Christmas is Coming At Eastgate

December 10, 2016December 11, 2016w2bergen 2 Comments

Christmas is on it’s way here at Eastgate. We took all the Thanksgiving decorations down and set a date to decorate for Christmas. Many of the girls showed up and in an hour the tree was up and the hall was decorated.

The South Hall looks so nice especially with the new paint job this summer. I’ve been busy planning lots of activities and trips for the rest of the season. It going to be a grand year. Our good friends Larry and Cici, have been looking at trailers. They want to leave theirs here permanently and not pull it back and forth. So we went shopping with them.

They found a beautiful 39 foot 5th wheel, and also a golf cart. They have the golf cart at home already and the trailer will be delivered Tue. This picture was taken in the RV Sales lot. They have this rickshaw to run customers around in. Rather cool. The salesmen drove the bike while Cici and I were in the seat. Larry and Rich took the Golf Cart. They are standing in front of their 5th wheel. So Tuesday will be their day to switch their belongings to the new trailer.

I would like you to meet Randy the Reindeer. lol. Now I have an Accomplice that came to me with this story and plan. Randy hides Every nite. My Accomplice texts me a Clue. I put out the clue on FB and in both halls by 10 am every morning. So this has been going on for just over a week.

Here is Randy’s story. Last week we almost lost him. Someone dropped him in Nite Deposit. Today he was found and went to Progresso Mexico. I don’t know if he crossed over or stayed in the car in the parking lot. But he returned. So this little game is starting to take off. It seems we are getting more and more participation, and lots more people are getting a kick out of it even if they don’t hunt. The clues are supplied by my Accomplice. Today the Clue was….1, 2, 3, Strikes….Your out….. So finally he was found by a yard statue of a baseball player. So they aren’t really that hard.

We have also started Crafts finally. This is Alice and Cici with their Tomato Cage Christmas Trees. These are so easy. Turn your cage upside down. Use a zip tie to tie the wire ends together. Wind the lights around and tie them, then your garland.

Our next project is a 6 point star. Our friends from Canada, Glen and Kathy found one at a garage sale back home and brought it. Another friend Roberta got all the sticks from our trees that are trimmed and cut a whole box sticks all the same length. So the only cost was zip ties and twine to join points and a set of 100 lights and decorations. Another very easy and cheap project.

Our Christmas Decorations ….My Tomato Cage Tree, Stick Star….and Toilet….lol

Now the other morning at Coffee and Donuts, another couple was with us. The question was “Why is the toilet in front of your trailer” lol. Well, the reason is, one of the trailers needs one replaced. Rich found this one at Habitat for Humanity….So he brought it home and it will be installed next week. But until then, its our conversation peace. So I said wouldn’t it be funny to sit on it and put that picture in the Eastgate Video at the end of the year. So later that day, …..THIS IS WHAT I WAS TEXT….

So So Funny, I want you to meet Rob. He even had to pull his pants down. OMG……I told him, Love the Pic, but sure can’t put this in the video, Some of these people would have a heart attack……No sense of humor….But WE ALL LOVE IT…..HILARIOUS……

Last nite we had our first Entertainment here in our South Hall. Jeff Gordon was here. NO, NOT the Race Car Driver…..The Singer….

He did a great job, Elvis, Tom Jones, Conway Twitty, Glenn Campbell, Neil Diamond, Merle Haggard, and more. He was originally from Bloomington Illinois. His daughter lives in Washington Illinois. Only 1 hour from my town. He now travels the south in the winter and heads to the Mid West in the summer. Today we had a Christmas Bazaar at the hall.

Lots of neat crafts. Crochet and knitting, jewelry, woodcarving, and even lights made out of liquor bottles.

This past week was by Grandson Austin’s 6th Birthday….Also Dexter had his 2nd Birthday. So the boys shared a birthday party

Yes, Dexter is a Very important member of the family. He is another son….lol…Dexter is a good boy and always poses for pictures. But he doesn’t look to happy about his hat does he…..lol

One Month at Eastgate

November 26, 2016November 26, 2016w2bergen 5 Comments

We’ve been at Eastgate about a month now. It already seems like we never left. We arrived on Sunday and quickly settled into our jobs on Monday. So much to be done. The weather has been beautiful, in the 80’s and beautiful blue sky. Every day more and more people pull in. Motor Homes, Fifth Wheels, pull Trailers, and the ones that own mobiles. Every time someone comes in, you look to see if you know them. And everyone is always asking and waiting for their friends from last year to show. You hope they all were healthy and can come back. And then comes all the New Ones. They’re all so anxious to finally be here after days and days on the road.

We did have a storm front come through one night. The winds suddenly picked up around 9:30 pm. Rich was watching out the window and our stakes to the sunscreen came out and then a support pole broke. We ran out into the blinding rain and wind and unzipped the sunscreen from the canopy. It was over in about 20 minutes. The winds were gusts of 54 mph. Fortunately it was warm rain, but the wind took your breath away and the rain just beat through your clothes instantly. Immediate feeling of a drowned rat….lol….All was good in the morning. Rich fixed the bent poles and all was fine. Now Cathy another workamper didn’t fare so well. She lost her whole awning. Now that’s expensive.

Time now to start enjoying the luxury of southern living. One of our 2 hot tubs….This one is maybe 100 feet from our campsite. Rich started working in the rentals. Many of these trailers seem to develop soft spots in the floors after time. That is his first project, pulling up a carpet in the living room and fixing the floor that is disintegrating. Then he will also be replacing a bathroom sink and the kitchen sink. I busily started to plan our season of activity. The board usually does the everyday schedule and I arrange the outside trips and special events within the park. Our first event was Veterans Day Breakfast. All Vets ate free.

2 little girls and their parents were invited to come. Launa 4, and Pearl 2. Their parents have been teaching them what a veteran is. So they wanted to come and meet them and give them a bag of candy. They were so sweet. After presenting all our Veterans, we gave them a copy of a poem we read and the girls gave them candy. Then the girls took the mic and sang our National Anthem. Then Launa put her hand over her heart and said the Pledge to the Allegiance. They were just so amazing. Their was a few misty eyes let me tell ya. It was so touching….These are wonderful parents to teach their children at such a young age about our heritage of our country. Their an Amazing example of Great parenting.

We just finished Thanksgiving. We had cooks this year, we didn’t cook….Hurray…We have a wonderful NEW RESIDENT that has only been here 2 weeks. She had agreed to cook last Sept. She didn’t even know us yet….lol…Paulette and her Husband moved from Houston. Paulette and Roberta, another good friend here, cooked 7 turkeys, dressing and gravy from scratch. We served 112 people this year, up from last year. Our park is full this year. No more prime sights available. Many people go out or go the South Padre Island for the Holiday. They did an awesome job. Thank You so much girls. Your so Appreciated.

Everyone brought their own table decorations. Some elegant, some fun. Then we have the fun ones, the ones we love to laugh with, cause we know every time their around, they will do something crazy…..

This table was so pretty. They used regular brown paper for the cloth and handed out crayons to color and write what they were thankful for…..Great Idea….Actually, if you didn’t see our faces, you’d think many of us were children. lol. We have reverted to childhood.

We also had a more somber moment. We lost several more residents this summer and the families and friends wanted to plant 2 different trees in their memory. So our new area that the Garden Club was going to develop, took a new and much more meaningful path. A MEMORY GARDEN. A Miniature Bottle Brush Tree and a Pine Tree were planted and 2 plaques were installed in their memory. It will be a beautiful area with room for more if needed.

