Our New Workamping Location - Watkins Glen KOA New York

Watkins Glen New York (72 degrees, blue skies, scattered showers)

Our site

We have arrived at the campground where we will be workamping this summer and fall.  It is Watkins Glen KOA in Watkins Glen New York.  This is a beautiful campground in the Finger Lakes area a few minutes from Senecca Lake.  We were warmly greeted by the owner Paul and his nephew Sam and quickly shown to our site. 

Afterwards they took us in the golf cart and showed us all around.  Let's just say this is a large campground! They offer many amenities to their campers and the grounds are really beautiful.  Spring has just barely arrived and the trees are just starting to leaf out. 

Our Commitment: We will be working about 32-40 hours/person and will have every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off.  We are paid for all hours work and pay $150/month for our full hook up site.  We also receive free cable and laundry,  propane at cost,  and discounts in the kampstore. We will be here from May 1st until October 15th. 

There is one other workamping couple, a house keeping staff,  and eight Summershiners (more about that program later in the post).

Office

Owners: This KOA is a privately owned campground. Some of them are corporately owned by KOA.  Paul and Cam are the owners and live in their motorhome on site.  The have turned over management to their nephew and his wife and they live in a home on site.  Everyone is very actively involved in the campground. They have owned it for twenty years and have added so much to the campground since purchasing it.

Responsibilities:   I will mostly work in the office taking reservations over the phone, checking in campers, and selling items in the campstore such as firewood, ice cream, and groceries.  I've been told I'll be dipping a lot of ice cream during the hot summer evenings.  John will work outside with maintenance, mowing, and initially installing some new cabins that just arrived.  More about that later.

Indoor pool and work out room

The indoor pool is beautiful and a very large size.  It was built in 2009 and is spotless.   There is also a nice fitness center on the second floor overlooking the pool. 

 

 

Hot tub

I told the owners if they could not find John, that he'd probably be in the hot tub.  We had one in our home and it's the one thing he has really missed.  There is also a nice workout room with good equipment.  I forgot the code when taking the pictures so I couldn't show you inside.   

Fitness Center

Sites near office, some are pull thru

One room cabins

There are lots of cabins spread out throughout the campground.  Some are sleeping cabins with a TV and small fridge, others include a kitchen, bathroom, and linens.  We have sizes that can accommodate 4-8 people.   It will take me awhile to understand what each one includes.   They are very popular and almost always sold out way in advance. 

Two room deluxe cabin with bathroom

Lovely view of ravine from the cabins deck

Large pull thru sites near playground

Primitive tent area

Below are the new super deluxe cabins that are being installed.  They can sleep up to eight and each come with a large deck.  John will be working on these for several weeks with the contractor.  They are "supposed" to be ready to occupy by June 1st.   

 

New 'super deluxe" cabins

Our most popular camping area is called Sunset Acres and is located at the back of the campground. Tte sites are large with nice patios, fire pit, gliding chair, and lamp. 

 

Paul, Sam, and John working in the shop preparing wood for the new decks

I really like this pavilion.  The area to the right is a nice picnic area and it looks over the wooded ravine.  The area to the left is the workshop.   

Trails End Pavilion

There are lots of activities for children.  The shipwreck play ground is pretty cool.  There is even buried treasure that can be dug up and redeemed for anything in the campstore.  

Pirate Ship Adventure Playground

In the summertime there is a special children program staffed by the SummerShiners.  They are college students who have had special training in providing activities for the family.  They organize movies in the evening, special skits, laser tag, T-shirt tye dying, group campfires, and lots more.  The students live at the campground and we are expecting eight students and one advisor starting Memorial Day weekend.  During the day they also help out in the office and with general maintenance of the campground. 

SummerShiner Lodging

There is a lodge just for the Summershiners and includes a cabin for the boys and a separate one for the girls. The third cabin is for the advisor and also has a kitchen.  

Putt Putt

Very popular jumping pillow

Well, I have a suspicion that we are going to be very busy.  Our first impressions have been very good.  We will tell you more about our day to day activities in future posts.  And. of coarse lots about the area.  We'd love it if you'd come visit and stay for a few days. Just be sure to make your reservations soon.   

Celebrating A Very Special Birthday With Diva

Bennington, VT (52 degrees, partly cloudy with a few snow flurries)

Martha &; John

We celebrated a very special birthday with John's sister, Martha (affectionately known also as Diva).  It was her 60th birthday and we wanted to celebrate with her. Their cousin (Mom's side), Kathy, also flew in from Lansing Michigan to join in all the fun. 

Martha is teaching this semester at Bennington College in Vermont.  She normally lives in Sao Paulo Brazil, so the opportunity to see her was priceless.

Kathy, John, &; Martha @ Bennington College

Kathy stayed at this beautiful bed and breakfast called Alexander Inn.  John and I boondocked with special permission in a parking lot at Bennington College.  This is the first time  a motorcoach has stayed there overnight.  They seemed very curious about our life style and ability to "live off the grid". Martha lives in a lovely home on campus that is shared with three other professors. 

Alexander Inn

We enjoyed touring the area.  In the Vermont countryside spring is just beginning and all the trees were in bloom.  It's been fun to follow the spring across the country this year as we traveled from Arizona to Vermont. 

Bennington Pottery

We visited a famous local pottery.  They have been making stoneware pottery since 1948. Oh, gosh that's older than Martha. :)

We had lots of fun ribbing Martha about being old.  She stopped at a local liquor store and we insisted  the cashier "card" her to be sure she could buy alcohol  Here is the result. 

Bennington has three pretty covered bridges.  Most were tragically destroyed last year after the hurricane in the surrounding areas. 

We enjoyed some wonderful meals together.  Kathy was so generous and treated us to most of them.  One of our favorites was at the Dorset Inn.  It's the oldest continuously running inn since 1756.  That's a really long time.  The dining room was lovely and the town of Dorset was very quaint.  All the houses are painted white. 

Dorset Inn

Lunch @ Dorset Inn

Two of Martha's friends, Tom & Jim, cooked us a wonderful meal in their home.  It was a wonderful evening.  Martha and Tom entertained  by telling to us about some of the performances they have been involved in over the years. 

Kathy and a cuddly Moose at Orvis Outlet

John said his favorite part of our weekend together was hearing all of us laugh in the car as we traveled around.  There were lots and lots of laughs.  For example, here is Kathy and Martha climbing a sculpture at the Bennington Museum.  Let's just say we did not act our ages.  Kathy's commentary throughout the weekend was hysterical. 

One of the highlights was visiting the Vermont Country Store in Weston.  We've been getting their interesting catalog for many years.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at the restaurant next door and had a fun time browsing the store.  You can find some amazing things and there are lots of snacks to sample as your shop. 

We were very entertained by trying to find all the moose sculptures that were on display all over

Bennington.  We  had seen a similar type of display in Custer South Dakota last summer.  Martha and John studied the map and the scavenger hunt lasted on and off all weekend.  Peals of excitement would eminenting from the car when someone spotted one.  We are easily entertained. 

Here are a few of the moose or is it mooses...meeses??

Kathy had to return back to Michigan and we are on our way to Watkins Glen KOA to begin our workamping job.  Martha will be teaching until June and plans are already being formulated to gett back together soon. 

It sure was fun seeing the cousins all back together again.