This campground's rules is close to what I want to incorporate.  A few things I will eliminate and others I will change.  But it's a good template. I'm looking at others as well, make sure I'm not missing anything.  

 Check in time 1:00 

Check out time 12:00

Reservation cancelations must be made 48 hours in advance, by email only.  Cancelations made at: reservations@jbrv.net

Extended time for check out. Must check with office first and is based on availability.  
     * 1:00.........$10.00
        3:00.........$25.00
        5:00.........$40.00

$30 ALL NSF CHECKS

NO ONE  MAY CHANGE SITES WITHOUT PERMISSION

No clotheslines or hanging clothing or towels

10:00 pm curfew for children, they must be back at site unless with an adult.

You are allowed 1 unit and 1 car per/site.    
    *  There is a $10.00 fee for an additional vehicle.

Quiet time: 10:00pm - 8:00am. Unnecessary noise, drunkenness and disorderly conduct will NOT be allowed and may result in immediate eviction. 
     *  $250.00 Late call out fee (after hours disturbance)

Dogs must be on a leash

You are responsible for your child's safety at all times

Clean up after your pet

Personal and rental golf carts are allowed at the park. Only adults can driver motorized vehicles.

No aggressive dogs

$25 Site clean up fee (if above average cleaning needed)

No mats on the grass
     *  You are welcome to put mats on the concrete however.

All vehicles must be parked on the concrete on your site. Do not park on the roadway. No parking on the grass.
     *  Extra vehicles can be parked in designated parking areas.                   Please check with the office and get a parking permit.

No open ground fires. Fires are permitted only in certain areas of the park. 
     *  But... Personal fire pits are allowed!

General Policies

YOUR RESERVATION IS NOT CONFIRMED, UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR RESERVATION NUMBER. (5 DIGITS NUMBER)
NOTE: RATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

I.

ANY RIGHTS GRANTED TO REGISTERED GUESTS IN OUR RV PARK ARE THROUGH A REVOCABLE LICENSE WHICH MAY BE REVOKED AT ANY TIME.    UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A TENANT WITH A LEASE.

V.

THE MANAGEMENT ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACCIDENTS, INJURIES OR LOSS FROM ANY CAUSE.

II.

MANAGEMENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INJURY OF PERSON, PETS OR LOSS OR DAMAGE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY CAUSED BY FIRE, THEFT, ACCIDENT, OR ACTS OF GOD. NO SKATEBOARDS, ROLLER BLADES, BIKES OR RUNNING ALLOWE ON THE HANDICAP RAMP AND DECKS.

VI.

THE JAMAICA BEACH RV PARK WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY OBNOXIOUS OR OFFENSIVE ACTIVITY OF ANY SORT THAT COULD INTERRUPT AND OR ADVERSELY AFFECT THE ENJOYMENT OF OTHER PARTIES UTILIZING OUR FACILITIES.

III.

MANAGEMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE OR DISCONTINUE SERVICE TO ANYONE, AT ANYTIME, FOR ANY REASON, INCLUDING CONDITION AND OR TYPE OF CAMPING UNIT, AND LIMIT OF PEOPLE PER SITE.

VII.

IN THE EVENT OF OBNOXIOUS OR OFFENSIVE ACTIVITY, IN THE JUDGEMENT OF  MANAGEMENT, THE PARTIES RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH ACTIVITIES WILL BE REQUIRED TO LEAVE THE PARK IMMEDIATELY, WITHOUT REFUND.

IV.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL, THERE IS A ZERO REFUND POLICY IN PLACE.

VIII.

Pet Policy

I.

PET POLICY: DOG OWNERS ARE REQUIRED TO KEEP DOGS ON LEASHES AND IMMEDIATELY PICK UP AFTER THEM.  AGGRESSIVE DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE PARK. THERE IS A DOG UNLEASH AREA BY THE FRONT OF THE PARK.  NO PETS IN THE POOL AREAS, CLUBHOUSE OR BATHROOMS.

 This idea of being awake all night long, not being able to sleep, is getting very old. I finally managed to fall asleep at around 5:00 am, slept 2 hours and that was that.  The other nights, it was coughing keeping me awake, last night it was the medication I'm taking that kept me awake.  I'm not going to stop taking the medication simply because I can't sleep, I will just not be going into work tomorrow and that's that.  

I still have the house alone, at least until sometime this afternoon, I will likely try to take a nap in between now and then.

My allotment is 200 milligrams per day, that's the max.  Cholesterol, that is.  I'm kind of treating this like keto, tho, and low carb.  Look for the lowest cholesterol options with at least semi-low carbs and that's it. I was thinking spaghetti chicken today - red meats are totally off the menu for the time being.  The sauce has a bit of cholesterol at 35 milligrams, but, I am not eating that much right now due to being sick and not doing much of anything, so that's acceptable.  

It's Sunday morning and I will not be getting anything done today beyond perusing the internet for more ideas.  I was looking at a campground yesterday with a particular set of rules that interests me.  The rule is, you clean up your lot when you leave or get assessed minimum $25 fee.  

Why would I want to do that? Because I won't be there to clean lots and I really don't want to have to pay anyone.  I can clean them when I'm in town of course, which is fairly frequently, but certainly not a daily event.  The fee, if assessed, could be given as money off to the next guests showing up and they could clean the lot up if they so choose or just get the money back and that's that. 

This isn't, I am finding, a huge issue with most campground owners besides pet owners not cleaning up dog dung and people throwing cigarette butts everywhere.  Many of them say for the most part, they really don't have any cleaning to do at sites except hauling out the ashes from the fire pits.  I don't assume that others do this, but I will be having a trash can at every lot.  This will facilitate most people to simply throw it away versus chucking it on the ground.

If I could get away with putting cameras on every lot, well, I could see who is cleaning up and who isn't.  Of course, I don't believe that would be very ethical or right - seems kind of creepy actually, so I won't be doing that.  In the eventual day that I can be there full time - I truly hope at some point - I can check every lot after people leave.  I may still charge a fee for not cleaning up when there is ample facilities there for guests to do it themselves.  What are they going to do, get on Google and leave a bad review about how that mean owner charged them a fee for them leaving their trash laying around?  

