Happy Birthday Jared and Donna!

August 31 – Happy Birthday Jared and Donna!

Three days to go, literally, since they changed our work days, we work 3 and then we head north for a few more days.  I was up before Bill and put scones in the oven to go with bacon and fruit to start our work day!  It was quite chilly this morning and we left with jackets today.  The sun was out and it looks to be a nice day!

We did our first round of bathroom duty and stopped to check in with Jean.  Now she had poison ivy!  She asked where we got our shots.  Later Bill took her some products we bought but didn’t really do the job for us but maybe they will work for her.  I told Bill not to touch anything in the office and we don’t want to use her golf cart.  I DO NOT want to go there again!

Well, the day went downhill from there!  I was sitting at the table and saw an RV pull along the road and stop at the site beside us.  They milled around but for some reason were not pulling into the site.  The wife left in the car and she came back and spoke to the husband.  They still kinda milled around.  Then I saw Jean pull up in her golf cart and talk to them and she walked away.  What I didn’t know was she was headed to our RV.  Then we heard the knock.  She actually told us we needed to move as she had failed to put the correct dates in for us and these people were waiting for our site.  They offered to help us close up and said

Our new spot

we’ll find you a spot.   Needless to say, I was not the proverbial “Happy Camper”.  She decided we could co to spot 11 – RIGHT beside the bathhouse – for 2 nights then she’d find us a spot for our last night.  So, we have to move twice.  Truthfully I was readly to say, “Hey why don’t we just go ahead and leave”, but I knew Bill wouldn’t be happy.  He was all nice and “no problem”.  So we hurried up and I just threw stuff on the couches and closed up and we went down to our new space!  Then tonight at 9:00 there was no one in the 2 spaces beside our old space!  We were gradually packing anyway but we’ve been treated like second class citizens all along.  OH well, lesson learned – don’t come back here!

Once we moved, Bill hosed off our grass mats and put them away and we’ve put all of the outdoor stuff away, don’t even have a chair out.  Luckily yesterday I had sorted through some bags of stuff inside and at least most of it is in bags and ready to stash wherever.  Our seasonal neighbors thought we had left when they got here this afternoon.

I called and got the part number for the knob for my washer and sent the Clermont repair guy my warranty papers, photos of the serial number and model and the part info and dates in September that work for me to get it done.  He’s got 3 weeks or so to get approval, order the part and get it scheduled.  No real rush but I’d like it done before November’s state rally.  We play the games there and I usually need to launder our team shirts for the competition!

We had leftover grilled chicken with leftover asparagus and I made some mixed rice for our starch.  We have been on bathroom patrol all day and an occasional bag of trash to pick up.  I broke another pair of grabbers.  I literally wear them out with all the butts I pick up.

Bill was asked to come to work the pass lane at 8 so I dropped him off and I was on bathroom detail hourly until 10.  Then it was time to pick him up.  With the move we lost our satellite as we are now under the trees.  We do get ABC, FOX and 5-6 other channels on the antenna if there’s anything we want to watch.

Another day off - that's 5 in a row....

August 30 – Since we have an extra day off, not sure how to spend it!  The RV tech is supposed to come back today or tomorrow, so one of us needs to be here.  In cleaning up stuff to put in storage for the trip home I found the bag of returns we need to take back.  I did one last load of laundry until we are on the road.  They pump on the Monday we leave, so we can’t drain off our tanks into the tubs we normally use, so will have to watch our water use these last few days.

After lunch Bill went to Target and Wal-mart for our returns and had a short list to get while he was out.  When he got back he washed the RV.  The front window, now that we can see out of it, was super dirty.  He said he’d have to borrow a ladder to do the rest of the windows as we didn’t bring one with us.

I attempted to make an appointment to have our washer repaired when we get home, but Giant Rec doesn’t do them.  He farmed me out and the place he gave me doesn’t do it.  So I went back to the distribution company and they gave me 3 places in the Central Florida area.  I called the closest one in Clermont and didn’t hear back from him until around 7 or so.  He is a mobile tech, which is easier for us anyway, and he does do warranty, so that is good.  So I have to send him the warranty papers, photos of the model decal and the part info as the same issue happened just a few months after we got the RV.  I’ll have to work on that tomorrow!

