Sat. Aug. 24, 2013 - Weenie Roast

Today we did litter picking along the main road in to the boat launch in the morning, then did office work at Common Grounds in the afternoon.  It feels good to be inside during the heat of the day. 

Tonight we attended a gathering of camp host contract workers, ( Laverne and Bill and our hostess, Patti who lives across the road from us) and volunteers ( Jim and Luella and us), rangers and park maintenance staff with spouses.  There were about 20 people. This is an annual tradition and we were happy to be a part of it this year.

We brought a dish to pass - I took potato salad and cut up watermelon

 

and we roasted our own hot dogs over the fire. 

Fri. Aug 23, 2013 - Back to New Hogan

We left my car at Connie's house for the next few days - we'll be back soon since we are almost done at New Hogan and will be going back to Oregon for the month of September.

We got to New Hogan in time to work the Fiddleneck Day Use booth from 1 - 7 PM.  There was not much traffic this time.  I spent my part of the shift working on my phone - Facebook, Gems with Friends, You Tube, etc.  Fun Fun Fun!   When Mike came to take his turn, I went to the coffee shop for a couple hours.

Tonight we had a simple salad for dinner at dusk and crashed in our own bed - Home Sweet Home!

Thurs. Aug. 22, 2013 - Dinner with Kelly and Glenda

Today we spent out time in Auburn on business and other errands,

  and visiting with Mom Tomczak.

Then to Rocklin to spend the evening with Kelly and Glenda.

Wed., Aug. 21, 2013 - Dinner with Steve and Terri

Today and tomorrow are New Hogan off duty days, so we drove in to Sacramento where I picked up my Bug from the Enterprise rental car parking lot and Mike and I went about our business for the day. 

I stopped in to visit with Dad at the Palms.  He was having lunch in the dining room and was in very good sorts today - he was able to feed himself his own lunch while we visited. 

 

Tonight we met up at Steve and Terri's house where Steve grilled us some salmon and Terri and added veggies and potatoes. 

Delicious dinner and a good catching up with family news.

 

 

Mon. Aug. 19, 2013 - finishing up the parking bumpers

This morning we put the top coat - reflective white paint - on the parking bumpers at Cameron Trailhead parking lot. 

Then went for a short hike along Cameron trail before it got too hot

 

out to an observation point where they shoot fireworks over the lake and where we could see:

the Fiddleneck Boat Launch and Day Use area in one direction

and New Hogan Dam in another direction.

 

Today was a very Hot and HUMID day, so we didn't go home after coffee shop work in the afternoon - we went to Eddie's Grill instead for dinner and to watch the struggling Giants on TV.

 

 

Sun., Aug 18, 2013 - Dinner with Bill and Laverne

This morning we started on a new area of painting - the Observation Point trailhead parking lot - 14 parking bumpers.  We did the primer coat today before it got too hot.  Then off to La Contenta golf course for lunch.  Here is another stained glass window - last one was in Florence at Brown Hen

I'm a fan of stained glass:)

 

Tonight we shared dinner with Laverne and bill - the contract workers who staff the Acorn Campground booth where campers check in.  They have been at this post during the summertime for the last 5 years.  They have a home in Arizona and family in Washington state.  Mike and I brought Little Joes and fresh pasta for main course and they provided the salad, bread

and homemade sorbet for dessert - Laverne is a good cook:)

Mike and Bill relaxing after dinner outdoors in the easy chairs.

 

Sat., Aug 17, 2013 - painting sign posts

Today our task was painting sign posts in the Oak Knoll campground - same general area as our Acorn campground, but about a half mile farther down the road.  We painted 11 posts before it got too hot, then  went home to relax in the shade for a few minutes before getting cleaned up and going off to the coffee shop for a cool afternoon.

Tonight we slept outside on our air mattress to beat the heat and enjoy the growing moon and full-ish campground sounds.

Fri. Aug. 16, 2013 - Back in the booth

We had a nice morning conversation with Connie before heading out to New Hogan Lake for another 6 hour session in the booth.  We took turns, but did not get a new picture, so here is a re-run for your entertainment.....

 

Not too busy today

but plenty hot, so instead of going home, we drove to Angels Camp farmers market again to get some dinner, fruit and greens, but were there just as they were closing, so we won't go again after working the booth.

 

Thurs. Aug, 14, 2013 - Networking

I spent the AM at Kelly's house helping her get set up with a QuickBooks Online file for KrazyKat Enterprises.  Then up to Auburn to meet a local CPA for a meet and greet luncheon.  I had a coffee with Laurie at my favorite Auburn coffee house - Courthouse Coffee, then went to have dinner with Dad at his place before attending my Enrolled Agent professional society monthly dinner meeting in Sacramento.