I may have to succumb to the idea of long term renters.  There are more parks going up in the region, I really didn't expect that. I say region, meaning they are at least 50 miles away, but that's relatively close when you're talking about trying to get the travelers to stop at your place for the night. 

What is so great about your place that's better than the others?  That's the question campground owners who have been in the business for years ask me and others attempting to get started in it.  You need something to appeal to the senses and make them say, yes! That's where I want to be!  I figure my doggy park to be 75X100 in size.  Not too big but not small, either.  I figure the trees and the walking trails through the forest will be an immense pleasure for those that are nature enthusiasts.  

It's going to be hyped up greatly on the website and it's going to have aerial photos and even a video of it.  There are places around with minimalist walking trails, yes, but nothing what I am creating.  It's a small investment to get people into the campground.  

When they get to the utilities, I am going to be scrutinizing the electrician's work. Not because I know anything about stringing up lines all over the place, but that's exactly the point.  I can see how they do it and then run a line clear to the back of the property and have electricity back there for more "modern" camping. This would give tent campers the option to run an AC unit in their tent.  I have done that in the past when I'm going to a place where I know it's going to be ridiculously hot.  Hopefully the well back there is still good and I can run water line from that and then....I dunno about waste.  I think to begin with, simply rent some outhouses.  

Or probably just one to start with and see what kind of interest I get. This will be heavily advertised to locals who want to go camping but don't want to drive a hundred plus miles to do so.  In fact, locals will get a discount and they can spread the word.  

A swimming pool is simply going to have to wait, much as I don't want to. I mean, I could throw up an above ground pool with a deck, but that might look gaudy and probably offer risk that insurance companies might not be interested in taking.  The sticking point is that none of the other parks in my immediate area have a swimming pool. Most of the parks are just long termers with junky RVs and extremely messy outdoor living areas, a thing I will not tolerate.  Keep it clean and keep it tidy or get out.  I am going to start working on rules, perhaps today.  

In fact, I was looking at one of the "better" RV parks here a few days ago via satellite and was surprised at how small it is and how crammed in the spaces are together.  Old school "technology", yes, but you'd think they'd upgrade it.  People want those pull-through sites and will pay more for the privilege.  I have 7 of them.   

Wifi is also on the list, something I keep spacing out to at least call them and find out how long it will take to get on their list to come out and wire everything up.  It might be a good wait, I dunno.  Having them run a line to a telephone pole would be the thing I'd think will put it on a longer waiting list.  I won't know until I call and am making that a priority this coming week.  If it's months out, I will go ahead and order it.  

Oh, and those electric sites in the rear? Just 20 amp outlets. Nothing too fancy.  Tent camping is usually not about luxuries and more about enjoying nature.  But, when it's 90 plus degrees outside, I do need think about finding a way to make that a bit more appealing.  I'd also like to get those armadillos out of there.  I didn't know until last week that Armadillos are carriers of leprosy.  I don't necessarily want to kill them, I just want them off the property, thanks and goodbye.  

Never did hear back from the shop with the ATV. I guess I will just wait a while, they need to fix it right this time, not just get it started and call it good.  

Yes, I think that's a great idea. Go back through various camp' rules and extract the ones I want.  I will compile a list and add my own if I don't find what I like and then eventually have it looked over by a lawyer.  Litigation is a thing and I want to minimize that possibility as much as possible.  

I am thinking it's at least several months before a park can be opened, just getting that into my head so I don't start getting frustrated and impatient with the contractor's process.  The ground should be dry by tomorrow - it's getting very hot here and there is very little chance of rain for a while to come - so I will be contacting him tomorrow and finding out what his plans are.  There are many things I can do now, such as rules, but there are many things that simply have to wait until closer to opening - well soft opening - day.  Hmm, I may not call it a soft opening if I have at least a doggy park and the walking trails up and running, with the office and a laundry set and a bathroom.  

Yup. Most park have some pretty strict rules in place.  Imagining that is to be able to get rid of people that are being more than just a general nuisance.  I like it.  It gives me an out - if you are going to misbehave here, you can leave and you can leave immediately.  

Well, that's what I'll be doing for the next several hours, I think, just pulling up park rules of various places small and large and picking and choosing what I want to incorporate into mine. 

Happy Sunday.  

 Thankful to be home.

After spending an entire night coughing my lungs out and getting maybe an hour's worth of sleep - and letting my employer know about that this morning - I went to the property to take a quick look to see what the dude might have gotten done with the tines and then I went to urgent care.  

At urgent care, I had as swab stuck up into my brains (certainly felt like it), another in my nose but not fare up, a blood sample, an x-ray and injected with a shot of steroids, which almost always helps with coughs like this.  

My blood pressure has come way down, something I wasn't expecting but certainly not going to complain about. After in that place for well over an hour, the doctor, who had visited me fully 3 separate times plus 2 different assistants coming and going - tole me I have bronchitis.  Before the age of Covid, I would have guessed that, but now? I wasn't sure what it was.  

I get fully 3 prescriptions to go pick up, but I went home first and got the paperwork for the septic system application and a check so I could get that done and over with and they can get moving along with it.  Over at their office, there was actually a lady working in there today, they are normally closed on Saturdays.

I dropped the envelope off and then she called me before I could get out of the driveway.  "The paperwork has to be one-sided, it can't be two-sided", talking about the fact that my printer had printed it on both sides of the sheets, so 2 sheets instead of 4. So, I went back in there, resigned everything and then she sad she'd fill out the rest for me and that she IS a notary public.  

Off to Chili's for a quick bite and then over to CVS to get the prescriptions. Getting back into my vehicle? The battery just suddenly, out of the blue, decided it didn't want to work anymore.  I'm not feeling this, I thought, I just want to go home. Instead, I had to call a local service to come jump start me and then over to O'Reillys for a new battery and then, over to Super 1 for some food. Foregone conclusion I wasn't going to want to go anywhere today, got some chicken to cook and went home.