Bill brought home Frostys for an afternoon treat!  Nice!  Not that either of us needs them but they were quite welcomed and tasty!

The day turned out to be really nice out, not too hot and no rain.  Hopes that’s a good indicator tor the weekend.  It’s no fun sludging around the campground in the drizzle.  Should be 107 spots filled from what we were told.  That’s a full house as they are only licensed for 100.

I cooked brats for dinner and made mashed potato patties and we ate some of the leftover veggies.  Need to be emptying the fridge a bit as we have no dishes left!!!

I did finally balance my checkbook for August!  That took some doing!  Then we settled in with TV and book reading as usual.  Would have been a nice night for a fire…..

Lunch out and very little shopping

August 29 – Last night’s showers were nothing like the last couple of nights.  Hope the worse has passed the area!  I think we both slept pretty good!

I wasn’t feeling too well this morning so Bill had leftover waffles and sausage and I just had a bowl of cereal.  My stomach has not been normal since the ferry ride.  I’m not sure if my equilibrium is out of whack or what.

We kind of piddled around this morning and eventually got showered and dressed.  We’d been cooped up all yesterday so we decided to head out for a while.  Bill was ready for lunch so we went to the Hobo Tavern and they had quite a nice crowd.  Bill had a perch sandwich and I had chicken dumpling soup.  It needed a little salt but was pretty tasty.

We stopped at a Goodwill Store but didn’t find anything of interest today.  Then it was on to Joann’s for some yard for my crafting for the next couple of weeks.  I made quick stop at Aldi’s and then Bill dropped me at Dollar Tree for a 2019 wallet calendar.

In the direction of home we stopped at Wal-mart where Bill dropped me off while he gassed up the truck.  I was looking for a salt grinder but they didn’t really have what I was looking for.  So we made a last stop at Meijers and while I browsed he took the truck through the half price car wash.  Again, no luck on the grinder.  The smaller ones come in a set and the others are huge for the RV, so will have to check Bed, Bath and Beyond when I see one.

Time to head home.  I had some nice Sangria I got at World Market while Bill had Snapple.  When it came time to think about food, I didn’t think long.  We had Progresso Chicken noodle soup and I made grilled cheese using tiny torlillas.  Bill really enjoyed it as he loves chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwichs, even with a spin!

Oh, Jean called this morning and asked if we would work Friday, Saturday and Sunday instead this week due to the holiday.  Bill said yes, so we’re off again tomorrow and will have to do our packing up on Sunday between work shifts.

A day in the RV...boring

August 28 – Yes, it was another windy, stormy night.  Not at much water fell but when it rained it was hard rain and noisy.  There wasn’t nearly as much standing water today as yesterday but Shaun stopped by and said the fire pits filled with sand and dirt again.  We had our Sunday waffles today – red velvet ones to be exact!  I cooked sausage and we had fruit and were fueled for the morning at least.

I left a message yesterday for the RV guy, reminding him that we leave on Monday, so this morning I had a missed call from him.  I called back and he said he’d be here this afternoon for sure or this morning if the job he was doing went fast.  He said both parts had come in so hopefully we will get everything done but the washer, which I’m calling today to Giant RV at home to schedule for when we get back.

Yes, we can open the white night shade

The RV tech came and finally got the new motor installed in the night shade so we finally can open it and get some light in during the day.  The parts for the toilet were not the right ones so he reordered them and said he’d be back on Thursday.  At least we’re making headway!

I made appointments the week we get home with my ophthalmologist as my vision is just not right and I’m concerned the poison ivy got in my eye.  I also made one with a gastro doctor as my hernia has gotten worse and that concerns me. 

Since we’re leaving on Monday we started putting some things away outside, like Molly’s hut and some of the yard ornaments.  We

The set up

swept all the dirt and sand from our mat from the high water.  We sat some of our firewood out to dry better and while dinner was grilling we had our first and only fire for the summer.  I stuffed chicken breasts with cheese and

Really burning

wrapped them in bacon and grilled them along with pencil asparagus.  We sat and watched our fire get going and as it got hotter we moved further away.  It was a great fire and on our first try.  We had seen other campers set their fires up so we did it the same way and sure had a nice result.

