First-day Jitters

Despite some trepidation, we survived our first official workamper shift yesterday.  Just like most new jobs, the anticipation was both exciting and scarey.  The owners were nice and picked a shift for us to start mid week that wasn't too busy.  I got a nice variety--made several reservations by phone, checked on and confirmed a prior reservation, checked in both cabin guests and RV site guests, and made some store sales.  Drew showed RVer and cabin folks to their locations, filled some propane tanks, scooped leaves out of the pool (yes, we're starting to get some falling leaves already!), fussed at some kids for throwing sand in the volleyball area, and generally policed the gounds from his handy golf cart.  Just your typical day in an RV park.  We were the "closers", so I was thrilled when my cash drawer balanced!  Oh how little it takes for contentment when you're retired.

Workamper Bootcamp

Arrived in Sweetwater, TN on Monday afternoon and are currently in training for our first work-camper assignment at KOA. After only just a few days, we realize how blessed we are to have been placed here. It's a small park, the owners are wonderful, and it's not crazy busy right now (at least not until Labor Day weekend). You can't ask for a more ideal first experience. Drew's learning what sites have what type hookups, how to pump propane, and general grounds maintenance. I'm learning the computer reservation/registration systems plus the small store. All Buddy has learned is how to get to Kamp K-9 (which fortunately is right across from our site). If you look closely at the picture (click to enlarge), the fenced in area with the little log house is Kamp K-9 and our rig is right across from it. The KOA is very nice with lots for kids to do--a jumping pillow, pool, playground, game room, volleyball court, small basketball court, outdoor movie night on Fridays, etc. We'll be working two 6-hour shifts apiece each week, with the rest of the time free, in exchange for a free site with hookups. We'll have lots of time to explore the surrounding areas and enjoy the fall leaf season and scenery.

Back to College - Tennessee Volunteers

No, not the UT Volunteers.  We're on Hiwassee College campus for five days doing some volunteer work here in Madisonville, TN.  We joined NOMADS, an RV group affiliated with the Methodist Church that does various projects around the country.  That's how we learned about the need here on this small college campus.  We're weeding, painting, raking, and generally sprucing up the place in preparation for the Fall Semester.  The college set up electric, water, and sewer sites for the NOMADS, so there's no overnight cost, and they even feed us in the cafeteria!  The President had a cookout for the college staff at his home and we got to go to that too.  Buddy is lovin' romping on this beautiful, rolling campus.  Because school is not in session yet, we're able to let him off-leash when we go walking.  Ahhh, freedom.

A Day at Dollywood

Today was devoted to Dollywood. We caught some performances, rode the train, and had an interesting lunch. The gospel quartet was probably the best we have ever heard. The Kingdom Heirs are fabulous; each singer is noteworthy on his own and the band is superb. We definitely want one of their CD's. We caught some bluegrass music and an excellent banjo player (who also was an accomplished fiddler). Lunch provided a "tower" of onion rings which reminded us of the child's game where you place increasingly larger rings on a "post." Not only were the onion rings fun, they were quite tasty to boot. Dollywood is a lot lower-key than Disney, and many of the acts are fairly well known performers and recording artists. All in all, an enjoyable day.

Gatlinburg, TN

Sunday it was on the road again, this time to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  We're in beautiful Twin Creek RV Resort, a little RV park on the East edge of town.  If you look closely at the photo, you can see our rig beyond the pool!  Monday we explored downtown Gatlinburg where the flowers are in full bloom all over town.  Everything is available by trolley, so we really haven't needed the Jeep yet.  Monday evening we took the trolley to the Dixie Stampede dinner show in Pigeon Forge.  What a fun time!  There were horses, cattle, chickens, pigeons, pigs, covered wagons, barrell races, North-South competitions, and audience participation.  Good golly, Miss Dolly, you done yourself proud.  Yee haw.

