Winter Excursion 9, Day 152 The Life of a Camp Host

It's spring break for this area and the campground remains full. All 28 sites are occupied. The bathhouses are getting lots of use as there are lots of tenters. 

The weather is warming up and We are starting to see lots of ants. I made sure the area around the camper was ant proofed. Many of our trash cans around the campground were loaded with them today. A little ant spray seems to take care of them. The locals just say "it's normal"!

The find of the day was this kayak. Someone reported a kayak adrift with no people in it near the campground.

I went looking for it and it turns out to be two kayaks lashed together with the occupants lying down in them and just drifting with the wind. I hope they didn't get sunburned!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 151 The Life of a Camp Host

Our first day back after our four day weekend was a busy one. It didn't help that we had some debris clean up from yesterdays storm. Cath spent extra time in the bathhouses and I on some of the sites. We had a big turnover today.

Our friends from back home arrived this afternoon. It was good to see Jerry & Carolyn. We had them over for dinner and spent the evening catching up on all our travels.

The find of the day was this golden twirley. 

I was hoping it was real gold, but it's just worthless gold paper. It's now in the trash!

There is no bird of the day. The bird feeder was full when we left last Friday, but totally empty when we got home yesterday. I filled it this morning, but we think the birds have abandoned us!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 150 The Life of a Camp Host

After the Kiddos left for school and Brian left for work Cath and I hit the road around 0830. We stopped for a quick breakfast sandwich and then drove back to camp. We arrived in a thunderstorm around 1400. The storm ended with no damage to our campground. High Falls (just north of us) lost power and had trees down. Once again we dodged a bullet. 

Back to work tomorrow! It's been a fun weekend.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 149 The Life of a Camp Host

The girls got home mid morning and Brian had the day off. We all had a nice egg sandwich courtesy of Wesley.

We spent the day just hanging out and then went to a tennis match. Wesley and Kennedy won their matches, but the team lost.

Back home we had a super nice steak dinner and watched a few movies. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 148 The Life of a Camp Host

Nicole and Kennedy left for a Girl Scout camping trip first thing this morning. Brian was at work most of the day.

Wesley had tennis practice at 1200. He is really very good and as one of the youngest on the team he is the #1 or #2 player!

We did pizza (of course) with Wesley for dinner and then watched a movie.

Brian got home around 2100 and we all hit the rack early. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 147 The Life of a Camp Host

We left camp around 0830 and arrived at the Kid's house around 1400. It was a nice drive on the Georgia/South Carolina backroads.

It was great to see the Kid's and Kiddos. We stayed up till almost midnight yakking. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 146 The Life of a Camp Host

It was an easy, normal, hosting day, but we were glad to see it end. It was our last of 4 days on. We are off to the Kid's and Kiddo's tomorrow.

We celebrated with KFC for dinner and then off to bed early.

The find of the day was more fishing tackle!

I'm going to need a bigger tackle box if these finds keep up!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 145 The Life of a Camp Host

Cath continues to improve. A few more days and she should be back to normal!

It was a relatively easy hosting day. A few campers left and a few arrived. There was supposed to be a late arrival walk in, so I stayed up until 2200 waiting, but they never arrived.

The find of the day was this blue emerald heart.

I'm sure it's worth thousands, at least I hope so!

The bird of the day is this Brown Thrasher.

I caught him sneaking around the base of the feeder!

  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 144 The Life of a Camp Host

The Air Stream Rally campers all left today. We had 21 sites to clean, but I will say these 21 sites were the cleanest sites I've ever seen after they had been occupied for 5 days! The fire pits were not used, there was no trash anywhere, and the surfaces looked like they were just raked. We will be looking forward to having them back here next year!

The find of the day was this chunk of white metal from someone's kayak bow.

I imagine the kayak is floating somewhere out in the lake!

The bird of the day is a Purple Finch.

I'd never heard of one before. That red head really stands out.

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 143 The Life of a Camp Host

Cath is getting better everyday. We both got back to our host duties after our three days off. It rained this morning just to remind us how fun hosting in the rain can be.

It was actually a slow day as the campground is still full with the Air Stream Rally folks. That will all change tomorrow when they all leave at once. That will be 21 sites to clean!

The find of the day was another fishing lure.

Just like all the rest it now lives in my tackle box.

The bird of the day is just a story. I wanted a pic, but got carried away with the issue.

One of the campers reported a Blue Herron in distress out on one of the peninsulas. Cath and and I checked it out and sure enough the Herron was there. We rode the cart back to the gate and asked if there was a phone number for wildlife rescue or something like it. Meanwhile a young couple pulled into the campground to look around. They found the Herron out on the peninsula. The young man took of his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants, waded out and grabbed the bird. Turns out the Herron was wrapped up in fishing line and had the lure hook through it's leg. The couple worked on the fishing line and I went back to our camper for a wire cutter. Back at the bird we cut the hook, backed it out, and released the Herron. He said THANKS! 

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 142 The Life of a Camp Host

Cath continued to improve today. The new meds are working. She even mentioned going back to work as we are "on" starting tomorrow for four days.

We had purchased a corned beef brisket to use for St Paddy's day, but we never cooked our traditional meal as Cath was under the weather. Today I put the brisket on the smoker at 225 degrees and 8 hours later we had some super tender, cut with a fork, smoked corned beef brisket. We fried up some cabbage and onions, made some biscuits, and pretended we were Irish!

It's slowly getting back to normal in the Boss Camp! 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 141 The Life of a Camp Host

Cath and her cough took a turn for the worst. She has laryngitis and can hardly speak. Off to the clinic again. The doc on duty was very helpful. They had her on an inhaler while we were there and prescribed an inhaler, antibodies, and some strong cough medicine. We could see improvement right away. Hopefully this kicks the crud out for good!

Other than running around to the clinic we just hung out in the camper. The pine pollen is still bad so it's better for her inside.

  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 140 The Life of a Camp Host

Cath still has that cough, but it is slowly improving (going away). 

We left camp this morning and took a drive to Sprewell Bluff Park. It's about 70 miles west of Dames Ferry.

There is a small campground there with 4 sites for RVs and 8 cabins. I think it is a county park. It had a $5 entry fee. It's about a two mile drive down to the Flint River. There is a day use area at the bottom.

On the way out we stopped at the overlook.

Cath was super happy to be out of the camper for awhile. She's been in the camper for 7 days.

Back at camp we just relaxed, watched some TV, and had a quick dinner. Cath is not doing a lot of outside time as the pine pollen season is in full swing. That sure doesn't help her cough!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 139 The Life of a Camp Host

Cath is slowly improving. We just wish that lingering cough would go!

Today was much better than yesterday. We had an Airstream Rally arriving today and I cleaned 19 sites for them. They are a well organized Rally Group and they convoy all over the US. They were almost no trouble and settled into their sites quickly. They had a group steak dinner at one of the pavilions and did a great job of cleaning up. All I had to do was empty the trash cans. It is a little strange seeing 19 Airstreams in campground.

The find of the day was this petlink tag. 

I wonder where the pet is?

We do have a bird of the day.

It's a Carolina Chickadee! What's it's doing in Georgia I have no idea!

We are off for the next three days. Hopefully Cath is up for some exploring. The weather should be nice.

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 138 The Life of a Camp Host

Cath is still under the weather. We are hoping that her coughing stops soon. Otherwise she feels OK. It is the beginning of pine pollen season and we think that is contributing to her symptoms. 

Today was supposed to be an easy day for me with a handful leaving and a handful arriving. It did not turn out like that. We had a large family tent camping in three sites. Checkout here is 1200. At 5 minutes to 1200 that had not even started packing up! I reminded them that checkout is 1200 and they said they knew! I decided to do the bathhouse while I was waiting for them to leave. I finished that job around 1300 and they were just finishing packing up. After a few minutes they left the sites and I figured they were headed out. I was wrong. They drove their three vehicles to the bathhouse I had just finished and all proceeded to use the facilities to include showers. They finally left the campground at 1430, 2 &1/2 hours after checkout time. It took me another hour to re-clean that bathhouse. And as an added benefit their sites were absolute messes. Here's a campfire pit they left. The sites also had all kinds of trash and food.

After I calmed down the rest of the afternoon went much better. I just love "entitled" people..NOT!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 137 The Life of a Camp Host

After our visit to the "Doc" we spent the day just laying low in the camper. Cath has not improved much and I still feel just fine. Hopefully all that changes tomorrow except the part about me!

I left camp in the afternoon to do a little shopping, Kleenex was at the top of the list for Cath! I picked up a few essentials we needed for the next two days as we are "ON".

Spent the evening by the campfire again. You are all probably getting bored with the sunset pics, but we really get some specular ones from this site and this campground in particular.

Cath is a little better as I write this; so All Is Getting Better (Well) In the Boss Camp!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 136 The Life of a Camp Host

We left camp around 1000 and drove to the CVS "Minute Clinic". We had never heard of that, but it didn't matter anyway as they were closed until Wednesday. We drove a little farther to the Piedmont Urgent Care Facility and we were glad we did. The staff there was excellent and the PA was awesome. Cath tested positive for "Flu A" another thing we've never heard of. They also tested her for Covid and Streep. She was negative for those. I was starting to feel a little funny so they tested me also. I was negative for all, but the PA said I would probably get the Flu A in 24 - 48 hours. They put us both on Tamiflu and a cough suppressant.

Back at camp Cath hit the sack and I did our taxes, my favorite chore. When doing them every year I hum the Disney song from Snow White; Hi Ho, Hi Ho, but I change the words to; I Owe, I Owe! 

Hopefully Cath is better soon and I don't get it at all. We are back on duty the day after tomorrow. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 135 The Life of a Camp Host

Cath's "Crud" has not improved. We will be off to the clinic in the morning.

Host duties were light today, but I miss my favorite hostess (Cath) when doing the bathhouses and just running around camp. We had a few campers leave and a few arrive. We have 20 in camp, that's the highest for a Sunday night since we've been here. I think the weather is warming up and so are the campers.

The find of the day was this thing.

I've no idea what it is or what it's for. The folded up part is lead.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 134 The Life of a Camp Host

It was no where as busy as yesterday. We had a few campers leave and a handful arrive.

Cath is under the weather with some type of "Crud". She spent the day in the camper and is taking Mucinex. We will give her a day or two to get better and if not it's off to the Clinic.

The find of the day is this little guy.

I'm still searching for his white bead. Then he'll be red-white-and blue!

The bird of the day is this Common Grackle.

He and his buddy found our feeder and now then won't leave. He tends to be a bully to the smaller birds.

The severe weather in Texas and Mississippi is forecast to hit us tonight around 0300. We are keeping our fingers crossed it is not too bad.

  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 133 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was back to reality! We cleaned 18 sites for incoming campers. I had 18,000 steps by the end of the day.

The find of the day was this cat.

We have seen it a few times before, but this was the first pic I could get. This cat is feral and scratched up our previous co-hoist when he tried to pet it.

The bird of the day is a Old World Sparrow.

The new cone on the feeder seems to be working. We didn't see a squirrel all day!

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 132 The Life of a Camp Host

Another day off. We could get use to this!
We did some food and supplies shopping in the morning. We picked up our Corned Beef for St. Paddy's Day.

In the afternoon we headed to our local TSC to top off one of the propane tanks and pick up an anti-squirrel thingy.

The squirrels have been eating more of the bird seed and suet than the birds. Hopefully this cone will stop that.

We used the Ninja to slow cook some beef ribs. They turned out great.

Back to work tomorrow. It's been a fun two days.
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 131 The Life of a Camp Host

The furniture shopping today was a success! We picked out a couch and matching loveseat at La-Z-Boy. Both are power recliners. We will order them from the store in Syracuse and get them delivered right after we get home. Now we just need to find a rug, some end tables, and a glider swivel rocker for Cath.

We got back to camp around 1400 and had a La-Z-Boy afternoon.

After dinner we sat by the fire and enjoyed the view.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 130 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground was almost full today. We can tell the weather is getting nicer. We stayed busy this morning, but after lunch it slowed down. We got a chance to sit in our Gazebo Screen Tent and enjoy the view.

While we were doing our late afternoon rounds we watched a couple trying to put up their Gazebo Screen Tent. It's the same model we have. We stopped to help. Seems they had somehow managed to get the thing inside out. It took the four of us awhile to untangle it and get it set up. We passed by later and they were happily sitting inside of it.

The find of the day was this saw blade.

If the camper was trying to cut firewood with it I'm sure they were exhausted.

We do have a bird of the day! 

It's a Tree Sparrow on the feeder.

We are off for the next two days. We are going to do a little furniture shopping in preparation for getting back home to our empty living room!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 129 The Life of a Camp Host

The rain started last night and it rained heavy all night and into the morning. All day it rained on and off and finally stopped around 1600. Hosting duties were not fun. Temps remained in the low 40s all day. We played cribbage all afternoon and ran the heater!

