Day at Williamsburg

We finally made it to Williamsburg and spent the entire day in the Historic Area. By the time we got ready, it was nearly 10 AM when we left. The town is only 37 miles from here so it was a relatively short drive. Our strategy for the day was to begin at the Visitor Center:

and find out the best way for us to see as much as we could. We purchased a day pass for the shuttle and for the tours which came to only $68 for the both of us. This was similar to what we did in Savannah, GA and seemed like the best way to go.

One thing became evident as we arrived at the stop we wanted where there was a re-enactment of the King's Government Collapse (1765-1777) which was conducted in the street in front of the Raleigh Tavern. It lasted from 11 AM till noon, and the crowd was massive:

It was almost impossible to see the show, but we could hear everything and got the message. We were sure that this was the most popular attraction at this time of day and that the crowd would dissipate and spread evenly over the area following the show. Of course, schools are out now and the daily crowds will be larger than they were earlier in the Spring. The crowd did spread out for the rest of the day. Some took the horse and buggy ride to see the whole Historic Area:

but we walked, and were able to pick and choose where to spend time.
There were so many interesting buildings and tours, and we took pictures of all of them. There are too many pictures to show, but following is a good representation of what we saw.

Starting with the Cabinetmaker house:

where we saw lots of nice (antique) furniture being made the way it was in that era - using only hand tools:

After stopping for lunch, we went through the Governor's Palace which was one of the highlights of the day:

The tour was wonderful and we took lots of pictures, but this one of the foyer is especially interesting because of all the weaponry - rifles, pistols, swords -displayed on the walls:

The rear of the Palace was also beautiful:

Next, is the Randolph House which was one of the more interesting tours:

The story behind the house and the individual were interesting. Evidently, Peyton Randolph would probably have been elected our first president instead of George Washington if he hadn't passed away prior to the end of the Revolution. He was the most popular individual at that time.

The Historic Area was a terrific place to spend the day. The buildings along the streets were all restored to original appearance, and the walk through the area gave us a feeling of what it was truly like in those years:

Of course, the streets weren't paved then, but everything else looked realistic.

We drove around Williamsburg a little bit following our day in the Historic Area and left with a better appreciation of our Nation's history and of the area. It would be a very nice area to live, if one wanted to reside in Virginia.

The weather was great - except for the humidity - and we expect the same today. Our goal today is to do the Jamestown Settlement and, if we have time, Yorktown. Until tomorrow...

Wet Start to Fun Time

The day started out wet and stayed that way almost the whole day. It was probably a good thing since we got a chance to rest up a little before we start our sightseeing trips in the local area. We did take a trip to Newport News to the Sams Club so we could stock up on some things that we needed for the trip to KY. There is also a Costco there, but it was so miserable outside we cut the trip short.

The day is starting out better this morning so we will attempt the trip to Williamsburg. It is close enough that we can return again before we leave here if the weather turns sour again. It is one town that we have been looking forward to visiting. The plan is to do a lot of walking, take some pictures, see as much as we can and just enjoy the history of the area. With 3 more days before we leave, we are hoping to see everything we planned to see.

This is one of those days where there just isn't anything else to write about, so we'll end the entry and make up for it tomorrow with some exciting stuff from Williamsburg...

Gloucester, VA

We closed out our chapter at Grey's Point Camp at about 11:30 AM yesterday. With hugs and handshakes, we said our farewells to our new friends and exchanged emails as we do with all friends we acquire at these stops along the way. We will see a couple of them at Amazon later this year, but we will remain in contact with many others. That's one thing we enjoy - no matter how a location turns out, we add friends that we will remain in contact with, wherever we go.

Our site at the Thousand Trails Preserve in Gloucester is a nice, large one:

The foul water smell is slowly disappearing from our water lines. I recently changed our water filter (when we arrived at Grey's Point) and we undoubtedly have some of that odor remaining in the filter canister. We ran the water for quite a while when we first connected yesterday, but we still have some of the odor and must run the water each time we use it until it disappears. It is a problem we have never encountered before so we will have to experiment with different solutions until it totally disappears. At least the water is very good at this location.

It will be nice to spend the next 5 days here while visiting the Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown areas. It started to rain last night and is raining so far today. We are hoping that the skies clear so we can get on with our fun trips. The forecast doesn't look promising, for the first day at least. We'll see how it goes...

Farewell to Grey's Point Camp

The last working day at Grey's Point Camp was a very busy one. Josie was super busy in the store, and my security duty last night (and early this morning) was also filled with "excitement". It seems that the same sites cause the problems with noise every weekend. Until the management here gets serious about enforcing the quiet time rules, there will always be violations and people that think the rules don't apply to them. I was careful not to get into any confrontations on my last night since I didn't want to take a chance on ending up in the hospital - or worse. There are some young people that drive their carts to the far corners of the park and drink beer and party every weekend. Who knows how violent they would become if confronted by one, old, gray haired man. They don't pay us enough to take those kinds of risks.

Much of the outside preparation for our departure was done yesterday. I put away the grill, the chairs and took down the "patio" setup we had. All that remains on the outside are the awnings and disconnecting the power and water. The inside just needs to be prepared for a short trip. It will be nice to finally spend a couple days visiting some nice places in the area.