I attended the Convention in Mission with Sandy. It was for the Park Managers and Activity Directors. You could obtain info on services and fun stuff that you can offer your residents. We received lots of free stuff as well as making many contacts. I was surprised at how many places I already knew of and new many of the people because of last years contacts.

Seg Valley was also their. They offer tours all over the Valley including South Padre Island. I worked for Racheal and Brian last year on Sundays at DonWes Flea Mkt. Brian has now attached LED lighting to the Segways…..Amazing….Can’t wait to see it at nite. It was so good to touch base with them. They will be coming to the park in a few weeks for our Friday morning Coffee and Donuts. They will do a talk and demonstrate the Segway. Then outside people can try it out. I can’t wait to a ride again. They’are so much fun. I will be scheduling a ride on the Island soon. This time the beach.

Now we had a new trailer come in couple of weeks ago. This is what we all do…..Gather around and sit at a trailer and watch…lol…Entertainment….So now Thanksgiving is over. Time to take down decorations and Decorate for Christmas. This is always a fun time. Well all be doing that next Thursday. Our park is very full this year due to the reduced rates our Park Owner has offered. He also gave the Canadians the cost at Par. That means they pay the price at their money rate. They save lots of money that way as their dollar is worth much less than ours, so we have many new Canadians, even French Canadians.

Now I don’t want to make you feel bad, but this is South Padre Island…SPI….It is only about a half hour away……Beautiful beach’s…..lol……Beautiful Blue Ocean

I’ll finish with a new family picture that Tina, Ed and the kids had taken. This is just 1 of many. They were so so good……And of course Dexter is so cute….

Home for 3 Weeks & Headed South……

November 3, 2016November 3, 2016w2bergen 1 Comment

Its been almost a month since I wrote the last blog. We finished at Adventureland on Oct 1. We headed home to Illinois on Oct. 2, parking in the lot of Scott’s house. It is half way between both girls. Tammy is in McNabb about 3 miles south and Tina is in Granville 3 miles north. So Good Location, but bad location for phone or internet service. Were 90 miles from Chicago, but may as well be at the South Pole….Hardly any reception…..Complaining does no good….Believe me…I’ve tried…

First Day of School 2016

Rich’s plan for this time at home is working for a farmer hauling grain from the field to the elevator. This is what he did everyday except rainydays for close to 3 weeks. I began by babysitting the grandkids, Tina’s and Ed’s kids Miley and Austin and of course Dexter. Tina and Ed both had to leave for the week for work related projects. Ed went to Wisc. and Tina headed to southern Illinois to learn about the new computer system at the court house that links the State Programs. On Monday I went in at 6:30 for my Orientation….lol….When to get them up, when and where to take them to school, when the bus comes, homework and bedtime. So this was my first week home. All went well until the last day of school, which was Thur. Austin had the tablet in his hand before school and I took it away. We got everything together and I took them to school. Even Dexter goes with, cause Tina said he wants to go and send his kids off to school…lol. Well about an hour later, Tina text me. She just received a text from Austin’s teacher. He snuck the tablet into his book bag and brought it to school. Ohhhh Geees……Strike One…..The next day was no school. The kids sleep in bed with mom and dad, Dexter too. They woke up in the morning but didn’t come out till late. They were being good so why both them…..Right…..Later that afternoon just before Tina came home, the kids went outside. Miley came inside and layed down on the floor to watch TV. I heard Austin outside yelling but didn’t really pay attention. Tina pulls in the drive and comes in….”Why is Austin crying, locked up in the swimming pool pen”? Really Miley of course was grinning. Then Dexter is so excited to see his mom. He was jumping all over her. He went and got a present which I thought was underwear or socks in his mouth. Tina starts screaming, “I smell SHIT OMG ” She looked at what Dexter had in his mouth that he was so proud of……Austin had “SHIT” his underwear sometime during the day and left them lay. Dexter had picked up the underwear which was full and was chewing it….I was rolling in laughter….It was so funny…..Strike Two….

First Day of school 2016

A few days later, I stopped by and visited. Tina said to me, “I sure don’t know what you were doing Friday morning when the kids woke up”. Why. Well those sweet children had some fun. They had the bed full of coloring books and crayons. Now Miley being a carbon copy of her mother, thought of something really cool to do. She took rolls of scotch tape and ran it around all the bottle lids in the bedroom. Then she moved on to the bathroom. All lids were taped shut. She even took the shampoo and conditioner out of the shower and replaced them with peroxide and other things. Hahahaha…..Good One Miley.…Then she asked if I could sit again the following Friday…..Really…You Trust Me?…..

This is what happens when I babysit

That next Friday, Ed’s dad had just flown in for several days. He had things to do, so I went over around 10am. We were talking the kids came out laughing. They had put on makeup. Of course I had to take their picture. Did I get in trouble for that? No. I got in trouble for NOT closing the doors to the cabinets. One is always suppose to check those cabinet doors and make sure their closed for pictures. lol.

Carly’s 1st day of Pre-School

I also spent time at Tammy’s house. I always like to hear her stories of her patients at Kindred Hospital. She is a RN and always has some interesting patients. She really loves her work. Little Carly is now in afternoon preschool. She is so happy to go to school and ride the bus. She is really growing now. She insists her hair is always done. She has natural curly hair.

Cassidy, 2016. So Pretty

Cassidy is 12 and is becoming quite a young lady. Tammy and the Kids went to Boggios Orchard and took some great Pictures.

Carly 4, & Cassidy 12, …Sisters…

I spent the day with Cassidy and we took this picture.

Cassidy 2016, at the Mansion

We went shopping to the Mall, of course Bath and Body. Bought some fun stuff. We went to her favorite restaurant, House of Hunan, Chinese buffet.

Now Cameron is 18. He hates his picture take, but I thought I’d put this one in again.

Cameron loves his car but he is a typical teenager. The cops stopped him because of no license plate light. So did he fix it? NO He simply taped a Flashlight to the car…..OMG….Just don’t forget to switch it off or your batteries will run down….lol…Or is this a BERGEN THING?……lol…..It’s kind of like Rich’s saying “Why fix it before it brakes” We also had some issues with our 2 rental houses. It called for a dumpster…..Yuck……But fortunately part of those problems were resolved before we left. Miley had her 8th birthday.

Mileys 8th Birthday Oct. 2016

Her mom bought practical this year. She is sick of toys. Miley wanted her room painted so, she got paint brushes, roller with pan and paint samples. She loved it. Halloween was coming up. Tammy took the girls to Peoria to buy costumes.

Carly’s Halloween 2016

Carly is Strawberry Shortcake. So cute.

Austin and his Friend….Miley…

This is some of Scott and Brandy’s cliental for Halloween at One Paw’s Pub……They don’t drink much….lol….So after almost 4 weeks, we headed out to Harlingen Texas…..Eastgate MH & RV Park.….Our winter home, also our next workamping job. Just like last year, Rich in Maintenance and I’m an Event Coordinator. We visited many friends while home, took care of business, visited the kids and grandkids, and away we went…….

Southward bound…….from chilly weather wearing jackets to 90 degrees weather…..YES, we are here…..Left on Thur and arrived on Sunday…..

Harlingen Texas, the home of the Winter Texans

Visiting Helen Ballard Before We Leave….

