March 3, 2013. Left Stone Mountain Sunday afternoon for Jack's house to spend the night closer to Camping World in Oakwood where we were going to have our awning replaced. It was cold Sunday night - got below freezing and there was even frost on the ground by the time we woke up. The trailer got cold - without 30 amp service we were using the small portable heater to heat the trailer but it did not keep up and I was afraid to put the furnace on because I did not know how much propane we had left since one cylinder was already empty.
The evening was nice visiting with Jack, Tam'ra and Mom for a late lunch and then dinner. Tam'ra is such a good cook and can make simple foods for a large crowd very easily. Lunch was spaghetti with a salad, bread, and a fruit salad, and dinner was chicken soup from a very easy recipe but very good.
I went back to the trailer early to stay with the dogs and Jim stayed up with Jack until 11:00pm. Don't know what the dogs got into, if anything, but they were pretty restless throughout the night. Got me up about 2:00am barking and antsy about what was outside. Early this morning I guess Hayley had an upset stomach and had diarrhea all over Jim's sweats. Good thing that was all she got it on. Did not realize it for a while and Lucy came to bed panting and shaking horribly. Brought her under the covers and tried without luck to get her calmed down. I finally got up to a horrible smell and discovered the mess. When I threw the clothes outside Lucy calmed down - I guess she was agitated about what had happened. She knew it was not right and tried to tell us - she barks and we were upset with being woken up and we ignored her and just told her to lie down. Of course, as sensitive as Hayley is, when we yell even if is not at her, she gets upset and maybe that is what triggered it.
So that's how our morning started. The rest of it did not go well either. Got up to Camping World for them to install our awning and when they were almost done, discovered that the arms were "standard" length and not "short" length. Since our roof has a pitch to it, the standard arms were too long. So they had to take the awning off and we came back to Jack's to spend Monday night. Camping World ordered the short arms which should arrive early Tuesday morning. So, we will be heading back up there for the installation then.
Also discovered that the price to fix the well falls below our $1,000 deductible for our landlord insurance so we are not going to filed a claim for that. Will still email the invoice to the adjuster once it comes in so they have it for their files.
Still waiting on whether the insurance will cover the awning and brake. Doubt if it will cover the brake, but we are hoping the insurance will cover some of the awning.
So our next workamper employment is delayed another day, and hopefully we will make it up there sometime Tuesday afternoon. It's a long drive through the north Georgia mountains, so I hope it does not take too long.
March 6, 2013. Wednesday took us to Blue Ridge, Georgia on our way to Townsend. Stayed at a pretty run down park in Blue Ridge but Bill Wallace came over for dinner and visited with us for the evening. We were going to try to make it down the road to his cabin, but we decided to stop in a church parking lot and drive down to his cabin in his jeep to look at the road conditions. After viewing the roads we decided not to take the chance of taking the RV down his road.
So we camped at Mineral Springs RV Park. Lovely sounding name for a wet, muddy park, but at least they had water and electric. It rained really hard while we were looking at Bill's road and while we were sitting in the church parking lot, but luckily it blew over by the time we were at the campground. So we decided to put out the awning for the evening and see what it looked like. Bill & Jim were sitting outside when I heard an awful crash only to discover that a huge gust of wind came over the mountain and before Jim could get out of his chair and get the awning down, it broke the arms and took the awning over on top of the trailer. Good thing the fabric itself was not damaged, only the arms and hardware. Borrowed a ladder from our neighbor to get the awning off the roof; put the brackets back together and got it back in place and taped down. I just could not believe this happened - the same day we get it installed and this happens.
Snowed during the night and we woke to find the water line frozen (luckily not inside the trailer) and a sprinkling of snow on the ground. The dogs seemed to enjoy their morning walk in the snow but it was still mushy and wet since the ground did not freeze.
So the next day we headed for Camping World in Chattanooga hoping to get it repaired in a couple of days - but that was not to be the case. Since they were only ordering parts and not whole kits, the shipping from Dometic would not take place until the middle of March. So we decided that we would use a mobile RV technician out of Knoxville that was recommended by the advisor here at Camping World. Since there is warranty work involved, we had to get someone certified to do that kind of work. Talked with the owner of Premier Mobile RV Repair and they can take care of ordering the parts and handling getting the warranty to pay for the repair.
