Today is Chris's birthday!
Happy Birthday to a wonderful man who makes me laugh and makes me breakfast.
I wouldn't want to be on this crazy adventure with anyone else.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Our Trip To The RV Show
On a rainy day recently we drove to Charlotte for a RV show. I've read that most people who go full time change RVs within the first couple years and that seems to apply to us. We don't plan to make any changes soon, but now that we've lived in this MH for awhile, we realize that a fifth wheel might work better for us.
So we might look like this in a few months.
There are many things that need to happen before we make a change, the first being that we find one we want.
You'd think it would be easy to find one to suit us. The amount of space and rooms is limited, so how many options can there be? But, imagine buying a fully furnished house...are you likely to find a structure and furniture that suit you all in one place?
Our current MH suits us fine, but we can see how a fifth wheel might work better for us.
If you are sightseeing and traveling with a number of people, a MH makes sense. You can travel comfortably and make snacks and use the restroom (except the driver) or watch a movie while traveling down the road. Set up is also faster.
But we are only driving the MH about 4 times per year and then parking for long periods of time. That means we have paid for an engine in our MH, but it's only being used a couple weeks per year.
A fifth wheel would provide more space and has a more residential feel inside
and a bit more privacy since the bedroom and living room/kitchen are separated more than what we have now.
So off to the RV show we went, to look at the options. Honestly, how many different ways can you arrange a couple couches, a dining room table, kitchen appliances and a bed?
Apparently more than I expected.
Our priorities:
Spacious bathroom (spacious might be too much to hope for, so how about just 'not cramped')
Decent amount of counter space
Residential refrigerator (rather than an RV fridge)
Storage
I suppose it's just as well that we didn't find anything we loved. It was good to see the different options available. We are still in the very early stages of looking.
What surprises me most is that there is very little desk/work space. More and more people like us who are not retired and are working on the road are living full time in RVs, but any desk space that I've scene is too small to be usable for much of anything.
So we might look like this in a few months.
There are many things that need to happen before we make a change, the first being that we find one we want.
You'd think it would be easy to find one to suit us. The amount of space and rooms is limited, so how many options can there be? But, imagine buying a fully furnished house...are you likely to find a structure and furniture that suit you all in one place?
Our current MH suits us fine, but we can see how a fifth wheel might work better for us.
If you are sightseeing and traveling with a number of people, a MH makes sense. You can travel comfortably and make snacks and use the restroom (except the driver) or watch a movie while traveling down the road. Set up is also faster.
But we are only driving the MH about 4 times per year and then parking for long periods of time. That means we have paid for an engine in our MH, but it's only being used a couple weeks per year.
A fifth wheel would provide more space and has a more residential feel inside
and a bit more privacy since the bedroom and living room/kitchen are separated more than what we have now.
So off to the RV show we went, to look at the options. Honestly, how many different ways can you arrange a couple couches, a dining room table, kitchen appliances and a bed?
Apparently more than I expected.
Our priorities:
Spacious bathroom (spacious might be too much to hope for, so how about just 'not cramped')
Decent amount of counter space
Residential refrigerator (rather than an RV fridge)
Storage
I suppose it's just as well that we didn't find anything we loved. It was good to see the different options available. We are still in the very early stages of looking.
What surprises me most is that there is very little desk/work space. More and more people like us who are not retired and are working on the road are living full time in RVs, but any desk space that I've scene is too small to be usable for much of anything.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Cooking In The RV
As I have mentioned before, we are not camping. No wienies or marshmallows roasting over a campfire. We're not opposed to that, but it's not dinner.
We don't even have paper plates (Sometimes I wish we did. Washing dishes in a small sink is a big pain. Thankfully Chris does most of the dish washing.)
But cooking real food is a challenge, mostly due to space issues.
We have a gas stove with three burners, but that's a bit of a fallacy since there's no way three pots would ever fit at the same time. Sometimes the stove tilts a bit (see my prior posts about the jacks and leveling) toward the cook. It's not necessarily dangerous, but worrisome.
The oven is a combo microwave/convection. I made the mistake once of putting something in to bake without pushing the convection button. Fortunately I caught my oversight before the microwave went nuts over the metal baking dish.
If you put some chicken in to bake...you can't microwave anything for an hour or so.
