual we took the backroads, but when we got close to Charleston (Mt Pleasant) traffic was really backed up. GPS said 28 miles to go, but it will take 75 minutes! GPS was correct.

Once in Mt Pleasant we had a little time to kill before Wesley got home from school so we headed to Buck Hall to meet up with our Main-e-act friends. It was good to see them and we shared a few stories. If we don't see them the rest of the weekend we will see them for breakfast on Monday morning.

Wesley was at the house when we got there, so were the two Corgis, Kaylee was not happy, but she will get over it.

No pics and no find of the day. We are not at camp...LOL.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 169 The Life of a Camp Host

Happy birthday to me! 71 sucks!

Except for the weather it was an easy day. It is hot and humid and forecast to stay that way for awhile. We were finished with all of our chores by 1300.

The find of the day was the dog leash.

It was attached to the leg of the picnic table on one of the sites. The dog was gone!
 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 168 The Life of a Camp Host

Had a few campers leave and a few arrive.

Got a new pic of the rose bush in front of our site and some history to go with it.

Seems the story goes there was a host a few years ago (before us) that lost his wife. He continued to host for a few more years and planted this rose bush at the host site. We will take good care of this bush in the future!

On another note I found this at one of the sites I cleaned up this morning.

Not sure if it was from a dog or a horse. We've had no horses here so it was a damn big dog. The pic doesn't do it justice. It was the size of our shovel!

The find of the day was this little tree frog.

He's about the size of a silver dollar and hanging on the door to the office when I picked up slips this morning. He was still there around 1300 and making quite the racket.

All is well in the Boss Camp. It's been a good Hosting Day!

 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 167 The Life of a Camp Host

Another day off and once again we were lazy. Left camp mid morning to do some shopping and returned by 1400.

Got another good pic of our Rose Bush out front. We may be able to get one more before it finishing blooming.

The find of the day was this little gold star.

I'd like to think it was left for me (Host of the Year), but it's for Cath (Hostess of the Year).

Two days on starting tomorrow, then off to Charleston for the weekend.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 166 The Life of a Camp Host

Day off and it was a lazy morning, but it felt good.

Later in the day we drove back to Sunny Day Farms. We were there a few months ago and they said the u-pick strawberries would be ready around this time of year. Sadly their crop failed due to bad plants from a new supplier. We did pick up some cinnamon buns for breakfast tomorrow and of course a new t-shirt.

The squirrels were having a convention at our bird feeder in the afternoon.

There is five of them in the picture with a few more hanging in the tree. At least they are not interested in the truck this year.

The find of the day is this well used bobber.

Knowing this lake I'd bet it never caught a fish!

  

Winter Excursion 8, Day 165 The Life of a Camp Host

We had ten campers leaving today and they all decided to leave at the same time. There was a traffic jam at the dump station. After we got all these sites cleaned up and ready for new campers we finally got the bathhouse done around 1300. After that we just relaxed outside and played some cards.

The temps finally made it into the 80s, but the humidity is low. Forecast calls for high 80s the rest of the week. Time to clean out air conditioners filters!

We had a visit from this little guy.

Nobody told us the Geico Gecko was in town! I'm still sticking with USAA!

The find of the day was this pink hair beret.

Half of it is missing, guess it's still in her hair!
 
 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 164 The Life of a Camp Host

It was an easy day. We had two campers leave and two arrive! I did some more debris clean up, but for the most part it's all done. We will let the campers burn the rest in their campfires.

The weather was perfect and we spent almost the entire day outside. The wind finally calmed down, but temps are rising. Forecast in for temps in the 80s for the next ten days.

I made my world famous Moose Philly Steak Sandwich for lunch. Thin sliced moose steak, onions, tomato paste, a little water, and a dash of sugar, all on the flattop!

The find of the day was this fishing lure sticker.

The fishermen here might as well play with stickers. We haven't heard of any fish being caught on this lake lately.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 163 The Life of a Camp Host

As we expected the campground is full. We spent most of the day getting sites ready and continuing to clean up debris. The wind has not been our friend and continues to gust over 20 mph. We were finally finished by mid afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching all the campers departing and arriving.

The find of the day was this rose.

We've been watching the rose bush at our site and knew it would "pop" soon. This rose was the first one. I cut it off and gave it to my Sweetie. She put it in the Aero Garden. It's doing fine! There are many more buds and when they all pop I'll post a pic.
 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 162 The Life of a Camp Host

Our second day off...NOT! Mother Nature had another idea.

The storms forecasted happened almost all night and particularly this morning around 0600. Our camper was bombarded with pine limbs and cones all night. Luckily no damage, but Kaylee was totally freaked out! It took her all day to get over it.

The winds knocked down a tree in the campground on sites #20 & #21. The tree was about 18" at the base.

