Ch. 45 – It’s time to move on

Late August Max, Myself, mom and dad all had a sit-down meeting in the newly finished lodge about plans for the campground, and we decided to list the campground for sale to see if anybody would like to purchase it.  We were asking for 3.5 Million, which seemed to be appropriate seeing how much we put into upgrading the campground, and the income that the place generated.

When we built Rockinghorse Acres, I made sure to have all the utilities for that area totally separate from the main campground.  This section was not part of the listing; the plan was to simply remove or keep the gate that leads to the main campground locked.  I could clearly have a private small campground if I wanted to.

We ended that season around the end of October and bid our work campers the best of luck on their next adventure, plus we gave each couple $2,000 bonus for staying the whole season.

When we had went to the ABDL convention that fall we had stated that we owned a campground that had a private camping area that could host smaller events.  Before they had left for the season I had Marcus design a website for Rocking Horse Acres Camp.  We were going to offer up a private camping area for other like-minded folk.  We passed out cards to people who may want to book a weekend or more.  We directed them to the website to sign up for the next season when the campground opened.

As always the convention was fun for me and Max enjoyed being around other grown ups as well.  We took the Kamp with us behind the Jeep. The crib on the front end of the camper was finally completed and was quite comfy to sleep in.  The furnace kept us toasty warm that weekend as it started snowing that second night.  Like usual, we stopped off at a harvest host site for one night on the way home.

The whole trip home my phone kept going off with people signing up to come to Rocking Horse Acres, which we will call RHA for short.  We decided to start the planning process of a ABDL campout the next summer.

Over the winter we had several bites on the main campground, many of them were lowball offers.  We knew what we had and what it was worth. Finally we decided to just hire a management team to run it.  We would give them full power to do anything short of capital improvements.  They answered to the 4 of us who were the owners, but we wanted no day-to-day involvement.  The rules and such stayed the same as the previous year, as did the pricing.  This would allow us to run a much smaller property, deciding who we wanted to have camping with us, when we wanted to be open as well.

We finalized the agreement on March 1, and the next day a letter and email were sent to every seasonal camper that we had to let them know of the change.

We had asked the new management to consider keeping the same staff that we had last year.  We basically stepped away from the campground and left it as was at the end of the season.  The gate between the two properties was kept, but would be locked unless there was an emergency.  It was a fun time running the big campground, but we all wanted a break and the ability to travel when we wanted to do.

I had emailed Shawn and Marcus about the change in management, and if they wanted to work for the new people or not, we could keep them busy at RHA, the hours would be pretty much the same, but with less work.

Shawn said that they would be happy to work with Max and I this year and we hashed out a contract.  Basically Shawn and Marcus, Max and I would run the RHA camp.  Mom and Dad would help whenever they were back in town.

We all agreed that we would shoot for April 15th to soft open.  With reservations starting May 1. We got a reservation system up, opening 15 sites to be booked.  This allowed enough room for the owners/workers/family and a few extra spots if needed.  The lodge would be available mid summer.

We had lined up in the owners section, My big RV, our Kamp, Mom and Dad’s Kamp, Max’s Parents and Marcus and Shawn’s.

We quickly got a steel building started inside the new entrance gate. Had more fence erected around the entire property, with the priority to block the old campground from our place.  No Tresspass signs went up on the fence on both sides.

Max’s brothers came down that first weekend in April to help, and as soon as school was out came to the campground for the summer.  They were a great help in getting the camp opened for the year.

We had our first campers on May 1, and as organized as Marcus was, he had all units checked in quickly, Shawn and David and Riley were directing people to their sites.  We had filled to near capacity that first weekend.

One of the nice things about it being private is that people could actually walk around however they wanted as long as genitals were covered, so if that meant that people were running around in just a diaper… so be it.

We got projects laid out for the year.  We built a shelterhouse in the common area, a recreation building was started, along with getting land cleared and started for an in-ground pool.  It took us till about August to get the pool completed, but it would be enjoyed next summer.

The lodge stayed booked by groups from Mid June till the end of the season.  With 6 bedrooms, that meant 8 cribs were available and the 5th bedroom had a queen sized bed, and the 6th was the storage room for now.  Sofa beds were in most couches… This meant that about 14 people could sleep in beds.

The Kamp factory called to say our two 13’ campers were completed and we gave them updated delivery instructions, so they would come in the new gate for our property.  They arrived the next week and as soon as the delivery people left we got to work on doing the crib modifications to them.

We had bought models that did not include a bath, but had AC and a heat strip.  These were to be rental campers, and were placed near the shower house so the lack of a bathroom would not cause too much issues.

We kept the place pretty much 50-75% capacity the entire summer, with it picking up once others found out or heard about us.  We had a warm fall and did not close until November.  Again Shawn and Marcus left us for the winter season working at Amazon.

