Winter is over

It's possible that some didn't get the word. Spring officially started on March 20th.Or perhaps the ones who are left here are still having too much fun to get it in gear. Maybe their snowbird wings got a little sunburn this year. Or perhaps they ate too much at that last "Pot Luck Supper that Wasn't One" and they couldn't get off the ground. Whatever the reason, the campground seems a lot fuller this year at the end of March than last year at this time.

There are lots of things to reflect on from this winter. Ronnie seemed a lot happier, so the light that emanates from that little office way back in the store was brighter, and it seemed to shine on the front desk and all those folks who ride around in their golf carts. It would be fair to bet that as it shone on us, we reflected some back.

Last year, some of us were working hard for recognition. The so-called Activity Team (whose mantra is, "We're Not A Committee!") was struggling to define our mission and goals in the midst of this loosey-goosey community, sending out surveys and writing up procedures. This year, things were laid back. We  learned what we are about last year, but everybody looked out for things without much organization, and it all seemed to work quite well. We even gained a couple self-selected members, and we lost one. And we've planted a few seeds for next year which will sprout in time for next winter's harvest.

The watershed pot luck supper which Eric Garvey attended seemed to awaken JIA's recognition of this rag-tag community we love to share. It certainly got the wifi project going. There were other small signs that could be noticed around the campground that signaled a little bit more listening on their part. A touch more recognition for our selves.

As to the wifi, the line from Field of Dreams, "If you build it they will come" could have been appropriate, but as it turns out, "Please build it, we are already here!" works better. The December setup created wifi neighborhoods, those with it and those without. After installing a dozen new nodes, the system got a decent wifi signal to nearly every campsite, but two things conspired to make the new system far from perfect: limited bandwidth and so many users. So much traffic (~120 devices, 12 Gbytes per day) fills up the pipe and everybody slows down. Even so, we're still an order of magnitude faster than last year.

Events went off to plan this year. Bud and Jean Hodgdon worked their tourist service miracles for trips to Sapelo and Pinova, both of which filled up to capacity. Besides Eric Garvey, C. Jones Hooks and several other JIA staff brought us news of their good works. The tent filled to overflowing for several pot luck suppers, so much so that additional tent space is on order for next year. And the excellent work of the Pancake Breakfast team led by Brian Hiebert continued to set records for how many people we can feed. Knitting, sewing, holiday parties, sing-a-longs, games, golfers and camera buffs conspired to play together. Bikers went off biking all over the place. The quiet volunteers worked at comfort blanket making, restoring estates (Habitat for Ghosts) and Art Association things. The artists in fact had their own showing in the campground, which has inspired the Arts Association to send a representative next year.

We spent some of that money that we had been collecting. The defibrillator makes our campground a little bit safer, especially for the geezers that camp here. Our tent site will get some upgrades before we return in the fall.

 This is all very unusual for a State Park. We should all submit Jekyll for "Friendliest State Park" trophy to be awarded as soon as there is one. You deserve it.

Last Potluck Supper for 2011-12 Winter Guest Season

The 2nd Annual "Last Call" Monday Night Potluck Supper was devoured by 29 Winter Guest along with Ronnie & Suellen Douglas at the Bistro of the Villas.  Over supper, everyone had a good time sharing news, trips plans along with remembering good times had over the past few months. As we departed there were lots of hugs and promises for more fun times this next season along with wishes of safe travels for all as we leave Jekyll Island for the summer months.

Hawk comes looking Lunch

Seems like word got out about the "thieving squirrel" being around.  This big guy spend the better part of the morning trying to catch a meal or two.  He just didn't have "wing clearance" between the RVs to get to the ground fast enough to catch his prey .  Word has it that he finally gave up and was seen flying toward the North, . 

Thieving Squirrel

"I like more mayo on my chicken sandwich!"

On the way to a picnic, this guy invited himself.

