FINALLY - the cat is outta the bag - our NEWS!~

Okay.. now it's official and I can post about it!

Please note:  Steveio has worked for the state of Wisconsin for over 34 years.  He has held various jobs at the University of Green Bay, always transferring to better positions over the years.  He started in Grounds, Automotive Mechanic on their fleet vehicles and equipment, then moved to Maintenance Mechanic, Facilities Repair Worker, and most recently as a Journey Locksmith.  Each time he made a move on the campus to a new position, he was usually still doing the old jobs at the same time.  As different workers would retire, they never hire new ones, just combine their work load onto the existing workers.  With all the budget cuts, they now have only 3 guys doing the work of 8.  But he always worked hard, never complained, and took on more and more tasks to his already overflowing job description.  Very flexible, my guy is!

Well, recently he made himself available to transfer anywhere in the state, and the offers started rolling in!  Knowing the house was sold and going to close soon, he was willing to take on a transfer to other state jobs at places within the state, as we are now "mobile".   He got offers from other college campuses, national guard buildings, dept. of corrections maintenance, and other interesting positions around the state.  With his work record and variety of talents, every week he was getting 4 or 5 different offers.

Although he can retire in April 2013, he said that he would consider working longer if a good position came forward.

And one has!

Remember back in early July when we went camping to High Cliff State Park???  Well, it wasn't just a camping trip.  It was an interview!  And yes, he has gotten the job.  His official title is Facilities Maintenance Specialist Advanced.    (plus he gets a raise)   LOL   He will be overseeing the summer workers, the volunteers, and overall maintenance and upkeep of the entire park.  Big projects like an electrical upgrade is scheduled this fall, and he will be assisting the company that is contracted to do the work.

This really hasn't changed our RVing plans.  We are going to live in our RV full time and travel when we can.  But of course, if he likes it there, he will work longer than April 22, 2013.   We are going to stay at the park (which is open year round) and I will do some volunteering too.  We will be considered for camphosting as soon as the present hosts vacate. We had originally been considered to host for the month of August, but another host took the position until we were sure Steve would be hired.

Come the colder winter months, the park supervisor is willing to let Steve take all of his vacation weeks at once during the coldest winter months, because the summer months are the busiest in the park.  So we can head south for that period of time.  Steve has put some vacation time in sabbatical leftover from this year, so we can go away extra long during the winter months.

We may rent a place nearby to get through the winter temps, not sure yet.  There are a lot of nearby private seasonal cottages that are rented out in the summer months and are vacant in the winter months. that I am sure we could find one to get during the winter.  We will cross that bridge when we get to it this fall.   Last winter was so mild in Wisconsin, that we could have made it all season in the motorhome.  But we won't bank on that.

Back to the park itself----

The park is lovely, well kept and in a great location... it has 112 campsites, 8 group campsites, a marina with 100 rented boat slips, and lots of trails.   It is only 30 miles south of where most of our kids and grandkids live.

Here is a link to the park: 

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/highcliff/

Here is the link from our visit in late June early July: 

 camping-high-cliff-state-park-wisconsin   

It starts on this link and goes on for 5 more blog posts after that one. 

Here are some shots I took around the park while 

Steve was accepting his position during his second interview. 

We will move down to the campground on Aug. 12th.  He starts his new position on August 13th.   This is an exciting new chapter of our lives, and Steve is going to be so happy with interesting, varied and enjoyable employment with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.



And.. might I mention that we LOVE the Wisconsin State Parks SOOO MUCH  that we were MARRIED IN ONE!    Yes, we rented the Moravian Church at Heritage Hill State Park in Green Bay, WI as our wedding site....  

"So there you have it, folks" 

(as Steve is fond of saying)

that is our newest news of our ever-changing lives....   

P.S. Yes, Steve's new boss is aware of his workman's comp knee situation, which will be operated on Aug. 17th.  He will recoup and do light duty and administrative stuff at a desk for the beginning of the job, as well as learning their computer systems and routines and staff positions.   He had the same surgery on his other knee in 1996 and knows what to expect.  And of course, right afterwards he was up and at em and go go go.  That is my Steveio!