Learning the Ropes

"Hi it's so nice to meet you... Mom told us all about you and we all agreed that you would be a great addition to the Hope Valley family:)" Jack sounded so kind and hopefully willing to teach her everything that she needed to know to be a success at this job.

"Thank you Jack, I'm very happy to be here." Elizabeth was so eager to learn, this job is something that she felt like she could excel at. Even though she went to school for culinary arts, helping people was her passion.

"Jack,I almost forgot... Charlotte interrupted... I have a meeting with Mr. Jenkins this afternoon in about 10 minutes. Would you be a dear and show Elizabeth more of Hope Valley?" I showed her some things but I know that you can do such a better job."

"Of course, see you later...he gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and turned towards Elizabeth. Ready to see and learn what goes on here each day?" He smiled and she knew that he was so proud of his family's park.

"As ready as I'll ever be sir." She wasn't exactly sure what to call him but she did know that her parents had taught her to always be respectful.

"Well that is never going to do, he started to laugh. We are all family here and we are go by first names and I'm hoping that we will be friends too so I would like you to call me Jack."

"Of course, she laughed also. "I would also like if you called me Elizabeth." He smiled at her and he offered for her to walk with him beside him down the road.

"I know that Mom probably showed you all of this but I want to make sure that you see everything." since she and Charlotte had not made it down the road very far before they met Jack, walking back to their first destination didn't take long. The beach was one of the first attractions of the park as you first arrived at Hope Valley. There weren't to many people there yet, but it was early in the day. This was a small lake, being fed by the river that ran behind the cabins. The lake here though was a sizeable one though big enough to host many events for the summer. There were 2 lifeguards on duty right now, one on each side of the beach, one of whom was Jack's brother.

"Elizabeth, let me introduce you to my brother Tom. Tom, this is Elizabeth Thatcher, she's here to help us for the summer." She offered him her hand kindly but apparently they really all were seen as family here, because he surprised her by wrapping her in a big bear hug.

"It's so nice to meet you! That's Lee over there." Tom pointed to the other lifeguard on duty on the other side of the lake.

"We'll meet him later,we still have lots of things that we need to see." Tom nodded and slapped his brother on the back as if to say see ya later.

"Ok, now this is where you be working most days." Right at the top of the beach was a building that was called Tasty Tidbits and a Little More. It was a small dining room that housed about 5 smaller tables, 2 bigger tables, a medium size booth and a larger one. Some of the people that came to the park had parties and events here and they needed to make sure that they had the room to fit all of the people. There was also tables outside on the patio that overlooked the beach, most people ate outside. However they did need to be prepared in case of rain. On the one side of the room, there was a door frame that led to the and A Little More section of the building. Here there were things for sale such as postcards, t-shirts, sweatshirts and so much more.

"Oh hello Florence! Elizabeth, this is Florence, she runs the gift shop part time and is available whenever we need her. She of course will help to train you whenever you're ready to start."

"It's so nice to meet you Elizabeth, welcome to the family!" She of course had to give her a hug as well ha ha.

"C'mon, let's go see the kitchen." Walking behind the counter that was also equipped with 5 stools to sit, through the swinging door, was a small but very functional kitchen. There was a big stove built into the wall that had 2 ovens, a large microwave that was in the center of the wall above the massive sink. Next to the generous amount of counter space stood a small refrigerator that was used for the dishes of the day. Finally on the other wall was a walk in freezer and a walk in cooler. She was pleased to see on the counter stood a coffee maker and a milkshake maker, along with the large dishwasher that was under the counters.

"This is Molly. She also only works part time but is also always there when we need here. She is also capable of running the gift shop as well. Don't worry there is always 2 people here, since you will be full time, and mainly in the kitchen, Molly or Florence will always be here with you." Jack smiled at the beautiful red haired women. "She of course will help train you to." With a promise to be back for lunch, he gave her a hug and held the door open for Elizabeth. They headed down the road towards the campground area, cabins, and the yurts. They had about a 1/4 of a mile to walk so Elizabeth was glad that it was earlier in the day so it wasn't to hot yet and she didn't mind the walk.

