Thursday, May 31, 2007

5/31/07 The Last Day of May Already!

The end of May, where is the time going? It seems like yesterday that we were packing the 5th wheel to hit the road and here we are with six months of fulltiming under our belt already.

I was surprised when I opened this site this morning to see 5,028 hits on it. I put the counter on the site on February 7th and here we are at over five thousand! I wish I had a way to put on a guest register. I'm going to look into that, there must be one out there.

I did receive a comment from one reader that we had actually met in April. We met Sandy and Rich from California and she gave me their card with their contact info on it. Well, over time I've misplaced it. Sandy, you asked me to shoot a note back to you and I'd love to but I don't have your email address. Reply thru the blog again and give it to me. I promise not to put it on the site.

When we got up this morning it was cloudy, again, and shortly thereafter it started raining. Not a downpour just a slow, steady drizzle. It didn't last long, maybe a half hour and then the sun was out shining bright. Figures, doesn't it? We go back to work and the sun comes out!

A couple of weeks ago someone dropped off two kittens at the campground. Dan and Barb says this happens all too often. One of them, an orange tabby has made herself quite at home here. The other we haven't seen in a few days now. Anyway, Sandy, as she is called by me, or Miss Kitty, as she is called by Barb, is very affectionate and splits her time between the two of us. Barb does feed her as she would like for her to stick around to keep the mice population down. She isn't fed much, just enough to keep her here. Today, she went missing. We all called for her but she didn't come. We figured she went home with one of our over night campers since she is so friendly and affectionate. Here she is resting in our chair where she likes to curl up and sleep.


Well, she was finally accounted for this afternoon. It seems that when either Bob or I went into the house today she followed us in, undetected. We're glad she's still around but we'll be sure to watch when opening the door from now on.

There's always something new to learn how to do around here at Stanton/Meramec KOA. Today I learned how to pull pork! These pork shoulders are hickory smoked for fourteen hours and taste oh so good!
Here's Dan showing me what to do.


......and me taking a turn at it.This afternoon our friends from Delaware checked in. Bob and Shelly are from downstate Delaware and are headed home after spending the winter in Arizona. They'll stay here with us for a week. We have big plans for our days off to go exploring with them. After visiting with family they will head on up to New Hampshire. Shelly is a "travel nurse" and Bob is lucky enough that he can work at his same job from the comfort of their rig on his computer.


So there it is, another day in the lives of these full time RV'ers.




Wednesday, May 30, 2007

5/29/07 Doesn't the Weatherman Know?

Doesn't the weatherman know this is our day off? That we long for blue skies and a rainless day? We're tired of rain! True, it hasn't rained all day, every day for the past few but we want a day that we can plan something without worrying if the falling rain will ruin our plans to be outdoors.

We thought that we might go to the river to get some fishing in but the skies threatened to break loose any minute so we scratched those plans. Instead we puttered around the house, spent some time watching TV and playing our online games. I got caught up on our laundry and we went to the store.

We were out back by the truck this afternoon when we heard this loud noise. One of the springs in our awning roller snapped. Its always something isn't it? We called the local mobile RV guy and he didn't have the springs we needed in stock so he'll order them and come out next week to get it fixed for us. We decided it was best to replace them both at the same time and we've ordered heavier duty springs than the manufacturer put in.

That was about the extent of our day.


5/28/07 Memorial Day

When I was a kid I thought Memorial Day meant the day the beaches and amusement parks opened for the summer.

Now that I know the real meaning of this day I long for the days of my carefree youth when I didn't have to think about the true meaning. I wish this was one "holiday" we could do without, but that is not to be.

Today we honor all of those men and women, some very young, just starting their lives as adults, who gave their all for their country. Some drafted, some voluntarily enlisted, some married, some single, some who were parents and those who would never get to be parents. But always, someone's son or daughter, someone's spouse or sweetheart, someone's friend.

On this Memorial Day we honor them. We are thankful for them, thankful that we are free and it is because of them that we are.

The next time you cross paths with a member of our Armed Forces, thank them and wish them well.

You may not agree with the positions this country has been or is in now, but please, support our brave men and women of the armed services. Think where we might be without them.

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a soldier.

May they all rest in peace.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

5/27/07 A Very Busy Day

The campground is hoppin'! With tenters leaving because of the weather, with more coming in because they don't care about the rain, with other tenters looking to see if we have Kabins available and then just store sales and floats....WHEW....the day just flew by.

We had rain very early this morning and then it cleared by about seven. The rest of the morning and early afternoon were very nice and then it all fell apart around three. The skies just opened up. The pool was up and running.



There were a few, a very few, brave souls who got in the frigid water. Mostly young kids who just didn't care. They didn't stay in long though.

I'm still surprised at the blue water since the bottom is painted white and walls are stainless steel.

The "float" business was very busy today and even Bob got called upon to pick up canoes and rafts in the campground van. As the floaters were coming in I could hear them talking about their day on the river and they all seemed to enjoy themselves very much. I'm looking forward to our trip.

We're getting company next week from Delaware and I talked to our friends on the phone today to firm up arrival dates. They'll be coming in next Thursday and staying for a week. I am so looking forward to this!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

5/26/07 The Weatherman Blew It!

Blue, sunny skies, not rain and clouds that the weatherman predicted greeted us this morning. For this we are thankful.

Bob worked his normal hours today and I worked a split shift. I worked 8 - 1 and then 4 - 7. In my few hours off today I did our laundry and cooked fried chicken for our dinner later.

Several campers came in the office this morning to inquire about the pool. We explained over and over again that the pool was filling as fast as the two hoses in it would allow and that we hoped it would be full enough by this afternoon to turn the pump on. Some people can be so nasty! One particular woman came in almost hourly and each time she got nastier and meaner with her complaints about her kids not being able to swim. We're sorry its not ready but the caulk that was put in the seams took longer dry than was anticipated and that set us back a day in filling it. We told her it was fifty three degree water and that the kids probably wouldn't want to go in it anyway. She didn't want to hear it. Another fellow came in and wanted to take his two year old swimming. The kid would have turned blue in two minutes and I'm doubting the dad would have gone in to begin with once he felt how cold the water is!

Then the complaints started coming in. It seems one guy in one of the Kabins didn't want to walk to the rest rooms to relieve himself last night and chose to empty his bladder outside his kabin. Evidently he had quite a bit of beer, or a very small bladder, and did this several times .....in full view! Dan went and had a talk with him and they packed up and left shortly thereafter.

The people in the rig next to ours had two toddlers with them and just threw the dirty diapers out the door! I mentioned it to Dan and Barb and Dan took the lady a bag. She said she didn't have a bag to put them in and Dan said, Here's one, please clean this up and don't throw them out the door again as he was getting complaints. She was miffed. The nerve! I guess it really does take all kinds to make the world go round.

The office was quite busy today with us giving directions to area attractions, I was absolutely useless in this area unless somebody wanted directions to Walmart. I know where that is!

By the end of the day the ice box was practically empty so I know what I'll be doing tomorrow!

By late afternoon the clouds started rolling in and the wind picked up. We kept an eye on the Doppler radar on the computer and it looked like we were in for it. We had several people from the Meramec Caverns campground come in looking for a Kabin for the night as they heard the storm was coming on the radio. We only had one available due to that early checkout so we had to send several away dreading their night in a tent. If it had been me, I would have been heading HOME!

Just as I got off work at seven the rain came. In buckets! Lots of thunder and lightning. We scrambled to batten down the hatches around our site, putting the tomato plants under the slide out to protect them from the winds, putting our chairs away and taking down the wind chimes. Making sure the windows that aren't jalousies were closed and tightening the tie downs on the awning so it doesn't get damaged.

We kept looking out the kitchen windows to the tent area and felt so sorry for those people. Some of them are in very small tents!

Finally around nine o'clock the rain tapered off to a drizzle, the worst was over. We're supposed to get more rain tomorrow and then again on Monday. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't have the tent-ers leaving tomorrow morning.

At least the rain helped fill the pool.





Saturday, May 26, 2007

5/25/07 The Ice (Wo)Man Cometh

We were busy all day getting ready for the influx of campers that was to descend upon us.

First thing this morning Bob had an electrical job to complete so that the Kabins had electricity. The day before one of the hired hands was digging and put the shovel right in the middle of electric lines cutting them in two. Bob spliced the lines, got everything wrapped up and the Kabins lights were working once again. He spent the rest of the day working on his picnic tables. So that you can get idea of what he is doing exactly I took some before and after photos.

BEFORE

This one wasn't in as bad as shape as some


After

Doesn't he do nice work?


I, on the other hand, did something new today. I got the ice case ready for all the ice we'll sell this weekend. Dan and Barb don't buy ice, they make their own. There is a large ice maker in the back room and it is bagged, the little metal ring to hold the bag closed is put on and loaded into the case, all by us. Well, now by ME.



I actually enjoy this task. By the time I have the freezer half full my right arm is a little on the sore side but its a nice kind of hurtin' if you know what I mean. I can only carry eight bags of ice in the cart at a time so its a lot of trips to get this ice box filled.

The pool isn't ready as of this afternoon. Its filling and we're hoping it is ready by tomorrow afternoon. I don't know who would want to go in it as it is being filled with well water that comes out at fifty three degrees. I know I won't be in it!

By mid afternoon the holiday campers started coming in. One after the other, tent campers, kabin dwellers and big rig owners. It didn't take long before the campground was nearly filled and my ice box was half empty! We did have some cancellations on the tent sites. We had to turn away quite a few who called at the last minute to see if we had RV sites available.

We're keeping an eye on the weather as the weather man is calling for rain for the next several days. We're glad we're big rig owners and not tent campers, that's for sure! I would not be happy in a tent on a rainy weekend, hell I wouldn't be happy in a tent at any time! I don't do bugs!

We've got quite a few "floats" scheduled this weekend and as the campers came in we were busy scheduling more. The canoe/rafting trips down the Meramec River is a big thing in this area. We have our own trip scheduled for mid June.

At the end of our day we were both tired and ready to relax. We couldn't muster more energy to do anything more for dinner than sandwiches.

The weatherman is calling for rain tomorrow, we'll see what the day brings.





Friday, May 25, 2007

5/24/07 And the Clouds Rolled In

It's been quite a day here in Missouri. New tasks were the order of the day for one of us. Bob is still working on picnic tables but due to a late afternoon digging accident he will be splicing electrical wires tomorrow morning to get electricity back to the cabins in time for the busy weekend.

It didn't take long for our morning sunny skies to turn to clouds. We have rain predicted for the holiday weekend and for a few days beyond. We're hoping the outlook changes for at least next Tuesday and Wednesday, our days off.
Today my tasks included weeding the children's playground area, the usual checking in of campers and manning the desk for store sales and making pizza boxes.
The children's area is covered with pea gravel so the weeds came out relatively easy but all the same I'll be glad when the weed killer goes down after this Memorial Day weekend.
As I've told you earlier this campground has a cafe in which one of the offerings is pizza. Somebody has to fold the boxes for these delicious pizza pies and today that task fell to me.
I think by mid - June I'm going to be sick to death of these yellow t-shirts but they do show off my tan!

The ants are staying away from our hummingbird feeder so the moat seems to be working. Of course the Vaseline worked for a few days too so we're holding out on our final decision on whether or not its a real fix.

I'm very happy to report that we have tomatoes on our plants!

I sat on the picnic table admiring these little green gems and thought back to a dirty trick a neighbor played on me about ten years ago. At the time I wrote about it to my online friends and I saved it. Here it is.

The Tomato Caper

I live on a street where there is a friendly rivalry between most of us as to who has the best lawn, the prettiest flowers and the best veggie garden. Me and Chemlawn put a lot of work into my little place on earth. Of course we do have some neighbors whose idea of landscaping is putting a crooked pine tree in the yard or are thrilled with the riot of color dandelions provide. You won't find a dandelion in MY yard!

This year I got a jump on planting my veggie garden. I had my tomato plants in a week before anyone else, I bought beautiful big plants, real bushy and healthy. I went out every night and watered and mulched and weeded and "talked" to them. For example, I would look lovingly at them, caress their tender leaves and say, "Grow sucker or I'll rip you out by your roots!"

Anyway, Bob and I took off for an extended Memorial Day weekend, taking six days at the beach. I left my garden in care of my neighbor, Diane. Now Diane is one of my biggest rivals but I knew she wouldn't over water or not water or lead all the stray cats in the neighborhood to my garden to use as their litter box. I left for the beach feeling confident my plants were in good care.

When we returned the Tuesday after Memorial Day it was too dark to go out and check on the garden. The next morning at 6am I let our dog out and stood on the deck for a minute checking out the day. As I turned to go in I caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye. I looked at the garden and thought I saw a tomato. I shook my head and thought, "No, it can't be". I didn't give it a second thought and went into get ready for the work day. I'm in the shower and thinking about that flash of red color and thought, yes, it was a tomato I saw! Now, I'm really getting excited at this point and then reality set in. I thought to myself, "Jeez, Snook, you left here 6 days ago and you had yellow flowers, you can't possibly have tomatoes yet, much less red ones!" Curiosity is getting the best of me now and I rush around getting ready so I have time to go back out to look at the garden before I leave for work.

OK, I'm standing on the deck which is about 15 feet or so from where I have tomatoes planted. I looked and sure enough the "red" is still there, and what's that I see? Another flash of red in a sea of green? At this point I'm convinced, tomatoes already! Diane comes out of her house across the street (we're both on corners and her house faces my backyard) and I yelled to her, "Hey, Di, I've got tomatoes, come on over and see". She replied, "I'm running late, can't, see you after work".

I step down off the deck to walk over to the garden and notice four red things. I'm now 12 feet away and sure enough ....TOMATOES! I am on cloud nine! Wait till the neighbors see this! 10 feet away now, just as pretty as you please, four red tomatoes. Five feet away, my heart is pounding, pulse is quickening, wondering if Guinness Book of World Records has an entry for earliest tomatoes. Gosh, they are beautiful! Perfectly shaped, the prettiest red you ever saw. Two feet away....and then I saw it! Fishing line! Poked through the tomatoes and wrapped around my plants! My world came tumbling down around me! DIANE!!!!! No wonder she was running late. I got home before she did and was standing in the middle of the street waiting for her. Here she comes. I'm not moving, no how, no way. She sees me, stops her car, gets out and laughs hysterically. She says to me, "Snookie, I laughed all the way to work, I laughed all day and I laughed all the way home." Of course by now I'm also laughing and more neighbors are coming home and they all know what is going on and are pulling over to join the laughter.

The next year I fixed them all. I planted my garden and put a sign on the fence.

NO FISHING LINE BEYOND THIS POINT!


Thursday, May 24, 2007

5/23/07 Ants Taking Over the Feeder!

We've got ants! No, not in the house, thank heaven, but all over our hummingbird feeder. It was suggested that we slather Vaseline all over the hanger ring of the feeder because ants wouldn't walk through it. Nope, didn't work. Once the Vaseline hardened, as it does in time, they just walked over it. So I "googled" ants on a hummingbird feeder and found that what we needed was a moat! Ants won't cross water or so I hear anyway. OK, we'll try it. Bob took a cap off a spray can of Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner, drilled a hole in the bottom big enough for the hanger ring to fit through and then used some type of sealer to make it water tight. After refilling the feeder with the nectar and filling the moat with water we sat back and watched. The ants came, they marched across the plant hanger the feeder hangs from and down the hanger ring and stopped, turned around and marched back. These same 4 ants tried it over and over again. I think we've found a solution. We're keeping our fingers crossed.




This afternoon Bob made his way to the local VFW club to find out what kind of activities they have planned in the upcoming months. It seems to be a very active club so we're looking for something that will fit our time off. They are having a very big picnic on Memorial Day but of course that falls during our work hours.

We grilled steaks for dinner and then settled in for the two hour finale of American Idol. Jordin won and it was well deserved. Here I thought we had heard the last of Sanjaya and darn if they didn't showcase him in a segment and his singing was as bad as ever.

That was pretty much it for our day.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

5/22/07 A Day to RELAX!

One week down. We just completed our first of seventeen weeks that we'll be working here in Missouri.

Bob has completed about 20 picnic tables now and I've learned a new computer program, learned to drive a golf cart and use a power washer.

Today and tomorrow we're off to do as we please and we are pleased to relax! We made a trip to none other than the Hundred Dollar Store and once again Walmart got us for about a buck twenty. If only we didn't have this habit of eating!

We woke this morning to cloudy skies and thought, "Doesn't it figure, beautiful blue skies all week and now its our day off and its cloudy and overcast." There is a state park close by that has some overlooks where I wanted to take some pictures but I want them on nice sunny days. Oh well, maybe tomorrow will be better.

We sat outside for a good part of the day to enjoy the breeze we had. Just like clockwork the RV'ers started coming in around three o'clock. This happens everyday, you could set your watch by it. A lot of RV'ers have a self imposed rule that they travel between nine and three so as to miss "rush hour traffic". We also try to travel during these times, much less stress. So we sat and watched the rigs roll in. By six o'clock the incoming traffic is pretty much in for the night and as a rule the campground is pretty full. We don't get tent campers during the week, just RV's. There is a lot "snowbird" traffic right now, those who are going home, north from Florida, Texas and Arizona. This should die down soon and the vacationers will replace them.

After dinner we settled in to watch American Idol. We're rooting for Blake but wouldn't be surprised, or sorry, if Jordan wins. They are both great singers.

That was it, our first day off.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

5/21/07 Lots of Different Tasks Today

Today brought a whole list of new things to do around the campground for me. Bob is still working on the picnic tables as they all have to be refurbished in some way. He was given a whole list of projects the owners would like to have accomplished this season but the picnic tables was the biggest by far so he started there. He's doing quite a job and they are turning out very nicely. Dan and Barb are very happy with his work.


I, on the other hand, have different tasks to do every day. In addition to checking in campers and ringing up sales in the camp store when needed I spent some time outside planting petunias and snapdragons. I did have the bejesus scared out of me today while playing in the dirt planting flowers. I had turned away from the flower bed to reach for the next pack of flowers and when I turned back THIS was looking at me! I don't know where it came from but all of a sudden it was there! Dan and Barb came running when they heard my shriek and got a big laugh out of it.




The afternoon brought pool work. It was emptied two days ago and now it was time to power wash it.

Yes, that's stainless steel you are looking at. Its the first pool I've ever seen with stainless steel walls and bottom is painted white. Barb says the water will be a pretty aqua color when the pool is filled again. Nice and clean isn't it?


At the end of day Bob and I practically collapse! After playing for the last seven months and now coming to work is taking its toll on us. It will take us a few weeks to really get back in the swing of things I'm sure.

See that yellow shirt I'm wearing? That is our "uniform". We all wear those bright, bright yellow shirts! We have T-shirts and polo shirts, a mixture of 5 shirts for each of us. Our only decision is what pair of shorts to put on every morning.

The weather here has been wonderful. We've mostly been in the high 70's to low 80's and the humidity has been nothing,,,,at least to us. The locals are complaining about it but Bob and I just aren't feeling it. For the most part that is. There was one afternoon where those from the east coast would describe it as "close" but its been very pleasant for us. When Bob is working in the sun and not under the shade of the trees then he says it gets hot, but then again he's doing something physical. We haven't turned on the AC yet and its been cool at night so sleeping isn't a problem.

All in all this workamping job has been going fine.

5/20/07 Kamper Kabin Not Big Enough?

Yesterday I shared with you what a Kamper Kabin looked like inside. If your thoughts were, "OH no, that's way too small" or "Ewww, I have to cook over an open fire and mess with bringing all the utensils and pots and pans" or "Oh no, I'll have to use the bath house" then maybe a Kamper Kottage is more your style.

They look the same on the outside as the Kabin and they have the swing but the inside is a whole other story! The Kamper Kottages have more than just the one room. Let's take a tour.

Again, this cabin, oops, Kottage is done in "Early Rustic".

The "Living Room" consists of a futon. Think "sleeps two".


The bedroom sleeps two, no bunk beds here. This Kottage is geared to two couples probably.

In a Kamper Kottage for the weekend (or longer) you don't have to worry about using the bathhouse! You have your own private bathroom. There is a shower too, I just couldn't get it in the picture.


For those of you who just can't fathom the thought of cooking over an open fire or having to drag your kitchen with you, never fear, the kottages have kitchens that are outfitted with service for four.





Each kitchen has a fridge, a micro-wave, a two burner stove top and of course a sink to clean up with. Also included is a table with four chairs, wood, of course!





So there it is, a Kamper Kottage.

Keep these little gems in mind when you have the urge to get back to nature.

Monday, May 21, 2007

5/19/07 A Look Into A Kamper Kabin

As you have traveled the highways and byways of this land you have undoubtedly passed those bright yellow KOA signs on the roadway. These campgrounds aren't for only those who have an RV or a tent. Each KOA has several Kamper Kabins. Here's a look inside what these little cabins are like. They are basic shelter, that sleep four. They each have a heater for those chilly spring and fall evenings and an air conditioner for those sweltering summer days.


Each is also outfitted with a porch swing to give you a chance to enjoy relaxing outside.

The inside is done in "Early Rustic". Everything is wood! Except the mattresses of course but don't expect pillowtop mattresses! You do have to bring your own bed linens or do as a lot of campers do, use sleeping bags. Each Kabin has one double bed and a set of bunk beds.
There is also a shelf and bench for putting your things on.

So if the kids are telling you that they want to go camping and you can't bear the thought of sleeping on the ground there is an alternative! Kamper Kabins at KOA.

Gee, I sound like an ambassador for KOA don't I? Wow, I AM come to think of it.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

5/18/07 We Settle Into Our Jobs

The first real day of work is upon us. The tours are over and now its time to get down to it.

Bob has a large job in front of him with the picnic tables. Almost all, if not all, have to be refurbished. Boards have to be replaced and/or turned over, cracks filled, then sanded and then painted. It will be a slow process but he seems to be enjoying himself.

My first day consisted of wrapping a fork and spoon in a napkin and putting a "wrapper" around them that had sticky ends so that they sealed. There is a little cafe in the office building that is open from 4 to 7 and these are needed for that.
As customers came in to buy things from the camp store I waited on them and now have that part of the computer program down pat. Registering the campers and taking phone reservations is going to take a bit longer.


In the afternoon Barb and I uncovered the pool and spread the cover out to dry.

We were surprised to find out the pool is stainless steel! We had never seen one like this before.

We did learn that if you take 6 months off to "play" and then go back to work, it will kick your butt!




Saturday, May 19, 2007

5/17/07 Our First Day at Work

The vacation is over! It was fun while it lasted but if we are to play next winter in warmer climes than we have to work this summer.


We were asked to meet Dan and Barb, the owners of this campground, at ten. After coffee and a tour of the office/store/storage rooms we moved onto the campground itself. As we strolled along Dan pointed out to Bob projects they hoped to have completed this summer. Things such as refurbishing the picnic tables, power washing the cabins and a multitude of other things along the same line. I, primarily, will be working in the office/store registering campers, taking reservations, helping out in the cafe when needed, keeping the pool in good condition and "other duties as assigned".


Bob started right in checking out the picnic tables to see which ones needed attention first.

I spent the afternoon learning the computer program that is used for the camper registration and store sales. Seems easy enough but it will take me a few days to really get it down without having to read all the prompts.

That pretty much was our first day.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

5/16/07 Home is Where My Garden Is

Today I found Utopia! I spent quite a bit of time at the nursery down the street and I was in heaven! I knew I was missing my gardens at home but I didn't realize how much until I wound my way through the tables of flowers and vegetable plants at T n T Nursery. Tamara, the owner of this nursery that is set up on her property was very nice to let me just wander around at my leisure. I had gone to buy some tomato plants and flowers for the boxes we brought with us. Here are some pictures of her place. She grows every single plant there from seed.





















I had a hard time choosing what to buy for my flower boxes but finally settled on these purple beauties that I have forgotten the name of. I've never seen these before but Tamara said she first had them when she lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

So between the purple flowers and the red and white impatiens I've satisfied my yearning for flowers.














Next in line, tomato plants! We've got four plants now, a Beefsteak, a Cherry tomato, a Grape tomato and one which I can't think of the name of. Bob and I bought three 5 gallon buckets and Tamara gave me a fourth to put the plants in, she even provided all the dirt to fill the buckets and flower boxes. So now we're set for the summer growing season.

















I can taste those tomatoes already!


Before I close this we have two birthdays to send wishes for. Our nephew, Dusty, and our good friend KK are both celebrating birthdays today. Happy Birthday to both of you!


Today is our last day of vacation. Tomorrow we are members of the workforce again. It was fun while it lasted!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

5/15/07 We Had Company From Home!

Today was kind of a do nothing day for us. We didn't go anywhere, we really didn't do anything. That's not to say we just sat. Bob put some more homey touches around to make this site "ours", I did some laundry, generally straightened up and the like.

We heard on the news that we were supposed to get some bad thunderstorms coming our way so we did put things away and take the awning down. Just after Bob got it all done, go figure.

The hummingbirds are really coming around now. I guess the word has spread about our feeder.

Around two o'clock we did get company. Our friend of many years, Kevin, came to visit. He was in town on business and dropped by to see us on his way to Fort Leonard Wood. It was so good to see someone from home. Bob had talked with Kevin just in the last few days so that is how he knew where we were.

Kev visited for about an hour and a half before he had to be on his way. We were sorry to see him go but we certainly did enjoy catching up on all the news from home.

And then the rain came. It came down in buckets and the thunder was very loud and close.

We tried the pizza the campground store makes for dinner and it is pretty good!

TV was our entertainment for the evening because of the rain and the cool temps outside.

So, a do nothing day for us but a nice one all the same because we got to see a friend from home.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

5/14/07 We've Got Hummers!

Bob was outside talking to our neighbor when I first ventured out this morning. I immediately looked to our new hummingbird feeder and was disappointed that there were none there feeding. When I expressed this our neighbor assured me that he had seen two earlier this morning. While I was glad to hear that these tiny creatures had found the feeder I wanted to see them too! Well, it wasn't long before they showed up. Bob was able to snap these pictures.




We've seen three different hummers now, one with a red throat, one with a green throat and one with a white with a red marking throat. These tiny birds fascinate me. Their wings flutter so fast you can't seem them.

In addition to the hummers at the feeders we have ants! I was telling Barb, the campground owner, about them and she said to put Vaseline on the plastic loop that the feeder hangs from. It seems the ants won't walk through the gooey stuff. It was comical to watch them scurry across the plant hanger the feeder hangs from only to see them stop in their tracks. (Take notice of the pics above, you can see the ants, this was prior to Vaseline)

The little hummers come quite frequently to drink and we are amazed at how much they drink at one time. We're hoping with time that they become use to us and don't fly away so fast when we move, that they figure out we're the ones who are feeding them and that we mean them no harm. Now that may be a far fetched dream on my part but I'm hoping.

So now we need Vaseline. Hmmmm....guess that means a trip to the Hundred Dollar Store to get some. We sat down and made a list of everything we need and were determined to stick to the list.

We needed another fire extinguisher so we put that on the list. We needed buckets to plant the tomato plants in so that too went on the list. Spray paint, a green pepper, a bag of radishes and the list went on until we totaled eighty two bucks and change! Wow, a trip to the Hundred Dollar store that cost us less than an hundred dollars! Hooray!

Next errand, to find a nail salon for Snookie! There isn't a whole lot in this area as far as stores/shops are concerned we soon found out. As far as department stores go its Walmart, first and last choice! The next nearest department store, think Penney's or Sears, is thirty miles away. The closest mall is 45 miles away! Good thing I'm not a shopper! We did find a nail salon about six miles from the campground we're in so that's a good thing. Now I don't know the crowd this shop caters to but I'm not into yellow, green and blue for polish colors. I didn't remember to bring my own with me so I ended up with just a manicure, no polish, but I did make a deal with the nail tech that I would return in a day or two with polish in hand and we would finish my appointment then.

Back at the campground the overnighters started rolling in. You can tell when its around three o'clock here, the campsites start filling up.

After dinner we sat outside for awhile and just enjoyed the quiet. We found a good oldies station on the radio so we sat, each lost in our own thoughts.

Monday, May 14, 2007

5/13/07 A Day for Exploring the Area

First order of business is to wish all but especially Snookie's own mother a Happy Mother's Day!

This campground was pretty busy over the weekend and this morning by eleven o'clock it looked like this.
This isn't a "destination" park mostly just overnighters since it is situated so close to I-44. We did hear that come summer some campers will stay for a few days to visit the caverns but mostly it will just be overnighters.

Bob put up our hummingbird feeder this morning in hopes of drawing these tiny birds to our campsite.
We did have one visitor to our tree and it had wings but it wasn't a hummingbird.

There do seem to be lots of butterflies in this area.

We finally got on the road to see whats around here. We made a right out of the campground and three miles down the road we found the Meramec Caverns. We didn't go into the caverns today, we'll save that for another day, after all we'll be here for awhile. The caverns sit on the Meramec River and they run the Cavern Queen Riverboat. This boat takes about a mile ride down the river the pilot tells about the history of the area.


The view from the banks of the Meramec Caverns.

All up and down the river are swimming holes that were put to good use today.

We also checked out the Meramec State Park which is just wonderful! I've said it before and I'll say it again, Delaware has so much to learn from other states about running state parks! This particular state park even has its own motel! Seeing that was a first for us. We'll be going back to this park again and again as it has good fishing access for the Meramec River.

We arrived home around five so that we could get dinner out of the way before the Survivor finale came on. Remember, we see prime time shows at seven instead of eight like we're used to.

All in all it was a great day for us here in Missouri.



Saturday, May 12, 2007

5/12/07 We're Making it Home

What a beautiful day in Missouri! We had a nice breeze blowing all day and we accomplished a lot.

Lots, but not all of the cleaning is done. We still have to clean out a few drawers and closets because we still have way too many clothes with us. Carpets need to be steamed cleaned yet and a few other odds and ends. We don't start work until Thursday so we have time.

We did make our trip to the Hundred Dollar Store and boy did they make a mint off us today! We were out of everything so we bought quite a bit, and yes, somehow, some way "kipper" made into the cart and I found it at checkout.

We also bought some things for the yard like solar lights and a hummingbird feeder.

Here are a few pictures from our drive in yesterday.



Here are some pictures of where we are spending the summer.


The Office



An AWARD winning KOA


The Children's Playground

Kamper Kabins

The Store


Bud Light and Pepsi's! Our kind of store!
The Office area

The Game Room

The POOL, right across the road from our site.
The Canoe Down the River part of the business.


Canoes all ready to go!



The Crosseyed Cricket!


So there it is, where we'll be living for the next 4 months.

There's lot to do and see in the area which we are glad for. We've found out our days off are Tuesday's and Wednesday's so we'll be exploring lots of things. We are 64 miles south -southwest from St. Louis so we are looking forward to seeing the Arch.