false 2009-02-15T18:16:40-08:00 <p>Over a glass of wine and Pinochle cards, the prospect of purchasing an RV Park and Campground together thrilled us.&nbsp;True, none of us, long-time friends and now grandparents, had any experience with RV&rsquo;s or running an RV park, but we assumed it couldn&rsquo;t be <b><i>that </i></b>difficult.&nbsp;After all, the resident manager as well as a middle-aged woman who worked part time in the office and a grounds keeper who had been at the campground almost since day one would all remain to teach us the business.&nbsp;Sounded simple.&nbsp;</p><p>So when the purchase came to fruition, our friends bought a beautiful new fifth wheel and relocated to the park.&nbsp;Looking beyond the clean up and renovation the park desperately needed, we shared the exciting vision of restoring this picturesque California campground to a welcoming destination resort for families and groups.&nbsp;However, it didn&rsquo;t take long for those dreams and expectations to feel more like a nightmare.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>We discovered the previous managers didn&rsquo;t &lsquo;do&rsquo; computers so we not only inherited an outdated webpage but over 1,200 unanswered email inquiries for reservations.&nbsp;Within a week of our acquisition, the close supervision of on-site owners proved problematic with the managers.&nbsp;They quit.&nbsp;That left us with the part-time employee to teach us the ropes.&nbsp;Thankfully we were fast learners; sadly, just a few months later this employee died of a heart attack at the campground.&nbsp;And the grounds keeper who knew the campground and how to do everything?&nbsp;He had to leave due to health problems.&nbsp;Suddenly we were faced with a campground we knew little about running, numerous less-than-desirable campground &lsquo;residents&rsquo; we had to clear out of the park (adversely affecting our revenue but positively impressing the local community) and no grounds keeper to help with the landscaping, pool&nbsp;or on-site sewer plant.&nbsp;Talk about making lemonade out of lemons!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The four of us rolled up our sleeves, dug in and tackled the seemingly insurmountable. We mustered our individual talents and together formed an awesome team.&nbsp;Today, two and a half years later, we have a wonderful family campground, reservations well into the future, a great reputation and are hoping to expand the park this year.&nbsp;Tough times never last, but tough people do.</p> cZwiONtr8qllvkab8P4pmk false true true 2009-05-31T21:43:37-07:00 0 true 0 false false false 1 The Good, the Bad and the Tough 2009-05-31T21:43:37-07:00 apuSX0trSqllvkab8P4pmk RVer 1044 0 dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw