Didn't Connect the Dots

It was nice to sleep in a little bit yesterday after our busy weekend at work. We decided to get caught up on some necessary shopping for paper products and toiletries, and what better place to do that than at Costco. Our search showed the nearest Costco in Newport News, about an hour away from us. Great! There also was a Sam's Club and Walmart Supercenter on the same street, and only a couple blocks from each other. Off we went.

The direct route to Newport News was through Yorktown, and not too far from Williamsburg, but we decided to save that for another trip. Besides, if we bought any food, it wouldn't last through a sightseeing side trip. We arrived at the Costco parking lot around noon and - it was empty! We never connected the dots for yesterday - Monday, Memorial Day, major holiday, closed. What a disappointment. From there, we went down the street and, surprise! - Sam's Club was open (and of course, the Walmart next to it was open). Thank goodness it wasn't a wasted trip. We went through Sam's Club and got all but a few items that are unique to Costco, and picked up some other items at Walmart and went on our way home. The real discovery yesterday was that it really isn't far at all to Williamsburg and Jamestown and we will be able to do multiple trips to them. The distance is about the same as it was for us to go from Happy Jack to Flagstaff in Arizona.

Josie decided that it was time she got a page on Facebook, so we spent a good part of the afternoon and evening setting her up with that. All was going well with that effort until I spilled a drink on her computer. Wow. What a disaster that could have been - and may still turn out to be over time. We performed all the recommended action - turn off, unplug, turn on it's side, remove as many components as you can, use a hair dryer on cool setting, and let it dry in the air conditioned room for 24 hours. We tried it out this morning, and it seems to be working OK - for now. That's not the way we want to replace computers. Anyway, she was able to finish up on my system so she is ready to go.

The summer has arrived. It was 96 yesterday, with about 85% humidity. It felt like it was 110. We are at 82 already this morning and it is only 8:30. We aren't sure yet what we will do today, but there are a few honey-do's that we need to get done, so that's about it for now...

We Made it Through The Big Weekend

It was probably a tougher day yesterday than the previous 2 days at work. With everybody settled in and enjoying the amenities, we were kept busy in the store (Josie) and outside (me) at the boat rentals and propane station. Josie worked on her feet, nonstop, waiting on customers all day. I was sweating like I can't remember with the heat - high of 86 - and very high humidity. I was glad I didn't come on duty until 5 PM because the first 4 hours were very hectic.

We ran a "glow in the dark" train ride starting at 9 PM for the kids (and parents, too). There were so many people that showed up that we ended up having 3 trips with the train. I was responsible for crowd control during the whole event, and believe me, it was a huge challenge. We had no gates or formal lines like amusement parks or Disney World, so it made it almost impossible to maintain control. That, plus the crowd wouldn't wait for people to exit the previous ride before jamming themselves into the front to get on the next ride, making a circus out of the event. Oh, well.

My night was topped with a couple parties that just wouldn't break up. It's a good thing that we had the Deputy Sheriff there for me to hand off the challenge of breaking it up after I left my shift at 2 AM this morning. I received a call from our manager, Mary, 10 minutes before I left (1:50 AM) saying that she had just received a complaint on one of the parties. It's a long story, but I told them they would get these complaints if there wasn't a stronger message that I could deliver to these groups.

Our breakfast is about ready on our first day off this morning, and as of right now, there are no plans until we relax a little from the last 3 days. As long as the weather holds, we will be out and about to do something that's fun. Until tomorrow...

Jammed Pack Full

Yesterday there were more people out than we will probably ever see in this park. It was difficult to go anywhere where there wasn't a traffic jam of carts. There were all kinds of activities available for the whole crowd. Beginning with the swimming pool where people barely had enough room to even stand up:

and the slides, where it was a steady stream of people:

There weren't even enough chairs for people to use at poolside, so they ended up just sitting on the edge of the pool.

There were several train trips around the park and there was nearly a traffic jam at the store while people loaded up both the train and hayride:

The train ride at midday (above) was the main ride that included all the decorated carts and bikes in a parade.

There were carts everywhere, and at times it was difficult to find a place to park where people wanted to spend some time:

It appeared that everybody was having a grand time all day long. There was a record hop held in the pavilion between 7 PM and 10 PM that was hosted by a live DJ. There was an accident during this record hop where a woman tripped on the pavilion step as she was entering and we called in the ambulance to make sure she was OK. They transported her to the hospital just in case.

My security shift actually went better than on Friday night. Just about all of the "hot spots" were quiet and closed down by around 12:30 AM. The sheriff's deputy helped out once again and his presence was certainly a factor in the crowd control. My shift ended just in time as my cart was about ready to die around 1 AM, and I just parked it where I could look and listen for unusual activity before limping home for the night at 2 AM.

One more day and we get back to normal crowds - whatever that is. It will be interesting to see how much the activity changes with the non holiday weekend crowd. Josie and I both are tired and anxious for our last day to be completed this weekend...

What a Circus

It was a sight to behold. A steady stream of people, RV's, carts and autos arriving all day long. We almost needed a traffic cop to control the activity around the store and the pool. All but about 3 or 4 of the scheduled arrivals (90+) made it in yesterday and there are only a few spots left in the park. The biggest problem was the scheduling of our staff personnel. There didn't seem to be enough people on duty at the right time to help with the tasks that were most critical at the proper time. I guess there's no way to know when the most people will arrive at once. The line of RV's was backed out our entrance almost to the main road while the gate keeper was trying to keep up. We made it through the day, however.

My shift was by far the busiest I have been since arriving. It started at 5 PM with escorting arrivals to their sites in between renting golf carts, renting boats and picking up trash at sites until the store closed at 11 PM. We had a sheriff's deputy help out and he arrived at 10 PM, and was scheduled to patrol the grounds until 4 AM. I left at 2 AM, so I assume he stayed for the whole time he was scheduled. It was amazingly calm last night. Maybe the effect of the deputy resulted in a much more controlled party environment. He and I communicated back and forth on "hot" spots that needed a uniformed presence to keep the gathering under control. It was interesting chatting with the guy during the slower times as the evening progressed. The same deputy will again work tonight and tomorrow night. We should know a lot about each other by the time the weekend ends.

Josie was likewise super busy in the store and we both will be happy to see the weekend end. Fortunately, there are only a couple more holiday weekends like this one, although we will most likely be busy on every weekend for the rest of the summer. There are some real concerns about how the park manager, Mary, performs her job that will probably become the subject of another entry down the road.

Our day is underway with Josie going to work at 10 AM. I only got about 5 hours sleep last night (this morning?), so I will try to get a nap in before I go to work at 5 PM. So far, the weather is holding in a dry pattern. Let's hope it keeps up...

Pre Holiday Activity

Yesterday was the day for final preparations and tasks to prepare for the "big" crowd arriving today - 90+ check-ins. There were 23 arrivals yesterday which was the single most arrivals in one day before today. As part of my hosting duties, I help escort people to their sites and explain all the hookups and trash procedures. I also drove around the park looking for loose trash and, generally, checking that everything is ready to go. The park is spic-and-span. I took a few pictures of some of the decorations and other indications of the park readiness. Starting with the train:

I cleaned the train on Wednesday and they decorated it yesterday. There will be at least 4 train rides each day this long weekend. I tried to get a good shot of the park entrance which is decorated with red, white and blue banners and flags all along the white fence:

Unfortunately, they are hard to see in this shot, but you get the idea. While traveling around the park I also saw lots of our local "wildlife" out gathering their food and making their own preparations:

It seemed like a good shot of the squirrel silhouetted against the river. By the way, it is the Rappahannock River that connects with the Chesapeake Bay which is almost visible from here.

Our park conducts a search each month for the 3 top campsites to label "Campsite of the Month". These are, in the opinions of the management team, the sites that best represent the neatness and cleanliness that they expect from each homeowner. This is just one of the 3 for the month of May:

Each of these winners gets to display the Campsite of the Month sign for everybody to see. I guess it provides some incentive (?) for the owners.

It will be a very busy weekend for sure. Josie starts at 10 AM and works till 7 PM with an hour out for dinner. I work from 5 PM till 2 AM, also with an hour out for dinner. The difference for me is that we get the use of the Sheriff's deputy these next 3 nights to help with "party" control at night. I'm sure it will be interesting.

At least the weather appears to be cooperating - so far. It's sunny and breezy this morning and the forecast is for a slight chance of thunderstorms. As long as there are no tornado warnings, we'll take whatever comes...

Ready for the Onslaught

It's almost been like preparing for a wedding or a family reunion around the park. Yesterday, we completed almost all of the final tasks in preparation for the onslaught of people expected to arrive, beginning tomorrow. There are 86 arrivals scheduled for the Memorial Weekend - and that's just  tomorrow. I spent my time cleaning the train (again), wiping the benches and tables at our super sites (to rid them of bird poop), and the same with the upright grills at the super sites. All of the grass has been mowed, flags and banners have been placed around, the bikes, boats and carts are all secured, cleaned and ready for rentals.

Along with the preparations, our new schedules have been issued for the next 2 weeks. We are disappointed that neither of us is scheduled for the 35 to 40 hours per week that we expected. Josie is scheduled for 28 and 31 hours the next 2 weeks, and I am scheduled for 25 and 32 hours. We will have to have a talk with the management to remind them of what was committed to us before we started here. The problem, as we see it, is that they have too many people working here and they can't give everybody the hours they need. But, the problem with that argument is that there is at least 1 person we know that wishes she wasn't scheduled for all the hours she is working. We'll see how that turns out.

One thing is for sure. The swimming pool and the water park will be mobbed this weekend. The weather is suppose to be hot and mostly clear. That also means humid, which is nobody's friend here. I plan to take our camera to work today, so maybe I can get some shots of the park as it is dressed-up for the big weekend. There are all kinds of activities scheduled: train rides, craft sales, horseshoe tournament, kids' bike decorating, painting hand made flags, bingo, corn hole tournaments, scavenger hunt, ice cream social and a night in the pavilion playing Trivia Pursuit. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about all that stuff.

We both start at 8 AM today and Josie gets off at 1 PM while I work to 2 PM. We're just about ready for the big weekend...

Yard Work and Heat

Josie wanted to get a haircut and pick up some flowers to plant in a planter outside, so I used the time yesterday to do the grass. I went to the maintenance barn and picked up a weed eater to do the grass around our rig. It was getting hot outside and I wanted to get the job done as early as possible. As I mentioned before, it really bothers me that we are responsible for cutting our own grass here. Anyway, I finished the job, and within a half hour of completing the job, the Mexicans that work here doing the maintenance came in behind me to do the same thing. That's it! I'm done doing any more yard work here.

The temperature reached 92 yesterday and we ran the A/C all afternoon and into the evening. There were chances of thunderstorms with severe weather warnings just west of our location. The tornadoes this year have been especially deadly and we are closely monitoring the storm tracks on the weather channel. Needless to say, any severe weather could potentially wipe us out if the winds are strong enough. We're glad we are not in the central plains states as they are being battered. It is even dangerous traveling through those areas, so I guess we'll stay put for awhile.

Both of us are scheduled to work today. Josie is on from 8 AM till 1 PM, when I go in and work until 6 PM. We are not happy with the split shift schedule that we have this week and hope that it changes for the weekend and beyond. As near as we can tell, the other workamping couples are scheduled in tandem with each other. Some overlap in schedule is OK with us, but to put in 5 hours of work each and lose the whole day is not OK. We'll see what happens there with the schedule. This is the big weekend for the summer season kickoff, so we expect to be especially busy. Until tomorrow...

Warsaw, VA

There are several small towns north of Kilmarnock - where we do most of our shopping - that are on the the way to Fredericksburg, VA, which is about 80 miles from us. One of them is named Warsaw - who wouldn't want to check out a town named Warsaw? It was closer to us at around 30 miles, so we drove there to check it out. It was not a memorable town. It was basically similar to the rest of these small Virginia Towns with some nice, old Victorian homes, a short Main Street downtown, and not many eateries or shopping plazas. We saw the signs to George Washington's Birthplace National Monument but that was another 50 miles away, so we passed on that for now.

One thing we both commented about on the way home from Warsaw was how much we missed traveling around northwestern Wyoming. The landscape is much more to our liking and the fact that we could pack a lunch and stop just about anywhere on a trip to eat vs. here, where it's all fields of corn, rolling hills and, not any distinguishing landscape at all. There are no places to pull over and have a picnic lunch. I guess the real attractions are the Chesapeake Bay, Williamsburg, and the towns surrounding Williamsburg where the area is heaped with Revolutionary War history. We will be very anxious to visit those areas as our time here goes on and the weather becomes more consistently clear. Also, we plan to take a trip to Washington D.C. while we are here and spend a night or two while there. If push came to shove, I also miss seeing wildlife while driving around.

