Branson, our next WorkCamping Gig

Branson, our next WorkCamping Gig

As I said in our last post, we thought four months in Sarasota would drag on but it went so fast! The last few days there were filled with goodbyes and packing. One of the biggest challenges for borderline hoarders is parting with stuff and even though we did a masterful job of getting rid of stuff, it takes diligence to keep from collecting more but inevitably we still end up with more. Regrettably there are two BIG issues with collecting more stuff...space and weight. So as we begin preparing for the travel north I try to find space for the treasurers we've accumulated over the four months in Sarasota. None the less, we got everything in the rig, well we did have to part with a few things and store a few in Mary's attic. So we're ready to go, and pull out on schedule for our trip north to new adventures.

Brief Stop in Georgia...

We scheduled a stopover in Georgia for RV warranty and service work and some time with friends

and family. RV dealers are not the fastest, getting into them for service work is horrible, it typically takes several weeks to schedule service work and I had scheduled this visit back in December, confirmed in January, again in February and yet again in March as I wanted to make sure we had no problems. We pulled out of Sarasota on Sunday, March 30th so we could have the rig into the dealer early Monday morning for it's annual inspection/service, we wanted to give them a full week to get the needed work done. The trip north was uneventful, we drove 400 miles [a long driving day in an RV] and stopped for the night south of Macon so we would have a short drive on Monday morning to the dealer. After dropping off the coach we headed to Steve & Nancy's in Athens for a wonderful week, they are such gracious hosts and wonderful friends!! During the week we spent time with Erin, Kevin and lots of time with Eli. We visited Dahlonega, saw friends and visited with our small group at Athens Church.

Journey to Branson...

On Monday, April 7th we said our goodbyes to Steve & Nancy and headed to Southern RV to pick up our Redwood for our journey of about 700 miles to Branson for our next workcamping job. As has become the norm, getting everything done while at RV dealers for service is impossible. One of the problems, though more an inconvenience than a problem, there is a place in the floor that pops when you step on it. To fix the problem they have to pull up at least one of the floor tiles and as they told me it would destroy the tile so they would need a replacement tile, well the tiles weren't there, even though I had told them of the issue and even sent info and pictures on the tile, they said they didn't receive them form the manufacturer. None the less everything else was taken care of and we simply didn't have time to wait any longer so we arranged for them to send the tiles to us when they arrived. We hooked up and headed west for our journey to Branson.

All seemed well for about 100 miles until our Tire Monitoring System started screaming and I noticed that one of the tires on the RV had lost pressure, wasn't flat, just had lower pressure so I stopped to check things out. I didn't see any physical signs of trouble so decided to continue on and kept an eye on the monitor to make sure it wasn't getting worse. Well it continued to lose pressure but it was a very slow leak. When I stopped for fuel I refilled the tire and continued on to our stop for the night. When we arrived at the campground we had targeted, the pressure was low again so I refilled the tire. I thought about trying to get it looked at in the morning but decided to just wait till we got to Branson.

We stopped in Tupelo MS, about a 300 mile drive, right off the Natchez Trace Pkwy. After setting up for the night we drove into Tupelo for dinner and then drove around a bit, knowing this was where Elvis was born we decided to look for his house, wasn't hard to find as it's now a Historic Museum and there are street markers giving directions. It was sunset, the place was closed but we stopped and walked around, the house is right across the street from a church. The house is tiny, can't be more than 20 feet wide and 30 feet deep. After exploring the place we headed back to the RV for a quiet evening.

Branson...

The next day I checked the tire, pressure was still good so we continued our trip, about 400 miles and got to Branson in the late afternoon. The tire continued to lose air, very slowly and we topped it off when we stopped for fuel.

After our introductions with the staff on duty we were escorted to our site and set up.  We had indicated that we wanted a site with no trees so we could get our satellite TV to work without obstruction so we were assigned a site with no trees. The way this park is laid out they place the hookups [water, electric, sewer] between two sited and the RV's park with the fronts opposing, the RV next to us was less than 10 feet away so we could walk out our door and down our steps, take one step and walk up the streps to the RV next to us. We ere here for four months so this was not going to work...so the negotiations began. We started looking for other sites in the park that would still allow us a clear sky for satellite but would give us some space, allow us to put our our awnings, etc. We found a couple of sites and then started researching the availability of these sites. The one we focused on had a few campers booked into it but the renters had not requested the site so we figured where we could move them to to open the spot for us. Then we went to the manager and presented our proposal, she wasn't happy but didn't have an argument because we had done all the work for her...given the ok we moved to the site. Far from ideal, it was still better than where we were and the TV worked! We were set...at least for the moment. More later...

Branson is an interesting place. A small town on the shore of Lake Taneycomo, really the White River but dammed on both ends and a series of lakes, it is a show town. There are over thirty theaters here, over 100 different shows to choose from. There are at least 10-15 amusement parks, mini-golf, go carts, rides and then there is Silver Dollar City, much like Dollywood or Six Flags, they have an abundance of roller coasters, rides and shows.

Branson Lakeside RV Park is a city owned campground on the shore of Lake Taneycomo. The park is nice, has about 150 sites with full hookups but has no amenities other than cable TV and WiFi. Most of the campers are here to fish or go to shows or both. Many come here annually, a quirky bunch, several want the same spot every year even though you can't reserve specific spots. The staff does try to put folks where they want to be but no guarantees. Still there are some who get upset if they don't get the spot they request. Many of the sites are very close together and orientated so that the doors of the rigs are door-to door. The campground is managed by a very friendly couple, Jim & Sherrell who have been there for 8 years, there are two assistant manager couples, Denise & Carl and Larry & Ruthie and a number of workcampers. The women work in the office, the men work outside assisting with parking rigs and light maintenance. The number of workcampers on staff varies depending on the season with summer being the busiest. We got to Branson in the transition period, the winter workers were finishing up while we summer workers were training.

As mentioned before, the site we moved to was better than the first but was by no means ideal. When the winter workers left we scored a much better site, in my opinion one of the best in the park, satellite reception, lots of space, partially shaded!!! Herw we were able to put out the awnings, our outdoor mat, the outdoor chairs and the BBQ grill.

We met some wonderful people in Branson, mostly workcampers, some campers. We worked with several couples from all over the country: Joe & Gloria who are full timers from Colorado, Roger & Gail, full timers from Pennsylvania; Lloyd & Patty who are still in their home in Florida; Ron & D'Les who are still in a house in Texas [they are selling their home and plan to fulltime]; Fred & Kathleen, full timers from Illinois, John & Jo who split their time between RV and a boat in the Florida Keys, George & Ruby, full timers from North Carolina; Doug & Sue, full timers from California; Jerry & Debbie, full timers from Michigan and Dudley & Sherrie who are full timers from Texas . All wonderful people who we throughly enjoyed spending time with. Gloria & Joe, Roger & Gail, Lloyd & Patti, Carl & Denise, John & Jo as well as Ruth & I all spend the winter in Florida so we will try to arrange a get together next winter.

Because the park is owned by the city the workers are considered "residents" and are afforded both local resident and hospitality worker privileges. This means we got to go to most shown in town at no cost, the rest at greatly reduce cost. Restaurants that discount meals substantially!! Ruth and I had a ball and went to over 60 shows during our time there.

While in Branson we ventured out in the area and visited many interesting places, College of the Ozarks [Hard Work U] where students work for their tuition. A small Christian college of approximately 1,600 students, each student works 16 hours per week in a variety of jobs to pay their tuition. They can also work the summer, 40 hours per week, to pay for their room & board during the school year. A student here can get a college education for no cost...amazing!!  
Top of the Rock, a golf and dining facility with a Heritage Museum is on a ridge overlooking Table Rock Lake. We're not golfers but were told to visit this place...the architecture and views are stunning!!! 

We ventured down to Eureka Springs AR to see the Great Passion Play, the place to relive The Greatest Story Ever Told! This outdoor theatre has a set of Jerusalem of Christ's time and they relive the final week in Christ's life.

From there we journeyed down to Bentonville to visit the WalMart and Crystal Bridges museums. 

Branson is the most patriotic and Faith Based towns that we have ever visited. Every show we attended took the opportunity to recognize Veterans, most made a very elaborate ceremony, some recognizing the vets from each branch of the military individually. Christian faith is celebrated very openly, many of the shows devoting a segment to faith based music.

We found a wonderful church in Branson, Woodland Hills Family Church who have a wonderful praise band and the pastor, Ted Cunningham, delivered very powerful messages each week. His message is very much like Andy Stanley's who he proclaims as one of his mentors. It was with great sadness that we left Woodland Hills who truly lived up to being a Family church.

We were blessed during the last couple of weeks in Branson by a visit from Eli. Erin and Kevin sent him off from Athens with her dad, David and Tim who met us half way in Memphis where we took over the trip back to Branson. We had a ball, his mission was to play every mini-golf course in Branson, though we didn't get to them all we did get to over 10 of them. In addition we took him to a couple of shows theme parks, Silver Dollar City and countless hours of video games. 

Larry & Ruthie had their grandson, Clint, visiting while Eli was with us, the boys hit it off and were inseparable.   It worked out well, when we were working Eli would stay with Clint and when Larry & Ruthie worked we would watch Clint. 

The end of July came quickly, Eli was having a ball, Ruth and I were exhausted but loving the time with him but we had to start weening him from the constant activity. Though he was not happy about not being able to go, go, go he did settle down and was a big help in getting packed and ready to go. He was also getting anxious to see mom and dad so leaving was a little easier knowing mom would be at the end of the long drive to Chicago to pick him up and take him back to Georgia. As our time in Branson came to an end we said our goodbyes to all our new friends and hit the road heading north.


Next up... The 2014 Big Summer Adventure

Sarasota Florida, warm and sunny weather...

On our last post we had finished our first SOWER project at Toccoa Falls College and had moved to Fort Yargo State Park in Winder GA for the week of Thanksgiving 2013. The weather was exceptionally cold during our final week in Georgia so we were anxious to head south to warm, sunny Florida... for four months!!!

