Pre-Season

By Sam Tyler
(one of the third generation)

(Sam is from Boulder, Colorado and will be a Senior at St. Lawrence University majoring in Philosophy and Outdoor Studies. He’s Cam and Karen’s Tyler oldest son, and this will be his second year as one of the Adult Entertainment & Sports staff, another is Becky, JD's sister.)

The lawns are glowing green up here at the Tyler Place, and the pre-season 2010 staff are arriving to take our place next to the 30 year-round staff and family members who’ve been renovating, roofing, decorating, purchasing, program and menu planning, planting, pruning (you get the idea) since last fall.

There is something definitively special about being here to open up the resort before everyone else arrives, a bond that is built between you and your fellow pre-season staff that lingers through the rest of the summer. This past week we groomed the bike trails. “Groom” does not quite cover the clearing of 40 major tree falls, the 11 shin-deep puddles, 2 broken bridges, innumerable mats of matted leaves and sticks, 1 broken pair of clippers, and 15 miles of hauling a chainsaw, 5 gallons of gas, a backpack blower, signs, nails, hammers, and rakes that have pretty successfully put us in our place next to Mother Nature.

But hey, nothing like some good old manual labor to bring in a little team bonding right? Every black eye from taking a branch to the face (thanks Becky…) makes our team a little tighter. Every bruise and pulled muscle hauling the docks into place, or sunburn earned assembling the climbing wall adds a certain measure of pride at our part in prepping and polishing the myriad of details that prepares The Tyler Place for our opening Memorial Day Weekend.

This weekend the rest of our pre-season staff arrives and the buzz around the resort will quickly turn into a dull roar. Staff members have begun to roll in from all over the United States—and the world. You can’t help but feel the energy building. This year we will have the largest number of returning staff the TP has ever seen so prepare yourselves for a lot of familiar faces along with some good new ones. We’ve all been in contact throughout the off-season and have some great new ideas and activities planned for you along with all the old favorites (don’t tell anyone I told you this, but karaoke’s going to be back and bigger than ever). But for now, we’ll enjoy the quiet, the hard work, and the smell of Brett’s BBQ wafting up Old Dock Road. And man, if I could get a dollar for every time Becky Dean said “I freaking love pre-season!” I’ll be a wealthy man by the time you begin to arrive in two weeks. Can’t wait to see you all then!