As the Season Winds Down

2014 October 29

The season here at Ocean Waves Campground is winding down. Of the seventy or so campsites, about thirty are occupied. Many of those are retired folks who come for a month or two. The weather's still beautiful, so we may have weekend visitors coming down to fish, or just to enjoy the peaceful ambiance and sea air. But, in general, the days I am in the office, the phone barely rings. The bustle of tourists coming to buy souvenirs, or t-shirts, ice cream and sodas, Skeeter Beater, or ice are passed. If you had told me the contrast between October and July would be so extreme, I might not have believed you. 

Those hot, humid days of summer, when people with in the pool all day, with kids were running everywhere, and with campers coming and going, were busy, hectic days. Now, the sun rises later and sets earlier. The store is quiet, except on days when the "crafty ladies" meet to assemble some handmade creation. The early mornings can be cool, sometimes damp with heavy dew, but the sun warms things up for the mid-morning and keeps the air comfy until late afternoon. I enjoy this time of year, but as a work camper, it can get boring. Still, on our days to clean the bathhouses, I am grateful for the cooler temperatures and fewer people using the facilities.

I feel so fortunate to have had my first work camping experience in a family owned campground, in the Outer Banks. Truth be told, if I hadn't been familiar with both the campground and the owners, I don't know that I would've ventured into the work camping arena. I have friends and acquaintances who have had less idyllic adventures. But we have been blessed.

The blessing will continue, too. The owners have asked us to stay on here, through the winter, as resident "caretakers" of sorts, even though the campground is closed from November 15 until March 15. We have agreed to stay. And, we will be here again for next years camping season.

This is a blessing beyond anything I had hoped. Raymond is not enamored with the RVing lifestyle and was talking about "putting down roots", which was one reason this job was appealing. I have always loved the NC coast, which was another reason this job was alluring. Now, we have spent a spring, summer and fall here. The summer did not kill me with its heat, as I had feared. Spring and Fall weather was a delightful as I remembered. I am not concerned about the winter, since we have spent time in the Outer Banks in November, December and in February at various times. We know the wind blows hard and it gets cold. We're OK with that. There is still sunshine, and that is the important factor for me. Sometimes there is snow, but it melts by the next day, which is important to Raymond. So, for now, we are full timers, staying put, at least until a year from now. We're not making any plans beyond that at the moment.  

Let Me Tell You About the 4th of July Hurricane

It has been a wonderful time here at Ocean Waves Campground. We've been here through multiple personnel changes, through multiple schedule changes, through spring, summer and fall. The biggest challenge was riding out Hurricane Arthur over the fourth of July.

I touched on some of the circumstances in a previous post, but let me share more of the story.

The Bullock Family own Ocean Waves Campground, Carolyn and Clyde and Barbara. Carolyn and Clyde are husband and wife, Barbara is their daughter. Also employed at the campground is Cole, Barbara's son. And at the start of the season, there were two couples and a single person employed as work campers. Seven people to share all responsibilities of the day to day needs in the campground, with Carolyn and Clyde to help if need be. They are, after all, supposed to be retired :)

In June, Carolyn and Clyde left for a cross country trip, which was to culminate in the Pacific northwest, where they would meet up with other family members and cruise to Alaska. This was a very special trip for them, as it was their first ever summer vacation, in thirty years. School was out, families were headed to the beach. When they left, the campground was approaching capacity. We expected to be busy, but thought everything was under control. We forgot about our inability to control the weather.

Arthur began forming around June 28. As you can tell by his initial, Arthur was the first tropical storm, then hurricane, of the 2014 season. He was still fairly far out in the Atlantic on July 1, when Dave and LoVancey, the other work camping couple decided they were leaving. (And, by the way, not coming back.) So, we were five: Barbara, Cole, PK, Raymond and me. We readjusted the bathroom cleaning schedule, and went on about our business.

We watched the weather channel. That was less than helpful, mostly because the hurricane specialists had several models and no one agreed on which model would be the most accurate. Slowly, at first, some campers decided to cut their vacations short. People trickled out. Then, as we drew closer to the holiday weekend, more folks left, especially after Dare County officials began talking about voluntary evacuations on Wednesday. On Thursday morning Dare County issued mandatory evacuations and  PK left. Then we were four. [A couple of side notes: Mandatory evacuations apparently do NOT mean you must leave. PK left out of concern for her personal safety, as her trailer is very tiny and lightweight, and she agonized over her decision. And she planned to return.] Most of our campers left with the mandatory evacuation, but we had some who choose to stay. 

