Gina's Jewels

Changes, Help Wanted....

Monday was a day for change. Back at the beginning of the year, we applied for dozens of workcamping positions all over the U.S. We had offers from Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky and Missouri but not one offer from our preferred location – Florida. That was until yesterday. Stephan got a call from Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort (www.rvresort.com) in Panama City asking us to come help ASAP. This was what we’d prayed for but yet it is bittersweet. Our current gig at the YMCA of the Ozarks is great and we have really enjoyed our time with the people here. There are so many activities that we haven’t even participated in. We are sad to leave but thrilled about our new opportunity and returning to FL friends, family, weather AND beaches.

If you are looking for a workcamping position, please contact Jessica Clay at 573-438-2154. The YMCA of the Ozarks website is http://www.ymcaoftheozarks.org/. The people are fun and outdoor enthusiasts could have a blast here. The lake activities alone would keep you busy all summer!

If that sounds good but you just can’t bear the thought of being so far from the Raus, they are also looking for additional help at the Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort. You can call them at 1-800-232-2478. You never know where life is going to lead you….

Is it Spring?

Saturday was a cold rainy day; perfect for chicken soup, cuddling by the fireplace and watching a long movie. That is exactly what we did. We watched Ben Hur starring Charlton Heston, which Stephan and I had not seen in years. Watching TV gave Wagner a big appetite for his favorite lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers with lemon cake for dessert. It was truly a day of rest with lots of eating. Elvis even got his own piece of chicken from the dinner buffet.

 

As usual, we started our Sunday with Joel Osteen. I love that man. What was NOT normal was that we woke up to SNOW. Not much but as a TX girl, I can’t accept snow this late in March! Good excuse for another day of rest. I don’t recall any of us expending any more energy than on Saturday except for the sprint up for the fried and rotisserie chicken buffet!  The photos above were taken in the afternoon after most of the snow had melted.

Curriculum choices....

Stephan and Wagner picked me up from the store about 3:15 on Thursday so that we could drive into St. Louis for a homeschool conference. I try to always be well prepared and make a list of my curriculum needs when I attend these shows, as it would be really easy to overspend. I didn't attend a conference last year, so even though I could have ordered our curriculum over the internet, I wanted to look for any new or improved products. Conventions are also a great opportunity to collect vendor catalogs for use throughout the year. Although we hit a few slippery spots, we managed to leave without straying too far from my list.

We took advantage of being in the big city and made a date night out of it. We stopped by Costco and shared a pepperoni pizza before heading back to Potosi.

Birthday celebrations...

Wagner continues to be a great help at the Country Store. He is definitely earning his ice cream. On Wednesday, while I continued with tagging and folding shirts in the back room, he spent time sorting out the toys again. It seems that there are always things that need to be returned to their original location. I expected the disarray, but I didn’t realize how many items are actually stolen. Wagner has taken to patrolling the store and has offered to frisk each customer as they exit.

He has grown comfortable around Anna, the store manager, and the young store clerks. Logan, who is a friendly 20ish local hire, spent some time showing Wagner how to fling rubber lizards to get them to stick on the store’s vaulted ceiling. They had a great time with this while the store was vacant. They attempted to increase the time delay before the lizards dropped.

New cases of ice cream were delivered and included a flavor called “Birthday Cake”. It tastes exactly like the icing on store bought cakes. Wagner believes that he should celebrate his birthday EVERY day that we are here. He may switch flavors when he turns 120, but for now, this is his favorite flavor.

Free food tastes better...

On Monday, Wagner and I drove into Potosi to browse through the library and pick up a few items at Walmart. I made a tossed salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing and some pasta to serve with the chicken I brought home from the buffet last night. After dinner, we watched one of our library movies. “Kingdom of Heaven”, which starred Orlando Bloom, also included many familiar actors we recognized from Lord of the Rings, Eragon, Star Wars, DragonHeart. It was a good movie with good acting but included many vivid battle scenes. They guys enjoyed all of it but I get nervous seeing an arrow shoot through someone’s neck and their blood gushing out.

