Sunday, August 30 – Shopping and Fun

 

Today we lounged around home in the morning. Then around noon we went to Glen Falls to Walmart to do the shopping. Our shopping experience was uneventful, then home again to put everything away.

Afterward we did a quick straightening on our little home on wheels, I dusted while Jesse vacuumed. We were have Jane and Don over for the evening to play hand and foot, which is a card game for those of you who don’t know.

After that Jesse went out to the truck to remove the totes and board from the back seat so we could drive.

The 4 of us headed to The Lucky Star for some dinner around 4pm. 3 of us had open face sandwiches Don had roast beef, Jesse had hamburger steaks, and I had turkey. Jane had a hamburger, dinner was tasty.

Once we were back at the resort, they went home to get the cards while I fed the boys and set up.

I had some snacks for us to munch on. We have played this game several times and each time there have been differences in the rules, this was no exception. We still enjoyed ourselves very much and the girls won!

I had lemon meringue pie for dessert compliments of Edwards(thaw and serve). It was a lot of fun getting to know these good people better. They are also coming back to Lake George next year and we look forward to spending more time with them.

After they made the long journey next door, we watched Big Brother, There goes the Neighborhood and Design Star before going to bed.

Hugs to everyone.

Saturday, August 29 – Another week down

 

I have been so bad about writing a journal. Working forty hours per week makes it very hard. I wonder what my excuse will be when we leave here at the end of the month. LOL

We finished our work week on a very wet note. It rained all night Friday night and all day Saturday. Jesse had to change clothes when he came home for lunch because he was soaked through.

It hasn’t been very busy in reservations this week, which of course makes the day go by slower. I have been working on a project for my supervisor all week.

We have rental cabins and park model trailers we rent to guest. My project is to be sure the computer has the right information on the sleeping accommodations.  Which means after labor day (when things really get slow) I will be going to each unit to compare it to what the computer says and make sure they agree.

We went out to dinner with two other workamping couples. The restaurant is right around the corner from the resort. It was a very small place and they didn’t take reservations. The area we had to wait was too small for me to be there (claustrophobic) so I stood outside in the rain for awhile. Then they let us go to the back room with drinks to wait for our table, we waited over 1 hour telling stories and laughing. We enjoyed the company and the food very very good.

After returning home we watched a little TV before going off to bed.

Tuesday. August 25 – 2010 Sites

 

The beginning to our work week was pretty uneventful. Ginger went in at noon and Jesse followed at 1PM.

We received our 2010 Schroon Valley Workamper site request form today. It says their goal is to accommodate our requests, but the final assignment will be based on seniority. (Which we have none)

There has been so much talk among the campers about this change to LGSV. Some don’t mind while others are completely not happy. I sure hope the ones that are not happy now, don’t come back next year to make everyone unhappy.

Personally we don’t mind the move….They have committed to having a shuttle to transport us back and forth. The only thing that concerns us are the boys. We need to be able to get to them mid way between our shifts so they can be walked.

Ginger suggested at the meeting last week that we are allowed to have an extra 1/2 hour of lunch break to accomplish this task.

Speaking of boys..here are some cute pictures:

Gator attack

 

See ya down the road

Monday, August 24 – 15 and 5

 

Another exciting week has come to an end.  The weeks just fly by. 15 down and 5 to go, or 105 days down and 35 to go or…wait a minute and I will figure out the hours.  Just kidding, but we are both anxious to get out of here. 

Not a whole lot going on this week.  The theme for the week was Hawaiian Luau.  Saturday nights pig roast was a big hit. They roasted 3 pigs. It did not bring in nearly the amount of guests that Halloween did.   In fact Saturday we had 40 some more check outs than check ins.  I guess things are winding down. 

This week looks to be quite slow with just a few check ins here and there.  The week ends will be moderate but week days slow until Labor Day.  That will be the last hurrah for most people and it will get crazy around here.

Most of the work campers are leaving within a few days of Labor Day so I imagine it will be a bit lonely around here.  Ginger probably won’t get a lot of hours but Jesse will be busy.  Maintenance has a lot to do before they close down Oct. 12th. 

All of the rentals have to be power washed and the log cabins have to be coated or oiled or something like that. 

Equipment has to be shut down and winterized,  all the trailers winterized,  all the water lines drained and blown out 3 times and tons of other stuff.  Jesse will miss some of it but he won’t be able to avoid the pressure washing.

We did not do much for our days off.  Weather was not too cooperative on Sunday so we just hung out in the morning. Then went to a movie in the afternoon.  We went together but we did not see the same movie.  Ginger saw The Time Travelers Wife and Jesse saw District 9.  We both enjoyed our respective shows.

