Happy New Year! Where Did Dec. Go

January 4, 2017January 4, 2017w2bergen 2 Comments

December is almost over, in fact it might be after I get this posted….lol…We’ve done so much in the park already. The park is almost full. Some have driven or flew home for the holidays, including Canadians. They are starting to return now. After January 1st, they will all be back. The ones who don’t come till after the holidays will probably all come by next week. We’ve been ……BUSY BUSY BUSY…..We scheduled a Downtown Historical Jackson Street walk.

It was a beautiful day. Harlingen offers this tour every Saturday to the public free of charge. Over 20 murals to see, and so much history. We did this as an Eastgate tour. Its so nice for everyone to be together. Lunch after of course.

Racheal from SegValley Tours came for Coffee and Donuts and brought one Segway. After her demonstration, she invited everyone to try it out in the parking lot.

Margene who is 84 and her daughter Kathlynn, and Rachael, owner of SegValley Tours

So much fun was had by all. This was their chance to fulfill their bucket list. Next we had our Annual Golf Cart Christmas Parade and after was Ice Cream and Singing Carols.

The carts were all decked out in Christmas lights and decorations. A group of ladys walked ahead of the carts dressed as the Reindeer and sang Christmas Carols. They traveled all over the park ending at the hall for the rest of the party. Of Course Santa was their too….

We had our Christmas Dinner, with platters of ham and everyone bringing a dish or two to serve at their table. Also the table decorating contest.

They all out did themselves this year. The tables were beautiful, from fun and festive, to beautiful and elegant. This was the first place winner. Great group of people who put so much effort into their Gingerbread Truck and Camper. The hill was also lite up with lights. Awesome Job.

Rich’s brother John came down from Illinois to be with his daughter and family from New Braunfels Tx. Its about 5 or 6 hours away. They met down on South Padre Island for Christmas. We went down the following day and spent the nite. Misty, Mark and the kids had a great time on the beach.

They enjoyed fishing on the jetty. The fog was pretty thick that morning.

You could see it just come in and blow through the island. It was hanging pretty low. This was an awesome picture of the fog covering the lower part of the hotel. The top part just appeared out of the fog like a ghost.

Also the Pirate Ship cruise went by. It was rather spooky too with the fog that was present. They offer games and pirates fighting. A very authentic feeling of a pirate ship. After Mistys family went back home, John and Glenda came by and spent 2 nites. We took them to Progresso Mexico for their first time every.

They had a great time. It is quite an experience for anyone. We sat down at the Red Panty Bar on the tables on the street.

Ordered a few drinks and Glenda took it all in. Street musicians playing drums and trumpet as well as a man playing guitar behind us.

Now this is what every women loves including me of course…lol…..Shopping for jewelry from the street vendors.

Now this was in a store for sale. Beautiful isn’t it. The price on it is $250. I love it. Now if I had a house, …..lol….and a little extra money, I would certainly remodel my bathroom around this toilet. They also have sinks…..lol.. The following day we went to the 77 Flea Mkt. It is so big you can’t see it all in one day.

Rich did find a new pal. This is for Scott and Brandy at the bar. Were not sure if its a “Sally or Sam”….lol….Scott already has “Bones and Trixie”, so this will be a nice addition to the family. We spent New Years Eve with a group of friends.

We spent the nite with a fire pit and Tom smoked a brisket…..At midnite the fireworks in town were huge. They went off in all directions. The next day we heard a lot of people woke up because of all the noise. Happy 2017

Some of the lights of our park. This is 2 Mesquite Trees. The owners have them decorated so beautifully. They are near the entrance and give the park a great impression when you pull in…..

This camper is in the RV section. It is beautiful and complete with music as you drive by.

“Happy New Year 2017”

……May it be everything You Want it to Be…..

Randy Reindeer Came to Eastgate

December 29, 2016December 31, 2016w2bergen 1 Comment

Santa sent Randy to Eastgate as a back up for Christmas Eve if any of the reindeer got tired……Or the Story goes…..lol

The very end of November Alice and Tom came to me with this really cool idea. “Lets have a Scavenger Hunt. They had this cute little reindeer that we named Randy and we decided on this story.

So Alice and Tom would hid him in the evening and text me the clue. In the morning I would post the clue in both halls and on FaceBook. Someone would find Randy and bring him to me and get an entry into the drawing on Christmas Day. Everyone started getting a kick out of Randy. He would hide in flower carts, peek out tree branches all through the park. Several weeks back Randy was taken to Port Mansfield which is over an hour away. They have lots of deer that are very tame. They come right up to your car.

The group that took him said that Randy wanted to meet his family. Then they all went bar hopping. The funny thing was, Alice and Tom were part of the group. Nobody knew they were hiding him. lol. They played the game well.

So Randy started to drink. He made new friends and I think sucked down beer, Margaritas, and who knows what all. He was a Very Bad Reindeer. I didn’t know where he was until the group was posting these pictures on Eastgate FB site.