September 30, 2016September 30, 2016w2bergen 1 Comment

About a month ago we had found and visited an old friend of Richs. Helen and Kenny Ballard were old family friends from way back. Kenny and Leo (Richs Dad) had met in the Navy. I wrote a Blog about finding Helen awhile back. Kenny had passed away around 1996. Helen is now 92. She is a wonderful spry lady with a fabulous mind and so much energy and memories. We had promised we would be back before we left. Monday, I called Helen She said, “I wondered if you were still here.” She still remembered we had come. So I asked, What would be a good day this week to come visit. She said, “Not Tue. I go up to New Virginia and quilt at the church all day. Any other day is fine.” lol. So we arranged for Wed. at 11 am. We would go for lunch.

When we got their she was ready and waiting to go. We took her little car as our little Ranger just doesn’t fit 3 adults very good. We went to a restaurant in Osceola called “Family Table”. …..Down Home Cooking…. They had a buffet for 7.99. The food was so good. We sat their for almost 2 hours visiting. Her granddaughters husband had been in for dinner. When we went to leave we found out he had picked up our tab. It was so nice of him. Thank You so much Brett. Sure didn’t expect that. We drove back to Helens. I had brought all my blog books and we looked at them. She was so excited to see them. She has always wanted to write things done but never knew where to start. I think as we get older, we realize the value of all the memories and information me have. Once we are gone, so are they. She wanted to show us the back 40, as she calls it. Helen and Kenny had lived around 5 miles or more away from this property that she lives on now. Kenny wanted to buy property to build and move to someday. He found this property. When Richs dad came to live here, Kenny had already bought this land but had no plans to move here yet. Up the hill in the back 40 he was building a dam to form a pond. He wanted to make an area for fishing, camping, hunting and just a place where the whole family could come and enjoy and play together. So these were things Leo seen back in the 80’s when his trailer was here. Kenny did complete it. They brought in a trailer years after Leo left, and built on to it, and thus the “Trouse” was formed…..lol.. as her granddaughter Julie called it. Well Kenny died in 1996, so he did enjoy it for awhile. So we got back in the car, Rich opened the locked gate and up the hill we went.

It is such a beautiful green area. This is all nestled up in the hill side so nobody would ever know its their. So full of nature, and wildlife, but yet so well maintained. At the top of the hill, this is what we seen.

The Welcome Bear carved from wood, and the stone statue. Now I asked Helen about the Stone piece. I thought maybe they had made it or it meant something special. It was given to her by her foster son who had gotten it from another family member. They decided to put it up here, cause it needed a home. It was just an interesting piece. We followed the path across the dam. It was so beautiful. Now can you imagine sitting on that swing, watching the lake and wildlife, or yet watching you family have fun on the boats and swimming. How many memories has Helen made here…..Amazing….What a Wonderful legacy Kenny and Helen have made for the family…It is something the family will cherish and hand down for generations.

They have so many family get togethers here. Plenty of water activities for the kids. It was freshly mowed….Picture Perfect…..

Also had a kitchen area. It is such a neat place to cook. Bigger than home….lol…

It had everything one would need. Several frigs and freezer, Sink, Counters, Work table, and Cook stove and fireplace, It also had 2 big smokers. Imagine all the family here in RVs or tents…..all sitting at the tables eating….Wonderful family fun…I walked back toward Helen and Rich and they were just talking.

Mostly about how Kenny had built all of this. Her kids don’t let her mow anymore but she still takes care of maintenance. She mentioned on the way up that she need to get a load of rock on the road. She still takes care of all the needs. She has quite a business head on her shoulders yet. Finally we got back in the car, crossed the dam and back down the road.

Again so beautiful. It was a cool crisp day, with a slight breeze…maybe in the 60’s….a great day to be out and enjoying nature. As you see, all of this ground is kept mowed….Helen use to mow but they don’t let her anymore….lol…Helens youngest daughter, Norma and her husband, bought some of this acreage and built a log home up the hill from her. Norma makes sure it is all mowed. I noticed there was a zero turn mower up at the lake. But there’s acres of grass to keep mowed. Now the funny story about Norma. Helen and Kenny had a number of kids. When their youngest, Charlotte was 20 and already had a child, guess who got pregnant….lol…Helen, and here came Norma….We finally had to go, but what a good time we had. We promised Helen we would come again next year. We have signed up at the Park again, so if all goes as planned we will be back. We all enjoyed our visit. We talked about so many things. She is about the only one left who really remembers much about Richs dad. We asked her how Kenny and Leo met. They met in the service. They served on the same boat, USS Tutuila (ARG 4) around 1944-45….not really sure.

It was an internal combustion repair ship. It was constructed in 1943, by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. It served in World War II, traveling in the South Pacific.

Motto…..Eternal vigilance is the price of Freedom

It was decommissioned on December 7 1946. Later it was Commissioned again to serve in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Eventually it was sold to the Republic of China. When Kenny and Leo both got out of the Navy, Leo spent time at Kenny and Helens house. Leo met and married Rose, Richs mom. They continued their friendship through the years. When Richs mom passed, he was only 15. He spent the first summer at Kenny and Helens house. Her kids were about the same age. They had chores, as they were all hard workers. Kenny had a wrecker business, salvage yard, also farmed and had livestock. So their was always much work to be done. That was one of the things Helen and Rich talked about, his summer at the farm. How did he endure it ….lol….He actually enjoyed it. Another thing she showed us was a picture on canvas. It was given to her by a family member. I don’t remember the story, but she was so surprised and excited to show it.

The original picture was taken in 1942 in DesMoines. It was in an area called Capital Heights, which is now Altoona area. Helen and Kenny had married sister and brother. Helen and Kenny are on the left motorcycle and Helen’s brother George and Kenny’s sister are on the other. Rich said they are both Harleys. This was just a small snapshot and it was put on this large canvas. It was bigger than an 11×14, and it turned out marvelous. Helen said when she seen it, it took her back in time instantly. She felt like a young girl at that moment of time. As if she was their. She had never felt like that before. What a wonderful gift. It was an awesome visit. Now time to head back north to Adventureland…..Octoberfest….coming up….

Helen and Kenny Ballard 1980’s?

Iowa State Capital Tour….

September 27, 2016September 28, 2016w2bergen 2 Comments

Did you ever drive across Iowa on I 80 through DesMoines and look to the south? You would see a huge building with 5 domes. The center dome is the largest and is glimmering and shinning of gold in the sunlight. This is the Capital of Iowa. I have known this but it really didn’t make that much of an impression. A number of local people at the park said we should go visit as it was beautiful. So after we seen the Luminaria, we went to the Capital. Driving across the river from down town the view was so stately. The capital has high on a hill and the street went straight just like Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington DC.

View from Capital to across the river downtown

We parked on the south side in a beautiful park area. It was full of memorials and monuments of long ago. It turned out to be a beautiful day. Their were so many trees on the grounds hiding the capital on our walk to the door. But the beautiful gold dome was peeking out shinning of brilliant gold in the sun. This dome is one of the largest gold domes in North America. It is the only state to have 5 domes and one of 10 states to have a gold dome. It rises 275 ft. above the Capital grounds with an 80 ft. diameter at the top. The original 23 karat gilding was $3,500. The dome was regilded in 1905 at a cost of $8,800, again in 1927, for $16,500, again in 1965 for approximately $80,000. The last time was 1996 at a cost of $482,000, with a protective layer installed to save it from the elements.

The Capital was originally in Iowa City but was decided to move it to DesMoines. The original building was started in 1871, dedicated in 1884 and finished in 1886. It is built with brick and faced with limestone granite and sandstone. We entered at the basement level that was designated Visitor Entrance. We went through the Security area and walked down the corridor to the center of the building. We passed many tables and chairs as the cafeteria is on this floor. We arrived at the Tour Center. The tour guide gave us a self guide tour map and explained many things to us. So off we went to the nearest elevator. No stairs for us. We exited the elevator on 1st floor onto the rotunda area. Amazing. We walked over to the main dome area and looked up………

Soooo Beautiful. It is really hard to see the height. Their is a row of windows near the top and more beautiful gold and lights. In the center is a flag floating in the blue sky with clouds.

Here is the upper floors of the dome. We walked up to the 3rd floor. That is all the public is allowed on their own. Now this is the rotunda floor. It is all glass. It was just restored around 5 years ago to original. For many, many years it has been open down to the basement floor.

Now we walked down a corridor to the old Supreme Court.

In 2003 they built a new Supreme Court building across the street.

A close up of the beautiful gold Chandelier. We walked to another hallway and found this case full of dolls.

These are dolls whose dresses are modeled after the First ladies. They are dressed in a copy of their inaugural gowns.

Onward to the huge grand staircase in the back wing. Huge pillars of different shades of granite. (See Rich? tee hee) . But did we walk the stairs?. lol. No….elevator to the right. We accidently skipped 2nd floor and went to 3rd floor.

We were at the balcony area of the Senate. Of course, nobody working….lol…Empty….Back out the door, around the balcony area looking down on the Grand stair case and in the distance the 2nd floor rotunda area.

Just look at those tile floors. The most beautiful designs I’ve ever seen. All different designs blending together. The shine was beautiful.

Onward around the balcony to the other side of the 3rd floor to the House of Representatives.

Again we went into the balcony area of the House. and Again…Nobody Home….lol…Now it was time to go back down to the 2nd floor. We found 4 spiral staircases. 2 by the Senate and 2 by the house. They were enclosed and somewhat hidden.

How beautiful they were. All original and extremely sturdy. Now down to the second floor. This is actually the main entrance levels to the House and the Senate.

They are situated in each wing on each side of the main rotunda. We walked into the House and Rich was wanting to get a new Job……Sergeant-At-Arms. lol. I think he’d make a good one. All he needs is a gavel….or a gun?….lol Now for the very best area of the Capital. We were blown away. We opened the door to the Library. It is situated at the west end facing down town……Beeeeeautiful…..

Breathtaking…..I stood in Awwwwe…..I just looked, taking in all the beauty. I really don’t think I have ever seen anything like it before. Look at the tiling of the floors. The white wrought iron spiral staircase at the other end. their are 4 stores of balcony’s of books after the main floor. They are all accessible by 2 spiral staircases.

I was allowed to climb up this spiral staircase just 1 floor to take pictures. If you look at the first story up, you will see a small corridor of light that is a door to the back area. This is the access point on each floor to get to all the books on each balcony floor.

Here you can see the door openings against the back wall of each bookshelf. This gets you to the other side of the bookshelf.

Finally I had to take another picture of the floors. Beautiful, beautiful blending and designs of colors. Finally after probably half hour or more we left the library. I did talk to the lady librarian. Their is over 100,000 books. They still use all the all the different levels of books for research except for the 5th level. That one is more for storage of books and items not used much anymore. The ironwork and the flooring are all original. Again, this room is the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen. So finally back to the rotunda area on the second floor.

We looked over the side to the main floor….The center piece of glass…..Now elevator to the basement. We walked back to the Tour Directors area which is right underneath the glass floor.

She pointed out over on the wall was some pictures and the story of the installation of this floor. It came in pieces and fit like a puzzle to install. They had to construct special ramps to roll in the pieces and not damage the floor tiles. Then also a crane to hold them in place to install. Some Facts……29 different types of marble use in the Capital…..12 types of wood, most native to Iowa…..24 fireplaces throughout the Capital…..

Now this was an awesome tour. We just wandered around at our leisure. I have not included a lot of what we seen. It is just to much to mention it all. Their was many places we didn’t go. Many of the offices were open for viewing. We didn’t do any of these. Now this really makes me ashamed. When was the last time YOU WERE AT YOUR STATE CAPITAL…..Or Have you Ever Been their..…I haven’t been to mine in Illinois since 8th grade. You don’t appreciate it then. Nor do you retain many memories. Illinois has so much history. We need to spend a day in Springfield Illinois this fall on our return to Texas. So anyone who reads this……Make plans to visit your State Capital…..You can also visit any State Capital as you travel. It is free. It is an education. We have so much to see and visit in our country not to mention our own states……Take the Time…..Enjoy…..Iowa State Capital ……DesMoines Iowa

“Luminaria” Fabulous

September 23, 2016September 25, 2016w2bergen 4 Comments

We came back from home and worked Adventureland last Saturday and Sunday. Its almost over. I think everybody is ready for it to be. Wednesday, Rich was watching the news and they had a show going on downtown DesMoines at the Cowles Commons, DesMoines Performing Arts. It was called a Luminaria. This one is entitled “Arboria” by Architects-of-Air, Alan Parkinson of Nottingham England. Website: Architects-of-Air.com

“Arboria” is about a half a football field long when set up.

A Luminarium is a sculpture that people enter, to be immersed in radiant light and color. Since 1992, the Architects-of-Air’s 22+ luminaria have enchanted over 2 million people in 41 countries around the world. This is the only one touring in the US. Their are others touring around the world.

The tickets were only $5, what a deal. So I ordered them on line. Thursday morning we woke up with rain. It finally stopped around 10:30. We arrived downtown about 10:45 and found a parking deck about a block away. What we didn’t know was, the whole downtown is connected by sky walks. How cool that was.

We went from our parking garage straight to the sky walk. We followed it across the street and through the building to the other side of the block. Finally across the street in the sky walk and we were in the right building, took the escalator down and outside we went to the “Luminaria”

Being we already had purchased tickets, we were able to go right in. First thing we did was to take off our shoes and put them in the cubies. The whole structure was made of vinyl plastic. We had to stay on the plastic to enter.

Finally we had a short speech from the Volunteer before we entered. We were allowed to wander around at our own pace. We could sit down or lay down if wished to enjoy the beauty and sounds. Be careful of the walls and try to stay on the flat part of the walk as the edges start to lift up. Parents, please keep your Children with you…….Yes Please……So in we went through the Air locks……….First Impression…………..”BREATHTAKING”……

Each room or area has a dominate color. The first room was green. ( There’s Rich )

The ceiling was soooooo beautiful. It is entitled “Arboria” because of the influence of the geometric shapes and graphic representation of trees.

On to the next room. As you look around, you see round tunnels. People at the other end just standing and staring. Some even laying down……More color down the tunnels…

You end up in the main room. Words cannot even explain the feelings that you see. You have been told that the tunnels are zippered on, and that every everything else was hand glued together. All the different colors are glued by hand. Then you look up………

Whoaaaa…………The end of the stripes have a small blue dot. This picture does not do the colors justice. This main dome was 33 feet high. As we stood their, we listened to the music. It was so soothing and beautiful. It was soft sounds of piano composition and wildlife sounds originated from the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest by musician Alice Eldridge. It was as if time stood still. You wanted to just stand their and look. Your eyes wandered up….around….down…in circles….People just sat down or layed down to enjoy the experience. Rich said he wanted to sit down also, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get up……lol….getting old we are….lol…

Traveling on, we took one of the tunnels, and we arrived in the blue room….In front of us a a beautiful blue tree trunk. It rose up so gracefully to a beautiful ceiling.