It took us a few tries to get used to the convection oven. We tend to set the temp a little higher and cooking times a little longer.
The crockpot gets lots of use, particularly when we were in New Mexico because it doesn't heat up the room like an oven does.
Don't worry. We're resilient and hungry, so we've adapted.
If we're having eggs and bacon for breakfast, the bacon is cooked in the convection oven to free up space on the stove and also because it's less messy.
The convection oven has a turntable, but if we use a rectangular pan (like a cookie sheet) we have to turn it off since there's not enough room for it to turn. Hence, we bake cookies on a pizza pan.
Last night I made oatmeal cookies. Here's the new recipe I tried. Highly recommended if you're a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies. I'd never considered soaking the raisins but it made them juicy and delish.
So, how does making cookies in the MH differ from a regular kitchen?
First, the counter space is very limited. Since I was using the oven and not the stove, I put the cover down on the stove and that was my primary workspace.
The pizza pan/cookie sheet holds about as many cookies as a regular cookie sheet, but with the longer bake time, finishing up an entire batch of cookies seems like an all night event. No double rack in the oven to bake two pans at once. I suppose we could get another pizza pan so I'd have one ready to go in when the other came out, but then that's another pan to be stored.
I started out making the teaspoon sized scoops of dough as the recipe called for. Each tray took about 20 mins to cook, cool and reload. That got tiresome and after about three rounds the cookies became much larger. We have no objections to large cookies, and the end result was certainly worth the effort, it's just a matter of making some adjustments.
Size variation in the cookies. Chris helped toward the end, making golf ball sized balls of dough.
We don't even have paper plates (Sometimes I wish we did. Washing dishes in a small sink is a big pain. Thankfully Chris does most of the dish washing.)
But cooking real food is a challenge, mostly due to space issues.
We have a gas stove with three burners, but that's a bit of a fallacy since there's no way three pots would ever fit at the same time. Sometimes the stove tilts a bit (see my prior posts about the jacks and leveling) toward the cook. It's not necessarily dangerous, but worrisome.
The oven is a combo microwave/convection. I made the mistake once of putting something in to bake without pushing the convection button. Fortunately I caught my oversight before the microwave went nuts over the metal baking dish.
If you put some chicken in to bake...you can't microwave anything for an hour or so.
It took us a few tries to get used to the convection oven. We tend to set the temp a little higher and cooking times a little longer.
The crockpot gets lots of use, particularly when we were in New Mexico because it doesn't heat up the room like an oven does.
Don't worry. We're resilient and hungry, so we've adapted.
If we're having eggs and bacon for breakfast, the bacon is cooked in the convection oven to free up space on the stove and also because it's less messy.
The convection oven has a turntable, but if we use a rectangular pan (like a cookie sheet) we have to turn it off since there's not enough room for it to turn. Hence, we bake cookies on a pizza pan.
Last night I made oatmeal cookies. Here's the new recipe I tried. Highly recommended if you're a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies. I'd never considered soaking the raisins but it made them juicy and delish.
So, how does making cookies in the MH differ from a regular kitchen?
First, the counter space is very limited. Since I was using the oven and not the stove, I put the cover down on the stove and that was my primary workspace.
The pizza pan/cookie sheet holds about as many cookies as a regular cookie sheet, but with the longer bake time, finishing up an entire batch of cookies seems like an all night event. No double rack in the oven to bake two pans at once. I suppose we could get another pizza pan so I'd have one ready to go in when the other came out, but then that's another pan to be stored.
I started out making the teaspoon sized scoops of dough as the recipe called for. Each tray took about 20 mins to cook, cool and reload. That got tiresome and after about three rounds the cookies became much larger. We have no objections to large cookies, and the end result was certainly worth the effort, it's just a matter of making some adjustments.
Size variation in the cookies. Chris helped toward the end, making golf ball sized balls of dough.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Swag
Some people have passports filled with colorful stamps from around the globe. Others collect postcards. My grandmother had an impressive collection of state plates adorning the walls of her Florida trailer.
What about us? Here's a photo of the things we've accumulated during our travels.
An assortment of T-shirts from Amazon and KOA, grocery store reward cards, two library cards, KOA nametags and even Dooley's new North Carolina rabies tag.