Max and I went to the ABDL convention, taking the Kamp and the Jeep.  From there we headed down south to Florida to Disney, where we camped a couple weeks,  then headed back home for just long enough for Christmas.

For Christmas, we had everybody up to the lodge, where we had plenty of room for everybody to eat.  The twins each got a car from Max and I.  They were used Chevy Cobalts, one in blue the other in red, having found out that Riley was now able to get his license.  They were shocked and amazed as it was kept well under wraps for several months. I had hid them in the garage at my house.

The day after Christmas we set out for the winter, along with dad and mom.  We dropped down along the gulf coast to New Orleans and then we just bounced around for about a month, we would drive for a bit, stop check out the area, vlog it the next day and then drive a bit more.  If we got towards a cold climate we would change direction.  We had the solar panels that would charge the battery in the day so that we could run the roof fan at night along with opening the windows.

It was strange traveling without a generator that you could just fire up and run the AC, smaller freshwater and grey and black water tanks. We were dumping and filling tanks like every other day it seemed.  We would boondock for a day or two and then find a campground, just to dump the tanks, fill them and charge up the batteries and work.

I was not going to go back to uploading at any scheduled interval.  I would edit and upload a video or two, and slowly release them.  I certainly missed our multi-gigabit internet that we had at the campground, often taking almost 2 hours to upload a single 15 minute video.  I did some longer videos and simply mailed a portable SSD to our families for them to upload for us. This was most important to backup raw footage and finished projects.  We even rendezvous with my parents for a few days out in Sedona and Phoenix.

With March closing in on us we headed back east up to Memphis, Nashville, Louisville and then home.  The campground was still winterized, as was the big RV, so it was to our house to stop and do laundry.  We semi-winterized the Kamp just in case it froze again.  Basically we emptied the tanks and blew out the lines.

First week in April, Shawn and Marcus arrived and we got to work on opening the campground up for another fun season. This would be the first full season for the pool at the campground, so it needed to be properly opened up and readied.

I had hired the local pool supplier to open and close it, and make sure it was ready for use.  It is so much easier to have them deliver the chemicals we need for the season, than for one of us to be constantly running to get more.

Before we even opened we were pretty much booked for the entire summer for the campground and for the lodge. Max and I lived in the big RV, and then when we would travel for little trips we would take the Jeep and the Kamp.  We even had some part season work campers.  Basically people who wanted to camp for a month and save money on their fees.  We would basically assign them to things like trash pickup, bathrooms, and checking people in or showing them to their camp site.

Max and I went up to our favorite place on Lake Erie, Put-In-Bay, this time taking the Jeep and Kamp over on the ferry and camping there from Monday to Thursday, since mom and dad were at the campground along with Shawn and Marcus.

In my wildest dreams I never thought we could fill this entire campground every weekend with kink friendly people, yet there we were full. We started last fall with planning themed weekends, some were a full out kink fest, and we even did  family friendly weekends where the kink stuff was kept out of sight.  For lack of a better description the campground rule was just chill people who don’t bother each other.

My folks were at the campground during the week, and then would go off camping for the weekend, especially if the theme was a bit too much for them. Sometimes they just went next door to the old campground where we had a permanent spot, other times they travelled out of the area.

The itch to travel more became apparent with Max and myself. Max, I and my parents decided that we wanted the ability to be away more often.   Promotions and offers were made.

We offered Shawn and Marcus a full-time permanent seasonal position with part time in the winter months.  They could stay there year round , be paid and have their spot for the year. They were allowed to hire however many people they needed.  They had a labor budget, and the ability to add 1 work-camper team.

Mom, and Dad would step back from the operation entirely, they basically were permanent campers, who may sometime help out.  Mom would continue to help with the books and office stuff, dad would come out for projects or busy weekends.

Max and I would be around too as this was mainly our home in the summer.  Mom and dad kept their camper at the campgrounds when they were not out traveling too.

One week the 4 of us went up to Lake Erie for a fun few days, while cruising the islands we found a large lot for sale.  We called the realtor and found that we could take this lot, build a tiny utility building where we could have water, sewer, electric, a laundry room, shower and bathroom, and then pour two slabs for parking our RVs and/or trailers.  Without a doubt we decided to buy it.  Let’s face it, in the last two to three years neither of us were at our houses much, we basically lived either on the road or at the campground.  Now, I was not going to sell my house where it all began, we would be there in the winter when we were not traveling, and it was a nice home base for packages to arrive at.

Ch. 44 How it should be.

Saturday night is what I like to call family fun night at the campground.  Usually it is participation games, board games, music, movies and such.  Stuff for the whole family.  We have a 12’ projection screen so we might as well use it.

Alex and Willow took the overnight, Willow stocked the store and did the office stuff with Alex handling the duties of riding around, checking the bath houses, telling people to be quiet.

