RV-Dreams Journal

Rainy Day Golf & The Birthday Dinner - (Hillman, MI)

It was a little bit of a dreary morning, but nice and cool with temps in the 60s.  I worked on a variety of pending administrative items until the early afternoon.

Linda slept in and, once she got up, she extended her coffee time in her P.J.s well beyond the usual two hours.  :)

Eventually, I got the inevitable call to play golf.  With the rainy outlook, I was considering not playing today, but it took very little coercion to get me out there.  :)  Plus, Linda was getting into chef mode putting her lasagna together, so it was best I was out of the way. 

Ted and I went out.  I wasn't very focused on the front nine and made a few mistakes, but I got it together on the back nine as it rained on us for a few holes.  I shot an 83 from the back tees and was satisfied with that.

As I was walking back to the rig, I heard Linda's voice and saw people walking away.  As I got closer, I recognized the faces, but couldn't come up with the names.  With everyone we've met, and me another year older, it's getting harder and harder to remember.  :)

But as soon as I heard "Clark" I knew.  It was Clark ("griswold" in the Forum) & Mary.  Now, I was pretty sure they were from Texas but their car had Michigan license plates, so I was a bit confused.

As it turns out, Clark is doing some contract work here in Michigan and Mary joined him for a visit.  They were just driving by, happened to see the Thunder Bay Resort sign, and decided to stop for a few minutes.  According to Linda, they just missed catching her in her pajamas and it was late afternoon by then.  :)

Clark & Mary had to get to Lansing, so we just got to speak for a minute, but it was good seeing them again and we appreciate it very much when folks take the time out of their schedules to visit.  :)

While Linda was baking the second pan of lasagna, I went over and visited with Carl & Linda.  I kept telling them we'd get together and figured we had plenty of time.  We never could quite seem to get our timing to mesh, and suddenly it's time for them to leave tomorrow.

So, it was relatively brief, but I'm glad I had some quiet time to chat with them and hear about their travels this summer.  I had to get a shower and get ready for dinner, so I departed and was glad to hear they were going to join us.

Ah, at 6:30 it was time for our Italian dinner.  We gathered under the tent pavilion and the dishes were put out buffet style.

There was buttery and cheesy garlic bread and lasagna,

and salads,

and spaghetti and veggies,

and Italian Cream Cake.

Since this was my "birthday" dinner, I was forced to go through the line first.  :)

It didn't take long for me to get through the first plate and head back for more.  I was concerned that the lasgana wouldn't hold out.

You see, lasagna is one of my favorites, but it's a hassle for Linda.  So she rarely makes it.  And when she does, she usually makes it for a group, so I don't get the full benefit.  :)

Ah, but today we had a whole pan left and I'll get to indulge for a little while unless we freeze some of it.  For anyone interested, the lasagna recipe is the first one on Linda's Main Dish Recipes page.

Then it was on to cake.  Rob called it "sinful" and I know at least two of us had seconds.  We don't have much of that left over.  :)

You can find the recipe for the cake at the bottom of Linda's Cake, Pie, and Cobbler Recipes page.

Okay.  Now, when Linda sent out the email about this dinner, she forgot to mention "no gifts or cards".  Basically, I don't like there to be a fuss of any kind, and I had hoped this would be more of a social gathering than a birthday dinner.

But it wasn't and our guests decided to amuse themselves at my expense.  :)

Butch & Barb gave me a bottle of Anti-Monkey Butt Powder ...

along with a poem Barb wrote.  I won't recreate the poem here, but the gist is that with its use, I'll be friction-free and comfortable for our long drives down the road with the RV.  Apparently, this powder is quite well known among truckers and bikers, so while it might be considered a gag gift, it also serves a very real purpose.  :)

Ron & Ronni gave me a card.  It says I'm almost to the age where I just start "making crap up".  Good to know.  :)

And then Ted presented me with two gifts and was right there with the camera to take pics so he could add his own captions.

The first was the obligatory "Depends".

So between those and the Anti-Monkey Butt Powder, I can drive for a couple days without stopping.  :)

Or I can return the Depends to Walmart and get a refund.  Now there's a present - getting some of Ted's cash, no easy task for sure!  :)

The second gift was this combination cane and golf club that Ted made.

Everyone wanted a demonstration of the Depends and powder, but I opted to try out the cane/golf club instead.

Okay, so I was just hoping for some Italian food, and it turned into a "roast" complete with props.  How do I let Linda get me into these things?  :)

After we all filled up and everyone had their laughs, we called it a night.  Thanks to our friends for a fun evening and the great food!  :)

Since I didn't have a post-golf nap, it wasn't long before I was nodding off in the recliner.  Sometime in the night before it got too late, I drowsily stumbled up to bed.

