Hello on this crazy Tuesday.
The mechanic took the drive shaft to be welded and balanced. They had to order a new yoke and could not find one locally so they have ordered one and it will be delivered tomorrow by the UPS man. This means we sit one more night in the mechanics yard. Tomorrow they will put the drive shaft back on the motor home along with changing all the U-joints. The estimated cost of repairs is $500. We are thankful it is not more than that as we have that much in savings.
While waiting for the mechanic to do whatever he needed to do we decided to go and do laundry. Did four loads of laundry for $12...$3 a load is not bad since at some places we have spent $5 a for a load of laundry. After we found out that the yoke for the drive shaft would not be in till tomorrow we decided to go for a ride. We drove into Bainbridge Island and spent about an hour walking around the town. Found the post office so bought stamps. We also picked up some postcards for the grandchildren. When we went on our Fall trips last year we decided to collect hat pins. They are small yet nice. We found one in Bainbridge Island with a Washington Ferry on it. I will add it to our collection.
Ron called Rick and Albert to let them know what is going on. Rick told Ron there was no reason to come in for the 5:00 p.m. shift today but to plan on coming in on Wednesday. So the plan for tomorrow is that Ron will go to Sequim (50 miles from here) and work from 8:00 to 5:00 and then Albert and Ron will drive back to Suquamish to pick me and the motor home up and then we will all drive back to Sequim and get settled in the bone yard. I will probably have to work Thursday morning to get the ticket boxes ready to go. The carnival opens on Thursday at 4:00 p.m.
I plan on spending time in the Word and writing out the postcards to Max, Opal and Christopher. I will also do some cleaning of the motor home. Today we did do a good sweeping throughout as we had collected a lot of sand and dirt in Wenatchee.
Thanks for the notes of encouragement last night and today. They are all appreciated.
Praises and Prayer Requests ~
~ praise that the part was found to fix the motor home and that it can be delivered tomorrow
~ praise that we are in a safe place again for the night
~ praise that we were able to borrow a car for these days that we are broke down in Suquamish
~ pray that the money owed to us will come in as the expenses of this repair wipes out what little we had in savings
~ pray for safety for Ron as he drives to Sequim in the morning and then again as he and Albert come back to Suquamish to pick up me and the motor home
~ that the repairs can be made to the motor home without any surprises to be found by the mechanic
Guess that's all from Suquamish for today. I need to make a lunch for Ron to take with him tomorrow and we are going to have an early night since we have to be up so early. I will post another blog entry tomorrow night once we are all settled in Sequim.
Love and miss you all!
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Monday, May 03, 2010
Maddening Monday!
Warning: this will not be a very upbeat blog post tonight.
Ron worked from 12:30 yesterday afternoon till 5:00 this morning with a half hour break which was used to get me a strawberry frozen juice and change his clothes for the tear down shift. He came in the door of the motor home about 5:10 a.m. He was very frustrated and told me he had lost his cool with some of the guys a few hours before. Guess the help was wasting a lot of time doing nothing and there was a bad accident during the tear down of the Tornado. One of the regulars told a spot help to hold some part and the guy dropped what he was holding causing one of the chairs to fall rapidly causing a piece of equipment to crash into the spot helps arm. This caused a huge cut. The guy was taken to the ER and got 25 stitches in his arm. Another issue was people just standing around when there was so much work to be done. Tear down should have only taken about 8 hours and instead took 13 1/2 hours. Ron tried to give the van key to the ride supervisor and he wouldn't take it. Said I needed it as I was driving the show van to Sequim. First time we had been told that, especially since Rick told me on Friday I was not driving. After working a rough night Ron took a quick nap of two hours before we had to get up to pull wires and leave for Sequim.
I got up at 7:30 and Ron got up at 8:00...Tommy, one of the ride people, was sounding the call to pull wires. and woke up Ron. I had been trying to let him sleep because I knew he was super tired.
While we were getting the motor home ready to leave from the bone yard, I saw Rick getting his truck ready to leave. Ron went over and talked to him about the ride supervisor not accepting the show van key and asked if it was true that I needed to drive the show van. Rick said yes. Ron then talked to him about taking the show van on the ferry as we wanted to drive through Leavenworth and over Stevens Pass, catching the Edmonds/Kingston ferry and then driving to Sequim. Rick said no problem going that route as long as the people in the van knew that was how we were going and that they had the money to pay to cross the ferry. We checked with the seven people riding in the show van and all said they had the $7 it would cost to ride the ferry. We finished what needed to be done to be able to leave. We left the bone yard about 9:30 and got on the road at about 10:45 after stopping at Safeway to get gas.
While pulling into Safeway we had our first glitch of the day. As Ron pulled into the Safeway parking lot the cap on the holding tanks popped off and the gray water tank rapidly began spilling water on the roadway. All I can say is that I am so glad it was not the black water tank!