Overall we have a great work family.  Monday nights when all the work is done, we close the office and have a dinner as a work family either in the rental lodge near the office or the activity building.

From memorial day to July 4th weekend we were booked solid.  Every now and then I would allow the office to book an overflow camper into the Rocking horse section, we were selective of who was allowed back there.  Interior work continued on the lodge back there as well. We had all the furniture in, just assembling it.

I had waited till school was out for David and Riley to have them and Will come up to the campground.  I put them to work putting furniture together, painting, cleaning, etc…  They got paid some nice money and had the experience of using the new furniture as well.

I designed the furniture and really that whole lodge to be a rentable ABDL nursery,  It had 6 bedrooms, 1 that was a master bedroom with King sized bed, Jacuzzi tub, big bathroom, and such.  The other 5 bedrooms had double beds (full sized), which had removable crib rails.  We wanted a way to store the rails out of the way if they were not needed.    The rails are hinged halfway up to allow the occupant to get in and out, but when folded down had a latch to release the lower half.  This would make the rail able to lower along a track under the mattress foundation, and the whole rail could disappear under the bed.  All 5 rooms were decorated like they were for a child, no dead animals on the walls, nothing scary.

The Thursday after July 4th weekend I get a call from the office that somebody from Michigan had called and requested to camp specifically in the RH section, and they would be arriving Friday afternoon.  The office staff knew that if somebody requested specifically the RH section that they likely knew Me or Max.  They gave me a last name but I did not recognize it, must be somebody Max knew.

We were so busy that week that I had not had the chance to really sit and talk much with Max.  Mom and Dad had taken off in their Kamp Wednesday morning, going on a trip to Maine, with stops in Niagra Falls.

Friday afternoon came and I am out riding the ATV around the campground making sure there were no issues when Donna called over the walkie that she needed me in the office to direct a camper.

I arrived at the office to see Tyler, James and Kyle from our Cruise.  “Hey how are you doing, I guess you must be the guests for the RH section this weekend. Where’s the wife?”

“Yep, uh about Susan, we split up after the cruise, I just could not stand it any longer” He replied

I stammered for a moment, not sure what to say. “Uh sorry about that”

“I should have divorced her before, I knew that all those ‘business trips’ were more than business.  Oh well, I took some money, traded in my SUV and bought a big truck and a trailer.  Right now I stay at our lake home and have the boys this summer.” He said

“Cool, did they get you all registered and checked in?  If so let me get you parked. The RH section is clear on the other side of the campground.  I’ll have to stop and open the gate” I said as I went to my ATV

“Yep, let’s go” He said as he hopped in the truck with the two boys following.

We wound through the campground till we got to the gate and I dialed on my phone and put in the code for the gate and it slid open.  After we were both in, I hit the close command and the gate shut again.

“Ok, you can pretty much pick any site you want. The big RV is mine, the Kamp to the right of it is my new down-sized trailer.  The other Kamp is one of our employees, that one is my mom and dad’s spot. Max’s family is there. So wherever you want.”  I said pointing out where everybody was.  He ended up picking a spot on the other side of Carl and Maria’s

As soon as the truck stopped, Tyler hopped out and started directing his dad on backing.  As soon as Kyle had it backed in, James got out and helped get the trailer setup.  They were pretty much a team and had the trailer leveled out (our pads were really level to begin with), and their power and water stuff hooked up.  They must have done this a few times before.

It wasn’t long before David and Riley had noticed that a new camper arrived and they came out of the lodge where they had been working, or maybe they were goofing off, they had paint on them.  As soon as they saw who it was they kinda picked up their pace to get over there.

The boys caught up on what they had been doing, Tyler and James had been spending the summer with their dad, bouncing around to different campgrounds on the weekend and staying at the lake house during the week while their dad worked.  They both had been wearing diapers every now and then, their dad was agreeable to buying them diapers, which their mother vehemently was against even allowing wearing them to happen.

That weekend the 4 teenagers hung out every waking moment. Soon the weekend was over and Tyler, James and Kyle had to take off to head home.

The rest of the summer was pretty mundane.  Mom and Dad would travel for a few weeks, and then come back for a few weeks or so.  The day to day operations were handled by Max, Myself, our employees and work campers.  Luckily many of the problems were sorted out in the first few weeks of the season, and the rest was as smooth sailing as it could be.

By the end of the season, I realized how much work it really was to run this place.  Way more work than I ever knew.

Ch. 43 – not this guy!

 

Friday morning is really the calm before the storm, as come about 3 pm Friday that office will be packed, with impatient campers, their misbehaved children and attitudes.

Friday 4 PM I was directing a new camper to their spot when my walkie screeched. “Office to Management, Office to management”  It was Marcus, who never calls out for management.

I was the manager on duty, so I responded. “Manager Jason to office, what’s up?”

“Ca, can you come to the office” Marcus responded, and I could hear noise in the background.