This dome was 26 feet high. ( There’s Rich again ) As you walk, you almost feel unstable…..dream like….

Around the edge of each room are little pockets. A long slice of color is added. They said these are little out of the way rooms that you can sit and just take this all in.

They even let wheelchair and people with canes enter. They wrap the wheels and protect the bottoms of canes. I thought this was so amazing as I seen this man wander through the tunnels. He was so amazed and thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere. They told me they do like to bring the physically and mentally impaired people in on the slower days. It gives them a great calming effect. I can’t even imagine how they must enjoy it. It is out of the realm of anything they have ever imagined in their world. As far as that goes, ours also. Their were a number of Volunteers inside that were helpful with info, and especially one that gave me all her time. She loved her Volunteer time and was so enthusiastic to help and answer questions.

This is the red room. Again you can see the geometric influence on the ceiling. As you walked around, you not only felt a little unstable, but I also felt like things were hazy….dreamy….It was just such an indescribable feeling….

Now all this light you see is just natural light shinning through the plastic. It was a dreary overcast day, but yet the inside was so bright and vibrant with color. I can’t imagine what it would be like on a sunny day.

The inside was very comfortable in temperature. It was air conditioned. You didn’t hear the air blowing, but around the outside little pocket areas, you would find the air ducts and feel the air blowing in.

We are blue lovers, so this is our favorite room. We probably walked through the tunnels at least twice. We stood in the rooms and the especially the big dome room for quite awhile, taking it all in. The looks on peoples faces were amazing to see. Some were laying on the floor with eyes closed, some eyes open just staring at the ceilings. People were just looking and turning in amazement. If i didn’t know better, I felt I had just visited HEAVEN. Could this be what it is like? Finally Time to Go. We went out side and sat by the Fountain….

This reflecting pond was also a wading pond, open for the kids to walk through. It also had some “Dancing Waters”. lol. We sat their for along time, just taking it all in. Looking at the whole sculpture and seeing where we were. The Big Dome Room….You can see the different colors, the Red Room and all the little pocket rooms around the edge. I read that it takes around 4 hours to unpack and weight it down, and then only 30 minutes to blow it up. Taking it down is fast, 90 minutes and ready to roll. As we sat their, a volunteer who was just relieved was walking by. We started talking about her job of Volunteering for the Civic Center and all the activities. Such a Nice Lady. Then she told us about a food court in the next building over. We were sure hungry by now. Back we went into the building and up the escalator to the sky walk. We walked several blocks to the end and back just to see everything. The Food Court Building was called the Kaleidoscope. They had food and shops on 3 floors. We choose loaded spuds…..

Huge potatoes loaded with butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon…….Hmmmmmm….Bill? Under $15 for 2 with drinks……Finally done and off we went to walk the sky walk again. Now maybe we are behind the times, or we just came out of the corn fields, but this is magnificent. You can park your car in the parking garage and walk the sky walk to work. Where ever that may be. The whole down town is connected. Even the Civic Center, and all the Iowa Federal Court system. In the center of it all is the Kaleidoscope Hub. Walk to get your lunch and back to work. Never go outside till you leave the parking garage. We even seen a sign of a Condo for sale…..Open your door and your at work…..lol….Can’t imagine the price…..I looked at the signs for Sky Walk closing. I found one that said the doors close from 2 am-6am. You could go walking anytime, any weather. Finally we walked back to our parking garage. We left and drove around the city. There is remodeling and building everywhere. New buildings going up with new sky walks attached. Old buildings being turned into Condos and Office space. The city is growing and renovating. Finally we headed back across the river to the east. Directly across was the Iowa State Capital. It stood proudly and stately on the hill with Court Street leading straight to it. It reminded me of Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington DC. The Iowa Capital has 5 domes total, with the fifth dome in the middle covered in Gold …….It was shinning Brilliantly in the sun. We stopped and toured it also, but that will be the subject of the next blog.

So much info to share….After that we hunted up an Rv Center and toured Motor Homes. “We were trying to decide how to spend a half a million if we had it…..lol….”

One Paw’z Pub-2nd Annual Pre-Harvest Throwdown & Cruise In

September 17, 2016September 17, 2016w2bergen 1 Comment

On Sept 10 2016, Scotty and Brandy hosted the 2nd Annual Pre-Harvest Throwdown. Now in McNabb this is a huge affair. The town is a little farming community on Rt. 89, but surrounded by corn fields. It is one of the six little towns in Putnam Co., which is also the smallest county in the state of Illinois. Our little village only has a population of 285 as of the census of 2010. It is down from 310 in the year 2000. McNabb has 1 gas station, Jacks Gas, 1 little convenience store attached. It also boasts of Grassers Hardware and Heating, Morenos on Main Resturant, and a very modern Bank. On the corner is One Paw’z Pub, our son’s tavern.

This is the 2nd year that Scotty and Brandy have thrown this party. This year the Village Board agreed to close 2 blocks of Main Street to host the event.

The car club Blood Sweat and Gears were invited. They showed up with some amazing cars for a Cruise – In. Their was such a nice collection dating from the early 30’s to new. Over 70 cars were there

This was my favorite. 1969 Camaro SS. Now in the fall of 1969, I bought a brand new Camaro from the showroom floor at Imm and Son Chevrolet in Toluca Ill. It had a 350 and wasn’t an SS or RS, just a basic car. But it was this maroon color with white seats and black dash and carpeting. My first and only new car. You wouldn’t believe what I paid. The new 70’s had come out, so I was able to purchase it for $500 off sticker price…….Final Cost…..$3,000……Amazing…..I was single at the time. I remember the gas mileage was awful. I had it in the shop several times and I think it was only getting around 12 miles to a gallon. Gas was cheap in those days. It was only 30 cents a gallon. We had gas wars back then. All the stations would try to out do each other to lower prices and have the cheapest gas. I remember the low 20’s. Rich remembers 21 cents in Chillicothe but 16 cents in Missouri on a trip. Unfortunately, after we were married, we traded the car for a used pick up truck…..Grrrrrrr….If we only knew then what we know today…..

This was a pretty car. The gold looking trim paint between the red and purple was a pearl paint that changed colors when you walked by.

This is Brandy’s favorite car. A practically new Camaro in a beautiful shade of green.

The head lights are awesome looking…..Eyes are looking at You….They are actually covers that are for show. They take them off to drive…..

A few more of the awesome cars in the Cruise In.

A view down Main St. This is a site this town rarely ever sees. A Beautiful Site to see in this little village of only 275.

This is the view from the bank looking at One Paw’z Pub. You can see the stage set up for the band, the small tractor display with the Grain Elevator in the background.