There are gnats on Jekyll Island

Some people fear them more than others. I suppose waking up to find your left arm missing would cause some folks alarm...

Saint Pattie's Pot Luck

The food was good, but some of those Irish are kinda ugly...


and some of them are kinda cute...

And then there are others... you decide!

Pinova Plant Tour

Thanks to Bud Hodgdon's persistence, a tour of the Pinova plant in Briunswick was arranged, unfortunately limited to 25 people., and it filled almost instantly. Reports from several folks indicated that this was a very interesting tour. It would be great to see if we can do this one again next year.

Game night reborn

Jekyll Campground gamers come and go, and sometimes other events draw them away. After a hiatus of some weeks, a motley group learned cuth-throat dominoes.

Ladies lunching at McCormicks

Running out of lunch date, running low on cash, but having plenty of appetite and a zest for sharing lunch, the ladies tripped to the golf course for lunch on Thursday. Lots of fun!

Roast a doggie for me, Mr Sam...

Another wonderful hot dog roast sponsored by... us. Lots of food, beautiful sunset, great new fire-place. Even a fun sing-along. Now if we could corral those bugs in some way, life would be perfect.

Dog Parade and Birthday Party

Lots of people and 23 magnificent dogs gathered anticipating the dog parade celebrating Cedar Bowen's 12th birthday.  The parade began led by the grand marshal, Sam and his mistress, Kay with singing, laughter, a few barks and campground observers along the route.  No growling or snarling was evident just happy licks and wagging tails as the four-legged participants joyfully pranced along.

The festivities culminated with balloons, cupcakes, popcorn and bags of treats for each furry, happy canine.  A great time was had by all and we all look forward to the 2nd annual Cedar Dog Parade which will take place on February 25, 2013.  Several people have indicated an interest in helping with the project next year.

Thanks to all who participated in the fun of our parade.
(Text by Patti Bowen, Photos by Fred Sprout)

WI-FI Update

Upgrades to the WI-FI in the campground are nearly complete. In place of the original 2 access points that were installed by JIA in December, the final network will include 12 "mesh" access points scattered throughout the campground, showing up on your Wireless controls as  "Campground" (9 are currently installed). Each of these "nodes" talks with the other nearby nodes, and ultimately with 4 gateway nodes that connect to the Internet. If a node fails, the remaining nodes will reconfigure around the failure, providing better reliability.
Since burying cables is unfeasible, there is a separate "backbone" WI-FI network that connects the 3 outlying gateway nodes to the Comcast cable connection in the store.
We currently have about 85 machines connected to the mesh, and another 20 lingering on the B and C access points which will migrate to the mesh this week. We have passed over 12 Gigabytes of data per day for the past few days, including some excessive users who have been turned off, which indicates that the mesh can handle our normal traffic without difficulty.
The "mesh" network includes robust administration and management tools to monitor and control the network. Using these tools, the network usage of individual computers (via their hardware addresses) can be monitored, and excessive usage by a single machine can be stopped. Besides imposing an element of fairness, this also improves the reliability of the network. If Ronnie and JIA feel that more control is needed, additional tools such as passwords can be implemented, but the intent is to provide the amenity as freely and openly as possible.
Some computers/iPads/phones may still encounter problems with the new network. If you have automatic connections set up for the older networks ("Jekyll Campground", "Campground-A-B-C-D") you should delete these from your wireless network setups, and connect to "Campground". B and C are still operating until the final nodes are in place this week, then they will be shut off.
There are a few known bugs. As with the cable TV system, it appears that the Internet cable connection also drops out periodically for a few seconds, causing the Internet connection to disappear, though you still remain connected to the access point. In most cases it should reconnect automatically. Some older computers may have difficulty connecting with the network, and some spots in the campground may have weak signals, which we hope to rectifiy with the soon to be installed nodes.
As always, report issues and problems to the staff in the store, or Mahlon Stacy in C14 if you can find him. We will do our best to help you resolve them.