"Now this is our picnic section of the park. People will come for holidays or just for some time away from everyday life. They usually are used if the guests just come for the day." Next to each table was a grill that could be used to fix food if they wanted to. "This building here is one of two main bathroom/ shower house, and again this is mostly used for guests that just come for the day. If they want to maybe take a shower after they hike or go to the beach, or people use this if they are staying in the campgrounds but not the cabins."

A little further down the round was the campground, this was where the guests would rent spaces and spend the week. They would bring an RV or trailer, or perhaps they just brought a tent to camp in.

" I just love to come down after we close at night when it's dark to watch the deer. There are tons of them, they really like to come down here. There is an amphitheater up the road that we use for programs and things but we can see that another day. I want to show you the cabins and get you settled in your cabin. Would you like to go back up and have some lunch?" Jack was doing such a great job showing her everything there was to see in the park. They turned around and went back the way that they had come down, and see noticed another small road that went off to the left. She hadn't seen this road before and she felt herself wonder if she would ever get used to the layout. They came into a clearing and she noticed that the road was in a big circle. Around the circle were 10 cabins and 2 in the middle.

"There is one empty cabin right now so I can show you what it looks like inside." Jack pulled out his ring of keys and they walked to Cabin #4.

"Here we go." Right inside was the main room, there was a fireplace, and a wood burning stove. Off to the side was a refrigerator, and a stove. Around the corner was a small bedroom was a bunkbed and a single chair. It was simple but extremely cozy. " I know that it looks very rustic but we still want families to have the experience of camping in a cabin." Elizabeth smiled in agreement." Now some of the cabins are bigger depending on how big the families are. Out back, each cabin has their own bathroom, complete with a shower. Each cabin also has a fire ring for building fires at night. She could hear the pride in his voice as her told her all about his family's park.

"It looks and sounds fantastic Jack, let's go grab some lunch!" She was really starting to get excited about working here. Walking back outside, she was happy to see another employee coming over to was introduced as Bill, another ranger who was in charge of maintenace here at the park. Bill offered them a ride back up to the snack bar, which they gladly accepted. It was startng to get a little warmer and she started to sweat a little.

"Don't worry Elizabeth, you will adjust to everything here. The heat and how long it seems to walk all the way back up here to the snack bar from down at the cabins but you will get used to it." Jack could only smile.

"Here we are!" Bill slowed to a stop.

"Thanks Bill," Jack shook his hand and Bill drove off towards the office.

" So what sounds good to you?" He asked as he held the door open for her. "Employees get to eat free and get 1/2 off in the gift shop."

" Don't laugh but I always love fries with cheese whenever I'm at the beach and since there is the beach right there, that's what I'll have haha:)"

"Ok then fries it is ha ha.) He held out a chair for her at a table and they both made themselves comfortable.

"So tell me all about Hope Valley, how did it start?" she was so curious to know how the park got started.

"Well my parents started the park about 30 yrs ago, and it has been going strong ever since. My dad however passed away about 7yrs ago now, but he made my mom and I promise not to let his dream die."

"Jack, I'm so very sorry for your family's loss of your dad, I had no idea. I'm sure that he is watching over you and your mom and is so very very proud of you both." she reached over and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you, it's getting better. It was just such a shock to hear about his illness and then how fast it spread. The first few years were tough, especially for my Mom. She is a rock for us all the time,but you could see the pain on her face when she was missing Dad. They were able to spend 45 yrs as husband and wife before God decided to take him home. He loved his buisness, Elizabeth, he loved helping peope and making them happy. The guests miss him and ask about him often." Jack smiled at the remembrance of his dad. Molly brought over their food just then for them, she was pretty hungry from walking around in the fresh air.