We visited Sarasota in December/January 2012 just after ordering our RV and while there we visited almost every campground in the area looking for a place to stay this winter. RV campgrounds south of Tampa on the west coast fill up very quickly and it is very difficult to find a place for long term rental unless you reserve it a year in advance so we did, we put a deposit on a campsite before we left Florida to return to Athens the year before.

The trip south was uneventful, we traveled to Ocala FL the first day. We have good friends, Tim & Barb Connor who live outside Ocala with two of their three their boys,  Jonathan and Timmy [their oldest is married and doesn't live at home]. After setting up the coach for the night we went to visit them and had a wonderful visit. The next day, Sunday December 1st, we met the Connor's at their church with home in tow and after the service got a chance to see Timmy's Eagle project, an amazing log building they constructed that is used as the youth center for the church. It is the most impressive Eagle project I have ever seen, or know of and I have seen many!! To get an idea of the magnitude of this project click here

After saying our goodbyes we finished our trip south to Sarasota, actually Nokomis which is between Sarasota and Venice, to Royal Coachman RV Resort. Royal Coachman is a very nice campground with over 800 sites, more than half of which are park models [semi permanent RV like units]. The property was a pine tree farm back in the day so much of the property is still shaded by pines, other parts of the park shaded by big oaks. Our site was covered by both, very shady but impossible to get satellite TV.

This park is HUGE and they have more activities than anyone could ever try to do, tennis, horseshoes, aerobics, dinners, cards, bingo, etc... There is something going on pretty much all waking hours if you want to participate. The pool was heated, sometimes too warm but was very nice and large.

The people here were wonderful but most winter here every year and have their own little groups so it was difficult to socialize with them, after a few attempts we just gave up. This was not a problem though because we have family and friends in Sarasota so we spend much of our time outside the park. There is so much to do in the area, Ruth and I had no problems staying busy.

Southwest Florida is loaded with fresh water rivers emptying into the Gulf and the kayaking is wonderful. Ruth's aunt, Mary McClendon, is an avid kayaker and she graciously offered to let us tag along with the group she paddles with. Mary has two kayaks, I bought one for myself and Ruth used Mary's second boat. Mary's group paddles almost every Monday so we joined them on many occasions. We experienced some beautiful rivers and also paddled the bays between the mainland and barrier islands of the Gulf...what spectacular sights. Birds, gators, beavers grasses, mangroves, beaches, plenty of warm sunshine and friends... all in all a great time!!

Christmas in Florida

I grew up in Miami, spent much of my life in South Florida and I remember Christmas differently than the norm for many of snow, cold, sleighs, warm clothes and hot chocolate. Christmas in Miami was shorts, flip-flops, palm trees and warm weather. As a kid I was always longing for what the rest of the country was experiencing and one of the biggest motivators for my moving to Georgia was to experience the seasons...and to celebrate the Christmas season with cold weather, snow [rarely], warm clothes, etc. Well...now I'm over it, I'll take the sun and flip-flops anytime!!!

For the past two years we have spent Christmas in South Florida, 2011 in Ft. Myers and 2012 in Sarasota. Ruth planned Christmas 2013 in an amazing house right on the Siesta Key beach, a short walk out the door and you're on the beach. Erin, Kevin & Eli traveled down with David & Tim to join us for a week on the beach where we spent Christmas. It was fun for me to spend Christmas on the beach and for a very nice change it was warm, too cold for Ruth or I to swim but not Eli, Kevin and Tim [crazy boys]! Unfortunately 

Lydia and Dean could not join us, they were both working and couldn't get time off but we did get to see them in January, even if only for a couple of days.

Christmas dinner was a great time and we shared the celebration with family and friends. We all got to spend as much time on the beach as we wanted and when tired or in need of refreshments we could scoot back to the house so easily.

Eli had a ball and as usual it was almost impossible to keep him off the beach. He also got to know what we in South Florida try to avoid...those awful sand-spurs or stickers. Anyone who has spent time down here knows what these nasty little things are...I think I still have some embedded under my skin from when I was a kid!! 

Our family time together came to an end way too soon, a week can fly by so quickly when enjoying time with loved ones but before we knew it the week was over and it was time to say goodbye and everyone left to rerurn to the freezing climate of Georgia... well not everyone, Ruth and I returned to our RV for a rest before heading to Chicago for a New Years Eve wedding.

Did you say Chicago...in the winter???

Ruth and I met through Joe & Lisa Hanrahan, Ruth lived in the same neighborhood as Joe & Lisa and played tennis with them. I knew Joe through the Boy Scouts, his son Brendan as one of the Scouts in the Troop I was the Scoutmaster of, Joe was one of my Assistants. Joe suggested to me that I would hit it off with Ruth...well the rest you know.

Brendan met Tamara in DC where he was going to school for his Masters and PhD. Tamara is from Chicago and when they decided to marry they brilliantly decided to marry on New Years Eve...in Chicago!!!

When Ruth and I were going through all of our clothing before moving to the RV we thought we would never need winter clothing, at least not the kind you would need for COLD weather so we got rid of it all. After learning that the wedding would be in Chicago, in the winter, we knew we were in trouble...nothing to keep us warm so we hit the thrift stores in Sarasota [you can find anything in the thrift stores in SW Florida], problem solved and rather inexpensively. 