Decided to stay the night in Chattanooga instead of driving to Townsend and arriving at 5:00pm - we will just head out Thursday morning and take our time. Also found out as we were driving to Chattanooga that the insurance will cover the cost of the new awning (minus our deductible) so we are very happy to hear that news. Through Allstate claims I set up direct deposit, so the money will land in our checking account by this Friday.
March 12, 2013. Arrived in Townsend on Thursday, March 7 and got settled in our spot with the help of the manager, Jesse, and one of the other workampers, Scott. Good gravel driveway and a little grassy spot to the back. We have two gnomes off to one side next to the fence and a deck in the back with a picnic table. Put in the Double Down Dog Run in the back near the table for the girls. Got settled in on Friday and Saturday, washing the truck and trailer and going to the grocery store in Townsend for a few things.
Sunday was our first day of work. I went into the office from 8-5 and Jim worked from 9-3 doing yard work. Only have 2 or 3 campers staying in the campground now and only a few phone calls came in. We did get three reservations, which I inputed into the computer along with putting their deposit through on the credit card machine. So I am slowly learning the ropes and how the operations work. There is quite a process in closing out the register and credit card machine. We went through it once but I will need to go through it again so I can learn it.
We have Tuesday and Wednesday off so today we drove into Maryville to do some more shopping. Stopped at Tractor Supply for dog food; Kroger; then Petsmart for a gentle leader for Lucy. I am very tired of her pulling on the leash and needed to get her one; then we stopped at the liquor store before heading home. Before heading to Maryville we stopped at the Visitor Center and picked up a lot of material about the area and things to do in the park. Very nice Visitor Center with a lot of books and free material.
Started raining this afternoon just as we were getting home so will get out tomorrow and go into the park to see the sites.
March 21, 2013. Just finishing our two days off after working for seven days straight. That was long - especially for Gayle working 9-5 with no break for lunch but has to grab it while standing at the back counter.
Yesterday we drove the Foothills Parkway north to south; stopped a few times to look at the scenery but it was too cold to walk much. Main focus of the day was a trip into Maryville for our weekly shopping. We are slowly learning our way around Maryville and it won't take long for us to figure it all out.
Thursday we were talking about driving the Tail of the Dragon. Could have done it the other day - when the Foothills dead ends - left goes to the Tail and right goes to Maryville. But today we thought we would get to the Tail from the east side and drove into the park along the Little River Road to the Sugarland Visitor Center. Spent some time there and walked to the Cataract Falls behind the visitor center. Discovered that the road we wanted to take south was closed until mid-May due to a mud slide that closed the road. So that changed our plans for the day.
We then drove in to Gatlinburg to see what it looks like - holy cow, what a tourist center. The main strip is filled with restaurants and everything else for a tourist to do - not what we want to do. Turned around and went back into the park and went to the Elkmont area for lunch. That's an amazing area where people used to go to get away; there are many houses there where people had a life estate but the last one expired in 2001. Now the houses belong to the state and are quite dilapidated. They state is talking about restoring some of them but I don't see how that can happen with the current finances of the country.
After lunch we just went back to the trailer for our evening routine. I have a new place to walk the dogs. I found out who owns the property at the end of Stables Drive and wrote them a letter to ask permission to walk on their property. Talked with them this morning and got permission to walk there; which we did this afternoon. Quite amazing as the property also goes back into the mountains along a road/horse trail which we walked on a little bit today. I will need to head into the mountains a little more once it warms up. Also need to make sure take my gun (hogs, coyotes, and bears). The girls really enjoyed the new place - they were looking for critters in the wheat grass. There are also wild hogs that have dug in a lot of the lower land. Also talked to a couple that was out cutting wood - wanted them to know who I was and let them know that I did have permission to walk on the property.
April 19, 2013. Geez, can't believe it's been so long since I have wrote here. We have today and tomorrow off, after working for 9 days straight. We were supposed to have Tuesday and Wednesday off but Judi asked me if I could move my days off in order to continue training the new woman, Sandy, on inputting reservations and opening and closing procedures. So lucky us, it's raining today and is supposed to rain most of the day. This is the huge front that made it's way through the west and midwest dropping snow and bringing more cold weather. It was in the 80's last week and the next few days are only supposed to be in the low to high 60's with rain coming again Wednesday.
