Winter Excursion 10, Day 119

We drove to Hard labor Creek State Park this morning.

This park is about 50 miles northeast of us. The place is huge, almost 6000 acres. It has a golf course, an equestrian area with campsites, a giant day use area, and 51 RV sites in the campground; some with full hookups. The campground is really nice with all the sites level and many pull-thrus. We drove up to see if in the future we'd be interested in hosting, but this park is way to big for us and it's to close to the Atlanta area.

Back at camp it rained on and off and we just chilled and did some wings for dinner.

One more day off, then our Co-host leaves, a new one arrives, and we are "ON" for 5 days.
 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 118

Our friend Ron came to visit today. He is the one we visited last week. He wanted to see our campground and the area. We gave him the grand tour of the campground which took all of about 10 minutes and then took him to lunch at our favorite Tex-Mex joint. Then a quick tour of downtown Macon. On the way back to camp we showed him the Whistle Stop . It was closed today, but he got a few pics. Back at camp we yakked for awhile and then he left to go back to his campground. We all had a good time and it was nice to see him again.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening outside.  It is nice that the weather finally warmed up!

Winter Excursion 10, Day 118

Today was supposed to be our fourth day "ON". I did my morning checks of the bathhouses and campground and then stopped by the kiosk to get today's paperwork. While I was there our Co-host came by all dressed for work! I asked what he was doing and he said he was "ON" today. He was mistaken, but insisted that I take the day off anyway as he is leaving Saturday and we have to work five days in a row. I finally said OK and had a nice day off with perfect weather.

After it warmed up we spent the day doing campsite maintenance on our site. The recent storm had left debris all over the place and our screen tent had blown down. By late afternoon we had it all straightened up again and enjoyed a glass of wine by the campfire.

Our new Co-Hosts should arrive Saturday and we will give them a few days to get settled. That keeps us on our 4 on, 4 off schedule. 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 117

It was in the 20s this morning and the wind is still howling, although not as bad as yesterday.

We had a few campers coming and going, but it was a slow day for the most part.

We played a little cribbage in the afternoon, we haven't played i awhile.

Our Co-host came over for some homemade pea soup with cornbread. It was delicious and a perfect dinner for the cold weather we've been having.

The find of the day was this little silver cat.

I'm not sure what the price of silver is, but I'll add this to all the gems and precious metals I've found and someday get it all assessed. 
 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 116

It was a windy day to say the least. We woke up to 10 - 15 mph winds and had gusts all day up to 20 mph. It made cleaning sites for all the campers leaving (it's Sunday) a real joy! We had a few cancelations today for incoming campers, but still ended up with nine in camp. Oh yea, I forgot to mention the high temp today was only 48. There is a freeze warning for tonight and we are dripping all the faucets.

Even with all the wind, the find of the day is this birdy.

It's a Red-bellied Woodpecker and they just arrived a few days ago.
 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 115

The Weather Guessers were correct today. We had a little bit of drizzle this morning and then about a two hour break. This gave me time to clean the sites for the incoming/outgoing campers and for us to clean the bathhouses. As soon as we finished the bathhouses the sky opened up. It only lasted about 30 minutes, but we got 3/4 of an inch of rain. The campground turned into a waterfall. It will take time tomorrow to clean up all the stones and debris.

A few of the campers left early, but most stayed and will leave tomorrow.

The rest of the day we just hung out in the camper and had our Co-host over for dinner. The find of the day was this thing.

Of course I googled what it was. I had never seen one before. Here's the results.

"This item is a reptile feeding clamp and insect catcher, typically used for handling live bugs or cleaning terrariums without touching waste". 

WOW! I've always wanted a reptile feeding clamp.

Winter Excursion 10, Day 114

The Weather Guessers were wrong, we had no rain today.

We did some grocery shopping and topped off the propane bottles and then spent the afternoon in camp.

The new forecast is for severe thunder storms tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully the WGs are wrong again.

All is well in the Boss Camp.

Winter Excursion 10, Day 113

Laundry Day! YUK!

The good part was that Cath took care of the laundry without me.

We spent the entire day in camp doing a few chores and relaxing. 

Our Assistant Manager from High Falls (our parent park) is camping here this weekend. Everyone is on their best behavior...LOL! Actually she told me it was good to get away from High Falls for a few days and just chill. It is good to have her here.

Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for the next two days. Of course our first day "ON" is one of them!😒

Winter Excursion 10, Day 112

We slept in today until 0900! After getting a quick shower we left camp and headed to 5 Guys for lunch. It was good as usual.

From 5 Guys we headed to the Air Force base for a few supplies and for me to get my ears lowered. This was the first haircut since before we left home. I needed it and with the warmer weather around the corner it will be nice.

Back at camp it was German night. Cath made schnitzel and spatzle with Rot Kohl (sweet red cabbage). We had our Co-host over and we all enjoyed the meal.

Watched some of the Olympics and then we hit the rack. It was a nice day off.
 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 111

Our first of four days off, so we did a day trip. We drove the 130 miles to Don Carter State Park.

