Memorial Day Weekend

I wanted to say that the presents were all wrapped, the decorations hung, carols sung, and we were all nestled snug in our beds while visions of....... Oops, wrong story. We had a full park this weekend. The rigs rolled in, golf carts were rolled off trailers, kids hopped on bikes, and the weekend was underway. Little did the guests realize all the work taking place behind the scenes. At eight in the evening we were still parking guests on Friday. Saturday arrived all too early as we began the final preparations for the evening party.

We would have three bands this evening, feed 480 people pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, and beans. For some, the free beer made the evening. I drank four Dr. Pepper sodas and called it too much. The music varied from great to loud. After working in the office all day, Foxy helped serve dinner and clean up the concession stand, and finally after ten we went home, but I had to also go back up and lock up the buildings and pools. Somehow we lived through all the fun.

Sunday dawned all too soon, and we were both back at it beginning to clean up after the party and trying to meet guests needs. Today basically was another clean-up day as about 140 rigs departed by noon, and we had to keep track of their goings, as well as clean up all the garbage. By noon we had most of it in trash bins, but then we had to get out the tractor so that we could squish the trash down to be able to get in more. Don saw our efforts and got out the big front loader and really tamped the trash into the bin. We hope that the garbage guys can get the bins emptied when they come tomorrow.

Sadly, one of our work camper got out of line and will be leaving Tuesday morning. The details do not belong here. I feel sad for him. He has much to learn. We worked well together.

I like my opening line better and want to watch grandchildren open presents. I guess I will have to wait for Christmas. Happy travels.

Progress on the home front

We have really put in the work days on the motor home on our days off. We started this period by cutting the linoleum for the toilet area of the bathroom and then from the kitchen area to the front of the coach. This involved much cutting and fitting. The second day we glued these new pieces to the floor, cleaned excess glue off the edges, and then grouted where necessary. Paint was touched up with semi-gloss where it gets traffic. Except for the bedroom area, all traces of the old dirty green carpet was excised finally today. It was on the entry steps and part way up the wall by the driving area compartment. While this sounds easy, think about glue and uncountable staples everywhere. Old carpet areas were replaced with tile and cherry colored strips which we found at Lowe's. Finally today we glued the carpet in the slide where all of this problem began.

At the end of each work day we clean up our work area and put things back in place to give some semblance of cleanliness and order. We sit down and look at our hard-earned progress and wonder why it all takes so long and so much out of us. Could it be our age? Showers and dinner and then we can relax for the evening. This has been a team and joint effort. We keep encouraging the other and making suggestions that almost always improve the situation. One thing I do know is that we are not going into the motor home improvement business. Happy travels.

What is a work day like?

I thought it might be interesting for you, the reader, to see what happen to us on a work day. This morning I ran the numbers, which essentially means that I take a sheet which represents the park and color in each space where there is an occupant. This helps us learn if anyone has entered the park after we closed the office, and then we can check to see that they come up to let us know how long they want to stay. While doing this I also pick up any garbage, which guests can leave in front of their rig until ten in the morning. After that time they are responsible for their own trash and are expected to get it to a nearby dumpster. I also read any electric meters for guests who need to pay their monthly bills or might be departing that day. This exercise is followed by checking two lists to see who might be leaving and who might be arriving. Guests who are leaving are expected to depart by noon if they are staying in their own rig or depart by eleven if they have been staying in a cabin.

Once this is done, it is the daily park host's job (whoever runs the numbers is the host and must also lock up after ten in the evening) to keep track of those leaving and watch for new arrivals. Today we had about ten leaving and three arriving. Since we also get drop-ins, this whole thing is subject to change, and the office ladies keep us updated by radio.

We then go on to work on whatever job needs to be done that day. Today was primarily a mowing and weed whacking day. I went to the maintenance shop and picked up a weed whacker, can of gas, and more whacking string that might be needed during the day. I went out to the cabin area and started trimming up areas left by Clayton, who had mowed around the cabins yesterday. In the meantime I was asked by the office to do several more meter readings, and a call from the housekeepers sent me to a cabin to replace an old toilet tank fixture. Finally, I finished the cabins and went on to a hillside behind nine permanent park models to whack the grass that Clayton could not get to with his mower. It is quite a steep area and not only hard to mow but also hard to weed whack. By the time I was finished with this area, it was nearly lunch time.

After our lunch break I was back in the weed whacking business and continued working on the west side of the park. To break this up I also repaired a sewer clean out that had been broken, and then got George to help me cut down a small tree (maybe 20 feet high) that had died this past winter. A few minutes with a chain saw and we loaded up tree parts to go to a fire pit area (also cleaned out earlier today) where they will be burned. At one point in the morning Clayton got a bit too close to the Guadalupe River with his mower, and the back tire slid into it. This caused a call, and Roy and I went down with our golf carts to pull him out. It sprinkled off and on all day which kept us cool, but the fifth time did result in us calling the day finished. We headed to the shop to put away our equipment and then to the office to put up our radios for recharging, and our work day was over at five o'clock. However, as host, I had to lock up at ten and was glad to turn in a half hour later for a good sleep.

I do not usually weed whack the whole day, but we are trying to get ready for a big weekend here, Memorial Day. This upcoming weekend is fully booked with a waiting list of patrons. There is much to get done, and we will be busy the rest of this week. I will be glad for a few days off before the weekend, as my days off at the moment are Tuesday through Thursday.

Our work day is always busy and frequently jobs change as the need changes. We work cooperatively with the ladies in the office and the ladies in housekeeping. Of course, we continue to do projects that Don our manager-owner develops. Currently we are building a porch for a new cabin. We do most of our own construction and repairs. Recently we built tables and chairs for an addition to the outdoor saloon area. This project alone took us several weeks to complete. We had hoped to complete the porch for the new cabin for this weekend, but it is not to be. There are too many other jobs to get done for the Memorial weekend influx and subsequent party. If it is like last year, there will be several bands playing in our amphitheater, and we will feed 400-700 people. It is a big job for sure.

Life is never dull, and we work hard. Our hard work pays off, as this park had just been selected at the number one park in Texas for 2010. Quite an honor! Happy travels.

Busy at work too

We were back at work, Friday for me and Saturday for Foxy. Things never seem to slow down there at all. We have a new cabin and have been installing connections and making a porch for it. This will make 16-17 cabins for guests that can be rented. The grass keeps growing and needing mowing as well. Somehow the time flies by, and we arrive home quite tired out. Renovations will have to wait for the next few days off.

Foxy did get more painting done on Friday and picked up the rest of the tiles and carpet which await free time. I think the next few free days will really show progress on that front. All for the moment. Happy travels.

Reconstruction continues

When we got up this morning, Foxy thought it might be a good idea to go out for breakfast, and we soon headed to Denny's. Food was good, and soon we were back at home and continuing with our reconstruction. Foxy taped three more areas for primer today with paint tomorrow. She finished the primer and, although covered with paint here and there, felt that lots of progress had been made. My jobs included putting up more reflective sheeting on windows, restoring the cherry wood edges to our slide being repaired, and finishing installation of our wood blinds.

I also took out the carpet and love seat from the living area disassembling the love seat. Then I took the pieces to one of our storage units, in case we ever put it back in the coach. We are planning to put one of the Amish fireplaces in the space. It is on order and should arrive in a week or more. It can be used to heat the space in the winter electrically and is very energy efficient. We also plan to install a large screen television behind the fireplace which can be raised and lowered when not in use. The young man Rian who is making our new cupboards will look into the mechanism for the television and also make us a gate-leg drop-leaf cherry table for the dining area. So there is much going, and yet we feel like we are making significant progress. Tomorrow we should also get more floor tile and will continue to put down tile and cover the floors. We have purchased an area rug which Max likes very much as a good resting place.

It stayed cool with clouds and occasionally mist in the air throughout the day, so it was a pleasant day in which to work. Happy travels.

Stress Test

Not having slept very well, I got up at about 5:30 this morning and took Max out for his morning constitutional. No coffee for me though. Shortly thereafter Foxy was also up and bid me bye as I took off for the testing.

I arrived at the Old Peterson Hospital Parking Garage where the Cardiology Testing Center is located and signed in for the procedure. A nurse called me in, took vitals, and then set me up for a shunt so that I could have isotopes injected to enable machines to look at the functioning of my heart. Since I had a heart attack in 1994, I was a bit anxious as to the outcome. Finally I did the stress part of the test by having ongoing EKG's and walking on a treadmill to get my heart rate up to 125. It took quite awhile to achieve this rate, and then the test continued for about nine minutes total, and I could stop. The cardiologist in attendance pronounced me in good heart health and that I was fit for the upcoming surgery. That was good news. After about four hours at the testing center, I was glad to go home.

Meanwhile Foxy continued to work on the reconditioning of our motor home. What a trooper she is. Lunch out for a treat, a bit more work, and all of a sudden it was five in the afternoon. Quite a good day. Happy travels.

Final medical preparations

Yesterday I drove to Fredericksburg and went to the hospital to do paperwork for the upcoming surgery and have a pint of blood drawn as a backup if needed. I was back in Kerrville by noon and went back to work for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow I have a stress test to do to show that my heart is in acceptable shape for the surgery and then a final meeting with the surgeon, and preparation will be complete. So time draws short, and I will be glad to get this whole thing over.

We had some nasty storms go through the Hill Country last evening. It was quite gusty and windy and a bit of rain as well, but most of the storm was to the north, and we felt quite fortunate to be missed. The slide has held up well through several rain storms, and I hope the work continues to do so. Today after breakfast we plan to get more blinds up on windows and start preparations to finish a bit of painting near the kitchen. That should keep us busy for today. Happy travels.

The window blinds arrive

Our motor home renovation continues. Today Foxy went to Penney's here in town and picked up our wood blinds. It took her two trips in the small Crossfire, but they are now in our living room awaiting installation, which may happen Sunday or Tuesday. We have been living without any window coverings for several weeks and look forward to a bit more privacy. I really wanted to start hanging them tonight but was a bit too tired from work to start another project. Today Foxy put glue on some more floor tiles, and until our next order arrives, that department is in limbo. We are hoping that the rug will get here soon, and then the slide will look nearly finished, especially after the cabinets get made and installed. We are now discussing installing a fireplace for heating and a large screen television behind it that can be raised and lowered when not in use. If we manage all of these additions, we shall be quite comfortable. Happy travels.

Chuckles strikes again

Apparently my job is to brighten up the office staff and make them laugh. Pam and Bob recently took a few days off and went on a birthday cruise with friends. Pam felt the need to get some new outfits for the trip and since returning has been wearing some of them to the office. Today she had on a blouse that looked like a tie dye shirt with a splash of blue on the side of the front. It really was pretty but when Chuckles saw it he said to Pam, "It looks like you were in a paint ball battle and you lost." Foxy tells me that there were sequins on it too but I didn't see them. Did they add to the lustre of the shirt? Could they have been awards from the paint ball battle? I will have to ask Pam. Fortunately she did manage to laugh over my comments but probably will soon get even. Happy travels.

Do you want to repair my RV?

I stopped in the office today to see if we had any mail, and Gloria asked how the repair work was going. I said that we were starting to lay down the new tile. She knew that we had had a terrific time getting the old tile up and was happily surprised to learn of our progress. Then she said, "Would you like to repair my RV when you get yours done?" I said, "No!!!! I charge $130 per hour!" and Gloria started to laugh and laugh since she knew about our trip to Ancera and the information that they charged $130 per hour. It gave her a laugh and with a smile on my face, I went on about my business.

We are making progress, although it seems to be slow to us, on our RV repair. This afternoon we ordered more tile and more carpet as somebody who might be a math major cannot figure area and square feet and things like that. I may yet get this thing figured out but was so tired today that I just laughed about my mistake. Happy travels.

Medical updates.

On Monday I go to the hospital in Fredericksburg to have them do preliminary paper work and draw blood to be used during the surgery, if necessary. My stress test will be on May 19th, and the tentative date for the surgery is June 10th. So the time draws near, and I will be glad to have this done and over with. It has been good to have the daily work at Guadalupe RV and the demolition derby going on in the motor home to keep my mind on things other than the upcoming surgery. Your thoughts and prayers are so appreciated. Happy travels.

The demolition continues

We have torn out the rug in the living area and today started in on the linoleum tiles in the kitchen to discover that the linoleum was glued onto half inch plywood and then onto the sub floor. It has been a real challenge to try to remove this. So far we have the bulk of the floor gone, but parts remain stuck, and we are having to chisel them off. It is quite a task. Probably it will have to be sanded as well once all of the plywood pieces are removed. In any respect we are looking forward to being able to put new vinyl tiles down and seeing what a dramatic change this will bring. Happy travels.

Busy - non stop

It is hard to write in this venue when we are busy at work and at home with the renovations. We have gotten several things done on the motor home, and this means a new roof on the slide, painting a prep coat, and then a second coat of paint in the living area and bathroom. Now it remains to see that we have no leaks with the new roof. Tomorrow I expect to start on the rug and tear it out, and maybe the linoleum, too. We have ordered a new carpet for the slide and new flooring.

