July Catch Up

It's been awhile since I last posted, I know, over a month ago.   Sometimes we have a slow internet connection which makes it hard to post.  And, sometimes, it's the poster.   So, I thought I'd catch up for the month of July before moving on to August and Iowa and the State Fair.

Like most of the central states it was hot and no rain.  We were busy in the campground.  It was just too hot do do much of anything so I guess you can say we just enjoyed the days staying in the camper most of the time.  I didn't get caught up on the pictures but we did play a few games and watched other campers from our window.

The dinner we had with the owners, Scott & Diane, went very well.  She fixed pasta with 2 types of sauce and some great garlic breadsticks.  We took a tour of their house and it was very nice.  We enjoy their company.  They have some great stories to tell.  They both grew up in California near LA and moved to Springfield when they bought the campground 9 years ago.  They have one son who is now a lawyer in the Chicago area.  He just passed the bar in Illinois and he has already passed the bar in Missouri.

In my last post, I talked a little about the couple, Howard & Jinnie, well Scott finally had enough and asked them to leave on Monday, July 30th.  Here's a picture of them.  Scott's in the background.



They were only working about 15 hours a week and Scott & Diane had to be there during their shift.  Let's just say they couldn't work by themselves.  Howard would do a lot of standing around staring at people or driving the golf cart around the campground looking at what needed to be done.  They were really nice people.  I think they would have been asked to leave a lot earlier if their car hadn't broke down and they were without transportation.

We made one more trip to Lambert's before heading out of town.  We had to wait about 1/2 hour on Wednesday afternoon around 2pm but it was definitely worth it.  Sharon had their special, New York Strip Steak and I had the rib-eye.  Yum Yum.

Yes, we are back in Iowa now and looking forward to the fair.  On Sunday night, Scott called us.  Kathy & Keith packed up and left the campground.  As they were closing on Sunday night at 8:30, Kathy came up and gave them the keys and shirts.  No clue this was coming.  Diane asked her why and Kathy's words:  "You know why".  Actually Diane didn't so she asked Kathy to explain.  Kathy said she needed more hours.  She wanted to work more.  Keith has cancer and hasn't been able to work as much but he has been working between 24 & 30 hours a week.  Kathy was working at least 35 hours a week.  Scott must have talked to us for at least 1/2 hour about this.  We're still in shock that these 2 people left.  They worked hard. 

Sharon & I are still planning on going back there on Sept 14.  Reconfirmed with Scott that we weren't needed before hand.  Another couple was there to take our place while we were gone and they hired another college kid and another maintenance man.  Thought they would be fine until we returned.  At least it wasn't on July 4th.

Next post will be about the trip north and arriving in Iowa.  More later.

June

The last few days have been really HOT!  We haven't reached 100 degrees yet but the thermometer but it looks like we'll get close this week.  Thank goodness for air conditioning.

Last Monday a 100 year old tree fell down on some power lines at the end of our road.  We were without power for a few hours.  Had a nice strong breeze and almost everyone survived with no problems. 

Have a few more new workers started this past couple of weeks.  Larry - his wife Donna doesn't work - is another one of our maintenance people.  They'll be here for about 6 weeks.  They're from Indiana and he drives school bus.  So will be returning in August.  They also hired a neighbor girl, Samantha, 16 years old to make pizzas at night.  She works a couple of nights a week.  She's earning money to go to Disney World next summer.

We're not sure how long one of the work camper couples will last.  They said they would be here until November but. . . .  Let's just say they're not Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee but he likes to stand around and look at people while they work.  He hates being alone even though they have 2 dogs and live in a 20 foot travel trailer.  That's right - they full-time in this camper.  When Jinnie is up working (making pizzas), Howard will find some excuse to come up and stand around.  Some days it quite comical.  Not sure Scott & Diane find it comical, though.

We've been invited to dinner at the bosses on Wednesday.  That's Scott & Diane's house.  Not sure why or if there's an ulterior motive but guess we'll find out on Wednesday.  They've been really nice to us lately.  I mean really nice.  And we've already agreed to come back for the fall and winter months.

Looking forward to some time off come August.  Hoping to catch up with family and friends when we head north.  We'll probably be staying at the KOA in Adel but trying to get in to a different campground near Altoona.  Not sure if we'll be able to stay since she doesn't like State Fair people.  Have some friends staying there for a few months and they're trying to get us a spot. 

There have been some very interesting people staying here this past week.  Sometimes you just wonder how they manage to get along in this world.  Have had a couple of first time camper users.  We can definitely relate.  It's been fun helping them.  Actually makes me feel like I know something.
We like the people working here - just find a few more interesting then others.

Just realized we haven't taken any pictures since Memorial Weekend so maybe we'll take some this week.  Thought about a little outing on Thursday - but weather channel says 100 degrees.  Might be a good day to stay inside and watch others work.  We have Wednesdays and Thursdays off.

Until next time or I have something exciting to share.

Springfield Cardinals Baseball Game

On Wednesday, May 30th, Scott & Diane took all employees to the Springfield Cardinals game.  We closed the office early at 6pm.  All but one employee attended (with families).  Sharon did NOT wear anything Cubs.  Nope.  No hat.  No Shirt.  However, she didn't wear red either.  The team won the game and a few HRs were hit.  We sat in a section known as the Red Roost.  With your ticket comes a buffet of ball type foods plus soft drinks.  You could eat/drink as much as you wanted with your ticket.  The hot buffet had hot dogs, brats, nachos, chips, deep fried mushrooms.  At another location was a salad bar.  You could also have all the popcorn you wanted.
Here's a few pictures.

