The Rolling Home

August, 2002, our last month of workamping. (well, we really are finished a couple of days after Labor Day, but who is counting?)  It has been an interesting and rewarding experience being workampers this summer.  While we spent almost four months in the same location, a first for us, we also did not spend any money on camping or fuel.  Our expenses decreased dramatically and we put money in the bank.  (also a first)

As workampers we thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Happy Hollow Camping Resort.  Unfortunately for those following us to DePere, WI, Dave and Judy Boldt will not be there after this season.  Their lease on the campground is up in October and they are retiring in order fulltime themselves.

I promised a follow up on our thoughts about workamping so here goes.

When we applied for this job, we were pretty green and really didn't know what questions to ask, other than "do we have to clean bathrooms!"  While we didn't clean bathrooms we did do some things I didn't think about.

The very first day we worked at Happy Hollow, I got to help pump out holding tanks.  There are about    10 sites there with 235 gallon holding tanks in the ground, some sites with 125 gallon tanks sitting under rigs and, of course, any of the weekly, monthly or seasonal sites got their own RV tanks pumped if they didn't have a big external tank.  Folks who were in the park overnight or for just a few days could have their systems pumped if they paid a $5 fee.  This task, while not my favorite, turned out not to be such a big deal, but if we ever workamp again and the ad for the park says "sewer service available" we will know that it means pumping detail!  Only once did a hose pop off on me and luckily it was gray water.  I did try to dump the pumper wagon one day before all the vacuum was out of the tank.   When you do that the dump hose, which is the same kind of hose we all use to dump our own tanks, comes out of the dump station at Warp 6, bringing anything inside it or on the hose flying out all over anyone near it.  (I only did that once).

The actual workamping job was mostly fun.  Dealing with most of the campers and their kids was the best part of workamping. We made some good friends with some of the regular weekend folks who came back several times while we were in De Pere.  Of course, since our busiest times were the weekends, we always had at least one jerk per weekend to deal with.  Lot's of beer was consumed on those weekend camping trips and we all know what massive amounts of alcohol can do to some folks.  Some didn't even need the alcohol to be less than fun to be around.  As an example, we were very strict with our 5 mph speed limit in the park. Libby and I were amazed that no children were struck by vehicles during our stay at Happy Hollow.   The inside crew would explain the speed limit and the folks would all agree that going slow was a good thing.   Then when they walked out the door, they did a brain dump and took off in their rigs like they were trying to qualify for Indy.  One Friday, a couple came roaring in the park in a pickup camper. They did not stop to register, but instead drove directly to what they decided was their campsite.  They were flying low when they went by the office and several of us saw them come in.  I got on one of the park bicycles and rode back to their site to see why they didn't register.  The father explained that he was on his lunch break from work and was just bring the camper in and that his wife would come back to register. I explained that his site might not be assigned to him but that I would check for him. I also very politely ask him to drive more slowly in the park. His response was "Nice greeting, I'm really impressed".  When his wife came to the office, one of the inside crew also explained that they had been driving too fast and they needed to slow down.  His wife just told the office person that "the customer is always right, so don't give me a hard time"  Needless to say, Dave, our employer, made a trip back to the campsite, which, by the way, was the wrong one, and explained the rules to this lady.  She started to complain and he told her that when she started to act like a guest, we would treat her like one, otherwise, they could pack up and leave.  These folks were very nice the rest of the weekend.
 

The workamping crew at Happy Hollow.

Overall, I think we were very pleased with our experience at Happy Hollow.  The owners were just great, the rest of the staff was a lot of fun.  We all went out to dinner just before Labor Day since two couples were leaving right after the holiday.  We had a great time in De Pere this summer and certainly would consider workamping again if the need arises.  In fact, we already sent our resume out to several places for next summer.

Libby has some comments on workamping that we want to get into this month's update.