Part two of my birthday was complete.  Thanks Honey!  :)

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July Financial Summary

July 2010 Results

Campground Fees $0.00 (0.00 per day) - Budget $0.00

Workamping at Thunder Bay Resort in Hillman, MI for the summer.  Campsite is included.  

RV Clubs $0.00 - Budget $0.00

RV Insurance $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Propane $0.00 - Budget $10.00

Cell Phones $81.19 - Budget $90.00

Satellite Internet $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Note:  Satellite internet is not included in our regular expenses.  We classify it as a business expense.  It runs us about $800 per year ($67 per month). 

RV Taxes/Registration $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Satellite TV $89.09 - Budget $90.00

RV Maintenance $0.00 - Budget $50.00

Diesel $0.00 - Budget $0.00

We didn't drive the truck at all in July.

Gas $43.32 - Budget $120.00

We drove the Jeep 411 miles in local exploring around Hillman in July.

Truck Maintenance $0.00 - Budget $35.00

Jeep Maintenance $0.00 - Budget $35.00

Truck Insurance $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Jeep Insurance $330.18 - Budget $350.00

Semi-annual Jeep insurance.

Truck Taxes/Registration $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Jeep Taxes/Registration $107.25 - Budget $100.00

Annual Jeep personal property taxes and registration due in July.

Groceries & Dining Out $474.97 ($15.32 per day) - Budget $450.00

Our Groceries & Dining Out budget for 2010 is the same as for 2009.  It's based on $12 per day per month for groceries PLUS $90 for dining out.

We splurged a little bit on our trip to Mackinac Island. 

Laundry, Clothing, Hair Care $45.85 - Budget $75.00

Averaging $7 a week, plus Linda got a sweatshirt from Mackinac Island.  :)

Entertainment $265.29 - Budget $200.00

Includes expenses for a variety of golf events, our visit to Mackinac Island (hotel, ferry ride, carriage ride, drinks, etc.), and tips for musicians here at the resort.  It was actually $150 higher for the month, but I won a 50/50 raffle drawing for $150 during one of the charity golf events here to offset some expenses.

Insurance - Health, Life, Umbrella, Etc. $154.66 - Budget $160.00

Monthly health insurance premium ($154.66) for both of us.  It's an Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Lumenos PPO plan with a $10,000 deductible and a Health Savings Account (HSA) feature.

Medical & Dental Expenses $214.00 - Budget $50.00

We had to pay $210 out of pocket for eye exams from back in May because the eye doctor didn't code insurance claim forms correctly and the claim was denied.  Hopefully, we will recover those funds when the claim is resubmitted.

Miscellaneous $37.86 - Budget $150.00

Emergencies/Budget Cushion $0.00 - Budget $600.00

Whew!  That's two months in a row without any more expenses in this category.  :)

We've just about saved enough in other categories to make up the overages in this category for the year.

 

Totals $1,843.66 ($59.47 per day) for normal living expenses - Budget $1,965.00

Totals with Emergencies/Budget Cushion $1,843.66 - Budget $2,565.00.

We came in $121 under budget on normal living expenses.  For the first seven months of the year, we're $1,270 under budget when excluding the Emergencies/Budget Cushion.  Soon we'll be back under budget across the board as long as nothing new pops up.

The good news is that all of our major expenses are front-loaded into the first seven months of the year, so our monthly outlays will be lower the rest of the year.   

For a look at the numbers through July 2010, go to Our 2010 Actual Expenses. To see our budget month-by-month click on Our 2010 Budget.

On the business side, we had net profit for July of $664.  Linda had a good beading month and DreamLife Creations is now over $1,000 in net income for the year.  Of course none of our business net income includes any calculation of expenses for our time.  :)  You can see the breakdown on the 2010 Business Financial Summary page.

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Beading, Banking, & Music - (Hillman, MI)

After my day yesterday, Linda took this morning to do what she enjoys.

She and some of the other ladies had a beading session in the Barn for a few hours.  A couple of the paid staff that join in during their "off time" say it's what they look forward to most during their week.  :)

While Linda was doing her thing with the gals, I tackled a banking thing.  We have our checking account with our investment broker because it has lots of benefits for us and it makes things convenient.

But they recently decided to change the bank they are using for client accounts.  That's a big deal for us, but probably not so much for most of their clients.  We're one of the few that actually maintains our account through them rather than separately.

So I spent all morning changing bank account information for all of our automatic payments and all of our little direct deposit income sources.  It took me about three hours to do all of that.

Much of what I had to change related to the payments for the various websites:  RV-Dreams.com, the Journal, the Forum, the Chat Room, etc.

While poking around in each of the administrative sections of the websites, I noticed the Forum in particular has been going crazy.  We have been paying for 100,000 page views per month since we started, but every month in 2010 has been over 100,000 page views, so we've been paying extra and trying to decide if we needed to upgrade our base payment and page views.  Well, in July, we had over 200,000 page views!  That's going to be an expensive bill, so today I did upgrade our monthly payment and base page views.

Now, it's great that we have all these increasing page views on all of our sites, but the monthly ad revenue has been going down.  So, just a reminder, please pay attention to the sponsored ads.  That's what pays for the maintenance of all the websites and provides us a little bit of income beyond that.  :)

Oh, and thanks to those that are using the Amazon.com link on the Journal sidebar when purchasing from Amazon.  We do receive commissions if you use that link to access Amazon for items you were going to purchase anyway.  Though the commission amounts have not been huge, we have definitely seen an increase and every little bit helps.  :)

During the afternoon, Linda wrecked the kitchen making the Italian Cream Cake for my Italian birthday dinner tomorrow evening.  Note that I know it is a hassle to make and I didn't request it.  She decided to do it on her own.  Of course, I'm not complainin'.  :)

I did assist in the kitchen clean-up as she used just about every pot and pan and dish and kitchen gadget she has in the cake baking and construction.  :)

When the dishes were finished, we walked over to "Music in the Barn".  This week it was on Friday instead of Saturday night.

Tonight we had the solo artist/songwriter/story teller Butch Runyon. 

Butch is from a "holler" in West Virginia, but moved to Michigan in search of work when he was 19.

He played some classic rock and a variety of new and old country mixed in with a few originals.  We really enjoyed his two hour set.   Check out the link above for his bio and to listen to a few of his original songs.

Well, that's a wrap on another day.  All I know for sure tomorrow is that I'll have photos of food and a report on our Italian feast.  That report will probably be accompanied by some lament about eating too much.  :)

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Birthday Fun - (Hillman, MI)

I've said before that I don't make a big deal about birthdays, especially my birthdays.  But what the heck.  :)

I was born July 29, 1963 in Burbank, California.  So that makes me 47 today.

And, since Linda had volunteered to help the housekeeping department today, I made plans for golf and fishing.  Actually, I was invited to play golf and go fishing, so I just accepted the invitations.  :)

Linda was on the job by 8:00 and not too happy about that.  My day began slowly as I didn't have to leave for my tee time until 10:30.  The sun was just right, so I got a picture of one of the Ruby-throated hummingbirds feeding on our rear window feeder.

I hadn't taken one of those pics in a long time, but we've got lots of hummers right now, so I don't have to wait long for one to appear.

I Skyped my parents, had a little breakfast and got ready.

I was invited to play Elk Ridge Golf Course by a guy I met and played with Monday night.  Thad owns the Avalon Bar & Grill in Hillman and was kind enough to extend the invitation.  He didn't know it was my birthday, but he and a couple other guys having been playing Elk Ridge on Thursdays during the summer and they had an opening.

Elk Ridge is struggling like other businesses in the region, so they are offering "2 for 1" coupons this summer.  So, even though the website says $65 for 18 holes during the week, pretty much everyone is given the "2 for 1" coupons and all you have to do is ask to get another one.  It's certainly a worthwhile course for $32.50.  :)

Today, Thad was short two people, so I got Ted to go.  I've told Ted for several weeks we'd get over there.  So we joined Thad and Scott, who runs the county health department, on this gorgeous day.

It's a really nice course, but some of the fairways weren't quite in as good a shape as they were when I played it earlier in the season.  I played pretty well, but irons were just a bit off.  I was hitting greens but leaving long putts and three-putted four times.  Arrrggghhh.  Still, I only had one hole worse than bogey and shot an 83.  Not too bad.

Ted took all the same pictures of the course that I did last time.  But he got a couple with me in them and forwarded them ... complete with captions.  :)

The significance of the pig-shaped bunker is that the course is owned by the founder of Honeybaked Ham.  :)

After golf, we stopped for drinks at the Avalon Bar.  Scott bought us a round with the money he won from Thad on bets.  :)

I got home around 5:30, but I wasn't there long.  I got a quick bite for dinner, and then Tom and I were off to Lake Huron for some fishing.

With the small boat marina right there in Alpena, we were on the water pretty quickly.

It was a beautiful evening as we pulled out of the harbor ...

and headed out into Thunder Bay.

Now, I've never been fishing on the Great Lakes, and I've never been walleye fishing anywhere.  All I knew was that Tom said I didn't need to bring anything and, apparently, I didn't need to know anything.  :)

We went out a few miles to where Tom had marked spots on his GPS where he had previously caught fish.  Once we got there, he was rigging up poles and putting out bait while I ... well, while I watched.  :)

This big lake fishing is a whole science requiring a bunch of gear and knowledge.  Whew, it seemed like a lot of work, but I suppose one gets used to it.  :)

Tom put out lines and attached "planer boards" which basically allow you to drop the lures down away from the boat.  They can also act like strike signals.  Each one was bright yellow with what looked like an orange mailbox flag.

He also had line counters on the large reels so he knew how much line he had out.

There had to be just the right amount of line out to the planer boards and then beyond to the lures.  And then we had to go at just the right speed so that the lures would swim at just the right depth.

My job was to control the trolling motor and keep us at a level speed going as straight as I could while he got all the lines in the water.  That was basically all I had to do except sit on my rear and wait.  :)

Once there were four lines in with planer boards, Tom put out a couple more lines with different lures.  Then we just trolled, mostly in 26 - 30 feet of water and along ledges where the 26 - 30 feet quickly went to 15 - 20 feet.

There wasn't much going on in the way of fish, - I never could figure out how you could really tell if you had one or if one was biting anyway - so I just kept taking pictures.

And I was perfectly content.  :)

The water was calm and it looked like the sunset might be pretty.

At first, the sun just hid behind that patch of clouds, and that made for some nice shots.

Then, as the clouds moved west and the sun continued to sink, it appeared again.

By then, I was all about the sunset and didn't care a bit whether we caught any fish or not.  I was back on trolling motor duty and got off course a couple of times 'cause I was taking pictures.  :)

When I saw this view, I imagined fluffy sheep floating over a person swimming.

I saw the sun as the head and the cloud formation to the right of it as a shoulder and arm just getting ready to come forward for a stroke.  Hey, the fish weren't biting and I had plenty of time to let my imagination have some fun.  :)

When we moved to a different spot, we saw a lot more fish activity on the fish finder, but still nothing managed to get itself hooked.  Tom was a little frustrated, but I still didn't care.  :)

Eventually, Tom pulled in all the lines and we headed in.

The lights from Alpena showed us the way ... along with the GPS.  :)

The boat was out of the water and ready to head back toward Hillman around 10:30.  I had been out in the sun most of the day, and I was nodding off on the way home.

So, I had a nice, sporty birthday.

I'll sign off by saying thanks to everyone, and there were a bunch of you, for all the birthday wishes!  :) 

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More Domestic Duties, Errands, & Golf - (Hillman, MI)

Linda had to be on the job helping with the housekeeping at the lodging at 9:00 this morning.  I was supposed to wake her up at 7:00, which I did.

Of course, then my instructions were revised:  "Wake me up at 7:30".  :)

Once she got up, she had her coffee and finalized my lists for the day before heading over to the lodging to assist.

Now, my duties today were to go to the local farmers market to get some fruit, pick up some bird seed, and go to Walmart in Alpena for groceries.  Our cupboards are bare.  :)

The "farmers market" is basically one guy that sets up a large vegetable and fruit stand in a parking lot in Hillman on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Last week Linda got some delicious sweet corn, peaches, and blueberries.  I went back for more of all that.

I picked up the bird seed for the bird blind on my way back.  Then, after taking a short break, I drove to Alpena to do some grocery shopping.

Now those that have been reading for awhile know how much I hate the grocery store.  But at least Linda has learned to be very, very specific on her lists and instructions.

If the list just says a "can of ...." whatever, she knows that's not good enough.  The cans come in all sizes and there are eighteen thousand different variations of every product in the store.  Left to make the choices on my own assuredly means that I would be making a return trip to get the "right" stuff.  :)

I don't know how you cooks do it.  Shopping for a particular recipe drives me absolutely insane.  The recipes call for certain measurements, but of course none of the ingredients are packaged according to those measurements - they are all packaged by weight.  I don't have an I-phone or a Droid, but perhaps I need one to go to the grocery.  I'm sure there is "an app for that" - converting measurements to packaging.  :)

Oh, and once you figure out the conversion, the packages never seem to contain the exact amount you need.  They either have too much, so you end up with extra that spoils before you use it, or they have too little so that you have to buy two packages, and, once again, you end up with too much.  It's like "Goldilocks Goes To The Supermarket".  But all the packages are "too big" or "too small" and there is never one that's "just right", so she pulls her hair out and has to be renamed Baldilocks.  Sheesh.