It is a Georgia State Park a little northeast of Atlanta. We took the backroads as usual and saw lots of interesting things on roads we had never traveled before.

The park was a Corps of Engineer park/campground at one time, but was given to the Georgia State Park system. The stone work is really incredible, you can see a little of it in the pic. The campground and all other facilities are first class and in really good shape.

A camping friend of ours is hosting there and we had a great visit with him. He gave us a tour of the park and campground and treated us to some home made chili for lunch.

We got back to camp around 1700 and had a relaxing evening outside.
 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 110

We thought today was going to be a nice normal day. In a way we were right, but it turned into a long day.

This morning I cleaned all the firepits I'd left from yesterday. The ashes were still a little wet, but all went well.

After that I cleaned al the sites for incoming/outgoing campers. That also went well.

While cleaning the last site one of our campers started asking me about hosting. Turns out she will be hosting in a few months and just wanted to know the ins and outs. We talked for almost an hour. She will be hosting at a campground where you are "ON" seven days straight! Not our cup of tea, but some campgrounds do that.

After we cleaned the first bathhouse another camper started up a conservation and asked about long term camping. He picked our brain for over an hour. We finally got to have some lunch around 1430!

Back at camp we sat outside after lunch and figured we would relax until last checks around the campground. Not to be! Another camper wanted to yak.

About 1700 we got to sit down outside with no interruptions and got to enjoy the perfect weather today.

The find of the day was all the birds hitting our feeder.

These birds are putting a dent into our food budget. We may end up on beans and rice!
 

 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 109

Today was a total washout. We got an inch of rain and it lasted all day. We had 12 campers leaving. I did make sure these sites were cleaned, but the firepits will have to wait for tomorrow. I hate wet ashes!

A few folks left early, but I felt bad for one lady (Mom) in particular. I was doing our afternoon checks in the rain, but thunderstorms were threating. I drove the host cart past the dump station just before the storms hit. This lady flagged me down and asked if I could help her disconnect her drain hose form the camper (new drain hoses are hard to disconnect). Of course I did help and she was grateful, but we both got soaked (and her two year old son was soaked also). The storm hit while we were doing this. I told her to get into her truck and ride out the storm as it will only last a few minutes. It all ended well and we both got a nice shower!

Even with the lousy weather we had a find of the day. 

I'm not sure what this is (or was) but it was soaked when I found it!

Winter Excursion 10, Day 108

Today was Saturday after the big influx of campers yesterday on Friday. For the most part it was a slow day for us. Did our normal duties and yakked a lot with our campers. Tonight we were full, only one site left.

The find of the day was USB charging cable.

I sure hope their phone didn't die while they were trying to find it.

Winter Excursion 10, Day 107

It was a very busy morning for our first day "ON". We had 19 campers arriving so we cleaned and raked 19 sites! In the afternoon all the sites filled up quickly. We have only one site unoccupied!

We spent the afternoon once again by the campfire watching all the new campers arriving. People watching is still one of our favorite pastimes. 

The find of the day was this jewel.

I'll just add it to all the finds we need to get assessed so we will be rich!
 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 106

This morning we went to Gray to do some food shopping before we are "ON" for four days. We didn't need a lot, just a few staples. We are still getting use to the giant freezer we have in this camper and we tend to keep it full!

In the afternoon we went to downtown Macon and had an early dinner at The Rookery (the Allman Brothers hangout). It was good as usual.

Back at camp we sat by the campfire, had a glass of wine, and watched the sunset. Temps were in the mid 60s today.

Winter Excursion 10, Day 105

Today was our Co-host's 88th birthday! The girls at the Kiosk gave him a couple of t-shirts and a nice cake. Cath and I had him over for dinner and gave him a nice pocket knife. Cath made a super good apple pie. I just hope I can do what Ed is doing when I'm 88!

We spent most of the day in camp enjoying the weather, watching the Olympics, and just enjoying another day off. 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 104

We took the short drive to the Fresh Market. I'd never seen this store before and was blown away by the huge selections and the super high prices. Cath had been here before with one of the Kiosk Gals. We picked up a few snacks, cookies, and beet juice. I wanted the beet juice to make pickled eggs! It was fun to see, but we won't use it for our everyday food supplies as I don't want to go broke! 

We spent the afternoon making the pickled eggs and watching the Olympics.

All in all it was another lazy day with perfect weather. 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 103

First of four days off and we did almost nothing! We stayed at camp all day and did a few chores.

Last week while we were driving to the store I passed a truck. When I stepped on the gas the truck started to misfire. When we got back to camp I checked the OBC codes and sure enough it was a misfire. After a little research I discovered a few reasons why this might be happening. The easiest thing to check was the air filter. Today I pulled the air filter out, cleaned it, and re-oiled it. After I reinstalled it I took the truck for a test drive. It worked like it was new! That filter was really dirty, but cleaning it solved the problem and prevented a trip to the Ford dealer.

We spent the afternoon outside by the fire. The weather is beautiful and Cath took a break from watching the Olympics.

All is well in the Boss Camp!

 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 102

It's Super Bowl Sunday! Go Seahawks!