Oh, the dude at my property? Had gotten almost nothing done. He had decided that he needed to use his box attachment which moves the dirt, pulls up the weeds and junk in the ground and smooths it out.  When he's done with that - on Monday I guess he thinks he's coming back - I will put down the grass seed and hope that a lot of it takes.  

I also saw that the newly formed RV pads on the east side were trapping water and leaving standing pools of water.  Can't have that, I texted the contractor and asked him if he could dig some trenches for some pipe.  I have the pipe, he just needs to dig the trenches.  I have old SDR35 pipe that I acquired from previous employer for free - it was all in the junk pile. There is actually nothing wrong with most of it, it's just old but this isn't pressure situation and it will work fine to carry the water under the newly formed driveway - versus - having standing pools of water to annoy guests, having mosquito farms going and general nastiness.  

Now? I'm not doing anything for the rest of today besides cooking chicken for dinner.  I am going to find a movie to watch and kick back, rest, take all of these drugs and hope to get better soon so I can get back to work.  

It is very warm outside so I brought Addler in from the heat, he can chill with me, I have the house all to myself for once.  That doesn't happen very often, almost never.  

Okay, I'll probably do some more research on RV parks and SBA loans, lol. But that's after I have rested for a while and get to feeling a bit better after the ordeal with the bad battery.  

g'day.

 It started 2 nights ago when I went to bed. A headache that Tylenol eventually took care of.

Yesterday morning, however, I had a headache all over again.  I was like, well, I took tylenol around 3:00 am, so I'll wait.  

Went to work, stopping by the property on the way, the machinery was out there and they were busy.  Got to work and noticed I was increasingly feeling - worse.  Got to the loading plant and was feeling much worse.  By the time I got out of that plant, I had already contacted dispatch and told them I wouldn't be able to take the load to Oklahoma.  There is no way I was driving an almost-80,000 pound truck down the highway, loaded with highly flammable cryogenic liquid, feeling like that.

My head was throbbing, sore throat and chest congestion, I could barely speak.  It came on that fast.  It was amazing how badly I felt in such a short period of time with all the symptoms that seemingly showed up on my doorstep so quickly.  

I went home, stopping at the property yet again: this time there was not only a dozer and a dump truck, there was also a track hoe and 2 more dump trucks.  The dozer was creating the pads out of the dirt that was being dumped, the dirt coming from the giant hole the track hoe was digging out. I suspect there will not be enough dirt in that mountain they created out of the "bad dirt" to fill it up. It's whatever to me right now, it's well out of the way and I don't need to deal with that immediately.  

The cost of this project has increased substantially with phases that I didn't know about at the beginning.  I was trying to get the contractor to give me costs for everything.  I didn't have to have the pads done up the way they are doing it, but - the will not only be level, but they will be elevated so that rain water doesn't flood out the RV and wash away the gravel.  Is it worth an extra 14k? I don't know.  The contractor told me "You don't have to do this, but in a couple of years, the gravel is going to wash away and you will be starting all over again".

The problem is that my desire to do all of this initial stuff without taking out any more loans is now at stake.  I really had decided that I wanted to get the park done in it's first phase - which is 14 spots, a doggy park and the walking trails - without any more loans.  Well, and a building. That would be a loan in itself with a 12X16 building that will be made into a small office to put the wifi equipment in, probably a washer and dryer and hopefully at least one shower.  Yes, I've downgraded my ambitions, but it's just to get the thing going initially and see if I can get some revenue coming in without having to have all the other stuff in place right up front. 

I've asked the contractor how much it will cost to upgrade the septic system from a 750 tank to 1,000 gallons.  This will afford me the option of having that laundry and bathroom and also create some more lots in the near future.  It would allow for 4 more spaces.  Nothing I would do right now, the cost of everything is out of control and would add more than I can afford.  Just that it would allow for some more spots as I get some more money saved up.  

Anyway, I haven't been over there since noon yesterday. Feeling like hell, I had no desire to go over there.  But now? I need to just go take a look.  

_____________________________

Done deal. They created the lots and the driveway - and I really like how they did the driveway - and filled in the hole to the point there is just a small pile of good dirt sitting there. I assume they want that for finishing touches.  Now, they have to "roll it". Same concept as with freshly laid asphalt, a roller comes along and compresses it, compacting it and making it firm.  I doubt they will do that today, it just rained and tho a short rain, they probably want it nice and dry for that.  

I now have another guy out there who is dragging the front portion of the property - it's not going to be used for anything right off the bat - but he's going to get all the small sticks and junk weeds out of the ground, smooth it and make it workable for planting grass.  I have the grass seed, I just need the lot finished. Well, I take that back, I'm probably going to have to buy a lot more grass seed, I just wanted some to seed the front portion to start with.  I imagine another 10 bags of that stuff at least.  I don't want to look at a land full of weeds is the point and I don't want those trees to start growing back.  

He's got his tractor with a rake attachment on the back.  If nothing else, the land will be smooth enough to either brush hog it regularly or take a zero-turn over it.  I don't want eternal brugh hogging expenses and there are already weeds and ferns growing up on portions of the trails in the back, I have to pull the trigger on some kind of machinery and soon.  The rake attachment process is going to cost a wee smickens of money, but I have really no choice unless I just want a property full of giant weeds.  I didn't pay all that money to have the land cleared of the trees only to have it replaced with weeds, thanks.

I don't know when they're coming back to steam roll it, but the contractor is sending me paperwork to fill out for the permits to install the septic system. Which means we are moving right along here.  Finally. 

Well, there goes everything. It's pouring rain. The forecast showed a small chance of rain which blew up to a full blown thunderstorm now.  I am guessing the dude with the tractor went home out there, who knows, I'm not going back out there to find out.  I also have been in contact with a local individual that creates hand painted signs.  I want to get a sign up in front of the property now and get something showing what's going on there along with a "coming soon" sign hanging over the top of it.  These people do excellent work, I've seen examples of their handiwork and the kind of product they are putting out is exactly what I want.  I don't want sterile, generic, modern looking stuff. I want natural, nature themed stuff that compliments the theme of the park, which is, obviously, nature.  

