I am barely making it under the wire for "April's" update, but since I promised to blog every month, I am going to count this entry for April, thus forcing me to make another entry before the end of May.
As I stated in the previous post, the hosting gigs have just been rolling in (ad continuum), so Katrina and I sat down and discussed what we each want most out of our hosting time.
Since most of the grunt work falls on sweet Kat's capable shoulders, her main request was a position with minimal KP (i.e. doody duty) as well as a location that allows her to pursue her important meetings and hobbies.
My concerns were more pedestrian in nature, since I have to balance a successful workday while living in paradise: Whether the park has cell reception, can I get a signal on my air card, etc..
Despite all of the amazing opportunities and locations to choose from, our final decisions (they're laminated!) are as follows:
As I stated in the previous post, the hosting gigs have just been rolling in (ad continuum), so Katrina and I sat down and discussed what we each want most out of our hosting time.
Since most of the grunt work falls on sweet Kat's capable shoulders, her main request was a position with minimal KP (i.e. doody duty) as well as a location that allows her to pursue her important meetings and hobbies.
My concerns were more pedestrian in nature, since I have to balance a successful workday while living in paradise: Whether the park has cell reception, can I get a signal on my air card, etc..
Despite all of the amazing opportunities and locations to choose from, our final decisions (they're laminated!) are as follows:
1. September 1st to November 30th- Myrtle Beach State Park, South Carolina
Yes, we are really suffering through the autumn on the Grand Strand! Oh, the ignominy! How on earth are we ever going to survive the sun and fun of Murrells inlet? We are certainly roughing it at this undesirable location. Feel bad for us; Our lives are hard!2. December 1st to February 28th- Croft State Park in Spartanburg, SC
This location was chosen because of it's excellent proximity to my family, yet it's amazing lack of that nasty white stuff that I hate so much... what's it called? Oh yeah, snow!
My mom and extended family are only about 45 minutes away and my cousin and his family live a scant 16 miles from the park. Plus, we shouldn't see any of those pesky albino brain chiggers at this elevation, unlike the poor folks of Asheville, with their winter and cold... Blech!!! Even if there is a minuscule chance of the S-word, it's like snow in Texas or Alabama- sort of a novelty that disappears the next day.
3. March 1st- May 30th- Edisto Beach State Park, SC
As rural and remote as this location is, and the small detail of having to use a black water trolley (i.e. a poop pulley) to dump our , um, ahem... excrement (eeeeewwwwwww)... neither of us were really willing to give up this amazing site. So we, instead, decided to push this gig to the end of our trip, to give us both a better chance to acclimate to full-time hosting before taking on such a challenging assignment.
The real challenge (besides dragging a wagonful of sloshing shit to the dump station) at Edisto is it's remote location. There is not one hotel, motel or inn on the island, and the nearest laundromat is in Charleston, forty-five miles away- as is the nearest Costco, Evil Empire and even hospital.
There are several notable restaurants on the island; the most famous being The Sea Cow (mmmm...sea cow...), several fresh produce markets (King's Market makes tomato pies that are supposed to make you wanna find Jesus- in case he's lost) and even a Piggly Wiggly that doesn't close until (gasp) 7pm.
It's definitely a laid-back atmosphere more preferred by the post-forty crowd than the whipper snappers up at Murrells Inlet, but since we both now (sigh) belong to the aforementioned bracket, we like the idea of us and a bunch of similarly-minded fogeys hanging out on the beach until the sun sets and then all turning in by nine with a nice frosty mug of Ensure.
So, there you are- our official, dyed-in-the-wool, etched-in-stone, never-gonna-change schedule (these schedules are subject to change any time. Hoster reserves the right to cancel and/or change schedule at their discretion).
In the meantime, stay tuned for updates on our wedding day in the beautiful, historic destination city of Des Moines, Iowa this August! It will be a lavish affair complete with a pair of converse and a justice of the peace.
