Mission Accomplished

It's over. Our last duty day ended last night. Having worked the entire four day Memorial Day weekend, we now know what the worst can be.

This urban beach park is situated in a beautiful location. Because it is so inviting and convenient, the park is ravaged on holiday weekends. Campers arrive and party, party, party. They leave their garbage stacked high on and around trash cans. Broken tents, canopies, chairs coolers, clothing, footwear, tiki torches are common sights. 36 packs of empty beer cans, wine bottles, bottled water containers, energy drink cans and plastic garbage bags fill the trash containers. Homeless folks search the trash for returnable containers, carrying the loot in huge bulging plastic bags, trying to dodge the Rangers.

The bathrooms, showers, and water stations are used and abused daily. Somehow the maintenance folks keep things working, or at least enough working.

Most days, I walk the beach using a grasper to remove litter. I can fill a large bag in no time. Not all of the litter is left by campers. A great deal comes from the ocean. That is another story for another time.

Park staff and their court-ordered helpers do a great job of cleaning and restoring order to the campground and day use areas daily. The park rangers police the area with a light but effective touch. They have always responded when summoned.

Next year, we will return for three months wearing the recently mandated blue shirts: blue shirts for the Blues Festival, yeh. The Camp Host blog will resume next spring. That's it for now.