Dinner is served!

Dinner turned out very good and I was going to make mashed potato patties but didn’t so Bill had a sliced tomato with his meal and I just had extra asparagus.  Suited me just fine! 

We watched some TV and read.  Just the same old grind!

Out and about....

August 27 -  Geez, what a long night!  The noise of the rain never let up and at times it was so loud pounding on the roof of the RV.  Bill got up at 7 for his 8 AM appointment to get the oil changed in the truck today.  It was pouring when he left and finally subsided by the time he got back. 

I did 2 loads of laundry first thing to use up the space in our empty gray tanks as they pump us today.  There was standing water all over the place outside.  The site next to us, the fire pit was over flowing!  I hope there were no tenters still here overnight.  That would be totally miserable!  There were fire pits full of sand and dirt, limbs and branches down everywhere and I was told there was a roof leak in one of the cabins.  It was a rough night for sure!

Bill went for a bike ride and said there were limbs down on his ride and he also had to stop and wait for 13 wild turkeys to cross the road.  Too bad he didn’t have his phone with him to get a photo. 

It pretty much cleared off and we had a nice day, not so hot but no rain.  We left early afternoon and took the rest of the cans/bottles to Meijers and we left with $49.00.  That brings our total to $148.20 and we only have one week left. 

A child's buggy and pony at an
Amish home

Then we went for a ride to a town nearby that I saw has a bulk food store.  It was a nice ride through small rural areas and ended up the store is owned/run by Amish and there were signs along the roads to be watchful of buggies.  We saw a child’s buggy across from the store at an Amish home.  They had some nice fresh baked goods, a deli counter, frozen farm grown meats as well as all the regular bulk items we see at other stores.  I was hoping they carried the gingerbread mix I found in Shipshewana, but no, they did not.  We did get some yummy ginger molasses cookies and some Lebanon bologna that is hard to find.

We made a quick stop at the Wal-mart along the way home for a few items on my list and then came home and relaxed a while.  I had taken chicken out to thaw but hadn’t really decided what to do with it.  Sam’s now puts 3-4 breasts in one package and 3-4 of these are together when you buy them so we will be eating chicken more than once.  I ended up making a spaghetti squash and a spaghetti sauce with chicken in it over the squash.  Then I didn’t need to make a salad for our veggie.  We finished off our gingerbread and settled in to watch some TV and read.  By the time we were heading to bed the wind picked up and the RV was creaking and the awning went in so it looked like it might be another rough night!

Lunch out with friends

August 26 – What a great day!  The weather was great, actually a bit on the warm side, but considering how nasty the last few days have been, it was a welcome change.

I made a batch of caramel corn this morning that I had intended to do earlier in the week but with our breaks shorter than in the past I was afraid to start it and have it in the oven too long.  I wanted to take some to Rich and Diane that we were meeting for lunch today and give some to Paul and Kim and Jean and Shaun.

Nice lunch with Rich and Diane

We left right on time to meet Rich and Diane in Rockford at Ramona’s Table for lunch.  It’s about an hour from here but Bill had eaten there with a former student a while back and it was our turn to drive since they came here last month.  The town was nice and lots of folks were out and about today.  They got there just before us and secured a table on the patio.  We had a nice “brunch” and since it was emptying as we finished eating there was no rush to leave.  We enjoyed our visit and said our good-byes after about 2 hours of visiting.

Grandville is on the way back so we stopped at World Market for several things we’d been out of for a while and that is the closest one to us.  Also got some clearance items that we will enjoy I’m sure!

We decided to go ahead and stop at the mall on the way also and return my “other” raincoat.  We made a quick stop at the almost empty Younkers.  Bill bought one thing but that’s it.  Not a lot left for sure and only saw 4-5 employees.  This is the last week for them to be open.  I went to Bath and Body Works and put my coupons to good use and then we stopped at Aldi for a few groceries and headed home. 

The park is really empty now and they are expecting one last hoorah over Labor Day weekend, which is good for them.  Then they close the end of September and are taking a 2 week trip to CA to see family and friends.  They are renting an RV for the trip. 

We cleaned out the fridge of some leftovers for dinner so I can start all over again!  We settled in to watch our Sunday show and the storm started!  So we lost the signal and just read instead.  It was pouring when we went to bed and rained ALL night!

Work, work, work!

August 23 – Back to the grind!  Only 6 more work days left.  At least we made a grocery stop on the way home yesterday.  We were back on at 8am with bathhouse duty.  The park is pretty empty and there’s not a lot going on.  Bill did some mowing after we did our bathrooms, and I did some site clean up.  Later in the day once a few new guests arrived we did bathroom checks about every hour.  We finished for the day at 10 pm. 

August 24 – Just 5 more work days!  Today was a bit windy out and overcast.  We started out at 8AM and Bill did more mowing while I did some site clean up and cleaned one cabin.  The park is still not full like other weekends and the weather isn’t looking too good so maybe there were some cancellations.  Bill was on pass gate duty tonight and I did the bathrooms about every 90 minutes with my last being 9:45.  Bill and I got home just after 10.

August 25 – 4 more work days!  Up and out at 8 and it was quite chilly this morning and the day really didn’t improve much.  The sun tried really hard to come out but only lasted a short time when it did.  Once we did our morning rounds Bill did a ride around with Jean and she pointed out all the things she wanted him to do.  Most was mowing here, and trimming there.  He took the golf cart so I went down on foot to do the bathhouse and walked back.  He came home for lunch and “wondered” where I was.  Duh!

We did every 2 hours today since it was kinda empty in the campground.  I made gingerbread on one of my breaks and did a load of laundry.  Would have sat out and read but it was too chilly and dismal out for that.

Shaun told Bill we could have all the bottles and cans collected behind the fence for Jean’s nephew.  He said he told Jean he was tired of the smell and the flies all over.  So Bill brought them all home in the big cart and we sorted them.  Jean said to take them today, so on our break we took one load to Meijers and got $29.90.  That’s 299 items to be put in the scanner.  We didn’t think to separate what we had collected on our own so they are in the mix.  We will take the rest on Monday.  We think we have at least another 300!  We didn’t take any plastic today, just glass bottles and aluminum cans.  That makes the recycle money $102.20.

On the way back from Meijers there was a produce self serve stand and we stopped and got some delicious home grown, fresh picked tomatoes.  We had some sliced for dinner with fresh green beans, “instant” mashed potatoes and leftover venison cube steaks.  As we were sitting down to eat the other volunteer couple radioed that there was goulash if we would like some.  I don’t know what got into Bill.  Why he didn’t say we were just sitting down to dinner, but no, he said thank you and left them to believe we’d be up to eat.  I told him I was eating what I made and he said he’d have a bit when we went up. Then while we were cleaning the bathrooms they came by and told him the food was up there waiting and he still led them to believe we’d be up to eat.  So I dropped him off for pass duty and went on to finish the Cadillac and the portolets and Paul came by and said the food is waiting.  I just went ahead and told him the truth.  I said I didn’t know why Bill didn’t tell them we were just sitting down to eat and I was full but maybe Bill plans to come eat. I told him he’s up there now, so maybe he’s eating.   I was perturbed over the whole deal as you don’t wait until 6 to invite someone to eat.  They do that all the time and I plan my meals based on our plans for the day and I think we’re just an afterthought!  Oh well! 

It’s been so long since I found any money I had to look back and see what the magic number was.  I found .03 so now have a grand total of $2.02!

Not so fun ferry ride

August 22 – No automated phone calls!  We had verified with Enterprise that if the ferry was cancelled again that we could drive the car (5 hours) back to Muskegon.  Luckily that didn’t happen.

We leisurely enjoyed our breakfast since we didn’t have to leave until 11, but we did leav

The ferry and us holding our West Orange Times

e sooner.  There was some concern that they’d have 2 days of passengers today and we wanted to board early to sit where we wanted.  Bill dropped me off with the check bags and he parked the rental car.  The wait was relatively short and today we were told the waves were 4-6 feet.  Well, I didn’t do too well with the crossing.  As soon as we left the channel the water got rough and the crew started delivering pills, ginger candy, ginger ale and whatever else they had for motion sickness.  Bill said he saw several get sick.  They left bags at each table if they were needed.  People could barely walk due to the waves.  I took forever going to the bathroom and stopped twice on the way back.  At least I never threw up but I sure thought I was going to.  I was so glad when we got to the channel and it became smooth sailing.  It’s 2 ½ hours across.

It took no time to get our luggage and head towards the RV park.  The plan was to do shopping today if we got home yesterday, so we stopped at Meijers on the way to at least get some fresh veggies and fruit.  I decided to go with rotisserie chicken for dinner, with steamed broccoli and store potato salad.

Molly was very happy to see us and was fine.  We put everything away and I did 3 loads of laundry to catch up before they empty our tanks tomorrow.  I was exhausted, I think from the stress of maybe getting sick on the boat.  We were both ready to be back on our own bed!

STILL in Milwaukee

August 21 – Uh oh!  Both of us received a recorded message call to our phones at the same time this morning!  It was the ferry company letting us know all ferries for today were cancelled due to 7 -10 waves on the lake.  Crap!  We had said yesterday we could have used another day, so looks like we’re going to get it.

First thing was to call the front desk and extend our room another night.  Then to call Enterprise and let them know we were keeping the car another day.  We called the ferry and told them we wanted to try for tomorrow.  Once those tasks were completed we went for breakfast.  They pretty much have the same things as Comfort Inn.  They had bacon today

A Frank Lloyd Wright House

and more waffles, fresh fruit, 2 types of eggs and hash browns, plus oatmeal, boxed cereal and pastries.  No one was going hungry.

We started our day by going to see the Frank Lloyd Wright American Build homes.  He designed them to be economical homes.  Some were single

Single family house

family and some were 2 family condo type houses.  If you know his work you can tell immediately that they are his design.  Some are privately owned and some are in a foundation but they were not open to the public today.  Surprise, surprise!

Inside the dome

Closer in to the city is the St. Josephat Basilica that I read was really worth seeing so that was out next stop.  It is breathtaking!  It reminds you of the old churches and cathedrals in Europe.  The stained glass, the painted dome, the overly ornate columns, walls and niches are so European.  The gentleman working in the

One of the stained glass
windows

gift shop was very informative regarding the hierarchy of the church.  Pictures do not do it justice, for sure. 

Time for lunch!  Where to go?  We decided to hunt up one the places that honor the Miller tokens and ended up kind of down

The Basilica

town.  We both had the brisket and it melted in our mouths.  Wow!  I had a Blue Moon with my lunch and gave the other token to our server.

As we were pulling out of our parking spot we noticed a “going out of business” sale so re-parked and went to check it out.  This was a Boston Store, part of the Younkers stores.  We spent a little time there and boy was it getting down to the nitty gritty.  I bought 2 tops and a couple other things at such a good price!

I googled used book stores and found there were 2 big ones in the area, but one was literally at the airport and we didn’t want to deal with airport parking and all that so we went to the other one.  It reminded us of Bookman’s in Tucson.  We left with 20 used books!  Yeehaw!

For dinner we went to El Bizo, a Mexican place.  Neither of us was very hungry so Bill got their taco special and I had a tamale and a fish taco, no beans, no rice and that was plenty. 

We did most of our packing as we bought way more stuff than we can carry on, so we planned to check my cooler bag and our duffel and carry on the rest of our stuff in a heavy duty shopping bag.  The question is:  will the ferry run tomorrow????

It was nice to lay in bed and read, very relaxing!

Back in Wisconsin

August 20 – We decided last night that this motel was fine for where we were headed today, but it was too far from the stadium and ferry for leaving.  So I cancelled our second night here and booked a Hampton Inn near the airport.

We enjoyed a waffle breakfast along with sausage, fruit, sweet rolls, the works!  Well, we didn’t have it all but it was a nice way to start the day!

First stop today was Port Washington, however, we spotted a St Vincent De Paul thrift store and had to check it out.  That place was awesome and huge.  There were 6 rooms of stuff.  It was very well organized and their pricing is always good.  I like the one in Clermont when I get a chance to go to it.

Port Washington
Lighthouse

Port Washington
Breakwater Lighthouse

Back on the road, we had no problem finding the 2 lighthouses in Port Washington.  Once you get into town they have great signage directing you to what you’re looking for.  We went to the Port Washington Lighthouse which is on the mainland but of course, it is only open on the weekends.  What else is new?  Then we went back down into the town and parked at the breakwater.  You can see the Breakwater Lighthouse but it was better to walk out and get a good view.  Bill went half way and then worried about us leaving our wallets, etc in the car so he went back.  It’s about ½ mile to the lighthouse and when I got out there I was all by myself.  It was windy out there but super cool!

Not far was a cheese factory, our only chance for one close by, so we went to Cedar Valley Cheese factory and shop in Belgium.  The place was packed!  They offered lots of samples and Bill mistakenly got some super hot cheese.  Smoke was coming from his ears!  The only way to stop it was for him to have an ice cream!  Well, that’s his story!

We bought several kinds of cheese and a log of summer sausage and got back on the road heading somewhat south.  I’ve been on a search for the perfect rain jacket and found the right one, just not the right color, so I brought with me in case we were near a Cabela’s.  I was very excited that they had the exact style in a teal so we did an even exchange and were on our way.

Since we had some gift cards we decided to stop for lunch at Cracker Barrel.  Not my favorite place but it was free so, why not?  Service was terribly slow and they were not that busy.  As usual everything was over cooked.

One of the many Miller buildings

Fermentation tanks, I think

Next stop is the Miller Brewery where we got on the next tour.  They have a gift shop, of course.  The tour is about an hour.  It’s all walking and there are 46 steps up and then back down.  We got to see one of the packaging areas, the warehouse, then the area where some of the fermentation tanks, and hops tanks, etc are.  The end of the tour is an outside Beer Garden!  They give you 3  6 ounce pours.  The first is always Miller Lite, then you get to choose from 4-5 other beers they make.  Then they give you 2 wooden tokens and a list of local places you can turn in the token for your choice of Miller beers.  I’m not a beer drinker so I had my Miller, then had them do a Radler, and then I had a Leinenkugal Summer Shandy. 

Our new hotel wasn’t far so we went ahead and checked in and unloaded the car.  We took a bit of a rest and then headed to the stadium for the 7:00 Reds vs. Brewers game.  We

Miller Park

ordered preferred parking with our tickets so that was nice.  We were in the second lot out but that’s close compared to others.  Our seats were excellent but it was sad to see the Reds lose!  We had lots of unhealthy food for dinner!

Time for a good night’s rest!

Across the lake we go....

August 19 – Bill was already up when I woke up at 7:30 as I don’t think he slept very well

Inside the ferry

during the night. We went through our morning ritual and finalized any packed items we needed to take for our journey across Lake Michigan. Molly could tell something was up when she saw the bags it was a little standoffish and did not really want to have anything to do with us this morning. We had a light breakfast of cereal so there wouldn’t be much in the way of dishes and clean up before we left.

We stopped at the office to give Jean the keys to the RV and just approximate times to give Molly her scoop of food and fill her water bowl. Then it was off to the Muskegon ferry terminal which took about 20  minutes.  We showed our ID to pick up our tickets. It was only a short wait when the ferry arrived and unloaded cars as well as passengers.

The ferry can hold up to 200 passengers it was not nearly full. We took economy seating which gave us a choice of airline type seats that lean back or a quad of four chairs around a nice table. We opted for the table and chairs so we could stack our stuff. Once we settled in we went up on top of the ferry to get some departing pictures of the light houses in Muskegon.

Up on the top deck

Once the boat got underway it goes through a channel to the lake and there begins to be a little bit of movement well as the wind picks up. It’s a 2 1/2 hour trip depending on the winds.

About an hour in we decided it was time for a snack and Bill got us a grape and  cheese tray that was very fresh and pretty tasty.  You can’t bring on any food or drinks so the grapes helped with my thirst. There are no water fountains and they do not have tap water in a cup.   The ride is a little shaky but I put my travel patch on before we left the RV.

Enterprise Rental had cars at both terminals so it didn’t take long  to pick up our Nissan

Racine Root River Lighthouse

Rouge.  Then the fun of navigating began!  We had no trouble getting out of the terminal and spent an hour trying to get to the Muskegon Lighthouse that are just north of the terminal.  I could see the lighthouses from the ferry.  After we tired of the frustration and traffic we decided to head south to Racine, WI.

In Racine there are 3 lighthouses and they were hard to find also.  The first two we could view from a tiny parking area near the marina and the last one Bill dropped me off as close as a car could get and I walked the rest of the way. 

Racine Breakwater Lighthouse

We had lunch at Toad Hall.  It’s designed to be an English pub and the inside looks exactly like one.  Lunch was good! I had a sandwich similar to pork belly and Bill had a monster grilled cheese.

On our way back through downtown Milwaukee,  we decided to give it another try to find the way to the lighthouses at the marina.  With the huge festival going on there was no parking and we just kept heading towards the water and luckily there was parking right out by the lighthouses.  I guess it was too far out for those attending the festival but

Milwaukee Pier LH

since we had no interest in it, it was a great spot to view the lighthouses.

There was one more to see in Milwaukee and oddly enough it’s inland.  It’s North Point and is sits on a knoll and back when it was built there were no trees blocking the view from/to the water.  It

North Point LH

was a beautiful lighthouse, but as our luck goes, it was closed by the time we got there.

We headed north of the city to the town of Grafton where we stayed at the Comfort Inn.  Once we got checked in and unloaded the car, we checked on places for dinner.  Atlas BBQ looked good so that’s where we ended up.  We both had brisket and it was very good.  On the way home we stopped for a small DQ that we shared for dessert.

It was time to settle in for the night and watch a bit of Sharknado and our regular show, Chesapeake Shore.

7 days to go....

August 18 – Only 7 more work days…..

It was nippy to start the day and overcast until about 11.  The bathhouse was a mess with

Way better, maybe I should have smiled!

so much sand.  The showers were just as bad.  Sand is everywhere.  Most sites have very little grass, just sand.  Ugh!

Samo, samo!  Clean and pick up trash, it’s the same song!  Our mid-day break we went to Meijers just to get away.  I guess we were gone too long as Kim and Paul were cleaning the showers when we got back.  Oh well!  We did the rest of the rounds and then trash pick up along the side road into the campground.

I did come home with some new wine selections!  Too bad I’m on duty or I’d seriously work on a bottle!  It turned out to be a really nice day today.  Pretty quiet in the park as a lot went to Michigan Adventures.  Quite a few checked out but I understand we will be at 107 tonight.  Glad we’re off tomorrow!

We need to be at the ferry at 9:30 AM for the crossing.  We’ve packed on and off today and I’ll have to remind Jean tonight that she said she’d feed Molly 4 times for us while we’re gone.  Molly is easy, we just hope she doesn’t get sick or anything.  She’ll be glad to see us I’m sure!

We’ve been packing boxes and putting them in plastic bags to put in the back of the truck for the trip home.  Will be easier to just unload than load when we get there.  We’ve done some Christmas shopping and I’ve got a collection of wine bottles for Kerry or my friend Betsy.  They’ll know I worked hard on them all summer!

On our late break Bill grilled burgers for dinner and I cooked the 2 ears of corn we had on hand and we had the last yellow tomato sliced to top off our meal.  It was good or we were just really hungry.  Then we did rounds until Bill went on duty at the pass gate at 8:30.  I did the bathrooms and came home until 10 and went back out again and finished up, parked the golf cart, and rode my bike home.  Bill worked until 10”30.  I showered as soon as I got back so the bathroom would be available to Bill. I needed to go first so my hair could dry before bed.

Time to post some blogs and get caught up before we head across the lake tomorrow.  I decided to have a glass of wine while I type, maybe it will inspire me!  Off to a new adventure tomorrow!

8 more work days

August 17 – Neither of us had a very restful night.  My right arm was itchy and Bill said his pill didn’t work well.  But, we got up and out the door at 8 for the bathhouse.  It was clear out but gloomy and you could tell rain was not far behind.  Only 8 more cleaning days!  I opened a couple of windows to air out the RV as well as not use the AC.  It was that cool out. 

By the time we did our regular round it started raining harder so we headed home for a rest.  As soon as the rain lifted we did rounds again and managed to stay out longer.  Bill did some raking while I was on butt pick up duty!  Oh joy!  Wish we were paid by the butt!  It would pay better than collecting cans and bottles.

We stopped again when the rains started and had some lunch until it cleared.  There’s really not a lot to be done.  We did afternoon check and re-swept the showers out, someone used our broom and bent the handle so that’s not going to last long.  Once we completed the circle Bill dropped me of, knowing I really don’t feel too well and he thought he might get some mowing in if it doesn’t start a downpour.

We had pot pies for dinner tonight.  Blueberry shortcake for dessert. 

The weather wasn’t nice the rest of the day but at least the rain stopped.  People didn’t get to go to Michigan Adventures today, so guess they’ll go tomorrow.  Bill did pass duty until 10  and I did my last bathroom check at 10. 

Showering was the best part of the day!

9 Work day left

August 16 – We have 9 more work days counting today.  3 weeks of 3.  We did our first round at 8 to about 9:30.  The sun came out and it was getting pretty warm.  Not a lot of campers coming and going so Bill did some raking and mowing and I did some raking.  The problem was between the heat and raking motion I got motion sickness.  My face was beat red, probably because I lost at least one layer of skin, and Bill insisted I go home for a while.  I laid down and started to feel better but my face was still pretty much on fire.

We filled a garbage can, packed and heavy with leaves and needles from about 6-7 sites.  I continued throughout the day to help him with bathhouse and Cadillac duty but the raking was a no-no.  I think most of my head is still out of whack and so sensitive.  We’re going on the ferry to Milwaukee on Sunday and I sure hope the travel patch does the job!

A few new campers arrived but nothing like Thursdays have been.  We cleaned a couple of cabins this morning and they’ve changed the routine, which is 100 times better.  No more blowing the sand out, they went with an actual washable mattress cover making the process much easier.

We finally cleared out the last steak and chicken and some roasted potatoes for dinner.  Can’t believe I didn’t have a fresh green veggie on hand so resorted to my emergency Greet Giant in light sauce.   

It turned into a beautiful day and those that were here thoroughly enjoyed the lake and the beach area.  We did our last bathroom check at 10 and all was well with the world.  We finally got into our fresh blueberries.  I bought 4 dessert cups and used 2 with blueberry flavored “glace”, the berries and cool whip.  Pretty darn tasty!  The rains started and no more sitting out for most people.

Peaceful day

August 15 -   I got up at 7:45 and didn’t even notice Bill was not in bed.  Because he doesn’t sleep well I try to gingerly leave the bed and room as not to disturb him.  I took my pills, had my coffee and was going to put an app on his phone for when I go to Ireland and can text with him and could not find his phone.  That’s when I noticed he left me a note on the table that he went for a bike ride at 7:15!  That was a surprise!  He actually walked in just a couple minutes after I saw it and had ridden to Meijers and brought home donuts for breakfast!  I cooked one of the packages of sausage I got yesterday and put out some cold sweet cantaloupe and we feasted!  What a way to start the day!

Then it was time to buckle down!  Bill went out to clean and polish one of the RV wheels and I cleaned and mopped the much neglected floors and did 2 loads of laundry.  We’re working towards boxing things up to make it easier for the trip home and unpacking when we get there. 

After lunch Bill took the truck to the half price car wash, went to Staples for ink for my printer and then to get wipers for the truck.   I was beginning to think he forgot where he left me!

We settled into our afternoon iced coffees and I wrote some blog and organized some photos to try and get posted this evening.  Tomorrow we go back to work and since I’ve been so sedentary the last 1 ½ weeks, I’m sure it will be a shock to my system.