Decisions, Decisions - (Chester, CA)

It was the usual Monday start.  Linda went in early and I started the day with Randy doing pump-out service.

After completing the pump-out service and the bathrooms and the Monday baseboard/shower scrubbing, I was wondering what the afternoon would hold.  I didn't have to wait long to be involved in another strange, but necessary, task.

Fortunately, as is the case most of the time, I was just the assistant and Randy had the worst part.

You see, all the shower and sink water from the bathhouse, what we RVers know as gray water, ends up in an underground holding area.  In that "hole", there is a sump pump which pumps the water out of the campground into a "leach" field.

Well, if the sand and sediment from the showers is allowed to build up too much in the "hole", then it gets into the pump's motor and that's a huge problem.  So today we did the annual preventative maintenance task of scooping out the sand and sediment from the bottom of a hole filled with gray water.  Yuck.

First, we hooked up the Honey Wagon, dropped the hose down into the hole, and sucked out all the standing gray water.  Then Randy, in full rain gear, climbed down into the hole - about fifteen feet.  I pulled the old, rusty "ladder" up out of his way and lowered buckets down to him by rope.  He scooped up the stuff off the bottom and I hauled it up.  The whole process took less than an hour and it was done.

We disposed of the sludge and I hosed Randy down in his Gorton's fisherman rain gear.

Sheesh.  The things I've learned about campground maintenance.  Thank goodness I'm only the assistant most of the time.  :)

After Linda's shift, she went into town to run some errands.  On the way back she stopped on the causeway to talk to a guy studying the grebe colony.  She got all the scoop on the challenges of protecting the nesting grebes and when the babies should be hatching.  We'll be keeping an eye on that to see if we can get some photos of the babies.

After my shift was complete, we had several emails.  A couple were about workamping.

A few weeks back, I mentioned a position in Michigan for next summer.  I sent an email, but heard nothing back.  Well, it turns out the return email didn't make it to us back at the end of July and they followed up to check our interest today.

I had pretty much determined that I didn't want to workamp next year, but then this position popped up again.

Thunder Bay Resort in northeastern Michigan is looking at hiring up to ten workamping couples for next season.  They have a small 23-site RV park, with full hook-ups and all pull-through sites, that has never been filled.  So they've decided to use more workampers to fill the RV park and help run the resort which is geared more to non-RVing tourists.

There is no pay, but each couple works only 36 hours per week, 18 hours per person.  The big draw for workampers is unlimited free golf (with cart) on their 18-hole championship golf course.

There are numerous jobs and they try to match the workampers with their areas of interest and their skills.  And you are not necessarily stuck in one job, but can float around.

I've researched the area and there seems to be lots of nature activities.  The problem is the season is five months from May 15 - October 15.  I get antsy after two and a half to three months.  :)

Will the unlimited golf and the surrounding nature be enough to keep me content for that long?  Will the limited number of hours and more appealing jobs help?

Right now, I'm ready to travel, so committing to a five month position next year is not real high on my list.  However, Linda feels like we should work for at least one more private company.  And we can always use the lower expenses of workamping.  And the unlimited golf is sure tugging at me.  And it is an area of the country we've never seen before.  And we would have the chance to explore quite a bit.

I spoke to the owner last night and one of the spots is ours if we want it.  I also asked if we could do a small rally while we were there and he said "sure".

It kind of sounds like a perfect fit for us.  But five months?  You already know I get tired of writing about the same stuff every day when we are workamping, so that's another consideration.  Decisions, decisions.

I'd have to say that we are leaning toward taking it right now, but we'll have to give it some more thought.  Anyone want to come and join us if we take it?  :) 

  

Comments

[J.C. Webber III]

We are exploring the possibility. Just sent them a copy of our resume. We'll see what comes of it...

[Jimbo]

Howard I know how it feels to want to move. Wife and I came to Oregon in April to workamp for 6 months. I had just retired and we were just into traveling. Problem is we love it here. Ocean on one side of HWY 101 and mountains on the other. We have the best of both worlds. WIfe got a great Full-time job in town after one month here. Guess we will stay here for a couple of years or more. I workamp and she works in town and we are saving money like crazy. Can not look a gift horse in the mouth so we are staying a few years and then buying land here but use this beautiful place as our new home base.

Jimbo

[Charles Henry]

Beautiful country! I looked at the min, max and mean temps for those months. We did five months in Maine. It was in the low 30's in the a.m. when we arrived and in the high 20's every a.m. when we left. Man, our hitch was itching after 3 months. But ... beautiful country! A commitment of 36 hrs per couple is a bit high ... but beautiful conuntry!

[Fred Hagedorn]

Howard;
I live about 225 miles south of there and I know it's beautiful in the summer. Plenty of site seeing areas when your not working. Don't forget Mackinaw Island and the large "Cross in the Woods" in Indian River.

As my wife is also from Kentucky, we would love to meet you and Linda.

I'm hoping you do take the position next summer. It would give me a great reason to head north next summer. Save a site for me.

Fred Hagedorn

[Michael Ward]

There's some gorgeous scenery in Northern Michigan and plenty of weekend excursions. Google Mackinac Island, Pictured Rocks, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Tahquamenon Falls. A little further away is Frankenmuth and Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. There's some fantastic kayaking on many wonderful rivers, including the famous Pere Marquette, AuSable and Manistee rivers. You'll also find that the lower and upper peninsula are two different experiences, as you'll learn when talking to the Yoopers!

[Marci Gimmarro]

Hi Howard,

I don't think you and Linda would lack for things to do in your off time if you take the job in Michigan, and I know I'd love to see you spend some time in our homestate! We'd definitely be interested in a "mini-rally" or RV Dreams gathering here next summer, and even if that didn't happen we'd make time to visit you guys. Good Luck with your decison!

Marci

[Phyllis East]

How timely for me!

We "take off" October 5. This past 9 months have been a challenge to us. We have had several crisis' in our personal relationship caused by misunderstandings and poor communication. We both got into a panic back in January as we were to take off in February. After soul searching and many tears we are back on track and now is the time. We both feel it. That is not to say we aren't just a bit nervous.

Each morning I read the days entry from "The Upper Room", a sort of morning devotion. Today the prayer concern was for those people facing change. I am not an everyday reader of your journal. Maybe once every few weeks. Today's entry spoke to me on getting out of my comfort zone. Coincidence? There are none. Thank you.

Phyllis