We’re enjoying our time here and have our own little routine. Stephan works 7:30 to 4 pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday then 7:30 to 1 on Thursday. I work 12 to 5 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. While he works longer hours, this allows me time for school, laundry, etc. If I remember correctly, I think I folded shirts the entire time I was as work on Tuesday. We have so many new sweatshirts and tees still needing to be tagged and folded. As usual, the guys picked me up at 5 so that we could head to the lodge and have dinner together. Tuesday is Mexican food night. The enchiladas taste just like the ones in the Patio Frozen dinners. You know, you try them once and swear you’ll never buy them again. With a good dab of sour cream and some hot sauce, they taste better (plus they are free and I’m not cooking or cleaning)!

Would you eat bugs?

On Sunday we worshipped with Ed Young and Joel Olsteen before making any other plans for the day.   On our way to lunch, we stopped by the Crafts area so that Stephan could assist Wagner with some problem pieces on his wood pirate ship model.

I’ve grown fond of dining at the Lodge on Sundays as the buffet includes rotisserie and fried chicken, green beans with mashed potatoes and gravy.   Now knowing that Monday is my least favorite day (sweet/sour chicken with rice), I carried along a container so that I could pack some of the rotisserie chicken home for tomorrow. 

 

   

After our lunch feast, we spent some time in the lower lobby working on the internet.   Wagner figured out how to connect his Nintendo DS to the wifi and had a blast playing a game with Mitch (one of his NC buddies).   I love that technology!   It was like they were side by side competing (except they didn’t argue over the computer/Nintendo)!

On the way home, we stopped by the store for some ice cream – you know, to help us make it ALL the way until dinner.  

We’ve met some really interesting people here.  Many of the staff are interns with diverse backgrounds ranging from the local area to as far as Brazil.   We sat with “Nate” and “Brie” at dinner tonight.   They are both from IL.   She is a graphic designer and he works in “O.E.” (outdoor entertainment) keeping the father/son and scout groups busy.  He just completed an internship in Alaska which required living in a tent.  Imagine sleeping inside two sleeping bags but it is so cold that the condensation from your breath freezes around the opening of the sleeping bag which is frozen to the ground.  I told him that I thought he’d be a good candidate for the Survivor show if he would eat bugs.   We laughed as we compared his story with our idea of “roughing it”.  We’ve complained about the cold with our heaters and down comforters on! 

 

Doing our own thing....

We spent most of Saturday just hanging out around the RV pursuing our individual interests. Wagner spent several hours captivated by the Kid’s National Geographic magazines he received in yesterday’s mail, we played some games and I completed some custom ordered jewelry. I admit that I was so engrossed in my projects that I don’t even know how Stephan spent his time. Of course we faithfully made our way to the Lodge for meals.

 

Shocking mail.....

After breakfast on Friday, I drove into St. Louis for the International Gem Show. I didn’t find all of the items that I was looking for but acquired the particular gemstones I needed for some custom jewelry orders.

Stephan worked on taxes and caught up on some math instruction with Wagner. They took Elvis on a long walk (which even included a bit of swimming in one of the trout ponds) followed by a lavender shampoo.

By the time I ran all of my errands and returned home, the guys were already at the lodge eating dinner. I decided that some cheese and crackers with a glass of wine would do for me. A cold front had arrived for the first day of spring so it was great to spend the evening relaxing by the fireplace.

Our monthly package of mail arrived which included a massive bill from the IRS. Hopefully, Stephan will be able to get this straightened out without too much hassle. For now, he is just trying to catch his breath from the shock this notice gave him.

Loved for my job perks....

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were days filled with school in the morning, meeting Stephan for lunch, working at the country store in the afternoons and then spending our evenings together. One of my job perks is that we are allowed free ice cream and slurpees. Fat chance they’ll ever let me transfer from this job! Wagner usually hangs out with me until Stephan gets off work – Stephan’s job doesn’t offer the same perks! The miniature golf, archery, and face painting are all located just outside the store. Inside, he enjoys reading, visiting with my college age co-workers and watching me scoop ice cream, serve drinks, fold shirts and organize the store.

The pictures below are of the dining room at the Lodge on a busy day and the downstairs lobby where we hang out when we want internet reception.

 

  

 

 

So much to do....

The lodge and grounds were bustling with activity on Sunday. We all enjoyed a big lunch of fried and rotisserie chicken then set off to our individual endeavors. I spent some time getting our blog up to date and some other internet business. Stephan and Wagner had reservations at the rifle range. Our boy has a good aim.

 

After 3 sessions at the range, they headed to the “Pine Zip”. Stephan video taped as Wagner climbed up and zipped across on the line. Wagner’s legs were a bit sore from the harness on Monday, but he is looking forward to participating again.

