A new record.....

 6:18 am - Saturday - June 13th - LPG&RVR - 54° F, humidity 24%, cloud cover ZERO %, wind 10 mph out of the north....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 89° F.  On this date in 2018 TLE and I were in Southwest Harbor, ME.....

....having dinner at Cafe Drydock.

I don't recall a Friday anytime in the prior 4 summers where we emptied the cart shack before 10 am....in fact I don't remember any day of the week the last four summers where that has happened, but that is exactly what happened Friday.....

.....that one cart way in the background hasn't moved since April, but within minutes of this picture being taken it was moved out to be washed so it could be rented....that is 35 carts rented before 10 am.

I often refer to our older Club Car gassers as either round noses, or square noses to differentiate between them.  The square noses are our oldest carts which were bought new back in the late 90's.  The round nose Club Car gassers were bought a couple of years later....

Square nose Club Car gasser

Round nose Club Car gasser

.....now you will know to what I refer with those terms.

As I do most days, I staged an initial 10 carts, then kept adding them as needed.  In between staging carts I began washing those six 5 gallon buckets of range balls so I could refill the large trash can in the Clubhouse in advance of the tournament on Saturday.  There will be close to 80 golfers wanting to hit range balls before the tournament begins at 9 am.

As I wrote above, we had emptied the cart shack before 10 am, so I began to pull out the square nose Club Cars...

....which I park between the kayak trailer, and the fuel station.  Ultimately we rented all but 4 of the square nose Club Car gassers, so we came close to 'selling out'.  After giving TLE her lunch break I took a rare hour lunch break as I wanted to be on hand to wash all the carts before our 5 pm closing time.  The carts began to return during TLE's lunch break, so once I returned at 2 pm from my lunch break I began to wash them, and then stage them for the golf tournament on Saturday morning.  No point in putting them all away just to have to pull them out and stage them  again.  

I finished washing and staging the final carts which returned before 5 pm (there were still 4 on the course at 5 pm) and headed for home.  TLE was going to be a little later than normal in closing the office, and suggested I go home, and she would walk home when she was done.  She was home around 5:40 pm.

The first games of the FIFA World Cup were played Friday, and the USA played Paraguay in L.A.  I haven't really following US soccer for quite a while, and had no idea what to expect, but the US team won their first match handily 4-1.  They've never scored more than 2 goals in any FIFA World Cup match ever, so that is a good sign, but we'll see if that scoring prowess continues.

Thanks for stopping by!

Averages going up.....

 5:54 am - Friday - June 12th - LPG&RVR - 49° F, humidity 32%, cloud cover ZERO %, wind 10 mph out of the northwest....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 88° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were riding the La Cross River Trail to Sparta, WI....

....Wisconsin is the home of 'Rails To Trails'.....an organization which coverts old railroad right of ways converted to bicycle paths around the country.

There is a new trend developing this summer at LPG&RVR.  Last summer we averaged 15 rented golf carts a day mid week, but this year we often exceed 20 rented golf carts per day, mid week.  Of course that means more work for moi on the days I work, and usually more carts left over to wash the following morning, but that is a good thing for LPG&RVR.  I began Thursday staging the 5 Club Car electrics, then the 5 Club Car gassers (round nose).  Since the Likely Fire Department tournament is Saturday, and we may have to use all 44 carts, I next staged all 9 of the Club Car square front gassers to be sure they are all working for Saturday.  Once all of the old carts were rented I began staging the much new Yamahas.  By the end of the day we only had 5 Yamahas left in the Cart Shack.....that's well over 30 golf carts rented Thursday.

Around 10 am Claude and I began to clear the driving range for its bi-weekly mowing.  He took the left side, and I the right.  I needed his help because almost the entire ball barrel of range balls was empty meaning there were a lot of balls out there.  For the first time this summer I decided to use the 'ball picker', but first we had to clear the balls along both sides of the driving range where the picker cannot pick the balls.  The netted us two and one half 5 gallon buckets of balls.  Next I hooked up the ball picker to the Club Car we use to push it around the range and netted another three and one half 5 gallon buckets of balls....by and for the most I've picked this summer in one day.  By the time I finished it was time for TLE's 90 minute lunch break.

The rented carts began to return after lunch, and I spent the rest of my shift washing and stowing golf carts, and never got around to washing the range balls.  By the time I headed home at 3:30 pm I had washed over 20 carts, but will have another dozen to wash first thing Friday morning.

I took my usual hot shower, then a nap before returning to the Clubhouse to give TLE a ride home.  For dinner TLE prepared hard shell tacos, and we invited Claude over to eat with us for our second meal in the 'dining/gaming deck' canopy.  The tacos were great, and we talked until almost 7 pm before bidding adieu to Claude, and heading inside for the night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting busy midweek....

 5:52 am - Thursday - June 11th - LPG&RVR - 42° F, humidity 30%, cloud cover ZERO %, wind 9 mph out of the north by northwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 84° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were in South Lake Tahoe.....

.....sitting on the beach enjoying the lake.

Tuesday was a relatively slow day, apparently, as there were only two carts left for me to wash Wednesday morning.  The first golfers were not slated to begin their rounds until after 9 am, so I was able to get 10 carts staged, wash the two left over carts, and relax a little before the onslaught began.  We ended up renting over 20 carts Wednesday which is a lot for mid week, and a good sign for the weekend.  In spite of the number of carts rented all but 6 were back before 3:30 pm.  Some folks played 36 holes.

Once the initial 10 carts were staged I headed up the hill to the residential area to pick up a load of weeds, and deliver them to the burn pile (we don't burn the burn pile until late October when it is safer).  Once that was done I headed over to the 'Nature Trail' trailhead to walk the one mile trail, and refresh the numbers at each viewing station.  There is a pamphlet we hand out to hikers which tells what they are seeing at each viewing station.  There are 9 viewing stations in all, and the numbers on the posts identifying them must be replaced each year as they begin to disintegrate.....

I think this is the largest pond on the property

From Jose's Point you can see our Newell and Claude's Wanderlodge

....it takes about an hour to make the walk, and replace the numbers.  I always forget how nice a walk it is.

After returning from the hike I decided to catch up on some weed eating, so I retrieved one of the string trimmers and headed up to the three large lawns in the residential area to trim around the trees, then down to the Clubhouse to trim around the deck, then over to the tents sites to clean up a drainage ditch, then out to the meadow area, where the 'stargazers' are setting up their telescopes, to trim around the numerous electrical pedestals we provide for them to plug in their telescopes.  I wasn't able to finish the meadow area before TLE's lunch break, so I headed back to the Clubhouse to do just that. Over the 90 minutes I was there the phone range three, or four times, and I checked in a couple of RVers, but that was the extent of it.  

After lunch I finished the trimming in the meadow area including around the children's playground equipment.  By the time I returned to the Clubhouse there were 4 carts to wash, so I washed them, then took a run around the golf course to see where the rest of the carts were, and counted 11 on the back 9.  They returned before 3:30 pm, so they got washed and stowed.  I'll have 6 to wash first thing Thursday.

I headed home to take a shower, and a much needed nap before returning to the Clubhouse around 5 pm to give TLE a ride home, and that was our first of four work days this week.  TLE reported that it was very busy in the afternoon in the office, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back to Alturas......

 5:50 am - Wednesday - June 10th - LPG&RVR - 40°  F, humidity 30%, cloud cover 1%, wind 13 mph out of the northwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 77° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were in La Crosse, WI.....

.....having lunch at Bodega Brew Pub.  

We rarely pass through Alturas two days in a row, but that is exactly what happened Tuesday.  We passed through Alturas on our way home from Klamath Falls Monday.  I had scheduled a haircut at Kaleidescope on Tuesday with Sheila a month ago at 8:45 am, and I really needed a haircut, so we were on the road by 8:20 am, arriving at Kaleidescope at 8:42 am.  They are closed on Sundays and Mondays, so there you go.

We haven't visited Coffee Adventure in Canby since late last summer, and our schedule doesn't always line up with their days of operation which are Tuesday through Friday, but since we were back in Alturas Tuesday we decided to drive the 19 miles over to Canby to have some of their wonderful coffee and pastries....

....it was still a little chilly outside, but we still chose the alfresco option.  TLE also bought a dozen of their farm fresh eggs.

On our way back to Alturas we stopped at Landis Nursery (on the western outskirts of Alturas) to buy some more potting soil, and three more geraniums.  Their flowers are so healthy....

.....next we stopped in at Holiday Market to buy some produce.  We don't buy produce in Klamath Falls as we must go through an agricultural inspection station on the way home, and don't want to have to lie to the inspector.  From there we made a quick stop at Dollar General, then were on our way back to LPG&RVR arriving there well before noon time.

We threw some wildflower seeds into the planter to the right of the 'dining/gaming' deck, and then covered them with the potting soil we bought 

The new indoor/outdoor carpet piece we bought at Dollar General

The new geraniums sitting on the Rubber Maid

.....we scored a 1/2 price filet mignon at Holiday Market ($7) so we decided to grill it Tuesday evening.  I deployed the umbrella to provide shade against the late afternoon sun......

The beautiful, oh so tender filet mignon

Ready for consumption

TLE provided sides of green beans, smashed potatoes and vino

Our first meal since we setup the dining canopy

.....I spent a good portion of Saturday afternoon on the 'lido deck' napping, and listening to 60's music on Sirius/XM radio.  It was a delightful day with temps climbing back into the low 70's.  Time to begin another four day work week!

Thanks for stopping by!

A brief interlude.....

