Day 1 Wednesday April 28, 2021 It is time to go to Stone Mountain State Park NC and work a month as Volunteer Campground Hosts. We normally work the month of April but we decided to try May this year, since May will be a little warmer and another month gave us time to finalize some other issues at home.
We are members of Harvest Hosts which gives us the opportunity to stay at variety of places like Winery, Farms, Golf Courses, Museums, etc. The only cost is the annual membership fee and if we purchase anything at the Host site like wine, cheese, etc. We are not obligated to but encouraged to support the Host's business. They don't have campsites just places to park, usually in their parking lot. We have been a member for almost a year and have not had a chance to use the membership so we decided to leave one day earlier than our requested arrival at the State Park and stay one night at Grove Winery in Gibsonville NC, about 20 miles from Greensboro. We arrived about 12:30PM and parked in the parking lot out of the way of any customers. This is not a very big winery but they have a nice yard, pond, large patio and a stage for outdoor events. We went into the winery after we had lunch and did a wine tasting of 6 wines and we bought two bottles of the two we liked the best. They gave us a piece of Blackberry cake which was very tasty. Later we set out on their patio and had a little supper and did some reading.
Day 2 Thursday April 29, 2021 I woke up this morning with a mouse walking across the top of my head. I guess he got in after we got to the Winery. We will have to set out a trap tonight. They can find the tiniest hole to get inside when they smell food. We packed up and was on our way about 8:30AM. We stopped at the Farmers Market in Greensboro to see what vegetables were available. We got some tomatoes, zucchini and honey. We arrived at the Park about 11:15AM and setup for our 5 week stay.
We relaxed after lunch because we will start our duties tomorrow. We normally have a golf cart assigned to us but we found out that one of the hosts last Fall put hot coals from a fire pit she had cleaned out in a trash can in the back of the golf cart and it caught the rubber bed of the golf cart on fire. It ruined the bed, back tires, seat, tool rack that I had built to hold the rakes, broom, etc. and the top. Luckily there was a local fire department Chief riding by and stopped to help. It could have been really bad because she had parked the golf cart about 6 feet from her motorhome and the gas was low in the golf cart fuel tank. Also the lady has a mentally handicapped child that rides with her around the campground that has to be strapped in but she had gotten her out when they got back to the host site before the fire started or it could have been really bad.
We set out a couple of traps baited with roasted peanuts before bedtime for the mouse. While I was reading I saw him come out from under the couch and run to another place. So I moved the trap to the opening where he went. In about 15 minutes he came out and ate the peanut and ran back in the opening without tripping the trap all while I was watching him. So I reset the trap and re positioned it. In a few minutes he came out to get the peanut and he tripped the trap. So I got the beady eyed rodent.
Day 3 Friday April 30, 2021 We got started on our duties just after 8AM. We got the John Deere Gator out of the wood shed and began putting out reservation signs for the campers coming in today. Before we finished Ranger Hicks came to meet up with us and welcome us back to our 6th year here as Hosts. We discussed our duties to make sure we knew of any changes. She showed us a photo of the golf cart after the fire. It looked like a total lost to us but she said the park maintenance staff had been working on it but was still waiting on a new top. They had made a temporary top. We told her as long as it ran okay we weren't concerned with the makeshift top because the golf cart worked so much better in the campground than did the gator. When we finished the first phase of our morning duties we went back to our motorhome to get some breakfast. In a few minute Ranger Hicks and another ranger brought us the golf cart. The maintenance staff had done a good job of saving the golf cart. It definitely showed signs of the fire but it still runs good. They put on new tires, seat and a new metal bed and the temporary top. I gave it a good bath and washed the windshield and loaded our tools on it and after breakfast we took the gator back to the wood shed.
Weekends have always been busy here but since the park/campground has opened back up after COVID it is even busier. A lot of first time campers plus all the experienced ones. We will have a full campground tonight and probably tomorrow night. We have 88 sites here to take care of and it keep us busy especially on weekends.
Day 4 Saturday May 1, 2021 We put out reservation signs before breakfast again and then had breakfast, rested a little and then went back and began cleaning sites as the campers departed. We get as many sites cleaned when the campers leave as we can before the arriving campers get here. On weekends we don't always reach that goal but we got all but 3 or 4 today.
After lunch we rested for a couple of hours, I cleaned the bugs off the windshield of the motorhome and we did some reading and enjoying the beautiful weather. It got down to about 40 degrees last night so we started out this morning with three layers of clothes on our upper bodies but by mid morning were down to one. Nothing unusual happen today so we had a good day. The trees have almost all budded out with new leaves. This is our first year working in May so we normally are leaving just after the leaves had budded. Some of the campers we talk to thank us for being here so that makes us feel good that the hosts are appreciated. Us and as far as we know the other hosts try to keep the campground clean as possible and everything working properly.
