Saturday, July 30, 2022

Exercising the machinery.......

 1:53 pm - Saturday - July 30th - Likely, CA - 101° F, 9% humidity, wind 7 mph out of the southeast.....partly cloudy today with the forecast high of the day having arrived.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were in Long Beach, WA on the Olympic Peninsula......↴



Friday was fated to be another of those triple digit ones, and we had no plans to be outside anymore than necessary.  We had the front A/C running before 10 am, and ran it until almost 4 pm before switching to the rear A/C for the balance of the day, and early evening.  We prefer to just run the rear A/C as it is quieter in the salon where we spend most of our time when indoors, however, we recognize the need to exercise both A/C's daily during these heat spells, so we run them both each day for several hours.  It may be why they still both work so well after 40 years, and 14 years under our stewardship.  Mechanical things need to be used on a regular basis to retain optimum performance.  Ultimately, the temp once again reached 101° F, but we remained comfortable inside our Newell.

For dinner TLE made some burritos to which I added some sour cream, and pico de gallo.....once again, restaurant quality.  It is a privilege to be married to someone such as TLE, who is not only a very good cook, but she truly enjoys preparing our meals, and surprising me with something unexpected....she has been doing that since the first meal she prepared for me on our honeymoon back in 1971 on the shores of South Lake Tahoe.....


.....to add to the evenings festivities we had an interesting sunset for the first time in a while.....



.....I really wanted to sit outside around 9 pm, but it was still too warm.  We're looking forward to Monday through Friday when the daily highs will be back in the mid to high 80's, and I am sure it will be pleasant to sit outside after 7 pm on those days.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, July 29, 2022

Thinking back fondly......

 4:32 pm - Friday - July 29th - Likely, CA - 101° F, 9% humidity, wind 7 mph out of the north by northwest....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 100° F......obviously that high was passed......↴


I continue to get caught up....this blog post is for Thursday, July 28th.  Thursday's forecast called for a high of 100° F, and it hit that mark around 3 pm just as I was on my way home for the day.  Do you remember back in May, and early June when I said we would look back fondly upon those 50°+ days with fondness in a few weeks, and we are....I'd rather be wearing a jacket and watch cap, than looking for shade, right?

I arrived at the 'Cart Return' station to find 4 Yamaha gassers awaiting their daily spa treatment.  Ironically it was cold enough at 6:30 am that I was wearing a sweatshirt for the first hour.  After putting the 5 Club Car electrics on the line I began to wash the four Yamaha gassers, then put them on the line, plus 3 more Yamaha's for a total of 12 carts....we would end up renting all but the last three of those carts by the end of the day.  There were more brave souls than I imagined.

Thursday was also the second day this week I have cleared the range balls from the driving range.  Since the 55 gallon trash can in the Clubhouse was still over 3/4's full I did not expect to pick up that many balls, and I was correct.  In all I collected 1.5 five gallon buckets of balls, and had them washed and dried before TLE's lunch break.  Usually most of the balls I pick up are from the middle of the driving range, but on this day I would say 75% of the balls were picked from the woods on each side of the driving range.

After my lunch break I returned to 8 of the 9 golf carts rented in the morning, and made quick work of them, and was on my way home by 3 pm.  The temp might have been 100°, but it felt like 106°.

TLE and I managed to get some 'lido deck' time around 9 pm to 10 pm as it had dropped into the mid 80's by 9 pm.  It's been a while since we sat outside at night, but being that Thursday was our 'Friday' we weren't in bed by 9 pm a we usually are....nice to stay up 'late' for a change....lol.

Thanks for stopping by!

The trailer......

 1:15 pm - Friday - July 29th - Likely, CA - 97° F, humidity 9%, wind 6 mph out of the north......partly cloudy skies today with a forecast high of 100° F.  This is what the next week looks like weather wise for us......↴


....another 100° day tomorrow, then back into the 80's by Monday for four days....looking forward to that!  On this date in 2020 we met up with good friends Richard and Rhonda at the KOA in Missoula, MT......they have a 1999 Newell in front of which we are standing......