 7:20 am - Tuesday - June 9th - LPG&RVR - 51° F, humidity 45%, cloud cover 27%, wind 12 mph out of the west by northwest......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 72° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I had just moved a few miles from Valley View RV Park to free dry camping sites on Henrys Lake....

The view out our front windshield

.....to ride out the winterish storm we paid $210 for three days, but then we paid zero for the next 5 days at Henrys Lake....it all evens out to about $26 a day for 8 days!

We intended to sleep in until around 7 am Monday, but we were both wide awake by 6:30 am, so we decided to begin our day by getting dressed (somewhat) and heading down to the main floor for the free breakfast which comes with the room.  It is really quite a spread....scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, English muffins, coffee, dry cereal, bagels....you name it.....

....we would have preferred to dine alfresco, but it was drizzly, and cold so we enjoyed the outdoors vicariously instead.

After a leisurely breakfast we headed back to our room to pack, and checkout.  We were doing our shopping at Fred Meyers by 8 am, and on the road home by 9 am.  The drive back to LPG&RVR was uneventful as it should be, but we are coming off the catastrophic loss of coolant a couple of months ago, and haven't driven the VW more than 20 miles at at time.  This was 110 miles each way, and as it turns out the VW is doing just fine.  We would have been home by 11 am, but hit a major construction zone just before we reached Canby, which delayed us about 20 minutes.  We were home by 11:20 am, had the Beetle unpacked, and were relaxing in our salon before noon time.

The drizzly weather we thought we left behind in Klamath Falls followed us home.  Another of those unexpected wintery days in early June.  The daytime high was only 56° F, and the gentle rain came and went all afternoon, so we remained inside the warm confines of our Newell Classic.  Our trip to Klamath Falls was a nice interlude to daily RV park life, and now begins the summer.  This Saturday we have the annual Fireman's Golf Tournament which raises money for the Likely Volunteer Fire Department, and in a little more than 2 weeks we will be in the middle of the 4th of July weekend celebrating our nation's 250 birthday.  What would our forefathers think of us today?

Thanks for stopping by!

Change of venue......

 8:39 pm - Sunday - June 7th - Klamath Falls, OR - 57° F, humidity 51%, cloud cover 76%, wind 7 mph out of the northwest.....mostly cloudy at sunset.....high was 61° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were in South Lake Tahoe, CA.....

.....working at Tahoe Valley Campground for our fourth summer.  We were just finishing building a fence in the group campground.....our last project there.  Within 10 days we were beginning new jobs in Yellowstone National Park.

We haven't been to Klamath Falls this summer yet, and Sunday, the 2nd day of our four day weekend, seemed like the perfect day to do an overnighter there.  We were up a little after 7 am, and on the road north to Oregon by 10:15 am.  It is about 110 miles to Klamath Falls, and it usually takes us two hours to make the beautiful scenery laden drive, and Sunday was no different.....

Mt. Shasta to the west

.....one reason for visiting Klamath Falls is to shop at Walmart, and Fred Myers where TLE buys very specific things.  We arrived at the Walmart Supercenter on Washburn around 12:15 pm.  We were in and out in about 30 minutes, then it was over to Fred Meyers where I planned to get the battery replaced in one of my many watches.  While I took care of that TLE left to look for a suitable back pack for a plane trip we're taking next month.  While the lady in Fred Meyers Jewelry replaced the battery I walked over to the in store Starbucks to buy a Venti Mocha Frappuccino.  By the time I returned my watch was ready....$19 even.  I love Oregon....no sales tax....the price is the price, period.

We usually stay at the local Shilo Inn when in Klamath Falls, however, they are in the middle of a major remodeling of the hotel, so we will stay at the Fairfield Suites by Marriott this time.  We've stayed here once a few years ago when TLE was having cataract surgery.  The 4 story hotel is located on Lake Ewauna about 1/4 mile from 'Old Town'.....we opted for a lakeview room this time.....

A view from across the lake (Yelp photo)

.....if you're going to get a lakeview room, why not on the 4th floor, right?  We were able to check in a little after 2 pm.  Our evening plans were to walk .4 miles over to a local Mexican Restaurant....Girasol Family Mexican Restaurant and Cantina  (4.5 stars on 308 reviews on Yelp)....

Of course, we chose their alfresco dining option

Nothing like an ice cold 24 Modelo Negra

For moi....Camarones Guanajuato (Gwanawhato).....bacon wrapped shrimp

For TLE.....Enchiladas Verde

.....after taking a nap we walked over to the restaurant which took less than 10 minutes.  The service, ambiance and food were exceptional.  I would rate this as a fine dining Mexican Restaurant, and would agree with the Yelp rating 100%.  We were on our way back 'home' around 5:30 pm with smiles upon our faces.

Monday we'll do a 'BIG SHOPPING' at Fred Meyers, then head back to LPG&RVR....thanks for stopping by!