Now this picture I had to include, These 3 red Dodges all belong to the Sandberg family. They are HUGE MOPAR fans. Far right is John and Trudy Sandberg (parents) Cuda, middle-Sean(oldest son) Challenger, in front of flower pot is Ryan (youngest son) Duster. Tracy, their daughter and husband also had cars down the street on display. Rich worked for Sandberg Trucking for a number of years on and off. The kids all are part of the Company now and he still drives for them sometimes when were home. Ryan’s wife Brandy is also the Mayor of McNabb. During this time of the Cruise In the Restaurant and One Paw’z Pub were bustling with business. The bar was full and really had to get through to the back. Scott and Brandy have recently put in Slot Machines. They remodeled the apartment on the side and incorporated it into the bar and installed 4 slot machines.

Rich said they were busy all day, sometimes even people waiting to have their chance at the machines. Scott has also added a patio off the back now. He is still working on it and more plans for next spring.

At 7pm. the Band was set up and began to play. The RADIUM CITY REBELS was a 5 piece band that played some awesome music. Scott backed his semi with trailer across Main St. It made a Great stage for the Band. All traffic was rerouted through the back streets.

They played till midnight. It was a beautiful evening. It was a little chilly but Perfect.

My sister in law, Connie lives in a little hamlet…lol…Mt. Palatine. Its around 4 miles as the bird flys. She sat on her back porch and she said it sounded like the band was in her back corn field…..lol…

It was a really fun evening. We seen many friends. Carol and Jim came by. Of Course Pam, your always their for a good time. It was so good to see all of you. Many more, but my biggest surprise was Lynn and Dale……They were celebrating Birthdays. but Dale had just proposed to Lynn that day….He was even on his knees I believe…..How Sweet….Congrats to you both…..They are so Happy. Also with them was a long lost friend from work. Cindy was a supervisor. She also went on to a better job. lol. It was a great time.

So here is Scott and Brandy, early in the evening. Unfortunately my phone went dead later and my charger also died….lol…Always happens at the worst times……Walmart here I come…..But what a Great Nite for this little town. It was really loud and booming with music. I asked several days later. Did anyone call the Mayor or board and Complain?

…..Nope, Not A One……Maybe better read the Village Board Minutes next meeting…lol….

Labor Day Over….A Week Home

September 15, 2016September 16, 2016w2bergen 2 Comments

Labor Day weekend was the last big FLING at the park for the year. We worked all 3 days. I worked doubles being it was the only hours you can have now. Saturday and Sunday was 10 am. – 10 pm. It was a long day but the weather was beautiful. The temperature was high 70’s and low 80’s. “A PERFECT WEEKEND.” On Labor Day Monday, the park was open 10 am – 7 pm. The park was full of people. It was the last day of Adventureland Bay. The water park will be closed for the season, but the Adventureland park it self will be open weekends till the end of September. We were busy all day and evening. It was sad on Saturday evening to look out and realize that we wouldn’t be seeing the lights of the “Monster” in the beautiful park anymore. The sights and sounds of the park are just magical at nite. The beautiful colors of the twirling rides, and the reflections of the buildings and lights in the lake by …..Dragon……

We will be closing earlier now on weekends and it will still be light. We had decided to take off the following week end and head home for a week. The one problem was the cat. Kitty has never road in the pickup. Also he had no place to stay. Tammy said he could stay their as it was his house, but she has a big dog “Chaos” and a cat “Charlie”. But that was what we decided to do. The nite before we went to Dairy Queen and took him for his first ride. Kitty was curious, but we thought that was all it was. When Rich opened the door at Dairy Queen, Kitty ran out the door. OMG. I panicked, and ran for him. He went up by the building and under the picnic tables. He was near the drive-up but their was a railing up that intimidated him. He could have went through it but he backed away. Finally we cornered him under the picnic table. The next day we took off for our 4 hour drive.

I put his soft harness on. He again was curious. He was nervous and kept walking around. Finally he settled down under Richs feet while he was driving. Half way into the trip, we decided to stop at a rest stop. I took him out and hooked up his leash. I kept walking towards the bushes and fields. It was really hot and he started panting. Took him over to the water hydrant and he wanted no part of that. lol Finally took him back to the truck, tried to give him some water and he wouldn’t drink. So we headed on down the road. …….Poor Kitty…….

He was so tired and exhausted. I think he was actually dehydrated and exhausted by the time we got home. I carried him in the house and he ran for the bedroom and went under the bed. That was the end of him for several hours. I got his food, water and litter pan all set up and we closed the door so he could rest alone. I stayed at Tammys and took her bedroom that night. He climbed in bed and was much better by morning. In the morning we were all in the living room and Chaos ran down the hallway.

He is part Lab and Pit Bull. I was worried about him hurting Kitty. Tammy ran down the hall as the dog started running and barking. She SCREAMED…..”Mom, come get Kitty, he just got TWICE THE SIZE that he was…..lol..lol…She was worried about the dog and she was afraid Kitty of sink his claws in her dog. Well poor Kitty just set the dog straight…..He said, “I am BOSS, this was my house first. Stay away from me”…..It was really funny. Later we let her cat up from the basement.

His name is “Charlie”. He is a beautiful Persian. Now Charlie was curious and wanted to play, but soon found out, Kitty does NOT PLAY. He is an OLD MAN. They had a few scrapes but managed to be respectful. I kept seeing Charlie staring at him around corners and across the room. By the time we left, Kitty was walking fairly freely through the house. I was really amazed.

This is “Dexter”, Tina and Ed and the kids dog. He is a Golden Doodle who is going on 2 years old. He is a very loveable and active dog. He is almost like another “son” in the house. lol.

Now Brandy and Scott have 2 house cats. Both came as strays. The yellow is “Seymour”, and the gray is “Clyde”. lol. Seymour has finally become lovable, but Clyde really likes to hiss at you. So these are all the animal cousins…..lol…..

One day, Tammy went to work and forgot some papers, so Carly and I went to Peoria. We got to tour the Kindred Hospital and seen where her momma works. Carly loved that. Then we went to Steak and Shake.

Tammy said she would know just what she wanted by the pictures and she did. We had to sit by the window by the Illinois River. I had gotten some stuffed animals at the park for the kids so we gathered them together to give them out. Cassidy didn’t make it, as she had went to her friends.

They had fun. Carly is far left, Austin, and then Miley. Around their necks, you can see a stuffed snake. I got Cameron a huge snake. He has wanted to buy a real Python in an aquarium for his room. I told him if he ever did that, I wouldn’t go in the house again. So “Here is your snake”…..lol…..The only one I allow.

He is a hard one to get a nice picture, but I managed to get this one uptown. He’s doing what he does best…..driving….lol…Rich had his own agenda of fixing things. Theirs always things to fix when we go home. He also goes through the garage putting tools and things BACK WHERE THEY BELONG….Hmmmmm….Now why is that…..I also got a Biker Bear for Scott for the Bar.

He was so big. I looked at him for a long time, hanging in one of the games. Finally I bought him.

He was so BIG, he had to sit in the passenger seat with Rich. I sat in the back and held him up.

So here he is in his new home. “One Paw’z Pub”…..McNabb, Illinois. He’s going to be nothing but a BARFLY….lol…That weekend was also “ONE PAW’Z PUB’s”Pre Harvest Hoe Down. Scott and the local Car Club had the Main Street blocked off. He had a Band staged on his flat bed truck trailer. Around 70 cars showed up for the Car Show. Some Beauty’s’ That will be the next blog. We left to go back on Wed. so we could have 2 days off before the weekend. Groceries were needed and laundry to do. And ya know we don’t have to move fast anymore, so 2 days to rest up is Wonderful. I went back to Tammy’s that morning as we have been staying at Scotts, and put Kitty’s harness on and carried him to the car. He was such a trooper all the way home. I think he now realized it was ok. He slept, although his space was not to big, but he didn’t get upset or anything. He was fine. We were all glad to get home. Kitty walked in just like he was glad to be home from his vacation. So Poor Kitty at 16 is still learning new things. He learned how to ride in a pick up. He learned how to live in his old house for 8 days with a dog and cat that had invaded his house.