I've also thrown away two pre-paid laundromat cards which would have added some pizzazz to the collection.
In part, what I think this represents (other than the majority of our wardrobe) is that we aren't really vacationers, but real people who are living life in a somewhat unconventional manner.
Plus, all these things are unbreakable...unlike those state plates.
What about us? Here's a photo of the things we've accumulated during our travels.
An assortment of T-shirts from Amazon and KOA, grocery store reward cards, two library cards, KOA nametags and even Dooley's new North Carolina rabies tag.
I've also thrown away two pre-paid laundromat cards which would have added some pizzazz to the collection.
In part, what I think this represents (other than the majority of our wardrobe) is that we aren't really vacationers, but real people who are living life in a somewhat unconventional manner.
Plus, all these things are unbreakable...unlike those state plates.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Our Next Stop
The number of options for jobs and places to stay is almost overwhelming. We were lucky that a nice job found us so we didn't have to try to sort through all the possibilities.
Drum roll please....our next location....Point South/Yemassee South Carolina. Click here to see the KOA site.
We'll be there from April 20 to November 1. This will be our longest assignment so far. We'd like to leave a bit earlier than November 1, depending on our start date with Amazon (our feet have recovered and we intend to go back).
We'll be working a total of about 40 hours between the two of us each week, which will be about half what we were working in New Mexico. Our jobs will include the basic things we did in New Mexico as well as a few new skills that will mostly be for me.
Yes, this campground has a coffee bar, pizza and wine tastings which I'll be doing (hopefully not all at the same time).
From the campground website: Fresh made-to-order pizza and wings can be delivered to your site. Relax
in our new Coffee House, where we feature a full line of
locally-roasted gourmet coffees. We serve Espresso, Lattes, cold coffee
frazes' and smoothies. The Swimming Mermaid Coffee House and Wine Bar is
open every day from 8 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. depending on the season. We
also have wine tasting from four local wineries, Mon - Sat, 6:30 to 8:00
p.m. for a small fee.
Just think of the potential blog posts---wine tastings, coffee, pizza and wings.
It looks like we'll be close to the inter-coastal waters and about an hour (maybe less) to the ocean, including Charleston or Hilton Head SC and Savannah, GA.
We're looking forward to our new assignment (still three months away) and in the meantime we'll enjoy our time here.
So...who's going to visit?
Drum roll please....our next location....Point South/Yemassee South Carolina. Click here to see the KOA site.
We'll be there from April 20 to November 1. This will be our longest assignment so far. We'd like to leave a bit earlier than November 1, depending on our start date with Amazon (our feet have recovered and we intend to go back).
We'll be working a total of about 40 hours between the two of us each week, which will be about half what we were working in New Mexico. Our jobs will include the basic things we did in New Mexico as well as a few new skills that will mostly be for me.
Yes, this campground has a coffee bar, pizza and wine tastings which I'll be doing (hopefully not all at the same time).
From the campground website: Fresh made-to-order pizza and wings can be delivered to your site. Relax
in our new Coffee House, where we feature a full line of
locally-roasted gourmet coffees. We serve Espresso, Lattes, cold coffee
frazes' and smoothies. The Swimming Mermaid Coffee House and Wine Bar is
open every day from 8 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. depending on the season. We
also have wine tasting from four local wineries, Mon - Sat, 6:30 to 8:00
p.m. for a small fee.Just think of the potential blog posts---wine tastings, coffee, pizza and wings.
It looks like we'll be close to the inter-coastal waters and about an hour (maybe less) to the ocean, including Charleston or Hilton Head SC and Savannah, GA.
We're looking forward to our new assignment (still three months away) and in the meantime we'll enjoy our time here.
So...who's going to visit?
Sunday, January 18, 2015
We Are In Demand
We've registered with Workatkoa.com. We paid an annual fee (about $50, I think). On that site we have our resume available for KOA owners to view and we can also see all the available jobs posted by KOA's around the country.
KOA's also post their jobs on other workamping sites, which is how we found our first job in New Mexico, but the selection of jobs is much greater on the KOA site.
It's like Match.com for workampers.
If we see a job we're interested in, we can click a couple buttons and send our resume to them and vice versa.
If you successfully complete an assignment at a KOA the owner can give you a service star. Apparently these are a big deal (we have one from our New Mexico job) because I think there can be issues with workampers not staying for the full amount of time that they agreed to initially.
Seems like KOA owners are eager to get their summer crews filled. Since the first of the year, we have gotten phone calls or email inquiries from about half a dozen KOAs including one north of Chicago, Devil's Tower Wyoming, Abilene Texas and somewhere in Nebraska.
We declined all of those, though we were tempted by Devil's Tower. Maybe next year.
We had been waiting to decide where to go next because Chris will be leading tours in DC during the spring and we had hoped the tour company would pay for our site during that time. But, we haven't heard from them and then we realized Chris could fly in for his tours from wherever we happened to be staying.
This realization makes our options much greater, particularly next year when we won't feel the need to return to the eastern US for the spring.
Anyway...in addition to the places listed above, we had one other KOA contact us about a job for this spring and summer.
Come back next time to find out where we'll be.
KOA's also post their jobs on other workamping sites, which is how we found our first job in New Mexico, but the selection of jobs is much greater on the KOA site.
It's like Match.com for workampers.
If we see a job we're interested in, we can click a couple buttons and send our resume to them and vice versa.
If you successfully complete an assignment at a KOA the owner can give you a service star. Apparently these are a big deal (we have one from our New Mexico job) because I think there can be issues with workampers not staying for the full amount of time that they agreed to initially.
Seems like KOA owners are eager to get their summer crews filled. Since the first of the year, we have gotten phone calls or email inquiries from about half a dozen KOAs including one north of Chicago, Devil's Tower Wyoming, Abilene Texas and somewhere in Nebraska.
We declined all of those, though we were tempted by Devil's Tower. Maybe next year.
We had been waiting to decide where to go next because Chris will be leading tours in DC during the spring and we had hoped the tour company would pay for our site during that time. But, we haven't heard from them and then we realized Chris could fly in for his tours from wherever we happened to be staying.
This realization makes our options much greater, particularly next year when we won't feel the need to return to the eastern US for the spring.
Anyway...in addition to the places listed above, we had one other KOA contact us about a job for this spring and summer.
Come back next time to find out where we'll be.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Gettin' My Geek On
We were at the local library last week and I saw a flyer for a Law and Literature program so I took the plunge and signed up.
The first meeting was last Monday and the book for discussion was Billy Budd by Herman Melville. I only had a couple days to read the book, but since it's only about 100 pages I figured that would be no problem.
Wrong.
After two paragraphs I was looking for Spark Notes online to understand what was happening. I used the dictionary feature on my kindle a couple times too.
I made it about 1/3 of the way through the book and all the way through the summary on Wikipedia, so I went to the meeting. It was a dreary night and I felt like I ought to go in case no one else did.
Wrong again. There was a hearty group of about 25 in attendance. 24 women all my age or above and many seemed to know each other. A nice woman sat next to me and we were both excited to realize we had several things in common: both first timers, hadn't finished the book and she was a criminal defense attorney.
The discussion (two hours) was lead by a college professor. The first hour was mostly lecture with slides and I'm still not sure how it related to the book. The second hour was discussion and that was interesting.
The program appears to be funded by a bequest from a woman's estate and the library provides books and (presumably) pays the discussion leader. We meet every two weeks and there's a different professor each time.
I sort of wish I'd finished Billy Budd because the issues we talked about were interesting. But, I'm not going to go back and pick up where I left off.
We meet again on January 25 to discuss Puddn'head Wilson by Mark Twain. There's still time for you to read the book.
What about you? Have you read Billy Budd? Or Spark Notes?
The first meeting was last Monday and the book for discussion was Billy Budd by Herman Melville. I only had a couple days to read the book, but since it's only about 100 pages I figured that would be no problem.
Wrong.
After two paragraphs I was looking for Spark Notes online to understand what was happening. I used the dictionary feature on my kindle a couple times too.
I made it about 1/3 of the way through the book and all the way through the summary on Wikipedia, so I went to the meeting. It was a dreary night and I felt like I ought to go in case no one else did.
Wrong again. There was a hearty group of about 25 in attendance. 24 women all my age or above and many seemed to know each other. A nice woman sat next to me and we were both excited to realize we had several things in common: both first timers, hadn't finished the book and she was a criminal defense attorney.