Our neighbors were all out cutting the grass around their rigs yesterday, so I guess we will have to trim ours today so that we can keep things looking nice. There are mowers and weed eaters that we borrow from the maintenence shed here to do the job. It still bothers me that we have to maintain our own spaces while here - a first in any of the places we've worked. Oh, well.

We're close to A/C time as the low yesterday and last night was 72, with a high of 86. We had the A/C on for a while last night before going to bed, but it was bearable enough to turn off while sleeping. I'm sure we will turn it on again today as it is already 76 outside at 8:30 AM. It comes with the territory. Have a great day everybody...

Expensive Decision

Our trip to Virginia from the Big Pine Key back in early May was not as uneventful as we thought. As you know, we have our mail forwarded to us once a week from our mail forwarding address in Pensacola, FL., and it is sent out on Fridays for us to receive by Tuesday of the following week. The last mail package that we received last Tuesday had a surprise envelope from the City of Coral Gables, FL. It contained a beautiful picture of our fifth wheel traveling through a red light at a busy intersection in Coral Gables. Along with the beautiful picture was a notice that we had until June 6th to fork over $158!

I remember the intersection and I remember going through the light. When you're towing 18,000 pounds of trailer and the light turns yellow, you have to decide whether you slam on the brakes and dislodge everything in the trailer and break who knows what as it falls on the floor, or you can take a chance and continue through the intersection. I took the chance. If it were possible for me to contest the violation I would probably do it. It is almost impossible to stop that kind of load within about 50 feet of any intersection while traveling at 30 MPH. But, I can't very well appear in a traffic court in Coral Gables while living in Virginia. That is one reason we try to avoid city traffic whenever possible. In this case, there were no freeways between Key Largo and the spot of the violation which was just before entering I-95. It was an expensive decision.

Our weekend starts today and we are watching more devastation from tornadoes on TV. There is a front expected to come through here over the next couple days, so we don't know what our plans will be to enjoy the time off. It has been some kind of year for tornadoes and we are within a tornado risk area, so that makes us a little nervous. Maybe we will stay close to home over the next 2 days...

A Taste of the Busy Season

We can tell that it's going to be a lot different here, beginning next weekend. Already, we have most of the seasonal people here this weekend, plus the overnight camping area is much more occupied than before. The security shift involved monitoring more "party" sites than before and I know that the Memorial Weekend will be a circus. Fortunately, there will be a sheriff's deputy on duty for Fri-Sun nights to help out. There will be days, I'm sure, that we wished we were still in the winter "lull" season.

There was some time yesterday morning before we started our shifts to get some work done outside to our site. We opened our second awning for the first time since we arrived, and I locked it down pretty good with straps so it shouldn't be damaged by winds. The site is almost to the point that we can enjoy the nice days of summer outside:

The only thing left to do is to get a flower pot (Josie's department) to place outside, and perhaps move the patio platform back, closer to the rear of the rig. It is nice to have a little extra room outside.

My schedule has me off until Wednesday, since I worked until 2 AM this morning. Josie has to go in at 1 PM today and work till 6 PM, so we can't really go anywhere today except for local travel. I purchased some reading glasses at Walmart the last time we went and one of them needs to be returned, so I guess that will take care of the rest of the time this morning. Summer is on the way as it was almost 80 yesterday and it was a cool 62 last night. Our first electric bill arrived and it is $41 for the time we have been here so far. That's with very little use of the air conditioner which obviously will pick up very soon. So far. it's not bad at all.

The last thing I wanted to mention was how disappointed I was - along with millions of others - that the Kentucky Derby winner (Animal Kingdom) did not win the second leg of the triple crown yesterday ( he finished 2nd, 3/4 lengths back) in the Preakness at the Pimlico race track in Baltimore. He is still the best horse this year, in my opinion. It's too bad we didn't have the time off as that could have been a nice trip for us to Baltimore to watch the race. There will be other occasions...

Not The Perfect Place

As is the case at almost all of the places we have worked, there are irritating events and procedures that frustrate us. Not to the point of wanting to search for immediate relief at another location, but still detracting from the many positive things this place has to offer. Yesterday was filled with those kind of events. First of all, Mary, our manager, is a unique person. It seems like she works 24/7 every week and does not let the employees do much of anything at the front desk which is frustrating for Josie. She knows the software very well but Mary will not allow her to do things on her own without her interfering or showing Josie a longer, more complex way to do transactions. Mary is making sure that the place does not run without her. She also interferes with my security duties. Last night she drove around in a cart after closing the store at 10 PM to check out the party situation among the guests. That's OK, but she did it again at 11 PM and she contacted me on my radio at 11:05 to let me know that everything was OK. Well, first of all, why am I here working till 2 AM if she says everything is OK. Secondly, everything was not OK as there were still a half dozen parties in progress that needed to be broken up as the people were very noisy. There are other situations that should not happen. Last night my cart died at 1 AM and I had to finish my shift with a rental cart. Also, my radio died at 1:15 AM and I had no way to replace it before my shift ended at 2 AM. Of course, the solution is to provide security with the most reliable cart, and to provide the security person a charger to keep in his home so he will always have a fully charged radio to use. We hear from the folks that have been here multiple years that this is the way it is, and we can't change it. Too bad.

While we are in complaint mode, I should mention that our hours are a lot less than we were told we would work, and they better increase or there will be serious problems. we are suppose to work 35-40 hours each week, and so far we each have been averaging around 20. If it doesn't improve after next week, we will have a meeting with management to discuss the problem. Of course, I already mentioned in a previous post the fact that we are responsible for maintaining our own sites - i.e.: cutting the grass. No place is perfect, and this could be one of the best if we can overcome these "nuisance" type situations.

We have the same schedule today as yesterday and the weather is beginning to improve dramatically. Today's high should be around 80 with clear skies. We'll take it. One thing that I want to make sure  happens today is that I get to watch the Preakness horse race on TV. Working a later shift does have some advantages, although not too many. That about does it for complaint day...

Propane Class and Certification

Grey's Point Camp requires that each of the Hosts that will be working complete a class for certification in propane dispensing. It was conducted at the Bethpage location and there were 3 individuals, including myself, that attended from our park. Combined with the 7 individuals from the Bethpage park, we had a full class. It amounted to watching a video for about an hour and a half and completing a quiz on each of the three segments of the video. All of us were so intent on answering the quiz questions that were handed out to us prior to the video that we hardly paid attention to the rest of the material. It was easy to follow along with the video listening for the key words that provide answers to the questions. Some of us had already been dispensing propane here and at other working locations, so it didn't matter a whole lot. The video really concentrated more on the laws and safety, rather than on the physical dispensing of the product. The instructor offered hands-on practice following the class, but the 3 of us headed back to Grey's Point since we all had experience dispensing propane before the class.

