Welcome to our Adventure!

Al and I are thrilled that you have found your way to our blog. We hope you enjoy reading our journal and viewing our photographs of the natural wonder of our United States of America. Let's hit the road together!
Homer, Alaska

Friday, May 6, 2011

Back to Work

Wednesday and Thursday we were both back to work. I know there's many of you out there probably thinking that she's crazy for being happy to be working again, but it does feel good :-). We've never in our working lives have a month off, and we did have a good time exploring the few areas we were in, and visiting family and friends, I think it would have been even more enjoyable if the weather during the month of April had been a little bit better. But that is something we can't control, and just have to make the best of it, which I tried to do :-). When life gave us rain, it also gave us better waterfalls to look at, right?

As I told you earlier in the week, I will be managing the Park Store this summer. It's a bit more than I expected, as it's more of a basic goods store, and a small convenience food cafe. There's all your 7-11 type of foods ( hot dogs, frozen pizza, nachos, slushies ) and a scoopable ice cream parlor. Ice cream is the biggest selling product for the entire season, so I better get pretty good at scooping :-). Yesterday Vicky and I spent the afternoon cleaning the store, as it hasn't been used since last fall, and was a bit musty and cob-webby. They also have a ton of box-elder bugs here, and they seemed to be everywhere! I figured cleaning everything first was the place to start, and today I will start going through the boxed left-over inventory, sorting out and re-stocking the shelves. The store is not officially open this weekend, but David is giving me cash to keep in the till, and if anyone wants ice/firewood they can get it from me while I'm working in there. Otherwise, we officially open on the weekends next week, and everyday starting June 15. I have to figure out what needs to be ordered in for inventory, so if anyone has ideas on what they would like to see in a camp store, as a convenience, let me know :-). I told David my goal for the summer was to be a profitable store for him; he told me I have lofty goals :-).

Al also started his Rangering duties, and is liking it very much. Of course, its not too busy right now either :-). being a membership campground, there's a lot of regulations to be followed, and every campsite is checked at least three times a day by the ranger staff, making sure everything is in compliance ( mostly that they are registered in the log correctly) and if anyone has questions or needs help, the rangers are there. Rangers will also be at the Park Store upon closing so that I don't have to close up at night alone, and they transport the daily receipts to the office. They also assist with special functions on the weekends, checking guests at the gate and clearing them through to the convention center.

All in all, we both have a lot of things to learn and remember, but I think once the learning curve is over it won't be too bad. I just have to get the ordering under control, and it should be pretty evident once the store gets going how fast stuff needs to be restocked, and once Al gets the regulations book down pat, he'll be good to go as well.

We both work all weekend, and then we'll have the beginning of the week off. I hope the weather is better and lends itself to some exploring of the local parks. Until next time, I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday!

3 comments:

  1. Karen, I just love your positive attitude... That is something Bill and I find so refreshing in the RVing world. Everybody is upbeat and as Howard says, "They just figure it out!!" I have no doubt that you will out perform anything your boss is expecting of you!!

    Nancy

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  2. I agree that going back to work is fun. I love our time off, but I'm always ready to get "back on the clock." Have a great summer!

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