So we're off to Chicago for the wedding, we arrive to snow, lots of snow, cold, really cold!!! We figure we'll take advantage of being in Chicago and make plans to spend some time with another one of Ruth's cousins, Karen and her husband George who live in Oak Brook, one of the Chicago suburbs. 

Thanks to Spirit Airlines we arrive late for the rehearsal party but arrive in time for evening libations at the hotel on the 30th. The next day we head out of the hotel for breakfast in downtown Chicago, it is freezing, literally but we're here and we'll make the most of it so after a wonderful breakfast we decide to take a walk down by the lake which is frozen! 

After our lakeside adventure we head back to the hotel to thaw and get ready for the wedding. After dressing for the wedding we head down to the lobby where we meet several of our Lilburn friends and load up on the bus to travel to the church for the ceremony. Wow, it's really snowing now, earlier while we were frolicking by the lake their were light flurries, now its snowing hard. We get to the church, wow again, this place is beautiful, an old Chicago Polish Catholic church, very ornate. The wedding, a full mass in both english and polish was quite nice, and long, but the ceremony was beautiful, as were the wedding party. Now back to the bus, the snow in the parking lot is now over our ankles, we load up for the ride back to the hotel and a quick break before boarding the bus again to go to the reception at the Chicago History Museum. This was quite the affair and we welcomed in the New Year before catching a bus back to the hotel. While riding back we saw fireworks over Navy Pier bringing in the New Year...nice touch!

The next morning Karen and George pick us up at the hotel and we head out of the city to the burbs.

It's snowing again, probably over a foot of snow since we've arrived but the roads are in good shape and the trip to their home is uneventful. Karen and George have a  beautiful home and are such gracious hosts, they make us so comfortable and fed us like royalty! We're here till the 6th so we talk about things to do if it quits snowing and took a quick walk around the block while near freezing. Two things happen...it doesn't stop snowing and Ruth gets the flu and spends almost the entire time in bed. Both George and Karen do their best to entertain me while I keep checking on Ruth who is sleeping day and night. It's still snowing, George tells me he usually has his driveway cleared once or twice a week, while we're there it's done every day and it's still building up. On the day before we're scheduled to head home Ruth emerges from the crud, she is out of bed for the first time in 3 days, weak and weary but alive. On the day we are to leave the snow lets up, it's -17º on the way to the airport but not snowing. We're at the airport in plenty of time and luckily the plane arrived the night before, after a nightmare wait for the inept Spirit Airlines ticket counter we finally get on the plane, de-ice, taxi, de-ice and takeoff for the warmth of Florida. We found out after arriving that we were the last flight out of Chicago...thank you God!!!

A Bit of Sadness in Our Adventure

Shortly after Christmas we went to Tampa for the Tampa Supershow, the biggest RV show I've ever seen. We went there in 2012 while we were still searching for our rig and were blown away by the size of this event. This year there were several things going on including a gathering of Redwood owners, we would all camp together, go to the show and spend time together in the evenings. The day we arrived, after setting up, our friends from St. Augustine arrived and after setting up they came over for snacks and such. They had their granddaughter with them and she saw Tom so Ruth told her we had another cat and went into the bedroom to look for her. Our little Toonces was lying on the floor and appeared to be sleeping but when Ruth picked her up she discovered that she had passed. Toonces had been with us since 1999, I'll always remember when we got her, it was right after we returned home from Danny's graduation in California. She had been with us for fourteen years and was a big part of our family...we will miss her sweet demeanor and loving personality. RIP sweet Toonces!!!

Disney World

Ever since Erin announce she was pregnant with Eli, Ruth has been dreaming of taking him to Disney World. She scraped and saved for this occasion and spent an incredible amount of time researching and planning this trip. Between the time we returned home from the beach and our trip to Orlando she was either looking at books, brochures and the web looking for information for this trip. By the time we were ready to go she had the entire trip planned with so many options and choices that the journey was wonderful.

In early February we traveled up to Disney World, to Fort Wilderness, the Disney campground. Just a month since we saw Erin, Kevin and Eli they traveled back to Florida to meet us for 4 days in Disney. To say that Eli was excited would be an understatement though I'm not sure who was more excited, Ruth or Eli, well both but for different reasons!! 

The day we arrived it was a rainy and cold so we were a little concerned and spent the day in the 

campground. The weather for the remainder of the trip was perfect, sunny and warm, perfect weather. we spent four days in the park, the first day on The Magic Kingdom, the second in Epcot, the third in Animal Kingdom and finally in Hollywood Studios on the fourth and final day. Each day we left the rig as early as we could get everyone ready and fed and didn't return until well after dark. Eli had such a good time and ran so hard that he would crash as soon as we returned home if not on the way back. To say we were exhausted is an understatement, we were not far behind Eli in crashing, the days were long with little rest along the way. In hindsight we should have planned at least one down day so we could take a break from the madness of the crowds. The next morning we said our goodbyes and Erin, Kevin and Eli returned to Georgia while Ruth and I headed to Tampa to spend the weekend with the Manateean Sams RV Club, a group of RV'ers from Southwest Florida who meet monthly in different RV parks around the area. We had a nice quiet weekend with friends before heading back to Royal Coachman for some peace and quiet.

