Workcamping Experience #4 Starts!

May 24, 2016

Quick review- Our first workcamping experience last summer was paid employment at Geneva Point Center on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. The second was paid employment also, at Amazon Camperforce in Jeffersonville, Indiana from November 10th thru December 23^rd. Then we migrated south for the winter and volunteered at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park north of Lake Okeechobee for January through March.


This summer, being new grandparents, we were looking for paid employment close to Maryland so we would have the opportunity to visit family during the summer. That meant staying in the mid-Atlantic states and we thought that Bethpage Camp Resort in Urbanna, Virginia might be our best option. We interviewed at the RV show in Tampa in January and secured positions starting the middle of May through September 9^th. We are attending a family wedding after that, and will start at Amazon in the beginning of October, but this time in Campbellsville, Kentucky.


I was hired to work the front desk checking in campers, while Greg is a Host driving a golf cart while escorting big RV's to their campsites, and doing other odd jobs as they arise. We checked out Bethpage's website which is very professional, and discovered that this is one of the largest RV parks in the country and that they have won best RV park in the nation in 2006 and 2012. We kept our fingers crossed about our choice since we had never camped there and never camped in this type of park before.

High security front gate

We arrived a week early to get set up in our provided campsite. Our water, sewer, and, cable hook-ups are free, but we pay electric and laundry, which is unusual for workcamping. We'll be running the air conditioning with the hot, humid Virginia summers, so our small RV will be an advantage. We have had almost constant rain, so we have been sitting in a bit of a swamp. “Workcamper Row” is brand new this year. Instead of being on regular campsites in the park as in previous years, we are at the far end of this huge park and back up to the maintenance yard with its high chain link fence, lots of engine noise early in the morning and all day, and the landscaping workers house trailers inside the fence as well.

Our campsite is level and sunny.

Workamper Village

Greg making hay around the rig after many days of rain.

We back up to the maintenance yard. No need for an alarm clock!

Dense woodland across the road - full of noisy woodpeckers and owls.

After parking and hooking up the RV, we stayed two nights and then went back to Maryland to babysit our 14 month old grand-daughter so her parents could have a much deserved break. Three days and nights of chasing her just about did us in, but we loved it! Then we returned to Bethpage with a day to rest up before we started work on May 16^th. The night before, we joined some workcampers for the weekly half price margarita night at the local Mexican restaurant. It wasn't worth it for the food, but we'll probably go again sometime to socialize. We're looking forward to trying some other restaurants in the area. This is blue crab and oyster country, but we saw a restaurant in our small town that smokes its own meats and specializes in Neanderthal (?) food!


Now that we have been here a week and are preparing for the first big holiday weekend coming up soon, we have discovered that this is a huge RV resort. There are over 1,000 sites. Many are permanent or seasonal which means that the trailers have been installed permanently on sites the owners have purchased, or they are paying a fee to rent a site for the whole season the resort is open, April through the middle of November. The rest of the sites, over 400 are rented out. Most people stay at least the three night minimum that is required for holiday weekends, or a week or longer and spend their vacation here.

The entry road. The nearest hill is about 20 miles away.

The lakefront area and snackbar.

The pools area

More pools and the water park

The store and rally center

The marina - empty before the season starts

Overnight campsites - 450 RVs arriving in the next 2 days

There are also 35 large cottages rented out, as well as golf carts, (though many people bring their own), canoes, kayaks, paddleboats, and bikes. There are pools and a small waterpark, a marina, and a lake with a beach and a water trampoline. Every weekend has a theme with lots of activities. The group and rally center hosted a prom last weekend, and there is a well supplied camp store. A large recreation center is being built. There is also dry storage for boats and RV's. Open to the public is an ice cream shop and mini golf course. Adjacent to the property is the 17^th-century Hewick Plantation which has been restored and hosts weddings and festivals.


A 120 seat restaurant just opened by the pool, and there is a snack bar at the lake. The rally center has a full kitchen for catering. The whole resort is gated and any guests you have come to visit you must be registered and paid for. The idea is to have you never leave until it is time to check out! Lots of money to be made!


The other workcampers as usual are very nice and friendly, although Greg and I haven't really “clicked” with anyone the way we have in other places. The front desk job is almost all computer and phone work. Everything that gets sold or rented, as well as the reservations have to go through the very complicated Campground Manager reservation computer system while you have someone on the phone or standing in front of you and three lines and computer stations are going at once. (Reserveamerica.com, that I used in Florida was a piece of cake compared to this!) All you're really doing is taking their money. No chatting, no giving them interesting ideas for what to do here or in the area. Frankly, it's not what I expected. I've been determined to learn it all, but last night my boss asked if I wanted to move over to the off site reservation call center, and I think I will. I normally thrive on the customer contact, but, to be honest, this is “NASCAR America” and I am struggling to relate to the clientele. The call center will give me regular hours, which neither of us have now. I have to remind myself that I am here to make money to reach our budget and to have the chance to travel occasionally to visit family.


Greg has been spending lots of time being drilled in leading the big rigs into their campsites. Every RV that stays in the park gets an escort to their site. This coming Memorial Day weekend he will be working non-stop on a golf cart doing escort duty. In the past there have been long lines stretching a half mile back to the state road as rigs wait to check in at the front gate. Today he is washing golf carts to get the rentals ready for the weekend.


The biggest surprise we had when we arrived was seeing Mike and his dog Winston strolling down our road. We worked with him at Amazon and thought he was on his way to a gig cooking in Yellowstone. Instead, he is here cooking for the new restaurant. There are several other couples that have worked for Amazon in the past and are friends of friends from our time there. It didn't take long to tune into the drama. Couples have already quit and more people left since we arrived or are leaving soon. Workcampers who are dissatisfied, for whatever reason, have little incentive to stay at a minimum wage job when your home has wheels.



Well, today the sun is shining which makes everything better! I am looking forward to getting out of the impending chaos of the weekend, so hopefully my move to the call center will work out. Greg at least gets to be outside all day, which makes him happy. This is a beautiful rural area with historic old tidewater towns, so we look forward to doing some exploring. I'll report back later family and friends!