I want to do it all!

This morning we met with Mary Beth and she took us on a tour of all the places we’ll be cleaning.  When we first talked with her in our phone interview, she said we’d be cleaning the bath houses, and I thought she said we’d be cleaning the activity center.  Today I realized she said the activity centers!  Remember all those shops I mentioned before?  The lapidary shop, the stained glass shop, the art center, etc, etc?  No wonder it’s going to be a forty hour a week job! Continue reading

Last day on the job

The last campers pulled out (supposedly) by noon today and then it was time to do closing procedures.  The part Mark and I played in it was to bring all the soap and shampoo dispensers and cleaners up to the main building to empty them into bottles so they won’t freeze this winter.  Then we washed the dispensers out and put all the used rags through the washer and drier.  We emptied the garbages, turned off the heat and locked the doors.  What a joy to be done for this season! Continue reading

Public restroom etiquette

As our job here winds down and we anticipate cleaning bathrooms in Florida this winter, I thought I’d pass on some sage advice about public restroom etiquette.  Years ago as a young wife and mother, I went to a series of Christian Homemaker classes led by a woman named Bobbi Hassman.  I will never forget her recruiting us into the Public Restroom Beautification Program.  She said we should always leave a public restroom looking neater than we found it and I have always tried to do that…pick up a paper towel from the floor, wipe off the countertop, etc.  Here are some tips from my experience this summer: Continue reading

Praise the Lord!!!

I have been really stressed lately about the fact that we didn’t have a job lined up for this winter.  Our job here ends on October 19th and the only jobs I was finding offered no pay other than a site for our RV or they were in the wrong part of the country.  I had originally thought I wanted to be in Mississippi or Alabama this winter, but when I couldn’t find work there I expanded to the entire southeastern United States.  I put our resume out and made inquiries and no one responded. Continue reading

We’re not the only ones who work around here!

I thought I should tell a little bit about what the others do around here since the season is winding down.  Actually it isn’t going to feel much like it’s winding down this weekend because we have sixty three campers checking in for Labor Day weekend today. Continue reading

Guest blog: John Glionna

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while may remember how upset I was about a year ago when a reporter from Harpers classified Workampers as senior citizens who have to work to survive and get taken advantage of by their employers.  Another reporter compared Workampers to the Joad family from Grapes of Wrath or to Woody Guthrie.  A rash of reporters began contacting Workamper News asking for people to interview so I offered to be one of those people.  Several months ago I was contacted by John Glionna of the LA Times who, at the time, was looking for a modern migrant worker-type story and I told him if he wanted to interview me he had to tell the story like it is.  He agreed to interview Mark and I and two other Workampers and do our stories justice, so this weekend he and a photographer from the LA Times, Francine Orr, are here following us around and asking us all sorts of questions about our lifestyle.  I believe he’ll write a good story. I’ve asked him to do a guest blog: telling a little about himself, explaining his story idea and what he’s hoping to get out of this.  I’ll let you know when his story is published so that you can find a copy of the LA Times and read it if you so desire. And now, without further ado, here’s John… Continue reading

Car show

This has been our first big weekend of the season at Wagon Trail Campground. Yesterday (Saturday) Mark and I had an inkling that the bathrooms were going to be full when we did our morning rounds, so we started half an hour earlier.  The bathrooms were crowded and we were barely able to do our job, so this morning we tried going in at 7:00.  They were still crowded, and Mark and I were both dragging all day from lack of sleep.  We have finally decided that there’s no beating the mad rush for the showers, so from now on we’ll stick to checking at 8:00 just deal with the crowds as best we can. Continue reading

Opening day!

Considering how much we had cleaned the last two days, we were only expected to do a quick walk through at 8:00 this morning, noon, and 8:00 this evening.  When we finished our noon rounds, Tim asked if we’d like to work more this afternoon.  The person who cleans the yurts is either not here yet or hasn’t started, and Tim needed help so we agreed to help right after lunch.   Continue reading