We then drove from Wenatchee through Cashmere and then through Leavenworth and then headed up to Stevens Pass. About five miles out of Leavenworth the snow began to fall. It quickly went from a light dusting and little snowflakes to huge snowflakes covering and sticking to the road. It took us about an hour and a half to get up and over the pass. At times it was very slow going as we hit some areas of white out with barely able to see the tail lights of the car in front of me. A few times the car in front of me started to spin out. I stayed a fair distance behind that car. We saw one car that had spun out and was in the ditch. A few semi's had even pulled off the road. Needless to say by the time I got up, over and down the pass I was white knuckling it and my shoulders and arms were pretty tensed up. I had Kollin, one of the ride people riding in the van, call Ron who was in front of us to tell him to stop at the McDonalds in Sultan. I needed a break from driving. Three of us rendevoused at the McDonalds for lunch and a much needed break.
We got back on the road and headed for Edmonds to catch the ferry. While driving on I5, I got a call from Theresa saying the ferries weren't running. We stopped at the rest area so Ron could empty the black water holding tank. While stopped there Ron called 511 to find out what was going on with the ferries. We found out that the Kingston ferry was not running at 12:45 but the Edmonds ferry was running on time. We pulled into the ferry line at 2:15 for the 2:20 ferry crossing. Before boarding the ferry, we heard from Richard, one of the ride guys, that while he was driving over the pass his trailer hit the guardrail and tore up the awning and side of his trailer. As we boarded the ferry, Richard called again to say he was in Monroe having just had a tire blow on his Blazer. He didn't know if he would be able to find a tire that would fit his car.
The ferry ride was very enjoyable though a bit rocky due to the high winds. It was nice to have a break from driving. It cost Ron $54.60 for the motor home and driver. The van was $14.85. The passengers in the van had to pay $6.90 per person. By taking the ferry we saved driving about 70 miles and avoided the Tacoma traffic. Just as we got off the ferry and turned onto the main road, Ron heard this grinding sound and felt a jerk with the motor home. He quickly pulled over. I followed suit with the van, and Albert did the same with his jeep and trailer. We must have been quite a sight ~ as soon as each vehicle stopped the passengers jumped out. There were 12 people on the side of the road. Ron and Ruben looked under the motor home and saw the drive shaft on the road. It was supposed to be connected from one end of the motor home to the other. Ron quickly got on the phone to the Emergency Roadside Assistance that we have with our insurance. Thank goodness we have a great policy as we have used it numerous times as many of you know. It was decided that Ron would stay with the motor home, Albert would drive his jeep and trailer and I would take the show van and all the passengers into Sequim. We were about 50 miles from the bone yard in Sequim. I am happy to say that the rest of the trip to Sequim was event free!
After pulling into the bone yard and getting Albert's trailer set up. I went and talked with Terry, one of the games managers told me that while they were driving from Wenatchee to Sequim one of his side windows was blown out. Guess it made a huge mess inside his fifth wheel trailer. Terry then asked me where our motor home was. I told him our saga. He responded with "oh no." I then knocked on Rick & Theresa's door. When Rick answered I asked him if he wanted the good news or the bad. He said it didn't matter ~ just tell him what was going on. I said the good news was that the show van made it safely from Wenatchee to Sequim with no problems. The bad news was that Richard was stuck in Monroe with a blown out tire and Ron was on the side of the road in Kingston with a broken drive shaft. Rick's response was "oh, no. Do you need a ride back to where Ron was?" I said I didn't know yet. I was going to see if I could use Albert's car once he got his trailer all settled. Rick said to let him know and he would give me a ride if I needed one. I thanked him and told him I would let him know.
After multiple phone calls from Ron I knew that I needed to find a ride back to Kingston because Ron and the motor home were being towed to a mechanic about 5 miles out of town. Ron had also talked to the mechanic, Del, and he would put out an electrical cord for us for the night and that he would be at the shop at 7:45 in the morning to begin working on the rig. I talked with Albert some more and he graciously loaned me his car for the night and tomorrow morning. I then called Ron and said I was getting back on the road. We talked about five times in the 45 minutes I drove back to Kingston. He was giving me directions to where to meet him and the tow truck driver. We met up in Kingston and I followed the tow truck and motor home to the mechanics. Another uneventful trip ~ yeah!
So now we are settled into the motor home for the night. We have electricity from the shop and fortunately water in our holding tank. We had chicken noodle soup for dinner (sounds better than Top Ramen). It is now 9:00 and I think we are going to bed soon. It has been a very long day for Ron with working through most of the night and then driving all day. I am doing much better than I was about 3 hours ago when I was in the midst of not knowing what was going to happen with the motor home or where we would be staying for the night.
As I am ending this post I do have many things to be thankful for:
~ that we made it safely over Stevens Pass
~ that the drive shaft did not drop when we were going 70 mph down I5 ~ it easily could have caused a major accident
~ that we have a great Emergency Road Service plan with our insurance coverage
~ that Ron feels confident about the mechanic after speaking to him both on the phone and in person about the drive shaft and what repairs need to be done
~ that Ron and I have a safe place to lay our heads tonight and we are not stuck on the road somewhere
Prayer requests:
~ for the repairs to be made quickly tomorrow so that we can get back to work. Ron is due to be on the carnival lot at 5:00 p.m. to set the lot for Wednesday's set up
~ that we will both get a good night's sleep
~ that the expenses are not more than the amount of money we have available
Thanks for reading about our day and keeping us in your prayers. We do appreciate all your prayers and words of encouragement. I will write another update tomorrow night, hopefully from the bone yard in Sequim.