In the meantime at work we seem to go non-stop. We have the usual details to take care of, as well as mowing and weed whacking. Now we have been cleaning up junk piles and soon will begin the re-roofing project on the saloon addition which occasionally leaks during rainstorms from the south. Somehow the four work days fly by, and each day once begun seems to end with us quite tired.

Last week I also went to see my regular doctor and got and EKG, blood work, and a chest x-ray. He sent me to a cardiologist who checked me out and scheduled a stress heart exam in about a week. So you can see where the time has gone and why additions to this blog are limited currently. Thanks for not giving up on me. Happy travels.

Pay- per

A little girl aged 4- 5 came into the office and wanted to buy an ice cream bar. "How many pay-pers is it?," she asked one of the ladies at the front desk. "It is $2.00," was the reply. "I only have these quarters and no pay-pers," she said. The kind lady (Susan) made up the difference out of her own pocket, and the little girl went back happily to the family pool where she had been swimming. A few minutes later she returned. "My momma wants to know if you have shrimp cocktail sauce." "Yes, we do," was the reply. The girl yelled out the front office door, "Mommy, they do have cocktail sauce. How many pap-ers is it?" she asked. "It is $3.00," was the reply. A short time later she appeared again to learn if the office store also sold horseradish sauce and learned that they did not.

She appeared once again to purchase the cocktail sauce. "Ah only have one pay-per," she said, "even though I told Mama that I needed three." The lady took the pay-per and gave the girl the sauce and appropriate change. She had given the lady a twenty dollar bill. Ah need some pay-pers, too. Happy travels.

"You too Chuckles"

I have enjoyed many nick names through the years and seem to be adding more while living and working at this RV park. Yesterday was the last of my four day work week and in the afternoon Don, the owner manager of the park, came on our new radios and announced that the two guys splitting fire wood needed to get out of the sun and take a break. Then he called Clayton to learn where he was working and told him to quit mowing and take a break as well. Finally I heard him say, "You, too, Chuckles." I was weed whacking at the time over areas that I had mowed, and I complied and shared the break with Clayton over some good cold water. It was the first time in a year and a half that he had called us to take a break. Do you think the next one will happen in 2012?

Pam who works here in the office has called me Chuckles in the past because apparently I make her smile and even laugh. So I guess that I can add Chuckles to my various nick names.

For years at work in the education field, I got called Doc or Boss. I liked Doc the best of those nick names. Later when Herb, my brother-in-law, called me Digger, that moved to the top of my list of favorite nick names. Now Foxy calls me "Sweetie" which is wonderful and works for her but not others. The grandkids call me Pops or Grandad or Gramps, all of which are thoroughly enjoyed.

There are a few names I would like to add to the list such as "Slim". It seems unlikely that will ever get applied to me. I do get called Paw Paw from time to time here, but that is really usually reserved for Roy since he is the oldest worker here at this time. The best part is the great variety, and any name is good to be called as long as it is not, "Late for dinner." Happy travels.

Hail stones

We have had some interesting weather. After I got the roof back on and caulked, we settled down for the evening and finally went to bed. During the night it began to rain very hard, enough to wake us up to close the windows. Then there was that pause in the rain and a thudding sound, and we were in for it. The hail started coming in earnest, and it sounded like WW II on our roof. It lasted for ten to fifteen minutes, and then it was over. We got about two inches of rain in half an hour, and the ditch in front of the motor home almost over flowed with the run off. It was quite spectacular. Report from others in the park in the morning suggested that the hail was from one half inch in diameter to much larger.

The next morning found much damage to sky lights and vent covers throughout the park. Clayton and I were on duty and spent part of the morning climbing up on rigs to see if there was damage. Where we could, we used duct tape to prevent any further leaking. Back at our motor home we had five buckets filling from various leaks due to the storm. We did not get any dents in the car roof from the hail and felt that we really came through the storm quite well. Then to get the rain off of the slide and stop the leaking, I took the motor home off of its jacks, and then returned the back ones on, and that tilted the vehicle forward so that the water would drain. Finally all dripping stopped, and now I have some leaks to find and plug. It was quite a storm, and we have now tested the roof and still have a bit more work to do. Demolition is not an easy thing to do and repair. Happy travels.