A Walk Around Blueberry Hill RV Park
Bushnell, FL - Events of Wednesday, December 5, 2012
By the time we got set up and by the time we said "Hi" to all our neighbors after we arrived on Tuesday, it was getting late. Not only that, but we were kind of tired so we postponed walking around the RV park to see all the improvements until Wednesday.
The resort managers sent out several newsletters over the summer with photos and descriptions of many of the improvements, but we didn't realize just how extensive some of the changes were until we took our walk. We'll start with the entrance. From the newsletter, we thought the new owners just did some landscaping, but they also widened the road at the entrance and got rid of an island that restricted traffic flow. The new landscaping enhances the entrance and includes a rock waterfall, a new sign and three new flag poles - one for the U.S flag, one for the state flag and one for the corporate flag.
New landscaping at the entrance to Blueberry Hill
Also at the entrance, a large electrical transformer is now hidden behind a white fence, and there is a new row of palm trees on the island that separates the check-in area from the campground entry/exit. The island was made narrower removing a couple of feet from each side to widen both the entrance road and also the check-in parking lane. The steps of our motor home used to hit the curb when they extended as we opened the door when we parked to register, but they don't anymore.
As we mentioned in our last post, the office was completely remodeled and now has a separate entrance from the outside. Guests used to have to enter the office through the clubhouse, which sometimes created a distraction if an event was going on.
The outside of the clubhouse was also repainted. It's the about same color as it was, so you can't see a big difference from a distance; but close up, it looks much fresher and cleaner.
Clubhouse at Blueberry Hill
The new owners also re-did the inside of the clubhouse with new paint, new curtains, and new tile that covers the old concrete floor. There is also an area designated as a dance floor.
Inside the clubhouse
The mail room, which is located in the clubhouse, has also been remodeled. The old mail room had pigeon holes marked with site numbers along one wall. These were replaced with lock boxes. The opposite wall has rows of larger boxes for packages. If you get a package, your lock box will have a key in it for one of the larger boxes that contains your package.
Mail room with new lock boxes for mail (left) and packages (right)
Even
though the clubhouse is normally open until 10:00 p.m., they used to
close the mail room at 5:00 when the office closed. Now, with improved
security for the mail, guests can access the mail room as long as the
clubhouse is open.
Beside the clubhouse is the pool. The pool now has new patio furniture and a new, vinyl fence that replaces the old, industrial-looking chain-link fence. The new furniture includes chairs and tables with umbrellas and chaise lounges for sunbathing.
New patio furniture and fence at the pool
New landscaping isn't limited to the entrance. The public areas at Blueberry Hill have several additions to the landscaping including two new water features. One is outside the side entrance to the clubhouse and replaces a small, pre-fab fountain that used to splash water all over the porch. The other new water feature is similar to the first and is inside the pool area.
Water feature in the pool area
A new fitness center was added next to the pool. There is an new extension to the patio area that creates a nice transition to the exercise room.
Entrance to the fitness center adjacent to the pool
The exercise room includes three treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a recumbent cycling machine and a weight bench with dumbells. There are a couple of TV screens on the wall to watch while you work out.
Exercise room
Behind the clubhouse is a large, open area that contains the newly resurfaced shuffleboard courts...
Newly resurfaced shuffleboard courts
...the rebuilt bocce ball courts...
Bocce ball courts
...a new putting green...
New putting green
...the new, lighted pickle ball court...
Pickle ball court
...and the dog park. We couldn't walk past the dog park without letting Freeway romp and run a little.
Freeway enjoying the dog park
Speaking of Freeway, he is getting ready for Christmas. The next photo shows Freeway sporting his new Christmas bow tie.
Margery with Freeway and his new Christmas bow tie
As we walked around the campground, we came across a pair of sandhill cranes. The name comes from their preferred spring and summer habitat of open prairie like that near the Nebraska Sandhills. The birds winter in warmer climates like Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico and Florida. The large birds are frequently seen in pairs because, like Canada geese, they mate for life.
Pair of sandhill cranes
We noticed there are probably more people here this year already than there were when we first arrived in recent years. Occupancy has been down for the past few years, partly due to high fuel prices and the bad economy and partly due to the poor attitude and performance of the previous owners. We'll see how things go for the new owners this year, but things look promising for them so far.
Out
of the gate, huge kudos go to Sun RV Resorts for the implementation
of their vision of making Blueberry Hill a premier RV resort. The changes are well done and well thought out. They didn't just build a dog park, they also made sure it had a faucet and water bowl so the pooches can get a drink. When they built new the new pickle ball court and rebuilt the bocce ball court, they also added plenty of benches so both participants and onlookers can have a place to sit. They didn't just add new landscaping, but they also widened the entrance road and the registration parking lane. Not only are there new lock boxes in the mail room, but there is now a flag pole outside the clubhouse where a red flag flies so guests will know when the mail is in. There are also new parking spaces for golf carts and new bike racks in numerous locations so people don't have to park on the grass and so bicycles don't block walkways and entrances.
The resort managers, Skip and Donna, have also prepared a Resort Information and Location Area Guide which includes all the information you need to know about the resort and the local area. The guide includes the schedule for 28 different resort activities including special instruction times to learn to play bocce ball, corn hole, pickle-ball, and shuffleboard. The guide also includes info about local businesses, services, medical facilities (including veterinarians), and churches as well as recreational activities like flea markets, golf courses, beaches, etc. There is also a designated channel on the resort cable television that provides up-to-date information on the daily schedule, special events/times, announcements, weather alerts, and items for sale in the resort.
This year, the winter rates went up $25 a month to $500 a month for stays of three to six months, which isn't unreasonable. Now that all the improvements are done, we're hoping Sun RV Resorts doesn't want to pay for all the improvements by drastically raising the rates next year. Although Blueberry Hill is the nicest RV park in the area in our opinion, there are at least 5 other campgrounds within about a 5 or 6-mile radius, so we're hoping the competition helps keep rates reasonable. Time will tell.
We had an activity or two planned, so look for our next post to see what we got into.