I have been remiss once again....I forgot to post a blog about Wednesday, so here I go again playing catchup.  

The temps have been getting steadily hotter each day this week, and Wednesday the high was 97° F, with the promise of 100 on Thursday.  As you all know I am not a fan of heat, and the older I get the less of a fan I become.  On Tuesday afternoon I took delivery from a freight company of a new utility trailer to replace our old one.  I put off unpacking it until Wednesday morning so I could assemble it in the cool of the morning.  Fortunately for me the instructions were very intuitive, and within an hour I had it assembled, and ready for use.....



.....it is about 1/3 larger than the old trailer, which will mean fewer trips to dump grass cuttings in the future.

As has been the case for about a week now there were very few rounds of golf played Wednesday due to the heatwave we are enduring.  Most of the golfers who brave the conditions are out early, and returning their carts between 1, and 2 pm.  I've been able to get all the carts washed each day by 3 pm, at which time I head for home to wait out the heat in the air conditioned comfort of the Newell.  There are always one or two people who play after 2 pm, and I wash their carts first thing the next day.

Prior to the heatwave TLE was walking home after work, but now that it is consistently in the high 90's I've been driving down to the Clubhouse to give her a ride home.  We have not been sitting outside at night for a while now as it is still too hot at 8 pm.  Thankfully the overnight lows are still getting down into the 50's, which makes for a good nights sleep.

Thank for stopping by!

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Almost triple digits.....

 4:01 am - Wednesday - July 27th - Likely, CA - 99° F, 10% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the north......mostly cloudy today with a forecast high of 99° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I arrived in East Glacier, MT.....near Glacier National Park.....↴


Tuesday I needed to mow the tee boxes for hole #3, which I do every 6-8 days.  I initially staged 8 golf carts, and ultimately we rented out 11.  I had 3 carts which were returned after 3 pm Monday, so I washed them next.  Once that was done I began the long, slow drive out to the aforementioned tee boxes.  It takes about 15 minutes each way, and about 30 minutes to mow all 4 tee boxes.  I was back by 10 am with two hours left before TLE's lunch break, so I headed back to the slope across from the employee sites to finish weed whipping the last two thirds......


.....it took almost two hours to finish the job, but when I was done it looked great, so I took a video to give you a little perspective. The 5 employee sites are to my right as I drive along the base of the slope which separates our sites from the rest of the pull through RV sites.

By the time I returned to work following TLE's lunch break, and my 30 minute break I had 7 carts to wash, and that took me right up to 3 pm to finish.  By the time I got home a little after 3 pm we had reached the high for the day of 99° F.  Since I had neglected to post missives for Sunday and Monday I took care of that between 3 and 5 pm, and then returned to the office at 5 pm to retrieve The Lovely Elaine.  Our A/C continues to keep our interior environs cool, and comfortable, for which we are eternally grateful.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

And now for Monday.....

4:01 pm - Tuesday - July 26th - Likely, CA - 97° F, (cooling off already), 10% humidity (going back up), wind 8 mph out of the west by northwest....we're down from the forecast high of 99° F....glad I'm home doing what I'm doing, and not outside washing golf carts today.

For the foreseeable future I will beginning my work day at 6:30 am, in order to be off work at 3 pm, just as the high temp for the day usually hits, and that is when my workday began Monday. It's cold enough in the morning (mid 50's Monday) that I wear a sweatshirt to work for about the first 45 minutes, then the sun hits my work area, and it comes off quickly.

I had just one cart waiting to be washed, so I took care of that, and then moved the 5 Club Car electrics out to the line.  In all we rented just 7 carts, and all were back except two when I went home at 3 pm.

