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.