“On my way” I said as I left the new campers, unlocked their pedestal letting them know to come to the office if they need anything.  I high-tailed it to the office.

As I walked in I knew just who it was and why he was there.  It was the jerk from spot 12.  He had came out on Friday morning to drop off stuff and get his site setup.  He had been warned by dad Thursday and via the letter that prompted his initial call. Yet, when he came out That morning he filled his portable hot tub and plugged in his outside fridge and the hot tub at the pedestal.  When Max rode by on his rounds after he had left, he found the hot tub setup, along with the extra fridge; Max unplugged the hot tub, and plugged the fridge into his outside 20 amp outlet, locked out the power box and left a note.

“Who the FUCK unplugged stuff at my spot, this is bull shit for what I pay. You retards don’t know what you’re doing or who you’re messing with.  Special Ed here just gives me some retarded answer” He screamed at me making a scene

“Management unplugged your stuff.  You got the letter that spelled out the power policy this year.  In addition to that Manager Tim explained it to you on the phone Wednesday too.  You get one outlet, you don’t get the 50, 30 and 20… that is 100 amps.  You are the biggest abuser of the power, YOU are the reason we had to enact the rules.” I said getting loud.  “One more rude comment about my staff and you can get your damn rig out of here”

“Fuck you, this place and your staff are a bunch of sexual deviants, running around like toddler, probably pedophiles”  he said

I felt myself about to explode, but just then Max and Shawn stepped into the office, Shawn picked Marcus  up like he was nothing and sat him in an office chair as Max removed the asshole from the office.

Max yelled “Jason call the sheriff and say we have a disturbance that is about to become violent, then call your dad”

Shawn went outside to make sure Max did not do anything to escalate the situation and try to placate him until backup could come.

The Sherriff showed up to keep the peace.  Lot 12 was told that he needed to vacate the campground that night.  He would need to have somebody retrieve his camper and belongings.  He was trespassed indefinitely from the property.

Marcus and Shawn went back to their camper where Shawn was there doing what a good daddy does, take care of his little boy.

Alex was working the 7 to midnight shift along with Willow, they were going to share the maintenance duty, so I got out of the office after the law enforcement left, and the office died down. “Call on my cell if you need anything, I will be riding around later if people have problems”

I got in my ATV and headed back to our RV, but not before stopping by Shawn and Marcus’s.  I knocked so quietly.  Shawn came to the door and signaled to be quiet.  I peeked in and saw Marcus laying in the crib in just a onsie and diaper, asleep and sucking on a pacifier.  Shawn signaled that he was coming outside.

“In all my time work camping, I have never seen a knock down drag out at the office” Shawn said “Cops and everything”

“Yeah, we don’t put up with that stuff around here.  I can put up with a lot of stuff, but when you verbally attack me, my staff and use certain words, it ends.  This guy will not be a problem any longer.

He has 3 days to get somebody to get his camper and stuff out of here.  Oh sure he whined that he had no way to pull it out of here, I don’t care, on day 4 I will have it towed out and impounded.

Understand that we do not ever put up with the behavior that went on today.  Please make sure Marcus knows that too.” I said, putting on my boss baby act.

“He was really freaked out when that guy came in yelling, and then it got more loud and mean and he cannot handle it” Shawn said

“Yeah that is why I called you and max for help” I said  “Will he be good enough for his shift tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, he just needs his little time and he will be in at 6 am making the coffee like nothing happened”

“OK, well Donna comes in at 10 and Paula at 4 and are working with him, and You are with Steve at 10 tomorrow morning, so he should be ok.  Julia will be in at 4:00.”

Next stop was to my parent’s trailer.

“So, lot 12 guy, is he settled down now?” Dad asked

“Is he going to be trouble this weekend and all summer?” Mom asked

“Nope, I had him trespassed.  He has to have somebody come get his camper, he is not allowed to come on property, no later than Tuesday or it will be towed and impounded.  I am not putting up with this crap this summer.” I said, signaling that the updated policies and rules will be followed

“You know we have a waiting list for people who want to get in here, and if somebody does not want to respect the campground rules, they can camp elsewhere”

“I couldn’t agree more, I think we let the problem makers stay because we were not at capacity, but we are consistently turning people away that would like to get in.  I will call one of the people on the seasonal waiting list on Monday” Mom said

“So what is the plan if come Wednesday it is still there?” Dad asked

“According to the deputy I can call them and they will supervise the removal and it would be taken to the impound lot and he would have to pick it up from there,  It is as simple as illegal parking” I said

My next stop was at my RV where Max was waiting for me. “Hey baby, I bet you need a change and something to eat.  I made some stir fry chicken, go ahead and eat up then I will get you changed.” He said as I slid into the dinette

“Thank you for taking care of that jerk from lot 12, he just had me so upset, especially when he called Marcus retarded and us pedophiles.  We’ve worked way too hard to get this place to be what we want and people like him are just not going to stay here.  He’s gone, he has to get somebody to get his trailer out.

