Working at Surf

I can't even begin to express our thanks to the Lord for bringing us up to Marblehead, Ohio right on the shore of Lake Erie, to work for Mark and Julie Walker in our first "workamping" jobs, at Surf Motel and Campground.  We're glad to be up here for many, many reasons.

First of all, we love Mark and Julie.  What wonderful people they are to work for!  Actually, we really feel more that we're working with them rather than for them.  They have several other campgrounds in the area, but had purchased Surf only recently, back in the Fall.  A big part of the work we've been doing is to help them clean-up and transform this place from something good into something fabulous.

Part of their purchase includes what formerly had been a bait and tackle shop.  In the Spring we transformed this store into the "Surf House of Jerks," which is more of a gourmet snacks (including exotic jerky -- hence the name) and gift shop kind of place.  We even brought a bit of our former life up here in the form of offering iced and frozen lattes through CrimsonCup coffee , our former roasters/suppliers down in Columbus, OH!  We've truly enjoyed delighting customers with delicious drinks all summer long!  For our first "workamping" jobs, we sure are having fun, working at Surf!

One of the things we like best is all the great people we come into contact with every day, including some of the folks we work with, like our fellow workampers,Craig and Penny Sweeney.   They're both really hard-working people who make Surf a better place.  I'm really going to miss Penny's sarcasm and zany sense of humor!  And their adorable puppy, Yoder!

But while it's been fun getting to know Mark and Julie and Craig and Penny and working at Surf with them, John and I have really enjoyed working together, in an environment less stressful than we'd experienced the past couple of years running the coffeeshop together.  And our time off has actually been spent together!  This concept was almost unheard of before, but is a common occurrence up here.  God is so good, and we are grateful!

Another great aspect of being up here working at Surf is the varied and frequent contact that we've had with members of my family.  This is actually the main reason we sought to come to Marblehead in the first place, as my sister, Lisa, and two cousins own property up here, and it's less than an hour and a half's drive from my mom.  I'm very thankful that I've had a lot of nice visits with both cousins and my sister so far, and have entertained my Mom and her friend Trudy here for dinner, as well as having the opportunity to spend Easter and Mother's Day with my Mom and the rest of the family in Cleveland.  Our son Sean even came by for a couple of overnight visits, and our middle son Jake actually spent an entire month up here working for Julie and Mark and their family!  We are very grateful to them for allowing him this opportunity!

On our days off,  John and I have gone for walks, ridden our bikes, kayaked, and just enjoyed being together.  We ventured into Cleveland several times to help Mom with yard work.  While we had some cold and wet weather early on in the season, this summer's weather has been every bit as delightful as I'd hoped it would be -- sunny, breezy (but not too windy), usually in the 70's.  I sit out at the picnic table as I write this, thoroughly enjoying another fabulous day.

Oh, and did I mention the view from our deck?  Lake Erie is just across the road, and we enjoy watching the Kelly's Island Ferry come and go, as well as seeing the various wildlife.  We even saw a bald eagle last week, flying right over us in the campground!  This was the first time I'd ever seen a bald eagle in the wild, and it surely made my day!  We believe there's actually a nest in some trees just behind our campground, so you can be sure I'll be watching for them (and reporting right here!) all summer long!