Moving On

We are officially new members of Leisure Lake Campgrounds. We have decided to move to a new campground and we are excited.  I will miss the beauty of this park for sure but we will definitely be back to visit, not only the campgrounds, but the marina, beach, and trails. We enjoy coming here in the winter and walking through the park. It is much quieter and the scenery is so much different.

We will miss our many friends here at Mosquito for sure.

A dear friend to me is Stella. She is married to Bob, a camp host, who we truly enjoy. They are a unique couple for sure. In many ways they are so different, yet they are so close. Stella is such an outgoing, friendly, open and giving person. She is ready for fun at all times and has no qualms about getting involved and enjoying herself. I love that aspect about her. I enjoyed watching her dance her heart out at the marina concerts this year. She is always going places and doing new things. I hope her spirit of adventure never dies. We walk in the evenings together and it is truly enjoyable. Clayton and Roxie, Stella's little white Westie, join us many times on these walks and they have become a duo. Clayton enjoys walking with Roxie and has learned to behave.

Stella's husband, Bob, "The Mayor", can be seen riding around in his beautifully altered blue golf cart. Don't even think of driving or getting too close to that pretty little baby. He will bark at you if you do. But don't worry, most times, Bob's bark is not has harsh as it sounds. Ken and Bob have become great friends and Ken gets a kick out of Bob. He says he truly understands where Bob is coming from. The four of us have a great time when we are together.

Diane, Froggy's mama, is the campground "Sweetheart." Everyone loves Diane. She is such a good and giving person. She gets involved in many activities that help other people, here in the campgrounds and outside. She is in the garden club, knits blankets for Relay for Life, plants flowers in her community, helps with the Friends group here, and many other volunteer activities. To not like Diane is impossible.

Frank is Diane's husband and Froggy's Papa. Frank works a lot and cant be here as much as he would like. Both he and Diane enjoy being on the lake and he loves working with motors. (At least I think he does because it seems he is always working on somone's vehicle.) We enjoy when Frank and Diane have time in the morning to stop for coffee and some conversation. For some reason we always end up laughing.

Carol, our campground manager, is another person that you can't help but like. She is ready to help her campers at all times. Everyone knows her name even if they don't know who she is. Whenever there is a question or a camper needs something, you will hear these phrases, "Call Carol." or "Go see Carol." or "Carol will know." Carol has been at Mosquito for many years now and has outlasted several other people who have worked here. She knows most people involved in the state parks and knows the rules and regulations as written. She runs a great camp store and keeps it stocked better than any I have visited in all my camping years. Carol is a person who is honest, has scruples and knows how to treat people.  Carol has the respect of many people and fully deserves it. She treats her camp hosts with respect and lets them know she appreciates their hard work.

Ray  also works in the check in station. He has been off this summer recuperating from surgery but is here at the campground with his wife, Liz, a camp host. Everyone knows Ray. Even the people who don't camp here but only come to walk or jog or ride bikes in the campground. Ray is the "Mosquito Man". He loves Mosquito Lake so much that he has a tattoo of a mosquito. Ken loves to go and sit and talk to Ray. If I couldn't find Ken, I knew he was talking to Ray somewhere.

Liz, Ray's wife is a delightful person. She has been a host for several years here and knows her stuff. She trains all the newbies on how to show the movies at the amphitheater and you better pay attention. Her final test is a killer! Both Ken and Bob trained last year and both earned their certificates. Good job guys, but you have to give Liz credit, she was a good teacher.  Liz creates things on her computer that are so cute like cards, certificates and flyers. It is always something special if you get a hand made card from Liz. Thanks Liz.

Patty and Butch are our camp hosts from the "no pet" section of the campground. They are full time RVers and right now are our idols. We pick their brains about full timing whenever we can get them to sit still long enough. Both of them have a great sense of humor so you know you will have fun whenever they are around.

Kim and Mike, newbie hosts from the other end of the campgrounds, have camped here as seasonals for a few years. We liked them right off when we met them while they were out walking Butler, their friendly Rotweiler. Kim is artistic and makes a lot of the signs for the Friends group and spends a lot of time helping the group.

Mary and Scott, another newbie host couple live up at the cul-de-sac. We don't see them often but Mary is the President of the Friends Group. Most times when I see Mary she has her cell phone up to her ear, even while driving and riding her bike. I would fall off the bike for sure. Mary had a plan at the beginning of summer to try to ride her bike everyday. It paid off for sure because she has lost a lot of weight and is looking good. Scott put in a lot of time helping Mary with the Friends group but works and isn't here much.

Vi and Gary, friends we made a few years ago, come here mostly for him to fish and her to camp. They are both such friendly and good people. Having them for neighbors is great and we love talking to them. I always wished they could be here more.

Joe and Kathy run the marina bait shop and sell food there. They organize the great free concerts we all enjoy throughout the summer as well as the Pirate Fest and the clam bake. Both of them seem to work 24/7 but always have time to be friendly. The park has truly benefitted from having them here.

Al is one of our camp rangers. He is always friendly to us and the campers. You know though that if there is a problem, you can count on Al. We love that he will enforce rules when needed. He even warned us last year or the year before when we parked our second car in a vacant spot that it was not allowed and would need to be moved. Rules  are rules and they need to be followed or the park will go downhill. Thanks Al for enforcing them. This park is too valuable to allow rule breakers to ruin it for the others.

Colleen, Rachel, Josh and Eric work in the camp office and all have learned their responsibilities quickly and do a great job. Carol sets a good example for them to follow and  trained them well.

I am looking forward to making new friends at Leisure Lake but definitely don't want to ever lose the great friends I have made here at Mosquito. All of you are welcome to call us, come visit us or invite us to join you at functions or dinners.