And don't get me started on the checkout lines.  They have 112 checkout lines with four on each end of "20 items or less" and four more "self checkout".  Everything else is a regular check out lane, but they are rarely open. 

If I have a couple items, I'll do the self checkout, but if I have several items, I avoid the self checkout lanes.  I can't handle the "Please place item in the bag" mechanical instructions and then the awkwardness of when you have the two designated bag spots full.  Can I remove one of the bags or will it yell at me?  Heaven forbid you place an item in the bag, and then try to remove it and put in in a different bag.  And then ultimately, the whole thing screws up anyway and you have to have an attendant, when you can find one, come punch in some magic codes so you can pay and be on your way.

Okay, so today the "20 items or less" lanes were out since I had a few too many items.  Not that that stops people.  I've given up trying to give them the glare or mumbling within earshot about their inability to count.  Apparently, if you have fourteen cans of the same thing, they can be counted as one item.  :) 

And I avoided the "self checkout" lanes.  That means I had to choose one of the three lanes (out of eighty-something) that were actually open where there are lines and each of the three carts in front of me are stacked to the limits.  I did manage to avoid the line with the kid sitting in the cart staring at me while at the same time yelling "Candy, Mommy!!!"

Of course, once I'm next behind one heaping cart, with three others behind me, then the announcement comes over the intercom.  "Julie, Brittany, Jeff, Joe, Tammy, & Lisa, please come to the front to do checkout please".  So they open new lanes and everyone behind me rushes to those.

All of these things make up a few of the Murphy's Laws of grocery stores.  :)

I finally got out of there with exactly what was on the list.  I'm not a shopper, I'm a picker.  If it ain't on the list, it ain't makin' it home.  If Linda starts a sentence with "Did you happen to think to get .....", I cut her off.  "Was it on the list?  If it wasn't on the list, I didn't get it.  All my brain power was focused on converting the amounts on the list to the packaging so that I wouldn't have to go back, finding the cheapest prices, and getting the heck out of there as fast as possible."

I guess it's a good sign when the most stressful thing in my life is grocery shopping.  :)

When I got home, Linda was there having lunch.  I put away the groceries and then she was off again to help housekeeping.  I did a little work and then I got that familiar knock on the door again.

Okay, I'll play nine holes, but we're going to play in the Couples Scramble tonight.  My game picked up again and I shot a 2-over 38 on the front nine from the back tees.

Linda & I then went to play in the Couples Scramble at 5:30.  We met another nice couple and had fun.  It was a strange format and I didn't play as well as I had earlier, but we did okay.

We had dinner in the Grill with everyone and then returned home for another relaxing evening.

Another day down.  On to tomorrow!  :)

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Domestic Duties - (Hillman, MI)

A week or so ago, we got an email asking the workampers if anyone could volunteer to help with housekeeping this week.  Linda responded, but she never heard anything back about whether she was needed, where to be, who to report to, etc. ... until this morning.

Around 10:00 a.m., she got one of those "Where are you?" phone calls.  She was still in her pajamas drinking coffee, so she quickly got dressed and hustled over to the lodging to help.

Apparently there were quite a few golfers in over the weekend and there was a large coach tour coming in tonight, so they had to get a lot cleaning done in a fairly short period of time.

On her way out the door, she asked if I would wash the dishes and make the bed.  Of course I agreed.  I figured that she would be so tired by the time she returned that she wouldn't care that I didn't do those chores "the way she would have done them" .... you know, "wrong".  :)

While she was gone, I got some hours in doing some research on various topics and worked on resort website stuff.

When she returned, she was exhausted.  And I was correct ... she didn't mention the dishes or improper placement of pillows at all.  :)

She plopped down in her recliner and I waited on her for a little while - until I got the ever so frequent familiar knock on the door.  It's a knock that comes on afternoons when other workampers know I haven't yet played golf that day and they are ready to go.

Having made sure she was fed and had something to drink - fortunately, I didn't have to take her for a walk :) - I was off to the course.

By the time I had returned, Linda had gotten a second wind and taken care of the bird feeders and baths at the bird blind.  Then she was ready for some dinner, so we rode our bikes over to the Grill.

Afterwards, it was another simple, relaxing evening at home.

Linda is supposed to help with the housekeeping again tomorrow, and I'll run some errands for her ... uh, excuse me, for us.  :)

Until then.  :)

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Haircut, Music, Birds, Golf, Raft - (Hillman, MI)

Another lovely day in northeast Michigan.