This is his new thing to learn. How to go outside in a pen and not wander. Now this is a problem. He doesn’t understand yet. He walks in circles and thinks he should be out under the motorhome……Not a Good Place for Him……

Visiting Friends…Present & Past….

September 2, 2016September 3, 2016w2bergen 3 Comments

This week we had arranged to head south to Excelsior Springs. It is right by Kansas City about 2 1/2 hours south. Our good friends from Eastgate Cici and Larry, live their. We decided to head down on Tue. return on Thur. Larry had therapy that day on his new knee replacement. Not knowing how tired that would make him, we arranged to arrive around 4 pm and go out for supper. On the way, we stopped at Winterset. I wanted to buy a copy of the movie Bridges of Madison County. Now we can watch it before we go exploring at the bridges. They had copies at John Wayne’s Museum. Back on the highway south, we past the exits of New Virginia and St. Marys. We decided to drive the back roads on the way back and see if we could find where Rich’s dad use to live.

We arrived in Excelsior Springs around 4 and found their house. It was sure good to see them. We went out to eat, and had a great time. Not the greatest picture….lol…but it is what it is. The next morning Cici cooked a wonderful full breakfast with eggs, bacon, potatoes, biscuits and orange juice. Larry took Rich to shoot their pistols at an indoor shooting range. Rich wants to get his card for carrying, so he really enjoyed that. Cici and I went to a Great second hand store. I haven’t found a good one since we left Harlingen. We shopped at Texas Thrift. lol. ….. cheap skates we are……This one was really nice. I found 3 blouses….Not bad….spent $11. Found another store and returned home. They boys had a great time. Supper that nite was at Applebee’s.

Shopping at Lionel’s Western Wear in Weslaco after a style show last winter……

We have been friends of theirs for 2 winters now. They pulled into Eastgate about a day after we did that first winter. We hit it off right away. When we go places together they always drive. That’s what happens when you have a little Ford Ranger….lol….We’ve had so much fun with them. Cici is a nut…..and Larry can crack you up with his jokes also. Never dull…

We had such a good visit. We talked about family, about Eastgate of course, past and plans for this fall. The next morning we packed up our little plastic bag of clothes and toiletries…lol…(HyVee) and headed back towards home.

We finally made it to New Virginia, St. Mary’s exits. We turned off on the one he thought he remembered. Now Rich’s dad, Leo lived out here for a short time in the late 70’s. Leo had served in the Military, and made a good friend, Kenneth Ballard. When they would come home on leave the family’s would get together. Never the less, they were close friends. Leo married Rich’s mom Rose, and Helen and Kenny new all the kids. After Rich’s mom died, when he was 15,he spent the summer at Ballard’s. They lived in the country and had livestock, salvage yard, sold used cars, wrecker business, and farmed also. Kenny was always busy. Helen and Kenny had a number of kids, even a foster son, and she was always busy with the duties of a wife, mother, and the household. She was always taking care of kids. Her kids, neighbor kids, or many other family members kids. They were very hard working people and the kids all grow up the same. They were always a Happy Couple, Helen with a wonderful laugh, and Kenny was a jokester. Leo and Kenny remained friends all those years until Leo had another marital trouble. He went to live at Helen and Kenny’s around the late 70’s. He then bought a used mobile trailer and installed it on some acreage that Kenny let him use. Helen and Kenny had bought the property for retirement some day. After the trailer was set up, his present wife Dorothy came back, and they tried to make it work. But to know avail, it just wasn’t to be. Dorothy went back to her daughters, and Leo eventually moved to McNabb to be close to all the kids. After Leo passed in 1991, Helen and Kenny even came to Chillicothe for his funeral services. It seems like after that everyone really drifted apart. We know Kenny had died in 1995, but we really don’t know how or when we knew that. Finally at least 3 years ago, something really strange happened. By that time Connie, Rich’s younger sister had moved into Leo’s house. A neighbor of hers gave her a letter that arrived at her house. I don’t remember why it went their. It was from Helen Ballard. It contained some family pictures from years ago and a very sweet letter. We were all amazed One of them was a photo of their mother and dad. I was always going to write her and thank her. But of Course……Do we?…..Another moment of procrastination………….So now here we are today………….Searching to see if anyone is alive of the Ballard family or even around.

So here we go….driving the back roads….some blacktop…mostly gravel…..We couldn’t find Helen and Kenny Ballard’s house so off to try to find the property where his dads trailer was. We turned down this gravel road and down near the bottom, their was a lane to the right. He said turn here. Now I am driving. So I crept slowly, ever so slowly down this small lane and he says….“This isn’t it”…..I look in the rear view…..”Ohhhhh Shitttt”….Another car pulled into the lane……….we’re busted….no way to go but to the yard and turn around. I pulled to the side and let the car park. Rich got out….A lady got out…..They Talked….Thank Goodness they shook hands…..Whew….Were Ok….So I watched them talk for at least 10 min. then she made a phone call. hmmmmm …calling for info right?……..Finally Rich came back to the car with her…..He introduced me to Helen’s Granddaughter, Julie…….Ohhhh My…..of all the drives we pulled into, we chose hers. Ironically she usually doesn’t get off work that early…..Coincidence? When I told her how my heart skipped a beat when I seen her car in the rear view, she said “Imagine how I felt. I didn’t know what I was walking into”. Ohhh yaaaa. She said her grandmother is very much alive. She tried calling her and she wasn’t home. She is 91, drives, quilts at the church, member of a garden club and never stops. Julie know exactly who Rich was. Her grandma and grandpa had talked about Leo and his family through the years and she had know Leo when she was a child. After a nice little visit and exchanging of phone numbers, she gave Rich directions. Grandma Helen now lives on the property that Leo had put the trailer on. In the early 90’s Helen and Kenny brought in a different trailer and built on to it…..Julie says they call it the “trouse” lol I found that very funny.

So on we went. Turned out we were miles away. Finally turned down the gravel road and found the gravel lane. Yes this is it.

Now this is what was on the one lane bridge heading to the house…..lol….‘Caution Trolls” On the top of the pole is a troll….lol…Yes this has to be the Ballard’s. We drove up to the house.

Nobody Home. This is the Trouse…..We walked around a little and then got back in the truck. Going back over the bridge Rich said, Look, theirs something down their.

Hahahaha…..A Troll…..Now we gotta go back and take a picture of the Troll on top the fruit cellar.

We took the picture, wondering what the story was…..Gotta be good….Like I said, Kenny was a Jokester in his day. Finally we drove back down the lane and almost to the end and low and behold, in turns a car. It is Helen….She was so shocked. We turned around “AGAIN” Another Coincidence?……We visited with her for several hours.

