October 2010

Socializing Month

This month we had many activities but none more fun than a double date with Rocky and Georgette. We went out for a nice supper at Logan’s Restaurant and then off to Georgette’s home to play some card games.

The very next evening we went to dinner with a hometown couple from Indiana who were staying in the park. Rob Edwards and Robin Lee are from Fishers, Indiana. We went to an upscale restaurant called Red Rock River Canyon. It was a wonderful meal. In fact it is one of the best eateries in Wichita. We had a relaxing evening with this new couple which we now consider our friends. We hope to see them whenever we are in their area up in Indiana. After dinner we invited them back to our home where we talked, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed their company. We had such a good time we invited them to breakfast at Nancy’s Place, a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant that Frank and Sondra told us about in their old neighborhood. The breakfast was absolutely yummy. We are starting to think that Wichita might have the market on excellent places to eat.

(Pictured above Will, a friend of Robin & Rob, at Nancy's Place)

Golfing and Cleaning up

I continued to golf with Frank and Gary; and had the opportunity to go out with John Beddie and his niece, Samantha (Sam); and the owner’s new son-in-law Brock and his friends Shawn and Lucas. Golfing was a big part of my summertime fun.

I know that I’ve mentioned how nice and clean the USI restrooms and laundry facilities are because of Sheila’s insistence to maintain them at a high level of cleanliness.
Frank and I tried to sustain those high standards throughout the summer. Rhonda and Sondra also maintained the same high standards for the office which they were entrusted.

New Blood & Bonding

Mid-month Bruce and Sheila Keller arrived at USI; they were the finishing touch to the workforce for the winter season. While I was out golfing with Frank and Gary in Cheney, KS, Rhonda was out shopping with Sheila Wagner. They did a really nice job finding Rhonda a wedding dress with some nice accessories to compliment it and her. Sheila amused herself by poking fun at me concerning the wedding. If you listened to her, she had us getting married in Las Vega, right here in Wichita, at a far away island off somewhere in the Caribbean, on our upcoming cruise and if she could work it out I think she would have tried to get us hitched in Tim-buck-too. She did it all in good fun. The best part about their shopping experience was it allowed them quality bonding time.

(l-r, Frank, Tom, Sondra, Rhonda, Sheila & Keith)
Since we now had the winter crew in place; the owners of the park were taking the summer crew out for a farewell dinner. The six of us drove to the Bone Fish Grill where the ambience was first-rate and the company was appreciated. The meal was truly superb and the dessert was a melt in your mouth tantalizing way to end the evening. Driving back to the Pegg’s we all sat around their patio chit-chatting about what a wonderful summer we all had together.



(At right ladies with an attitude)



El Dorado, Kansas – Day Trip

We took time to drive up to El Dorado, KS to visit friends we met at Adventureland, Joyce and Jerry Riggs and their son Jeff. We had a nice lunch and visit with them. Rhonda and Joyce became close dear friends on a trip they took a few years back from Iowa to Indiana together.






Port-of-calls are calling

I worked on the computer a lot this month and last, I just didn’t work on the blog like I should have. I did accomplish booking our cruise down the Mexican Rivera and setting up a shore excursion in Mazatlan. Our port of call for Puerto Vallarta is where we are meeting our close friends Dave and Jacque Graff hoping to spend a fun filled day with them. The only port of call we haven’t set up something to do is in Cabo San Lucas, we plan on playing this one by ear.

Our Days were numbered
(l-r, Sondra, Frank, Rhonda, Tom, Keith, Sheila)

Our last two work days this summer were October 29th and 30th. Enthusiasm and bittersweet feelings came to the surface regarding these two days. We hope to say our goodbyes to the regular residents here in the park and our goodbyes to each other as we get ready for our departure. After work on the 30th Sheila and Keith threw the summer work crew a going away party. Those in attendance were the new winter work crew; Chuck & Pauline Doney-Montes; Bruce & Sheila Keller; also in attendance were Keith & Sheila Wagner (owners of park); their daughter Amy and her husband Brock and little daughter Chloe; residents John & Donna Beddie; and our new friends Rocky Reagan and his girlfriend Georgette Hall. It was a bittersweet way to say goodbye, but we are happy knowing we will be returning next season.

(Pictured above Miss Rhonda & little cutie pie Chloe)

(Farewell party in full swing)






Halloween brings out all the ghost, goblins and little witches. We had a real cutie pie stop by our motor home on Halloween. Sheila’s little granddaughter, Chloe came in with her mom and dad. She was our only trick or treater this evening and she certainly was a cutie as you can see in the picture with her Pa-paw.If you look real close you can even see a "black cat" in the background. How spooky is that?


