'21/#29 Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

 Well here it is the end of August. The heat in western New York has been rediculous. This is the kind of heat that made us leave Florida in our rear view mirror! At least it cools down some at night. We have one month to go before we hit the road and as I mentioned in my last blog we are now in the fourth quarter. The park is open for one more full week and then they go to weekends only. That means we will only work two days instead of three or four. To add to the sports analogy, that will be our TWO MINUTE WARNING!!

With five days off we will be able to do more exploring around the area and watch the seasons start to change. It will also give us plenty of time to get the rig ready for traveling. Our trip south will start on or about September 28th and will take a month, with a number of stops along the way, ending at our winter destination in Florida. As much as we have enjoyed our time in upstate New York the travel bug is getting to us and we are developing a case of "hitch-itch".

On another note, we recently took an extra day off to drive over to the Syracuse area to visit an old friend. We grew up together and have known each other since we were two years old. We connected about 25 years ago and decided it had been too long. We had a great visit with Linda and her husband Marty, catching up on old times. We even had time to go to the New York State Fair. Because of the short time to organize because of Covid restrictions there were not a lot of vendors and the crowd was smaller than expected. I assume that many state fairs around the country had similar situations and hopefully things will get better for  everyone.

Fourth quarter or not the laundry still needs to get done, food needs to be prepared, and bills need to be paid so I will sign off for now from our home at Darien Lake Amusement Park because.......

Home is where we park it, 

Frank and Mary

'21/#28 The Fourth Quarter Nears

 It is that time of the season again when attitudes change and looking forward occupies our minds more and more. It is the approach of the fourth quarter. Our workcamping season, and it seems most other workcampers also, can be broken down  in quarters with certain changes inevitable.

The first quarter is when we arrive at a new place and a new job. Everything is new. The people we work with, the job, the area, the weather, and the activities we plan while we are here are all new. It is exciting and challenging and time filling to say the least. Time does fly by.

The second quarter is when we become good at the new job and get to know our coworkers. We develop friendships, start to spend time out and about, find the stores and restaurants that we like in the area. It is starting to feel like home.

The third quarter is when the job becomes routine. These are part time and temporary jobs so it doesn't take long to get so good at it that it starts to seem like you are in a rut. This is also when we really get to know the people we work with. Friends stay friends but others start to get on your nerves and you find yourself not liking them very much. This is also the time that thoughts about the end of the season creep into conversations. What route are we taking, what do we want to see on the way, and most important what RV parks will we stay at along the way. Parks will fill quickly with the snowbird migration in full swing. AND we will talk about the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter is the most difficult to deal with. This is when we start asking "why can't we leave now?". This conversation is just one big pro vs con list. Do we want to get to Florida this early? Too hot. If we leave early can we still use this job on our resume? Prrobably not. Do we want to give up the commitment bonus for staying through the season? Not if the incentive is worth the stay. And finally do we want to leave the friends we have at work in the lurch by leaving early? Definitely not!

Well it is the end of the third quarter and we are having these conversations again. We still have plans with our friends here and the end of season bonus is substantial though not enough to stay through October. We have started making plans and reservations for the trek south and are looking forward to seeing some of the sights along the way. We will also get to see some of the friends we have made over the years while we take a relaxing trip to our winter home in Florida where we  will see more friends an family.

So for now the clock is ticking in our home in Corfu NY because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary