Details

A quick update now that the major construction has started - the past week has been spent on some of the details which will be important after the dust settles.  This is the fun stuff!

I loved building this massive bonfire with 8' flames to clear brush from the site.  I haven't had this much fun with fire since those summer evenings in Darlington when we'd build them like this after a day playing softball.

We used just about every piece of equipment available to get this log out of the woods.  It'll be the post for the main business sign.

I hope it lives up to the image in my head...

I've also been building an information board which will show the trail maps and rules/regs of the glampground.   Oh yea, and I've been building more freakin' picnic tables.  I can put these things together in my sleep!

A quickening pace

After so many months of very little visible progress on the glamping project, the activity has now picked up significantly.  In fact, it's moving along at a blistering pace!  I've got contractors stumbling over each other and heavy equipment that is using the new road on the same day that it is being completed....not that I'm complaining.  It's about time!  The bad news is that all of the big checks are going to be due at the same time.   Here are some pics from the last 5 days...yes, 5 days!  THAT's what I'm talking about!

Waiting for delivery on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. "It'll only take an hour."

The glamping huts have arrived!

The glamping huts promptly get buried axle deep in the mud!

The customer tows out the glamping huts...and works 6 hours unloading material!  I paid for this privilege?

The construction crew knocking out the huts.

Meanwhile, my excavator was realigning the entrance...

...and resetting the gate.

I've been keeping busy as well.  Here, looking for the perfect natural post for the glamping sign.

I've also been building loads of furniture.

Two days later, three huts are up!

The road is finished and the bath house pad is graded.  Construction on that building starts next week!

Eindelijk!!!!!

All that work for this little permit..

It's hard to believe that we embarked on this little sabbatical almost three months ago.  I began the permitting process almost immediately upon landing in America and thought that I'd be much further along in the project by now.  But, after much stress and a few less hairs (yes, I had a few left when I started), I finally picked up the building permit today!!!!!  Now if the freakin' rain would just stop....

Blazing the road

The finished loop connection - drainage ditch yet to come.

Entrance to glamping site - Uzes.  Construction starts next week!

Recycling

The crushing effects of Hurricane Sandy (October 2012) continue to bog down all efforts at getting the business up and running.  The property is still a mess and I've burned ocean liners worth of fuel in the chainsaw trying to get the place looking nice again.   Besides the downed trees, one of the other unplanned tasks caused by the hurricane was cleaning up the destroyed iconic fence in front of the entrance to the Glamping site.  This fence stretches for miles along Herrington Manor Road and is considered a local landmark.  It was built back in the 70's when the entire 2500 acre farm was owned by the Buffalo Coal Company.     It took less than 30 seconds for the county snowplow to pass here, throwing heavy, wet snow onto the fence and rendering this 1/4 mile section unrepairable.  

Lucky for us, the fence was constructed of rock hard locus trees, so the wood was salvageable and we're finding many creative uses for it in the building of Wild Yough Glamping Villas.

 After the snow plow

Demolition

Fence Furniture

Don't laugh!  I never took shop!  Besides, the hillbilly Appalachian look is perfect ambiance for the huts.  Walmart or IKEA just wouldn't cut it.  And just so you don't think it's going too low-brow for the title "Glamping", there was a going-out-of-business sale at a local furniture store (also caused by Hurricane Sandy - roof collapse) which offered a great bargain on these leather sleeper couches.  "I'll take five of those please!"

Percolation

Finally!!!! The incessant rains quit for a few days and I was able to get some heavy equipment onto the property!   I had already paid the county for 7 additional percolation (perc) tests before the Health Department changed the sanitation rules last summer.  Having a perc on the property increases the value significantly because it guarantees that a house can be built with a septic system.  This property has a bad reputation for percs, which I've since learned is completely unfounded.  The previous owner had tried "hundreds" of percs and was only ever successful 1 time.  You can only try a perc one time per location....if it fails, you can never go back.  However, he always drew the same Health Department sanitation expert who was tired of so much development in the county and would always look for any reason not to pass additional percs.  When I called my excavator to schedule the percs, I was sure to avoid this knucklehead.  I've never seen a perc test done, so I thought I'd stick around and watch for a while to see what it was all about.