Luckily no campers were in these sites, however the campers in #20 decided yesterday to leave early. It's a good thing they did, either their camper or truck would have been damaged. We worked with maintenance and the other host and got everything cleaned up by noon. The rest of the campground was full of debris. We got that cleaned up also. The campground is going to be full tonight and the new campers will never suspect what it looked like this morning.

Our site looks a mess also. 

Cath cleaned up a lot of it this morning and I will clean the rest up tomorrow when we are "ON".

The find of the day was that tree. I was the first one to find it while enjoying my coffee this morning! The coffee enjoyment did not last long!

Winter Excursion 8, Day 161 The Life of a Camp Host

Our first of two days off.

We left camp around 1100 and drove the 100 miles to General Coffee State Park, GA.

We had stayed here a few years ago, but decided just to take a drive and see it again. The campground was almost empty and there were very few visitors in the park. We stopped at the office to pick up a magnet and a t-shirt. While we were there we talked to the Assistant Manager and told her we are Hosts at GLS. She immediately asked if we wanted to host here starting now! Seems that some of their hosts left early and the ones scheduled to arrive called in sick. We will keep it in mind for future hosting positions.

On the way back to camp we stopped and got a take-out pizza for dinner. Back at camp we sat outside for awhile and then battened down the hatches as we are forecast for some heavy

duty storms tonight.

The find of the day was this golf ball.

Very fitting as this is Master's Week at Augusta!

 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 160 The Life of a Camp Host

It was busy today and the campground remains full.

We said goodbye to our friends Terry & Kathryn at the dump station, that must be an RVer thing. How many folks say goodbye to friends at their septic tank!

We spent the afternoon watching folks come and go, doing a few camp chores, and just relaxing.

The find of the day was all these caps.

These are just from cleaning sites today. I'm going to start a National Drive to clean up caps!

Winter Excursion 8, Day 159 The Life of a Camp Host

Eclipse Day!

Our first day back on duty was an easy day only a few arriving/departing campers.

The highlight of the day was of course the eclipse. It never got dark here, just dimmed a little. The birds did stop singing and there was not a squirrel to be seen. Cath and I sat under the awning for the most part, but our neighbors did share their eclipse glasses with us. Some of the campers moved over to the field and watched the whole thing.

I did get a pic by holding the eclipse glasses over my phone's camera.

Our friends Terry & Kathryn from Maine donated some moose steaks for dinner on the premise that I grill them. It was an excellent meal and we all had a great time.

They will be leaving tomorrow, we've had a fun time with them for the past two weeks. We will definitely stay in touch with them.  

The find of the day was this dog bone.

The hound probably lost it during the eclipse!

All is well in the Boss Camp!

  

Winter Excursion 8, Day 158 The Life of a Camp Host

Our last day off! Cath did laundry and I went Kayaking with the neighbors. I know it's not fair!

Here's a few pics of the trip. We left at 1030 from Site #22.

This is a Cyprus lake and the trees and knees are sometimes really close together. The lake is in the park and there are three marked trails. The yellow trail is on one side of the lake, the blue trial on the other side, and the red trail down the middle. We did the yellow trial up to the top and the blue trail back home. 11 mile round trip! 

At the top before we turned around we spotted this Momma with her babies on the rock. Zoom into the pic she is probably 5 - 6 feet long.

We made it all the way to the US 80 bridge as the water is still high. Here's a selfie to prove it.

This was the view of the day for the most part. Some areas of the 460 acre lake are more open than others. Going in between the Cyprus tress is sometimes challenging, but fun.  

We got back to camp around 1500 and a cold beer tasted great. It was great to get out of the Kayak after almost 6 hours and my butt told me so! At first it was hard to stand up.

The find of the day was this great looking pair of legs.

Not sure who they belong to, must be some 30 year old!

 

 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 157 The Life of a Camp Host

Left camp this morning and drove to Ft Stewart for a commissary and Class VI run. Weather is perfect and the drive was nice. On the way back we stopped in Pembroke at the new Mexican restaurant, Taco Depot. It was really good and we will go back!

Back at camp Kaylee showed us her new sleeping position.

Her Doggy Dementia is showing.

We did manage a find of the day.

This psychedelic football will ride in the Host Cart until I find a kiddo to give it to. 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 156 The Life of a Camp Host

Our first of three days off!

We spent the morning doing a little camp maintenance and then a little shopping.

Back at camp in the afternoon the "boys" stopped by wanting to fly the kite again. This time we just gave them the kite and said "go for it". It kept them busy until dinner time.

A nice crab cake dinner, some TV, then we were off to bed!

The find of the day was more fishing gear.

Once again into the tackle box it goes. I'll need a bigger box if this keeps up!