Newbies

This year has been different in so many ways. Listening to the news every night has been depressing. So many people sick and dying, not to mention those who have lost their jobs and homes. I am so fortunate that my children are all still employed and healthy.

Our business has not suffered like I had imagined it would. We stayed open during the quarantine with a no-contact check-in procedure. It was mostly people trying to get back home to shelter in place. Who knew there would be so many?

So many of these campers are new to the experience of traveling in RV's. I have been asked so many questions I have never been asked before. Although my favorite question is "Do you know which exit you are at?" Always catches me off guard, making me want to answer inappropriately. I worked with a pharmacist that I always think of when this question is asked. A customer once asked him if he knew what time it was. His answer was, "Yes, I do." That's it, he would go back to whatever he was doing and say nothing else.

I was asked if I would go to the dump station with someone paying $5 to clean out his black tank and show him how to accomplish this task. I declined his offer, honestly telling him I didn't even clean out my own. Not to mention that $5 was no incentive.

I hear that RV sales are up. Camping World has even put out the word that they want to buy used motor homes, 5th wheels and travel trailers and are particularly interested in Class C units. Most of the rental units are Class C, so I suppose that makes sense. I really  think it is most popular, being shorter in length for newbies to handle easier.

Not every purchaser of the RV is concerned about being able to navigate their new expensive toy. I cringe when I see the ones pulling long trailers behind them drag the trailer wheel over the boulders that surround the area by the exit drive. It is like they seem to have forgotten they are towing something behind them. Same goes for the huge motorhomes towing vehicles.

I can't say for certain that I have noticed more incidents with the boulders this year because of the higher percentage of newbies, or because I moved the registration desk and can now gaze out the windows. Probably a little of both.

I am hoping my wifi will let me publish and maybe read a few of my favorite blogs today as I wait for paint to dry. Let's see .....

 

Weekends Were Made For Insomnia

I am thinking I need a re-do on the entire month. Or at least today. I just brewed my third cup of coffee, having managed to pour the second cup down the front of myself. I guess I should be thankful it wasn't as hot as it could have been.

We have been so very busy here and the wifi connection is just not all it should be. Add to that a man who refuses to take care of himself, relying totally on me to monitor his bad choices of food and drink to keep him healthy. No gravel to fill in the hollows created by the rains and the campers who never fail to complain and I find that I am a bit short tempered.

Well, maybe not just a bit. HeWho knows better has been swilling Diet Coke again. He had a spike in his blood pressure about 6 months ago and we determined (nurse practitioner and I) that it was his exclusive drink choice of Diet Coke to be the culprit. We doubled his Lisinopril and he stopped drinking Diet Coke and sure enough, his blood pressure came back down to an acceptable level.

Then we got extremely busy and he decided he could have Diet Coke again. He has said that water gives him indigestion. I found that amusing and so did our doctor. Anyway, the Diet Coke slowly slipped back into his normal 2 liters a day. Then he decided he should be able to have fast food occasionally. Then occasionally turned into pretty often. I would always tell him not to get the fries, but he would eat them on the way home. You do know that if I don't see the food go into his mouth, it doesn't count, right?

So now we (meaning me) are monitoring his BP 3 times a day and they added another medication. He is drinking water. Like a martyr. Sadly, like all the pleasure in his life has been sucked away. My insomnia has decided to return with a vengeance and I find that I am becoming increasingly ill tempered.

The weekends have been jam packed with Oktoberfest revelers. I had to put a larger sign up about wearing masks. Some people still seem to think they are exempt and my temper has been serving me well in that respect. I am willing to lose a customer over the mask issue. My next sign will be "No Clothes, No Mask, No Service". I don't even require shoes!

I assigned a camper to a double site that has a long term camper in the back part of the site. The long term camper had parked their vehicle in the site I assigned to the weekend camper. I dispatched HeWho to correct this problem while I grabbed a very quick shower. I always tell long term campers NOT to park in an empty site. If they want to pay for the site they can use it, but I have to use all the hook-ups at my disposal in order to make money to pay my bills.

The woman chose today  to complain about her site. She has been in this site for 3 weeks with no complaints and now with only 1 week left she wants to move to the other side of the park. Her complaint is that the park has too many campers on the weekend and the camper next to them (also long term) wakes them up at 5 am when he leaves for work. And furthermore, where is she supposed to park her truck if she can't park it on the site in front of her? Um, maybe next to her camper on the grass? Like everyone else.

HeWho brought her concerns to me and asked if we could move her to the other side of the park. My first response was "NO." Then I took a look at my chart for the weekend. I was going to honor her request and flip flop the reservation for a site on the other side of the park with her. Then I realized that if I did, and the site in front of her was occupied , I would not be able the use her site at all, because the reservation would be coming in after the site in front was already occupied and the fifth wheel that needed the 50 amp site would not be able to get their vehicle out. So, I tried, but the answer was still "NO." Had she approached me BEFORE I had all these reservations assigned, I would have been happy to accommodate her. 

The phone is still my biggest annoyance. Entertaining, but annoying. I was taking a reservation this week, the camper asked if I had anything available and when I looked and told him what I had, he said he would take it and see me this weekend, goodbye. "Wait, I need some information." said I. I asked for his name and then told him I would need a credit card to secure his reservation. He said, okay, then a long pause followed. I told him I was ready when he was and he said, "Oh, you want the number?" You just can't make this stuff up.

The Future Makes Me Sad

 Like many of my fellow bloggers, I have been avoiding anything political. But last night while watching TV, I was struck by the utter stupidity of people.

Late night TV is entertaining. Jimmy Kimmel has a segment where a man interviews people live on the street. It is funny. Or sad. The interviewer will ask questions based on some event that has either not happened yet or never did. The episode I was watching had the interviewer asking questions about the presidential debate BEFORE it happened.

The people were all ages and lifestyles. What they had in common was their willingness to be interviewed. And that they all lied about having seen the debate. They all enthusiastically joined in the description of scenarios presented. It was funny. Those people will see themselves on TV and feel foolish, right?

The more I thought about it, though, the more depressed it made me. These people will vote and they are sadly uninformed. How many people out there have no clue about the issues. They have done absolutely no research about the candidate they support. They have no clue where their candidate stands on issues that will directly impact their lives.

This is not a popularity contest like grammar school when you voted for the prettiest girl or the cutest boy to be class president. Republican or Democrat matters not. Ignorance seems to rule the day lately. I bet most people can't tell you why they voted for a candidate. I have asked some people and the answers make me sad. "Because I have always voted Republican/Democrat, just like my Daddy and his Daddy did." "My husband decides who we vote for." "I don't know, I just like the way his/her name sounds."

In this time of instant news being reported and access to so many ways to do a little research on the candidates, why would you not take advantage to learn more in order to make an informed decision? This not only makes me sad, it makes me mad that my children and their children have this to look forward to in the future.