Tonight's Continuing Education topic - the tax implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling on DOMA.

The meeting was just minutes from Connie's house where we crashed tonight. - Thanks - Connie:)

Wed., Aug 13, 2013 - Back in our neighborhood

We drove to Sacramento where I picked up the Bug from the Enterprise parking lot so Mike and I could be independent today.  We each visited our own parent, visited clients and Mike picked up new eyeglasses, before we met back up at Kelly's house for a tasty Chicken picatta dinner and evening cool down in her pool area at dusk.  Dang - Where was my camera then?????

Tues. Aug 13, 2013 - Counting money

Today our job was helping Ranger Kaitlin at Headquarters (HQ)

 

 

to count the money collected over the last few weeks in the  "Iron Ranger" self-pay posts.  It would have been a great picture - a very large pile of $1's with some $5's, $10, and $20's for good measure, but I couldn't bring myself to take the money picture, so I got the QH building instead.  It took us an hour to open the envelopes and pile the money on the table, then another 1.5 hours to stack and count it.  Quite a perfect job for me:).

Tonight a cooked an eggplant , vegetable, bulgar stir fry dish with the eggplant we got last Friday at Angels Camp.  Tasty!  then another after dark stroll through the campground before bed.

Mon., Aug 12, 20123 - Painting Posts, Picking Papers

Today we enjoyed New Hogan Lake campground in the morning - using the picker to deep clean a few campsites, then painting sign posts

before heading off to our local office - Common Grounds for the afternoon. 

 

 

We had dinner at dusk and a nice evening stroll around a nearly empty campground.

Sun. Aug. 11, 2013 - Bank in the Booth

Today was our day to take a shift in the Fiddleneck Day-Use Ticket booth.  I went first, and Mike finished up our 1PM - 6PM shift. 

 

It was a beautiful day, and we did a hefty business for the day before school starts for a lot of districts - the park was not full this weekend, but there were 32 paid boaters during our shift.

Tonight we were completely alone in our campground - no other campers within our sight, so we enjoyed the sunset and dinner on the picnic table - a delicious snapper fillet from the Krab Kettle in Florence - YUM!!!!!

We took another walk around the campground after dinner - the campers who are here choose spots at the end of our peninsula where they can walk to the water and park their boats...... 

Good for them, and good for us - privacy during the week.

Sat, Aug. 10, 2013 - Grilled peaches????

Painted parking bumpers and road sign posts his AM,

then off to our Valley Springs office - Common Grounds for business work.

Tonight Mike grilled the pork chop we got at SF farmers market last Sat and added grilled peaches which we learned about on NPR- TED Talk. Mike has been looking forward to grilling peaches since we learned about it on our drive back from Honeyman.

Then we took a stroll around the week-end full campground before bed.

Fri. Aug. 9, 2013 - Friday night at Angels Camp

It feels good to be back at New Hogan Lake. The weather is lovely, the other hosts and rangers have been welcoming, and we have interesting work.

We finished up the picnic table paint in June, so we got white parking bumper paint for Wrinkle Cove handicapped day use site for today and tomorrow's assignment.

After work this evening we drove to Angels Camp - about 22 miles - for dinner and fresh fruits and veges  at their Friday night farmers market.

Thurs. Aug 8, 2013 - No Jeep, No Bug to New Hogan

We said good-by to our hosts, Chris and John, this morning, then dropped the Jeep off for its repairs - a two week estimate.  We are really happy there is enough time to repair the jeep while we are semi-local before we make our next trip to Oregon at the end of August.

I drove the Bug to Sacramento to have a lunch time visit with dad while Mike learned we could get a rental car on insurance.

We were happy we did not have to take the bug with us to New Hogan Lake - it is not good with storage or traveling on the highway.  So Mike drove the MH and I drove the Avalon.  We arrived in the early evening, got settled in and had a quick and easy salad for dinner.

Wed. Aug, 7, 2013 - taking care of business

Body shop quote, client work, trip to storage, visit with Mom T - dinner out at Cafe Delicious to discuss the day, then home to crash early and listen to the Giants on the radio.

Tues. Aug 6, 2013 - Only the Jeep got hurt

Mike was turning left from Hwy 49 onto Elm this morning on his way in to work and got sideswiped by a distracted driver.  No person was hurt, 

 

 

It doesn't look too bad,

but the passenger door does not open, so we need to get it fixed ASAP.  Not Mike's fault, so no deductible, but it is a timing hassle.

 

Tonight I met up with friends from PEO for a fun night of conversation and an hour long line dancing session led by Chuck and Megan - FUN!!!

 

 

 

Mon. Aug 5, 2013 - Back at the Boykins

We moved the MH from Cal Expo to Boykins upper driveway for three nights - thanks, John and Chris!  We collaborated on dinner on their deck tonight.  Little Joes and fresh pasta from us, and garden salad from them.  Yummy and good conversation!

Sun. Aug 4, 2013 - Bye to the boys and hello to the parents

We had a family breakfast in the MH - cozy!  Spent some time filling Mike's old I-Pod with music and books for his enjoyment,

 then said good bye for now

and watched them walk on down the road........

Next stop, Cal Expo

Where we set up to relax for a night

and found a good spot to display the Guatemalan table runner from Curt. 

 

Mike and I went over to the Palms and had a pleasant dinnertime visit with Dad.

 

Sat. Aug 3, 2013 - Hola, Curt!

We went to SFO to pick up Curt - fresh off the Aeromexico plane from Mexico City.  He was gone 6.5 months and visited 8 countries - Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, ElSalvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.  He met Sarah in Panama and spent the last couple months traveling with her. He liked a town San Pedro in Guatemala the best.


We had a nice day - first stop,  lunch

                                        at B Star on Clement street between Arguello and 2nd.

Then we hooked up with Eric who drove in from Truckee to see his brother ( and us, of course:) Curt suggested Haight Street where we walked the length of the shopping district. 

                       Here is me with Eric and Curt at Amoeba Records....and Curt bought shoes.


Next stop union street in the Marina where we stopped in at an Irish Pub for some refreshments and conversation. 

We all came back to the Motorhome for more conversation, music and sleep

Great to catch up with those boys:)

Fri. Aug. 2, 2013 - Marin RV Park

We had an uneventful day except for a couple good meals from the fridge - blackberry fruit smoothies for breakfast and crock pot beans and rice on tortillas for lunch as we drove south from Medford,  OR to our destination - Larkspur, CA and Marin RV Park.

It took us a while to get set up because we had to air out all the wet items from our pack in the misty rain yesterday at Honeyman.

We had time for a short bike ride - there are some good bike trails in the area and we rode one along a SF Bay inland waterway

where we saw nice homes with boats docked outside.  Then out past the Larkspur Ferry Terminal where we saw another type of housing -  along the SF Bay -

 

San Quentin - in the distance.

Thurs. Aug 1, 2013 - Oregon Blackberries

Get away day Honeyman State Park to Medford OR

It takes quite a bit of work to get the motor home moving again after a month of sitting still.  Plus, it rained on us for the first time since we got here!!! 

So we had to pack up damp.  Won't take long to dry out once we get back to CA I'm sure.

We turned in our keys and other tools, about 10:30 at the booth and went in to town for a 2 hour coffee shop session before taking off.  We picked our first batch of Oregon blackberries from the bushes lining the Siuslaw Rive Coffee Roasters parking lot.  May be invasive, non-native plants, but the fruit is delicious!

 

 

We picked berries in two other locations during our travels today heading south and got three full bowls of ripe blackberries.  Yum!

 

 

Wed. July 31, 2013 - Last full day at Honeyman

Sad but true.  Time to move on.  The current camp hosts are leaving, switching sites to do another assigned task, or staying on and wishing us who are leaving safe travels.  We really enjoyed our time here and are willing to sign up for two months next summer.  We are finding that one month is not long enough to get acclimated, settle in and fully experience what the park and area have to offer.

 

 

Today we cleaned our last two yurts, visited with Ed and Jean, fellow yurt hosts from Yucaipa who trained us on the first day, and took another trip in to the riverfront to for some fresh fruit and veges.

A group of bikers having fun at the river.

This tent has been up every day - it is in a good tourist location, so they get a lot of business.  We dropped in often for fresh fruits and veges - shipped in from Stockton twice a week, we were told by the owner who used to live there.

 

 

Tues. July 30, 2013 - Walking History Tour

Tonight after work we walked to the lodge and attended a semi-weekly "Walking History Tour" led by Cal and Marilyn - the same camp hosts who took us on the dune hiking a couple weeks ago.  They have an interesting assignment - they show up early in the season, study up on the materials provided by the rangers, then act like they know what they are talking about when leading campers on the various educational opportunities offered by the park.  I can see us doing that when we are able to commit to an entire season - Cal and Marilyn are staying from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Cal describing the cook stove features in the day use pavilion - built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 30's.

Mike practicing to be the leader - demonstrating the build in water heater - pipes take water heated by the cook stove in front to the water heater to use for cooking dishes later.

 

Marilyn talking about the had chiseled rocks used for building materials.