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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Not the most glamorous part of the job...

For us, the worst part of managing a campground is dealing with the bathrooms. Unfortunately, keeping them spotless is a big part of Ruth's job...but I also have some crappy responsibilities when the plumbing needs work!

We spent most of the day yesterday on one bathroom!

We've got five small bathroom buildings here. Most of them are separated men's and women's, with one toilet stall and one shower stall on each side. But the oldest building is a little larger. It's also apparently one of the busier facilities because it's close to the boating and day use area.

Our oldest bathroom building.

The interior is in pretty sad shape. The building hadn't been properly winterized and I had started fixing broken water pipes a couple of weeks ago, but we put a stop to it as we realized that it needs a complete interior overhaul. 

The problem is, our really busy period starts on June 27th, only about two weeks from now. There really wasn't time to get a contractor in to do the job. So we'll get it done in September when things quiet down. In the meantime, I had to get at least one toilet and sink working on each side so that they're usable. Not an ideal situation, but it's the best we can do.

Not fun.

Some of the leaks were in between the walls. No way to get at them without actually cutting pieces out of the walls. This had been done at some point in the past as well. And, I had to rip the urinal out of the men's bathroom because the drain pipe in between the walls was rotten and leaking. 

As I finished one side, Ruth began cleaning it. She even cleaned the rafters as they were covered in cobwebs.

Anyway, enough of that nasty business. Ha...Cameron learned a new word today. "Nasty". He kept saying "that's a nasty bathroom Grandpa!". Yup.

We managed a walk around the park after dinner. Still hardly anybody here, and actually it's been cooler than average and that doesn't help attendance. Nice days, the sun is shining, but only a high of 17C (61F) forecast for today.

Five days ago I took a picture of some baby robins.

Five days ago.

Hard to believe this is the same nest...only five days later!

Grandson Cameron heading down the trail.

The trail was getting a bit overgrown so our hired help has been trimming it and putting down some wood chips. Much nicer!

The water level is back at it's highest point so far this year and rising daily.

Grandpa and Cameron.

Cameron! I had been hiding beside the bush with the camera and he found me!

18 comments:

  1. I guess those nasty things come with the job, good luck.

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    Replies
    1. Yes they do, especially when working at a campground.

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  2. Surely your "hired help" has a name.

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    Replies
    1. Yes...his name is also Kevin. I'm trying to avoid confusion!

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  3. Oh boy. "Been there, done that." Bad enough when things wear out, but way worse when they break due to neglect. Good luck.

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    1. It is a shame that we are going to have to wait until September to get this bathroom revamped but in the mean time we will work with what we have.

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  4. That little guy is a cutie, easy to see the family connection, he bears a strong resemblance to his granddad!
    Nice to have that happy stuff to balance out the "crappy" stuff.

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    Replies
    1. He sure is a cutie and boy does he make us laugh!

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  5. Fantastic header pic. Brings back memories that we hope to renew next summer. 3 months was not long enough for the Maritimes and the Rock. This summer is the west; starting late August.
    Long time since our grandkids were that little. Looks like fun times. Enjoy them; they don't stay that little long.
    Still fun when they get older, just different.
    Your campground is looking wonderful!

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    1. We have spent a lot of time in Nova Scotia and I think we have it pretty much covered, but we haven't really spent much time in New Brunswick and have never been to Newfoundland in the motorhome but it is definitely on our list. We were in Newfoundland with our children way back in the early 90's and loved the area.

      If you are headed out west in August, we hope you take the time to stop by and visit us here at Cabri Regional Park, we would love to have you.

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  6. Great pictures! Would think the owners would get the bathrooms fixed as they will probably break down several times during the summer!

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    1. I doubt that they will break down over the summer, but to get the two washrooms working properly, they really do need to be overhauled. Right now it will only be one toilet and sink in each washroom for this particular building that will be working this summer.

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  7. Great bird pictures and Cameron is just darling. The bathroom not so much. Just don't think I could do bathroom duty. It's a long way and a lot of use until September. Is sure hope you make it.

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    1. This is now the fourth summer of doing bathroom duty at a campground and I have lived to survive them all. Luckily it is really only about six weeks that they really get used a lot, I am sure that I will survive it again.

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  8. Old restrooms give me the creeps! I am sure that you two will do your best to make that one the best it can be under the circumstances.

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    1. Have to admit it didn't look nice and I didn't even want to use it but now that I have cleaned up the one bathroom it does certainly look much better and today I have to work on the other one.

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  9. Sounds like you are going above and beyond the call of duty in fixing bathroom leaks. We've seen the bathrooms cleaned with a pressure hose in many places and this seems to be really efficient and quick, maybe the campsite owners will buy you one in place of all the plumbing bills you have saved them !

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    1. Fixing the leaks is part of the job, the problem is there are so many in this one particular washroom that it is really beyond repair. We do have a power washer and we have used it but you have to be very careful in the bathrooms because it will remove the paint if too much pressure is used. Even using that, it still requires wiping things down, filling up the dispensers and then sweeping out the excess water and finally giving the floor a proper mop. Once the first thorough cleaning has been done it will then just require a regular cleaning each day which will be much less time consuming.

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