Raymond and I discussed the pros and cons of evacuation,along with our responsibilities. In the end, we decided to stay and ride out the storm, mostly because we didn't want to leave Barbara and Cole with the burden of clean up, once the hurricane had passed.

In the meantime, the skies before the storm were beautiful.

Sky before the storm

We moved our motorhome from the "worker's village" area at the front of the campground, closest to Highway 12, to the area closer toward the dunes, which is slightly higher ground. One of the families who stayed, decided to remain on their campsite in the middle of the campground. Barbara and Cole also stayed put. The site we moved to was an enclave of campers who were riding out the storm.

In very late afternoon, or early evening, Arthur became upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane. Several of the campers who had decided to stay, choose to leave then, but left their trailers and in some case their extra vehicles on their campsites.

The rain started. The wind blew. We filled our freshwater tank and refrained from dumping our black and grey water in order to add some weight to our rig. We pulled in our slide and awning. The wind picked up speed. The rain poured down. We watched the weather channel. For hours we sat, listening to the wind and rain. The sustained wind was bad, but the gusts were frightening, as they rocked the RV. I prayed for everyone to be safe.

Around 11pm, the hurricane hit the Shackelford Banks, about 100 miles southwest of us. Arthur then spent some time in Pamlico Sound, touching parts of Hyde and Dare counties on the mainland, before crossing over the Outer Banks around 4:30 AM on the fourth of July. 

The storm surge came from the Sound. It was fast and furious.  At the high ground of our location, it was deep enough to breach our motorhome and enter our stairwell. We sat watching, as the water climbed our stairs. Thank God, it stop before breaching the top step. 

As we watched it recede, we felt relief. We were fortunate that Arthur hit when the tide was in between low and high. 

Still, we had no idea how much damage there was. It was pitch dark outside. The water had reached its peak, but was receding slowly. We had been awake for approximately 22 hours. The wind was still blowing, but as our adrenaline receded with the surge, we napped until daylight. 

Around 7 AM we ventured out. The water had diminished to about six inches in most places. Our little Chevy Spark had been inundated. Water levels had been over the front seats and the cup holders were full of sound water, as were our floor mats and carpets. The campground was a soggy mess, and there was brush, broken limbs, and assorted junk everywhere. The force of the surge had moved all three campground dumpsters. One had come to rest upon a partially destroyed picnic bench. Another had moved east and north of its original location, near the beach path. But the most dramatic, to me, was the one that had been turned, carried along the tree line, behind the bathhouse closest to the beach, and came to rest directly behind our RV, just inches from our hitch! Remember my prayers for everyone's safety? Yep, God heard and answered! 

Where the dumpster stopped behind our RV

Yucky sound water in our little car

When we walked through the campground, we knew we had some hard work ahead of us. The bathhouses had been flooded and the ebbing water had left mud, dirt and the stench of the Sound. Picnic tables were deposited in some odd places by the rushing water. Propane tanks, too. And freezers and small refrigerators. All sorts of flotsam was discovered as the cleanup began. Lamps. Outdoor furniture. Feral cats. Water logged doves. Dead fish. Assorted garbage cans. The Ocean Waves Campground sign from atop the office, had been blown down. Some shingles were lost from the office, the bathhouses and C&C's house. 

Poor soggy dove

Sky over Pamlico Sound, after the storm

Sky over the ocean, after the storm

The campers who stayed were wonderful about pitching in to help with the clean up. Because of the storm surge, and the flood water which moved the storage shed off it's foundation, and left havoc in Clyde and Carolyn's garage, many power tools that could've aided in the clean up, were destroyed. 

The campground owners took a huge personal hit. In addition to the damage to their roof, soffit, and fascia, and tools in the storage shed, they lost several vehicles, motorcycles, refrigerator, freezers, TV, furniture, personal tools, three golf carts, and  probably, lots of things of which I am unaware. They also lost their first summer vacation in thirty years. 

Carolyn and Clyde were in Wyoming when the hurricane hit us. Everyone tried to talk them into continuing west and going on the Alaska cruise. They chose to return to NC, in spite of the cruise line insisting they had a 'No Refund' policy.   