Overall, my experience with workamping at Happy Hollow was very pleasant. This was largely due to the owners, Dave and Judy and our fellow workers. There was never a shortage of laughs. I think that was the key, keeping your sense of humor, but isn't that important in most anything we experience. I think a positive attitude make all the difference and John and I entered workamping with that attitude. I also think our love of people and our many years of experience in customer contact work at BellSouth came in handy. What did I like the most? Well, quite a number of things. Most of all I enjoyed taking reservations on the telephone and in person. I absolutely loved greeting people and joking with them when I felt it was appropriate. I especially enjoyed the very young children and all of the animals I had a chance to enjoy and love. I had a blast making blizzards, shakes, malts and sundaes, which is something I had never done. We also laughed a great deal when we filled the container too much and anointed a fellow worker. We especially had a lot of laughs while operating the slushy machine (thanks Shirley). We worked well as a team.

I didn't really dislike anything I did, but sometimes the number of hours I worked were too much and I was the one that suggested to John that we work 35 to 40 hours per week. Dave and Judy gave us a good schedule based on our requested number of hours. On Friday and Saturday nights when the office, rec hall and cafe/fountain area was open to 10:00, I was quite tired by 8:30 or so and ready to leave. I understand why it was open late, but that made for a long evening. That I would change the next time. I think 25 to 30 hours per week is plenty. I also think three days off is important to us. You need one to just run errands and the other two to relax or play tourist.

A few things at the campground surprised me. One was how many men openly admitted that they were not good at backing their rig or could not back in at all. The overwhelming majority had a partner to assist them and most had 5th wheels. I was surprised at how possessive people became about 'their' campsites. They just had to have the same site they had always parked in and became quite upset to find that someone had already reserved it or was already using it. Everyone was assigned a site, but some people just ignored that fact and went to whatever site they wanted without any notice to the office personnel or consideration to fellow campers coming in. That caused a great deal of confusion at times and tried the patience of some guests and workampers. A few parents left their young children alone at the park to go to work for the day or just to go out for the day by themselves, leaving the workampers to look after them. We felt bad for the children and of course there was a question of liability and care if one of them was injured. We had one case where parents left their daughters, who were 11, 12 and 14 for the entire day. One of the girls invited some older guys into the park ( they were in their 20's) so they could have a really good time while they had their freedom. Of course these guys also had cars and could have taken them on a joy ride or out for who knows what. The men were asked to leave and a discussion ensued with the parents upon their return. In this case the parents could have cared less. The last thing that I was surprised at was how trashy some people were at their campsite and the variety of items they left for us to discard. Please keep in mind that our guests were from all over the United States and we had a few from overseas.

Would I consider workamping again? Yes I would. It was great exercise for John and it was financially good for us. We met some really nice people and were fortunate to have many others visit with us. Our visitors were comprised of personal friends, people that had followed our website, fellow Discovery owners, and friends from our old Winnebago club in North Georgia. I would also like to mention that without exception every person we came into contact with in Wisconsin was very nice, accommodating and extremely friendly. They even liked my slight southern accent.

Right, Libby drips South when she talks, especially after we have spent some time south of the Ohio River.  However, its one of the many things I love about her.  We both had a lot fun with the Wisconsin folks asking about her accent. (As we type this, we are in Bowling Green, KY--Good Southern food and the folks speak her language!)

Overall, we agree that workamping was a great experience and one that we would certainly do again.

Several events were scheduled for August at Happy Hollow.  One of these was the Packer Backer Weekend.  This was during one of the Green Bay Packers home exhibition games.  If you are an NFL fan and live in Wisconsin, you are a Packer Backer!  These folks take the Packers seriously.  Here are some pictures of the park during this weekend. Prizes were given for the best decorated site.

Before we left Happy Hollow, we went over to Wrightstown to get a haircut one more time from Ron the Barber!   Ron is just a hot and one of the last guys in the country to cut hair for $4.  Lib snapped some pics of Ron and one of his mounted Muskies while I was getting my locks trimmed.

Camping Fees for August     $0
Fuel for August                    $0
LP for August                      $0