We did receive some bad news from our manager, Mary, yesterday. The person who was responsible for entering employee information into the payroll system (at Bethpage) was on vacation for 3 weeks, and did not get our paperwork processed and entered in time for the payday that was Wednesday. We have to wait until June 1, the next payday, to receive our first paycheck. That amounts to 4 weeks, plus 1 day, that we will be paid for in our first check. We don't understand why they don't have the capability to issue a special check now, rather than wait for the next pay period. Of course, we use our working money for expenses - groceries, gas and "fun" stuff - so we will have to tighten our belts for the next 2 weeks.

Preparations are about complete for the big, opening weekend next week. We have over 100 guests arriving, plus most of the several hundred regular "seasonal" people. It will be a circus. I'm not very anxious to do the security runs on the weekend nights. I'm sure there will be many parties that will continue beyond the 11PM quiet time requirement. Supposedly, there will be a local sheriff deputy on duty to patrol the grounds during my time to help out. It should be interesting.

I don't start work today until 8 PM, and I will work my first shift to 2 AM in order to get accustomed to the summer weekend hours for security. Josie works from 3 to 8, so we won't see much of each other later today. The sun is shining this morning, so we will probably use our free time to get some groceries and a few other items we need. Until tomorrow...

Rain Pattern Continues

It has now been 7 straight days with measurable rain, including today. There were some pretty strong thunderstorms yesterday and it made for a difficult day working outside. It is a good thing that we are still not that busy as it gave us a chance to find cover during the heaviest rainfall periods. One of my assignments yesterday was to clean the upright grills that we have at each of our 25 super sites:

These are the premium sites at the park and the grills are now ready for the summer crowd beginning Memorial Weekend. These are the only sites with grills, fire rings and side patios with picnic tables. All of the sites have picnic tables, but not as nice as the ones on the super sites.

It was basically a day of trying to stay dry and just get through the day. We had an orientation meeting scheduled after work, and that was held in the pavilion we have outside the main office building. This was a meeting that should have been scheduled right after we arrived, but for some reason, it took place yesterday. There were only 2 couples - Josie and I, and Theresa and Larry that had to attend. The management had a couple pizzas brought in and we all sat around one of the tables in the pavilion while they reviewed rules and procedures. Seated below, from left to right are Josie, Mary (manager), Kristina (General Manager, and one of the people we met at the Tampa RV Show in January), Theresa and Larry:

Theresa works in the office with Josie, and Larry works the gate and helps with hosting duties. Following this meeting, we were all given a tour of both parks- Grey's Point Camp and Bethpage Camp. The entire meeting went from 6:30 to just after 9 PM. It was a long day for us.

Today is my day for propane training and I had to change my start time from 1 PM to 8 AM in order to accommodate the training schedule. Josie doesn't start until 1 PM which is the time I was originally scheduled to start, so we won't see much of each other today. The training is to take place at Bethpage, so I won't even be here for my scheduled time.

It is gloomy and damp outside this morning and we are anxious to see the return of nice weather. The forecast is for gradual clearing, so we are headed in the right direction. That's about it for now...

Weather Controls Our Schedule

Wouldn't you know that the 2 days we had off this week were rainy days. That removed the incentive to go to a new area to discover. We were able to get a few things done though. Josie did the laundry and I did research on phones that Verizon is offering as free upgrades.

We are at the point once again in our Verizon 2 yr contract where we can upgrade our phones for free, or at a discounted price. Neither one of us is ready for the smart phones that are out there since they all require additional data packages that run up the monthly cost of using them. The same features are available to us on our computers which we use everyday. We don't need the real-time, find out now, information that is available with those devices. Our pace isn't the same as when we were working "real" jobs in the marketplace, and it's just the two of us, so why the need for all the extra features? Anyway, after researching all the feature phones - plain phones with some touchscreen capabilities - we decided to wait a little longer. We're sure that some of the nicer phones that would cost us some more money now will make the "free" list in a couple months. Some of the phones we would like to have do have more capability - such as memory cards, better built-in cameras and longer battery life - that would cost us more money now. It was a fun exercise anyway.

Our schedule today has us both working from 1 to 6, after which we have to go to Bethpage to attend an orientation class. We would have thought that an orientation class would be more appropriate at the beginning of our working stint. Oh, well. Also, I have to attend a propane certification class tomorrow morning, also at Bethpage. I have been dispensing propane at most of the parks we have worked, but I have never been "officially" certified. That will be good for our resume.

We are anxious to go to Williamsburg, so we may be scheduling a trip there on our next day off. It is only about 40 miles from here, so we will most likely have multiple visits to that area. I am now researching the town to find out the best way to see everything. There are lots of options, so we'll keep you posted...

Rain Changes Plans

The skies changed in a hurry yesterday morning from sunshine to clouds and light rain. The forecast is for of the same over the next couple days so it looks like it will be a stay-at-home break from work. We do have some things we need to get done. The main thing is to refill our propane tanks, and we are looking for a place to get a good price on propane fuel. We can get it here at the park, but they want $3.95 per gallon. We already know we can get it for $3.00 per gallon in the town of Kilmarnock. It's hard for us to understand why they don't give us an employee discount here for propane. Different parks provide different incentives.

We're settling in for our 4 month stint here. Right now, we see no reason to even consider a change before our time is up in mid September. Our long range plan is to return to the west somewhere, but maybe with a stop in between - like Texas? Once again, summer jobs are fairly easy to come by, but winter jobs are a lot tougher to find where the site is provided free with pay for all hours worked. We'll use our summer to locate and lock-in our best winter job offer. The longer we work as Workampers, the better our resume gets, and therefore, the better the opportunities that are offered. There are several possibilities for the winter already. We can definitely go back to Amazon.com, and we have tentative offers in Florida and Texas, depending on the needs of those parks we have identified. It will be fun deciding where to go from here.

There's not a whole lot more to say for now, so we will take it easy today and try to get some chores done while we watch it rain...

