Friday, May 26, 2017

What? More wine tasting?

Yanks RV Resort
Greenfield, CA

Unfortunately our time in this area is coming to an end :-(
We can't believe that we've been here since September 30th!
It's been so nice being with family,
reconnecting with friends,
and our church family as well.

Greg & Connie drove to Greenfield yesterday to spend
more time with us.
Of course we spent time wine tasting :-)

We get some nice free tastings courtesy of the RV park,
so we started out at Paraiso.


We all really like their wines..


..but you can't beat the view from the deck!


We took our tasting outside and sat by the fire for a bit.


The grapevines are starting to get tiny bunches of grapes on them.




 After a bit we moved down the road to Hahn,
our favorite winery,
with the same spectacular views.


Since we're very familiar with their wines,
we opted to just buy a bottle and sit outside.
The weather was perfect,
and the company even better!




Afterward we made our way to the Windmill restaurant for
an early dinner.

Of course we're always hoping to see Greg & Connie
again somewhere down the road.
We are going to visit their daughter Carrie in Palm Springs
on our way to Texas.
Looking forward to that!


Monday, May 22, 2017

A little help for our friends

Yanks RV Resort
Greenfield, CA

Saturday we took a ride up to Morgan Hill
to visit with Greg & Connie.

When we went to the Pleasanton RV show
and bought our new Vilano, they did as well :-)
They finally picked theirs up and brought it back
to their space at Coyote Valley RV Resort.
As we know there is a lot to do to get it ready
for habitation, and Greg wanted George to help
with some outside projects and installation.

I helped inside by lining all the cupboards and shelves
with the rubberized shelf liner.
Connie got things put away while we chatted.

Afterwards they took us to dinner to a great place,
Rock Bottom.
It was a nice night, so we sat outside.



We are really going to miss them when we leave :-(

On that note...

We got a job!
We will be working at Hidden Valley RV Park
near San Antonio, TX.

I happened to see on a workamping Facebook group
a post from the owner that they needed help,
so I emailed her right away.
She called us and told us the details, and we accepted!

We've been to San Antonio,
stopping there the first year out to California.
There is a lot to do in the area, it'll be a great place
to be for the summer!

George and I will be leaving here on the 30th,
stopping in Bakersfield to see family.
Eventually we'll get to Hidden Valley on June 4th
which is in Van Ormy, TX.

Very excited!!

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Mother's Day celebrations

Yanks RV Resort
Greenfield, CA

Sure amazing how fast the hills turn brown!
We had only been north of here a couple months,
and the rains stop, temps rise, and the results are dramatic.
This park doesn't seem any busier than before.



Mother's day was spent with a picnic,
and doing a bit of wine tasting.

George and I took Mom,
and we met up with Adam & Jennifer,
and Jennifer's mom & dad, and aunt & uncle.

We started out at Odonata winery,
where they were kind enough to put up tables
for us to have a picnic.
It was so windy, no way we could sit outside!

Mary, Steve, Mom

George, Mary, Don, Steve, and winemaker Dennis

Steve, Martha, Mom, Jennifer
 We then went to Paraiso Winery,
did some tasting,
and checked out the possibility to have
the wedding there.

George, Martha, Jennifer, Steve

I signed up for the flowers at church to surprise Mom,
which she was!
I got a lovely card from Adam, and a nice call from Austin.
Of course George's daughter Heather called too :-)

We continue our search for a paying or work-for-site job.
It's frustrating, because there are a lot of jobs to be had,
but not necessarily where we need to be.
Our plans are to be in Texas or nearby for summer,
to put us near Amarillo by end of September for doctor appointments.
After that we want to travel to the Vilano service center in Mississippi,
then head to Pennsylvania for a bit to visit family there.

Something will happen soon we hope!



Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Wow, out of the blue..

Yanks RV Resort
Greenfield, CA

As you can see, our address has changed.

On Tuesday we were 'asked to leave' the KOA
where we have been workamping since early March.

We loved working there when we first started.
The work we were thrown into was
a bit out of the ordinary,
as there was storm damage,
and an upcoming KOA inspection.

I worked in the office, learning the ancient KOA DOS system.
A few mistakes were made, but not life or death ones by any stretch.
When not in the office I was asked to do outside weeding,
painting, and anything else deemed necessary.
I helped the manager by organizing his office,
and updating his filing system, entering a myriad of information
onto Excel spreadsheets for him.

George started off by helping clean up storm damage,
fixing and organizing things around the property,
even rewiring some electrical things.
Once the inspection was over,
it was daily duties..cleaning departing sites,
escorting guests to sites, etc.
More than occasionally George was pulled off of one project
to start working on another.

There was a lot of  'miscommunication' on both sides,
and a lot of this has caused us to feel more stress there
than was worth the pay & site.
The hiring on of 3 other workamper couples recently
made us wonder if we were really needed.

Most recently we've been feeling 'unwanted' in various ways
by the management couple there.
As it turns out, they are berated by the owners about everything,
which in turn causes them to berate others.
They say sh** rolls downhill, right? :-)
Apparently the management couple have given their notice
to leave there anyway.

Much to our surprise, we were called in yesterday morning
as we walked in to start our shift.
They took us to the back room and in a not-so-kind way
asked us to leave.
As you can understand both our jaws dropped!
When we asked what was going on,
they gave vague references to us
not finishing projects,
not doing our jobs,
all without any specific references.

Of course we were totally floored,
neither one of us saw it coming,
and we've had nothing but positive experiences
at every other job we've worked.

We packed up, turned in our yellow shirts and keys,
and got the heck out of there :-)
I wouldn't let them see me cry!

I immediately called the RV park where we were staying
from September to March, and was told we could stay
here for two weeks.
It's the busy season, so not sure we can get a monthly spot.



In the meantime we're doing some searching
for another workamping job.
Our plan is to find a summer job either
in Texas or maybe Pennsylvania.
I need to be in TX for annual doctor visits in September,
and we need to get to PA to see George's family!

We'd like to stop at the Vilano service center for a punch list
of things for them to address under warranty.
They are in Mississippi, so it could be on the way to PA.

Oh what a joy life can be!
We are keeping our chins up,
and I sure appreciate all the positive comments
about this situation on Facebook.

Love you all!





Sunday, May 7, 2017

Lovely views from the KOA

Salinas/Monterey KOA
Prunedale, CA

Another week gone by!
I've been noticing the great flowers that
are planted around the grounds here.




We have some nice flowers surrounding our RV too.
I cut some roses off a bush next to us,
but I think they need to be fed, they're a little sad looking :-)

The birds have found the feeder,
including this guy:



He picks the sunflower seeds out and cracks them on the railing.

Friday night I bought all the fixin's for Cinco De Mayo,
and all the workampers had fun eating tacos.





Everybody pitched in money,
and we all got to know each other a bit better.

We're at the end of our three days off..
back to work tomorrow!