There was some damage to trailers left behind when the owners decided on late evacuation. One of them had twisted supports. Obviously, some of the electrical posts were damaged by the salt water. That was an ongoing issue for Cole throughout July. Some of the posts worked fine and checked out OK, but would fail later in the month, as the salt water worked its corrosiveness.

Barbara and Cole were both rocks through all of the turmoil. They worked tirelessly, from sunup to sundown, for the whole time it took to put things right. The swimming pool, all by itself, took about a week. The surge had deposited so much sludge and debris in the pool, that it took three guys working on it a full week to get it safe and pristine.

 The pool after the storm

The pool one week after the storm

When Dare County officials reopened the Bonner Bridge to southbound traffic at 4PM on July 5th, we were still in the midst of clean up. It had been less than 36 hours since the storm surge. Many of the campers who had reservations at two neighboring campgrounds, came onto the Island without confirming their reservations after the storm. I guess they figured that if they could drive down here, everyone must be open for business. That was not the case.

Ray and I had spent all our time from mid-morning through early evening cleaning bathhouses. In the early AM we had helped clear debris from the concrete camping pads. All the junk from each campsite had been piled at the end of the site, in the grass, to facilitate ease of pick up. As I was working in one of the bathhouses, I saw a camper picking up the piles of debris and throwing it behind the site, into the tree line. I went up to her and asked that she please not do that. I explained that we had spent the morning clearing the sites and the piles were there for easy pick up by the cart, for disposal. She became very angry as she informed me that she "needs all the grass cleared". As I began to explain, yet again, why the debris was where it was, the camper at the next site came out of her trailer and yelled at me, "I don't have any electricity!" She then proceeded to question why everything was, "such a mess". I explained, (with steam coming out of my ears, I'm sure) that we had been hit by a hurricane just one day previous. She stomped away. Later, Cole discovered that her electrical problem was caused by her failure to hit the 50 amp switch. These two New Jersey residents had originally had reservations at one of the neighboring campgrounds, NOT with us.  When they found their campground still closed, we made room for them. How could they be so clueless?

Yet, in contrast to these rude folks, most people returning were kind, supportive and eager to do what they could to help.  

Ocean Waves Campground is a family operation. It was built and has been owned by the Bullocks for nearly 30 years. They live onsite. But, it is "family" in other ways that really count. Many of the campers return year after year. They become friends and look forward to reuniting with other campers. These were the people who came in after the storm and helped with clean up, even though they were on vacation. These were the people who called before they came to see if we needed them to bring anything to help with the clean up - like a power washer, because the campground's had gotten flooded. These are the people who make working at the campground pleasant, even in tough circumstances.

Riding out a hurricane on a barrier island is not something I would recommend. I am grateful that we were safe. I am grateful all we lost was a car. I am grateful for all I learned. Would I do it again? Doubtful. I think if I heard Category 2, I would leave the Island. But, who knows? Like Brody says is Jaws, "It's only an island if you look at it from the water."   

WOW! It's Been Nearly FIVE Months!

2014 August 23

Looking at the life on the road blog today, I realized that it has been almost five months since I last posted. Hard to believe, and yet, there it is in black & white. OK, let's try to play a little catch-up :)

We have been work camping on Hatteras Island, NC, at Ocean Waves Campground since early in March. We have been enjoying the experience, partly because we had some familiarity with the campground, having been campers here on two previous occasions. Another reason for our pleasure is that we are in the Outer Banks, one of our favorite places. But, one of the most important contributions to this being a pleasant experience, is the owners of the campground, who do their utmost to make you feel comfortable and treat not only the workers, but their customers with kindness, generosity and true appreciation. 

Not that the experience has been glitch free. There have been two work camping couples who have left. One, because of personal reasons; the other departed four days before Hurricane Arthur hit, saying, "We won't be back", as they packed up their belongings, after less than three weeks at the campground. Both those exits, required adjustments to the work schedule, in particular the bath house cleaning schedule. But, as owner-operators, the Bullock family stepped in and took some of those cleaning responsibilities upon themselves, while the remaining work campers, (a single lady, and R & me) increased our days of responsibility. It all worked out. 

I mentioned the Bullock family. They are the owners, operators, and all around go to people of Ocean Waves Campground. Mr Clyde and Ms Carolyn, are the husband and wife team, who with Mr Clyde's parents, built this enterprise, from scratch, back in the early 80s. However, in the ensuing 35 years, they have NEVER had a summer vacation. In late June they left for their first such venture. They were driving cross country, visiting the Wyoming, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, along with British Columbia. The plan was to meet up with family out west and then take an Alaskan cruise! They were expected back in late July.

Ms Barbara is Clyde's and Carolyn's daughter. She came on board the family enterprise several years ago, as manager. Her son, Mr Cole, also works and lives at Ocean Waves, as maintenance manager. With the senior Bullocks off on a well deserved vacation, it was left to Barbara and Cole to see to all aspects of the campground. And things were going very well. Until, Arthur.

Hurricane Arthur. We watched his advance over the period of about six days, all the while praying he would make a hard right turn out to sea before approaching the ribbon of sand that is the Outer Banks. On July 3, our fellow work camper and next door neighbor decided to pack up her trailer and head farther inland. I couldn't blame her. Especially in retrospect. Her trailer is a mere 16 feet, at best, and extremely lightweight. Staying put in something so light in the midst of even tropical storm force winds could be a major error. So, we bid farewell to PK, till after the storm.

With the work camping force reduced to just R & me, as the storm approached and several campers decided to stay and ride out the hurricane, R & I decided we would stay as well. Mainly, our reasons were twofold; one, we didn't want to leave Barbara and Cole without anyone to back them up, and two, we weren't sure if we would be able to get back on the Island after the storm, if we did leave. I'm glad we stayed. But that's a whole different blog post right there :)

Things settled down after the hurricane. Barbara, Cole, Raymond, me, and yes, even the campers who stayed and those who returned immediately after the storm, pitched in to accomplish the clean up. Mr Clyde and Ms Carolyn still haven't had a "real" summer vacation, since they cancelled the cruise and came home to clean up, as well. But, that's all part of the Hurricane Arthur story which I will tell at some point.

In the time since the storm, the campground has been cleaned, and returned to normal. Just this week I checked in a couple from Texas, who said, "What hurricane? Did you guys have a hurricane?"  PK returned, as soon as the Bonner Bridge reopened. We have a new single lady work camper, Lynn, who arrived a couple of weeks ago.

Ray has had two cataract surgeries during our time here. The first in June and most recently in mid August. We lost our little yellow car to the hurricane flood waters, and have not yet purchased another vehicle. Ms Carolyn has generously allowed us to use her van, which has been a godsend. We have cleaned toilets and showers, stocked shelves, weed-whacked, taken reservations, checked in campers, and made new friends. We've learned that on an island with one road in and out, you NEVER venture out on Saturday or Sunday unless it's an emergency, because of the traffic. We're learning to read the clouds and wind direction. I especially have enjoyed the sense of belonging, something that has been missing for me since we got on the road. I have a church I attend regularly. I have a few friends. It's nice. 

I am looking forward, though, to Labor Day and a lessening of the crowds here on the island. I am looking forward, too, to purchasing another vehicle very soon. I am thrilled that Ms Barbara would like us to come back next year. I very much would like to do that. In fact, if R would be agreeable to it, I would stay here through the off season. The campground itself closes on November 15, but we could stay on as sort of resident caretakers. It would be so lovely to be able to stay here for a little while. Perhaps we will settle here for a time. 

While I love traveling and seeing new places, I also love that I feel that we have found a place and a little group of people who welcome us. Who knows what will happen? I know that on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, I will work in the office/store for eight hours each day, and R will weed whack and clean up grass cuttings for about two hours on Tuesday and about four hours on Wednesday. For now, knowing that is enough. 

IT'S BEEN AWHILE...

2014 April 2

Wow! It's Been Awhile…

In the six weeks since last I posted, we have traveled from Crystal River, Florida to Waves, North Carolina, via Crooked River State Park, St Marys, Georgia, Sleepy Bear's RV Park, Lumberton, NC, and Green Acres Family Campground, Williamston, NC.

We are now ensconced at Ocean Waves Campground, in Waves, NC, where we are having our first experience as work campers. If all goes according to plan we will be here till the end of their season, in mid-November.

Our first stop as we traveled from Florida to North Carolina, was in St Marys, Georgia. We liked the descriptions of Crooked River State Park and we wanted the proximity to the ferry to visit Cumberland Island.