On Monday we gave Mr. B and Buddy a hair cut.  After 2 1/2 hours of that we rationalized Bayer did not look so bad so we skipped him.  His fur is so thick it’s a real chore to cut him so we’ll give him one in a few more days.

Our outdoor carpet feel apart, so Jesse picked it up and trashed it while Ginger vacuumed and mopped the floors inside.

After showers Jesse went for a ride in his golf cart while Ginger made spaghetti amore for dinner.

That’s about all there is to report.  The RV lifestyle is lot like our other life. We just sometime don’t do a lot. Except now we don’t do a lot in different places.

Hugs to everyone and safe travels!

Tuesday August 18 – Meeting on next year

 

We were urged to attend a meeting today at 8am about 2010 work camping.

Jesse and I attended, with about 20 other work camping couples. The meeting was to let us know that next year we would be lodged at our smaller and less crowded camping resort that is about 7 miles down the road instead of here at Lake George Escape (LGE).

Lake George Schroon Valley (LGSV) is in less demand then LGE because it doesn’t have as many amenities.

This will open more FHU 50 amp site here at LGE to rent to our guests, which will hopefully help the companies bottom line.

There were many questions asked, but in large people took the news very well.

Today I spent most of my work time on the phones confirming reservation and taking new ones.

It was a hot and humid day with thunderstorms in the evening.

We sang to Colt on the phone and Jesse talked to him for just a minute, Colt doesn't like talking on the phone.

Once Jesse and I were home at 10pm we just watched TV until time for bed.

August 18 – Colt’s Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

COLT WEBER !!

Colt is our youngest grandson, he is 4 today.

He is all boy, and loves to do things with his Daddy, like wearing his hat and roping.

Here he is learning how to eat

At the zoo with Gramps and GiGi.

Riding horses

Jumping on the trampoline

His 1st birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

Just being so darn cute, and Gramps is cute also.

We love you and miss you much!!

Have a GREAT DAY!

Sunday,August 16 – The cruise

The largest of the Steamboat Company's passenger ships is the Lac du Saint Sacrement.

This 190 foot vessel was so christened in 1989. Now in her 20th year of service, the Lac du Saint Sacrement sets sail on daily luncheon and dinner cruises.

There were 10 of us that set sail with the ship tonight. We boarded around 5:45 and were escorted to our tables. There were six at our table, the three lovely ladies:

Ginger, Jane, and Sandra

Our handsome men: Dave, Don, and Jesse

The equally lovely and handsome 4 sat right next to us

Dave, Rudy, Dottie and Linda

We ordered drinks; coffee, iced tea, and soft drinks were included. Alcoholic beverages were extra. We were told to help ourselves to the buffet.

About this time we could feel the ship moving and we knew had set sail.

They had several salad selection along with fresh fruit to choose from. Dinner was orange glazed chicken, fish, roast beef, roasted red skin potatoes, beans and carrots. Everything was very tasty…. My dinner plate

Our dessert was a 3 layer marble cake with white and dark chocolate for the icing, it was very yummy. It was served to us, so there were no seconds.

Afterwards we all went outside to enjoy the evening. Standing out on the top deck we had a birds eye view of the lake.

Lake George is situated along the historical natural Amerindian path between the valley of the Hudson and that of the St. Lawrence, so lies on the direct land route between Albany, NY and Montreal.

The lake extends about 32 miles on a north-south axis, is quite deep and varies from 1 to 3 miles in width, so it presents a significant barrier to east-west travel.

We all enjoyed watching the shore line and all the beautiful houses along the lake. People were waving to us as we cruised by.

Although the year-round population of the Lake George region is relatively small, the summertime population can swell to over 50,000 residents, especially in the Lake George village region on the south end of the lake.

Here are some young people enjoying the lake.

The beach

Parasailing Water skiing

The Sagamore Hotel

We had a wonderful relaxing time with our friends and enjoyed the evening.

Saturday, August 15 - 2nd Prize

 

Another work week over and we have two days off.

We need time off to recoup. It has been a very long hard week. Halloween is a very busy time here at LGE and the park has been almost full all week.

Friday we had 74 check-outs and 152 check-ins –

Saturday 108 check-outs and 104 check-ins

That’s a lot of people to deal with and a lot of sites to clean up.

85% of the people are happy to be here and on vacations and handle problems well. The other 15%, well to say the least are very irate.

