Got your attention, didn't I? Yeah, I know we weren't on a train, it wasn't midnight but we are here in Georgia!
Arrived at Lake Allatoona, Acworth, Georgia on September 30th. (went on MDA cruise last week but I'll save that for another post!) For our first "jobs" on the road, we have volunteered to be hosts of a day use area and boat ramp at a Army Corps of Engineers lake. We are sharing the job with another host couple, Charles and Sis. Two better people we couldn't have asked for, they've been helpful, friendly and happy to share tips as they have been doing this on and off for many years.
Our first day of work was October 1st. In preparation for this, the ranger, Linda came by and spent a few minutes explaining the ins and outs of locking and unlocking the three gates! What responsibilities we have now.....I'm not sure we can handle this. Basically, 8 AM we open the Galts Ferry Day Use Area gate and lock the overnight boat ramp gate. Then we check to see if all the vehicles pulling trailers have the appropriate credentials displayed on their rear view mirrors. If not, we have an envelope which we leave for them to place $3 in for the use of the ramp. They are on their honor and thats as involved as we get. We walk the area that is set aside for day use only and make sure there are no pets or alcohol being consmed. (I'm not sure that Bob is the one to patrol for alcohol but so far so good) We make three rounds of the park during the day and reverse the procedure with the gates at 6PM. THAT IS IT! We "work" four days on and four days off and can do whatever we want at the campsite between rounds. For this exhausting work, we are given our site for free including all utilities.
Now I need to tell you about our campsite. It is much nicer than I dared to hope. First, there are only the two host sites here so we have alot of privacy and woods around us. The site is paved and has a HUGE cement patio with a corner fire pit, large picnic table, built in grill and a shed to store anything we don't want to put back in the rig or leave outside. The host that was here during the summer season left us some potted geraniums and a garden of begonias at the entrance to our Shangri La! The lake can be seen from here but only in patches until the leaves are off the trees. I will post photos as soon as I figure out how to do that!
Our first four days went quickly just as these next days have and tomorrow its back to "work" again. We have been visited by one of my sisters, Beth and her husband Ron who live within 30 minutes from here. Bob's brother Richard and Marion visited last Thursday and spent the night. That is another advantage-people can visit while we "work" and can even make the rounds with us if they are so inclined. But people, in case you're thinking of coming to see us, remember - Bob is the only one that wears the Volunteer Host hat!
The people that use this park are from all parts of the globe. We've met a man from Nigeria, a woman from Brazil and someone from Harrison, Arkansas. We let everyone in! We've been trying to get our exercize in while working so sometimes we take our bicycles on our rounds. I'm getting pretty good at riding our 7 speed foldable bikes and soon will be able to get it out of first gear.
Some of the every day housekeeping chores keep me busy. I allow 30 minutes for dusting and vacuuming about twice a week, clean the kitchen thoroughly in about 15 minutes and try to keep up with the bathroom on a daily basis.
The televison issue has been somewhat of an Achilles Heel for Bob. We purchased a VuCube before we left Arkansas. This is an extremely lightweight plastic cube the size of a book box. Inside is the antenna which is used to pick up satellite transmission (or reception, I don't know). This cube is a newer version of those little gray dishes you see all over campgrounds. You have the option of mounting to your roof but if there are trees at your site they could block the southern sky and voila' - NO TV. So we opted to get the one that you set up on the ground.
Now, in order to get service you must also subscribe to Dish TV or DirecTV. We have the latter.
Bob spent the better part of last Thursday attempting to set all of this up. I must say, he was diligent and remained calm and collected. I only saw him boot the Cube across the street only once. No, all kidding aside, he got it working and it was wonderful. The only issue that we have now is the unintentional movement of the Cube when the grass sways or the leaves sideswipe it! It is sooooo lightweight that any little thing that repositions the Cube messes with our reception. Bob has had to reprogram (sorry to use that word with Bob) the Cube twice today. Now that he knows what the problem is he has said he has several solutions, none being to kick it across the street again. But the solutions must wait for another day. Bob finally agreed to go to "Doctor in a box" today. (actually a physician's assistant at Walgreens, there are no Walmart clinics) He's had a cold for 4 weeks which has led to bronchitis. We got some meds for him and he should be good to go in 3-4 days. But his Cube solutions will have to wait..........