Canoe Episode

Part of my Hosting assignment involves meeting guests at the dock where we store the canoes and kayaks for rental, and preparing them for launch. That includes taking out the life jackets and paddles from the small storage bin that is next to these units on the same dock. Below is a picture of these boats and the dock they are stored on, along with the small storage bin:

I received a call from the office on my radio that a couple would be walking down to the boat area to pick up a canoe that they had rented for an hour. I went to the dock, unlocked the boat from the secured area on the dock, took out 2 life jackets and the paddles and waited for them. They were young people, a girl and (husky) guy who was celebrating his 18th birthday. I asked them both if they had been in a canoe before. She had, but he had not. Then the fun began. They helped me place the canoe in the water against the dock, and she proceeded to get in, with my help, and she moved to the front. The boy placed one foot in the canoe and he started to get in when he lost his balance and the whole canoe flipped over with both of them ending up in the water. Fortunately, the water at this location is is only a few feet deep so they were able to stand and get the canoe turned over, get out of the water and onto the dock, and once again into the canoe. I was concerned that they wouldn't be able to complete the whole hour in the water without flipping the boat again, so I spent the whole hour going back and forth to the dock to make sure I could see them in the water and that they were still floating. Finally, they came back to the dock for take-out and they flipped the canoe again while trying to step out onto the dock. Both got wet again, in the cold water, and finally made it out to end their canoe trip. I'm not sure if he will want to do that again anytime soon.

The rest of my work day yesterday was spent doing other hosting chores and since I had the camera with me, took another shot of the marina area from a different view at the end of the park:

The clouds began rolling in as you can see from the above shot, and we again had a thunderstorm that was not quite as violent as the one the night before. We received over .50" of rain and had some wind during the storm but it ended after about a half hour.

The rain stayed around for most of the night and it is still cloudy this morning. That probably means we will stay fairly close to home and get some chores done. We need to get propane in one of our tanks and we need to go to Mathews to the bank and do some grocery shopping. That should be the schedule for today...

Thunderstorms Last Night

The most significant event yesterday was the stream of thunderstorms that went through here while working. For some reason, they seem more violent in the east than I remember them being on the west coast. Every time the lightning occurs, it seems like it is right on top of you. The one effect it had last night while working the security shift was it chased everybody inside and made for a quiet evening -until the storms passed through. The rains arrived after the thunderstorms, and it was fairly steady all night. Believe it or not, the same group of people that have caused a problem every night were out again - in the rain. There are about 20 people in this crowd that moves around to a different location each night, but are always loud and obnoxious. Last night, I watched the party from a vantage point on the next street over where I couldn't be seen by them. I was shocked when, at about 10:30 PM, I saw one of the women in the group marching around - topless! That incident will be reported to management today and something needs to be done to get that situation under control before the real crowds arrive after Memorial Day. This certainly is a different experience.

Our last day of the work week is today and we both work only 5 hours - 1 to 6. There is no security assignment today as most people will be leaving for the work week, or to get their kids back to school. Josie will do her usual front desk reservations, store sales, and miscellaneous activities in the office. My job today will be mostly cleaning up after the weekend crowd - fire rings cleaning, picnic table moving and general trash removal from the sites. I plan to take my camera to work each day now, as there are usually some interesting things that would be good to have in pictures. :)

It appears that the storms are over for now as the sun is out and the sky is mostly clear. We are hoping that it stays this way for our days off on Monday and Tuesday so we can do some exploring in the area. There are some neat choices, so stay tuned...

Learning The Security Game

Aside from the frustration of the blogger being down for most of the previous day, we hung out at the fifth wheel all day until we started our shifts at 3 PM. Josie's day lasted until 8 PM and mine went to midnight, with an hour out for dinner in the middle.

The security assignment that I have been given is not always an easy task. It requires driving around the campground and confronting groups of people that are making excessive noise and disturbing neighbors after quiet time begins at 11 PM. So far, I have had the same group of people violating the rules both weekends I have worked the security shift. Last weekend, we had to call the manager out to help disperse the crowd. Last night, we just let it go and allowed the crowd to leave on its own. There were other minor disturbances, but those people complied without a problem. The last 2 weekends I have worked the shift with a mentor, Bruce, who has been responsible for training all the Host and Security workers at Bethpage (the sister park)  the last 4 years, and at Grey's Point Camp this year. Next week I begin working the shift alone. Anyway, he is frustrated as a result of the inconsistent message that our manager, Mary, is giving to the guests. Why allow some to get away with the disturbances, and others have to be confronted to comply with the rules. That's not an issue that I want to get involved with. I will just mention the rules to folks, and if they don't comply, I'll write down the site number where the violation took place, and let management deal with it the next day. It's going to be interesting when the summer arrives and the park fills up. It's easy to understand that people that work all week like to let their hair down on weekends and have some fun.

It was cloudy and cool all day yesterday (high of 68) and it started raining just as I was ready to get off work at midnight. We are expecting more of the same today and tomorrow. It certainly isn't as much fun when you have to try to stay dry. Maybe the rain will help keep people under control at night.

A follow up to yesterday's post - The entry I thought was lost in cyberspace has re-appeared. As mentioned before, the Blogger has been super reliable and that was the first extended problem I have experienced with it since we started the blog. Not too bad.

We have the same schedule today as yesterday, so we get to relax until 3 PM...

Cleaning and Washing Duty

First of all, Blogger has been down for almost 2 days now and they had to temporarily remove all posts from 7:30 AM on the 11th in order to restore the files. That means that my post of yesterday, although completed, was not seen by anybody, and right now is lost in cyberspace somewhere. Sorry about that. This is the first time that the Blogger has been down for an extended period since I began using it over 2 years ago.

Yesterday was spent performing cleaning chores on the golf cart rental fleet – 70 carts – and cleaning the Camp Train, from front to back and top to bottom, which was the back breaker. The train is used on weekends to take people – mostly kids – on a ride around the campground. It is a very popular attraction and I have a couple shots of the train below:

That was probably the most physical day I’ve spent here so far. Josie had her typical “slow” day in the office but that will all change when the holiday weekend comes at the end of the month. Our new schedules for the next week were released and we have a small problem with some of the times we are scheduled, but we will wait to see how they work out. The main problem is on the weekends – Friday and Saturday night. I’m scheduled for the security duty from 8 PM until 2 AM on those nights. Josie is scheduled for 3 PM till 8 PM on the same nights. Right now, we won’t see much of each other on those days.