In between I headed out to the golf course to rake all four sand traps, and then I cleared the driving range of golf balls in preparation for it to be mowed by DeWayne.  Fortunately, the 'new' Yamaha cart (actually quite old), which Bob attached to the ball retrieving machine, worked flawlessly, making that part of the job easier than it has been for a few weeks.  In all I collected three 5 gallon buckets of golf balls to wash.  I quickly added a little Dawn dish soap to each bucket, then filled them with water so they could soak for a couple of hours before I finished the cleaning process.

Next up I spent my final hour before relieving TLE for her lunch break weed whipping the hill which fronts the 5 employee sites.  We've waited this long to do the task to be sure what we cut down will not grow back.  I got about 1/3 done before 12 pm, and left the rest for Tuesday.

After TLE's one hour lunch, and my 30 minute lunch I finished off the day washing 8 golf carts, and the three buckets of golf balls.  When I clocked out at 3 pm only one Yamaha and one 4 seater Club Car remained on the course, so they will be washed first thing Tuesday.  The forecast high for Monday was 96° F, but it actually got to 98° F, and felt more like 102° F.

Thanks for stopping by!

Catching up...Sunday first....

3:20 pm - Tuesday - July 26th - Likely, CA - 99° F, 9% humidity, wind 9 mph out of the west by northwest......hazy skies today with a forecast high of 99° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were in Great Falls, MT having some brews, and lunch before heading back to Glacier NP in the T-Bird....↴ 

Loved this coaster

Well, it happened again....I forgot to write about Sunday after work Monday....I'm becoming such a slackard....lol! It got to 98° F Monday, but felt like 102° F....on days such as that my first priority upon arriving home is to take a cool shower, then take a nap.  Sometimes the nap wipes my memory card, and I forget to write the blog.  At any rate, here is what happened Sunday.

Sunday, of course was the 21st and final stage of this year's Le Tour de France which usually begins about 30+ miles outside of Paris, and ends with 8 laps up and down the Champs-lysées seen in the aerial shot below.......




.....but, I get ahead of myself.  First thing Sunday morning (around 8:30 am) we drove into Alturas to do our weekly shopping.  We divide our business between four stores.....Ace Hardware, Rite Aid (best prices on alcohol), Grocery Outlet, and Holiday market.  This was a big grocery day, and I think we spent close to $200....not counting alcohol.  We were home by 11 am, at which time I sat down to watch the 21st Stage of Le Tour.  The, not too surprising, winner this year was Jonas Vinegaard (Denmark), who bested the winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France (Tade Pogacar) by over 3 minutes.  This year's edition of Le Tour was probably the best I have ever watched, and one of the fastest ever.  Over 21 days the riders covered almost 2,000 miles, and passed through 4 countries.

It was still too hot at 8 pm to sit outside, so we stayed inside where the A/C kept us very comfortable.  I'm afraid that sitting outside at night any time soon will probably be a 'no go', a we have another 8 days of high 90's low 100's in store, but after that it cools into the 80's again through at least August 6th.

Monday begins our next 4 day work week, so we were in bed by 9 pm....thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Paper White......

2:31 pm - Sunday - July 24th - Likely, CA - 94° F, humidity 8%, wind 6 mph out of the northwest.......partly cloudy skies today with a forecast high of 95° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were relaxing on the 'lido deck' in Gardiner, MT on a day off from work at the Mammoth Hot Springs General Store in Yellowstone NP......↴


As is often the case on our weekend days, we were not up until after 7:30 am on Saturday.  After typing my daily missive I sat outside with TLE reading until almost 12 noon when we both decided to head inside, and turn on the A/C......noon is about as far as we get without A/C these days.  TLE already had a load of wash going in the Splendid Splendide, and a couple more were done for good measure throughout the day with none of the prior issues resurfacing. If anything, it is drying clothes much faster than it was before, so maybe there was too much lint in the dryer vent hose after all.

By the way, after 14 years of use, I have finally retired my 1st generation Kindle, and moved up to 10th generation Paper White Kindle.....