Tomorrow I want to start draining that hot tub, I’d love to use the honey wagon pump, but I think we have a general non-poop pump we can use, as I don’t want that all drained to the ground, it will make a muddy mess and kill the grass with all the chemicals he puts in it.  Not sure I want to put that much water in our sewer system though”

“You need to get your mind off of this situation because it is just making you too angry.  Finish up and we will get you changed so you can get out and ride around more.

Mom and Dad said they were on their way, but will be more like 8:30.  I said for them to just come in the back gate.” He said directing me to eat my meal.

When I finished, I was ushered back to the bedroom and got my diaper changed, and I was back out driving around the campground for the next couple hours.

I came home about 11pm to see Carl and Maria’s van parked next to their camper, but nobody was out.   Max was still awake watching TV.  As soon as I walked in, I was directed to the bed room and changed into my PJ’s and allowed to come back out to the living room.  Pretty much as soon as I sat down, Max came over with 2 baby bottles of warm chocolate milk and had me laying on his lap.  “Any more problems tonight?” He asked

“Nope, just had to tell a few people that their music was a little loud, telling kids not to be playing around in the shower house, you know the normal overnight stuff” I said as I yawned several times, and I was quickly dozing off within minutes.  I remember being carried to the bedroom and led to bed and sucking on my pacifier.

Saturday morning I awoke to the sound of Shawn and Marcus leaving their camper and their gator starting up and driving off.  I rolled over and enjoyed my squishy diaper some more before getting up and putting coffee on.  I was joined by Max about 30 minutes later and he started making some eggs and sausage patties.  After eating breakfast I got ready to head up to the office, between Max and I we were the management for the weekend. Mom and Dad had the weekend off.  When I walked outside I saw life at Carl and Maria’s site.  Carl was out in the van looking through stuff.

“Good morning Carl, missing something?” I asked

“Yes, looking for the coffee percolator in the van, along with coffee.  I really need coffee” He said

“Go get some from Max, there was almost a full pot of coffee when I left, plus Max can make more.” I said, as the door to Carl’s camper opened up and I see David and Will standing there in just onsie and diaper.

“Hey Jason, how far is it to the office?  Are those bikes still in the barn?  I wanted to grab two of them for Will and I.” David said

“Guys it is about a 10 minute walk.  I am going up front if you want to ride up there and see if they are in the barn and what they need.  You gotta go get pants on first though” I said

“We gotta change first, can you wait” David said

“Yeah but make it quick, I have to get up to the office by 10 am when people start coming up there.” I said as I sat there and made small talk with Carl who had now gotten his coffee fix.

“So finally threw that ass from lot 12 out I hear?” Carl said

“Yeah, I thought he would make it a couple weeks or part way through the season, but he just could not fathom being challenged by rules that apply to him” I chuckled

About this time David and Will emerged from the camper in onsies and track pants, obviously diapered.  We headed off to the front office.  I went in followed by the two teenagers, to be greeted by Marcus.

“Hello how can I help you today?” He greeted them.

“They’re with me.” I said as I walked over to the key cabinet. “Looking for the key to the barn, these two want to get some bikes out.”

“Right here” Marcus said as he slid in and grabbed the key.  “I can go over an unlock it if you want to get yourself some coffee”

“Have at it” I said, as the three of them bounced out the door towards the barn and I headed to the coffee pot with my half empty coffee tumbler and then I sat at the desk reading the log from overnight.

I was interrupted by Steve and Donna, “heard we missed the show last night” he said with a chuckle.  “Yeah it was a show stopper.  I told Max that we need to drain that hot tub at lot 12, use the honey wagon and that transfer pump from the shop to  pump it out too, but don’t damage it.  Not sure where we want to dump the water. Think the septic system can handle that water with all the chemicals?”

“Got it boss, It should be ok in the dump station, we will just not open the valve and let it go slow. Shawn’s loading the cleaning stuff up, we’ll get the bathrooms cleaned up from any overnight shenanigans then we will get it drained out.” Steve said

By now a few other campers who love to come up to the office to get their coffee, since we already have it made, they get a frozen breakfast sandwich, microwave it and  then they like to sit around and shoot the shit, like they do at the local McDonalds.

“So you finally got rid of ol Joe Brooks, good riddance.  It was so quiet last night, no loud music, I didn’t find beer cans strewn about my lot” One guy said

“Hell Harv, I thought them was your PBR cans” another said

“I got better taste than PBR, plus we no longer have to hear their all night hot tub orgy” Harv said

“Uh guys why did you never say anything?” I asked

“Last person who said something, was probably the last year ol Earl run this place… their camper mysteriously caught fire, another guys windows got broke out” Harv said. “I just kept my mouth shut and dealt with him”

“Please don’t just deal with anybody else like that, let us know.” I said

“So Jason, you’re a pretty easy going guy, just what did he say to make you flip out and throw him out” one of the old guys asked

“You’re right, I am pretty easy going, but there are a few words and actions that will make me flip the script.  He called my staff Retarded, Special Ed, called us pedophiles and deviants.  Every possible button he could push, was pushed.