Alice
Ron worked from 12:30 yesterday afternoon till 5:00 this morning with a half hour break which was used to get me a strawberry frozen juice and change his clothes for the tear down shift. He came in the door of the motor home about 5:10 a.m. He was very frustrated and told me he had lost his cool with some of the guys a few hours before. Guess the help was wasting a lot of time doing nothing and there was a bad accident during the tear down of the Tornado. One of the regulars told a spot help to hold some part and the guy dropped what he was holding causing one of the chairs to fall rapidly causing a piece of equipment to crash into the spot helps arm. This caused a huge cut. The guy was taken to the ER and got 25 stitches in his arm. Another issue was people just standing around when there was so much work to be done. Tear down should have only taken about 8 hours and instead took 13 1/2 hours. Ron tried to give the van key to the ride supervisor and he wouldn't take it. Said I needed it as I was driving the show van to Sequim. First time we had been told that, especially since Rick told me on Friday I was not driving. After working a rough night Ron took a quick nap of two hours before we had to get up to pull wires and leave for Sequim.
I got up at 7:30 and Ron got up at 8:00...Tommy, one of the ride people, was sounding the call to pull wires. and woke up Ron. I had been trying to let him sleep because I knew he was super tired.
While we were getting the motor home ready to leave from the bone yard, I saw Rick getting his truck ready to leave. Ron went over and talked to him about the ride supervisor not accepting the show van key and asked if it was true that I needed to drive the show van. Rick said yes. Ron then talked to him about taking the show van on the ferry as we wanted to drive through Leavenworth and over Stevens Pass, catching the Edmonds/Kingston ferry and then driving to Sequim. Rick said no problem going that route as long as the people in the van knew that was how we were going and that they had the money to pay to cross the ferry. We checked with the seven people riding in the show van and all said they had the $7 it would cost to ride the ferry. We finished what needed to be done to be able to leave. We left the bone yard about 9:30 and got on the road at about 10:45 after stopping at Safeway to get gas.
While pulling into Safeway we had our first glitch of the day. As Ron pulled into the Safeway parking lot the cap on the holding tanks popped off and the gray water tank rapidly began spilling water on the roadway. All I can say is that I am so glad it was not the black water tank!
We then drove from Wenatchee through Cashmere and then through Leavenworth and then headed up to Stevens Pass. About five miles out of Leavenworth the snow began to fall. It quickly went from a light dusting and little snowflakes to huge snowflakes covering and sticking to the road. It took us about an hour and a half to get up and over the pass. At times it was very slow going as we hit some areas of white out with barely able to see the tail lights of the car in front of me. A few times the car in front of me started to spin out. I stayed a fair distance behind that car. We saw one car that had spun out and was in the ditch. A few semi's had even pulled off the road. Needless to say by the time I got up, over and down the pass I was white knuckling it and my shoulders and arms were pretty tensed up. I had Kollin, one of the ride people riding in the van, call Ron who was in front of us to tell him to stop at the McDonalds in Sultan. I needed a break from driving. Three of us rendevoused at the McDonalds for lunch and a much needed break.
We got back on the road and headed for Edmonds to catch the ferry. While driving on I5, I got a call from Theresa saying the ferries weren't running. We stopped at the rest area so Ron could empty the black water holding tank. While stopped there Ron called 511 to find out what was going on with the ferries. We found out that the Kingston ferry was not running at 12:45 but the Edmonds ferry was running on time. We pulled into the ferry line at 2:15 for the 2:20 ferry crossing. Before boarding the ferry, we heard from Richard, one of the ride guys, that while he was driving over the pass his trailer hit the guardrail and tore up the awning and side of his trailer. As we boarded the ferry, Richard called again to say he was in Monroe having just had a tire blow on his Blazer. He didn't know if he would be able to find a tire that would fit his car.
The ferry ride was very enjoyable though a bit rocky due to the high winds. It was nice to have a break from driving. It cost Ron $54.60 for the motor home and driver. The van was $14.85. The passengers in the van had to pay $6.90 per person. By taking the ferry we saved driving about 70 miles and avoided the Tacoma traffic. Just as we got off the ferry and turned onto the main road, Ron heard this grinding sound and felt a jerk with the motor home. He quickly pulled over. I followed suit with the van, and Albert did the same with his jeep and trailer. We must have been quite a sight ~ as soon as each vehicle stopped the passengers jumped out. There were 12 people on the side of the road. Ron and Ruben looked under the motor home and saw the drive shaft on the road. It was supposed to be connected from one end of the motor home to the other. Ron quickly got on the phone to the Emergency Roadside Assistance that we have with our insurance. Thank goodness we have a great policy as we have used it numerous times as many of you know. It was decided that Ron would stay with the motor home, Albert would drive his jeep and trailer and I would take the show van and all the passengers into Sequim. We were about 50 miles from the bone yard in Sequim. I am happy to say that the rest of the trip to Sequim was event free!
