So people ask; what do you do now that the campground is closed? Take a cruise to the Bahamas? Head south to Florida for the winter like so many campground owners do? Not us. We are a young family with young kids in school, plus there is still lots and lots to do; I think when we are finished Dave will still find projects as he is not one to sit still for very long.
Leaves, leaves and more leaves…that is what we do. Luckily Dave has really kept up on them this fall so it doesn’t seem as daunting of a task as it did last year. We have a very treed campground which we love! It wouldn’t be the same with only pines; we love our maples, birch and oak (just to name a few); especially the autumn colors make it all worth it! We have recruited the help of some great equipment which really helps make the task a lot less painful. Of our 33 acres; only 10 are the campground. Last year I didn’t think we would ever finish; but between the rakes, the blowers, the suckers, as well as not waiting until every leaf fell, I think we got it done pretty quickly. (I use the word “we” loosely, as Dave is out there doing the majority of the work.)
Winterization of the campground continues with all of the water to our sites being turned off and the lines “bled dry”. We did get the Pine Lodge closed up and everything turned off before the first snow flew as the temps dipped down into the low 20′s for a few nights and we didn’t want to deal with any explosions. We have two wells; the summer well and the winter well. Dave also works to close one down and get the other one ready for our use. (How does he know about all of this stuff, he is so good!)
OK so I make it sound like it is all work and no fun….hardly. Since we closed on Oct 20th; we have had friends and family up from CT every weekend. It’s nice to be able to spend time with them and give them 100% attention! We also had friends come up at the end of October and they took us up to Jericho State Park and gave us a grand tour of the awesome ATV trails! What a blast we had! Thanks Ray & Becky!
Since we don’t get out to eat often; or ever in the summer we also have been making up for that! We have been taking some fun day trips checking out some of the great hiking trails as well as the many beautiful waterfalls, quaint little towns and there many unique shops.
Our very large garage that houses everything other than cars all summer long; lawn mowers, weed wackers, leaf blowers, ATV’s; you name it is in there are now neatly put away in winter homes to make room for none other than; our vehicles! We have a unique two car garage that fits two cars one behind the next. It is neat as there is a garage door on each end so we can both get in and out easily. Unfortunately last winter I got really used to the nice garage door openers that worked….well they don’t any longer. I guess I will have to get out and open my door 
I know I can handle that; and when the snow is really deep I know I can recruit some help. Hey, another project for Dave
Dave has also been diligently working on the inside of the cabin before the snow flies. There is no real heat in there; however he purchased a kerosene heater that has really helped on those chilly days. Mother nature has really been on our side this fall; with many days running in the mid to high 50′s almost all the way through the end of November. OK so we had freak snow storm on Halloween weekend which we really got lucky as we only got a few inches. Points south weren’t so lucky as they received up and over one, two and even three feet of snow! Lots of damage by downed trees and lost electricity for up to 2 weeks! We got lucky on that one. The second storm hit the day before Thanksgiving (hey our odds of getting hit again on Christmas are looking good, huh? We were hoping to head down to CT for the holiday on Wednesday but we got hit with about 1 foot of snow; so we stayed here just to make sure all was good before we left. This also gave Dave the opportunity to try out his new plow and to plow his new customers out of their snowed in driveways. They sure were happy!
We took advantage of the very mild days during the month of November to put up the Christmas lights! It so beats doing it in the snow; which I am known for!
After a great long weekend with friends and family for the Thanksgiving holiday we are back at it. The first thing I did when we arrived home Sunday evening was….turn on my Christmas lights! I love the holidays, so now it is time to get the rest of the house in the Christmas spirit.
Dave has completed the inside pine paneling of the cabin; it looks great! Now we have to figure out how to really create a fun, unique spot for our guests!
Until next time….thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. If you care to comment or reply; please do! Happy Holidays to you all!