I get that what Max and I do and the life we live may be unconventional, but I will not be accused of being a pedophile nor will I allow my staff to be treated that way.  He was on his way out, he just did not realize it.” I said

“Really?”

“Yes, I figured we would go around and round this year with him not following the rules about power usage, and we would have ended up asking him to leave or not renewing him at the end of the year.” I said

“Yeah what is the deal with the power rules, I thought you just upgraded everything?” Harv said

“Well in the last two years we have been using more and more electric, even when I figured in the extra spaces and occupancy.  So, last year I had a electrical monitor put into his pedestal and at random others, some of you alls too.  What I found is that some weeks Joe was using more power than the 5 other sites I was monitoring combined.  He was pulling about 90 amps of power for hours and hours, when a breaker would trip, he would have it reset again.  I literally had to have the electrician replace every breaker in the pedestal thinking they were defective.  So when one of my maintenance guys saw he had filled his hot tub, had it hooked up to the 30 amp outlet, and had both 20 amp outlets in use.  I had them disconnect his hot tub, and golf cart charger.  I had the outside fridge plugged into his RV, bringing his usage from 70 Amps down to 30.   Keep in mind that he got the same letters that you all did as well about electrical usage, which was sent before your seasonal fees were due… so he really had fair warning” I said to which the others agreed.

By now Marcus, David and Will had returned to the office.  “pieced together 2 working bikes for them” Marcus proclaimed

“Thanks for the help.” David said

“So what was wrong with the other bikes?  Flat tires?” I asked

“Yes, I pumped up tires, and they were not holding air.  Are you wanting to loan bikes out? If so we need about 6 26” tubes and a couple 26×2” tires, then we should have about 8 bikes or so that we can loan out.” Marcus said

“There are that many bikes in the barn?  Amazing, we just pick up about 1 or 2 a year that get left, I guess we just put them in there as a lost and found, and never have thought about the number we were getting.  Go ahead and put an amazon order in and we can work on them next week” I said to Marcus

“Ok, well see ya” Will said as they rode off

“So they both wear diapers?” Marcus inquired

“Yes, David is Max’s brother and Will is his friend, David was a bedwetter, well I guess still is, along with his brother Riley… David started wearing more often, and now I think he is pretty much 24/7 including school.  Will wears when he is with David.  Riley is somewhere inbetween just at night and 24/7.” I said

“How in the heck do you just stumble into the family that you have” Marcus said

“No clue, guess I am just lucky” I said  “Well let’s get back to work and help Donna”

By now the office was getting kind of busy with Saturday check ins, people needing food and wood, people having issues with their campsites, loaning out equipment. Max had came up to get the tractor and honey wagon.  He then went over to lot 12 to pump out the hot tub.  He turned off the water to the camper but left the electricity on, as we are not so cold that we would turn off the power to his fridge inside or even the outside fridge.

I took a drive through the campground, campers were getting up and making breakfast, swing by the laundry room to find several campers with little kids there, looked like washing bedding, that’s never fun when you’re camping…good thing I bought that triple load washer for those sleeping bags and comforters….. also that’s why I’m still in diapers.  As I am walking out I hear the mother say to one of the boys “This won’t happen  tonight, you’re going back in a diaper.”  I smiled and left.

Around 4:00 pm, we get a call from Lot 12 guy wanting to know if his buddy can come to pull his camper out and if he would be allowed on the property.  I said that he himself would be allowed into the campground for no more that 2 hours, and his visit was a courtesy and he was to remain at the campsite for the sole purpose of packing up his belongings and removing them, and this would be observed by a member of our staff.  If they cannot follow this they will have to get an outside company to move it.  I did tell him that we had drained the hot tub, which he thanked us for.   They said they would be by shortly and I had asked Steve to supervise, that way neither Max or I were there to inflame the situation any more.

True to his word, he arrived about 15 minutes later with a friends truck with a 5th wheel and his own truck.  They loaded the hot tub into the truck, along with the fridge and pulled the camper out with the bigger truck and were gone.

The rest of Saturday afternoon went well.  Marcus did his shift till 4 and Shawn picked him up from the office.  Steve and Donna were off 2 hours later.

Marcus may appear to have worked a longer shift, but he does a split.  He opened at 6 and then took a 2 hour lunch and came back for the rest of his shift.  Shawn sometimes does the same, other times he just picks up Marcus, and runs him back to their camper to do lunch and then comes back later to take him back to work.  We try to accommodate people’s needs… after all we are not an assembly line, we all live here.