Since it was cool with no wind, we took the opportunity for Linda to give me a haircut on the patio.  That Conair clipper kit we bought five years ago at Walmart has been well worth the investment.  :)

Later in the day, Linda & I were going to play nine holes with Rob & Ronni, but Ronni dropped by to cancel due to the effects of her two hours on the driving range yesterday.  :)

The next thing I knew, I had agreed to attend a meeting at 1:00 in the Grill with Jack, Jan, and Barb to discuss the "Music in the Barn" and how to better promote it ... without spending much money.  I'm not sure we really got anywhere since we have no firm commitments from any musicians beyond this Friday.  :)

While I was gone, Linda worked on getting photos of the area birds so we can laminate them and have them on hand for the bird blind and the rafting trip.

As I was returning from the meeting, Linda was doing her daily bird blind feeder maintenance.  Once she was finished, she decided to hang out a little while.

She saw the first Northern Cardinal we have seen here on the resort property.

It looked like a juvenile male that was hanging out with the Eastern Chipmunk.

She also got a look at this Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (aka striped gopher, leopard ground squirrel, squinney, etc.) which came to do some clean-up under the feeders.

Notice the differences between the ground squirrel and the chipmunk.  As I've mentioned before, chipmunks have eye stripes while ground squirrels don't.  Also, the chipmunks will have larger ears and they tend to run with their tails in the air.

There were a few other common birds that we've seen around that Linda hadn't yet seen at the bird blind.

And she got our first photo of a bird on the solar birdbath.

It was just a Common Grackle, but at least we have proof that the birds are using it.  :)

While she was birdwatching, I did a little research on online golf reservations to see if we could perhaps increase the number of rounds here.  I'll have to run it by Jack and the golf pro, John, but I think there may be some merit to what I found.

I had agreed last night to substitute in the men's golf league at 4:00 this afternoon.  And, after that, I was supposed to help with a raft trip .... which still wasn't officially scheduled by the time I teed off.  That seems to be the way we do things around here ... last minute, by the seat of the pants.  :)

Unfortunately, the golf league drug on and on.  We teed off around 4:30 and we didn't get finished until about 7:30.  Three hours for nine holes for guys that play this course every week is ridiculous.

While I was on the course, we got an email from Jack around 6:15 that the raft trip was scheduled for 7:00.  I had offered to get someone to take my place at the golf, but Jack said that wasn't necessary.  Of course, we both thought I would have been finished no later than 6:30.

Well, I couldn't guide the trip, but Linda arranged for me to at least be at the takeout with the van.  I took my camera and waited where I had a great view of the river.

We timed it pretty well.  I didn't have to wait long for the raft to appear on the last stretch, but it was getting dark.  I had to wait until they got closer to get a decent picture.

Then I hustled to the take-out to assist.

Unfortunately, I didn't tie the "exit" rope, that the rafters were to grab, to the right post.  It didn't swing them into the take-out pool like it was supposed to.  Of course it still might have worked if the designated "rope grabber" hadn't dropped the rope.  :)

Anyway, the raft floated past the takeout and there is no way to get it back to the "dock" once that happens.  Everyone had to walk through the water to exit the river.  I felt bad, but they all seemed to take it well.

Fortunately, this was primarily another test run where Melanie, the resort General Manager, and her family went.  I learned later that someone fell out of the raft on the trip.  Oops.  That should never happen.

That sort of ended the discussion of doing another trip in the full moonlight tonight.  Jack wants to have full moon trips, but if we can't keep people from going into the river in the daylight, I'm not sure about the nighttime trips.

I feel confident I wouldn't cause anyone to go in the river if I were guiding, but I won't always be around and if the paddlers don't listen to instructions, nothing is guaranteed.

I still want to try it the moonlight float, but we don't have many volunteers that want to be out that late and in sort of an unknown situation.  :)

Another interesting day of workamping.  It's easy to see why some of the workampers just want to have a list of jobs and a schedule they can stick to.  It can be frustrating sort of being "on call" for whatever might suddenly come up and having to "read minds" a little bit.  But there are enough pros with the flexibility ... and all the golf ... to keep us pretty content.  :)

 

 

 

Golf Pays Off - (Hillman, MI)

It was a cool morning with temps in the low 60s as I walked over to the pro shop.  I paid my entry fee for the Elk Country Animal Shelter golf scramble and did a little putting. 

The guys - Ted, Butch, & Tom - showed up, and we were sent out to our golf hole promptly at 9:00 after receiving last minute instructions and rules.

For those not familiar with golf scrambles, a scramble means that all four of us hit a tee shot and then we choose the best shot of the four.  Then we all play a second shot from the spot of the best first shot.  We keep selecting the best shot and all hit from there until the ball is in the hole.

It's a fun format that allows beginners to enjoy the round and not be too concerned about whether they are hitting the ball well or playing quickly enough since they have teammates to rely on.

Usually, scrambles start with what they call a "shotgun" start.  That means that the golfers don't all start on the first hole.  Each foursome is sent out to a designated hole so that all the golfers are on the course at the same time and everyone will finish at the same time.  It's called a "shotgun" start because once everyone reaches their hole, imagine a shotgun blast to let everyone know to begin playing.  Apparently, actual shotguns were used in earlier years.  Some places use big air horns to signify the start, but a lot of places don't use anything anymore - you just start playing when you get to your hole and everyone going to the other holes is out of your way.  :) 

Now, since all my partners were over 60 years old, they got to hit their tee shots from the Senior Tees.  That gave us quite an advantage since those tees, usually, were much farther ahead of the regular mens' tees.  We only used five of my tee shots and all five of those were on holes where the seniors didn't get much of a distance advantage.  :)

We started out decently, but certainly not on a pace to win anything here.  We were only one under par on our first seven holes.  And knowing we needed to be at least ten under par, that wasn't going to cut it.

But then we got hot.  We birdied seven holes in a row, made a par, and then finished eagle (two under on a hole), birdie, birdie.  With a score of eleven under par on our last eleven holes, we ended up with a total of twelve under par.  Everyone contributed and we all had our great moments.

On the par three third hole, there was a betting game to raise money for the animal shelter.  You could bet one to twenty dollars.  If you hit the green, you got your money back, and if you hit the green and were within fifteen feet of the hole, you got double your money back.

What the heck, it was for charity.  So I bet five dollars.  And, by a few inches, I made it inside the fifteen feet.  They paid me ten dollars, but again, since it was for charity, I promised them I would put the ten dollars in the 50/50 fundraiser drawing after the round.

After the golf, everyone gathered in the "Barn" for a very nice lunch while they gave away door prizes, had a silent auction, and awarded the day's prizes for golf.  We were so close.  Another team came in at thirteen under par beating us by one stroke, and of course, they only gave prizes today for first place.  Sheesh.  :)

Oh well.  As promised, I put my ten dollars into the 50/50 drawing.  Again, for those unfamiliar, a 50/50 drawing is a fundraiser.  You put money in and get a ticket.  Each ticket today was a dollar.  The charity putting on the event gets 50 percent of the money in the pot no matter what, and then they draw one ticket out and that person gets the other 50% of the money.

It just so happened, that they had a special on 50/50 tickets, buy $10 and get fifteen tickets.  So I got fifteen tickets for my ten bucks.  The total pot was at $300.

They drew out a ticket.  "Six ... Zero ... Six ..." - "yeah, we all have those numbers".  :)  The host continued: "Three ... Two ... Two" - "Woo hoo!  I've got it!!!"

Well, those that know me know I don't get too excited or demonstrative about anything, so it was sort of a quiet "woo hoo" ... and that was for show.  I would be a terrible game show contestant as the networks would find me completely boring.  "You just one $100,000!"  My response would be "That's very nice.  But what does it come to after taxes?"  :)

Now Linda, on the other hand, ... TV would love her.  :)

Anyway, I won $150.  And that was quite welcome to help offset some of our Mackinac Island trip expenses.  :)

While I was gone, Linda was still in beading mode.  She had a few more orders still to fill.  And she spent hours coming up with some new earring designs.

When I got back home, I was thinking I was going to be involved in a trial run of a full moon raft trip.  That's one of Jack's ideas and he had emailed me about doing one tonight.  But, he got busy and had to cancel.

We went and got some ice cream and then watched some educational programs about the Great Lakes that happened to be on the Science Channel.  Very interesting.

During our TV watching, I worked on financials.  It's almost the end of July, but more importantly, we are approaching the completion of our fifth full year on the road.  On August 3rd, 2005 we went to our first campground as full-time RVers.  I still can't believe we've been doing this that long already.  :)

Soon, I'll be updating the 2005 - 2009 Expense Averages to show a full five years.  Actually, there probably won't be much change in those averages as the first seven months of 2010 have been pretty much in line with those numbers.

Well, that wraps up another day.  See you tomorrow.  :)

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Morning Emails, Golf, & Music - (Hillman, MI)

We muddled through the morning working on a variety of things via the computer.

I had sent out some inquiries about possible workamping jobs in Maine for next summer, and one campground that runs a canoe livery responded quickly.  We'll be doing a phone interview next week.

RVSEF Conferences

Also, we've been keeping this under our hat for a little while, but the RV Safety Education Foundation has asked us to be "core" instructors for their Lifestyle, Education & Safety Conferences.  We've been pondering our answer for quite some time.

