The whole time we were getting the house ready to sell and looking forward to being free of house maintenance, Jeff and I kept joking that our first #workamping experience would probably be cleaning and mowing. When our plans changed at the last minute and we were offered the #CabinHost position at #Unicoistatepark in Helen, Georgia we were ecstatic to have a place to start that is in our favorite part of the country. We have spent many Oktobers here with Oma and Opa (my parents) over the years as well as summer camping trips that included tubing down the Chatahoochee and hiking to beautiful waterfalls.
Workamping is a general term that describes an exchange of work hours for a free campsite. The details, job descriptions, compensation and labels can vary greatly depending on whether the opportunity is offered at a State or Municipal campground versus a private campground. Unicoi State Park & Lodge is part of the Georgia State Park system but is managed by a hospitality group, so it fits into a whole new category. We applied for and received the job through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources but we answer to the park manager and the general manager of the hospitality group.
Our official title for this job is "Cabin Hosts." We work with the cabin housekeeping team that is responsible for the 29 cabins here at Unicoi. The cabins are spread out all over the park and are extremely popular. The housekeeping team cleans and resets the cabins between renters and our job is to help identify maintenance issues and do the extra cleaning that is hard to accomplish on a daily changeover. Dusting window blinds, checking windowsills for bugs, dusting light fixtures and ceiling fans, cob web removal and kitchen inventories are our main responsibilites. We volunteer for 24 hours a week between the two of us and in exchange we receive a FHU (full hook-up) campsite, free laundry facilities, lunch every day, free firewood and WiFi access at the lodge or visitor center.
We have worked two weeks so far and, while the work is a little harder than we expected because there has not been a cabin host in some time, we are really enjoying it so far. Jeff and I were issued a golf cart until the gas powered Gator is out of the repair shop.
We look like the Beverly Hillbillies of Unicoi riding around with all of our cleaning equipment shoved in the back. The pole broom adds a particular air of ridiculousness but we sure do laugh a lot! As we are in the #northgeorgiamountains, there are very steep grades on the road through the park. Going down is super fun and going up is super slow. The golf cart is battery powered and on a busy day last week it died on the way back from the farthest cabins. Jeff had to push us up the hills and then run to jump in when we made it to a downhill section. Boy did I laugh........Jeff, not so much! I have been bugging him for years to get more exercise - I guess he should have listened.
The best part of our job here at Unicoi is the people we get to work with every day. The housekeeping manager and supervisor, as well as all the other staff that we have met so far, are fabulous. They all work so hard and keep telling us they are glad that we are here. They have welcomed us and are so thankful for everything that we do. I don't think we could have asked for a better set of circumstances for our first Workamp job. Because we are Cabin Hosts we do most of our work during the week. The cabins are all rented on the weekends, which allows us weekends off. We are also able to work when we want to, within reason, and have managed to get our hours done in three days. This schedule allows Jeff time to work on his business and he is looking foward to some fly fishing. Ivy and I use the extra time off to hike the trails here at Unicoi and Lucy Pearl has her first serving job at the lodge.
I am still doing research about Workamping and looking for our next opportunity. The more I look, the more diversity I see in the different types of jobs available across the country. I have seen postings in at least 20 different states that range from cleaning and maintenance to history museum guide. A lot of the private campgrounds also offer stipends and additional hourly wages. The time commitments also vary greatly and the ones in colder states are seasonal. What I find most fascinating is just how many opportunities are out there and what that means for how many people actually do this all the time. It is like a secret community of people that we would never really know about if it weren't for this new life of ours. We look forward to our next stop and all the interesting things we will get to experience. In the meantime, you can find us careening down the mountain in our hillbilly golfcart!
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