And I quickly learned that it's a decidedly low-tech approach.   First, a backhoe digs a 6-foot deep hole at the perc site.  The Health Department folks then look into the hole to see what kind of dirt, rock, and clay it contains.  At this point, they can simply say "no" based upon their judgement.  (This is where the property always failed before...purely on judgement).   However, once these guys clear the deep hole, then three additional small holes are dug around the deep hole.   Water is poured into these shallow holes and a measurement is taken.  The water must "perc" through the ground at 3 inches in thirty minutes.  It's a bit nerve wracking when sitting around waiting for it to perc.

But, with the right guys in place, it only took 9 deep holes to get 7 additional percs on the land!  Whooohoooo!   Three are near the glamping site and will allow for lots of growth once the business is wildly successful.  The other 4 are for future investment opportunities.

Meanwhile...I'm still waiting on the final grading permit.

Permits, Red Tape, and Rain

Glamping site...someday

Progress continues to be slow as we crawl at a snails pace toward ground breaking.  There has been some progress.  The new entrance permit on the county road has been approved and they are not requiring a new culvert.   I still have to move the existing gate, but at least I should be able to keep these unexpected costs within reason.  I've also been told that the grading permit is approved!  This is a major step forward which gets me around all of the EPA wetland red tape that had threatened to derail the entire project.  I still don't have the physical permit which I need prior to getting my excavator onto the site with his equipment.

This usually dry (and always mowed) "Wetlands" would require  $1500 permit, $2500 engineering, and 4 month public comment period to drain.   Or I could stay 25 feet out of them.  Guess which I chose?

The current stumbling block is the perc (sewage disposal) on the site.  I have an approved perc, but it is 1300 feet from the bath house and is about 20 feet above grade.  This all adds up to significant additional expense because I'll have to pump the water so far away and uphill.  I had new perc tests scheduled for this week for much closer to the site (and downgrade for gravity flow), but the incessant rain has forced me to cancel all of those.  I still have no word on when they can be rescheduled (or when this freakin' rain will stop).

I also met with a lawyer to discuss how to structure the business so that all other assets are protected in case of a lawsuit.  It's very disheartening that you have to take such a CYA appoach here in America.  But with the continuous flow of TV ads from sleazy ambulance chasing lawyers promoting "slip and fall" cases, it's just a fact of life in doing business in this lawsuit crazy culture.  Additional costs for legal insurance will be needed.

It's also a mixed bag of news for renting out the house.  Unfortunately, it's renting very, very well this year.   While that means better cash flow, it also means that I'll be spending more time up in Pennsylvania and more time on the road with a 2 hour daily (each way) commute to the glamping site as construction commences.  I guess that I'll do a little bit of more primative camping in the coming months.  :-)

So, still not much to share on the "construction front".  I'll keep you all posted. 

Rough Beginnings

The first two weeks back in the US have been a bit on the rough side.  This time was set aside for getting the house up and running for the first renters on 18-April.  The spring opening of the rental season is always a lot of work, but this year the effort was complicated by the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy last fall.  Luckily, we had a lot of help from the Mike Rinker and his two nephews to get the trails open on time.

Rough spot on the trail to High Bluff

We've also decided to get the garden in shape this year so that it's not such an eye-sore for our guests and could maybe even be considered a feature.   This little patch of ground hasn't been worked in over 9 years, so we thought that we'd start with a controlled burn to get started...emphasis on "controlled".

Burning the brush without hurting the apple trees

Then there was the cleaning and window washing and flower planting and grill area setup and on and on and on.   I did have some time to begin thinking about the business and began with the permitting process.  What a nightmare!  I quickly learned the meaning of the word bureaucracy.   The first obstacle is the entrance permit.  There is an existing road, gate, and drainage culvert at the entrance point to the business site, so I thought it would be a simple process of "check the box".

But no, no, no.  The county roads department will not issue the permit unless I move the entrance 30 feet further down the road.

Cha-ching!  Add $2500 to the business plan, investment column.  Potential additional return? $0.