.....Amazon was no longer going to support downloads on my old Kindle, so I bit the bullet and moved on to the newer Paper White ($86 on eBay....refurbished....looks brand new to me)....as you can see the screen is the same size as the old one, which is more than adequate, but now everything is 'touch screen' eliminating the need for the keyboard at the bottom.  The Paper White is much easier to read in low light conditions as it has a back light, unlike the first generation one.  Additionally, the battery can go weeks in between charges, whereas the 1st generation one was good for a few days at the most before it needed to be recharged.

Saturday is also the day of the weekly putting contest, and for the first time TLE entered as a contestant.  She has been hesitant about entering as she doesn't want to be embarrassed, but I reminded her that 1/2 of the contestants, many very good putters, are eliminated after the first round.  I also reminded her that I didn't get past the first round for 5, or 6 weeks.  Once she put things in perspective she had a good time, even though she did not make it out of the first round.  I, on the other hand, made it all the way to the semi final before losing to the eventual winner.  Getting that far for the second time in 3 weeks is certainly encouraging for me....it means my win a few weeks ago was not a fluke.  I was two easy putts, which I missed, away from making it to the final once again.

It only got to 91° F Saturday, and it wasn't that bad outside for most of the day.  When I think 91° F is comfortable you can be sure I have finally acclimatized to hotter temperatures.  We're in store for 6 days of 99-100° F temperatures, but that's not bad considering it is 11° lower than Redding, CA.  You will remember we were there last year in late June when it was 114° F.....I'll take 99, or 100° F over that any time, especially when the overnight temps get into the low 50's every night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Back on track.....

8:44 am - Saturday - July 23rd - Likely, CA - 64° F, humidity 26%, wind - CALM.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 93° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were visiting the Columbia Icefields near Jasper, Alberta, Canada......one of my favorite pictures.....↴


Friday we had just one thing to accomplish....pull the Splendid Splendide out of its cubbyhole, and find out why we were getting error messages in the form of multiple blinking lights at the end of the 'Dry' cycle about a week ago.  The manual indicated that the sequence of blinking lights indicated possible blockage in the dryer vent hose.  I had checked that from the outside of the coach where the dryer vents, but couldn't see any blockage, so the next step was to pull it out, disconnect the vent hose, and see what was what.  It is not an easy thing to remove the Splendide from its cubbyhole.  It takes close to an hour getting it out, and another hour putting it back in.  We have to remove everything from the two shelves directly above the Splendide, which holds all of our pantry items.  Next we must remove the doors on the right side of the pantry, then extraction can begin.  There are a lot of screws to be removed, and then snaking the washer/dryer out is a whole new adventure.....

There is a lot of 'stuff' to remove from above the Spendide before it can be extracted!

.....having a working washer/dryer in our coach is an important part of our lifestyle.  We hate sitting in laundromats washing and drying our clothes....it is very unproductive time.  Being able to do our clothes in our home allows us to do other things while our clothes are being washed.

I retrieved our ShopVac from the trailer for TLE to vacuum out the dryer vent hose, and into the dryer vent itself.  We also checked the filter to be sure nothing was clogging it.  In the end we could find nothing obvious after about 20 minutes so we decided to run it empty through the rinse/spin/dry cycles to see if the error lights returned.  It takes about 70 minutes to do that, and at the end when it shut off all was normal again.  We had tried this several times a week ago, and kept getting the blinking lights, so this was a good change.  Next, before pushing the Splendide back into its cubbyhole, we decided to run a complete wash/rinse/spin/dry cycle which takes about one hour and forty-five minutes.  All went well, and at the end, again no blinking lights.....wonderful!

I, at once, began the hour long process (includes putting all the pantry items away) of pushing the Splendide back into it cubbyhole, reinstalling the pantry doors, and shelves, at which time TLE took over putting all the pantry items away.  We ran two more loads of wash and got the same good results.....no blinking lights....yay for our team!