Back in Sarasota...the simple life

We settled back into our quiet life of paddling and cycling. Right outside the park is the Legacy Trail, an old abandoned railroad track that has been converted into a 12 mile bicycle path. The trail begins in Sarasota and ends in Venice, it is a wonderful ride through the palmetto forests and mangroves and is a joy to ride on. We typically rode on this trail a couple times a week and spend most Mondays kayaking.

In late February Ruth's cousin Carol and her husband Ron came to Sarasota from Colorado to visit Mary. Both Carol and Ron are very active in outdoor sports, they cycle, run, paddle so we spent most of the time they were here paddling and riding and an occasional beverage. As always it's a joy to spend time with them. 

While they were here Ruth and Mary planned a family reunion for all or their aunts, uncles and cousins living here in Florida. Mary, Ruth, Carol and Ron spent hours preparing food and munchies for the occasion.

Ruth has not seen many of her Florida relatives for years, so everyone spent hours catching up, eating and having a wonderful time, I got a chance to meet her relatives and learn all their secrets about Ruth!!

In South Florida winter vegetables and fruit are a big thing. There is an abundance of yummy things to eat and strawberries are the thing in the spring. Every year the area is red with strawberries and Florida likes to celebrate like all other places so of course there is an annual Strawberry Festival in Plant City outside Tampa. As soon as we saw that Third Day was playing we made reservations for their show, the day arrived and we set off for Plant City. It was a miserable rainy day but we were not going to miss the show so we resolved ourselves and dressed for the nasty weather. When we arrived it was raining, buckets of rain, a hard rain but we sucked it up and went in, we went from tent to tent trying to stay as dry as possible. All of a sudden we noticed the rain was slacking off and before long it was gone...clear skies and sunshine!!! 

Ive never seen so many strawberries and of course they have a make your own strawberry shortcake, so we did!! Add am much strawberry and/or whipped cream as you dare to put in the bowl, you get the idea...lots of strawberries. Along with the food and carnival rides they also have music, good music. 

The day we went we knew Third Day would be playing but we also got to see The Oak Ridge Boys who still today are a sight to see.

I'm not a big fan of driving at night anymore so I try to avoid having to travel long distances if I can avoid it, but for Third Day I'll make exceptions, after the show let out we made our way back to the truck and inched our way back to the freeway for the long drive back home. It was so worth it!!

When we planned this trip we wondered whether four months was too long, what in the world would we do for that long, would we get bored? The four months here flew by, as we approached mid March the realization set in that we would be leaving Florida soon but not before making a trip to the east coast, to Vero Beach to visit Dana and Dianne Cox. I went to high school with Dianne and we were the best of friends. We drove over on the weekend before we left Sarasota and had a wonderful time with them...a great way to end a fantastic WARM winter that was brutal for our friends in the rest of the country. 

After returning to Sarasota we said our goodbyes to friends and family and prepared for our next journey... another workcamping adventure in Branson MO.

We left Royal Coachman on March 30th in route for Atlanta/Athens.

Next up... Branson, our next WorkCamping Gig

Toccoa Falls College... our First SOWER's Project

Most everyone who know Ruth and I know we are Followers of Jesus. In some circles we use the term Christians but truly we are Followers of Jesus. One of our major concerns when deciding to full time was fulfilling our desire to attend church and living up to our spiritual commitment of serving. In a community you typically connect with a single church and in that church you find your niche in serving others, it could be prayer ministry, mission work [local, interstate or international], even service to the church itself. As a fulltime RV'er you no longer have that connection as you are moving around.

In researching and preparing for our life change we discovered a group called SOWERS, a Christian RV ministry who serve other non-profit Christian organizations, the work is mainly construction related work, building, restoration, remodeling or a combination of some of each. SOWER's projects are 3 weeks, you travel to the project, they provide an RV site, and you provide service to them in exchange for the site.

On November 1st 2013 we left Yogi in the Smokies after three exhausting months. The drive from Cherokee NC to Toccoa GA was not long, only about two hours and we arrived at Toccoa Falls College. After finding the RV lot we met the other three couples we would be working with and began setting up and settling in. The college, a private Christian college is a beautiful, small campus.

The campus is built at the base of Toccoa Falls and they have approximately 800 students who are from all around the world. They also serve Christian missionaries who visit the campus fro retreats and sabbaticals where they can have some much needed down time from the mission field.

The Project

We began work the following Monday, each week you commit to work a total of 24 hours, 6 hours a day, 4 days a week [Monday thru Thursday] Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are free time. Each workday begins with a Daily Devotional, each SOWER couple takes turns in starting the workday with a thought, scripture and perhaps a discussion on something that is meaningful and to give Thanks to our Lord. After devotion time the workday begins. With SOWER projects the men typically do some type of construction related work while the women, if they so choose will do some other work. On this project the men were to tear off an old flat rubber roof that had water damage and replace it with a pitched metal roof. The women kept busy with cleaning, painting, sorting and a variety of other work.

