This and That

That’s just what we’ve been doing the past few days.

We had a wonderful time last weekend with our camping club friends.  Each month 3 families volunteer to be the food committee.  They plan the main course, and everyone else brings a potluck item.  This month the committee had a Mexican themed meal.  We all brought appetizers in the afternoon and had blender drinks to go with them.  Then for dinner, they had tacos.  Everyone had signed up in advance to bring a fixing for the tacos.  They also had rice and refried beans.  Delicious!!  There were decorations and even a competition for the best dressed Mexican.  We had a blast.  It was hot so we also spent time each day in the pool.

On Monday we went golfing again.  Kevin had a very good round again.  I shot par on a par 3 hole.  The rest of the round was up and down for me.  Some very good shots and some awful ones.  We had a good time, though.

Yesterday my mom and her friend came for a visit.  We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon sitting outside although it was hot again.  Kevin cooked burgers on the grill for dinner.  This was the first time my mom has visited since we began fulltiming.  I think her mind was more at ease when she left.  She was impressed at how nicely we were living.  She also thought we looked so relaxed and stress-free and very healthy :)

Today was laundry day and then I did a little shopping.  I had been given a gift card to Kohls at my work going away party.  Since it has been so hot, I decided I needed some more sleeveless tops.  I was able to find a few; and, of course, being Kohls they were on sale :)

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Raining Cats and Dogs

OK, it didn’t actually rain cats and dogs, but it did rain a crawfish.  Last night we had thunderstorm and tornado watches.  Luckily, we dodged any severe weather, but it rained very hard much of the night.  Here’s a picture of the sky.  I’ve never seen clouds like this. This morning when we walked out the front door, we saw a crawfish a few feet in front of us.  We are about 100 feet from the river. I’m thinking the only way he got this far from the river is that he fell from the sky :)  It’s fitting that it was a crawfish since we are camped along the Crawfish River.  I was able to put him on a piece of wood and carry him back to the water.  I forgot to take a picture :( 

Here’s a picture of the river from our site.  You can see the rental canoes and kayaks and the dock where people launch them.   People also frequently fish from this dock.

 

This morning the dock is partially submerged.  This is the highest the river has been all summer.  Normally, there is gravel up to the end of the first wooden section of the pier.  The connecting section to the floating dock is always above water.  I’d say the river is at least 10 feet higher at the shore. 

As we took our morning walk, we saw many campsites that are flooded.  Also, the mosquitoes are back with a vengeance.  I can’t recall a summer that has been this hot and humid.  All I can say is thank goodness for air conditioners. 

Today I’m driving into town to pick up our mail from Eric’s house.  He is a heating and air conditioning service technician.  Hopefully, he’ll get off of work early enough so I can take him out for a bite to eat.  As you can imagine, he’s been working many hours lately.

Tomorrow we are headed out to camp with our camping club for the weekend.  The weather forecast is for more of the same; hot and humid.  I’m sure we’ll be spending time in the pool with everyone else in the campground :)

Movies

Kevin and I really like to watch movies.  We’ve subscribed to the 3 movie package with Netflix for several years.  Many weekends we would watch 3 movies in one weekend; especially, on those cold Wisconsin weekends.

This summer we are having the movies sent to our son’s house.  About once a week one of us drives to his house to get our mail, including the movies.  It’s about an hour drive each way, but we figure we have to get our mail anyways so we continue to have the movies sent.

We plan to continue to use his address as our mailing address once we leave for the winter.  I don’t think it will be feasible to continue the Netflix.  From what I understand, most campgrounds don’t let you get personal mail delivered to the campground.

I’m wondering what other fulltimers do about movies.  We do have DirecTV and can watch movies on TV.  We don’t subscribe to any of the movie channels because it doesn’t seem they have that many good movies.  We’re not much into going to the theater due to the cost and convenience of watching at home.  I’m thinking we will try out Redbox as we travel.  I also frequently check out movies at the library.  I’ll have to see how accessible libraries are as we move around.

Two recent movies I’ve enjoyed have been Extraordinary Measures and Valentine’s Day.  We also watched Wolfman which I thought was far too gruesome and Remember Me which was a sad drama with a surprise twist at the end.

It’s not a big deal, but one of those things we enjoyed in our old life and are trying to figure out how to incorporate into our new life.

Yesterday we played another round of golf.  Kevin shot a 47 which was one of his best rounds ever.  I’m still not keeping score.  I did have 4 decent holes with a par on the last hole.  It’s rare for me to get a par, so I was excited about that.  Little by little, I’m improving.  Even though I’m not very good, we have a good time playing together.

Wishing you all a great day!

What Were They Thinking

Yesterday we had an unusual situation with canoe rentals.

Four couples in their 40s rented canoes for the entire day.  It costs $25 per canoe for the day, and the canoes have to be back by 8 pm at the latest.  I explained the rules to them.  They seemed to understand completely.  They told me how they had a handheld GPS and they planned to paddle to a park in Columbus which is 4 miles driving distance from here.  We didn’t know how far it was by canoe, but you’d think with a GPS they could figure that out.  They told me they had a vehicle parked at the park with a picnic lunch waiting for them.  It sounded like fun.  They left a 11 am.

At 4 pm, two of the guys drive up in a truck.  They told us they had a problem.  Apparently, some in the group were too tired and sore to paddle the canoes back.  They wanted us to pick up the canoes at the park or let them use the park’s trailer to get them. 

We weren’t sure what to say.  I went and asked the full-time park attendant what she thought.  She said there was no way we could pick up the canoes or let them use the trailer.  The trailer is used to store the canoes next to the river.  It is not equipped to be on the road.  She said they had never had this situation in the 10 years she’s been here.  People know they have to bring the canoes and kayaks back to us.  We do not transport them.

I told this to the two guys.  They got quite snippy and rude about it.  They had the attitude that since they paid money to rent the canoes, we had to do whatever they wanted.  They went to talk to the park attendant themselves.  Still no go.  The bottom line is they signed a release stating they would return the canoes.

They went off in a huff and said they would figure out a way to drive them back.  One of the couples was camping in a horse trailer.  They hooked up that trailer and brought back all 4 canoes. 

They had a better attitude when they got back.  When they asked us to pick up the canoes, they still had 4 hours to get them back.  They would have been paddling downstream all the way back.  I really think they had just gotten tired and didn’t want to do it anymore. 

Another new camp hosting experience.  Sometimes you just have to wonder what are people thinking!

Unplanned Blood Donation

This small bowl of raspberries cost me about a quart of blood! 

There are many wild raspberry vines growing in the park.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been picking and eating a few each day on our walks.  Yesterday I decided to pick a bowl full. 

As I mentioned earlier, the mosquitoes are ferocious right now.  I covered myself in Deep Woods Off.  I was sure I would be protected enough to pick berries.  As you can see, I didn’t get many. 

I was literally surrounded by those pesky little bugs.  They were buzzing in my ears and swarming all around me.  I gave up rather quickly, but not before they got me several times.  There were some plump mosquitoes after they were finished with me :)

Hopefully, there will still be some berries left by the time the mosquitoes go away!

The weather has turned beautiful this weekend.  The humidity is down and temps are in the mid 80s.  The campground is more than half full and people are enjoying themselves on the river.  We rented all eight of the canoes and kayaks today.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Oops!

First of all, I’d like to welcome new followers Levonne, Susan and Jim and Dee.  I’m honored to have you share our journey!

We had a little mishap today.  We ran out of gas.  Oops! 

About 2 years ago, I bought a chainsaw carved bear from Watson’s Woods in Wisconsin Dells.  Over time, my bear developed a large crack, so a few weeks ago we took him back for a repair job.

Today, we went to pick him up.  Here are a few pictures of the shop.  Dave, the owner, does an awesome job.  If you are ever in the Wisconsin Dells area, it is worth going to Watson’s Woods just to look at his awesome work.  He has many carved bears, but also other animals. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I forgot to take a before picture, but here’s an after of my bear.  You can see where a wedge was placed in the front of the stump part.  That’s where a rather large crack had appeared.  I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.

On the way back, we ran out of gas.  The gas gauge showed about 1/8 of a tank and the light never went on.  We now know to fill it before it gets to that point.  Luckily, we have roadside assistance on our car insurance.  It only took about 20 minutes for a towing company to bring us some gas.  All’s well that ends well!

I have a few pictures from our Minnesota trip that I forgot to share.  Here’s a picture of the very first loon I’ve seen and heard.  It was pretty far away so it’s not the greatest picture, but I was excited to hear it.

 

 

There was a tree at the campground that had grown right into and through a fence.  Look closely and you can see the tree behind the fence at the bottom and in front of the fence at the top.  Nature amazes me.

The heat and humidity are supposed to break tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to beautiful weather this weekend!

Humid, Humid, Humid=Bad Hair Days

I can’t recall a summer that was this humid.  Wisconsin usually gets a week or two each summer with dew points in the 70s.  This summer has been incredibly humid with an abundance of rain.  The mosquitoes are thriving!!  I’ve decided to let my hair grow longer so I can put it in a pony tail on humid or windy days.  This humidity is driving me crazy.  My hair isn’t long enough for the pony tail yet, so every day is a bad hair day :(

We have been able to continue our daily walks with some adjustments.  We go right after we wake up in the morning.  We cover ourselves in Deep Woods Off and then shower when we get back.  The rest of the day we have been spending inside with the air on.  This Friday the hot, humid weather is supposed to improve.  I’m looking forward to spending time outside again :)

It was great spending time with good friends last week.  We camped in Waupaca with 4 other couples for 5 days over the 4th of July weekend.  We played cards and ate; we played board games and ate; we went shopping and ate; we attended the 4th of July parade and ate.  You get the picture.  It really was a good time; now it’s back to the Wii Fit and daily walks.

Last Sunday it rained very hard most of the night.  When I got up on Monday morning, I discovered that water had somehow leaked through the window in our large slide.  The floor under the window next to the kitchen table was soaked.  When Kevin got up, he found water had gotten into a bedroom slide window as well. 

I called the warranty administrator at Gillette Interstate RV where we purchased our camper.  His name is Tom, and he is the nicest guy.  Unfortunately, they are in Michigan about 8 hours from us.  He gave me a few suggestions on what may have caused the leaks.  We will be taking it to a local dealer to have the awning fabric replaced in a few weeks (it is tearing).  We’ll have them check out the windows as well. 

This is our 5th Jayco, and we have always been extremely satisfied with our Jaycos.  I’m a bit disappointed with the problems we’ve experienced with this one.  Mostly, it has been small things, but it seems there is always a new problem popping up.  This water leakage is a major concern.  Now, we’re having trouble with the DVD player.  I’m glad Jayco has a 2 year warranty.  Hopefully, we will have discovered all the problems before the end of October when our warranty expires.

There has just been a tornado warning issued for our county.  It looks like it is north of us.  Time to batten down the hatches!