When I started contemplating the size of a pond, I wanted to think it to have a good amount of acreage to make it big enough to be appealing to the masses that will visit there. I thought maybe 5 or 6 acres.  But looking at a visual of an acre, I saw a site that shows 90 yards of a football field plus the width of it as the size of just 1 acre.  I think a 3 acre pond would be pretty big, don't you think?  4?  Seems like that's going into lake territory.  I am not looking for a boating venue, I'm looking for a fishing venue. Tho, many places rent out paddle boats (at outrageous prices per hour I might add), most people looking for a pond or a lake on or next to an RV park are looking for a fishing opportunity. 

This is just one of the things that crosses my mind - frequently actually - in trying to create a destination park. A place where people want to go just for the park itself, surrounding area attractions notwithstanding.  You give a family plenty of stuff to do, they are going to stick around a few days maybe.  Rent out fishing poles, have a small tackle stand replete with worms for sale.  The store could sell minimal stuff such as munchies, firewood and ice.  The rest? People can drive 4 miles to the nearest grocery store, hence the need for a well stocked convenience store would seem to be minimal at best.  

Yes, I am sitting here still waiting for this truck to get loaded, they started on it about 30 minutes ago, the pouring rain stopped and so hopefully I'll be off of this loading rack by 7:00 pm and get out of this plant no later than 7:30 pam.  It's a 24 hour plant - but - whoever is sitting at the scale house? They cannot go home until I show up there to get my paperwork. I can not leave this plant without the bill of lading and accompany hazmat paperwork. For what I would think are obvious reasons.  

But I can see an opportunity for ice cream cones in the hot summer in a small stand with it's own employee running it and hopefully making a bit of money off of it to supplement park income.  I can tell you I am no "natural businessman" but I am acclimating myself to it slowly, over time, by reading a lot of material.  Charge too little and you make zero or small profits. Charge too much and people won't come. There is a middle ground and I think I have figured that out.  It will be trail and error at first tho, trying to decide how much to charge versus all of the expenses that will chip away at that income.  

_______________________

Yesterday was a disaster.  I showed up at the plant at 2:09 pm, got to the scale only to find a an isotainer sitting on the scale waiting to be weighed. Why was that an issue? Because it's contents are the same thing I haul.  This dude is either showing up FAR too late or WAY too early to load.  And then I remembered, these guys always show up in pairs. Where's the other one?  That question would soon be answered, as he left the scale, I got weighed in and arrived at the loading rack. 

They had just hooked that truck up and the other one sitting in front of me, waiting as well.  An hour and 15 minutes later, they finish that one and then pull the other one up. Which is when I got out of the truck to ask why, when I showed up on time, these guys are getting loaded ahead of me? Well, I'm told, we have had issues with having enough quantity of product all day long. 

Well that's all fine and dandy, both of these trucks didn't show up on time, they are way late, this guy was on the scale in front of me.  Why should I have to wait for them showing up late? I didn't believe their quantity story, I knew that was a lie for I have communications with our other drivers, a few of which had been in there earlier.  I can't call the operators liars, getting thrown out of there would mean the end of my job.  Well it doesn't matter, the dude says and I knew there was nothing else I could say. If the main operator was there? He would have made that guy drive around and let me pull in.  

I guess I went through all of this yesterday, but the idea that they can just ignore appointment times is outrageous. And then telling me after they are done loading these characters that they didn't have any product left, I would have to wait!  

I got to the receiving plant last night at - almost 2:00 am.  I texted the dispatcher after getting out of the plant - dunno if I'm going to make it, it's going to be the wee hours of the morning if I do arrive there.  Around midnight I was getting a bit fatigued.  I listened to some music which woke me up enough to keep driving and then after a while, my thought life, such as it is, got me going.  After getting on the scale and the plant operator coming up for the paperwork, I asked permission to park in the parking lot with just the tractor and I would come back for a trailer after my 10 hour break. Sure, he said. He didn't care, which is exactly what I thought would happen but I wanted permission anyway.  These plants with all of this hazmat/flammable/volatile materials, this one all kinds of different stuff, I want them to know I'm out there and please don't go banging on my door. 

BTW, I am sitting here watching Great Dane.  He is sleeping on the floor. Not the bed on the floor that I have for him, on the floor.  The dog absolutely loves this new carpeting in here.  But it's funny, no I didn't make him do that, I took a pic and posted it on my Facebook lol.

So, do I need a designer to map out this park and pay a thousand plus dollars for that privilege?  Maybe not.  I've gone up to 76 pads with my current design of 40 pull throughs and 36 back in lots.  That is using 1,000 feet of linear space of the area leaving around 300 feet for - whatever else.  This bathhouse ordeal for one.  

Whatever the case, tomorrow is Thursday and I will have the next 4 days off.  Allegedly it won't rain so I'm going to take the dogs and go hiking over there. Surveyors or not, I am going to get some exercise and the dogs will too. If the boys want to go I'll drag them along and just take the easy routes through there. Yes, they will be asking to go, they have been asking to go, the opportunity to take them again just hasn't been there.  I do know how to get them in the back of the woods, tho, without encountering too much of those thorn shits everywhere.  Yes, they are shits, little demons, curses on the earth. They exist to cut human flesh. Put holes in it and draw blood. Same with tics, they are rampant, I found my bottle of deep woods spray and will be using that in ample supply.  My dogs? Have that rather expensive pills that you give them. Tics and fleas will not bother them.  

Enough for this one. Time for sleep.