The discussion (two hours) was lead by a college professor. The first hour was mostly lecture with slides and I'm still not sure how it related to the book. The second hour was discussion and that was interesting.
The program appears to be funded by a bequest from a woman's estate and the library provides books and (presumably) pays the discussion leader. We meet every two weeks and there's a different professor each time.
I sort of wish I'd finished Billy Budd because the issues we talked about were interesting. But, I'm not going to go back and pick up where I left off.
We meet again on January 25 to discuss Puddn'head Wilson by Mark Twain. There's still time for you to read the book.
What about you? Have you read Billy Budd? Or Spark Notes?
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Other Entertainment
The passenger seat of our motor home has a desk that pulls out and that's where I have my computer and where I create these fascinating blog posts.
It's a nice location because it's out of the way so my mess isn't interfering with the clutter I have spread out in other places, there are five cup holders and if I open the curtain I have a panoramic view.
Chris very kindly bought me a bird feeder from Amazon. (Delivered in the 1B2 box discussed last time).
It's perfect for us because it folds flat.
It's perfect for us because it folds flat. Plus, if we ever go fishing we can keep the fish we catch in it. Plus, the birds can perch all around it in the metal cage.
In Ohio I had a giant bird feeder that my dad made for me. The birds would pig out and you could practically watch the bird seed level go down.
Here they are a bit more polite and so far we've only filled it once, but it's getting low.
It's surprising how much I enjoy watching the birds out the window. I even looked up a bird I'd never seen before...it was a bluebird. Made me feel a little stupid, like I should know what that is, but in Ohio I think we just had blue jays, which are large and rather bossy. The bluebird is bright and cheery.
There's also a stray cat that occasionally takes up residence below the feeder, like it's a vending machine or something. I open my window and yell at him like a crazy old lady. It seems to work.
Here's the view from my window. It's a rather dark day and the bird and dirt all seem to be the same color, but if you look closely there are some birds on the feeder and a couple pigeons on the ground.
It's a nice location because it's out of the way so my mess isn't interfering with the clutter I have spread out in other places, there are five cup holders and if I open the curtain I have a panoramic view.
Chris very kindly bought me a bird feeder from Amazon. (Delivered in the 1B2 box discussed last time).
It's perfect for us because it folds flat.
It's perfect for us because it folds flat. Plus, if we ever go fishing we can keep the fish we catch in it. Plus, the birds can perch all around it in the metal cage.
In Ohio I had a giant bird feeder that my dad made for me. The birds would pig out and you could practically watch the bird seed level go down.
Here they are a bit more polite and so far we've only filled it once, but it's getting low.
It's surprising how much I enjoy watching the birds out the window. I even looked up a bird I'd never seen before...it was a bluebird. Made me feel a little stupid, like I should know what that is, but in Ohio I think we just had blue jays, which are large and rather bossy. The bluebird is bright and cheery.
There's also a stray cat that occasionally takes up residence below the feeder, like it's a vending machine or something. I open my window and yell at him like a crazy old lady. It seems to work.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
How We Entertain Ourselves
You always learn something at every job, but sometimes you don't realize how much (and how potentially useless) until later.
When we were in the gift wrap department at Amazon we processed orders which included building the boxes they'd be shipped in. Considering the variety of items available at Amazon, we had about 15 different boxes to choose from.
So how does that entertain us now?
We've been doing a lot of shopping on Amazon so whenever we get something, we both guess at the size of the box (A1, 1AD, A3, 1A5 for the small items or N3, K3, 1A7, 1BA etc for larger).
The other day we had this conversation.
Me: That's not a 1B2. 1B2 is bigger.
Chris: The box says 1B2.
Me: Well, that's wrong.
Chris, showing me the box (again): Right here it says 1B2.
Me: Maybe they have different boxes wherever they shipped this from.
Chris: Maybe you're thinking of 1B4.
Me: Oh.
This is just sad on so many levels.
When we were in the gift wrap department at Amazon we processed orders which included building the boxes they'd be shipped in. Considering the variety of items available at Amazon, we had about 15 different boxes to choose from.
So how does that entertain us now?