We recently received the evaluations from our classes and that prompted us to consider it more seriously.

We really want to teach, but we don't want to plan our full-time living around the conferences, especially when they start doing both east and west conferences year.  So, we're going to tell RVSEF that we will do the conference next spring in Bowling Green, KY.

But in order to commit to anything else, we will have to find "travel sponsors" that will help pay our way (airfare, hotel, rental car) to get to other locations that may be across the country from where we plan to be.  The compensation for presenting the classes, while nice, simply isn't enough to justify the travel costs or planning the whole year around the conferences.

So, if any of you know of any RV-related companies, campgrounds, etc. that might be willing to do a cash sponsorship to help us travel and teach, please let us know.  It can be one big sponsor per conference or several smaller ones.  We can certainly make it worth their investment in the way of advertising and publicity.  :)

Golf

In the afternoon, Linda & I decided to play nine holes.  Ted joined us and Butch & Tom played right behind us.  More practice for the scramble tomorrow.

I played better and Linda, for as little as she has played, is hitting the ball off the tee really well.

The course was crowded and the play was slow, so I wasn't the least bit tempted to play the back nine.  Besides, Linda & I were hosting the "Music in the Barn" tonight and we had to get ready.  :)

Music

After our showers, we got the tables and chairs organized in the "Barn".  I got snacks and wine from the Grill, and soon we were ready.

Being concerned once again about the lack of publicity, I took a golf cart and went around the resort telling everyone I could find about the "free" music.  Of course, the guys here playing in large golf groups only seem to care about drinking and ...... girls.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard the question "Will there be girls there?"  :)

Anyway, we had a nice group of locals that showed up to watch Chet's Habit.

Of course after the first set and the bluegrass portion of the second set, I was serving popcorn and drinks by myself.  Linda was a little busy up on stage with the band.  :)

They call her their "girl singer" and invite her up to do harmonies and a couple of solos.  Tonight she did "Crazy" and "Unchained Melody".  We might be traveling to out-of-town gigs before too long.  :)

The band also threw in a few new songs we hadn't heard from them.  That was a nice change.

I got on the microphone a couple of times and thanked everyone for coming and reiterated that the band was playing for tips.  Heck, I made about $10 in tips, but I donated it to the band.  :)

Tonight's audience included one of the board members for "Passport to the Arts" which is a "non-profit collaboration .... devoted to promoting the art, history, and culture of Northeast Michigan".  Perhaps, we can expand the promotion through that contact.

Around 10:00, the band called it a night and we cleaned up a bit.  We left some straightening for the morning.

Well, that's it for another day.  Until tomorrow.  :)

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Trail Work - (Hillman, MI)

Linda & I sort of piddled around this morning.  But eventually we got ourselves back out into the woods working on the nature trail.

I got a weedeater and a rake and hoe-like tool out of the maintenance building and we headed out.

I weedeated at the trailhead and Linda began clearing the all vegetation at the beginning of the trail.  While she worked on that, I started gathering downed trees and limbs to outline the trail.

We worked four hours on the first part of the trail.  Once it gets into the woods, it will just be a matter of marking it, but we wanted to make the entrance clear.

We made several trips to the resort's wood chip pile and shoveled mulch onto the path.  I was worn out by the time we finished up, but it looks pretty good.

I don't think mulching the whole trail is in our future, but this first part really needed it.

Once it gets into the woods, not much sun gets through, so there isn't a lot of grass and weeds to hide the trail.

With that done, I, of course, went to play golf.  Me, Ted, Butch, & Tom are signed up to play in a charity golf scramble for the Elk Country Animal Shelter on Sunday.  So we wanted to get in a little practice.

Yes, it is for charity and for fun, but I still have a competitive gene that likes to win even if just for bragging rights.  :)

On my way to the golf course, I took a long look at the Mobile Suites fifth wheel that had come in yesterday.  Hmm.  South Dakota plates.  I wonder if we know them?

As I walked by, the couple was sitting outside.  I looked harder, and then I saw them smile as if to say "He's trying to figure out who we are".  :)

It didn't immediately come to me, but as soon as they said "Carl & Linda from the Rally in Branson" I knew.  The follow up statement "friends of Ed & Marilyn" just confirmed that I knew.  :)

They are staying here ten days, so we'll have some time to get together and catch up.

As for the golf, I played from the back tees and had, I think, five double-bogeys.  Yikes.  I blamed it on the hard work from earlier.  :)

I was exhausted by the end of the day.  Probably should have laid off the golf.  Naaaahhhhh.   :)

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