Dragons and Speeders

Holiday weekends, let the madness begin! We have a very big parking lot. Really, really big gravel parking lot with plenty of room for parking as well as turning around. But, some camper, who remains a mystery decided to demolish my fairy garden. It happened Friday night. After everyone was checked in and I had gone to bed.

I did not notice it at first. Everything seemed to be running smoothly. My most favorite holiday camping family brought dinner plates to us. I was still in the happy glow of my first cup of coffee as I went out to inspect bathrooms. No surprises awaited me there and I had just enough time to gather the ripe tomatoes and two cantaloupes. 

I rinsed the biggest cantaloupe and took it to my campers to thank them for the meal and was on my way back to open the store when I discovered the travesty to my fairies!

The sign says it all. Dragons! Although there were some distinctive tread tracks left I was too busy to do a thorough investigation. But, this is why I loathe holiday weekends. People have no respect for the property of others.

Then there was the young man speeding ……. I bet his license was still warm he was so young. I had noticed him twice and was too busy to leave the office to catch him to tell him to slow down. I alerted HeWho and everyone was on the lookout for this kid. I did not know who he was or which campsite he belonged to. He was in a little Jeep and was just zipping around the corners without a care in the world.

Sunday morning as I was coming out of the laundry room with an arm full of toilet paper to restock the bathrooms, I spied him round a curve where there are almost a dozen small children in residence. He was heading to the front of the park and it was all I could do to drop my armload and race to the front of the parking lot to beat him there. There was a truck pulling a camper speeding along right behind him.

I stopped him and told him he could not speed in my park. I also told him I had witnessed him speeding twice before. This is when his mother in the vehicle behind him came at me. She told me I could not yell at him, because he had not been here this weekend. According to her he was only here to meet up with them as they were leaving. she thought she could win her argument by talking over me, but I held my own and told her that she was speeding, too.

When I catch someone speeding why do they always say they weren't? I was not the only person who witnessed her son speeding in the park. Several of my campers and my work campers saw him as well. And, incidentally, he was seen parked in the grass right next to my fairy garden Friday evening. But, that was all beside the point …… both vehicles were going way too fast in a park where children are playing. I have signs posted all over the park to watch for children and the speed limit. 

So, this is when the father of the boy in the Jeep chimes in by yelling "Fifteen, fifteen, fifteen." at me. Fifteen what? Was this the age of the child in the Jeep? No, he was saying that I was getting all upset that they were going 15 mph. Not true. They were going at least 20. Yes, I do have radar in my head. If your foot is on your accelerator, you are speeding. How do I know this? Because I have to keep my foot on the brake and watch my odometer closely in order not to speed in the park.

I never speed ….. in my park. I have to set a good example. HeWho has been known to disobey the speed limit here and you may rest assured that he hears about it. My regular campers feel free to bring it to the attention of those who choose to speed here.

Today is clean up day. We are all mowing and weed whacking and picking up trash. Not much trash to get up as most of my regulars do a good job cleaning up before they leave. My break is over and I have miles to mow.