We are expecting some wet weather over the next couple days. It was due, as we have been basking in sunshine the last week and enjoying it. The heat and humidity will be here soon enough. As soon as we get a feel for the final scheduling, we will begin planning our trips to the places that this area is known for: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, Newport News, Fredericksburg, Richmond and probably as far away as Washington, DC. I’m sure there are others that will make the list since there are lots of neat places to see. That’s about it for today – I hope the blogger is up and running soon…

Miscellaneous Stuff

It was back to work yesterday and it still is pretty slow, business wise. This weekend will see the opening of the pool and slides park, so it will begin to pick up. There is some rain in the forecast so it may keep some people away.

One of the things we received for our use while working here is a golf cart. My job requires it, and Josie can ride to and from work with me which is all she needs it for. The only problem we have now is that there weren't enough chargers to go around for everybody that is assigned a cart, so I have to take it to the maintenenace shed at the end of the day in order to get a new charge for the next day. That will be a short term problem as they are getting some more new charges very soon. We're just happy to have the use of the cart, period.

The unique requirement that they had for workampers - previously - was that they maintain their spaces. That meant cutting the grass. Now, who carries a lawn mower with him when he is traveling in an RV? That is the most ridiculous thing we ever heard of. Anyway, our neighbor cut the grass on all our spaces the other day and he indicated that there is a maintenance individual that has been assigned that duty for this year. Good thing. Actually, he used a weed eater to cut the grass, but even that is something we will never carry with us. It is also the first time we have run into this kind of requirement, and we're glad they changed the rule.

There are workers here that started in February, to begin getting things together for the season. They all said it was the coldest, wettest and windiest winter they can remember. That is a common remark from people all over the east. The 75-80 degree days we have had recently are a blessing and a sign that maybe the summer will be a good, dry one. It certainly has been nice since we arrived almost 2 weeks ago.

It's another relatively short work day today - 6 hours - which leaves us a little more time in the afternoons. A new schedule will be issued today, so we are anxious to see how the hours change. We both are liking the work so far, so it's onward and upward...

Bethpage Visit and BBQ

Our plan yesterday was to go to the sister park - Bethpage - to play some miniature golf and have some ice cream at the ice creamery there. When we arrived there, we discovered that the course and store were not yet open for the season. Bummer. They are on the same schedule as we are (of course) and will not fully open all facilities until this weekend. So, we just drove around the park to see the differences:

The park is very similar to ours except it is much larger. Actually, it is about 4 times larger. They have over 500 spaces that they have available for weekenders, even though their number of spaces for seasonal campers may be less than we have. Everything else is much larger, including the water park:

and the pond (lake) for paddle boats:

We are happy to be where we are as we hear that it becomes unbelievably busy here in the summer, to the point that the workers barely have time to think. We may be in the same situation beginning Memorial Day weekend, but I think we will have a better chance to maintain control.

We followed that with a visit to a small town - Gloucester (birthplace of Walter Reed) - where we found a family owned ice cream shop and stopped to have a cone to satisfy our craving for ice cream. We didn't spend much time there before returning to prepare for our neighborhood BBQ in the evening.

There were about 16 people that showed up for our little BBQ:

and we had a great time visiting with all the folks that work at our campground.

It's off to work again this morning. We work 8 AM till 1 PM today and tomorrow, and we will get another schedule that will have our times for the next week. Friday is still part of this week, but the schedule was left open until our manager could see how everybody worked and what their preferences were. Our schedule will begin to show more hours as the summer season nears. Until tomorrow...

Visiting Reedville

There are many small towns within about a 25 mile radius of Topping, VA, where we are staying. One of them is a town called Reedville - of course, we had to go check it out. It is supposedly the capital of the world for menhaden fishing, an oily and bony fish that used to be plentiful in this part of the coastal waters.

Reedville was founded by a Maine fisherman, Elijah Reed, in 1874:

and his grave site was just a short distance inside the city limits:

The most distinctive feature of the town was all of the beautiful, old Victorian homes and mansions that were along the main street:

and across the water on the other side of the marina:

We came across this home, with the sign "Reed House" which we assumed was the home of the founder:

The town had no real downtown area where you could walk around or shop, but instead, was just a quaint little fishing town who's main attraction was the homes and marina. There weren't even any eateries or gas stations which is unusual for any town. It was a neat place to visit though, and we enjoyed our time driving around Reedville.

When we arrived back home, our workamper neighbors asked us to come over to join them in playing a game of "Cornhole" which is very popular among RVer's. This was the first time we had played the game and enjoyed a couple hours visiting with them and getting to know them better:

We have a little BBQ scheduled tonight where everybody will bring hamburgers, hot dogs or anything else they want for themselves, plus a side dish for everybody. It is totally different from where we were before coming here. These people enjoy each other and like the camaraderie that makes it a more enjoyable experience. We also found out that the very nice miniature golf course that we played at the big BBQ the other day at the sister park - Bethpage - is free to all employees. Josie and I may go there today to play a full round - and maybe even have some ice cream at the ice creamery there when we are done. We were only able to play a few holes the last time because the food line was forming and we had to cut it short.

It looks like another fun day coming up...

More New Stuff

Yesterday was our last work day until Wednesday. Both of us started at 1 PM and worked until 6 PM, with Josie in the office and me performing Host duties. The Host function really involves a lot of different tasks - repositioning the picnic tables after guests leave a space, cleaning out the fire rings, directing guests to their sites as they check in, performing cart rental inventories, checking sites vs "in-camp" list which tells the office which sites are occupied, dispense propane, cruise the campground for trash and perform just about any other detail that is requested. It is a different kind of duty from what I'm used to performing and, so far, is kind of fun.

Not much else happened yesterday and we get to plan some fun activities for today and tomorrow. We plan to eventually do the historic towns of Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown, and also get to Washington D.C. at some point down the road. There are many historical places that are worth seeing, so stay tuned for reports on those lesser known places that played a role in our nation's history. We'll start with a little relaxation this morning, and then head out to a town that isn't too far away. Word has it that the gas prices are going to drop and that will help us plan for the longer trips.

It is a beautiful day today and one that is what we call an "outside" day, so we'll end the post for now and try to get things going...

Second Day on The Job

Before doing anything else yesterday morning, we checked the Internet for local jewelers or watch makers that might be able to put a battery in my watch. It was a nuisance checking my phone all night the night before in order to get the time. It turned out that there was a shop in Kilmarnock - the small town across the bridge where Walmart is located, called Rings n' Things. We took a chance that maybe they also did some minor watch repair, which they did. So, for $8 I had a new battery put in and was set to go. We took this shot of our campground as we came back over the bridge on the way home:

Our work day started with a little confusion. Josie and I both thought that we would work the same hours yesterday as we did the day before. We should have read the schedule better as it turned out Josie's hours were from 10 to 4, instead of 2  to 6. She went in at 2, as she thought she should, and showed up back home at 4 PM. It was an embarrassing and awkward moment for her as she has never done that before. I didn't know either, as we didn't really study the schedule as we should have. My day was the same hours, so there was no problem there. Fortunately, they weren't very busy in the office so she was "pardoned".