It only got to 91° F Friday, and it was cool enough outside at 7 pm for us to spend a couple of hours on our cherished 'lido deck' listening to music, and enjoying the cooling evening zephyrs.....


......we didn't do much else Friday, but getting the Splendide sorted out, and working again properly was perfect.  I wasn't looking forward to the task, especially since I wasn't sure anything we did would fix the problem, and I cannot really tell you today that I know what was wrong, but all that counts is it is working once again, and there will be no visits to the LPG&RVR laundromat in our near future.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, July 22, 2022

A double header.....

7:49 am - Friday - July 22nd - Likely, CA - 63° F, 29% humidity, wind - CALM.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 92° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were having lunch at Tamarack Brewing in Lakeside, MT (south of Kalispell on US-93)....one of the best micro breweries we have found in our 10 years on the road......↴




.....how good were they?  We gave them a 5 on Yelp....never before, or since have we done that for any eating establishment.

Okay, you're right....I'm a slackard....lol!  I never got around to writing a blog post for Wednesday, and now it is Friday.  I would normally be writing about Thursday's happenings on a Friday, so it is time to play some catchup.  Today you are getting a 'double header'.

Wednesday was the 4th of four workdays this week, and we affectionally refer to the 4th day as 'our Friday'.  Golfing was pretty slow Wednesday.  I think we rented out 6 carts, 4 of which were back before I went to lunch.  I spent the better part of my day mowing, and hauling grass clippings to our dump site...in all I dumped the trailer three times Wednesday.....that is a lot of grass.....


....I did, however, make a circuit around the golf course to check on the sand traps, and they all needed raking.  The one below is on the 15th hole, and is gigantic.....


.....for me to say it is an acre in size would be a great exaggeration, but it is LARGE!  Every time I'm up there I take time to enjoy the view.....



.....I ended up raking all four sand traps.

By the time I returned from lunch the final two carts had been returned, so over the course of my final 90 minutes of work I got them clean, and parked.....ready for another day.

The heat of the day arrives around 3 pm, which is convenient as I'm off work by then.  TLE usually turns on the rear A/C when she is home for lunch, and it runs from then until 8, or 9 pm each day.  Thankfully, our 'lido deck' is in the shade by then as the sun drifts westward past the rear of our coach.

On 'our Fridays' we typically head out to the 'lido deck' around 8 pm to enjoy the cooling evening air.  The temps are usually under 80° F by then, and combined with the evening breezes out of the southwest makes for a pleasant couple of hours as we talk about our week, listen to a little Sinatra, and watch the darkness overtake the light once again.  By the by, we have added a seat cushion, and pillow (from Rite Aid) to each Adirondack chair.....


So, that was our Wednesday, now what happened on Thursday?

We slept in until after 7 am Thursday, and by 8 am we were sitting on the 'lido deck' enjoying our coffee, and watching stage 18 (recorded) of Le Tour de France.  By 11:30 am it was becoming too warm outside so we headed indoors, closed the windows, turned on the A/C and watched the balance of the 4 hour stage in airconditioned comfort.  I cannot repeat often enough how grateful we are for functioning A/C units.  They are both 40 years old, yet continue to faithfully discharge their duty when called upon each day.

For dinner TLE provided me with two skinless chicken breasts which had spent the better part of the day bathing in a wonderful marinade of TLE's creation.  It took me about 8 minutes to bring them up to 165° F.  TLE had originally intended these skinless chicken breasts for her famous Chicken Marsala dish, but it takes her over an hour to prepare it, and she didn't want to spend that much time over a hot stove....who can blame her, right?  I have to say, this alternate choice, combined with an equally brilliant side salad was amazingly tasty.  I'm still thinking about that chicken as I write this morning.....yum!

On Thursday nights we watch two programs which record earlier in the evening....'Alone', and 'The Old Man' (starring Jeff Bridges).  We watched 'Alone' before heading out to the 'lido deck for our evening libations, and 'The Old Man' after we headed back inside for the night.  

