There's No Business Like Show Business

It is Sunday night and we just returned from a triumphant performance of the play reading group. Jeff and I were both part of the seven person cast and it was great fun. The play is named, The Incident at San Bajo, and a very provacative piece with well written characters. We had a small audience and it was well received.

This week has been so busy with the High Holidays and lots of eating and socializing. We were invited out on Friday and Saturday for festive dinners with friends and we sang in the choir both days at services. I wish all of you a happy and healthy new year.

In the nature department we have a hummingbird hanging around and it is fascinating to watch. Lots of colorful butterflies also. I've been to the pool twice this week and tomorrow plan to go to water aerobics for the second time. So many activities to fit into the day. I finally got a few minutes to play the piano today which left very little time for cleaning and cooking and laundry.

Bosom Buddies (Mame)

It's raining this morning and very muggy. Ziggy and I went out at 7:30 am and saw these critters hanging on the garage wall. I thought the frog would be interested in eating the dragon fly, but they are the same size. Such a nice way to start the day.

Tiptoe Through The Tulips

We've been home one week and it's as though we were never away. We are busy getting back to a normal routine and setting up doctor's appointments and service calls for the house. I had my first pickleball match yesterday and loved every minute. Today I played Mah Jongg for the second time and am so happy. This afternoon a great white egret came to visit - literally. He was at the edge of the lagoon and walked right up to our screen porch to look at me. You can see how he stretched his neck to get a better view. Jeff and I will be part of a play reading this weekend and, of course, busy practicing with the choir for holiday services. It is so good to be back among our many friends and neighbors. Ode to Sun City, We missed you.

The Woody Woodpecker Song

Tuesday morning we are packed and ready to leave by 9 am. My parting gift was a loud rat-a-tat in a nearby tree. I looked up and saw this pileated woodpecker making a large hole in the trunk. He was pretty high up and didn't mind me taking pictures. Pretty cool with his red head, just like Woody. The last photo is our site after we pulled out. We drove all day and stayed overnight in a rest area in Virginia. On Wednesday we woke and drove until we reached Sun City about 7:30 pm. Safely home, the house looked great and Jeff, Ziggy and I slept soundly in our king size bed.

Tomorrow we'll unpack and the summer will be a pleasant memory.

Peek A Boo

Today I played "Peek A Boo" with this Great Blue Heron. He lives at the campground and today visited our pond. He watched me closely and really thought I couldn't see him as he ducked behind some bushes. I will miss the heron, ducks, geese, frogs and even the snakes. Living in nature has been a great experience.
Tonight was our goodbye party for "Fun & Games." It is always sad to say goodbye to friends. Tomorrow we go our separate ways and hopefully will meet again.

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

The above is the title of the final episode of M*A*S*H, and I use it often in situations like this. I just clocked out from my last work assignment. Judy is about to go in for hers. At 5:00 PM we are done. We have a staff barbecue tonight, and that’s it!

We had a fantastic summer and leave with mixed feelings. I loved being outside and working with the guests. The biggest surprise of the summer is that I found out that I enjoy working with kids! I have always been a little afraid of them.

Four months is a long time to be away, and we will be glad to get back home. HaRVey the RV has been good to us this summer and we hope he will continue to be good on the way home. Of course there is a bunch of maintenance that will need to be done, but we can take our time with that.

Will we do this again next summer? The answer right now is “probably not.” The corporate owners of the campground have made some changes, a few of which we would find it difficult to live with. The biggest change is that we would no longer live at this campground. We would stay at a sister campground that is 7 miles away. Although a shuttle would be provided it would add a minimum of an extra hour (unpaid) each day. It would also mean that we could not run home on an hour lunch break to let Ziggy out or to have lunch. I would really miss commuting to work on my bike.

Also, there is no guarantee that we would have reliable phone service. Verizon has cell service at the campground, but it is only one bar in one or two small areas if you are standing on one foot and the wind is right. There is also some doubt about internet and cable TV.

If the corporate plans fall through and the sites are again available here we would most probably return. But we have all winter for us to look at options and the corporation to finalize its plans. We’ll have to wait and see.

Show Me the Way to Go Home

Hooray! It's our last day of a wonderful summer. Labor Day is our final day of work and I am about to drive the shuttle this afternoon. Jeff has been driving this morning and will come home and finish packing. We had a pleasant weekend with the camp full of families. I worked at boats on Sunday and it was a perfect day to float on the river so we were very busy.

This morning I finished cleaning inside and out and now everything is put away and in travel mode. All of our neighbors have left and Ziggy and I enjoyed a peaceful walk. At the nearby pond we saw several duck families and they are all adults now, but still in groups. It has been so much fun watching them grow over the summer.

Tonight our department is having a farewell "wiener" roast and I am cooking beans and bacon in a crock pot. We plan to head out tomorrow morning and will drop off our much loved cable TV box on the way. If all goes well we should be home on Thursday and ready for all the activities clogging our calendars.

Carousel

We love this Jacques Brel song - Carnivals and cotton candy, carousels and calliopes..... Well today was our end of year carnival and what fun! The big top tent was all decorated and inside we had games and food. Outside was a dunking booth and pie throwing station along with a popcorn stand. The inside food was hot dogs, drinks and cotton candy which we were spinning. It was good!

I ran a ball toss booth and Jeff was chicken man with the kids tossing rubber chickens into a basket. We had tons of prizes to hand out and everyone seemed happy. it was quite an effort to set this up and break it down, but everyone pitched in and it happened.

There were games and relays outside, but I was so busy I never got to see what was going on there. Tonight we are relaxing and tomorrow we go back to our regular Sunday schedule which means a trip to the laundry in the morning for me. On Monday Jeff and I will share duties driving the shuttle all day and that is it. I'm hoping we will leave on Tuesday and arrive home on Thursday.

Glow Little Glow Worm

Isn't this the cutest little caterpillar? I saw him crawling around the other day and figure that is what is growing in all those webs around the campground. Anybody know what it is and what it will be?

Surfer Bird

Today Jeff and I started our clean up process. Jeff took down and washed the screen room and I began tossing broken items, brochures and newspapers that we have collected. For a treat we took out an electric boat on this sunny afternoon. It was so serene on the river and on the way back we saw these neat birds (wish the picture was better) that I think are green herons or least bitterns. Also a photo of our beach which I have enjoyed this summer.

Thursday night was our last wagon ride and I look worn out and Jeff was still partying after the guests had all gone home. Actually they all go to bingo at 7pm on Thursdays.

Lola

Another wonderful weather day, cold in the morning and hot by afternoon. There are very few campers on the grounds and only 40+ kids here this week. I drove the shuttle again this morning and worked at pedal carts in the afternoon. Did not rent one cart and was terminally bored. We went out with another couple for pizza in Lake George Village. We all rode down in the shuttle and enjoyed sitting in the back and being chauffered.

Jeff and Ziggy on a walk in the darkness in the top photo. The RC machine is another story. Midway through the summer soda machines appeared around the grounds. The sodas and water are $1.00 and very popular with the guests. We think our GM has a stake in the machines as he is always riding around and checking on them. Even fills them with sodas sometimes. We love this one which is near us as it is lit up all night in an otherwise pitch black area. It is our beacon as we approach and always a good chuckle.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

These are the webs I was writing about in an earlier post. Kinda creepy and I hope we're gone by the time whatever is inside hatches. This place will be infested.

Well it's 44 degrees this morning and I am wearing a long sleeve tee shirt with my short sleeve uniform tee over it and a polar fleece over that. I'm thinking about gloves, but a little embarrassed to wear them. I'm driving the shuttle into Lake George this morning and plan to turn on the heat. It's pretty empty here so I'll probably sit and wait all morning and work on a crossword puzzle.

This weekend should be fun with a carnival on Saturday afternoon. Jeff and I are both working and besides food there will be relays, games, a dunking booth and pie throwing. A fitting end to the season. Sunday is the last day of activities and Monday is clean up and putting everything away for the winter. There will be limited activities here on fall weekends with a skeleton staff.