We did get a find of the day.

This pink dog harness, size small, is now in the campground lost and found.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 128 The Life of a Camp Host

With the damn time change we woke up late!

We left camp at 1000 and drove to Hamburg State Park where one of our best host friend is hosting. It was a quick drive. We stopped to pickup some subs for lunch with Carolyn.

At Carolyn's campground she was off today. We had a great time catching up and playing with her dogs. Here's a pic pf Hamlet and Lennie after Hamlet calmed down after hours of being bad!

We drove back home late afternoon and all seemed to be well. That was not the case!

Seems our co-host has not been feeling well and did not do some necessary stuff this afternoon. One of the Kiosk Gals came over at 1740 (40 min passed her off time) and asked if we could do a few evening tasks that our co-host should have covered. All is OK now.

Temps will be in the high 30s tonight, hopefully improving in the next few days.

All is sort of well in the Boss Camp! LOL! 
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 127 The Life of a Camp Host

We slept in a little this morning. After a quick breakfast we headed to the commissary to do some food shopping. A few hundred dollars later we are set for the week with food!

We also did a Wally World run for a few things we needed.

We spent the afternoon outside, the weather is perfect.

I put the Gazebo back up and staked it down with the biggest stakes I have. It blew down this past week in some 20 mph winds. It sustained no damage, just my ego.

We had our co-host over for bratwurst in the evening. After he left Cath and I sat outside and just enjoyed the evening and the stars.

We did get a bird of the day. It's a Northern Cardinal.

I haven't figured out what a Northern Cardinal is doing down south!

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 126 The Life of a Camp Host

It's Friday and this is our first weekend off in awhile.

We left camp at 0900 and headed to Magnolia Springs State Park to visit some host friends and return the frog we borrowed last year for the FROG Rally this past July.

We had fun catching up and enjoyed swapping "host stories". These were the folks that got us started hosting.

From there we drove over to George L Smith State Park to see the "new" campground". The place sure looks different with most of the trees missing from the campground. The sites all look nice as they have been rebuilt. The campground just opened a few weeks ago. We said Hi to all the staff and they wanted us to return as hosts right now!

After GLS we headed home and stopped for dinner in Gray, GA not far from camp.

It's been a fun day with 300 miles of driving, but after a month with no days off it was nice.

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 125 The Life of a Camp Host

It was just a little busy today. We spent the day doing laundry, making sure all the sites were ready for the weekend, and just doing general campground clean up. We are off for the weekend and plan to visit some host friends at other State Parks in southern Georgia.

After a nice dinner and a little TV I hit the sack around 2030. Cath woke me up a little after 2100 and said that a camper wanted me to check their hitch pin before she left! I got dressed and went over to her site. There was no issue with her hitch pin, it went right in! To say the least I was a little miffed and I'm sure she knew it. Back at our camper I fell asleep immediately.

The find of the day was this dirty old sponge.

It quickly found it's way to the dumpsters with all the other trash!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 124 The Life of a Camp Host

After a few days off we were on today. 

The weather has turned cold again and we had one heck of a storm when the front blew through early this morning. The NOAA Weather Radio started with the watches at 0200 and lasted until 0500. We never did get any warnings. At 0530 lightning hit really close. It was the loudest and longest thunder clap we've ever heard. I think it lasted so long due to the lake. By 0800 the sun was out, but the wind was bad all day.

The find of the day was this little guy.

The ladies at the kiosk told me that "everyone needs a little Jesus". He now lives in my host cart.

There is no bird of the day because the wind was so strong that the birds could not fly today.
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 123 The Life of a Camp Host

We left camp this morning and drove to TSC to top off one of our propane tanks. The weather is turning a little cooler. We will be running the heater.

We had lunch and then stopped at our favorite butcher shop and got some pork chops. We are having our co-host over for dinner.

From there we took a drive around the lake our campground is on. It's a Georgia Power lake and there are no homes, other campgrounds, or any structures on the lake except for our campground. The roads around the lake are dirt. We did get a good pic of the power plant on the lake. 

The bird of the day is the Black Capped Chickadee.

The one hanging upside down is also a Black Capped Chickadee, but he's also an acrobat!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 122 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was our first full day off in a month. We slept late, took our time taking showers, and were basically lazy.