Grove Park Inn - Asheville

What a wonderful place. This Arts and Crafts "lodge" was built of massive granite boulders in 1912 at an elevation over 3000 feet. We wandered the property and had lunch on the terrace which overlooks the Blue Ridge Mountains. There's a fabulous underground Spa as well as a beautiful golf course--wish we had more time to experience them!

Second Stay - Asheville, NC

We hit the road again on Wednesday, spent the night outside of Columbia, SC, and arrived in Asheville Thursday afternoon. Our site at Bear Creek RV Park is up high and we can see the Smokies as we look outside the front. Buddy is enjoying all the new smells and I think reminds him of his former hunting days. We finally found some cooler weather--days around 80 degrees, nights down in the 50's. Very welcome and refreshing.

Friday was spent wandering the house and grounds at Biltmore Estate. Drew likes touring wineries, so we couldn't miss the Biltmore Winery. It is a converted dairy building where the Vanderbilt's milked their cows. You'd never know it's former use, however. We experienced the wine tasting and chose a bottle of our favorite to take home. Many people were going away with cases of wine; the nice thing about RVing is space considerations limit your impulse buying!

Monday - All Play

So it's Monday and there's no work! I think I'm going to like this retirement thing. We had a leisurely morning then met Dave for a round of golf at the George Fazio Course at Palmetto Dunes here on Hilton Head Island. Drew and Kathy rode around with us and served as our gallery, cheering Dave and me on when we did well (which wasn't that often). The course is ranked in Golf Digest's "America's Top 100 Courses." It was in beautiful condition and despite the heat and our score, we enjoyed it. A note of interest: the golf carts had outdoor air conditioning--a first for us, and a life-saver in these high temperatures. We concluded our idyllic day by hosting Dave and Kathy to a cookout back at our RV.

Touring Savannah

Today we played tourist and took the Oglethorpe Trolley Tour of Savannah. Our driver and guide was a rather odd fellow whose wit was enjoyed by himself most of all! The trolley trip was well worth the $10 fare; we learned lots of interesting tidbits about Savannah history, most of which I will immediately forget. Part of the trip was reminiscent of Disney's Wild Teacup ride, as for some reason our mad hatter felt the need to speed it up on occasion. Nothing of import to see, I suppose. I'm sure we would have enjoyed the afternoon even more had the weather not been so hot and muggy.

Celebration Dinner

Today was spent relaxing and exploring the RV resort. We walked up and down every road and saw each of the 401 sites, coming to the conclusion that ours ranks among the top. This evening we met Drew's sister and her husband for a celebration dinner. Kathy and Dave drove in from St. Louis to spend some vacation time with us. We ate at Alexander's, a wonderful restaurant here on the island. It was my official retirement celebration dinner. Drew gave me a beautiful crystal butterfly to symbolize my new "freedom." The food was great, topped only by the company.

Arrived at Hilton Head Island

We rolled into the Outdoor RV Resort on Hilton Head Island about 5:00 yesterday. We would have made it sooner, but had a little snafu when we stopped for fuel in Georgia. As we were exiting, we missed the road out of the truck stop and ended up on the drive to the truck wash. Well, there's no backing up when dingy-towing a car, so we had to either wait until a wash bay was open or unhook the car. We chose the former. As we passed through, we waived to the attendants and were on our way! Once at the RV resort (which is beautiful and lush, by the way), we took a quick swim in the pool, then sat with a glass of wine and toasted the fact that from now on EVERY day would be a TGI Friday.

The Adventure Begins

Well, today was the day--true retirement. My Citi friends bid me a final farewell and presented me with an awesome "memory" quilt. We had the motor home in the parking lot and held an open house party for coworkers to wander out and see what we'll be traveling in for the next 12-18 months. Also joining us were the kid (Kyle), the dog (Buddy), the bro (Doug), and the best friend (Troy). It was a wonderful send-off to begin our next chapter. First destination: Hilton Head Island in time for happy hour!