After pulling into the bone yard and getting Albert's trailer set up. I went and talked with Terry, one of the games managers told me that while they were driving from Wenatchee to Sequim one of his side windows was blown out. Guess it made a huge mess inside his fifth wheel trailer. Terry then asked me where our motor home was. I told him our saga. He responded with "oh no." I then knocked on Rick & Theresa's door. When Rick answered I asked him if he wanted the good news or the bad. He said it didn't matter ~ just tell him what was going on. I said the good news was that the show van made it safely from Wenatchee to Sequim with no problems. The bad news was that Richard was stuck in Monroe with a blown out tire and Ron was on the side of the road in Kingston with a broken drive shaft. Rick's response was "oh, no. Do you need a ride back to where Ron was?" I said I didn't know yet. I was going to see if I could use Albert's car once he got his trailer all settled. Rick said to let him know and he would give me a ride if I needed one. I thanked him and told him I would let him know.
After multiple phone calls from Ron I knew that I needed to find a ride back to Kingston because Ron and the motor home were being towed to a mechanic about 5 miles out of town. Ron had also talked to the mechanic, Del, and he would put out an electrical cord for us for the night and that he would be at the shop at 7:45 in the morning to begin working on the rig. I talked with Albert some more and he graciously loaned me his car for the night and tomorrow morning. I then called Ron and said I was getting back on the road. We talked about five times in the 45 minutes I drove back to Kingston. He was giving me directions to where to meet him and the tow truck driver. We met up in Kingston and I followed the tow truck and motor home to the mechanics. Another uneventful trip ~ yeah!
So now we are settled into the motor home for the night. We have electricity from the shop and fortunately water in our holding tank. We had chicken noodle soup for dinner (sounds better than Top Ramen). It is now 9:00 and I think we are going to bed soon. It has been a very long day for Ron with working through most of the night and then driving all day. I am doing much better than I was about 3 hours ago when I was in the midst of not knowing what was going to happen with the motor home or where we would be staying for the night.
As I am ending this post I do have many things to be thankful for:
~ that we made it safely over Stevens Pass
~ that the drive shaft did not drop when we were going 70 mph down I5 ~ it easily could have caused a major accident
~ that we have a great Emergency Road Service plan with our insurance coverage
~ that Ron feels confident about the mechanic after speaking to him both on the phone and in person about the drive shaft and what repairs need to be done
~ that Ron and I have a safe place to lay our heads tonight and we are not stuck on the road somewhere
Prayer requests:
~ for the repairs to be made quickly tomorrow so that we can get back to work. Ron is due to be on the carnival lot at 5:00 p.m. to set the lot for Wednesday's set up
~ that we will both get a good night's sleep
~ that the expenses are not more than the amount of money we have available
Thanks for reading about our day and keeping us in your prayers. We do appreciate all your prayers and words of encouragement. I will write another update tomorrow night, hopefully from the bone yard in Sequim.
Alice
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Super Sunday!
I couldn't think of a wonderful title except Super Sunday! Hope everyone is having a great day.
We have had a good week here in Wenatchee. Monday through Friday we worked from around 4:00 to 10 or 11 at night. Monday through Thursday was kinda crazy at it was wristband days at the carnival. You know where you pay one price, $25, and get to ride all the rides you want. Thursday night was our busiest day ever for the carnival. I was doing cash pick ups every 45 minutes or so and Ron was busy going from one of three ticket boxes checking on the ticket sellers, restocking the booths, and making sure there were no problems.
Friday was a piece of cake compared to the previous four days. In fact, it was kinda slow Friday night but we still stayed open till after 10:00 p.m. Saturday was another busy day and the carnival stayed open till after 10:30 p.m. I was so tired by the time we got home that I went right to bed and slept for 9.5 hours straight.
We did have a few lost kids this past week. Happy to say that all the lost kids were reunited with their parents. I did have one bad experience with a customer while I was doing customer service. It was a kid of about 14 or 15 who had bought a Fun Card for $15 and then decided he didn't want to go on any rides or play any games. He wanted me to give him back his money. We have signs posted all over the ticket booths that there are no refunds. I stood my ground about not giving him back his money. He got pretty foul mouthed at me but when I did not react to him, he stormed down the stairs of the customer service trailer. I watched him as he walked away still grumbling that I would not give him back his money. The other issue I had to deal with was a ride employee who left his ride to come to the ticket booth where I was putting on wristbands for customers to tell me how to do my job. I told him I knew how to do my job and it was not his place to give me orders. He also got pretty mouthy with me. I told him to return to his ride and he went off grumbling and swearing at me. I told Kenny, the ride supervisor, what happened as well as Ron. Kenny said he would take care of things and Ron made sure the guy didn't come around me any more. This same guy also got into an argument with Rick this afternoon. I don't think he will be around much longer.
Thursday late morning Ron went for a walk to Memorial Park, which is about 5 blocks from where the bone yard is. They had lots of food booths and a stage where a group was singing gospel songs. Ron listened to them for over an hour. He said they were a good group. I had stayed home because I was not feeling too well, once he told me about the music I wished I had gone with him.
Today was a short day for the carnival to be open. We were only opened from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Then the guys started the tear down. We pull out early tomorrow morning for Sequim so Rick wanted them to have plenty of time to do tear down. Besides business was really slow. After the carnival closed and we got the three ticket boxes cleaned out I went to work in the office and Ron began the tear down part of the ticket boxes. He has to bring all the computer monitors in, make sure the printer boxes and scanners are velco'd down and all the garbage is out of the boxes. When he is done with the ticket boxes, then he helps with the actual tear down of the rides. I spent about two hours in the show office counting the money from the tills. I then had to count quarters. Thankfully they have a coin counter so all I have to do is push the coins through the machine so the quarters drop into the bags. I bag them into $10 batches. We go through a lot of quarters each day. When I was done with counting money and there was nothing else that Theresa wanted me to do I caught a ride back to the bone yard. I only worked 4.25 hours today.
I have been back in the bone yard since about 5:15 p.m. It is so quiet right now as most of the crew is still at the lot doing tear down. It is quite nice!
Tomorrow we move to Sequim. We hope to be on the road no later than 10:00 a.m. so that we can stop in Leavenworth for about an hour. We are going to caravan with Albert. Our route is to go west on Highway 2 through Leavenworth to Everett and then catch the Edmonds/Kingston ferry. Saves us about 65 miles of driving.
Update on my blood sugars ~ since I have cut my insulin from 30 units to 20 units at night I have not had the major drops in my blood sugars in the middle of the night. We are so thankful for that as it is quite scary when I wake up with super low blood sugars.
Some of you know that our friend Shawn, one of the ride people, lost a cousin in a horrible bus/pedestrian accident in Portland last Saturday night. Shawn went home last Monday to be with family and to attend the memorial service for his cousin. Shawn will be joining back up with us in Sequim. His father, I believe, is driving him up there on Monday night or Tuesday morning. Thank you for praying for Shawn and his family during this difficult time. He let us know that it has been good to be with his family this past week.
Our week next week looks like this ~
~ Monday we drive to Sequim
~ Tuesday, Ron starts work at 5:00 p.m. The guys will be setting the lot for the carnival rides and games to go up on Wednesday morning. This includes getting the generators in the right spots, electrical and water lines laid out and the rides & games in place.
~ Wednesday morning the guys will get all the rides & games set up and operational. I go into work to set up the ticket boxes on Wednesday afternoon.
~ Thursday the carnival opens at 4:00 p.m.
~ Friday and Saturday will be full days at the carnival and then tear down is Saturday night. On Sunday we move to Port Townsend, all of 25 miles away. I am hoping that we can do something fun on Sunday as it is Mother's Day. Maybe we will go out to dinner...something we have only done once since starting to work/travel with the carnival. I know I will be missing my kids and grand-kids.
Praises & Prayer Requests ~
~ thanking God for a good week of work and rest
~ thanking God for being with Marva, one of the game people, who had emergency surgery earlier this week due to polyps on her vocal chords. She will get the results of the biopsy on Monday or Tuesday. There is a possibility that the polyps could have been cancerous. Please keep her in your prayers as she awaits the results.
~ praying for a safe and uneventful trip to Sequim on Monday.
Thanks for reading about our life as we work and travel with the carnival. Talk to all of you again soon.
We have had a good week here in Wenatchee. Monday through Friday we worked from around 4:00 to 10 or 11 at night. Monday through Thursday was kinda crazy at it was wristband days at the carnival. You know where you pay one price, $25, and get to ride all the rides you want. Thursday night was our busiest day ever for the carnival. I was doing cash pick ups every 45 minutes or so and Ron was busy going from one of three ticket boxes checking on the ticket sellers, restocking the booths, and making sure there were no problems.
Friday was a piece of cake compared to the previous four days. In fact, it was kinda slow Friday night but we still stayed open till after 10:00 p.m. Saturday was another busy day and the carnival stayed open till after 10:30 p.m. I was so tired by the time we got home that I went right to bed and slept for 9.5 hours straight.
We did have a few lost kids this past week. Happy to say that all the lost kids were reunited with their parents. I did have one bad experience with a customer while I was doing customer service. It was a kid of about 14 or 15 who had bought a Fun Card for $15 and then decided he didn't want to go on any rides or play any games. He wanted me to give him back his money. We have signs posted all over the ticket booths that there are no refunds. I stood my ground about not giving him back his money. He got pretty foul mouthed at me but when I did not react to him, he stormed down the stairs of the customer service trailer. I watched him as he walked away still grumbling that I would not give him back his money. The other issue I had to deal with was a ride employee who left his ride to come to the ticket booth where I was putting on wristbands for customers to tell me how to do my job. I told him I knew how to do my job and it was not his place to give me orders. He also got pretty mouthy with me. I told him to return to his ride and he went off grumbling and swearing at me. I told Kenny, the ride supervisor, what happened as well as Ron. Kenny said he would take care of things and Ron made sure the guy didn't come around me any more. This same guy also got into an argument with Rick this afternoon. I don't think he will be around much longer.