And now we are caught up once again.  Thank you for your patience, and understanding, and, as always.....thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

The numbers just don't compute.....

 9:22 pm - Wednesday - July 20th - Likely, CA - 75° F, 18% humidity, wind 5 mph out the southwest......darkness has descended, and the cool zephyrs are wafting through the open windows....life is good.  On this date in 2020 we were on our way to Kalispell, MT....here we are driving along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River......↴


Tuesday was a lot like Monday....few golfers, and hot.  We rented 5 golf carts.  I still had tee boxes to mow at 10, 15, 16, 17 and 18, so I set out to do just that around 9:30 am, and returned to the Clubhouse just before TLE needed to take her lunch break.

As you know, I've not been writing my daily blog in the mornings since I go to work at 6:30 am, so I can be off by 3 pm.  I'm kind of in this ambivalent stage of the summer when every day seems pretty much the same, which makes it difficult to write interesting copy.  I've kind of enjoyed just getting up, getting a cup of coffee, and sitting for 30 minutes before I go to work.  Sometimes a change in routine is needed, and warranted.  At any rate, I am still, as I have been for 10, almost 11 years now, committed to writing a daily blog.  For now, until things cool down I'll be writing it in the early, if not later evenings, like tonight, since I'm off work now for the next 4 days.

I've enjoyed watching a little of Le Tour de France each morning before work (my DVR  records it each morning beginning at 3 am PST), then another 30 minutes at lunch, and then finishing it off between 3, and 5 pm.  It is one of those things to which I look forward each July, and being able to renew my interest each July for 23 days makes me happy.  As I write there are only 5 stages left...where have the last 2+ weeks gone?  This Sunday (one of our days off work) they will enter Paris for the final laps around the Champs  Èlyées, and a new champion will be crowned.  

There is something about continuity in one's life which is pleasing, while gently reminding one of the passage of time....another year has come and gone.  In October I'll be 73.....a number which does not compute for me.  I feel the best I have felt in years, and sometimes I wonder at the energy I have to do such physical jobs as I have done the past few years, wondering from where it comes.  In just a few weeks TLE and I will celebrate 51 years of marriage....another number which does not compute for me.

Each year as I look back at the time before we became nomads my former workaday life seems like someone else's, and the more it feels as is we have always been nomads.  There is something about the simplicity of this lifestyle that is so intoxicating.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Little golf, and a lot of mowing.......

6:15 pm - Tuesday - July 19th - Likely, CA - 90° F, humidity 15%, 2ind 14 mph out of th4e west......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies all day tod201ay with a high of 94° F.  On this date in 2014 I was riding in the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park with long time friend Paul Hood....we're on the gondola headed back to the top at just over 11,000' elevation......↴


Left to right: Mark, Paul, moi, Brenda, Dalton

Monday was the exact opposite of Sunday.....we rented just 4 golf carts out, but Monday's are also dedicated to clearing all the golf balls off the driving range to wash, and redeposit in the 55 gallon barrel in the Clubhouse.  Having that market umbrella there for that job was just genius on my part.....made the task of washing five 5 gallon buckets of balls very pleasant.  I had to had pick the entire range with the 'Shag Bag' as the Yamaha cart which pushes the ball retriever around the course is still 'inop'....not a problem when you start at 7:15 am before it gets hot!  I might add that 'Miracle Bob' got the old Yamaha, used for the same purpose years ago, working once again, and transferred the ball retriever to it, so this Thursday Walt should be able to pick most of the balls with it.

I headed out to the third hole around 9 am to mow all four tee boxes as is my want every 6-8 days, and was back around 10:30 am, at which time I headed down to the tents sites (4-10) to mow them again, and was done just before 12 pm, and in time to give TLE her one hour lunch break.  

When I returned from my lunch break at 1:30 pm, I was able to get the 4 golf carts washed, along with the John Deere riding lawn mower by 3 pm, and was on my way home.....the high for the day was 97° F, but it felt like 104° F.  