I guess I best start thinking about seeing a lawyer and an accountant about taxes, liability, rules for the park, etc.  I'm not yet ready for the web design dude to do anything further with the website until we get to within a few months of an opening day.  I want a page that shows the drone pic and footage of the property from the air. I haven't done that yet, I decided to wait until everything is done instead of a "temporary" thing that will just waste money in having to have him come back and do it all over again.  

It may very well be that I'm going to have to have the electricity and water turned on soon. That's another thing I want to wait until the last minute for.  The connections are made, they just have to turn it on  - but turning it on means I start incurring a monthly service bill whether I'm using it or not.  No point in that.  The rain is an unwelcomed nuisance that will further delay this project since they aren't going to do the rolling/compaction until it dries up again.  

Oh well.

 Thursday. 

The 5 year old decided to cut a lock of his hair out several days ago, leaving a huge gap on the front of his hair.  In an attempt to correct it - they are not only going on vacation tomorrow, they are also having family pictures taken while they're there apparently - I took him to the hair salon to fix it. 

Amazingly, the stylist was able to fix his hair without having to buzz it all off.  Disaster averted.  Of course there was a trip to the property yesterday - well take that back, there were two trips to the property.  

The first one was because I woke up early, grabbed the dog and went for a hike out there.  Just nice to have a quiet walk in nature.  After I got home from that, the 7 year old - who had stayed the night at a friend of the family's - was asking mama over the phone if he could spend another night there. 

I was on the porch as well and offered my hello to the boy while thinking about what I was going to do next.  Mostly, my thoughts on the property and when, exactly, is this contractor going to pick up the ball and get his @$$ over there and get moving with this? I do everything I have to and then some on my end to make sure that I am not the one holding him up.  

Anyway, the 7 year old heard my voice and after the phone call was ended, there was another one after I had left with the 5 year old to fix his hair.  The 7 year old wanted to come home.  He thought I was still out on the road and I guess spending the night somewhere else is more entertaining than being home -with his sick brother.  The 5 year old has had a nasty cough for several days, everyone hopeful he will be over that by the time they leave.  

Long story short, the 7 year old ended up coming home after getting rude with the people he was staying with because he wanted to come home and then, of course, got himself into trouble with mama for being a little jerk and acting like an @$$ to those people.  This is the way of things when you have kids, they are probably in trouble more often than not. 

Regardless, while I was running around town with the 5 year old, the contractor finally texted me back.  Are you available tomorrow? Uh, no, I'm going out of town.  Well, can you meet me at the property now? I'm not one to drop what I'm doing at the beckon whims of another man to fulfil the needs of their fancies, but in this case, I instantly thought: he's ready to move to my property with his personnel and equipment and therefore, he needs to meet out there to discuss what's next.

So, I said yes, give me 30 minutes.  Went home, dropped the 5 year old, picked up the 7 year old, grabbed the dog and left. The 5 year old too sick to go hiking, he didn't like it much but every time he does any physical exertion he starts gagging and coughing like crazy.  Got over there and waited - for a while - for this dude to show up.  

 We discussed his plans - he knows what he's doing with these RV parks, this is why I have stuck with him over other contractors that have a general idea of what to do but not specifics when it comes to building RV pads and such.  We then looked at my layout.  He was all good with that but wanted to change a few things.  Instead of 10 feet space next to the driver's side, why not 5? That way you give them more room on the passenger side for outdoor enjoyment. 

I was all good with that and had actually thought about it before, but I didn't know the specifics of having enough room for utilities over there. He said naw, 5 feet is plenty of room.  Ok. The trees, most of what I had left up, are going to have to come down.  I knew this, I just didn't want it to be true.  Most of them anyway, a few can stay up. The biggest heartbreaker for me is the two pine trees. They are simply in the way, but they are about 30 feet tall.  To me, that's a huge loss. Perhaps to anyone else, it's nothing.  

I got quoted yet another price on building the pads - a bit of sticker shock - and I said okay. He said, well, you don't have to build up these pads, but then he showed me the amount of grade and also the fact that when you build them up, the rainwater won't be running up against the gravel. It will have a place to run off. If you don't do it, you'll be replacing gravel in a few years and that gravel already down will be all over the place.

What I lose in extra things I didn't know needed to be done I gain in a man's experience building parks and not having to pay an engineer to design everything.  He's all on board with my way of doing it - no real plans - he tries to find ways to keep costs down for me.  He's a totally down to earth type of guy and is basically your typical redneck (and that's not an insult by any means).  A person that is a real redneck - which is basically just a plain ole' country guy with a few "things" about them that might be a bit odd to city folks - will wear that label with a badge of honor. Just saying, many people think it's an insult but if you don't live out in the sticks, you really don't know what you're talking about.  I know I didn't before moving out here.

Anyway, it's almost 8:00 am, I suspect they are out there now. The reason he was getting so antsy about wanting to meet up is because he wants to finish phase II and do phase III at the same time.  It makes no sense, he said, to just finish the mountain project and not have the dirt being hauled over, building the pads while the mountain is being dealt with. Building the pads afterwards would only be adding extra man hours and cost to the project.  So I paid him in advance of finishing Phase II to keep this in good faith and motivation running good and he should be out there now. 

He said he would have 3 dump trucks and his earth moving equipment. I shall find out shortly as I'm about to head out to work - well early of my appointment time - and stop by and see what's going on.  I would probably sit out there for several hours watching them if I could.  But, I can't and Oklahoma is calling.  And I can expect a lengthy wait at the plant. For whatever reason, they are having problems getting the paperwork out after getting loaded and drivers are sitting around for hours. What fun.

Offa here and off to the races.

G'day

 Slowly changing my entire diet from Keto to a low carb version that incorporates foods I haven't been eating in a long time.