We finally left camp around 1100 and drove to Hight Falls State Park to visit our old camp host, Ed. He was getting ready to train some new hosts at his park, but said he had planned to visit us this evening. He also said he had to stop a Publix and pick up steak, potatoes, and asparagus so we could cook his dinner while he was visiting us! This was his pay back for all the times we fed him dinner in January...LOL. It was great to see him and we had a fun time catching up.

The bird of the day is the Chipping Sparrow.

There's actually two of them on the feeder.
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 121 The Life of a Camp Host

We spent the day cleaning a boatload of sites. We had 20 campers leaving.
Our new co-host, Joe, shadowed me most of the day and he will be working tomorrow. We have the whole day off! Our new schedule will be 2 off, 2 on, 3 on and flip the next week. Basically every other weekend is a three "dayer".

The find of the day is once again our new co-host, Joe.

He spent the evening with us yakking.

The bird of the day is this little guy.

It's a Tufted Titmouse.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 120 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground remains full. We have a great group of campers this weekend. The bathhouses are not bad at all.

The best thing today is what we have been waiting for. A new co-host arrived! We got a call from our Assistant Manager with the news around 1600. I asked we he was arriving and she said "in about 2 hours". Sure enough he arrived around 2000 and we sat outside and yakked till almost 2200. He is an experienced host and has hosted for the last five years. After a month without a co-host we are looking forward to a few days off.

The find of the day was Joe, our new co-host. I don't have a pic.

The bird  of the day is an American Goldfinch.

Thanks Goodness he's an American!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 119 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground is 100% full, but it was not a busy day. We had all the sites and bathhouses  cleaned except for a handful we did this morning. We watched everyone arrive which is one of our favorite host things to do. The antics of some of the campers are a hoot!

The find of the day was this wooden cork.

I think it was used to plug a whiskey jug which I will need if we don't get a co-host soon!

The bird of the day was this woodpecker.

He hangs on the feeder for minutes at a time eating seeds the whole time!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 118 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was Thursday and that means we get to leave camp for a few hours. We still do not have a co-host!

We left camp around 1000 and headed to Wally World to do our shopping for the week. Then we headed to Chevo's Mexican Restaurant. The food was excellent. We will go back again.

We drove to Gray a small town about 20 miles away and visited the largest Ace Hardware Store we've ever seen. We spent about an hour there. They had a lot more than just hardware!

On the way back to camp we stopped at Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site. It's only a few miles from camp. We will go back when we have more time. The Ranger offered us a host job when he found out we host at Dames Ferry. He was actually looking for a summer Maintenance Host, but we don't want to be here in the summer. Temps would be brutal!

Back at camp we checked out the Campground and Bathhouses and had a light dinner after the Mexican Feast we had for lunch.

The find of the day was this old bungee strap.

It's in the trash now.

The bird of the day is no bird at all!

It's a damn squirrel! And you all know how much I love squirrels!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 117 The Life of a Camp Host

We finished all our duties by noon. We had a quick lunch and then got the Screen Gazebo set up in the afternoon.

It will be nice to have the Gazebo as temps are warming up and that means bugs! The Mylar top our camping friends made for us keeps the gazebo about 5 degrees cooler than the outside (in the sun) temperature. It will be great, we get the afternoon sun.

The find of the day was this small bungee cord.

It will come in handy holding down our propane tank cover. After 8 years ours finally broke. The bird of the day is a Mourning Dove.

I always thought it was Morning Dove not Mourning Dove! The stuff you learn from Merlin!

  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 116 The Life of a Camp Host

Ground Hog Day. Today was just like yesterday. Only a few campers in the park and duties were easy.

Temps got close to 80 with low humidity. It's so nice to be able to sit outside!

The find of the day was these pennies.

They were on a picnic table at a site I cleaned. And to think I thought I wasn't worth 2 cents!

We had another super sunset this evening.

We get these sunsets almost every evening!

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 115 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground remains almost empty, but I'm sure we will make that up this coming weekend. We are booked solid!

We did our normal duties and then hung out at our site. We had our first taste of temps in the 70s today so we spent the afternoon outside.

The find of the day was these missiles. 

I thought that kid was gone, but it looks like I need to watch out for an ambush.

Here's our new thing. It's "The Bird of the Day". We won't do this everyday, but when we get a good bird pic on our feeder I'll post it.

It's a Pine Warbler!