I'm so thankful I can head home around 3 pm just as the temp hits the high for the day.  Those last two hours under my own schedule was tough, but now I'm home in the cool confines of the Newell during those hours.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, July 18, 2022

Was I ever wrong.....

6:23 pm - Monday - July 18th - Likely, CA -  90° F, 18% humidity, wind 15 mph out of the west.....partly cloudy right now....the high was 95° F.....love how quickly it begins to cool after 5 pm!  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were attending the wedding of my brother Philip's daughter Danielle to Miguel.....↴


With my brother Dwyer

Sunday was the day of the 4th round of The Open, and it was also a work day for TLE and I.  There is a TV in the Clubhouse always tuned into golf 7 days per week, so I was able to drop in several times throughout the morning to see what was happening. As I said in my post about Saturday we, along with most of the civilized world, thought it would be a battle between Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland (both 16 under par) down to the wire, but Cam Smith and Cam Young (12 under par) had other ideas.....Cam Smith birdied 5 holes in succession, and ultimately posted an 8 under par day (final score = 20 under par), and Cam Young a 7 under par for the day. Viktor Hovland ended up 2 over par for the round (-14 for the tournament), and Rory McIlroy ended up 2 under par for the day finishing at 18 under par, but went from first to third place as both Cam's leap frogged over the leaders to take 1st (Cam Smith), and 2nd (Cam Young).....a great ending to a great tournament.  It is a pretty rare thing for someone to come from 4 strokes down in round 4 of a major tournament to win, but Cam Smith did so, and was clearly the best player that day.  Was I ever wrong.....lol!
 
I think I forgot to mention we drove into Alturas Saturday for our weekly shopping, and to fill up the VW tank with Premium Unleaded.....the price had decreased from a few weeks ago down to $5.39/gallon at the Indian casino.

We stopped off at Rite Aid where I purchased another market umbrella for use at the 'Cart Return' area.....nice to have a little shade there with temps edging into the mid 90's on a daily basis now......



......I had 12 carts to clean first thing Sunday left over from Saturday's tournament.  I ended up washing 18 carts in the afternoon for a total of 30 carts washed in all.  It was a busy day, and was I ever glad to be heading home at 3 pm at the temps edged up to 97° F.

Thanks for stopping by!




Ooops!

 6:02 am - Monday - July 18th - Likely, CA - 54° F, humidity 36%, wind 2 mph out of the southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 94° F. On this date in 2019 TLE and I were having lunch at the Asticou Inn in Bar Harbor, ME.....↴


I completely forgot to type my blog post about Saturday as I went to work at 6:30 am Sunday fully intending to write it after work at 3 pm, but I forgot....lol.  So here goes....Saturday TLE and I watched The Open, of course.  Rory McIlroy (Ireland), and Viktor Hovland (Denmark) ended up tied at -16 under par with the closest pursuers 4 strokes back at -12 (Cam Smith and Cam Young).  Everyone, including ourselves, thought Sunday's 4th round would be between Rory and Victor.

Of course, Saturday is also the weekly putting contest here at LPG&RVR, and I was the defending champion.....


.....I won my first round handily 3-1, but fell to a hot putter in the second round.....I didn't win one hole against him.  He ended up being in the final, and lost to another very hot putter.  So, my fame was short lived....lol.

That's it for Saturday....I'll write about Sunday after work....I promise.....time to get dressed!

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Wright & Ditson......

 5:24 pm - Saturday - July 16th - Likely, CA - 94° F, humidity 10%, wind 14 mph out of the west......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 94° F (it actually hit 96° F).  TLE and I spent the morning watching round three of The Open (aka: British Open), and then went into Alturas to do our weekly shopping, so I am late in posting my latest missive.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington....a view of the Olympic Mountain range.......↴


As we did on Thursday we spent part of the morning watching The Open, and the afternoon watching Le Tour de France (Stage 13).  In between I played the back 9, didn't play that well, but had a good time with TLE. On The Open front Cameron Smith (Australia) finished the day in first place at -13 under par, with Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy not far behind.  In all there are probably 10 players within striking distance of the leaders.

The temp got into the low 90's, so it was not too unpleasant outdoors.  UPS delivered the hickory shafted golf club set on the day they actually promised to do so.....that is a first this summer.....




Left to right: driver, fairway wood, middle distance iron, mashie, niblic, and two putters.  All but the putter on the far right were made by Wright & Ditson of Boston, Mass...they are the St. Andrews edition

....considering that these clubs are around 100 years old, they still look to be in good condition.....not playing condition, mind you, but in pretty good condition, nonetheless.  We are looking forward to formally donating them to the Likely Place Golf and RV Resort Clubhouse so they can be seen, and appreciated for years to come.

Our day went exactly as we planned, and it is wonderful to know that we still have a fourth day off work coming up Saturday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, July 15, 2022

On the 'lido deck'......

 7:50 am - Friday - July 15th - Likely, CA - 65° F, humidity 33%, wind 1 mph out of the east by southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 93° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were having an early dinner at Classic Cue in South Lake Tahoe......fish tacos and a pitcher of Downtown Brown, of course.......↴


TLE and I always look forward to 'The Open' (aka: British Open).  We can get up, get a cup of coffee and step out onto the 'lido deck' to watch it as long as we wish.   The first golfers teed off at 1 am PST, so by the time we sat down to begin watching 7 hours had already passed.  We watched virtually every single golfer play 18 holes.  The tournament was on for 12 hours, so it was nice to be able to fast forward through the commercials....lol!  We remained out side until just after noon time when the rising temps chased us inside to the A/C cooled, comfortable confines of the Newell.

By 2 pm I had seen pretty much all I needed to see so I took my inspiration over to the Clubhouse to work on my short game, which has improved a lot over the past couple of weeks, but I needed to hit more balls to get a better feel around the green.  I spent an hour hitting balls from inside 40 yards onto the putting green, and finally got to where I could get 3-4 balls close to the hole out of each 5 shots....now to translate that onto the course, which I will attempt to do Friday morning, which will be right after I finish today's missive.

After watching a couple of recorded programs ('Alone', and 'The Old Man' with Jeff Bridges) we headed out to the 'lido deck' around 8:15 pm to listen to music (Sinatra) sip some single malt, smoke a cigar (moi), enjoy the darkening skies, and gentle evening breezes.  Life is good in Likely, CA.

This picture says it all....life it good!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Do nothing.....

 11:49 am - Thursday - April 14th - Likely, CA - 87° F, 12% humidity, wind 9 mph out of the southwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 93° F.  Sorry for the late positing of my latest missive, but TLE an I spent the morning outdoors watching The Open (aka: British Open)......↴



....on this date in 2020 TLE and I were overnighting at the Walmart in Sheridan, WY.....


Wednesday was my first day off work in 5 days, and was I ever ready for a 'do nothing' day!  We did not emerge from our slumber until just before 8 am.  After coffee, and writing my daily post we took another perimeter walk around LPG&RVR....in all we covered 1.8 miles in about 31 minutes.  I've been wearing my 'safari' hat the last few days....almost forgot I had it.....



.....I spent a good portion of the rest of Wednesday watching Stage 11 of Le Tour, and around 5 pm we headed over to the Clubhouse to celebrate Kathie's birthday with some cake and ice cream.  After the party TLE and I spent about an hour putting.  I'm going to be the defending champion this Saturday, so I need to stay sharp....whatever that means....lol.

For our evening entertainment we watched the most recent James Bond installment.....'No Time to Die'.  We enjoyed this latest installment, and were not quite prepared for the ending.  If you haven't seen it yet, I will not spoil it for you.  Suffice it to say we enjoyed Daniel Craig's reprisal of this iconic role.

Thanks for stopping by!