Thursday late morning Ron went for a walk to Memorial Park, which is about 5 blocks from where the bone yard is. They had lots of food booths and a stage where a group was singing gospel songs. Ron listened to them for over an hour. He said they were a good group. I had stayed home because I was not feeling too well, once he told me about the music I wished I had gone with him.
Today was a short day for the carnival to be open. We were only opened from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Then the guys started the tear down. We pull out early tomorrow morning for Sequim so Rick wanted them to have plenty of time to do tear down. Besides business was really slow. After the carnival closed and we got the three ticket boxes cleaned out I went to work in the office and Ron began the tear down part of the ticket boxes. He has to bring all the computer monitors in, make sure the printer boxes and scanners are velco'd down and all the garbage is out of the boxes. When he is done with the ticket boxes, then he helps with the actual tear down of the rides. I spent about two hours in the show office counting the money from the tills. I then had to count quarters. Thankfully they have a coin counter so all I have to do is push the coins through the machine so the quarters drop into the bags. I bag them into $10 batches. We go through a lot of quarters each day. When I was done with counting money and there was nothing else that Theresa wanted me to do I caught a ride back to the bone yard. I only worked 4.25 hours today.
I have been back in the bone yard since about 5:15 p.m. It is so quiet right now as most of the crew is still at the lot doing tear down. It is quite nice!
Tomorrow we move to Sequim. We hope to be on the road no later than 10:00 a.m. so that we can stop in Leavenworth for about an hour. We are going to caravan with Albert. Our route is to go west on Highway 2 through Leavenworth to Everett and then catch the Edmonds/Kingston ferry. Saves us about 65 miles of driving.
Update on my blood sugars ~ since I have cut my insulin from 30 units to 20 units at night I have not had the major drops in my blood sugars in the middle of the night. We are so thankful for that as it is quite scary when I wake up with super low blood sugars.
Some of you know that our friend Shawn, one of the ride people, lost a cousin in a horrible bus/pedestrian accident in Portland last Saturday night. Shawn went home last Monday to be with family and to attend the memorial service for his cousin. Shawn will be joining back up with us in Sequim. His father, I believe, is driving him up there on Monday night or Tuesday morning. Thank you for praying for Shawn and his family during this difficult time. He let us know that it has been good to be with his family this past week.
Our week next week looks like this ~
~ Monday we drive to Sequim
~ Tuesday, Ron starts work at 5:00 p.m. The guys will be setting the lot for the carnival rides and games to go up on Wednesday morning. This includes getting the generators in the right spots, electrical and water lines laid out and the rides & games in place.
~ Wednesday morning the guys will get all the rides & games set up and operational. I go into work to set up the ticket boxes on Wednesday afternoon.
~ Thursday the carnival opens at 4:00 p.m.
~ Friday and Saturday will be full days at the carnival and then tear down is Saturday night. On Sunday we move to Port Townsend, all of 25 miles away. I am hoping that we can do something fun on Sunday as it is Mother's Day. Maybe we will go out to dinner...something we have only done once since starting to work/travel with the carnival. I know I will be missing my kids and grand-kids.
Praises & Prayer Requests ~
~ thanking God for a good week of work and rest
~ thanking God for being with Marva, one of the game people, who had emergency surgery earlier this week due to polyps on her vocal chords. She will get the results of the biopsy on Monday or Tuesday. There is a possibility that the polyps could have been cancerous. Please keep her in your prayers as she awaits the results.
~ praying for a safe and uneventful trip to Sequim on Monday.
Thanks for reading about our life as we work and travel with the carnival. Talk to all of you again soon.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
What We've Been Doing in Wenatchee
Hello There!
Sorry it's been awhile since I have updated my blog. When we arrived in Wenatchee last Tuesday we hit the ground running.
Last Tuesday, we pulled into the bone yard about 1:35. Ron quickly got us parked and Shawn hooked up our power. Ron then got changed into work clothes and then they were gone. Set up was supposed to start at 1:30 but Shawn had seen us pulling into the bone yard so he turned around and helped to get us hooked up so Ron could work set up too. After they left, I called Theresa and let her know that we had made it here. She was glad we were able to get the motor home fixed and had made it to Wenatchee. I then spent about an hour setting up the motor home and getting organized. I even found time to take a 2 hour nap ~ it was wonderful.
Wednesday and Thursday we both worked all day. I was in the office all day Wednesday. Thursday morning I set up all three ticket boxes and then in the afternoon I worked more in the office. Wednesday night we had our first guests for dinner since starting with the carnival. Shawn, Albert and Sophie joined us for a delicious dinner of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and onions. We had a good time visiting and getting to know each other a little better. Wednesday after I was done with work, I made a quick trip to do laundry since we were not able to do it on our travel day due to the motor home problems.