The manager again indicated that we would be missed, and repeated the hope that we return in the future. Right now it would be hard to consider a return unless they restructure the hours, the pay - or both. We figured out that the difference between the money we will make at Amazon and the money we made here almost equals another whole person working here for us. That's significant, to say the least.

We're hoping that the rain in the forecast holds off until we get moved to Gloucester. It's cloudy now, but dry so far. The chance for rain is 40%, which translates into "you can count on it". More from Gloucester, VA, tomorrow...

Down to the Final Day

It came a lot sooner than we anticipated - our final work day here at Grey's Point Camp. We would have probably stuck it out if we were able to work the 35-40 hours per week that we were promised, rather than the  25-29 hours we have been averaging. The combination of the hours, the scheduling of our split days and the type of work we have been assigned made a difference in our decision to leave. Throw on top of that the foul water we have had the last couple weeks and it was a no-brainer. There is one other couple here that has signed up to work at Amazon.com this fall during the busy season, but they will be new workampers there this year and were not offered the pilot program. Otherwise, they may have left with us. They are also disappointed in the hours that have been assigned to them.

Last night was actually one of the more quiet nights on my security duty. There were only a couple sites that had louder than normal activity, and they were under control by midnight. The management here had a meeting with one of my "problem" sites. The people were informed that if they didn't heed the warnings of the security people or we receive another complaint from the neighbors, their lease would be terminated. These people were out again last night but were like church mice after midnight. It was tough getting up this morning at 6:30 AM so that I could  help get Josie off to work by 7 AM. Today is the first day that the store opens at 7 AM and remains open until 11 PM. So, I write this entry with about 4 hours sleep. I will definitely have a nap before going on duty again tonight at 8 PM - for the last time. Josie's last day ends at 1 PM today.

I discovered that there was another Thousand Trails (affiliated) campground in Williamsburg. After calling our reservations center to see if I could transfer our reservation to that campground, I was informed that it is an Outdoor World membership park. They are another of the membership organizations that Thousand Trails has acquired - like Encore - that we only get a discount, and cannot use for free. Even though we would get a 30% discount off the fee, it isn't as good as "free" at the park we are staying in Gloucester, only about 20 miles from Williamsburg.

The last post from here will be tomorrow AM as we get ready to hitch-up and head out to the next chapter in our adventure. It is always an exciting time when we leave one place to go to the next. Hopefully, we will enjoy the time in Campbellsville. We will work the day shift this time, instead of the grave yard shift we worked last year. That's the plan, anyway...

Schools Are Out, Crowds Increase

We can see the increase in campers this week since almost all of the schools are out now. There were 15 vehicles arriving yesterday and another 30 are expected today. That is a good number considering it is not a holiday weekend. That also translates into a busy 2 nights for security. These will be my last 2 nights for that duty which is fine with me. Josie works from 8 AM this morning till 4 PM. My shift starts at 8 PM and goes until 2 AM. We will be glad to get back on the same schedule again at Amazon.

It's nice that we only have to move about 25 miles to our new location after leaving on Sunday. The break in Gloucester will probably be the only time we will have between jobs until Christmas. At least, that is what we are looking at right now. The pilot program we will be working at Amazon.com ends around September 1, when the regular busy season program kicks in. Hopefully, it will be a seamless transition for us.

We have done next to nothing to get ready for the move on Sunday. Actually, there are still only a few people (management) that know we're leaving. The word will get around today as Josie works with one of our neighbors that she plans to tell, and if she knows, everybody will soon know. It's no big secret anyway. We don't want to be hitching up on Sunday and having people come up to us asking where we're going. It should translate into more hours for the people left behind, and that will be welcomed.

There were thunderstorms during the night last night and more rain is in the forecast for today. The good news is that it stays cool while the rain is here. That's about it for now...

Final Arrangements Made

The final arrangements for our trip to Campbellsville, KY are made. We will stay the 2nd night at the State Park in WV that is located in Barboursville, WV, called Beech Fork State Park. As previously noted yesterday, the first night will be in Clifton Forge, VA (at the Buckhorne Country Store and Campground). The total trip will be 649 miles and we will travel approximately 215 miles each day. That's a nice, leisurely pace.

No one has been told about our departure yet, except for the people we told on Tuesday. It's strange that word has not gotten around, and we are supposing that the reason for that is that so many folks have already left from the other park that they don't want people to think that there is a mass exodus occurring from the parks. We will tell the people we work with today so that nobody is surprised when we hitch up the fifth wheel on Sunday and leave.

There was another potluck dinner for the staff last night. The management provided the main course (pulled pork BBQ and baked beans) and we all brought a side dish. It was a nice time for all:

Most of the staff that work here are permanent residents from the area. There are only about 10 of us out of the approximately 25 staff members that are from out of the area. Most of the staff have been working here for years. The ones that keep coming back have told us about how greedy the owner has become. An example is the new charge this year for the use of golf carts that the seasonal people have to pay. It used to be that they just had to register their carts for the summer - by placing a new, annual sticker on the cart. This is the first year that each cart carries a $150 registration fee. Some of the seasonal residents have multiple carts, so it really is a sizable increase for them. We hope that he doesn't spoil the nice parks that he has built. Of course, the owner just purchased a $2.2 million home on the waterfront here and needs to pay for it somehow.

There are only 3 more days left for us to work. They are pretty short days - 5 hours today, and 6 hours for Friday and Saturday. The countdown is on...