 

 

  

They returned to the lodge to join me for dinner and discuss their adventures. As we were walking by the trout ponds on our way home, Wagner decided that a bit of fishing would be a great way to wrap up the day. So after a few minutes of TV to watch the space shuttle launch, they dropped their lines in the lower pond. They had a lot of action and the picture below is of a 2 lb. rainbow trout they caught and released.

On Monday, Stephan started work at 7:30 but Wagner and I just weren’t in the mood for school. We got through our science and history reading (which isn’t like “school” because we enjoy it) then made our way to the Arts & Crafts Center.

Wagner put another coat of paint on my birdhouse then started putting together a wooden model pirate ship. We took a break to have lunch with Stephan. Afterward, Wagner completed 2 more rounds at the rifle range, worked about another hour on the pirate ship and then practiced with the bow & arrows at the archery range. At this point, we were all bushed, so we ate dinner and then made our way home to cuddle up and watch a movie together.

Arts & Crafts....

Wagner and I opted to eat at home but Stephan made the journey up to the breakfast buffet. When he returned, he decided that he would be spending some time today organizing his tax information.

 

 

 

Knowing that a little bit of quiet time would be a tremendous help, I took Wagner over to the Arts & Crafts building. I made some silver charms and Wagner took a short class on copper enameling then started putting together a metal airplane. This offered him some practice working with small screws, nuts, bolts, screwdriver and wrench.

Stephan took a break so that we could all eat lunch together. I ate chicken noodle soup, Stephan had a cheese burger and Wagner ate bratwurst on a bun with French fries and cake.

Afterwards, we returned to the crafts area so that Stephan could continue working on his taxes in solitude. Wagner completed his airplane but wasn’t ready to call it a day. He selected a wood bird feeder that needed to be assembled and painted. By the time he had it all glued, nailed and slathered with a coat of red paint, he decided that was enough crafting for one day.

He visited with my mom on the telephone while we strolled home and then talked his Daddy into playing some battle games on the x-box with him. In the evening, we watched the Glen Beck Show which I recommend tuning in to.

Fish Friday....

We finished our school work then met Stephan for some delicious fried cod at lunch. New guests are arriving and planning their activity schedules for the week. You can feel (and hear) their excitement to begin their vacation. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people could feel this same enthusiasm every day?

Fried catfish was the popular item on the dinner buffet. We ate our fill and then spent some time at the lodge visiting and getting some internet items taken care of before we headed back home for the evening.

Frigid...

The high temperature today was 34. The wind was gusting and it was very, very COLD. Wagner and I skipped the breakfast buffet and ate at home.

We met Stephan for lunch and I thought about the warm, sunny Florida beaches with each miserable step as we walked in the frigid temperatures. Have I ever mentioned how much I love feeling the warmth of the sun on me?

After lunch, Wagner played on his Nintendo while I helped tag and fold shirts. We moved sale items to make room for the new stock. Anna was busy taking calls for activity reservations and defrosting the ice cream freezer. While we worked indoors, Stephan was out in the wintry weather assisting with expanding the archery range.

As we chatted over our spaghetti dinner, we admitted we were each a bit drained and ready for some rest. That is exactly what we did – Wagner and I watched a few MASH episodes and Stephan retreated to the bedroom to read. I think the lights were out by 9 pm.

Moving things around....

Stephan left at 7 am for breakfast and then work. Wagner and I jammed on school so that we could go in early to help Anna at the Country Store. The store seemed unorganized and didn’t seem to flow well. Our thoughts on what needed to change were the same, so Anna, the Store Director, allowed me to attempt to improve it while she continued to work on inventory. After little planning, a lot of rearranging, our plan was coming together. Wagner did a great job organizing all the toys and even attended a meeting with the candy vendor to select some sweets for the store.

We took a break at 11:30 to meet Stephan for lunch then we quickly returned to our project. Stephan spent the morning on shower repairs and defrosting a large walk-in freezer before coming to help us after his shift. He fixed a bookcase and candy rack, moved some display racks and frozen slush machines, and hung wind chimes for better display. The store is so much neater now but there is still much to be done before the Spring Break crowds arrive.

When my shift ended we enjoyed pork chops, chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli from the dinner buffet plus hot cobbler for dessert. We waddled back to the RV and snuggled in for the night.   The picture below is an area close to our RV site.

Work days...

Stephan and Pete walked to the lodge and ate breakfast together then continued on to their maintenance jobs at 7:30. Their primary assignment for today was cutting trees and splitting logs for firewood.

Wagner and I focused on school for a few hours before walking to breakfast. Wagner devoured a plate of pancakes and sausage; I ate eggs and hash browns. After we ate, we returned to the RV, finished school and then returned to the Lodge to meet Stephan for his lunch break. Lunch included deli sandwiches, soups, salads & cookies.

 

After lunch, it was time for me to report to work at the Country Store (pictured above). I spent the afternoon assisting Anna inventory shirts. Right now, our schedules are set up so that I start work at about the time that Stephan is finishing his shift. If Wagner chooses to stay home, he only has about 30 minutes alone from the time I leave and Stephan returns. When Stephan gets home, they have several hours to finish school and play games before they walk up to meet me when I complete my shift at 6 pm. This, of course, is right on the way to the Lodge for dinner.

Property tour....

We met Jessica for breakfast 9 am for our orientation and property tour. This YMCA property (http://www.ymcaoftheozarks.org/) encompasses over 5,000 acres, with about 187 buildings, and a 360 acre lake and serves as home to both Camp Lakewood and the Trout Lodge.

We have access to all the activities as long as we cover the cost of supplies. For example, we can participate in the guided trail rides free but pay the minimal cost for supplies if we take a craft class. The activity schedule is updated weekly based on the Lodge occupancy level.

Stephan was allowed to choose 3 t-shirts and 2 long sleeve T’s at the Country Store to wear on the days that he works. The shirts in my size were not available at the time.  When we finished our tour and shopping, we decided to go ahead and have lunch before heading back to the RV.

Later that afternoon, I drove into town and borrowed a few books from the local library then stopped by Walmart for a few items. When I returned, we walked to the Lodge for an early dinner, and then watched a few MASH episodes before heading to bed.

At this point it seems that our days evolve around the 3 trips to the buffet each day. Hmmm, not sure that is a good thing. At least we are burning some calories by walking up there. The 3 trips per day (approximately 20 minutes each way) keeps us walking about 2 hours every day.

Sunday stroll....

On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of bacon, hash browns, and cheese omelets, while Wagner selected cereal and cinnamon rolls.

After that, while we were in the downstairs lobby using the internet, the sirens blasted indicating we were under a tornado watch. I used this time to update the blog and the guys played chess. The storm blew through with lots of rain, hail and wind gusts strong enough to take down a large pine tree. Elvis and our RV were fine.

After just a short time, the weather cleared and it was nice enough to walk around and explore the property. We roamed around the trout ponds, over to the Ranch and saw a few of the horses, and then across dam.

 

We finally made our way to the lunch buffet (just a bit late) where we chose baked/fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, plus some cake and cookies for dessert. As this was our second large meal today, we decided to spend some more time outside. The three of us lined up for archery practice. We started out a little rough, o.k. I was really bad. My arrow completely missed my target BUT it did hit the next target over. By the end of our practice, we were all hitting our own targets.

Next, we stopped at the Nature Center, which I believe, should have been named the “Reptile House”. They have snakes, bunnies, snakes, a sugar glider, snakes, mice, snakes and a bearded dragon. It would have been a wonderful place to visit except there were snakes in every direction. I suggested that they group all the reptiles together in an area in the back of the room.

Then it was time to return home as we wanted to rest a bit before making the 20 minute walk back up to the lodge for dinner. :o)

Potosi, MO

Since our visit to Keeneland yesterday didn’t go as planned, we were ahead of our original schedule. Fortunately, we were able to arrive at our destination a day early. Jessica was waiting to greet us in the RV area, show us our site, give us the lay of the land and introduce us to our neighbors, Cathy & Pete (and their adorable dog, Potter).

Cathy and Pete stopped by after we were set up and we all walked up to the lodge together for dinner. We chose BBQ ribs, grilled chicken breasts, and salad from the buffet, then enjoyed a cappuccino and some cherry pie before heading home.

Cathy & Pete walked over to watch the “Moonlight Zip” at 7 pm but we were just beat from our travels and decided to save that adventure for another night. We are parked in a very quiet, secluded spot which means we’ll sleep well but it also means that we do not have internet coverage at our site. We will be carrying our laptops to the Lodge when we feel the need to connect.