My work went about the same as the night before. I am getting familiar with the routine and the grounds to know where everything is. There was another incident last night - with the same people we had trouble with the night before. Last night we called in Mary (Park Manager) at 11 PM to help disperse the crowd and she wasn't happy about disrupting her evening for this kind of situation. The rules are clear, and she will provide written warnings to these people today that if it happens again, they may not have their leases renewed for next year. I'm sure that the Memorial Weekend will be exciting. They are planning to have more security help for that weekend, which makes me feel better about making sure the quiet times are enforced.

It rained a little bit yesterday afternoon and it has remained cool at night. Great for sleeping. Today is a day that we both work from 1 to 6 and I will be Hosting today, instead of doing Security. It should involve some new activities for me which I'm anxious to discover...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

A Taste of Security

Our first day on the job was a good one. Josie worked in the office from 2 PM until 8 PM, doing what she likes best - front desk check-ins and reservations. The system is the same one that we have the most experience with - Campground Manager - so it was relatively easy for her to get settled. There is a better training program here and there is always help nearby if you have a question or new situation for which you need an explanation. I got of taste of working Security, and worked from 6 PM until midnight. Those hours will only be for Friday and Saturday nights. It was an interesting first night experience.

There are similar problems here with the seasonal campers as there are in most parks where you have seasonal guests. Most of them know each other and the tendency is to party into the night on the weekends they are here. The people here though are very different from the ones in Sunshine Key Resort in FL. We can communicate with these folks and they seem to have a better appreciation for the rules and property. There was only one area last night where we had to get people to break up the gathering after 11 PM - the start of quiet time - and they complied after the second visit to their location. There are many different chores that the night security person has to complete. Besides the normal checks for unusual behavior or vehicles in the park, we have to check all the lights in the park, make sure all the doors are locked that should be, make sure all the recreation areas are secure, assist late check-ins to their spaces, and just patrol the park for unusual activity. It will become more challenging starting with the Memorial Weekend. Like Josie, I have a good training program and don't expect any problems with learning the ins and outs of my new job.

The big problem last night was that my battery in my watch died, at 8 PM, after several years of use. There never is a good time for those kind of problems, but there is no jeweler or watch repair place within many miles of us. I can get a new battery at Walmart - probably - but a jeweler needs to put it in the watch since it requires a special tool to remove the backing. I guess I will just get a $7 Timex to last me until I can get to a jeweler. Anyway, I ended up using my cell phone for checking the time.

It was a good start to our adventure here in Topping, VA. Other than the cool temps - 49 last night - and a dead watch battery, everything looks good...

More on the Campground and Potluck

We felt it was important for us to walk around the whole park to discover where everything is located. Pictures of the entry, office, playground and pools, have already been shown, but there is so much more to the park. So, the bulk of our time during the day yesterday was spent exploring the entire 123 acres of the campground.

Starting with the storage area, directly across from the Workamper sites, where the boats are stored:

There were over a hundred boats stored in this area, some in the open and some that were under cover. Our tour took us around the whole perimeter of the campground. This included a walk through the "seasonal" area where all sites are filled with mobile homes that all have been upgraded within the last 3 years. There are many nice homes, and too many to show in this blog entry so those shots will be saved for a future post. The seasonal people have docks to keep their boats tied up in the water after they arrive for the summer and take them out of storage:

Right next to the docks is the nice launch area:

Continuing around the perimeter, we came to the park area that consists of a grassy area on the shore that overlooks the Rappahannock River which, as mentioned before, is the access to Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean:

Also seen in this picture is the bridge that connects to the towns on the next peninsula, including Kilmarnock, where the Walmart is located.

Not too far from this viewing area is the swimming beach:

which has very nice sand, even though it isn't very large.

As we walked through all the areas with the newer mobile homes with large decks for entertaining, it made me aware of some of the challenges I will be facing this summer to keep order after quiet time begins at 11 PM. I only have to do the security checks on Friday and Saturday nights, but that may be more than enough.

As we rounded the turn to come back to the interior of the park, we came to the goldfish pond where the paddle boats can be rented by the guests:

On the shore along the path surrounding this pond are "fitness" machines that are heavy duty, and made for outdoor use:

including this fitness bike:

What a unique idea!

Our walk ended in time for Josie to prepare some baked beans for the potluck that started at 6:30 PM at the sister park - called Bethpage - in the town of Urbanna, about 10 miles from here.

That was another pleasant surprise as the town of Urbanna is another quaint little town that is typical of the small Virginia towns in this area. The park is also a high end camping experience and is much larger than ours at Grey's Point. The event was being held at the miniature golf complex and ice creamery that is attached to the park. We all played some golf:

before lining up in the food line for the grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. We met a lot of people from both parks, and found out that there were a total of about 17 couples workamping at Bethpage, along with the 10 couples at our park. On top of those, are workers that are permanent residents of the area and work year round at either of the parks. There are plenty of workers to go around.

The dinner wound up with. of course, ice cream from the ice creamery, and it was delicious:

We are very happy with what we see happening here and feel confident that we made a wise decision to come here for the summer season. We both start work today - Josie at 2 PM and I start at 6 PM - for our initial training. The people are friendly and the parks seem to be super organized. Hang on for the ride...

Rain and Exploring the New Area

It started raining - hard - during the night on Tuesday, and it kept up through most of the morning. I wasn't able to record the rainfall since we weren't totally set up until the rain stopped in the early afternoon yesterday. We are now totally set up in our space:

and it should be very comfortable for the next 4 months.

We finished up our paperwork for the office and stopped there to drop it off on our way out to visit the town of Mathews in the afternoon. They gave us our schedules for the month of May, and Josie and I are scheduled, at this point, for only 21 hours a week. We knew that the hours would be less up to Memorial Weekend when the park really opens for the busy summer season. There should be 40 hour weeks from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day.