They are fuming about one thing or another -

• No fire ring at their site
• No picnic table at their site
• The rental is not what they saw on line
• They were promised a specific site
• There are too many mosquitoes
• The water pressure is not good
• There is no hot water
• There neighbor is too noisy

In almost all the complaints above they want to be moved. Our solutions are

• We will have maintenance bring you a table and fire ring
• We DO NOT give site numbers, only a site type
• No much we can do about the bugs, you are in nature
• I am sorry about the water, I suggest you take your shower at a later time when it is not so busy
• Quite hours are between 10pm and 8am

There are many more that I can’t think of now, but you get the idea.

What makes it all worth it - are the people that come in and tell you what a GREAT time they have had. The ones that thank you for listening to them and at least trying to solving their concerns or problem. The ones that can’t wait until they come back.

Enough of that.

Here are some pictures from Saturday.. I won 2nd prize for my costume and received $20 to spend at LGE!!!

Some of our hard working maintenance guys filling the wood bin

Hugs to all

Tuesday, August 11- Our Monday

 

We got up at 7am this morning. Jesse walked the boys while Ginger made their breakfast the bed and got dressed.

We have to work today, but don’t go in until 1pm and work until 10pm.

Yesterday we took a trip to Walmart to pick up some supplies. It was a very humid day, the temps were only in the low 80’s.

Once we got home we just continued to relax. Ginger did some laundry, swept the floor, and made dinner, but not much else.

We ended the evening watching TV and computering.

Sunday, August 9 – Nothing Special

 

Another week has gone by and we have survived.   It seems as if the weeks get harder, as far as working, but they are going by faster. Can’t believe we have been here 92 days so far and we only have 48 left.  And then we get to travel!

On Saturday we had 131 check-in and 101 check-outs. Guest Services were very busy, as was Jesse doing site clean-up.

Here are some of the employees dressed for the theme week

We didn’t go on any adventures this week.  Saturday evening we did some Chinese carry out for dinner.  Jesse really liked his but Ginger thought it was just ok.  

After dinner we took the work truck (aka the golf cart) and followed the haunted hay wagon rides around the campground.  As a reminder the theme for the next 2 weeks is Halloween.

Fun & Games had some stops along the route with such things as spooks rising from a coffin and ghouls having a bloody feast.  There were 3  wagons that left 15 minutes apart and we followed the last one.  This of course was the first of 4 separate trips. 

  When the wagons would stop to see a scary site ghosts and ghouls would sneak up on the riders from behind and scare the *##$%#@)(& out of them.  It worked every time.  Many of the guests would get in on the act and jump out from behind bushes along the route to give a little extra scare.  Each rides took about 1/2 hour starting at 9pm with the last trip at 11pm.

Sunday we just vegetated.  We made plans to go to the store and do some other chores.  Even talked of going for a ride into Vermont but we just ended up watching TV or computering. 

Jesse spends so much time on the laptop looking at routes to Indiana,  Missouri, and Colorado,  that by the time we leave there won’t be a need for MapQuest or the GPS because he will have memorized them. Planning our travel is giving Jesse a real bad case of hitch-itch.

The weather has been really gorgeous this past week with sunny skies and pleasant temps.  We have been able to turn off the AC every evening and open the windows.  We even had to break out the blanket for a few nights.  Of course for our days off it is overcast with a little rain but not like the past 3 months. So even though we are getting a little rain on our weekend we can’t complain.

August 9th – Joyce’s Birthday

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

JOYCE !!

Joyce is Ginger’s younger sister.

We hope you have a wonderful fun filled Day!!!

Friday, August 7 – Halloween Week

One of the biggest theme weeks at LGE is Halloween, so popular that they now have made it for 2 weeks. Today was the start of the 1st weekend.

We had 171 check-in and they started arriving at 10am. Now check-in time is 1pm. It was a real challenge getting the people checked-out so the new guests could check–in. We were stacking them up.

I was very tired when I got off at 4:30pm, and I made us a chicken and pasta dish for dinner.

While I was preparing dinner Adam called to say that he is officially engaged to be married. He popped the question and Kim said YES.

We are very excited for them and can’t wait to meet our future daughter-in-law.

After dinner we decided to take a ride in the golf cart to see the decorations of our guests. Two sites in particular that go all out each year. Take a look.

Afterward we went to the bon fire and Smores roast.

This is Jane and Don our co-workers and neighbor with the Smores guy/girl.

WE then went back to sites 912/913 (Halloween central) to see all the decorations in the dark and take pictures, only the pictures didn’t come out too good. Here’s one or two that did.

Stay safe and Hugs to all, See ya down the road.