Before we could enjoy the game we had to have an interesting Camp Host day.

It started on first "rounds" this morning at the boat ramp. Someone decided the ladies room was a good place to get sick. It took about 30 minutes to cleaned it up! YUK!

Next we had 13 campers leaving and only one arriving. Cleaning sites was the story of the day. Of course the last one to leave (late) was the one site where we had an incoming camper. One other site was one of the dirtiest, messy, sites we've seen. There was wet woodchips and mud due to a leaking hose at the camper fresh water nozzle all over the site. And the best of all was a large wad of cooking grease on the pavement and picnic table. And don't forget all the charred tinfoil and beer cans in the still hot fire ring! It was a mess to cleanup!

We worked steady until late afternoon.

Finally it was Super Bowl time. We had our Co-host over for s burgers and all the fixings. It was a good game if you were a Seahawk fan. We tuned to another channel for the halftime show.

The find of the day was that filthy site, but I did not get a pic. It's one find I want to forget.

Winter Excursion 10, Day 101

It was a fairly normal camp host day. The park is almost full, but most of the campers arrived yesterday. We just did our normal duties and relaxed in the afternoon.

The weather was perfect today with high in the 60s. It's about time!

The find of the day this bow tie.

If it came from a dog I'm sure it wasn't the kind of dog we like!

Winter Excursion 10, Day 100

We spent the day getting all the new campers settled in. This was the busiest day we've had so far. It felt like the day would never end. We were still dealing with campers until almost 1800. The campground is almost full.

The find of the day was another fuse.

This one is in good shape, not blown. It now lives in my electrical box.

Winter Excursion 10, Day 99

Today is our first of four days on. The park is almost empty, but we will be almost full for the weekend. We spent the morning cleaning sites for all the incoming campers this weekend.
We hung out at the camper in the afternoon and watched some TV.

We had a late arriving camper in the evening with no reservation. We got them settled into a site and they can settle up their bill in the morning.

Weather is slowly starting to moderate. It will be nice to have temps above freezing. 

The find of the day was this carbineer. 

I was happy ti find it a first, but then discovered it was broken. It's now in the trash!

Winter Excursion 10, Day 98

Oh Boy! It was laundry day! We had a blast.

In the afternoon I called TSC and asked if they got their propane tank filled. They told me they did, so I drove over to fill our empty tank. When I went into the store to ask for a "fill" I was told their tank was empty! I said I had just called 30 minutes ago and was told they had propane. So I just did a 30 mile round trip for nothing!

It rained all day and into the evening so for the most part we were camper bound today. We are back on duty tomotrrow.

Winter Excursion 10, Day 97

After a lazy morning we went pillow shopping! It's Cath's new hobby. We found her a new "adjustable" pillow at Home Goods. I'll let everyone know tomorrow if it worked!

We drove over to Ingles (food store) to pickup what we couldn't get yesterday at the commissary. Then we stopped on the way back to camp at TSC to fill one of our propane tanks. They were out of propane, but hope to get their tank filled tomorrow. The weather is warming up so hopefully we won't need as much propane all the time.

Back at camp we spent the afternoon outside by the campfire. Temps are are in the low 60s for a welcome change,

This little guy showed up pecking at a tree near our camper. It's a Downy Woodpecker.

And this is the look I get from Cath when she thinks I'm being crazy!

It was sure nice to sit outside again. We feel like we've been cooped up for a month!

Winter Excursion 10, Day 96

The temps are starting to warm up. We made it to 50+ today and sunny. Tomorrow will be even warmer.

We drove to the commissary today for a few supplies, what a mistake. We didn't think about it being the Monday after payday weekend. A lot of the shelves were bare. Also, there was no eggs!

Back at camp we just chilled and enjoyed the warmer weather. 

Two more days off then back to work. We should be busy this coming weekend. 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 95

Today is our first of four days off. We never left the camper! The weather is still really cold, but at least we didn't have to work. Actually, it would not have been bad, there is only four campers in the park. The weather is keeping everyone home.

We spent the day cooking all kinds of yummy stuff Cath made some applesauce and a banana bread. Together we made a sweet and sour pot roast. We even cooked the bread and pot roast outside on the Ninja.

After all the time we've spent in this park we finally figured out that there is high speed WiFi That we can hook to. So we've been streaming movies on Netflix. The WiFi comes from the kiosk which is about 200 feet from the camper. Most if not all the campers cannot get it.

It's been nice just hunkering down in the camper, but we are ready for some fresh air and warmer temps. 

Winter Excursion 10, Day 94

We have only 7 campers in the park. The weather is brutal, temps in the teens and wind 15 - 25 mph!

We spent most of the day indoors as did all the campers.

Our big worry is the faucets. We are constantly checking to make sure they are dripping. All the campers were asked to fill their fresh water tanks and disconnect their hoses from the water pedestals and drip them. Only a few of them did as asked and we are worried as some of the faucets are frozen solid. When they thaw in a day or two we will see if we have any broken pipes. Temps are forecast to stay in the teens for the next 48 hours.

The find of the day was an ice cube, but I have no pic as it melted when I brought it into the camper!