We heard on Thursday that a dear friend of ours, Doug Freeman went home to be with the Lord. Doug was 81. It was hard to know that we would not be able to attend the memorial service for him or to be available to help at Northwood with the service. We did hear on Saturday night that the service was well attended and went well. We are thankful for answered prayer.
Friday the carnival was due to open at 5:00. We had to be at work at 2:30 to make sure all the computers were up and working in the ticket boxes as well as make sure all the signs were up with the correct prices. It was a good thing we had started early as we had printer problems. Seems Ron hooked the printer up to the wrong outlet on the computer. Won't make that mistake again. Friday night at the carnival was a busy night as sponsors had given out wrist bands for free rides from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. The carnival lot was crowded ~ the first we had ever seen that. It was a nice sight to see all the happy kids and all the rides in action.
Our jobs this week are a little different. Since the Lions Club is the sponsor of our carnival here in Wenatchee, the Lions Club members sell our tickets ~ it is their biggest fund raiser of the year. Ron and I have to train each person at the beginning of their shifts. Ron and I also respond if there is a problem in one of the ticket boxes. Another job we have this week is doing cash pick ups from the ticket boxes and the two food booths that belong to Funtastic Shows. We are getting lots of exercise as we walk from one end of the lot to the other. I am also spending lots of time in the office doing Customer Service and helping with payroll and counting money.
Saturday and Sunday we opened at noon so we had to be at work at 11:00. The carnival stays open till 10:00 p.m. each day. We did lots of walking and interacted with lots of people. Customer Service is going well. I know that is because the Lord is answering my prayer for things to go smoothly when I am in that position. I have heard such horror stories of how customers treat the person in Customer Service but so far nothing bad has happened to me and no one has called me names or even swear at me. For that I am thankful.
Sunday started off with some bad news. Shawn found out that his cousin had been killed in a pedestrian/bus accident in Portland, OR. She was only 22. Shawn and Albert were given the day off to make arrangements for Shawn to go home on Monday morning. He is from Enumclaw. He went home on Monday morning and then drove on to Vancouver, WA to be with family. He will rejoin us when we are in Sequim. Since Shawn had to leave, now Ron and I are the show van drivers. We drive the van from the bone yard to the lot for each shift and at the end of the day. It appears I will be driving the show van to Sequim when we head out next week. I will find out for sure either today or tomorrow if that is the plan.
Monday morning we were woke up at 9:50 a.m. by three gamer people who wanted to go and do laundry. We had to call Rick to see if it was okay to take a group to do laundry. Rick said yes, so Ron took 7 people to do laundry and then to Walmart for some grocery shopping. I went with Albert & Sophie to Costco, Walmart, Home Depot and then the Grocery Outlet. It was nice to be able to stock up on things like granola bars, bottled water (we are drinking 3 to 4 bottles a day), sliced cheese, a roaster chicken and plastic ware. Since we do a lot of boon docking (camping without hookups) we have opted to use paper plates and plastic ware to save on water going into the holding tanks. At Walmart I found a pair of black slacks and a pair of black capris so now I have four pairs of work slacks as well as buying 10 white t-shirts for Ron. I think we now have enough work clothes to get us through a two week carnival run.
Sunday, Ron was pleasantly surprised as he ran into a friend of ours from home. Sean Smith, from Birch Bay, was here in Wenatchee for some training and was walking through the carnival when they ran into each other. Sean took Ron's picture and sent it home to Teresa via his cell phone.
Monday night at the carnival was a little crazy. It was the first night where you could buy a wrist band and ride unlimited rides for the evening. Another new thing we had to teach the cashiers how to sell. I spent the first hour we were opened running from ticket booth to ticket booth fixing errors ~ wrist bands not being scanned when sold which made them not work on the rides. We had our first lost child ~ a little girl of about 6 or 7 who got separated from her parents was found wandering in the games area. We put it out across the radios that she was lost, where she was at - sitting with a gamer in front of one of the games and asked ride operators to watch for frantic looking parents. We are happy to report parents and child were reunited after about 15 minutes.
Ron and I have enjoyed two treats at the carnival. One is a bag of dried onions that are like potato chips. You can get white onions that are flavored with butter, salt & pepper or red onions that have paprika, salt & pepper on them. They are delicious and only cost $2.00 a bag. I think I am going to buy a couple of bags on the last day to take with us. The other treat is getting a large cup of fresh fruit & vegi's (mango, pineapple, watermelon and cucumbers) for $3.00. The fruit tastes yummy and the price is pretty good. Oh, a third treat Ron has enjoyed a couple of times is fresh made lemonade.
That about sums up our last week here in Wenatchee. The Apple Blossom Festival runs through Sunday, May 2nd. We have heard rumors that tear down will be a two day affair next week so not sure when we will leave for Sequim from here. I hope to find out today or tomorrow if I will be driving the show van for that trip.