The park itself was very nice, with water, electric and cable hook ups, but a limited number of pull through sites. Some sites looked like they would be challenging to get into with a large motor home, because of all the trees. The sites were fairly level, especially for sand and grass sites. They had a coin op washer and dryer available on the cement area outside the bathhouses. We originally planned to stay for two nights, but extended our stay to four, because of storms. I had no desire to drive on I-95 in torrential rain. Crooked River State Park is a gem. There are loads of trails, along with both birdwatching and general nature watching blinds. In season there are bike and kayak rentals, as well as mini golf. Wifi is available at the office, but we had a strong Verizon signal for personal hot spot usage. We also got a senior discount, which is always nice.

Our desire to visit Cumberland Island got shelved for another time. Between the rain, the fact that we hadn't accounted for no bike rentals during our visit, and the inability of our aging dog to keep up with the amount of walking required, we decided Cumberland Island would wait for another time. We could've left Greyla alone in the motor home, while we went off, but didn't think it fair to leave her for a period of between five and six hours. 

Our next stop, on our way to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, was Sleepy Bear's RV Park in Lumberton, NC. It was a older park, but family owned and operated, which we prefer to big corporate parks. The owners were very nice and also helpful. We stayed there two nights. Each site was a concrete slab which proved to be very level. They had two fenced areas for large and small dogs for off leash exercise, as well as a short, but pleasant "pet trail" through the wooded area adjacent to the park. The only negative was the proximity to I-95, which accounted for traffic noise. But, it also made for easy access. 

Next we stayed in Williamston, NC, at a small family owned campground called Green Acres. Again, the owners were very nice and accommodating. The only negative was the mud road through the campground to our site. That torrential rain I mentioned from a few days earlier, had left what is probably a dirt road in summer, a slick mud path. The good news was that our site was in a grassy area with good drainage, and no mud. It was also extremely level. Behind us was what looked like a practice 9 hole golf course. They also have two pools, in season, tennis, badminton, mini golf and paddle boats for their small pond. It was a pleasant campground and had easy access to the local town and no road noise.

From Williamston, we made our way toward Roanoke Island and the town of Manteo, and then to Hatteras Island and the town of Waves. 

We are having our first ever work camping experience at Ocean Waves Campground. We signed on for the entire season, which runs from March 15 to November 15. We have stayed at this park before. Once, for a week in a tent with two dogs (Blue and puppy Jake), back in May of 1985 and again, for a month in our motor home in October/November 2012, during Hurricane Sandy. As our first adventure in work camping, we felt comfortable signing on for the whole season, since we were familiar with the owners.

Ocean Waves Campground is a small (70 sites) family built, owned and operated enterprise, which has been in business for thirty years, and four generations.  The campground location is ocean side, which means the longest walk to the dune is two tenths of a mile. Over the dune is the Atlantic Ocean! There are three bath houses and a pool, along with an extremely well stocked camp store with very reasonable prices. The laundry room is small, with two washers and two dryers. There is a game room attached to the store/office, with a pool table, and three arcade games, as well a book/DVD exchange. Many of the early season and late season campers have been coming here for years. Hence, there really is a sense of "extended family" among them. When we spent a month here in 2012, I found that sense of camaraderie to be a little intimidating. But now it feels comfortable, even for the newest comers to the work camping crew.

Our commitment, as work campers, is to supply approximately twenty four hours of labor weekly, in exchange for a concrete, level site, with full hook ups, cable, and a roll of quarters weekly toward laundry. The time is divided between Raymond and me in whatever way we see fit. I am currently working two, six to eight hour days per week in the store/office. Raymond is part of the grass cutting crew for approximately four hours per week. And together, we clean the three bath houses on the same days that I work in the store and Raymond cuts grass. Bath house cleaning generally averages about two hours, which counts as four hours, since we do it together. It is nice to have our bath house responsibilities on the same days as our grass and store hours, since it gives us five free days every week. Another work camper and I are rotating working on Saturdays mornings until mid May, in order to allow Barbara, the manager, to have Saturday mornings off to yard sale. Once it becomes busy, in season, Barbara, a third generation Bullock, will work weekends.

So far, this is proving to be a wonderful experience. How could it not be? Hatteras Island, free camping, kind and generous bosses?  We are very blessed.