Labor (day) of Love at Sweetwater KOA

Labor Day weekend was jam-packed in many ways. The RV park was filled to the brim with happy campers (pardon the pun). We had to put rigs on the unimproved sites and tent campers in the primitive camping field--and they were thrilled to have ANY spot on this busy holiday weekend! The scheduled activities were a big hit. It started with karaoke on Friday night, then a pancake breakfast Saturday morning, karaoke again on Saturday night, an ice cream social on Sunday afternoon, and a G-rated movie outdoors on Sunday night. The owners donated all proceeds from the pancake breakfast and ice cream social to KOA's children's cancer fund, so it's not only nice for the guests, it's also for a good cause. The weather was warm and sunny so the pool was very popular. Beach volleyball and the jumping pillow saw activity from 9 am (when opened) to dark.

It was pretty much all hands on deck to prepare the park. Drew, the other workamper couple, and the owners spent all day Thursday plus Friday morning mowing, trimming, and weeding each site and the grounds. I helped weed, plant flowers, and stock up the store. Buddy watered and fertilized Kamp K-9. There was a steady stream of arrivals beginning at about 1:00 Friday afternoon, continuing through Saturday. At times there was a line of rigs two-across and four deep. When that occurred, the guys led the guests to their sites first and had them come back to check in once they were set up.

The owners' mission and passion is about families and creating family memories. I think it's fair to say, "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"!

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!