Toyota Tour

We arrived early for our scheduled tour of the Toyota Manufacturing facility (http://www.toyotageorgetown.com/tour.asp) so we had plenty of time to check out all the information available in the visitor’s center. There were several monitors playing videos about the company history, environmental awareness, and some very funny Toyota commercials. There were awards displayed throughout the center and also few vehicles available to sit in, inspect and hopefully tempt someone into buying. The first part of the tour consisted of another video (to remind you of what a fabulous company Toyota is) and then instructions on wearing and using the safety glasses and headsets that were distributed for use during the tram tour.

The tram took us all around the facility allowing us to view the employees working on the production lines, dashboards and seats being installed, white glove inspection area, and completed models being driven out to the test drive course.  When our tour was complete I made some tacos for lunch then we spent a few hours at a “Half Price Books”.

We continued on to Keeneland on the other side of Lexington. We had hoped to spend the night in the area and watch the race horses train in the morning. We walked around the campus and took Wagner inside to see the gamblers enjoying beer and hot dogs while gambling on the simulcast horse racing. We decided that we’d rather see the beautiful horses so we made our way through the stable area. Unfortunately there were not ANY horses to be found. With this in mind, we decided that without horses, there would probably not be much to watch at morning practice. So we continued on our journey and spent another night at a local Walmart before starting our drive on to Missouri.

It all began in the garden...

For the last few years, I have felt led to support Feed the Children. During this same time, Stephan has led our family in supporting Answers in Genesis. As a result of his support, we were invited to tour the museum.

The Creation Museum (http://www.creationmuseum.org/about) is VERY impressive; it was planned, constructed, and is managed with great attention to detail and excellence. It would have been easy for us to dive into the quality products offered in their bookstore and completely lose track of time. But, we did manage to control ourselves and browse for short periods between presentations. We attended a seminar “Is Genesis Relevant In Today’s World?“, then a show in the Planetarium, ate lunch and then made our way to the actual “museum”, which is first class in all aspects.

After a few hours, we were starting to wear down so I persuaded the guys to take a coffee/ice cream break before continuing. There is so much to take in and I didn’t want us to rush through because of fatigue. Our snack break did the trick and we were able to continue enjoying the rest of the exhibits, botanical gardens, petting zoo, and finish our bookstore shopping.

We drove only as far as the next Walmart where we, once again, set up camp for the night. I know that to non-RVers, it sounds strange to read that I cooked a spaghetti dinner, showered, played games and spent the night in the Walmart parking lot! I can remember a time when I would have never understood this but amazingly we can settle just about anywhere these days!

Tomorrow, we are travelling back south just a bit as we are scheduled to tour the Toyota Plant in Lexington, KY.

Where the Buffalo roam....

We knew we were only driving a short distance today so we enjoyed a relaxed morning before getting on the road. Upon our arrival at Bone Lick State Park (www.parks.ky.gov/findparks/recparks/bb/discoverytrail.htm), we selected a sunny spot in the picnic area and Stephan grilled cheeseburgers for our lunch. Afterward, we all went on a walk around the park, over the hanging bridge, past the tennis courts and on to the nature center, where many fossils and bones were on display.

 

 

Behind the nature center was a walkway over a created bog. It sounded really impressive on the website but was actually a very small weather-beaten exhibit. We continued on down the trail to see the bison. I anticipated a grand view based on the website description and found that in actuality, we were basically looking past a few fenced areas to observe the bison in the distance. I wasn’t expecting to get close enough to touch them but I think it would have been a more notable experience if we were at least close enough to smell them. Of course, NOT smelling them may have been a blessing in itself!

We enjoyed the park a bit longer then drove to the Walmart where we did a little shopping, then made ourselves at home in the parking lot (x-box games, dinner, movie, reading and sleeping). Tomorrow we will continue travelling north to Petersburg, KY.

Fin clipping....

Several people from KDFWR, Indiana DNR, Trout Unlimited Chapters, Fly Fishers Clubs, etc. came to the Hatchery for fin clipping 43,000 brown trout. According to James Gray, 40,000 of these will be stocked in the Cumberland tailwater in March and 3,000 will be stocked in the Brookville tailwater in Indiana in May.  Stephan and Wagner went out to watch for a while and take these pictures but the frigid temperatures drove them back home.

Lotsa babies.....

 Do you remember the eggs that were delivered during our first week here?   Below is a picture of them back on about Feb. 3.

 

 

Here are pictures of them now that they are hatching.....