I knew Randy was going to come home with a BAD BAD Hangover. Finally he came home. He rested up a bit and later he was dressed up in a new Hat. He decided to get out his inner tube and throw it in the hot tub. He wanted to rest up and wake up in the morning floating in the sunshine. The Clue for the morning was …….

Fun in the Sun before the busy week ahead…..

But poor Randy, he didn’t realize a bad storm came up about 4 in the morning. It rained and the wind blew hard. In the morning, I had went up to post the clue and I got a mysterious text. …… Randy was found in the water, his tube had capsized overnite……. But he was safe, just water logged. lol. I had to towel dry him and use the blow dryer on him. I feed him soup and tucked him in bed for the rest of the day. So Randy hid again that nite…….Clue….”Randy has to check out a line for messages. He will be sending out Daily Messages to Santa this week”….lol…So where do you suppose he was this time? He was by a Direct Tv Satellite. After several days, Randy decided he wanted to go to Mexico.

He hid on the window of our neighbors, Glen and Kathy. So this time Randy dressed up in his Santa hat, a red coat with fur and a snowflake on the front. He also had a glass in his hand…..He had a sign….’Help!!! I need a Margarita”…..Now I think he’s turning into an Alcoholic. So he went to Mexico with Kathy and Glen, Dawn and Rob, their son and girlfriend, who just came and Rich. Now Rich was designated driver for Kathy and Glen, and Randy also.

He had his passport and climbed in their back pack.

He went through the turnstiles and entered Mexico.

It all went down hill from then. He found the hard liqueur.

And the worst part was all of his chaperones didn’t stop him. He even sang with Mexican band and they did a Hat Dance with him in the center of the floor in the hat.

He was such a mess. When I didn’t hear from him by late afternoon, I knew he was …..”WASTED”…..They finally got him home around 8:30 that nite. Rich was fine…But then their was ….”Glenn”….He had a good time. But he probably doesn’t remember. So Randy took the nite off cause of a hangover. He stayed in bed most of the next day. The last days Randy was good and hid every nite, entertaining all of us. Christmas morning Pastor Squire even invited him to church. Pastor gave him a front row seat and announced they had a visitor for the services. We all hoped he would listen to the sermon and see the error of his ways. Later that day was our Christmas Dinner. He sat proudly in front on the stage and helped us pick our ……Winner of the contest……..

…..Ursula Randall…..She was presented with a Gift Certificate at a local Mexican Restaurant and Reindeer Ears. lol….We then announced our wonderful Owners of Randy and who had been hiding him all this time. No one ever suspected Alice and Tom. Every nite they would ride around waiting for people to go to bed so they could hid him. Kudos to them for doing this for almost 24 days. They only took several days off when they got sick with the Texas Crud….lol…The Park had so much fun. Some were waiting everyday to see the clue. Some enjoyed just reading about him and laughing and trying to figure where he could be. Never the less, Randy made a HUGE difference in the park this year. Now will Randy come back next December?

It all depends on what Santa decides. He never used him for Christmas Eve. So was it because he couldn’t trust him, or did he just not need him. We’ll never know. I did hear he was thinking of sending him to AA meetings. He might go to Rehab for the Summer. Randy had promised to stay in the Park, so he broke many rules. So for now Randy is sitting in the Activity Office in the Park. Just waiting for Santa’s decision…..

……………Poor Randy………..

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

2 nd Annual Oktoberfest at Adventureland….Amazing

October 5, 2016October 6, 2016w2bergen 3 Comments

Finally, Oktoberfest arrived, the event we have been waiting for. It was a long day but so much fun and amazing to watch what the Park had accomplished. It was so professionally done. It was a classy affair that had something for everyone. It was affordable to anyone according to their wishes. Or you could spend and drink and party to your hearts delight.

Oktoberfest was not something we knew about at first. This is an affair separate from what the Workampers were expected to do to finish their season. Last year which was the 1st, was much smaller, so this year the plans had grown and escalated to quite a large affair. We kept hearing about the plans, games would be open in 2 of the 3 areas, and many of the large rides would also be open. It sounded exciting, so we decided to stay and work. A number of other Workampers stayed also. After last Sunday of working, which was the last day we had to stay to satisfy our bonus, many of the Workampers left the campground. It was really a mass exit…..Then mid week all the weekenders started filling up the lots again, just for Oktoberfest. By Friday we were quite full again….