Those of you who know me, you know my construction skills are pretty minimal, my life work was mostly professional, office type work so this was brand new to me!!! Luckily the other men in the group knew how to do this work and were more than patient in helping guide me along. I found the work rewarding and eventually learned some new skills which I'm sure I'll use again in future work projects.

In our spare time, our days off, we traveled to Athens to spend time with Erin, Kevin and Eli, always a treat. We even arranged for a work afternoon off to spend time at Eli's school for Grandparents Day!! We also got to spend an afternoon with dear friends; Steve & Nancy and Jim & Peggy whom we hadn't seen in quite some time, a lunch with them is always fun.

When we were in Cherokee we took a trip to Pigeon Forge to go to the Dixie Stampede, while we were there I promised Ruth I'd take her back to go to Dollywood so we went back up for our anniversary. It was a beautiful time, the park was all decorated for Christmas, we really enjoyed the weekend.
We got to spend some time in our old home town Dahlonega where Gary & Christy Greenwald graciously hosted us for a Saturday evening so we could  attend church at our home church, Dahlonega UMC and visit with our church friends!!

These three weeks, although physically challenging, were a pure joy and the time went way too quickly. The folks at the college were so wonderful and they closed out our time with a wonderful luncheon where we all ate too much!! Goodbyes were exchanged with the college staff and then amongst the SOWER couples and we were off...

Thanksgiving 2013

When we left Toccoa Falls we traveled a short distance to Fort Yargo State Park in Winder GA. We chose this park because of its proximity to family and friends, located about halfway between Atlanta and Athens it served well to spending time with family and friends. It was very cold in north Georgia while we were here, the night temperatures were in the teens and twenties, daily highs were in the forties and fifties so we didn't spend a whole bunch of time exploring, when we weren't visiting we stayed snuggled in the coach!!!

 We did get to visit the kids, we spent lots of time with Eli thus giving Erin & Kevin a break and spent Thanksgiving with the Hanrahan's, Joe & Lisa and the Burchik's, Mike & Nancy. We have been spending Thanksgiving with them for many years so we were glad to be able to continue the tradition again this year. Dinner at the Hanrahan's is always a treat, they both love to cook and we both love to eat...a perfect match!!! Dinner is always finished off with more deserts than should be allowed and of course I have to sample all of them!!!

We finish off the week with a trip to see Santa with Eli...this year he actually wanted to sit with Santa, up until now he would freak out and not go sit with him...guess he's figured out there's booty involved with this ritual!!!

We got our fill of cold weather, North Carolina started getting chilly the last couple of weeks of October, it was chilly while in Toccoa Falls and downright cold while at Ft Yargo so we weren't sad to leave the cold... not so with family and friends!!!

Reluctantly we say our goodbyes to all, got our propane tanks refilled [boy did we go through lots of gas heating the coach during the cold weather] and pack up our stuff for our journey to the sunshine of Sarasota Florida. We both really looked forward to warm weather, beaches and Florida family and friends!!

Next up... Sarasota Florida, warm and sunny weather!!

Yogi in the Smokies... our first WorkCamping Job

Setting the stage...

Prior to going fulltime we decided to spend part of our time on the road working in campgrounds. There were two reasons we wanted to do this; first to help offset the costs and second, to meet like-minded fulltime campers.

We learned of a couple of online resources that facilitate workcamping. These websites allow workcampers to post a resume with skills and work preferences, typically for a fee though some are at no cost. Employers also subscribe and can post jobs as well as view/review work camper resumes. We posted a resume on a few sites and low and behold received several offers for work, both by phone and email!!!

One on the first to call was Yogi in the Smokies, a Yogi Jellystone park in Cherokee NC.

Coincidently this call came soon after we were told by Ruth's doctor that we needed to stay close to Atlanta for a time. If you recall, we had originally planned to go to New England when I finished up at The Summit in West Virginia. So we get a call offering us a position to work in housekeeping from August - October 2013. Housekeeping was not our first priority, well maybe our last, but it was an offer, it was close and it was a job!!!

So after I get back from West Virginia, and after a few final days in Georgia we pack up the rig and head north to Cherokee.

The Campground...

Yogi in the Smokies is an older campground, it was started back in the 1940's or 50's. Located on the Oconaluftee River about 8 miles northeast of Cherokee in the middle of ...nowhere!! The campground is pretty and caters to kids and fishermen, tubing the river is big in the warm months as there is an endless stream of tubers floating the river all day long. Once a park exclusively setup for tents and RV's it now has over 40 cabins ranging from primitive [no restroom] to two bedroom all intermingled throughout the campground. Being at a higher elevation and close to thriver the summer temperatures were never hot, this was a nice change from the brutal heat in the low lands.

Cherokee NC is an active Indian Reservation, home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and is nestled deep in the Great Smokey Mountains adjacent to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The terrain is beautiful, there is so much natural beauty in this area BUT... the area is depressed, backwards in so many ways. The tourist economy is thriving all around the area but not so much in Cherokee. Of course there is a casino and it is always busy but the downtown area is full of old, cheap tourist trap souvenir shops selling fake Indian trinkets from China...very sad. At least on this visit some of the "photo op" stops where you can have your picture taken with a REAL Indian had Native People dressing in traditional Cherokee dress, some though were still wearing the Plains Indian dress, e.g. bonnets, breastplates & loin cloth.