Ch. 42 – Minnesota or bust

 

Sunday morning we rushed to get some grocery shopping done, ended up taking our laundry to the campground and used the machines there. We had a full house this weekend and Dad needed rest, and we needed to help check out campers, clean up sites, etc.

Dad had wanted to get started on the way to Minnesota early Tuesday morning, and when he wants to hit the road you better be ready.   By 1:00 pm all the weekend campers had left, and our seasonal ones are low to no maintenance.

We offer honey wagon service on Sundays, so Alex and Shawn were running that, Marcus was in the office helping me re-stock, and get people checked out. Willow was cleaning bathrooms with jasmine one of our locals.

Steve and Donna drew the day off., and usually when they are off, they are gone from the place… for good reason, because campers have been known to stop over and bother them, even with a off-duty sign put up.  They were also nice enough to run errands like pharmacy pickups, grocery pickup for the other 4 if need be.  They also used this time to have some ‘me’ time.

Monday Max and I were going over the notes from the time that we were gone, looking at the finances, schedules… basically just catching up on what all happened while we were on the cruise.

I got the paperwork that would be needed to transfer ownership of the RV like the title, registration, all the owners manuals and such.  That afternoon I brought it over to the main campground to give it a final walk through to be sure everything was removed that was ours.

Monday night we loaded up the old RV for one last trip and hitched the jeep up to the back.  I had basically stripped everything out of the rv that was not part of the deal, or needed. I had stored the spare set of vehicle towing brackets.

We left at 5:00 am Tuesday morning, driving for a bit, stopping and making some breakfast in a walmart parking lot. Then driving more.  We went 600 miles that first day.  By then dad was tired, Max was tired as was I.

Wednesday morning I woke up about 6:00 am and started making breakfast.  We had 2 more hours of driving before we dropped off the RV, but before we left we packed as much as we could in the Jeep and the back of Dad’s truck. We had packed what we needed for the trip in totes so that we would not forget anything.  We checked every cubby, nook and cranny of that RV, front to back and top to bottom.

We got to the new buyer’s house around 10:30 am and showed them everything on the RV, the extras that were not in the manuals, the modifications that were made like the rear beds being able to be split or put together. It was sad closing that chapter on my life, our life, but we had a bigger RV at the campground and were going to get a tow behind trailer in the next few hours.  We followed the new owners to their bank and were transferred the funds for the sale, signed over the title, and gave a bill of sale and were on our way.

Normally the trailers that dad and I ordered would have been about a year wait time, but when we called we were flexible with our wants.

Dad and mom got a 16’ with what they call the ‘Big Bed’ and a large front bathroom.  I wanted a 16ft with the front bunks, side bathroom and standard bed/dinette in the back, this is the layout that Shawn and Marcus have.

These campers were ones that people had committed to buying and then backed out at the last minute, so it was a take what you get kind of situation.  Like Dads had a smaller fridge than ours, but he had a glass top stove,  electric and propane water heater, furnace and AC unit.  We had a bigger fridge, but only propane water heater, AC and furnace and outside shower.  We were able to add the cabinet over the front bunk to ours, we also added bigger battery and solar kit. Both of us ended up with awnings. Dads was already installed, ours was boxed up and we would install it on our own.  They had installed the brackets, but hadn’t had the time to install it.

We arrived at the factory about 1 pm and did the walk thru of each of our campers, backed the vehicles in and we were on the road by 2:30.

Before we left, I had placed an order for two more of the small 13ft campers with the basic options, and we would offer them up as rentals inside the campground. They were ones without bathrooms or showers, we did do the option of outside shower, AC, furnace, marine style power connector, and awnings.  After the long long trip up there, I was more than happy to pay for delivery.

We got down the road, and on our way back home.  We drove until about 10 PM that night, only stopping off once to eat at a truck stop.  Our stop that night was another truck stop parking lot.

Thursday morning we got up, got breakfast inside and hit the road.  By 1 pm on that Wednesday we were slowing down to make the turn down the back road that lead to the Rocking Horse Acres section of the campground.  I had called ahead to have Shawn unlock that back gate, and open it up so we did not have to mess with it, that gate was getting an electric closure soon.

I noticed that Carl and Maria’s camper was in a spot, and hooked up to power, so they must be planning on coming up this weekend or something.

We pulled our campers into their new spot and set them up for the first time.  We tested out the stoves, furnaces, AC units. We had hit the truck stop on the way home and filled the water tanks to sanitize them with some sloshing around, so we pumped that all through, hooked up to our well water..

Max, dad and Shawn wasted no time in measuring all the wood needed for converting the front bunk into a crib.  We kept all the parts that would allow it to be converted back to factory, and even figured out a way to add and remove the crib rails as needed, as the 13 foot units may sometimes need the crib setup, but not all the time..