Jack & Tam'ra came to visit last week; they rented one of the log homes off site Just Heavenly, which has three bedrooms, a nice kitchen and living room, a deck that goes around the house, and a hot tub. We visited with them all three evenings they were here and Tam'ra cooked wonderful meals for us; then we all went into the hot tub for a good soaking. Had a wonderful time visiting with them.
Drove the Tail of the Dragon on one of our last day's off, and you can see the pictures of it by going to our Photo Gallery and clicking on Tail of the Dragon. There sure were a lot of switchbacks and poor Jim got to drive it both ways. Also went to see the Fontana Dam which was quite impressive. Met a few people hiking the Appalachian Trail, which goes straight across the Dam. Jim even took pictures of some of them for their photo album; they were very happy to have pictures of themselves.
Just finished our first full month working here at Tremont. Now we move into our working 15 hours per week for our site, which will last for the next three months. I work about 40 hours a week and Jim 30-35. This is not retirement - we are working way more than I really want to, but we do need the money. Got to pay off the credit cards before we head out of here in November. At least I will be able to start collecting social security come December (though I may wait until January) and that will really help with the bills.
April 27, 2013. Four days off - don't know what we are going to do with ourselves with so much time off -- Haha. Trouble is day one was nice and sunny but now a rain front is coming through for the rest of the weekend. Did laundry, cleaned the trailer, and finally did some sewing - Jacklyn's blouse and Jim's pants. Today off to the Post Office and up Wears Valley.
Getting the run around from Camping World's extended warranty service on the damage done to the trailer from the freak wind that blew the awning on top of the trailer. Long story and will not go into it here, but we may have to write to Good Sam's help desk to get the company paid that did the warranty work.
Mornings I take the dogs up the mountain for some exercise and in the afternoon we go out of the campground and walk along the Walkway that goes from the KOA next door all the way through Townsend, ending when the road goes to two lanes and hits the mountain. As we were leaving the campground yesterday a bald eagle flew into the tree right above us. Wanted to get a picture but the dogs saw it too and Lucy started barking and by the time I got my phone out for a picture, it flew away.
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The evening was nice visiting with Jack, Tam'ra and Mom for a late lunch and then dinner. Tam'ra is such a good cook and can make simple foods for a large crowd very easily. Lunch was spaghetti with a salad, bread, and a fruit salad, and dinner was chicken soup from a very easy recipe but very good.
I went back to the trailer early to stay with the dogs and Jim stayed up with Jack until 11:00pm. Don't know what the dogs got into, if anything, but they were pretty restless throughout the night. Got me up about 2:00am barking and antsy about what was outside. Early this morning I guess Hayley had an upset stomach and had diarrhea all over Jim's sweats. Good thing that was all she got it on. Did not realize it for a while and Lucy came to bed panting and shaking horribly. Brought her under the covers and tried without luck to get her calmed down. I finally got up to a horrible smell and discovered the mess. When I threw the clothes outside Lucy calmed down - I guess she was agitated about what had happened. She knew it was not right and tried to tell us - she barks and we were upset with being woken up and we ignored her and just told her to lie down. Of course, as sensitive as Hayley is, when we yell even if is not at her, she gets upset and maybe that is what triggered it.
So that's how our morning started. The rest of it did not go well either. Got up to Camping World for them to install our awning and when they were almost done, discovered that the arms were "standard" length and not "short" length. Since our roof has a pitch to it, the standard arms were too long. So they had to take the awning off and we came back to Jack's to spend Monday night. Camping World ordered the short arms which should arrive early Tuesday morning. So, we will be heading back up there for the installation then.
Also discovered that the price to fix the well falls below our $1,000 deductible for our landlord insurance so we are not going to filed a claim for that. Will still email the invoice to the adjuster once it comes in so they have it for their files.
Still waiting on whether the insurance will cover the awning and brake. Doubt if it will cover the brake, but we are hoping the insurance will cover some of the awning.
So our next workamper employment is delayed another day, and hopefully we will make it up there sometime Tuesday afternoon. It's a long drive through the north Georgia mountains, so I hope it does not take too long.
March 6, 2013. Wednesday took us to Blue Ridge, Georgia on our way to Townsend. Stayed at a pretty run down park in Blue Ridge but Bill Wallace came over for dinner and visited with us for the evening. We were going to try to make it down the road to his cabin, but we decided to stop in a church parking lot and drive down to his cabin in his jeep to look at the road conditions. After viewing the roads we decided not to take the chance of taking the RV down his road.
So we camped at Mineral Springs RV Park. Lovely sounding name for a wet, muddy park, but at least they had water and electric. It rained really hard while we were looking at Bill's road and while we were sitting in the church parking lot, but luckily it blew over by the time we were at the campground. So we decided to put out the awning for the evening and see what it looked like. Bill & Jim were sitting outside when I heard an awful crash only to discover that a huge gust of wind came over the mountain and before Jim could get out of his chair and get the awning down, it broke the arms and took the awning over on top of the trailer. Good thing the fabric itself was not damaged, only the arms and hardware. Borrowed a ladder from our neighbor to get the awning off the roof; put the brackets back together and got it back in place and taped down. I just could not believe this happened - the same day we get it installed and this happens.
Snowed during the night and we woke to find the water line frozen (luckily not inside the trailer) and a sprinkling of snow on the ground. The dogs seemed to enjoy their morning walk in the snow but it was still mushy and wet since the ground did not freeze.
So the next day we headed for Camping World in Chattanooga hoping to get it repaired in a couple of days - but that was not to be the case. Since they were only ordering parts and not whole kits, the shipping from Dometic would not take place until the middle of March. So we decided that we would use a mobile RV technician out of Knoxville that was recommended by the advisor here at Camping World. Since there is warranty work involved, we had to get someone certified to do that kind of work. Talked with the owner of Premier Mobile RV Repair and they can take care of ordering the parts and handling getting the warranty to pay for the repair.
Decided to stay the night in Chattanooga instead of driving to Townsend and arriving at 5:00pm - we will just head out Thursday morning and take our time. Also found out as we were driving to Chattanooga that the insurance will cover the cost of the new awning (minus our deductible) so we are very happy to hear that news. Through Allstate claims I set up direct deposit, so the money will land in our checking account by this Friday.
March 12, 2013. Arrived in Townsend on Thursday, March 7 and got settled in our spot with the help of the manager, Jesse, and one of the other workampers, Scott. Good gravel driveway and a little grassy spot to the back. We have two gnomes off to one side next to the fence and a deck in the back with a picnic table. Put in the Double Down Dog Run in the back near the table for the girls. Got settled in on Friday and Saturday, washing the truck and trailer and going to the grocery store in Townsend for a few things.
Sunday was our first day of work. I went into the office from 8-5 and Jim worked from 9-3 doing yard work. Only have 2 or 3 campers staying in the campground now and only a few phone calls came in. We did get three reservations, which I inputed into the computer along with putting their deposit through on the credit card machine. So I am slowly learning the ropes and how the operations work. There is quite a process in closing out the register and credit card machine. We went through it once but I will need to go through it again so I can learn it.
We have Tuesday and Wednesday off so today we drove into Maryville to do some more shopping. Stopped at Tractor Supply for dog food; Kroger; then Petsmart for a gentle leader for Lucy. I am very tired of her pulling on the leash and needed to get her one; then we stopped at the liquor store before heading home. Before heading to Maryville we stopped at the Visitor Center and picked up a lot of material about the area and things to do in the park. Very nice Visitor Center with a lot of books and free material.
Started raining this afternoon just as we were getting home so will get out tomorrow and go into the park to see the sites.
March 21, 2013. Just finishing our two days off after working for seven days straight. That was long - especially for Gayle working 9-5 with no break for lunch but has to grab it while standing at the back counter.
Yesterday we drove the Foothills Parkway north to south; stopped a few times to look at the scenery but it was too cold to walk much. Main focus of the day was a trip into Maryville for our weekly shopping. We are slowly learning our way around Maryville and it won't take long for us to figure it all out.
Thursday we were talking about driving the Tail of the Dragon. Could have done it the other day - when the Foothills dead ends - left goes to the Tail and right goes to Maryville. But today we thought we would get to the Tail from the east side and drove into the park along the Little River Road to the Sugarland Visitor Center. Spent some time there and walked to the Cataract Falls behind the visitor center. Discovered that the road we wanted to take south was closed until mid-May due to a mud slide that closed the road. So that changed our plans for the day.
We then drove in to Gatlinburg to see what it looks like - holy cow, what a tourist center. The main strip is filled with restaurants and everything else for a tourist to do - not what we want to do. Turned around and went back into the park and went to the Elkmont area for lunch. That's an amazing area where people used to go to get away; there are many houses there where people had a life estate but the last one expired in 2001. Now the houses belong to the state and are quite dilapidated. They state is talking about restoring some of them but I don't see how that can happen with the current finances of the country.
After lunch we just went back to the trailer for our evening routine. I have a new place to walk the dogs. I found out who owns the property at the end of Stables Drive and wrote them a letter to ask permission to walk on their property. Talked with them this morning and got permission to walk there; which we did this afternoon. Quite amazing as the property also goes back into the mountains along a road/horse trail which we walked on a little bit today. I will need to head into the mountains a little more once it warms up. Also need to make sure take my gun (hogs, coyotes, and bears). The girls really enjoyed the new place - they were looking for critters in the wheat grass. There are also wild hogs that have dug in a lot of the lower land. Also talked to a couple that was out cutting wood - wanted them to know who I was and let them know that I did have permission to walk on the property.
April 19, 2013. Geez, can't believe it's been so long since I have wrote here. We have today and tomorrow off, after working for 9 days straight. We were supposed to have Tuesday and Wednesday off but Judi asked me if I could move my days off in order to continue training the new woman, Sandy, on inputting reservations and opening and closing procedures. So lucky us, it's raining today and is supposed to rain most of the day. This is the huge front that made it's way through the west and midwest dropping snow and bringing more cold weather. It was in the 80's last week and the next few days are only supposed to be in the low to high 60's with rain coming again Wednesday.
Jack & Tam'ra came to visit last week; they rented one of the log homes off site Just Heavenly, which has three bedrooms, a nice kitchen and living room, a deck that goes around the house, and a hot tub. We visited with them all three evenings they were here and Tam'ra cooked wonderful meals for us; then we all went into the hot tub for a good soaking. Had a wonderful time visiting with them.
Drove the Tail of the Dragon on one of our last day's off, and you can see the pictures of it by going to our Photo Gallery and clicking on Tail of the Dragon. There sure were a lot of switchbacks and poor Jim got to drive it both ways. Also went to see the Fontana Dam which was quite impressive. Met a few people hiking the Appalachian Trail, which goes straight across the Dam. Jim even took pictures of some of them for their photo album; they were very happy to have pictures of themselves.
Just finished our first full month working here at Tremont. Now we move into our working 15 hours per week for our site, which will last for the next three months. I work about 40 hours a week and Jim 30-35. This is not retirement - we are working way more than I really want to, but we do need the money. Got to pay off the credit cards before we head out of here in November. At least I will be able to start collecting social security come December (though I may wait until January) and that will really help with the bills.
April 27, 2013. Four days off - don't know what we are going to do with ourselves with so much time off -- Haha. Trouble is day one was nice and sunny but now a rain front is coming through for the rest of the weekend. Did laundry, cleaned the trailer, and finally did some sewing - Jacklyn's blouse and Jim's pants. Today off to the Post Office and up Wears Valley.
Getting the run around from Camping World's extended warranty service on the damage done to the trailer from the freak wind that blew the awning on top of the trailer. Long story and will not go into it here, but we may have to write to Good Sam's help desk to get the company paid that did the warranty work.
Mornings I take the dogs up the mountain for some exercise and in the afternoon we go out of the campground and walk along the Walkway that goes from the KOA next door all the way through Townsend, ending when the road goes to two lanes and hits the mountain. As we were leaving the campground yesterday a bald eagle flew into the tree right above us. Wanted to get a picture but the dogs saw it too and Lucy started barking and by the time I got my phone out for a picture, it flew away.
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