The Job...

Ruth and I began work the day after arrival, the campground had three bath houses and over 40 cabins. There were three couples assigned to housekeeping though most days only two couples worked. We were scheduled to work five days a week, we had Wednesdays and Thursdays off. After a couple of weeks we asked the camp manager for Sunday mornings off so we could attend church. After a couple of weeks we found LifeWay Community Church in Sylva, a wonderful church that met in the high school cafeteria. It is amazing how much having just this little break in our week brought so much fulfillment, we looked forward to Sunday mornings for our spiritual boost!!

The work was HARD, exhausting and most days we worked we drug ourselves into the RV, ate a quick frozen dinner and fell into bed. As our time moved on the work slowed a little, the crowds slowed as we moved into September but that was short-lived, at the end of September one of the housekeeping couples left so there were only two couples working and we were "deep cleaning" the cabins, readying the campground for the winter shutdown. This entailed a thorough floor to ceiling cleaning of everything in the cabins.

The Area...

There were some interesting points in Cherokee, around town there were a number of bear statues all painted differently by local artists. I'm told there are fifteen in total but we never found all of them. While searching for the bears we also discovered many statues and sculptures, the one that really moved me was Transformation Through Forgiveness, a beautiful bronze with a very powerful unspoken message to all people.

They also have a play, Unto These Hills, a very good outdoor play depicting the struggle of the Cherokee people and the brutal removal of these peaceful native people during the Trail of Tears. There is also a Cherokee museum showing much of the history of the region and it's Native People.

The novelty of visiting Cherokee on our days off wore off quickly and after a few weeks we rarely visited town instead driving through to get onto the highway to visit other towns in the area where we could at least find a WalMart to shop for groceries and necessities.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is very close to the park so we cruised it a few times, we also visited the National Park several times and it was interesting to see the changes as the seasons changed from summer to fall.

One of the real perks of being in the area was visiting our daughter Lydia and her boyfriend Dean. When we first arrived in Cherokee they were living and working in Cashiers NC which was quite a trek from Cherokee but they relocated to Asheville shortly after we arrived so we visited with them as often as we could. We also visited with Ruth's college roommate Wendy and her husband Bob on Waynesville when we could.

As we approached fall the crowds dwindled...until the beginning of October! This park has an unbelievable following, many of the families who come here have been doing so for years, we met families who have been coming to the park for over 20 years, now bringing grandchildren. The park celebrates Halloween EVERY weekend in October and the park fills up again as the leaves first change and then fall. As mid October came upon us we were treated by a visit from Erin and Eli as well as our good friends Tom & Tammy with their granddaughter Haley. While they were there we celebrated Halloween in a big way!!!

As the end of October approached we were so ready to move on, the weather was cold and dreary, the work had worn on us and we were anxious to move on to new adventurers. We busied ourselves with preparing for the move by cleaning the RV from top to bottom, scrubbing the roof, washing the exterior and putting away all the treasures we had accumulated over the past three months. As departure day arrived we hooked up the rig to the truck and headed away toward our first SOWER project on Toccoa GA... so long Yogi and Cherokee!!!



Next up... Toccoa Falls College 

The Early Days of 2013

Out first several months on the road were spent adapting to our new lifestyle. There were many adjustments...physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Going from firm footing and the security of a home now referred to as "Sticks and Bricks" to our new moving home referred to as "Rubber and Resin". I can't tell you the extent of these emotions, one minute elated, the next scared to death. Lots of prayers...and waiting for answers, without the direction of God we would not be on this adventure as He is always providing us direction. It's hard enough making the adjustment from working to retirement, through on top of that the uncertainty of an unknown lifestyle, being away from your children and grandchildren, friends, church and for me the anxiety of walking away from the many activities I was involved, especially the Boy Scouts!

Below are the chronicles of our early roaming... We start at the beginning

Duckett Mill [CoE] Gainesville GA  May 23-27, 2013

Our first stop was at Duckett Mill, a Army Corps of Engineer [CoE] park on Lake Lanier outside of Gainesville GA. This is a beautiful park on the shore of Lake Lanier. A rather large campground that we had frequented many times while living in Dahlonega. It was convenient for us as well for our girls and their families and we've had lots of family get-togethers here, some magic even occurred here...ask about it!
We had camped here in April shortly after picking up the coach and this trip was wonderful, we had the kids with us and had a great time spending time on the playground with Eli, swimming and boating. We both got busy in our spare time getting stuff organized and getting settled in to our new home. We would have stayed here longer but due to government cutbacks they decided to make this park a weekend-only park in 2013 so we were forced to move after Memorial Day.

We originally planned to go back to Bogart after leaving Duckett Mill until June 1st but decided it was pointless and quite frankly I dreaded having to park the rig  at that house!!

