Training Days

Wed.  (Mar 21)

Judy and I traveled back to Blanton Creek Park for three days of training. Wed. was a paid travel day. Since the Cardinal was already in place,  we drove our CR-V the 140 miles to the park. Once we arrived,  Judy got the Cardinal organized with food, dishes, and our clothes put away. I rechecked all the connections, turned the water on and set-up the site.

After we completed our domestic chores,  we went over to the office to talk with Char and Ed the host couple who would be training us.  We still had to complete our “drug screen” so we left the park to drive into Columbus, Ga. to take care of that matter. Our day went down hill from there. Once we arrived at “Lab Corp,” we were told we didn’t have the correct “paperwork”!  Judy got on the phone with our contact in Atlanta, who told us to call the Birmingham, Al. office. Long story short,  additional paper work would have to be faxed to us. By now it is 4:15 PM and we know it is not going to happen today. At this point we know this process had a few flaws.

So we now head to the nearest “Walley World” to pick up a few things.  Judy and I headed north thirty miles or so back to Blanton Creek Park. We put our stuff  away and went over to the office to hangout with Char and Ed. Even though Wed was a travel day, we began our training. A lot of campers were calling in and making reservations. That enabled us to observe the registration process and by the time Ed and I locked the gate at 9PM,  Judy and I had a pretty good handle on the process. Judy worked with Char on the administration part of closing out the day and I observed Ed’s tasks for closing. It had been a long day so Judy and I went to bed as soon as we walked over to our rig. 5:30 AM would come real soon!



Camper Registration - Blanton Creek CG

Thur.  (Mar. 22)

Five-thirty AM did come early! I made it easy for Judy by going to take my shower at the CG comfort station. I am  sure she stayed in bed a little longer. Once back I made coffee for me, Judy doesn’t like coffee. She was struggling with how she was going to do her “make-up” routine. I knew better than to get involved with that. Judy decided the table would be the spot, so she arranged all the stuff she needed and went to work! I sat back and enjoyed my coffee. At 6:40 I met Ed at the office to observe the opening routine. We walked out and unlocked the gate at 6:57 AM.

Ed and I returned to the office and talked and watched the morning news shows. Not a lot happening at 7:AM. Judy arrived at 7:30AM. We all talked for about thirty minutes, and then Judy and I headed over to the “GA Power” land management office about 8 miles away. Robin, the office manager faxed the paper work to whoever we were directed to fax it to for us. About twenty minutes later, Judy got a call and was given an invoice number for each of us to give to Lab Corp. We drove the thirty miles back to LabCorp to get our drug screen. What could go wrong? Judy completed her in-processing and I go to the window to complete mine. I put my hand in my pocket to retrieve my wallet – the one with a photo ID. I am  pretty sure all the color drained from  my face. My wallet was not there. Where could it be??  I placed it with my cell phone, reading glasses and loose change like I always do. Judy then says “I moved it and put it in your top drawer last night because I did not want to leave it out.” I did not say anything but I did think to myself, we are in a campground behind a ten foot locked gate with only a few older campers who didn’t seem to pose any risk. Knowing there was no way I would be getting the “drug screen”, I just let it roll off my back. I knew I would be making a return trip to LabCorp.  Judy completed her screening and we headed back. To Judy’s credit, she did say she would accept half the blame for me not having my wallet.  I thought that was reasonable. That is why we have been married 37 yrs. Once back at Blanton Creek CG, Judy ran in and got my wallet and brought it to me. She went over to continue training and I headed back for my “drug screening”.

I returned a few hours later. Judy had the “reservation” process down pretty well. By closing time I also had the system down. Judy and I took most of the calls and entered the info into the reservation system. Char and Ed made sure the training went smoothly and answered all of our questions. They were right there with us when we got a little off track and got us back on track.  At 9PM we locked up and closed the books. Another day was completed.

Judy is ready for the next call!

Friday/ Sat (Mar 23-24)

We continued training. Activity picked up with the arrival of the weekend. Campers were coming in throughout both days.  Judy and I were taking care of most of the operations with Ed and Char providing answers and guidance when needed.  Ed and I made four golf cart patrols of the camping areas. We did not encounter any “situations”. Ed said they are inevitable though. On Friday and Sat the gate is closed at 10PM instead of 9PM, making the day a little longer. Ed and Char introduced us to the regulars as they checked in. Sat. afternoon when things slowed down a bit, Judy and I had the opportunity to prepare supper. We used the site grill for hand made hamburgers and Judy used Char's electric skillet to make her famous baked beans. The office is really nice and large so we set up the table and had the meal there. I think Ed and Char really enjoyed the break from the routine. Several check-ins said “that smells so good”, when they came into register. I know I should have taken photos.  By closing time Saturday, Judy and I felt very confident that we were ready to start. While we were here,  we were informed that the schedule had been rearranged. Instead of taking over Wed the 28^th  we are now scheduled to start Wed. April 2^nd.  In my weird way of thinking,  it would have made more sense to go from the training session into our first week instead of having a week and a half break.  Not to mention we would not have had to make an extra trip (140 Miles). As they say now, “it is what it is”.

Tent Area

Sun

I went in at 6:45 to help Ed open and Judy slept in a little.  Once Judy got up she packed for the trip back to Milledgeville and loaded the car.  What a wife!!!!  We have a long list of things that we now know we need to help us live more comfortably. One important item is an alarm clock. Since we are so close to Alabama,  the cell phones often shift to central time. We operate the park on Eastern Time. After we had a problem of almost being late,  I had to work around the alarm by using the “timer” countdown function on my smart phone.

We spent some time with Ed and Char before leaving to come home.  They went out of their way to make sure we were trained and well taken care of. We know we are going to enjoy this assignment.  Judy and I both look forward to returning.

Boat Ramp

Thanks so much for the comments we received on our departure day entry.  Judy and I are now convinced that we are going to have to sort out the internet situation. We will be exploring all the suggestions we received and hopefully we will have access before we return to the park.  Judy likes the retirement lifestyle!  Thanks for stopping by.  I almost forgot to welcome our newest follower John and Bridget