The city of Mathews had a special attraction for us that we wanted to see - our closest Bank of America branch. It is about 12 miles from here and will only be used for our initial checks until we are placed on the Direct Deposit system in a couple weeks. The town is very nice and we got to see some nice homes along the way that define the Virginia style of homes. The one standout difference from what we have been seeing since we arrived in Florida is the landscaping. Of course, the palm trees have been replaced with oaks and maples and there are azaleas everywhere. It is a pretty change from what we have been looking at the last 5 months. Along with that change is a change in the weather. This morning it was 49 degrees outside and for the first time since January, we had to use extra covers on the bed. We're sure it will warm up fast enough.

Our new schedules have us working Friday-Sunday this week and we have Mon-Tue off. The first few days are training which is welcomed. It is something that is a lot better organized than Big Pine Key, where we were tossed to the wolves with no planned training at all. The first potluck dinner was rescheduled to tonight as a result of the rain yesterday. We are looking forward to meeting everybody there and also getting the opportunity to see the sister park at Bethpage. So far, so good...

Greys Point Camp, Topping, VA

It was an early start - 8:30 AM - and an early arrival - 1 PM - at Grey's Point Camp in Topping, Virginia. It was another beautiful travel day and we arrived on schedule. This will be our home for (hopefully) the next 4 months and the early indication is that it will be a great experience. The park is very impressive from the entrance:

to the office:

That is the building where Josie will be working. It is very big inside and includes a nice store that appears to be complete with main grocery items, clothing and RV supplies. The campground itself is spread out and there is plenty of room for activities and family fun. Starting with the playground area:

and the pool, which is actually 2 pools - one for the slide and one for swimming:

Right now, the park gets visitors mostly on the weekends until school lets out. The park was near empty when we arrived with the exception of the annual people that stay in a different location within the park. These spaces below will all be filled once the season kicks off on Memorial Weekend:

Already, we are feeling more welcome than we were in Big Pine Key. The Manager, Mary, hugged us and welcomed us along with the General Manager (Kristina) whom we met at the Tampa RV show back in January. The other workers were all there to greet us when we arrived at our site and got set up. There is a pot luck dinner tonight at the sister park - Bethpage RV Resort - that is about 7 miles from here. It appears that there is great camaraderie here and that always makes for a pleasant experience. Our site is better than average for workamper sites, and even though we are not totally set up yet, you can see our rig as the second one in from the end:

We will get a better shot of our space once the platform (patio) is placed in the proper location on our site and we can set up our grill and weather station. That is suppose to happen today, although now it is raining and we don't know how long that will last. We are thankful that we beat the rain here and didn't have to travel in any wet weather.

Our work schedule begins this Friday, so we have a couple days to discover where things are. It started last night with our first trip to Walmart, about 8 miles from here in the small town of Kilmarnock. We crossed the bridge over the Rappahannock River which is the access to Chesapeake Bay. This park is right on the water and there are many boats being stored here. There is a lot of history in this area and we aren't too far from Williamsburg, so we expect to spend a lot of time visiting some of these historic sites. We anticipate having a great time while we are here, so let's get started...

Four Oaks NC

What a nice day to travel yesterday. The weather was beautiful and the trip was smooth, although longer than most travel days. As mentioned before, our original plan was to stay in Fayetteville, NC, but the park there was booked, so we moved on to Four Oaks, NC. It gets us about 40 miles closer to our destination in VA, even though the town itself is a one whistle stop along the way. It has very little in the way of activities, shopping or even beauty. Our site in the campground is also ho-hum:

but it is only for one night and it will do.

The anxiety is setting in for us to reach our destination. We had a conversation with the person who hired us (Mary) and she is anxious to have us arrive. She has us scheduled to work on Friday and Saturday - training - which is an activity we haven't had in a while. We were suppose to begin on May 9th, but she wants us to get a head start with a couple training days. Our short trip today - 220 miles - should give us plenty of time to get set up and begin learning where everything is in the campground. It will be our home for the next 4 months - assuming all goes according to plan.

Our planned schedule today has us departing around 8:30 AM which should get us there in the early afternoon. The forecast is for clear weather - at least as far east as we are traveling. The rain appears to be coming and should remain west of us during our trip. As long as the severe weather stays away, we don't mind a little rain. We hope to have some good shots of our new "temp" home tomorrow...

Touring Savannah

It was just after 9 AM when we arrived in downtown Savannah for our Trolley Tour of the Old Historic District of Savannah. We were so glad that we decided to see this area using the Trolley Tour that we purchased eTickets for online when we arrived on Saturday night. The Trolley looked like this:

and we sat in the front:

 to begin the tour that had 15 stops along the way.

It became obvious to us early in the tour that there would be too many old houses for us to capture and place on the blog, so this is just one example of the many houses that were on the tour:

Most of these homes were of individuals we had never heard of but were significant to the history of Savannah, Georgia and the South. Some of them were: Green-Meldrim House, Sorrel-Weed House, Mrs Wilkes Boarding House. etc. You get the picture. There were some that we knew and could appreciate, as Juliette Gordon Low's birthplace (Founder of the Girl Scouts) and Sherman's Headquarters (Union Army General) when he conducted his March to the Ocean during the Civil War. Along the way, we spotted this father and son, dressed in confederate uniforms:

Our plan was to take the whole tour through all 15 stops while deciding which areas we would want to spend more time. We got as far as stop # 11 on the Savannah River waterfront and decided to jump off and walk around. This was an area of shops and cafe's, and the River Marketplace:

It consisted of 2 buildings, filled with individual booth's offering all kinds of touristy goods. It was located right on the shore of the Savannah River:

We got back on the trolley and rode to another stop where we got off to have ice cream at the famous Leopold's Ice Cream Parlor.

It was delicious.

Another very famous part of the District was the City Market, which was our next stop. We enjoyed the little shops here:

and we stopped at one of the cafe's and had a beer while people watching.

Along with the Trolley as a method to see the Historic District, we saw these horse drawn carriages that were seen all over the place:

There were so many things to see that we had to pass up many of the stops due to time constraints. The Trolley's ran from 9 AM to 4:30 PM and it was almost 3 PM when we quit and decided to return to the car and head back home. The town is very fascinating and there are "Squares" every couple of blocks that we discovered were built as part of the original town layout in the 1700's.

It was a day well spent and was the best way for us to see as much as possible in the short time we would be here.

Today is a long leg of our trip - 311 miles - to travel to Four Oaks, NC. Our original plan was to stop in Fayetteville, but the campground where we wanted to stay was booked, so we decided to lengthen the day so that our final leg tomorrow would be shorter. The plan is to leave at 8 AM, so I better end this blog so we can leave on time. Until tomorrow...