Our Days Off Must Be Jinxed

The total rainfall so far for the 2 days we have been off this week is over 2.5". This morning it is 37 degrees but at least the rain has now stopped. After thinking about the last several weeks, our days off seem to be filled with lousy weather while the weekends are terrific. We have to work inside during those days so as far as enjoying any nice weather this month, we haven't. It's the roll of the dice I guess, as last year we enjoyed some great weather on our days off.

All we did yesterday was get haircuts and have lunch at a neat place in town called Happy Days. It is a place we've heard about and seen as we pass by it on Main St in town, but never tried before yesterday. The atmosphere is, of course, like the Happy Days show. They have a soda fountain, tables, booths, 50's memorabilia and the best burgers we've had in a long time. I had a shake with mine, Josie had tea and we both had home made potato chips that were outstanding. The bill came to $14. We stopped on a spur of the moment decision so we didn't have the camera, but we will definitely return again.

There is another dinner with friends scheduled for tonight. Rodger and Sue will go to Gatti's with us us for the pizza buffet. They have switched their duties at work from Stowing to Picking for the rest of the season. That involves a lot more walking as they roll carts around the warehouse "picking" merchandise from the bins that have been ordered by customers. We feel that the outbound personnel will be the least likely to leave early at the end of the season. Amazon will be filling orders right up to Christmas Eve day, while the merchandise that we stow will most likely already be stowed and ready for "picking" by earlier in the Christmas week. Our plan is to leave here ASAP!

That's about it for now as we get ready to enjoy our last off day for this week. Maybe we will be able to get the rest of Christmas out of storage - if the rain and wind stop...

Weather Controls Our Schedule

Wouldn't you know that the 2 days we had off this week were rainy days. That removed the incentive to go to a new area to discover. We were able to get a few things done though. Josie did the laundry and I did research on phones that Verizon is offering as free upgrades.

We are at the point once again in our Verizon 2 yr contract where we can upgrade our phones for free, or at a discounted price. Neither one of us is ready for the smart phones that are out there since they all require additional data packages that run up the monthly cost of using them. The same features are available to us on our computers which we use everyday. We don't need the real-time, find out now, information that is available with those devices. Our pace isn't the same as when we were working "real" jobs in the marketplace, and it's just the two of us, so why the need for all the extra features? Anyway, after researching all the feature phones - plain phones with some touchscreen capabilities - we decided to wait a little longer. We're sure that some of the nicer phones that would cost us some more money now will make the "free" list in a couple months. Some of the phones we would like to have do have more capability - such as memory cards, better built-in cameras and longer battery life - that would cost us more money now. It was a fun exercise anyway.

Our schedule today has us both working from 1 to 6, after which we have to go to Bethpage to attend an orientation class. We would have thought that an orientation class would be more appropriate at the beginning of our working stint. Oh, well. Also, I have to attend a propane certification class tomorrow morning, also at Bethpage. I have been dispensing propane at most of the parks we have worked, but I have never been "officially" certified. That will be good for our resume.

We are anxious to go to Williamsburg, so we may be scheduling a trip there on our next day off. It is only about 40 miles from here, so we will most likely have multiple visits to that area. I am now researching the town to find out the best way to see everything. There are lots of options, so we'll keep you posted...

Weather Patterns Changing

It appears that the fall season is arriving early here. Yesterday started out with some sunshine, but it turned cloudy and rainy the whole day. Our high temperature was 70, and our low was 50. Total rainfall for yesterday, through this morning was .36". Word has it that some snow is expected in Yellowstone this morning. Wow! This is still late August. I'm sure that whatever amount they get won't last long.

There wasn't much to talk about from yesterday. I fixed a leak we had in our refrigerator line in the morning and Josie made some preparations for a baby shower that she is helping to organize for our supervisor. She (Pernille) is expecting a baby boy sometime around Christmas, and we all will be leaving before that time.

We are looking forward to our trip to Jackson on Wednesday. I hope that the weather cooperates for us since we have to go through Yellowstone to get there. I had a bad dream last night that we went on the trip and we left our cameras home. No way. Two more work days and we can head out for a trip we have been looking forward to for a long time...

Enough Rain Now

When the entry was done yesterday morning we only had .01" of rain so far for the day. We finished the day with .52", so it rained most of the day. In looking at the data since we have been here, the longest stretch without rain has been 3 days. It is beginning to seem like Washington. I'm sure the other areas we've stayed also have had good rainfall (snow, in the case of Happy Jack) this year. There should be some beautiful wild flowers this spring.

For the second day in a row, Josie started work at 8 AM and I started at 9. We had the same breaks though and she left at 5 PM and I left at 6. The difference yesterday was that I had to do patrol at 9 PM, so that added an extra half hour to my day. Patrol is done every night by one of the staff to check on everything in the campground. Sometimes there are doors unlocked that should be locked and there may be some problems with leaks, etc. at a site that is occupied. Those things are checked along with enforcing the quiet time rules of the park.

We are off today but there is a big Super Bowl party in the barn. It starts at 1 PM and everybody is supposed to bring a "finger" food, such as wings, chips and dip. We have to go to the store this morning to get our food and so far we are undecided what to take. I have to stay the whole time since I am running the pool for the game. Josie can leave if she wants which is probably what she'll do since she doesn't care about football. I thought everybody loved the Super Bowl.

The weather is supposed to improve today and we hope to have a great Super Bowl Sunday. Enjoy it everybody...