We've been doing a lot of shopping on Amazon so whenever we get something, we both guess at the size of the box (A1, 1AD, A3, 1A5 for the small items or N3, K3, 1A7, 1BA etc for larger).
The other day we had this conversation.
Me: That's not a 1B2. 1B2 is bigger.
Chris: The box says 1B2.
Me: Well, that's wrong.
Chris, showing me the box (again): Right here it says 1B2.
Me: Maybe they have different boxes wherever they shipped this from.
Chris: Maybe you're thinking of 1B4.
Me: Oh.
This is just sad on so many levels.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Pop, Sizzle, Smoke Or We Have A New Verter
A few weeks ago the power randomly went out, but only for part of the lights and outlets. Apparently different things get their power from different sources (I assumed it all came from the big electric plug outside).
Fortunately, Chris is rather handy at these things and he got it fixed.
Or so we thought. It worked for a couple days and then the same thing happened again. We followed this pattern for a couple weeks until we got here to Statesville.
Chris did some internet research and consulted with the repair department at Camping World and determined we needed a new inverter (maybe it was a converter. It was a "verter" of some sort).
He also decided he could install it himself, so off to Camping World to buy the Verter.
Once he got it installed he touched it and said "It's warming up already. That's a good sign."
With the new Verter in place, Chris started the MH engine.
That's when it happened....Pop, Sizzle and Smoke (not a lot of smoke, but when you're inside a 400 square foot fire trap, any smoke is scary).
He said "That sounded bad."
I stood by the door, near the fire extinguisher and rapid escape.
He looked at the Verter, checked the instructions. He had a couple of wires switched around (turns out "It's warming up already" was a bad sign too).
A couple new fuses (to replace those charred in the first attempt) and a few minutes spent changing the wires and we are now happily powered and the owners of a new Verter.
Fortunately, Chris is rather handy at these things and he got it fixed.
Or so we thought. It worked for a couple days and then the same thing happened again. We followed this pattern for a couple weeks until we got here to Statesville.
Chris did some internet research and consulted with the repair department at Camping World and determined we needed a new inverter (maybe it was a converter. It was a "verter" of some sort).
He also decided he could install it himself, so off to Camping World to buy the Verter.
Once he got it installed he touched it and said "It's warming up already. That's a good sign."
With the new Verter in place, Chris started the MH engine.
That's when it happened....Pop, Sizzle and Smoke (not a lot of smoke, but when you're inside a 400 square foot fire trap, any smoke is scary).
He said "That sounded bad."
I stood by the door, near the fire extinguisher and rapid escape.
He looked at the Verter, checked the instructions. He had a couple of wires switched around (turns out "It's warming up already" was a bad sign too).
A couple new fuses (to replace those charred in the first attempt) and a few minutes spent changing the wires and we are now happily powered and the owners of a new Verter.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
It's All Relative
This morning most everyone in the country (or at least the dozen or so people who will read this post) will be waking up to the coldest temperatures of the winter (so far). Brrr.
While watching the local news recently, the weatherman said "Today we'll reach 57. The warmest day we'll have this week....if you call 57 warm."
Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do. I'm used to January temperatures that barely get above freezing, so 57 and sunshine is a treat. But, it's all what you're used to, isn't it?
When we were in New Mexico it was the monsoon season. That meant it rained a little bit every now and then (I think we've had more rain since we arrived in NC than the entire 'monsoon season'). But in New Mexico the locals were all complaining about the humidity. I tried really hard not to laugh. They were seriously uncomfortable with whatever amount of humidity they had (5%?).
Or maybe people just like to complain about the weather.
While watching the local news recently, the weatherman said "Today we'll reach 57. The warmest day we'll have this week....if you call 57 warm."
Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do. I'm used to January temperatures that barely get above freezing, so 57 and sunshine is a treat. But, it's all what you're used to, isn't it?
When we were in New Mexico it was the monsoon season. That meant it rained a little bit every now and then (I think we've had more rain since we arrived in NC than the entire 'monsoon season'). But in New Mexico the locals were all complaining about the humidity. I tried really hard not to laugh. They were seriously uncomfortable with whatever amount of humidity they had (5%?).
Or maybe people just like to complain about the weather.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Happy Birthday Pat!