Those foods are mostly berries and fruit.  Lots of salad, turkey and chicken.  This is the quest to lower cholesterol levels.  The exercise part? Yea, that's gonna take a minute.  It's just really hard to think about getting out of a truck after driving all day long and go for a walk or do some pushups or whatever.  It's bedtime, not workout time.  Yes, I get plenty of walking at the property - but that's only when I'm at home.

I'm in Brownsville yet again, no empties down here last night, allegedly empties are on their way over. "Right now" I was told well over an hour ago, lol.  If they can get one here soon, I won't have to be driving until the wee hours of the morning attempting to get one back to the yard for them to use tomorrow.

Tho, no one has asked me to do any such thing.  I don't actually mind this run dragging into tomorrow since I will have 14 hours of detention pay, which is the same or actually a bit more than a day's worth of driving.  But, if they get here before 1 or 2 pm, I'll drive it out.  After that?  Yeah, they're gonna have to ask me and I won't make any guarantees.  They sent a truck down here yesterday without a trailer to pick up an empty to try and get a handle on the lack of empties coming back up.  

I called the contractor yet again this morning.  I just call him now, if he doesn't answer, then I send a text.  He answered today, said that he had had a fitting built for his track hoe, it worked for 30 minutes and then the o-ring popped, spewing hydraulic fluid all over the place.  But, he said, John Deere ordered him one and it is supposed to be here today by 2:00 pm.  He said call me back today after 4 to see if it's a go.

Nahh, I replied, I won't bother you again today, I'll just call tomorrow and see where we're at.  Bugging contractors about situations they have no control over is just making yourself a nuisance.  I'm hoping his desire to get the thing going "for you" means that the first thing he's doing when they have it fixed is heading over to my property and finishing phase II.  I mean, it would only make sense, he can't get paid for it until it's done.  I guess I"ll have to press him for Phase III - lot formation and utilityi nstallation.  

I'm trying to keep on top of it and communication with him as much as possible without making myself and annoyance at the same time. He has already gone off about other contractors using his services going off on him about the time frame for everything.  The squeaky wheel may or may not get the grease in this case, I can only say that he's trying to keep my costs down as much as possible, he knows I"m on a budget here.  

I'll find out tomorrow if it's fixed and if they went to my property. 

Meanwhile, I am going to be low on hours by the time I get back - but not so low I couldn't get an Oklahoma run. No, I don't want another run before getting a day off, but if I do Oklahoma, I can have almost a full day plus a full day off.  If I  get the reset after this run, it's going to be tomorrow only and probably an afternoon appointment the next day to load again.  I have no control over what I get, I just know that the Oklahoma run gets me some good home time. A day off isn't enough, I've been busting @$$ and I need a break.  

Unfortunately, some of my better loan options have expired. They make offers and give a time limit on when you can accept the offer.  I just have no desire to take out a loan before I know how much I will need and also, making those extra payments without the extra income coming in to be able to make the monthly payments.  I'm actually hoping to get this first part done without any loans and do that soft opening and see what happens.  

Then I can save up the 20% for an SBA loan and see about starting a whole new thing - at a different property. I've missed the tax sale - it's going on right now. There were some large parcels of land up for auction.  Oh well, you can't do anything with those properties right away anyway, but it'd be nice to get one and have it sitting, ripening with the age - time - required to be able to say it's actually mine and the originals owners have abandoned it.  But, those auctions have had so many rich people showing up and having bidding wars, the prices go well outside of my reach.  

Why start something somewhere else? Because an SBA loan will pay for property, construction and start up expenses plus cash for cash flow.  I'm already committed to what I'm doing now, but I could see just having a small operation on this property and starting a much larger one somewhere else. I just need to get the experience running a business and the ins and outs of the paperwork, dealing with employees and dealing with state and federal taxes, if there are any (which I assume there are).  

I would actually love to keep this current property a limited operation and have most of it - for myself.  It's close to home, it's beautiful and it's really a "dream" property.  At least for this area, there are no mountain ranges around there. But, I get the woods and a small stream and the sounds of nature within 4 miles of home.  Imagine a small operation that would pay for a custom house to be built on the rear of the property, separated from any and everyone on the front.  In that scenario, long term residents would be acceptable. Not near as much money but not near as much hassle, either.  

Long term simply means people are living in their RV's, on the property.  Pretty big demand for that right now.  Not just oil field workers or construction workers, either. Those are people that come to an area to work but they don't live there. They bring an RV, park it somewhere and live in it semi-long termm.  Others, however, are finding housing unaffordable and even unavailable and are resorting to whatever they can find.  I'm not supplying an RV, tho, that's on them.  I could see renting out mobile homes I might buy and fix up, but not RV's. They have to be treated with care and if you rent to people that don't care, well, you end up with a destroyed RV.

Am I changing my mind again? Let's call it evolving.  Learning as well.  There are plenty of other properties for sale in the area. High priced, yes, but they are there.  The only setback is coming up with 20% down. SBA loans require you to have some stake in the game, for obvious reasons.  If I need a half million dollar loan, I have to come up with 100k.  That's pretty much what it would cost to build a decent sized park with some amenities and including the price of the land.  

These are just thoughts floating around in my mead.  

Well, there it is, an empty trailer.

Cutting this one short.

G'day. 

 The rain never came last night. Instead, it's supposed to come in a few hours.  Just looking at what may happen in terms of heavy rains and ground saturation.  They aren't going to be trying to dig a giant hole in the mud - but - their trackhoe is still broken down according to the contractor and are waiting on a part to arrive.  

He appears as ready to get the dirt work portion over with as I am - I'm sure he wants to get paid and that isn't happening until that phase of the job is completed.  A pay-as-you-go thing, it works for me.  

I haven't received a quote from him to upgrade the size of the septic system to 1,000 gallons instead of 750.  It's something that should be seriously contemplated in order to be able to add some extra lots once the initial 14 are in place.  How much that adds to the cost is entirely unknown to me.  

He did find a driver for his roll-off truck, a person that allegedly has driven for 15 years but has been stuck in an automatic for the last 4.  Yup, that's where trucking is going, they are forcing autos on you whether you want one or not.  The contractor said this dude couldn't get the hang of shifting the manual even tho he claimed he had driven one previously before getting dumped into an auto.

I let the contractor know that he is probably a bit consternated having you sitting there watching everything he is doing and that adds to the stress and nerve level.  Give him a chance to simply figure it out on his own and he will probably get it back pretty quickly.  The age-old "ride a bike" saying.  I actually got on a bike the other day after having not had been on one in many, many years.  That old saying is true.

Oh, and I was right about the order of utility installation.  Apparently they do some kind of dirt buildup on the pads - I really don't know what he does with the extra dirt, everything is perfect at the moment. He knows what he is doing, I do hope I can be there when they do the next phase because I want to see what, exactly, he is doing with the extra dirt?  

Anyway, after the extra dirt, then comes the utility installation.  The only thing I can see that might take a bit of time is the power.  You have to install the pedestals on a concrete pad, so that's a couple of days right there and then digging the trenches and laying out the underground line, routing it to main boxes and then running smaller lines out of the main boxes.  I could see them having to come out a week for that.  Perhaps why it costs so much. After the utilities, then comes the gravel and after that? You are done with their participation in the project.  Time to move on.

I have found the building I want, but I first need to find where to put it.  It makes no sense to put it at the front of the property since I will be housing wifi equipment in there.  So, it will be somewhere at the edge of the lots and right next to the existing driveway.  But I want the contractor to see what I have done with marking out the lots. After I spent all those hours out there, he said he would be doing the marking, lol.  That's fine by me but I want it pretty close to what I have marked out.  I'll see what he thinks, I just want a decent angle - about 50 degrees.  This gives more room for a third row in the future on the other side. 

Anyway, I'm off to Brownsville again after having an unwanted day off. Not to say I didn't enjoy the day off, but I really just need to work right now and keep the money flowing in to pay for the various things I am doing over there at the property.  Of course, saying anything to the dispatchers about it, even just light-hearted mention, will get you their wrath so unless it goes on into several trips of garbage runs in a row, I'm keeping my mouth shut and hope for the best.  At least it was another Brownsville run versus getting dumped with an Oklahoma.  

Well, off to the races.  

G'day.  

 The event last night at midnight that occurred at the Love's travel stop in Lufkin, Texas, had its origins many moons ago.  

You see, when I am headed back to the yard, I always - and I do mean always - plan on stopping at the nearest Love's travel stop to get fuel.  That way, I'm not starting another trip out on empty or half tanks.  I want as close to full fuel tanks as possible so I don't have to worry about that at the beginning of ant trip, regardless of where it's going or how long it's going to take. 

There is method to madness here.  You want to drive at least a half day's worth of miles before you stop anywhere at the beginning of any trip, which means you need to fill up as close to the yard as possible on the previous trip. 

Anyway, I have been stopping at this particular Love's since they built it and opened it up.  Previously, I was using the old Love's in Lufkin - it's much smaller and the entrance to the fuel pumps is funky.  

But, there's been a problem at this Love's I was at last night since shortly after it's inception. 

The fountain soda machine? Is more often broken down than it is working. It's a strange phenomenon that I rarely ever encounter at any other Love's and never as often or as long-stretched-out as this particular location.  

They have a way of mitigating it by sending everyone to the Arby's to get ice and/or drinks.  If the Love's fountain is down - which includes ice - you go into the Arby's which is connected to this Love's and operated by Love's - and you get your drinks there.  Again, I don't get why this machine breaks down and stays broken down for weeks or even months at a time.  

You read that right. It isn't an overnight thing or a couple of days, it goes on for at- minimum weeks. This particular breakdown has been going on for well over a month now.  

Well, I have been informed by Love's employees so many times to go next door and get my ice that I no longer ask them. It's modus-operandi, their machine breaks, you get your ice/drinks form Arby's. Emphasis on ice, I rarely drink soda anymore, I just drink ice water or coffee.  Or both.  

So last night, at midnight - driving until 2:30 am - I stopped to refuel, get some refills and finish the trip out.  Fueled the truck, grabbed my refill cups, went into the store, saw the machine was broken down again - several signs on it indicating as such - headed straight to the Arby's door. Arby's was closed, but that doesn't and shouldn't stop anyone from simply going in to get their fountain drinks.  It never has before, to emphasize.  

I was in there about 15 seconds before this young lady comes to the door and hollers across the empty room: SIR< YOU CANNOT BE IN HERE!!  I looked up at her while finishing the first cup and putting the second one under the ice dispenser.  I said nothing back to her, so she raised her voice even louder, SIRRRR, YOU NEED TO LEAVE NOW!!!

Further ignoring her verbally but acknowledging her with a nod of the head, I continued on with finishing up the second cup of ice.  This was rapid fire, I was only doing the ice fill-up for maybe 30 seconds maximum.  She had yelled at me 4 times before a "manager" came - but I was on my way out the door by the time he showed up.

I finally told her that I was almost done, but she had gotten on her radio to summons the manager, who came very quickly.  As I said, by the time he showed up, I was literally walking through the doorway. He said "you can't be in here". I simply replied okay, in a calm voice not looking for an encounter.  

He repeated himself so I just said ok.  He then said: "And if you do it again, I will have to trespass you from the property".  Wait, what?!! That definitely took me by surprise.  I did not reply in kind, I just smiled and said, ok.  Of course, the thought going through my mind was: if they don't want people coming in here, why don't they lock the door? And what the h*** is this dude talking about having me trespassed from their store?  Because I wanted a blipping cup of ice after spending $500 that day?

Love's doesn't do business that way, I can attest to that. Again, I said nothing in return to him, I just acknowledged him.  I went to get my iced coffee - I was tired and I needed something to temporarily wake me up to get the rest of the 82 miles back to the yard AND to drive home after that.  I went up to the counter - this dude was now running the register - again, not getting an attitude with him at all, but he's standing there glaring at me.  

I smiled - I've had a long day, I thought, much longer than him or anything he's gone through dealing with Memorial Day traffic coming back from the Gulf of Mexico in droves and driving like idiots - I was cut off at least 100 times and that is a very conservative estimate.  It was more like hundreds of times, but who cares?  I am mostly used to it besides the ones that cut me off AND brake check me for no apparent reason. Trust me, I stay in the right lane and I do my thing, I stay out of the way.  

He rung my stuff up, I said "thank you!" and he just stood there, staring at me. 

Now, before this one particular person that reads this journal and constantly judges me and finds fault with me says anything, this situation with this Loves and their broken down machine and being told to go to Arby's has been going on at least 2 years.   I don't have to ask anymore, it's the same response, every single time.  So if you have a problem with that, I don't want to hear about it, I really don't. The constant negativity gets quite old.  I was not in a bad mood last night and that dude did not accomplish that in me, either.  The ice coffee woke me up, I drove out the route, drove home and went to bed at 4:00 am. 

But yes, I did contact Love's via their app through a written communication system.  I told them the entire story and then got a reply back a few minutes ago.  A very long email that basically said we are sorry that they operated in such an unprofessional manner and are taking steps to rectify the situation.  Note that I don't want anyone to be fired. They should be trained to deal with customers in a way that isn't egregious, in-your-face and confrontational.  

There isn't in any way, shape or form a situation where the behavior exhibited by these employees and especially a manager is acceptable in any type of business that engages in customer service.  I have no intentions of doing that with my RV park. People can blow up and have a literal cow and I will keep my cool, address them professionally and courteously and at the end of the day, know that I did my best to make it a good outcome.  

Anyway, I had actually put that entirely out of my mind until I saw that email.  I am focused on the property and getting the contractor to get out there and get the job done.  I did not hear from him this afternoon and I got busy with other stuff to the point that I forgot to contact him between the 4 and 5 pm time frame that he said to call him back if I hadn't heard from him by then.  Rest assured I will be calling him tomorrow morning early to see what's going on.  I will probably go out there early anyway to get a good walk in - doctor's orders to get more exercise and I don't mind that, really, just need to get my mindset a bit more adjusted to it.  

If they don't get out there tomorrow and finish it? It's going to rain on Thursday and then we have another indefinite setback.  

The dispatcher is on vacation. Or something, I don't know what, her manager has taken over and sent a group email to all drivers saying that she is taking over for her and that she has 150 drivers so don't call her unless absolutely necessary and no, I did not get a run for tomorrow.  I have no idea why, I actually wanted a run regardless of my view of trucking, I need the money.  I'm not broke, I just have spent a lot on the property for this venture and facing spending a lot more in things that are beyond the construction process.  

Anyway, time to get off of here.  

 So.  The empty trailer didn't show up until 4:00 pm.  The customer in Mexico attempted to state that the trailer had already shown up an hour earlier.  Yeah - no. I took a pic of the tractor still under the trailer and about to pull out from under it.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it : )  Actually, it wasn't the dude in Mexico, it was the people at the yard I was at making up these lies.  

Does it matter? To me? No.  To my dispatcher? She's on a warpath with these people. She needs to calm her @$$ down. They are our best customer and starting s*** with them is not how you keep a customer happy.  The people at the yard need to be a bit more forthcoming, yes.  I didn't know we had rented out the front line - of which there was absolutely no room, whatsoever, for any of our trailers.  So, they need to rectify that. If they are going to charge for its use, it damn well better be available.  

The front line is exactly what it sounds like it means. It's a row with a concrete landing for loaded trailers near the front of the property.  It's the easiest to get trailers in and out.  The back portion is much more difficult and these local drivers make it look easy. Yes, because they are backing in much shorter trailers and they are driving daycabs, much shorter trucks that make it far easier to back into tight spaces.  

Anyway, I drove until 2:30 am.  I had to stop for almost 45 minutes, take a nap which turned into deep sleep - good thing I set the alarm or I would have been there for the night lol.  But, I just couldn't keep awake, the nap was necessary.  Of course, there was some noise at 8 am this morning - after getting to bed just before 4:00 am - I know.  I know....I should just stay in the truck at the yard when I get back that late or I should go get a hotel. Either or, I get a decent night's/day's worth of sleep.  

I don't feel bad right now tho.  I'm about to leave to go get the 4 wheeler and get it back to the shop. I need that thing fully functional.  This is a need, not just a desire.  I've been looking for used 4 wheelers, but the prices are ridiculous.  I'm not spending 3 grand on a 22 year old machine, thanks but no thanks.  

Lots of things whirling around in my head, but I'm in no hurry atm to get into contracts excepting, possibly, a portable building.  I'd really like to get one out there and get that thing built. It's just a shell with a roof, windows and a door. The interior has to be completely finished and that might take a minute.  It's now that I wish I would have kept that electrical panel with all the accoutrements. That bugger is going to cost a fortune now.  Anyway, I may stop by one of the lots today after dropping off the 4 wheeler if I feel like it.

Which I probably won't, lol, but who knows.  

Well, the day isn't getting any younger and it's just getting hotter out there.

G'day.  

 Brownsville, Texas. 

Got down here yesterday evening, pretty much knew there wouldn't be an empty. It was Sunday and the day before a major holiday.  Having said that, it surprised me that a full contingent of office personnel showed up this morning and then a little later, the local drivers.  Apparently this isn't one of their holidays where everyone disappears and comes back the next day - if you're lucky.

Regardless, the operator in Mexico is demanding that the driver who is waiting in the yard for an empty - which would be me - get the trailer back in time for loading tomorrow morning.  That's all nice fine and dandy, until you get to the part about the trailer not showing up until 2-3 this afternoon.  And likely, if he says that is the time it will arrive, it will be a couple hours later than that.  So, for me to make it back tonight, I will have to drive until anywhere between midnight and 5 am depending on when the trailer arrives.

My dispatcher was, at least, on my side on this one.  If I can make it, great, if I can't, too bad, so sad for them.  Not a concession you typically get out of a dispatcher. It's usually more like, we need that trailer back by such and such time in the morning, can you get that done?  They make it clear that they want you to drive all night long regardless of whether you are tired, falling asleep, fighting to stay awake - you know how it is when it gets late, you're normally in bed sleeping and you're attempting to, in this case, make your employer happy.  

If I can stay awake, I will do it is all I can say and all I did say back to her. Definitely made no promises.  Sometimes I can do it, sometimes I have to stop for an hour or longer and get some shuteye and then continue on, but many times?  I just can't do it and I don't feel bad about it, at all. 

So, it's Memorial Day, Monday and I can only hope and pray that the contractor will get to my property this week, get the hole dug, push the "bad" dirt in and get ready to start phase 3.  He said he would give me a quote on this next part. Well, the lot is level and cleared where the lots are going to go, the only real thing that would need to be done is dump the gravel and create the driveway and the pads.  I continue  to forget to ask him what is done first - install utilities and then the lots or put the gravel down and then install utilities?  I dunno, I just don't think it such a great idea to put down expensive gravel and then end up tearing some of it back up to dig trenches. 

The drone video dude wants $350 to take pics and video, process it and send it to me. That seems pretty steep to me for maybe 20 minutes of videoing and then editing.  I'm not pulling the trigger on that one just yet. 

Tomorrow, if I make it back tonight and I actually can get motivated to do anything beyond just resting after driving late, I will take the 4 wheeler back to the shop.  Beyond that, I doubt I will do much of anything, late drives take it out of me and it's usually all I can do to just get home and go to bed. But, I really want that 4 wheeler running.  Well it runs, but the brakes are stuck on. 

Definitely bracing myself for a gravel quote.  Just depends on how much the gravel costs per ton and how deep they say it should be. If it's 4 inches I'm good, if it's 6 that's going to get expensive.  And, if I have to do the existing driveway - they aren't even responding to me about that one, I'm going to start getting pushy here pretty quick about it - That will add another 3 grand worth of materials plus installation.  I figure 2 inches would be needed to redo the existing driveway, it doesn't need 4 inches worth since it's already established.  

Add that up and I have 60k to finish all of the gravel, site building and utility installation.  Lol.

That doesn't include the 6 to 9k for the dirt work they have almost completed.  I don't know how much they are going to charge me for that, yet.  I suspect half a day to dig out the giant hole and push the bad dirt back into it.  They have skilled earth-moving equipment operators, it might not even take that long.

A tractor with a backhoe is around $275 per month for 80 months at zero percent interest.  John Deere brand.  I dunno if I qualify for it, was just looking.  Don't need that yet and I found someone to do bush hogging for $55 per hour, the cheapest I have found yet.  Take probably a couple of hours at most to run through the trails and keep the front maintained.  Just doesn't seem prudent to be buying all kinds of equipment right now.  

Build the bridge, finish the trails, get a doggy park built after they get the sites built, get a small portable building, install the wifi, do the legal paperwork, insurance and whatever else I'm forgetting - taxes - and get this thing rolling and then, after a while, see what I've got.  The doggy park will be as big as I can get it in the "affordability range".  Prefer at least medium sized.  

It would be really nice if they could get an empty here soon versus many hours from now.  I'm not looking forward to all night driving garbage.   

 One of the refrigerators at the Phoenix property has failed and of course, it comes out of my pocket to replace it.  Just not something I wanted to hear today.  But, Mark found a replacement from an appliance store that sells used appliances and has a 6 month warranty for $350 delivered with old refrigerator removed.  I guess that's a pretty good deal for a used refrigerator, certainly in this current market and inflation hitting literally everything that is for sale new or used.

We've used this appliance store in the past with good results, so I am trusting and hoping this one lasts a while. The other refrigerator I bought a decade or so ago - it broke right off the bat, but an old gentleman came, took it apart, fixed it and said this is good to go for a long time.  And it is still running.

The creek - I went over there with dog in tow and measured it.  6 feet long will cover half the span lmao.  Good thing I went to measure it.  In reality, about 14 feet will nicely cover the span.  I had no idea it was that far apart, it was hard to see with the trees in the way.  So, yeah, they want thousands of dollars for a premade version.  I'm going to have to build on myself I guess, looks like I can buy the materials for around $500.  But I'm not hand carrying all of that to the intended build site, no way.  That ATV will have to be fixed and a trailer to haul all the wood, tools and probably a generator out there to build the thing.  

I'm going to go up and get some grass seed at Lowe's in a bit and get some pricing, I already have the list, I found plans online for a basic walking bridge -- tho I might make it wider and make it heavy duty enough to handle a 4 wheeler as well.  3, 16 foot long, 4x4 beams should do it.  Planks can be thicker wood using large wood screws to hold them in place.  Install some railing and really, I hope anyway, it shouldn't be a terrible night mare of a project. It will take some time, yes, but hopefully not too difficult.  

That's all I've gotten done today.  I was sitting here starving, eating nothing today and past noon, just got up and went up to the store and bought food that has low cholesterol counts and stuff with fiber in it.  Made enough for not only today but also the trip to Brownsville and back up.  I guess I'm just going to have to watch calories so I don't turn into a 350 pound - person.  

Eating a heart-healthy diet

A heart-healthy diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish, nuts and nontropical vegetable oils, while limiting red and processed meats, sodium and sugar-sweetened foods and beverages.

Becoming more physically active

A sedentary lifestyle lowers HDL cholesterol. Less HDL means there’s less good cholesterol to remove bad cholesterol from your arteries.

Physical activity is important. At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week is enough to lower both cholesterol and high blood pressure. And you have lots of options: brisk walking, swimming, bicycling or even yard work can fit the bill.

Losing weight

Being overweight or obese tends to raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol. But a weight loss of as little as 5% to 10% can help improve cholesterol numbers.

These are the things occupying my mind in the last two days.  If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right. Eating heart healthy, that is.  

And so it is, will be occupying my mind for weeks or months to come.  It takes a while to learn all the things you have to learn about any particular diet. Keto was a long learning curve.  Cholesterol maybe not so much because it's just cutting cholesterol, not all the other stuff that keto has involved with it.  

As for now, I'm going to get ready to go to bed and spend Sunday and Memorial Day - driving.