We arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine, about two weeks ago. I’ve been asked by several people why we chose Bar Harbor as our first ultimate destination. Well, the truth is, Bar Harbor chose us.
Last August, I put our resumes on the KOA website. Shortly afterwards, we had five different offers for work camping jobs in the United States! Maine, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana and California. After speaking with the manager at the Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA, we decided to take the leap and head north.
Neither of us had ever been to Maine, and what a great way to start a new life in a beautiful part of the world!
We arrived on April 18. This particular park does not open until May 7 due to the extreme weather in this part of the country. For the first few weeks of our new jobs, we were to help the other work campers on site to clean up the park and make it ready for the grand opening.
I have to admit that the work was tough. This park shuts down in mid October. There was heavy snow this year resulting in many fallen trees. Reopening it involves thoroughly cleaning all cabins, cleaning up leaves and debris from campsites, learning the computer systems and how to take reservations, scrubbing bathrooms, picking up trash, and much, much more.
This is the land of no “R”s! There is lobstah, beyah (beer), and but-tah popcorn!
And the weather? Well, it is has been cold, windy and rainy, punctuated by moments of brilliant warm sunshine. We were told that if you didn’t like the weather, all you needed to do is wait an hour and it would change.
Heavy winds and rain brought down even more trees after we arrived including this one in front of our RV! Dave had noticed a split in the tree and when he went out to warn our coworkers, the tree fell. That was definitely our excitement for that day!
But it hasn’t been all work…
We had a fun gathering with our boss and the rest of our co-workers. We ate burgers on the grill, lots of great homemade food and even met Big Foot! Looks like it is going to be a fun summer!
In the evening when it is nice, we gather up a bunch of wood and make a nice campfire. We have met a whole lot of people here with so many things in common with us. They are also full time RVers and most of them have been doing it a whole lot longer than us.
We are excited to share the sights and adventures of the Bar Harbor area with you over the next few months.
I have to admit that occasionally I get a little homesick. I can’t shake the idea that I’m on vacation and any time now, I need to return home to Georgia. We have been gone a month now. I miss my family, my house and some of the routine that I had over the past 20 years.
But I do love getting up in the early morning and walking the dogs and enjoying the fresh crisp air that this beautiful part of the country has to offer.
And when I get back to the RV, Dave has a fresh cup of hot coffee waiting for me.
Yes, I think I can totally get used to this!
YAY!!! I’ve been waiting for this post!! It looks beautiful there. I can’t wait to see it. It won’t be too much longer and we will all be up for a visit so you won’t have to be too home sick for much longer. 🙂
Really looks great there and look forward to hearing more. This is so exciting. I am sure I speak for many when I say you make it feel like we are right there with you.
I leave UK for Florida tomorrow to visit my son for 2 weeks so excited about that. I will still be following. take care
Wow that tree! Did it have a K on it? Well at least now it will not fall on any campers. Sounds like a lot of work to get the camp ground into good shape, but very lovely place to work in.
Spent last summer in Bar Harbor! Loved it! While you are there check out two great quilt shops: Sewing by the Sea and Fabricate! You will be happy you did! Enjoy the Lahbstah!