Old Federal [CoE] Flowery Branch GA   May 27-June 15, 2013

 We were going to start at Old Federal on June 1st so we extended our stay and started on May 27th. This was really our first stop where just the two of us were in the coach ... no kids...no grandson, just the two of us [we did have visits from the kids but they weren't staying with us in the rig]. This too is a beautiful park on Lake Lanier, this one closer to Atlanta. Old Federal is an older park, more open, less trees but still very beautiful. Still more settling in, sorting, reorganizing and tossing...we're getting close to our final prep for venturing out to the big country we wish to explore and enjoy. We had our first weather scare while at Old Federal...a lazy warm afternoon when out of nowhere a thunderstorm came up and blew in from across the lake. We had both the awnings out and the wind gusted, I thought the awnings would be torn off the coach and the wind was so strong I couldn't get them in until the wind died down...luckily the awnings have gas struts to absorb the shock load from wind and there was no damage...we learned a good lesson though, the awnings come in when winds are expected, even if we are home!!

Oconee State Park [South Carolina State Park] Mountain Rest SC  June 15-21 2013

This was to be our first real test while towing. Our trip up to Oconee was both exciting and dreaded, we were both excited to be going to see Lydia, our youngest daughter who was working in Cashiers NC with her boyfriend Dean, the dread was mine as we were pulling the 10 ton rig up and around curvy mountain roads in route to our destination. We had visited the campground on an earlier visit to Cashiers so I knew we would be able to navigate the roads but the site we had reserved was, what I believed to be too small. I was right but luckily there were other sites available that we could fit in. The first site we chose was very cramped but we were able to relocate to a much better site the next day. Oconee is a beautiful park in the foothills of the Blue Ridge with lots of lush vegetation, a lake and wonderful streams. While here we visited Lydia and Dean a couple of times both at the restaurant they were managing, Dean as the head chef and Lydia as the pastry chef and at their magnificent home. We also explored the countryside finding many beautiful waterfalls in the surrounding area. 

Paines Creek [CoE] Hartwell GA  June 22-July 02 2013

Back to Georgia, this time on Lake Hartwell to a smaller CoE park, more primitive than the parks on Lake Lanier. We had never camped on Hartwell so why not? Back within range of our older Daughter, Erin, her husband Kevin and Eli, our grandson we enjoyed time with them on several occasions. Spending time swimming, at the playground and Eli's favorite pastime...mini golf. I spent time preparing for my trip to the BSA Jamboree to be held in July, trying to wrap-up all loose ends before heading off to West Virginia and getting everything a ready as possible with the rig for Ruth who would spend most of July on her own in the rig.

Lake Lanier Islands Resort's Blue Ridge Campground [Private] Buford GA July 02-August 01 2013

One final move before I leave for the Jamboree. We wanted to be at a campground with sewer hookups so Ruth wouldn't have to deal with THAT while I was gone. Lake Lanier Islands campground was at one time a very nice park but no-more. Though the rest of the resort is pristine, the campground has been neglected, the roads are deteriorating, much of the campground has been closed and abandoned, what is open is run down. We got settled into a site that was adequate. After getting settled in and making sure Ruth is comfortable with all the system operations of the coach I head off to the Jamboree  on July 6th.
To the left is a photo of one of the venues I managed at the Jamboree. In total, we had 14 venues which I helped coordinate the building, staffed and trained. during the Jamboree we served over 30,000 young men and women, without a single significant injury, with a staff in the neighborhood of ~600 people, an accomplishment I am very proud of. I by no means did it all, it was the work of many, many people all working together for a common goal of serving the children of BSA. Now that this final task is complete I can breath a sigh of relief though I am sad too to be walking away from a chapter of my life that was so very dear to me.



While I'm away Ruth spends most of her time with Erin and Eli, I think Eli spent the entire time I was gone with her.  Despite an almost daily torrential downpour  they managed to spend every day at the water park and beach, all part of the resort. Of course there were regular visits to mini golf too!! They had a wonderful time together along with Erin and Kevin they shared some very dear moments, ones they all will remember for a very long time.


On my return to Georgia I jumped right in with the daily routine  of water park, mini golf and beach life though it was short lived as out time to move on was quickly approaching. 

Before our departure for our first workcamping assignment, we had dinner with our dear friends Nancy & Steve Moorman which we were both looking forward to. We hadn't seen them for a couple of months. When we arrive at the restaurant Nancy  is holding a package...this is the end of July so I'm wondering what she could have?  Much to my surprise...it was a comforter for an early birthday gift [my birthday is in August]. Ruth and Nancy had conspired to make this beautiful blanket from many of my old Boy Scout t-shirts. [Remember that I gave away several hundred shirts, among many other scout related items when we were cleaning out our old home]. Ruth had gathered the shirts used in the quilt without my knowledge and given them to Nancy several months before, Nancy spent so much time putting this together and I was overwhelmed by their love, knowing how much this would mean to me. I am forever grateful of this beautiful gift.

But now our time in Georgia has come to an end, we are packing up everything in preparation for the next phase of our adventure. The RV is readied, the truck is packed, goodbye's given to family and friends...and we're off to Cherokee NC.

Next up... Yogi in the Smokies