On this day, a
number of years ago, a great American was born. My friend, Pat.
Fortunately, Pat is not prone to violence since the free knife she got during our trip to Mammoth Cave (see photo) was pretty disappointing. But looking at this picture made me laugh,, just like I did when I took it. That trip spawned many fun stories, including the trip to Big Mike's House of Mystery. Oh, and we went into the caves too.
Pat has been an integral part of many fun adventures.
Trips to Frankenmuth, Mammoth Cave and the pickle factory, come to mind.
During one road trip, I learned that Pat once lost her cowboy boots while flying a kite. How many people do you know who can brag about something like that?
In honor of Pat's birthday, I'm asking all of you to fly a kite, wear cowboy boots, or eat a pickle (not code).
Happy Birthday, Pat! We miss you!
number of years ago, a great American was born. My friend, Pat.Fortunately, Pat is not prone to violence since the free knife she got during our trip to Mammoth Cave (see photo) was pretty disappointing. But looking at this picture made me laugh,, just like I did when I took it. That trip spawned many fun stories, including the trip to Big Mike's House of Mystery. Oh, and we went into the caves too.
Pat has been an integral part of many fun adventures.
Trips to Frankenmuth, Mammoth Cave and the pickle factory, come to mind.
During one road trip, I learned that Pat once lost her cowboy boots while flying a kite. How many people do you know who can brag about something like that?
In honor of Pat's birthday, I'm asking all of you to fly a kite, wear cowboy boots, or eat a pickle (not code).
Happy Birthday, Pat! We miss you!
Friday, January 2, 2015
Back In Yellow!
We started our duties here a couple days ago. Basically one (or both) of us hangs out in the guard house from 6-8:30 am every morning. So far, nothing much has happened but we're there in case any campers have problems or if folks have questions (where to find groceries or gas) on their way out.
The guard house is pretty small, but it has a TV, heat and wifi.
It's strange to be getting up for work at the same time we were getting off of work only about a week ago. We're also done with our work day just when most people are getting started.
This is our second KOA experience and it's interesting to compare and contrast the treatment we've received.
Hours worked in exchange for our site:
NM: 12 each per week
NC: 17.5 total
Site:
NM: A crappy site where the power went out regularly (can't help but wonder if that contributed to the $1200 repair we had to have on our refrigerator). The site was crappy because it was small, no grass, no picnic table. They did move us, eventually, but their initial way to welcome us was with a sub-par site.
NC: A lovely end site with a bit of grass and trees and a nice view.
KOA gear:
NM: We each got to select 2 KOA shirts from their collection (not all for full-bodied folks) of shirts and then we had to return them. We went on the KOA site and bought our own shirts. We never got name tags, though they ordered some before we left for their other workers, but none for us ($5 each) since we were leaving.
NC: We were asked what gear we'd like to have. Chris and I looked at each other and said "really?" Sweatshirts are on their way. I suppose we could have asked for more, but it felt greedy.
Sure, it's early in our stay here, but so far we are very pleased and excited. Just wish it would warm up a tiny bit.
The guard house is pretty small, but it has a TV, heat and wifi.
It's strange to be getting up for work at the same time we were getting off of work only about a week ago. We're also done with our work day just when most people are getting started.
This is our second KOA experience and it's interesting to compare and contrast the treatment we've received.
Hours worked in exchange for our site:
NM: 12 each per week
NC: 17.5 total
Site:
NM: A crappy site where the power went out regularly (can't help but wonder if that contributed to the $1200 repair we had to have on our refrigerator). The site was crappy because it was small, no grass, no picnic table. They did move us, eventually, but their initial way to welcome us was with a sub-par site.
NC: A lovely end site with a bit of grass and trees and a nice view.
KOA gear:
NM: We each got to select 2 KOA shirts from their collection (not all for full-bodied folks) of shirts and then we had to return them. We went on the KOA site and bought our own shirts. We never got name tags, though they ordered some before we left for their other workers, but none for us ($5 each) since we were leaving.
NC: We were asked what gear we'd like to have. Chris and I looked at each other and said "really?" Sweatshirts are on their way. I suppose we could have asked for more, but it felt greedy.
Sure, it's early in our stay here, but so far we are very pleased and excited. Just wish it would warm up a tiny bit.
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