Day 5 Sunday May 2, 2021 Again we started out with three layers of clothes this morning but within an hour we were shedding layers as the sun came up over the mountain. We will be very busy today as is normal for a Sunday. Lots of people leaving and many coming in. It is sort of like shift change at a factory. We got all the reservation signs out had breakfast and began cleaning site as soon as the campers left so the sites would be clean when the next camper arrived.
The weather has been really nice today so it was “a good day in the neighborhood”. We were able to clean 32 sites today. We got all the sites cleaned except one that was reserved before the next camper arrived. But when I say “cleaned” usually it is just picking up any little bits of trash that has fallen to the ground, raking the tent pad for the site (the driveway/camper parking area in loops B and C are paved) and cleaning out the fire pit if it needs it.
We had planned to do more walking when we got here to get back in shape since we have not done as much as we used to before COVID. But we do so much walking when doing our duties we have not gone out “to Walk”. The last two days we have walked over 2 miles just doing our duties plus all the raking so we are getting some good exercise.
Day 6 Monday May 3, 2021 As predicted it began raining this morning about 3 AM. We only have 16 reservations today so we were able to get the reservation signs out in between rain showers. We cleaned almost all the sites yesterday that are reserved today so we will spend most of the day inside where it is dry and get some paperwork caught up and reading done.
The clouds finally cleared about 4PM and the sun peaked out a little so we got the reservations list for Tuesday and put them out even though we are off tomorrow and Wednesday. We have several sites open tonight and some that are reserved but not occupied probably due to the rain.
Day 7 Tuesday May 4, 2021 We are off today so we slept to 8AM and then drove about 25 miles to the nearest Cracker Barrel for breakfast. This is our 6th year working here and we had never been to the local Cracker Barrel. After a good breakfast we went to the Shiloh General Store in Hamptonville. This is an Amish business with lots of good food. They have a bakery/deli onsite and sell lots of local made food item. We normally come here every year when we are at the Park. We got our purchases including a couple of Woopie Pies, then stopped about a mile away at an Amish dairy and got some of their milk and ice cream. There is also a Amish hydroponics tomato business just down the same road that we buy tomatoes from but we didn't need any today.
On the way back to Elkin we stopped to check out a new campground that just opened in June of 2020. It is a nice facility names Riverwalk RV Campground. It sits on the banks of the Yadkin River.
Then it was on to Walmart for a few groceries and then a stop at Dirty Joe's Coffee Shop for a Latte and a sweet before returning to the Park. It started drizzling rain just as we got to our campsite.
Day 8 Wednesday May 5, 2021 This is our second day off so we drove to Galax, VA to our favorite coffee shop. We have been to this coffee shop many times when we are in the area. Last Summer when we came to Fries, VA, just a few miles from Galax, we had to sit outside but now the shop is open for inside dining. They have remodeled the shop and adjoining Antique business. We learned last Summer when we came that both had been bought out by a husband and wife team. They live upstairs and operate both businesses. They have done a really good job of remodeling and have added several more tables for inside dining, a few couches and arm chairs and added more sandwich items on the menu. We really like their cinnamon buns.
After filling up on coffee and cinnamon buns we drove past the Walmart to a Mennonite Bakery that Ranger Hicks had told us about. They have more baked goods than Shiloh General Store we visited yesterday also a Deli and dinning area. We got a few items, then stopped at Walmart to get a few things we forgot yesterday. Then we drove through Fries and on to Independence VA to eat lunch at a Mexican Restaurant we have ate at several times. After all it is Cinco de Mayo. Then we took a leisurely drive back to the campground and relaxed the remainder of the day.
Day 9 Thursday May 6, 2021 Well it is back to our normal routine today, putting out reservation signs, cleaning campsites, etc. We don't have as many campers today as during the weekend but it will pickup tomorrow. We did a few maintenance items around the motorhome and did some reading/relaxing because we will be busy for the next three days.
Day 10 Friday May 7, 2021 It was much cooler and windy this morning, down to low 40's last night so we put our hooded sweatshirts on before going out at 8:30AM to put out reservation signs. We have 66 sites reserved for tonight plus what is already here so we will have a full campground if everyone comes that has reservations. We have 88 sites here.
We returned to the motorhome and ate breakfast and rested until 11AM to give some of the campers leaving time to vacate their sites so we could clean them before the new campers come in. We got all of them cleaned and ready by 1PM except two and those campers had not departed yet. The checkout is 3PM but most will leave before then.
The wind blew really bad all afternoon so we didn't go back out like we normally do around 6PM to check around the campground.
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