It was time to try-out those new tires soon and see how the rubber hits the road as we get our voices ready to sing rolling, rolling, rolling; keep those tires a rolling.

September 2010

A time of remembrance!

As in my father and grandfather’s time everyone could remember where they were when hearing about the Pearl Harbor Attack, on December 7, 1941. So the same remembrance by my son, grandsons and myself as to where we were and what we were doing when we heard about the Twin-Towers being hit with planes full of our innocent citizens as all came tumbling down in a rumble of ash. It was such a sad day in our history and in the world’s nine years ago this month.


Scooter finds a home

The early part of this month had a challenge for me concerning a stray mutt running around the campgrounds. A handful of individuals were trying to catch him. Someone even called the Humane Society hoping they could catch this elusive little dog with a neck noose. But he was too quick for them and he stayed out of sight when they showed up. Fairy tales do come true once in awhile. After several days and failed attempts by myself and some of the other residents to capture him by putting food and water out, I was finally successful in capturing him. By using a travel cage we have for our little dog, I was able to entice little Scooter (later named by his new owner) into the cage. Just as Hansel and Gretel used bread crumbs, I used some doggie treats lining them up toward the open door of the cage so little Scooter would follow them. Once close enough I pushed him inside. Now the really good news about this little stray dog was one of the pipe-liners named Bob Bales was willing to take him in and give him a new home. He named him Scooter. During Bob’s long work hours, I would take Scooter outside to do his business. Someone had just dumped him but thanks to Bob’s good heart, little Scooter had a wonderful new home with four new playmates to go back to in Arkansas. Bob spent a lot of money on Scooter (getting him shots, shampoo and the works) but most of all he gave him a loving and safe environment.


Multi-tasking

September found us doing all sorts of multi-tasking. Of course our regular routine at USI was being fulfilled. It was a month of screwy scheduling as far as our work schedule because of losing one of the three couples working here. We were supposed to go to working three days on and having three days off until the new couple arrived. The first week found us working every other day which neither couple liked but was a necessity because of commitments by each couple. We finally fell back into a more “normal” schedule once the new couple arrived. This is the new couple, Chuck & Pauline. A very nice couple and we think they will do just fine this winter.



Rhonda and I went to many different places for lunch; we dropped off six pair of blue-jeans given to me by one of the residents living here at the park, they needed alterations; making three into shorts and the other three being hemmed up an inch for proper fit; Rhonda visited J.C. Penney and I was dropped off at Barnes & Noble’s for a nice afternoon of relaxing while she shopped; stopped by TGW (the golf warehouse) to pick up free golf towels; I helped Rocky set-up his new treadmill; rented movies from Blockbusters; initiated the my man-cave for the start of the NFL and fantasy football season in the motor home; Rhonda and her new friend Sheila Dunn went to the Kansas State Fair; appointments with my chiropractor ; car care (oil change and tires rotated); setting up a cruise down the Mexican Rivera in the month of December; made phone calls to friends and family; attended a Arts & Crafts Fair in Hillsboro, KS; took a day-trip with Rocky and his girlfriend, Georgette; attended a Chili cook-off in downtown Wichita; picked up our wedding rings for our January ceremony. Now I will talk about just a few of these because otherwise this becomes a book instead of just a short blog.

Tom – Cruise, Wedding Rings and Rhonda

Okay not “the” - Tom Cruise, I mean it’s Tom on a Cruise with Rhonda. Yes, we are doing things a little ass-backwards in taking a honeymoon cruise before the wedding. So who says it has to be done in any sort of order? We are taking a cruise down the Mexican Rivera with port-of-call stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. The cruise is a seven day excursion December 12 – 19 out of Los Angeles, CA on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. If you’re interested in seeing the ship we will be sailing on its name is Mariner of the Seas. Otherwise you can wait until I write about it after the cruise.

The wedding will take place in the Valley of Texas by our good friend Jack Gregory. We are looking forward to seeing him and his sweet wife, Karen. The date is going to be 1/11/11, that’s so the old guy (me) won’t forget our anniversary date. Kind of a memory trick in reverse no matter how you turn the numbers around, it’s always the same. We are hoping a lot of our friends will be able to attend. Here is a picture of the rings on our fingers.





Arts & Crafts Fair

We took a day-trip to Hillsboro, KS attending the 41st Arts & Crafts Fair held in this small community. This is a one-day event well worth attending. There are over 300 vendors from all over the country – hand picked from entries submitted to the town of Hillsboro. There are unique items at just about every booth. This fair is rated among the top Arts & Crafts shows in the nation. I didn’t take any pictures this year; we were so worried about Sadie being stepped on or being hurt because of all the people who attended this event, we carried her throughout the fair. We plan on attending next year when we return to the area and do some serious shopping. Of course we will leave Sadie at home for her safety.

A Couple of Day-Trips

Little Sweden in Kansas

Although I took pictures of our day-trip with Rocky and his girlfriend, Georgette to the town of Lindsborg, KS, I failed to properly transfer them on to the computer. Thus I lost all my pictures taken this day. Luckily they both took pictures and gave us printouts of the fun filled day we enjoyed with them. I in-turn took pictures of the pictures and then put a few on my computer so I could transfer to this blog. Lindsborg is considered the Little Sweden U.S.A. at least in the state of Kansas. We stopped for a nice lunch at a café called Butcher, Baker & Candlestick Maker Café. A block up the street was a nice little store where we rented a bicycle built for four. A four-seat contraption, two in the front and two in the back, it had pedals for all four of us. The problem was Rocky had a bum-knee and Georgette was too short to reach the pedals. Therefore; the four-horse powered bicycle was running on half of its horses, just Rhonda and me. And let me just say the old gray stallion isn’t what he used to be. We pedaled up the street to a small community college, Bethany College and rode through the campus collecting a few stares along the way. After a half –hour of pedaling we called it quits and drove over to, The Old Mill Museum where once a year they mill flour, showing how the mill operates. This mill was operational until the 1950’s. Rocky was truly impressed with the machinery since he was an engineer.

Chili Cook-off Downtown Wichita



We traveled to Wichita’s downtown area to attend the Great Chili Cook-off with another couple from the park. We made new friends with Gary and Barbara Bernhardt who live in the RV Park. Gary also became another golfing buddy of mine. Since this was their fifth time going to this chili cook-off, they drove us there. For just $5 you received a taster’s kit consisting of a small Styrofoam cup, a plastic spoon, a mint (for later), a napkin and a small navy bean. There were hundreds of booths to sample homemade chili. We sampled far more than we should’ve; some very good and some very bad. The navy bean was to “vote” for your favorite chili booth. It was fun and adventurous for the four of us. We all decided on this one booth to give our lonely little navy bean to. She was one fun loving person, running the booth all by herself. It was her first time at the Chili Cook-off and she was a hoot. We are not sure how she did in the voting process but we certainly hope she fared well. We look forward to attending this event again next year.

I could write much more for this month but I still need to catch up on this blog. So now it’s on to the month of October, 2010.

August 2010

Okay I know most people don’t want to read about the weather but I must say it needs to be mentioned this time. Why? Because according to the weatherman, residents here at the park and the people of Wichita, this was one unbearably hot summer.

“How hot was it?” "It was hotter than a nanny goat in a pepper patch."

It was the third hottest recorded summer in Wichita. I can honestly say it was miserable. At times reaching highs of 103-110 actual temperatures and the heat index reaching 110 t 114 some days.

The city of Wichita held a professional golf tournament for the Nationwide Tour, The Wichita Open. We had five of the players staying in our campground while the tournament was being held August 5th-8th. I had the good fortune to meet Daniel Summerhays a nice 27 year old man from Farmington, UT. He was down to earth and not stuck-up like the others I met when they pulled in with their expensive units. Daniel was nice from the get-go and even nice enough to give me four tickets to the four day event. They were good all four days. I was able to attend opening day and the last day. The other two days I had to work. I gave two of the tickets to Frank, my golfing partner and kept two for myself. I became a one-man groupie following Daniel around the course and rooting him on. And why not, he was very likable and nice to me. You couldn’t help wanting him to do well because he was such a pleasant young man. It was my first time attending such an event and it was a blast. I even had Daniel give me an autograph and asked his caddy for one too. I believe he started out number 14 or 15 on the money list and the last time I checked his status sometime in October, he was up to number 4. He is doing great this year.



On August 10th Rocky had another milestone. Rocky had his 89th birthday and celebrated it with his girlfriend of 23 years, Georgette. Rocky has become a good friend and I truly enjoy being around him and talking with him.

Baby Jack enjoying his breakfast

Mid-month we traveled north to Iowa. My son, Ted was taking his wife Connie on a surprise get-away for their anniversary. We watched the grandsons (all three of them) while they were gone. We had a really good time and Brady the oldest of their children was very helpful to Pa-paw and Miss Rhonda. And a big slap on the back goes to my oldest daughter who helped more than I can explain here. It worked out for everyone to have a good time and Pa-paw was able to do some bonding with the boys. We had a great time visiting family. I was able to golf with Mike, and his two oldest boys.

Brady, Kyle, Baby Jack with their cousin Lily



We came back to their lake house where I had my first experience with tubing. An activity that's better suited for the younger generation. I thoroughly enjoyed it but it just proves there are things you should do more in your younger years of life rather than in the latter years. The one activity that my number 3 grandson,Luke is really good at is fishing as this picture indicates. Oh yeah, he also won his football league’s championship.

Luke with one of his prize catches




Arriving back at Wichita it wasn’t long before we had the motor home at the Goodyear Tire Shop to have her re-shoed (new tires). Total bill after buying tires, mounting, balancing and labor was $2,589.53. Then to complete the day we topped off the gas tank and two five-gallon containers we keep for emergencies for $97. The grand total for us this day was $2,686.53. This was the first half of my wages earned at USI.

Rhonda and Estella




Now for that shining moment I mentioned last month concerning my second half wages at USI. They are going toward our new set of wedding rings. We went into the jewelry department at J.C. Penney and a sweet lady helped us throughout the whole process of picking out the rings and the sizing. Her name is Estella and she was a real sweetheart for us to work with. We picked them out on August 28th. The exact date 7 years ago when I bought the motor home. I didn’t realize it until I started writing this.

The last two days of August had highs and lows. August 29th our family fantasy football league had its draft. I did terrible and the results of the season show it. August 30th was my birthday which indicated I was now eligible for Social Security and I was another year older. Okay, forget about the highs – I just had some lows. Wait a minute! – there were a couple of highs.

Rhonda gave me the new John Grisham book titled, Ford County for my birthday. He is my favorite fiction author. On the nights we work we make a nightly round throughout the park. We have a regular routine we go through and one of the last stops is to check the laundry room. As soon as I open the door and turned on the lights, six smiling faces yelled out in unison, “SURPRISE!” And let me tell you it did surprise me.



It’s only the second time I’ve been caught off guard. I didn’t see this one coming. The owners, Keith and Sheila, along with the other two couples we work with Frank and Sondra; and Mike and Joann were in attendance. This was all set up behind my back by Rhonda. We all went over to the rec-hall celebrating with a DQ ice-cream cake. All three couples had given me nice cards. Frank, my good old golfing buddy gave me a golfer’s calendar for 2011.

My youngest daughter, Katie told me, she had a present for me but I would have to wait 7 more months before I could have it or hold it. She must have seen (anticipated) my bewildered look, because she said, “I’m having your tenth grandchild, Dad.” Now how could I get any higher? So if I have to turn another year older it's not a bad way to finish up the month of August.

July 2010 – Our Country is 234 years old

John & Donna accepting their certificate



Park Police

It was official on July 4th; Sheila bestowed the responsibility of Park Police on a couple living here at the park, John and Donnie Beddie. It was sort of an excuse for us to have a get-together at the rec-hall. This little gathering brought the new workers for the summer together to meet and greet each other. It was also a time to have a little fun and see the owners, Keith and Sheila Wagner in a social setting. The evening was filled with homemade ice-cream, pies, fruits, a multitude of snacks and coffee. Frank did the honors of swearing in of the new Park police which I just so happened to video for prosperity.



John & Donna seem to like their new uniforms

There were many fireworks this evening but none from the new officers since they fizzled out soon after their second piece of pie.


Sadie's a hit with the kids



A Few Cities in a Day Trip

In the middle of the month we took a day trip which covered 300 miles and a few interesting cities along the way. Our first stop was in the small community of Yoder, KS. We drove through their downtown area with its small shops and eateries. Rhonda picked up a small item as a Christmas gift for one of her friends. We then drove north of Yoder, where we arrived at Hutchinson, KS around the lunch hour. Taking a few minutes we walked along a small water park that skirts a creek right through the downtown area. This day was extremely hot with the actual temperature at 100 degrees and the heat index reaching 110 according to the radio weatherman. Little children were playing in the water spouts splashing around and enjoying the cool wetness provided them at the hot noon hour.

A Happy "Wet" Youngster












Turning our car southbound we headed for a town called Medicine Lodge. Just the name itself sounds intriguing and just like a Wild West town’s name should sound like. We chose this town because there starts the scenic byway known as the Gypsum Hills. It’s only 41 miles long, and travelers can start in Medicine Lodge traveling westward until they reach the town of Coldwater. The Byway is named for the underlying layers of gypsum. It’s a phenomenon unique in Kansas. Their distinctive color comes from the iron in the soil that creates a rust color when exposed. The red bluffs and stark flat-topped buttes are capped with white gypsum and accented with dark green cedars to create a painted landscape of timeless beauty. We stopped at Coldwater Lake to survey the campgrounds and the lake itself.

Coldwater Lake

The price was right at only $275 per month for full hook-up. But it’s some place you would have to book really early to get in during the summer months.



















Kechi, Kansas The art of glassblowing can be seen up close and personal at a store just a few miles up the road from USI RV Park. The only other time I’ve seen this being done was in Mexico. The gentleman that does the glassblowing is named Rollin who studied hot glass at Emporia State University. He still has a studio/gallery in Kechi where he has seen many changes over the past thirty years. He wasn’t there the day we were there, but we did get to watch four young men perform the art of glassblowing. Man O’ Man, what a hot job. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes, but it was very interesting to watch as they sculpted a piece from the beginning to the end product. I only wished I would’ve taken pictures as they were working. The rest of the month was pretty uneventful for us. Just working in the hot days and cooling off on our four days.

What a life!

Summer Time 2010

Okay, sorry about not staying up with our blog as I have stated in the past I hope to do better, but with my track record; until I see it or you see it – don’t count on it. There really is no excuse, so I will tell it like it really is; I was just plain lazy and the more I got behind the easier it was just to let the time slide by and not do it.

We had a fantastic summer and I’m going to capture the summer in small installments of monthly summaries instead of doing what I’ve done in the past. That being more like a daily log. Instead I will just summarize each month with highlights and pictures I have collected. I will be able to do that because of keeping my daily journal. So without any further ado, let’s get started.

June 2010

The 2 by 4 Rule
Usually for an RV’er the 2 by 4 rule is applied when traveling. It goes something like this; two-hundred miles or four o’clock whichever comes first and then you exit for a good nights rests. So what does an RV'er do with that rule when they’re sitting still? They take the rule and make it applicable to their situation. In our case; work two days and take four off which equal’s the 2 X 4 Rule.

(Frank addressing the ball, then Frank with his fine follow through and of course Frank addressing me, telling me that's how it's done.

Hot Summer Dog Days & Golf Days
This month was very hot, but it was just the start of the long hot summer for us all. About once a week Frank and I went golfing, hot or not. He stopped playing golf about 12 years ago, I finally convinced him to try again. He has been enjoying it so much he went out and bought himself a new set of clubs. Frank has done really good getting his scores down in the low 90’s and even once or twice reaching 89. Frank must be a good luck charm for me because I have consistently been in the low to mid 80’s while golfing with him. Having my lowest score twice this year with an 81.

Rhonda and I made the best of our days off by going to a lot of different places to eat and seeing a bunch of movies. During our normal course of work, Sheila approached us concerning our return to work next year. Normally we don’t like to return to work the same place two years in a row. The question arises what good is the RV if you continue going back to the same place year after year? The predicament in all of this is that if you do find some place you really like and you feel appreciated – then why wouldn’t you go back? The answer to her question and so she could line up her work schedule for next summer was a definite – Yes, we would be back for at least one more season. Besides all of my money was earmarked already for this season. The first half was saved for new tires for the motor home. The second half of my wages will be explained at a later date. It will be another shining moment to talk about.

Live Performances
We both love live theatre and we took the opportunity on one of our days off to attend the showing of Gypsy Rose Lee in downtown Wichita at the Century II Theatre. It was a wonderful musical with a lot of professional actors and singers. We were then invited to attend another live performance by Sheila at a local church. Her daughter Amy was getting married to a nice young man, Brock. We felt privileged that we were even thought of in this way.

Family, grandkids and a short trip
Toward the end of the month we took a short trip up to Iowa to visit family. Rhonda and I took Luke, Griffin and Lily to a movie, Toy Story Three in 3-D. I then had a wonderful time on the golf course with my son, Ted and my two oldest grandsons, Mikey and Riley. The visit was way too short.

So came and went the month of June.