A picture of Scott & Diane.  And yes, they bought peanuts for everyone.

Howard & Jinnie (look closely you can see Scott in the background)

Kathy & Keith.  Now, Kathy is our "crazy" person.  She kept jumping up and down.  When you stand up the seat folds up.  I'm surprised she could walk out of there.  She must have fell a 1/2 dozen times.  She was sure to have a bruise on her butt.

So far it's been a fairly nice summer.  Definitely getting hotter.  The truck needs fuel filter so will be going to Republic on Thursday.

May 1

It's been awhile since I've posted, I know. What can I say? Maybe we've been very busy? How about slow internet connection? How about just being lazy to sit at the computer and figure out what to say. The campground is looking really good these days. The maintenance guys plus the outsourced mowers are keeping the grass mowed and trees & shrubs trimmed. Diane (owner) planted pots of flowers in the front. The irises are almost done. The dogwoods are finished. We planted some flowers in pots and they're looking really good.  One of these days we should take some pictures. 

On Sunday, April 29 Donna & Arlyn came for a brief visit. They stayed in one of the deluxe cabins on the campground and left early Thursday morning. Found a picture of the cabin from last fall.

On Monday it was raining so we went to Bass Pro Shop and then Fantastic Caverns. We had lunch at Hemingways (Bass Pro)- great buffet. Then we went to the caverns. It's a tram ride through the cavern. Very amazing. Just a few pics, I won't post all 140 of them :).

This last picture was the original opening to the cave.  Sure liked the opening they use now, better.

Took in a couple of shows.  First was Six.  The group is composed of 6 brothers.  It's all vocal - no instruments.  They make the sounds of the instruments using their voices - even the percussion.  We realized that we had seen this group several years ago at the Iowa State Fair - Sharon talked with one of the wives and she remembered the fair.  O.K. so at least she said she did.

We then saw the Baldnobbers.  Second & Third generation of the first show in Branson.  The music wasn't hillbilly but mostly Country - played a lot of Alabama & Garth and the comedy was of the silly stupid kind.  Loved the show.  I laughed so hard I used 3 kleenexes that night.

We then saw the theater production of Joseph.  Enjoyed it very much.  Sharon who doesn't like musicals said it was o.k. 

We had a great time and had a nice visit with Donna & Arlyn.

Last Full Day in Mississippi

On Sunday, David & Patricia took us out for dinner in Biloxi. We drove down along the coast from Bay St. Louis. Couldn't believe the roadways. They were full of sand from the storm of a couple of days before. Reminded us of snow drifts.





We stopped at this one restaurant but over an hour wait - too hungry - so we drove on and found a new restaurant to try. The food was fine but the service was very very slow. Doubt very much if David & Patricia go back there again.




Did see a nice sunset.


We had a very nice time in Mississippi. Looking forward to going back. Maybe David will have his boat by then.

Sharon and the alligator

We're heading back from New Orleans along the gulf coast. You can still see some leftovers from Hurricane Katrina. Some houses were left abandoned. Some piers partially demolished. And then, you come across those places that were rebuilt. David & Patricia were telling us that when they first arrived here about a year ago there were even airplanes scattered here and there due to the hurricane. And, guess what happened next:



A couple of pictures along the highway


We stopped at a roadside inn for a quick drink. The server told us that there were a couple of alligators out in the bayou near the inn. A baby and the mother. The baby loves to eat marshmallows. They hadn't seen the mother for a few days. We didn't have any marshmallows but Sharon went out along the waterway and started calling for the alligator. Can't you just hear her: "here alligator; here alligator; come alligator"






Overall, this was a very nice and beautiful day. Had a great time seeing more of the area. Kind of sad in a way that there still is so much damage from 5 years ago, though.

New Orleans

Tuesday, March 20th.
At first we weren't going on Tuesday - the winds were kind of strong. However, after looking at the forecast for Wednesday & Thursday decided to go.

Going across the bridge into New Orleans.

Skyline


Through the car window driving on a downtown street. Good thing the streets are all one way.


Had lunch at the Charter House Cafe. Sharon had a cajun crawfish platter and I had the Taste of New Orleans

Sharon's dinner. She had crawfish etouffe, crawfish cake, and fried crawfish.

My dinner: jumbalaya, gumbo, and beans & rice.


We then walked to Jackson Square.


At Jackson Square we took a carriage ride around the quarter. If you look closely at the above picture, our white carriage is in it. Some pictures from our ride. As you can see from some of the beads hanging from trees, shrubs, etc., they don't remove them after Mardi Gras.




After our carriage ride, a trip to New Orleans wouldn't be complete without stopping at Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait. I loved the beignets - however, the cafe au lait was a little weak. We were told it was very strong coffee with some steamed milk in it. Guess we thought it needed more of the coffee.



After our donuts and coffee we walked up to the Mississippi Lookout. It started raining on us at the top but didn't last very long.




Did a little shopping around Jackson Square and then headed for home. David drove us through the Ninth Ward so we could see what it looked like today. Couldn't resist taking a picture of this one pump gas station. It was open.


For the ride back to Kiln he took us along the gulf highway. More later. Hoping that our internet connection stays strong.