I've also run into some trouble with the EPA because of a puddle (yes, puddle) next to the existing road.  I do have wetlands nearby, but have no intention of disturbing them and will even use them as a feature for the campers.  But this little puddle?!?!?  Are you kidding me??  I'm meeting with an engineer tomorrow to discuss options.

There is also one crappy little shed at the glamping site that I needed to get cleaned out in order to store some equipment in for the construction.   I needed to do this quickly because it was a rat, snake, wasp, and questionable toxic material infested shack which I needed to deal with prior to these little critters got too active (except the toxic material...no avoiding that).

Everything clean...except my lungs.

Finally, I also dropped the tractor over at the shop for a much needed tune-up.  She's going to get a serious workout this summer!

Joy riding on Herrington Manor Road

Planes, Trucks, Snowblowers, and Bears

We survived!!!!!

It was a brutally long day where just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong.  It started with a particularly snotty woman who wouldn't check us in at Schiphol because pets were "too much work" so she passed us to her colleague (who's line was three times as long) who had never done the paperwork for pets and was terrified of dogs; then picked right back up on the other side of the ocean  with the equally snotty immigration woman at Dulles who threatened to call the police on us for having the dog outside of the kennel;  and continued right through the incredibly long lines to get through customs and climaxed with the truck with the completely dead battery.  I only wish that I had the foresight to take a picture of the parking lot strewn with all of our belongings (including pets) with the hood of the truck up and the baffled look on the Romanian cab driver who was trying to give us a jump start ("No lights?  No lights?  Now? Lights?  Now? No Lights?)

But there were also some real gems on the journey as well, like the stewardess who wouldn't let the doors of the airplane closed until she was sure that the pets were on board, to the customs woman in America who helped us slip past a host of bureaucracy ("Just say 'yes' to my questions, then you can be on your way.")

In the end, we got on the road about 3 hours behind schedule and forced our way down the driveway covered in over a foot of heavy, wet snow well after 10:00 on Monday night.

But the next few days were brilliant blue sky and 65 degrees (F) ... it seems that I haven't felt air like this nor seen skies so blue in many, many years.  I fired up the snowblower, bought two new chainsaws, and dove into clearing the trails...back breaking work and mind numbing bliss!

Here are some pics from the mass migration:

Practicing for the flight.

A little bit of luxury to relieve the stress...intercontinental business class!

 No worse for wear.   Sage has adapted really well, although it is an odd situation dealing with a dog with jet lag.  Awake at 3:00 AM; hungry at 2:00 PM.   But at the end of the day, all that mattered was sunshine and snow.  Here she is playing with the original "bucket on a rope"...I have almost the same picture from 9 years ago.  The cats are also adapting very well.

 Welcome to Appalachia...where duct tape repairs to gloves are just part of a normal day.

Never mind the snow or broken trees...look at that sky!

 

Last night when I left Sage out to pee, she immediately started barking and I heard crashing through the woods.  It definitely wasn't deer, but I wasn't sure what it was until this morning...a bear raiding the bird feeder!  You can see the claw marks on the tree that he climbed to reach and swat the bottom of the feeder away.  Sage now thinks she's the "big dog" on the block and can take on anything.

And so it begins...

By most measures 2012 was kind of a rough year. Some heavy family losses and a tough economic climate which piled on additional financial obligations have caused us to step back and make a fundamental (re)assessment of our lives. I’ve had to lean heavily on my life’s motto - “The only difference between adventure and adversity, is attitude” – and dig deep to keep myself guided in the direction of adventure.

After many uncertain months trying to figure out how to support family and reconnect with friends and Appalachian roots, the perfect opportunity finally emerged from one of the earliest entries on my bucket list – Glamping! Okay, I admit that the word “Glamping “ was never really on my bucket list, let alone in my vocabulary. But the overall objective of real estate development and starting my own business has been there since day one. I remember even as far back as 9th grade drafting class starting to ponder a career as an architect and developer. Not sure how I lost sight of that one.

In any case, it’s now back on the radar and about to become a reality. My resignation has been tendered and the flights have been purchased. It’ll be a 6-month sabbatical back in America to set up the first “Glampground” in Maryland. You can have a look at the draft website here: www.wildyoughglamping.com . In addition to the refreshing physical labor, there will be lots of time up in Ligonier as well as some long overdue road trips to Burlington, Toronto, Philadelphia, Seven Springs, Phoenix, and of course, Boise. We leave next Monday with the return flight home to Europe on 17-September.

