A camp / hotel owner sees a lot of things. From weird to gross, to hilarious things we just cant mention. We find things in rooms after checkout that folks didnt mean to leave behind and certainly wish we didnt find.@FathomAway asked us to share some stories for their series TALES FROM THE INNKEEPERS.I contributed a handful but have yet to write the one that nobody ever talks about. So here it is: TOP TEN DIRTIEST JOBS RUNNING A CAMP:The shots here are #nofilter, to paint a real picture of what it looks like to resurrect a derelict campground. We get calls all the time from folks wanting to pick our brains when they open a resort, buy a camp, open an inn. Always happy to help!1. Ripping out moldy carpet from the Sterlingworth Cabin (getting a face full of 60 years of DNA)2. Raking out algae slime-sludge from the swimming area (when we had to restore the beach)3. Scraping up countless rodent carcasses. (Not to mention a rotting 50 pound snapping turtle)4. Shoveling out a latrine overflow situation during an ad agency creative retreat 5. Shopvac up a blanket of ant eggs from under a tent mattress (during a wedding retreat)6. Over-served wedding guest vomit situation clean up. 7. Gutting out the crawl space under the bunkhouse (& being confronted with an angry family of groundhogs)8. Morning ritual of shoveling goose poop off the fishing docks. (Fun fact: Geese each make 5 lbs of poo a day. And they love piers.)9. Helping guests who: ripped off a toenail / knocked out a tooth / fish-hooked their hand / stepped on a wasp / got their nipple bitten by a fish / rope burn from the tireswing .10. Retrieving unmentionables from under the bed after a bach party ( this should have been # 1)Restoring, building, running a camp isnt a turnkey job. (Unless youre made of money -in which case, good for you)Its true what they say: When you are building a house, the house ends up building you. There is nothing like investing literal sweat equity that makes you appreciate everything more.(I personally would appreciate never having to do any of the 10 things listed above. Ever. Again.)#OnceIsEnough#buildyourhouse …@vavoomstudios

July 16, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt