The tale of two days.....

 5:55 am - Sunday - July 6th - LPG&RVR - 55° F, humidity 35%, wind 1 mph out of the east by southeast......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 102° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were having Frappuccinos (mocha & vanilla bean) at Grapes and Grinds in Keystone, SD......

My best intentions were to write and post my blog post about Friday when we returned home Saturday, but best intentions are just that.  At any rate, today's missive will encompass two days (Friday and Saturday).

Friday, July 5th:

When I last left off writing we were about to get ready to head south to the Reno/Sparks area to visit my cousins (on my mother's side), spend the night at a local hotel, then return to LPG&VR early Saturday morning.  We were packed, and in the VW heading south by 8 am (our goal).  The forecast high for Friday in Likely was 100° F, and even higher in the Reno/Sparks area at 104° F, so we wanted to get an early start.

On our way south we made a quick stop in Susanville to take on fuel, and then at the local Walmart to pick up a few things before continuing southward.  We found out, as we were checking out, that there had been a 24 hour power outage, which melted all their ice.  We needed a bag....thankfully they had just received an ice shipment to replace the melted ice.  We were back on US-395 by 10:30 am with 90 miles to go, and arriving at the local COSTCO around noon time.  On the day after the 4th of July COSTCO was packed.  How packed you might ask?  There were only four shopping carts left in the cart corral, that's how packed....lol.

Surprisingly, we were back out the door, and on our way to Trader Joe's within 40 minutes.  By that time it was getting close to 100° F.  One of my least favorite things is having to cool the car back down with the A/C on a very hot day just in time to exit the vehicle once again at the next store.  The car never really gets comfortable again, does it.  We managed to find shade in which to park at TJ's, so that helped a little.  Our next stop was the local Smith's (Kroger) to do a big shopping.  We had brought our ice chests with us for the perishable stuff (that's why we bought the ice in Susanville).

Before shopping we drove around the parking lot looking for shade....there wasn't much available, but finally a car pulled out of a shady spot, and we snagged it.  When it is over 100° F it's just plain hot, but the shade does help a little.

The first thing we did upon entering Smith's was to by some cold beverages at the Starbucks inside the store....a Mocha Frappuccino for moi, and an ice coffee for TLE.  We took our time shopping, but were back in the car by 2 pm heading south on Sparks Blvd. to check into our hotel before heading to my cousins Lois' home at 3 pm. Check in time is 3 pm, but our room was clean.....what a a break!

We were back in the hot VW by 3:50 pm heading up to Lois' (married to John) home, which sits high above the city of Sparks in the hills with a great view.  Lois is the daughter of my mother's older brother, Bob, who predeceased my mother by a year, or so.  Coincidentally, her sister, Liz, was visiting with her husband Richard for the 4th of July weekend.  We spent about 5 hours visiting, and catching up.  I thought it had been 8 years since I saw Liz, but it was only two years ago.  We talked non-stop for over 5 hours before bidding our adieus, and heading back to our hotel around 8:30 pm.  We planned an early start Saturday to get back to LPG&RVR by 9:30 am, so I could be on the job by 10:30 am.

Saturday, July 6th:

We slept well Friday, night awakening just before 6 am so we could be on the road by 7 am.  We were in the Beetle by 6:45 am heading for the local Starbucks to get real coffee (hotel coffee is never that great, right?). By the time we had our brews it was exactly 7 am, and we were heading back north on US-395.

We made a stop (about half way) at the Honey Lake Rest Area (just south of Susanville) to take a bathroom break around 8 am....

Honey Lake in the background

.....the entire drive was pleasant, and we didn't turn on the A/C until after the Honey Lake Rest Area.  We arrived back home at 9:20 am.  We unpacked the car, and then I took a rest in my recliner before getting dressed for work around 10:15 am (TLE had gotten Kathie to take her place for the entire day).  Being a Saturday I did no mowing, or trimming, but I did turn on numerous sprinklers to water grass, and made a couple of passes around the golf course to see how play was progressing.  We put out over 20 carts Saturday, in spite of the heat, and they began to return them around 12 pm.  I gave Kathie her lunch break around 1 pm, and by 2 pm I was back outside in the 101° F heat washing, fueling, and stowing golf carts.  By 3:30 pm I was done, and headed home to change clothes for the putting contest.

I putted well again Saturday making holes in one on the first two holes.  I won my first round with just 5 putts....3-0.  I won the second round 4-1.  In the 3rd round I was pitted against my nemesis this year, DeWayne.  We were tied after 5 holes, so we went to a 1 hole 1 putt playoff (closest to the hole), and he was closer by 2"....doh!  If I had prevailed I would have been in the final 4 out of 38 putters.  Nevertheless, it was another good putting day for me.

TLE arrived just before the end of the putting contest to pick up the cash drawer from Kathie, so we rode home together.  We were back home just after 5:30 pm.  I changed clothes, and then retired to my recliner to watch the replay of Le Tour de France, Stage 8....the temp was still 101° F......

That's or digital picture frame, which show the time of day and temperature......still 101° F

......we were in bed by 9 pm to get our beauty rest before heading back to work on Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by!