Railings for the other campers were nowhere near a project, as it could easily be months before we get that call from the manufacturer.

Everything worked great on both campers, Shawn said that if he could get some help, he could get the awning on my camper, it was just some bolts.  Max said he would help in a bit, dad headed up to the office in his truck to go get mom.

“So have you all been holding down the fort these past 3 days? I asked

“Yes, Marcus and your mom get along well in the office. The other girls are warming up to him too.” Shawn said

“I see you got moved back here ok?” Max asked

“Yes, I figured I would do that when I got off Tuesday afternoon.  Marcus likes it back here, he can ride his bike, and dare I say get out and play in his little outfits as well.” Shawn said

“Please let me know if anybody says anything about Marcus.  Like I said we don’t play petty games around here.  Now I think you two will like being back here, as you see, Max’s parents have dropped off their camper too so that means they must be planning on coming up this weekend.” I said

“Yeah they dropped it off yesterday, said the boys would be up this weekend with their friend” Shawn said.  “Well I gotta get back to work, those bathrooms won’t be cleaning themselves.”

“OK, thanks for the hard work, have fun swabbing the decks.  Somebody needs a diaper change and a nap” Max said.

After a diaper change and a nap, I headed up to the office to see mom.  I walk in and see Marcus sitting at the counter printing and folding check in paperwork, swinging his feet back and forth as they barely touched the floor when he sat at the stool at the counter.

“Did you enjoy your trip?” Marcus asked.  “It was so neat when Daddy and I went up there to get our camper.”

“Yes the factory tour was neat.  It was kinda sad selling my old RV.  That is the one I started out with and traveled all over the country in, but my other big RV we made plenty of memories in that as well, and hope to make more in our new little Kamp.” I said, looking around for my mom.

“Your mom and dad are over in the lodge, she brought stuff for the new camper” He said.  “I am just getting the stuff ready for this weekend’s guests. Looks like it will be full again.  I really like the new part of the campground.  Yesterday afternoon since daddy and I both had the day off, I rode my bike all around the loops and I had lots of fun.”

“Glad you like it buddy.  This place is kind of my happy place, even though it is a lot of work.  I love sharing fun times and memories with my family and friends.  Max’s family should be up this weekend too.  We may also need to start thinking about doing a little ABDL gathering now that we got it opened up.”

“How many spots are back there? Seems like a lot.” He said

“The two loops have 10 each, and there are 5 others when you add the spots next to the lodge, the workshop and such.  There is even space for tent campers too.” I said recalling how many spots we added, I knew it was not a lot as that area was designed as a group or private area. I also knew that there was so much more land that could be cleared and used.

“How has the office work been going? Doing ok with the busy times?” I asked, wanting to be sure that everything was running smoothly. We would start doing our monthly sit-downs with the staff to be sure that we are doing what we need to do to have a happy, healthy work environment for all of our employees and that in-turn helps the campers have a great time.

“It is great, though some people on the phone are rude.  One guy was mad about the rates going up again this year and the electric rules.  He said you raise them every year.  I told him that I would pass his info and feedback along.  Your dad called him back when you all got back.  Did you really drop half a million into this place?” Marcus asked, trying to see if that was true

“Shhh it was more like 1.5 between purchasing the original part, purchasing the new part, and over the last 4 years trenching new power lines to every site, and getting the needed power grid to satisfy the demand.  We built this place to be a premium campground and charge accordingly.  I am going to guess who it was, probably the guy with the huge rv on spot 12, that has the extra fridge on the patio and the hot tub.  He is the one we have the new rules about, he’s just mad that we are cracking down on these who abuse the power.”

“Yep that was the guy.” Marcus said

“Yeah he’s on his last warning, if he or anybody gives you ANY hassles, let mom, dad, max or I know.  He has been told that he will not be permitted to use any outlet but the 50 amp that his camper uses.  If he needs to plug in something else, he has to use his 20 amp outlets through his camper.  Or he can pay for an extra site” I said

“Yeah your dad told him that too” He said. “Well I am done for the day, going to head back home”

“Thanks buddy, see ya later probably” I said as Willow came in to work the 4-9 shift when we closed the office for the night.

The night person is the one who cleans the office, stocks the store, mops the bathrooms in the office/activity building etc.  It is not a sit on your butt shift, even when there is nobody coming in. All of our office workers were great on whatever shift they got on.

Thursday evening back in the Rockinghorse section it was busy… Mom and Dad getting their new camper squared away.  The big campfire was a roaring as we all cooked dinner over the campfire.  Shawn and I started working on the crib rails for my camper, first measuring again and writing down all the measurements and making plans about what supplies will be needed; can they be done locally or will we need to order parts online.  We would work on the project every couple of days, first cutting, sanding, staining  and assembling them.  It would take us about 2 weeks of just working a few hours every couple of days.  Shawn would show me how to do the task, and then supervise me doing it.