'21/#33 Touchdown! Game Over

Game over and a new clock starts. We are on the road again and headed south. We will be back in Florida in about a month. The next month will be sightseeing and visiting friends.

We are starting in the Finger Lakes so I will say goodnight from our home in Ithica NY because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'21/#33 Third And Inches

 This will be brief. The past two days we got everything stored away and ready for the road. The holding tanks were dumped and flushed and all of the assorted hoses have been stowed. The tire pressure monitoring system was activated and checked while Mary's plants all found homes in the basement. We are just about ready to leave. 

While all this was happening we also managed to find the time to go to the Appleumpkin Festival in Wyoming, NY. Our supervisor lives there and was all excited to show us her town in all it's fall splendor. It was also an opportunity for a last goodbye. We have made some really good friends while staying here at Darien Lakes.

With nothing to do but put away the electric cord and hook up the truck I will call this third and inches with only seconds to go on the clock. The next time you hear from us we should be moving on to our next adventure. 

So this will be one of our last goodbyes from our home in Corfu, NY because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'21/#32 Second Down And Only Yards To Go!

 Just a short blog to keep everyone updated. We spent the last two rainy days cleaning, organizing, and packing things away. We also did a big laundry including all the throw rugs from around the trailer. All of our work clothes were shrink wrapped except for what we will need the next two days and uniforms for today and tomorrow are laid out.

This is all progress so let us call it short yards gained, second and goal, and the clock is ticking. We can see the goal line and it is within our reach. So close yet so far.

 There are two more days of work with a concert in the park on Saturday. I really don't expect that big of a crowd with the weather getting colder and the ground so wet from the recent rains. They are scheduling us to be open late as if people are going to leave the concert to come to the General Store. The concert ends by 11:00 and we close at 11:00. Management at their finest! Oh, by the way did I mention that this big crowd they are expecting is to see the Jonas Brothers? What do I know? I'm just an old fart and a work camper at that.

Well I am going to relax before it is time to go to work, so until the next blog this is so long from our home at Darien Lakes because .......

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'21/#31 First And Goal!

 It's getting down to the wire now and the excitement is building. Only seven days until we are back on the road. The past few days we started putting things away outside the rig and prepping the trailer and truck for travel. All twelve tires (yes twelve!) are aired up and checked for safety. We brought the slides in and the landing gear up to make sure all the hydraulics were working fine after sitting for almost five months. All is well and ready for the road. Laundry is done and some last minute shopping was taken care of while the check list is getting shorter.

Like I said, only seven more days. To stay with the sports analogy it is first down and goal. That means two days off, two days of work, two more days off, and then the wheels start rolling. It is raining today and more is forecast for tomorrow so we are prepping the inside of the trailer. Cabinets are organized and secured for travel, and everything is getting a good cleaning. Tomorrow we do our last big laundry and a last stop at the grocery store for anytthing we may have forgotten.

The past couple of years we have started getting ready earlier than usual. The last minute rush to get things done was insane and we both had had enough. Now we start sooner, at a relaxed pace, and take breaks as needed, both physical and mental. In fact I am on a break right now and it seemed like a good time to blog, but break time is over and back to the check list we go.

So until the next blog, that I guess will be soon, goodbye from our home in upstate New York because.....

Home is where  park it,

Frank and Mary

'21/#30 BANG! And The Timer Starts

 It is that time of year for Darien Lakes Theme Park. The season is winding down and they are only open on weekends. That means we are down to our two day a week schedule. WOO HOO! That woo hoo is not only for the extra time off and more time to have fun, it is also because we are that much closer to getting back on the road. Like I said before, this our is two minute warning on the workcamping season.

We already have plans to visit a winery, some cider mills, a peach festival, watch the leaves change, and go to the Apple-Umpkin Festival. Yes, Apple-Umpkin is a real thing that happens every year in Wyoming, NY. It is also the home town of our boss at the General Store and she is so excited that we will be there to share it with her. That will be our last adventure before we depart Corfu,NY.

Now this whole time will not be all fun and games. If you have followed us for a while you also know that there is work to be done before we leave. The truck needs to be checked, all the tires need to be aired up, things that have been out while we lived here need to be stowed for travel, and a whole list of things that are part of the RV lifestyle. That will also be squeezed into our five day weekends. "Five day weekends". Sounds like every workers dream and it is part of our life. We are living the life, aren't we? 

This year at Darien Lakes has been different from years before like everything else during the pandemic. Organized gatherings for the workcampers is something that HR usually does but was put on hold because of restrictions due to Covid, staffing, and time constraints. One of the workcampers decided to take it on herself to organize a dinner for the workcampers at a local restaurant and we got to meet and talk to a lot of people we have seen around but just didn't have the time to get to know. We now have new friends that we may see on the road, in Florida this winter, or even back here in New York next year. 

Yes, we are seriously talking about coming back. There  is a lot we haven't seen yet and we hope that next year we can go visit Canada. We also enjoyed spending time and working with the new friends we have made during this adventure. But that is next year and we haven't got the "jello" mixed yet alone set.

Well today starts our next three "two day" work weeks, which is the official start of the two minute warning, so I have to get ready for work. Until the next blog this is so long from our home in Darien Lakes because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'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