I asked her about the Trolls……The Hat Explains it All…..”Its a Ballard Thing (You Wouldn’t Understand)”…..This was a gift from a family member, made especially for her. so, some things never change. What a great family. So in talking with Helen, she has a mind of a 60 year old, a sparkle in her eye. so much energy for her age. Her memory is fabulous. She has a wonderful laughter, that is so full of life and young sounding. Truly a woman to admire. Most of her family still lives near with the youngest daughter living just up the hill from her. We talked a lot about the past that was so interesting. Finally we had to say Goodbye. She was so glad and excited that we came by. With all those “COINCEDENCES” of timing, we would have never been able to see her. But we do plan in visiting again before we leave the end of the month. We are actually less than an hour from her house…..Amazing I think….

Rich Bergen and Helen Ballard

So the end of another day in Iowa…..What a few days its been….Visited our Very Good Friends and Finding some of Rich’s dads past

……..Its Like Stepping Back In Time……

……..Reality Check…..

Labor Day Weekend Ahead……Work 3 Days

OSHA’s Report on Adventureland Death

August 29, 2016August 30, 2016w2bergen 6 Comments

The other day we seen the OSHA Report on the death of an Adventureland worker last June. If you remember, he was an Assist on the Raging River. Their are 2 Assists and one Operator on this ride. It is a water raft ride that is run by conveyors at the beginning and end to bring the raft out of the water to load and unload. The conveyers are 10 ft. below from what I heard. Their is a series of six different conveyors and buttons the operator has to work. Each button is pushed manually when needed to move the rafts by conveyer up to the unload and load position.

The operator is sitting above to have a view of the ride, and the assists. The Assists unload and load each raft. When they are done and have all riders in the raft and back in their positions, they give a thumbs up to the Operator. Their are no safety switches or interlocking devices to secure the ride. So when the accident happened, the raft prematurely lurched, and pushed the two Assists over. One was caught by a bystander, the other was Steve Booher. He fell the 10 feet to the conveyors and injured his head and arms. Unfortunately, he never regained consciousness and died the following Sat. We were never told about the accident, nor told when he passed away. It was all found out by articles in the Des Moines Register. I did witness the EMTS rushing him out or I wouldn’t have known either. This man was a 68 year old retired postal employee form Oklahoma. Steve and his wife came to Adventureland to enjoy their summer working in the park. He only worked 1 week. So much speculation has been made since then as to who was at fault. Was it the Operator? Was it the Park? Was it the training procedures? I believe it was a little bit of everything. First of all, I don’t think from what I’ve witness as a whole, their training process is very good at all. Secondly, with all of these conveyors and buttons and an open conveyor 10 feet below, why would you depend on the 2 Assists to just give you a thumbs up to continue? That is all that is done on a number of rides. Some have an interlocking system that all parties have to push a switch to allow the ride to continue. Many of them rely on simply a thumbs up from both Assists. Now if you have 6 sets of conveyors to operate, isn’t it understandable an accident can happen? We can all get careless sometimes.

So this is the copy of the Iowa OSHA Citation and Notification of Penalty that was posted on the office door. Bottom line…..Fine $4,500……….Really..Thats All….That’s all a life is Worth?…..But at least if nothing else, it does directly fault the park. I’m sure that opens up a huge lawsuit for the family. I do think they deserve so much more. Today, on 2 different Adventureland Facebook sites this was posted

It is an article by the Des Moines Register about the Citation.

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Adventureland Fined $4,500 After Worker’s Death desmoinesregister.com

Federal regulators allege that Adventureland park broke Iowa law by failing to create a safe work environment for the 68-year-old man who died from injuries he sustained while working on the Raging River ride in June.

Iowa’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the theme park $4,500 this month in the death of Steve Booher. The Altoona amusement park has 15 days to contest the agency’s findings.

One of Booher’s family members said the fine “seems a little light.”

“We’re talking about the loss of life,” said Tim Overlin, Booher’s nephew who lives in Des Moines.

The Raging River sends riders through rapids on large circular rafts. Booher was working at the ride June 7, helping riders get out of the rafts when the conveyor belt carrying the rafts began to move forward.

The movement caused him to fall from the loading platform onto the conveyor belt.

Booher injured his head and arms and was on life support at a Des Moines hospital for several days. He died June 11.

Jens Nissen, Iowa OSHA administrator, said the $4,500 fine was the maximum his agency could assess Adventureland for this type of violation. OSHA found no evidence that the theme park willfully violated worker safety protocols, which would have prompted a larger fine.

The ride is operated by a worker in a control tower above the platform. The disconnect between the operator and the workers below is the primary issue inspectors identified.

Iowa OSHA found that Adventureland should implement engineering controls that would prevent the conveyor belt from moving rafts while workers are still loading and unloading passengers.

That could include interlocked sensor devices or interlocked buttons “to ensure that ride assistants are positioned in a safe location before the boats are allowed to be advanced by the ride operator,” according to the agency’s citation.

Molly Vincent, a spokesperson for Adventureland, declined to answer any questions about the OSHA fine or the changes recommended by the agency.

Overlin said the ride should have automatic controls that stop it if a worker is in the path of the rafts. He also questioned the amusement park’s training requirements.

Booher had worked at Adventureland for six days. He and his wife were retirees from Oklahoma who planned to spend the summer living in their RV and working at the park.

The day he fell was the first he had worked on the Raging River ride.

The Raging River reopened the day after Booher’s incident.

A search of OSHA’s federal database found no previous violations for Adventureland. Nationwide, 10 workers were killed on the job at amusement parks between 2011 and 2014, the most recent years for which OSHA fatality data is available.

Amusement park rides, including the Raging River, are inspected annually by the Iowa Division of Labor. The Raging River was inspected on April 28 and then again on June 8, following Booher’s fall.

Both inspections determined that the ride was operating as designed, said James Bowry, manager of the division’s elevator, boiler and amusement ride bureau.

The ride will be inspected again after the park implements changes recommended by OSHA, he said. It is operating currently, the division said.

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This just doesn’t seem life much money for a fine. It is just a small amount to them. Their was a number of accidents this year at different parks, since this one. The parks went on total shut down after for a day or two. They made national headlines. Not here. The ride shut down for a day, and reopened. Most of the people in the park never even know the accident happened. We had to read it in the paper. The park owners never acknowledge Steve and his wife. Many people wanted to reach out to his wife and family. That was never made possible.

I do on one hand do think they are trying very hard to make this a wonderful family park. The parents have now passed and the 4 adult siblings are the owners and driving force for the park. They do walk the park every day. They are very hands on. They are investing money in new rides, and beautiful landscaping. But on the other hand, many of us feel like numbers. If you stop them to talk, they are friendly, but that is the end. When they walk by you the next day, they don’t recognize or see you. Sometimes you get a wave, but seldom. We feel like a Number but yet they say they think so highly about us Workampers involved in the Workamper Program. But I guess that is alright, its their park. I just wish they would put some of that money into updating the safety features of the old rides. Most of the training is done in 10 to 15 minutes. Do you really think this is enough training when you are loading adults and children and are responsible for their safety? They need to review their safety program. See what improvements can be done.

Is That To Much To Ask?

………….''AND LET THE FUN BEGIN''……………..

Our Diaries of Daily Life and Travel

Uncategorized

Christmas is Coming At Eastgate

One Month at Eastgate

Home for 3 Weeks & Headed South……

Visiting Helen Ballard Before We Leave….

Iowa State Capital Tour….

“Luminaria” Fabulous

One Paw’z Pub-2nd Annual Pre-Harvest Throwdown & Cruise In

Labor Day Over….A Week Home

Visiting Friends…Present & Past….

OSHA’s Report on Adventureland Death

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