Break out the chainsaws. Tune up the tractor. Dust off the drafting board and let the adventure begin!

Industrious little bugger

When we bought our house on the Dennenstraat more than 6 years ago, it was in a quiet little corner of North Haarlem.  On our left was an older couple with two teenage boys who's worst offense was the occasional cigarette butt which they hastily threw from the third story window, landing in our front garden so their parents didn't see it.  On the right was a pot-smoking politician/writer and his extremely timid wife.  They had two adorable little girls who would sweetly knock on our door to ask us to throw their ball back over the fence.  It was just like Mayberry.   But then the politician and his wife moved out.  It was 4 months of bliss before the quiet was shattered when the new family moved in.  He is a blackjack dealer at the local casino and works many late nights and she is an extremely loud talker...and she talks a LOT.  They had a baby girl who screamed the nights away, constantly demonstrating the power of her lungs.   Their 3 year old son was nothing short of a terrorist.   It's been a struggle to say the least.  

Now the little girl is 5 and not screaming quite as much and she actually likes our dog.   The boy is finally out of the back yard and running around the streets...which keeps our back yard blessedly quiet.  He's turning out to be not so bad of a kid and even speaks politely to us now.   He's also becoming quite the entrepreneur.  His latest venture is collecting the spent Christmas trees to haul down to the city wood chipper.  He gets 50 Euro cents a pop.  I'm predicting that he'll make a good mafia boss some day.

Prague

In 1989, communism fell in the Czech Republic under the “Velvet Revolution”.  I had recently graduated from college and was focused on getting a better job, getting a bigger apartment, getting a new car, and acquiring all of those things that I thought defined the foundation of a responsible adult life.   At the time, I was also starting to pay a little more attention to the news and followed the story of the massive street protests in Prague with some interest.  But beyond the political intrigue, I couldn’t help but hearing some of the background chatter on Prague itself.  The city was supposed to be fantastic.  Unlike much of the rest of Europe, it had never been bombed in modern warfare and was filled with the original buildings and culture that was at the heart of Bohemia.  And it was completely untrodden by cookie-cutter western commercialism making a perfect launch pad for hip young explorers looking for something authentic in which to find themselves. 

But even though I felt it calling me back then, it was never to be.  Prague has always been a symbol of disappointment for a hip young explorer that never quite got the nerve to just buy the ticket and go.  I never even used my passport until I was over 30.  So, this year’s Christmas market jaunt had special meaning for me…I was finally going to Prague!  And you better believe that I was bound and determined to experience what I should have done more than 20 years ago.    The city has definitely been overrun…but it is also undeniably fantastic!  And that velvet, Bohemian vibe?  Well, you’ve got to have a sharp eye and an open mind, but it’s still there…it’s very, very subtle, but it’s still there.   I can now forgive that younger version of me…I loved Prague.     Here are some pics from the weekend in Bohemia.    

The main Christmas Market - The market itself was a bit below German standards, but the lights and decorations were the best I've ever seen.  

As always, the little squares and out of the way places held the real charm.  

These carolers and Christmas band playing under the bridge were awesome !  The acoustics were unreal.

Street food!  Always a hit with me!

The sausages were very much like Polish Kielbasa...and anyone from Pittsburgh has to love Kielbasa!

These donuts were new for me.  They were wrapped on a wooden dial and then "roasted" over open coals and rolled in sugar before serving.  Excellent!

Pig on a spit!

Pictures of "Classic" Prague

 Old town, from "the" bridge...

Prague Castle

Taking a picture of him taking a picture of them taking a picture of Prague.  Nice perspective!

Lone rower

My favorite guy on the famous clock...this skeleton rang his heart out when the chimes started!

My favorite building - the municipal building.  Art Deco at it's finest!

Just remember if you take your canoe on a commercial flight to Prague, you'll need to pick it up in oversized baggage!  Who does that?!

Wishing you a very Merry, and Bohemian Christmas!