"Oh wow... Jack this amazing! I don't think that I've ever had fries taste this good. How does a state park have food that tastes this good?" She was in total awe.

"Well, we get a lot of help, he laughed. We have the Wolf family, they own the butcher shop in town. They donate all kinds of meat to us in exchange for cabin stay here at the park. They supply us with hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage for the pizzas and whatever kind of sliced meat we need for sandwiches. We have the Lawson family, now they have a huge farm. They donate eggs and milk for time at the park too. Finally we have the Montgomery family, they are responsible for all of our fruits and veggies. It gets a little rough in the winter time but they have greenhouses."

"Wait a minute! What do you mean, in the winter?" She interjected quickly.

"Mom did tell you that right? She probably forgot ha ha. Elizabeth, our park is almost year round. We start our winter season in the middle of January and go until the end of October. That way people can take the time to spend the holidays with their families but it doesn't take the time away from us to have many months of excitement."

"That sounds like so much fun!" She wasn't sure if they were going to ask her to stay to help during the winter season or not but she would love to. "Hey would you mind showing me where I'll be staying? I know it's just the afternoon but it's been a long day and I'm a little tired from traveling.

"Sure, let's go! Thanks Molly:)" They walked back up the hill in the direction of the office, near the entrance of the park. Yet again, she saw a small dirt road off to the right, one that she didn't notice when she passed it before. There in the clearing stood 8 cabins and she was going to be in number #5. Jack unlocked the door for her and she almost jumped for in, she found herself in an adorable living room of sorts. Instead of a wood burner, there was an actual fireplace on the far wall, a small bedroom off to the one side and a small kitchen off to the other side. She was going to love it her, she was positive.

"Bill said that he would bring your luggage soon. Unlike the cabins, there is electricity and wifi in this area. So my mom has it in the office and we all have it." He still had to finish his daily check of all the cabins and make sure everything was running the way that it was supposed to. He started to move towards the door.

"Thank you Jack for today, I'll see you tomorrow." She opened the door for him as Bill was just about to knock on the door.

"Hi Elizabeth, here are your things. Charlotte asked me to drop them off for you." He handed her the large suitcase, smaller bag and her laptop. She would put everything away later on, since she had the rest of the afternoon and evening. She needed a nice quiet night before she started her actualy first day tomorrow. She knew that she had lots to write about in her journal that evening too.

"Come on Jack, I'll give you a ride back down to the cabin area." He smiled his thanks, handed Elizabeth her key and they walked out the door together.

"Hey don't forget the staff meeting tomorrow at 8:00!" Jack called out. Waving to him, she wanted him to know that she had heard him.

This cabin was so cozy! Their cabins actually had their bathrooms inside the building. The part that was really amazing is that her little kitchen was stocked with all the basic essentials and her bathroom was too! She was very thankful for this job and couldn't wait to make the cabin her own. While unpacking, she was very glad that Charlotte had given her the rest of the day to get settled. It had been so long since she felt happy enough to sing, but her she was. Unpacking her suitcase, she was amazed at the joy that she felt. Perhaps this place is going to be good for her, this is exactly where God wanted her right now, she just knew it.

Looking outside, she saw her own firepit and a nice chair. She knew both would get so much use once she started her work, she knew that she would need a way to unwind in the evenings. Fiquiring that she could put the rest of her things away when she got back, she decided to go exploring a bit. She knew that the river was a hike down the road and oh my walking all the way back up, but she had a feeling that it would be worth it. It was getting dusk out by the time she was ready to go, so it wasn't so hot out. The walk was actually very enjoyable down to the cabin area. Finding her way down to the path behind the cabins, she saw what she had been after. The river was so breathtaking, the little bit of sun that was still in the sky was just about to take it's dive for the night. The pinks, yellow and the orange bouncing off the waters was just so magical and comforting to was definately going to be her special place to come when she needed to be alone, with her thoughts and to talk to God. She was so very excited and thankful to see what tomorrow would bring.