We knew they were putting new LED lighting on the Big Wheel. Last Thursday, Rich looked out the window towards the park and he said, Look the Big Wheel lights are on. We sat their and watched in delight, and then drove the golf cart to the parking lot. I took pics and a video. It was so beautiful. The colors changed, moved in a wheel, moved in swirls…..It was so pretty. They ran all evening till 10pm and again Friday nite. Finally Saturday came. We arrived at 10:15 am to turn in our uniforms for the year. I was in Games again and was assigned Alpine which would be up by the main stage….This is just where I wanted to be. Right in the middle of the action. Now Rich was assigned to the Tilt a Whirl. He would be near the back of the park and probably wouldn’t see as much action. This year they would be having 13 bands on 7 different stages through out the park at different times. Wow. It was a rather cool morning to start, so I wore jeans. It was going to be a casual affair for us in Games as many of our rules were relaxed. We could buy from the many food vendors in the park, and their were many (although Rich had to eat in the commissary, strange, it was a rule for Rides. ). We were also allowed to take our phones. Soooo pictures….YES…..So the gates opened at 11 am.

Their just so happened to be 2 Iowa football games that afternoon, so things started slowly. They had also brought in a big screen for the bands so they also played the football games for those interested. Tickets were only $15 to enter, that also got you a mug with Samuel Adams Beer. Very reasonable. At break time I wandered the park and bought a sandwich and found some really cool things they were offering for fun to play. No cost.

Bean Bags on Main Street

Connect Four….. King Size

Huge Jenga……These were placed in a number of places through out the park.

Ladder Ball

This was really cool….It is a moustache Tetter Totter

Beer Pong….Everyone was having so much fun. They also added some other beer games that cost.

Pumpkin Launch….Their was a small wooden boat in the water. If you made it you got a fun trinket, Key chain or beads I believe.

Keg Bowling…..lol…I think this is self explanatory….I believe all these games were $3 each….not to expensive…

How about Speed Beer….Shake up a can of beer and throw it…See how fast you can throw…..As the day progressed, more people came. Finally I heard at 6pm the tickets booths outside were standing line, and the parking lot was getting full. The last i heard our count was 7,000 people. I was working the game Mr. Frog, which was near main stage. All the bands were playing through the park at different times, but main stage was going to be playing last until 9:30 and then the ……Fireworks….Grand Finale…..The last band began…..The Spazmatics…..They were so good. They played music of the 80’s….Fabulous sounds and High Energy music….It turns out, they are a “Chain Band” from Chicago. That means their are many chains of the same band through out the US. Listening to them and watching the Big Wheel lites behind them was just Magical.

The people were having a blast, dancing and moving and singing to the music. The crowds became so thick, I couldn’t hardly see the band anymore. Lots of people were stopping to play Mr. Frog though. I became very busy.

This game is really a neat game that has been here for years. You buy rubber frogs to launch in a launcher.

You hit it with a mallet and try to land the frog in the white lily pad that is moving in circles in the water. So as you know, most people miss and the frog lands in the water. So I have to pluck the frogs out…..lol…by the end of the evening I was soaked….You get 3 frogs for $3, 6 for $5 or 15 for $10. People love this game.

All through the park the big rides were running. Rich said he had lines all night. Nonstop. The big rides were busy ..Monster, Tornado, Space Shot and the Storm Search. Everyone was having a blast, most of them walking around with a mug of beer in hand. But was their any problems? You would think that alcohol and all the rides wouldn’t mix. I heard of a few problems but the police force were patrolling through the park all nite. From my and Rich’s viewpoint, everyone was well behaved. They were laughing, singing, dancing….Being Happy…..Finally it was almost 9:30 and the band called last song. Soon as the last chords were played the Fireworks began…..Beautiful fireworks in the sky. What a wonderful fitting finish to an Evening of Magic…..

My Manager Devin……Really Good Guy…..

So the lights on the Big Wheel continued till 10 pm. We packed up the games for the last time this season….Counted my frogs for inventory….lol…Put them in their plastic bin to be taken in the building….Said my goodbyes to the kids I worked with…..Little by little the people cleared out….Rich and I headed back to the employees area, turned in our last shirts we had on and left the building…..Got in our golf cart and headed to our campsite for the last time this year……Whewwww…..Finally, its over…..but its Bittersweet….We are ready to leave but, its also sad to leave…….Well weve been packing for several days, so Sunday we packed up what was left and left by 2 pm….Headed to Illinois….but ohhhh soooo Tired….Worked almost 12 hours Saturday…….Didn’t realize I was so tired…..

But What a Wonderful Day and Evening it Was…..Adventureland, you put on a Class Act….

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….

………….''AND LET THE FUN BEGIN''……………..

Our Diaries of Daily Life and Travel

Happy New Year! Where Did Dec. Go

Randy Reindeer Came to Eastgate

Christmas is Coming At Eastgate

One Month at Eastgate

Home for 3 Weeks & Headed South……

2 nd Annual Oktoberfest at Adventureland….Amazing

But What a Wonderful Day and Evening it Was…..Adventureland, you put on a Class Act….

Visiting Helen Ballard Before We Leave….

Iowa State Capital Tour….

“Luminaria” Fabulous

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

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But What a Wonderful Day and Evening it Was…..Adventureland, you put on a Class Act….

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