The sign is up, and we are ready for business!
I must say, it was quite nice 'waking up to the sun' once again. That's what I call it, but here in northeastern Maine sunrise each day is at 4:56 am. With sunset at 8:05 pm that means the sun is only down less than 9 hours every 24 hours, and we are not to the summer equinox yet when the night time will be even shorter. It wasn't too long ago in the Grand Canyon when the sun didn't come up until 7:45 am.....crazy! Anyway, what I mean by 'waking up to the sun' now is sleeping past 7 am, and I slept 'til 7:30....wonderful!
Friday would be my first 8 hour work day since arriving here at SDC*. My work schedule will be like this: 10 am to 2 pm - work; 2 pm to 3 pm - lunch; 3 pm to 6 pm - work; take two hours off and return at 8 pm to close pool, and cruise around the campground checking for noise, answering questions, and assisting where needed - off at 9 pm. I like it a lot.
One thing about working in a campground where there are literally acres of grass is that the grass cutting and trimming is never done......it's like owning a wooden sailboat....the bright work is never done....about the time you finish a circuit of the boat it's time to start over again. I began my day (oh, by the way, I wore shorts to work for the first time since we arrived) with the string trimmer again putting the final touches on the campground. That took about an hour at which time I joined forces with Todd at the cabins (Rustic and Deluxe) hanging curtains, which had just been retrieved from the dry cleaners up in Ellsworth. That pretty much took me to 2 pm and lunchtime.
After spending 9 of the last 12 months working as a cashier at Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon my physical flexibility had diminished somewhat......well, way more than I would have expected. When I worked outside at TVC** I was doing something physical every single day. By physical I mean bending over and picking something off the ground, lifting, pushing, twisting, kneeling on the ground and then getting back to my feet all day long. I was digging post holes, building fences, working on electrical pedestals, building dog parks....and on it goes. When I first began working my 4 hours days here at SDC* I had great difficulty kneeling on the ground and then standing up again without holding on to something, or just bending over to pick up something on the ground. It was very disconcerting to say the least. Once I got to my 6 hour work days it was getting easier, and now I don't even think about it anymore. I go to bed each night feeling a little sore and achy, but it's a 'good' sore and achy, if there is such a thing.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the cashier jobs, but I really, really missed being outside doing physical work. I love stopping and just drawing fresh, sweet smelling air into my lungs, and I love the variety of things I do each day. Being a cashier is, by its nature, very redundant and repetitive.....not my ideal.
After lunch I kind of settled into what will be my job most of the time now that summer has begun....patrolling the campground, being available to answer questions, help people get into sites, picking up trash as I come across it, etc. No doubt there will be time every day when I am running the John Deere zero turn riding lawnmower (looking forward to that), and doing other physical stuff, operating a blower or string trimmer, digging a ditch, or a post hole....the great thing is I will be doing all of those things outside.
Our customers began arriving as early as 10 am Friday.....many getting a jump start on the long Memorial Day weekend. By the time I came back from lunch the full hookup sites were about 80% full, and tents were popping up everywhere.
Around 5 pm Todd took me on a tour of the campground infrastructure....the water, sewer, and electrical system, which is what any campground is all about. People come to a campground with their RV's and want water pressure, steady reliable electrical, and a sewer system which does not overfow, right? Since I will be on call at night he wanted me to know where all the water shutoff valves are located, so if we have a problem requiring the water be shut off I will know which valve he wants me to close.
By the time we were finished it was 6 pm and time for me to punch the clock once again. TLE was on at 10:30 am and worked until almost 7 pm before she came home. Friday was also our first payday, so while I waited for TLE arrive home from work I deposited our checks online. Our pay period runs from Thursday to Wednesday and we get a paper check each Friday morning....sometimes Thursday afternoon. All of our recent jobs have offered direct deposit, so I haven't had to deal with scanning and 'depositing' checks online for a some time.
I was back at the office by 8 pm doing my final rounds for the day, and giving the 30 minute notice for shutting the pool for the evening. The pool is open from 10 am until 'dusk' each night.....'dusk', a very subjective term, and will change over the course of the summer as we come up to the equinox, and then slip past it into Fall.....
.....I took this picture of the 'garage' about 8:15 pm......see, it does look like a barn, right?
Thanks for stopping by!
*SDC = Smuggler's Den Campground
**TVC = Tahoe Valley Campground
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