Praises this week ~
~ for good weather this week as we worked
~ that we were able to get the motor home repaired and a safe trip to Wenatchee
~ for being able to meet our financial obligations
~ for all the walking we are getting in. Ron lost 4 lbs last week and I lost 1 lb.
Prayer requests ~
~ we are still waiting for one check to come in from a customer. Ron spoke with him and was told that we should get our money around the 5th of May. Please pray that it comes in as we were told
~ for continued good health. I spoke with my endocrinologist and she lowered my insulin and I have not had any problems with low blood sugars for over a week.
~ for safety as we work especially as we do the pick ups of cash from the ticket and food booths
Thanks for reading my blog and keeping up with us as we live/work/travel with the carnival. Feel free to leave a comment or drop us a note on facebook or via email. We love hearing from you!
Sorry it's been awhile since I have updated my blog. When we arrived in Wenatchee last Tuesday we hit the ground running.
Last Tuesday, we pulled into the bone yard about 1:35. Ron quickly got us parked and Shawn hooked up our power. Ron then got changed into work clothes and then they were gone. Set up was supposed to start at 1:30 but Shawn had seen us pulling into the bone yard so he turned around and helped to get us hooked up so Ron could work set up too. After they left, I called Theresa and let her know that we had made it here. She was glad we were able to get the motor home fixed and had made it to Wenatchee. I then spent about an hour setting up the motor home and getting organized. I even found time to take a 2 hour nap ~ it was wonderful.
Wednesday and Thursday we both worked all day. I was in the office all day Wednesday. Thursday morning I set up all three ticket boxes and then in the afternoon I worked more in the office. Wednesday night we had our first guests for dinner since starting with the carnival. Shawn, Albert and Sophie joined us for a delicious dinner of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and onions. We had a good time visiting and getting to know each other a little better. Wednesday after I was done with work, I made a quick trip to do laundry since we were not able to do it on our travel day due to the motor home problems.
We heard on Thursday that a dear friend of ours, Doug Freeman went home to be with the Lord. Doug was 81. It was hard to know that we would not be able to attend the memorial service for him or to be available to help at Northwood with the service. We did hear on Saturday night that the service was well attended and went well. We are thankful for answered prayer.
Friday the carnival was due to open at 5:00. We had to be at work at 2:30 to make sure all the computers were up and working in the ticket boxes as well as make sure all the signs were up with the correct prices. It was a good thing we had started early as we had printer problems. Seems Ron hooked the printer up to the wrong outlet on the computer. Won't make that mistake again. Friday night at the carnival was a busy night as sponsors had given out wrist bands for free rides from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. The carnival lot was crowded ~ the first we had ever seen that. It was a nice sight to see all the happy kids and all the rides in action.
Our jobs this week are a little different. Since the Lions Club is the sponsor of our carnival here in Wenatchee, the Lions Club members sell our tickets ~ it is their biggest fund raiser of the year. Ron and I have to train each person at the beginning of their shifts. Ron and I also respond if there is a problem in one of the ticket boxes. Another job we have this week is doing cash pick ups from the ticket boxes and the two food booths that belong to Funtastic Shows. We are getting lots of exercise as we walk from one end of the lot to the other. I am also spending lots of time in the office doing Customer Service and helping with payroll and counting money.
Saturday and Sunday we opened at noon so we had to be at work at 11:00. The carnival stays open till 10:00 p.m. each day. We did lots of walking and interacted with lots of people. Customer Service is going well. I know that is because the Lord is answering my prayer for things to go smoothly when I am in that position. I have heard such horror stories of how customers treat the person in Customer Service but so far nothing bad has happened to me and no one has called me names or even swear at me. For that I am thankful.
Sunday started off with some bad news. Shawn found out that his cousin had been killed in a pedestrian/bus accident in Portland, OR. She was only 22. Shawn and Albert were given the day off to make arrangements for Shawn to go home on Monday morning. He is from Enumclaw. He went home on Monday morning and then drove on to Vancouver, WA to be with family. He will rejoin us when we are in Sequim. Since Shawn had to leave, now Ron and I are the show van drivers. We drive the van from the bone yard to the lot for each shift and at the end of the day. It appears I will be driving the show van to Sequim when we head out next week. I will find out for sure either today or tomorrow if that is the plan.
Monday morning we were woke up at 9:50 a.m. by three gamer people who wanted to go and do laundry. We had to call Rick to see if it was okay to take a group to do laundry. Rick said yes, so Ron took 7 people to do laundry and then to Walmart for some grocery shopping. I went with Albert & Sophie to Costco, Walmart, Home Depot and then the Grocery Outlet. It was nice to be able to stock up on things like granola bars, bottled water (we are drinking 3 to 4 bottles a day), sliced cheese, a roaster chicken and plastic ware. Since we do a lot of boon docking (camping without hookups) we have opted to use paper plates and plastic ware to save on water going into the holding tanks. At Walmart I found a pair of black slacks and a pair of black capris so now I have four pairs of work slacks as well as buying 10 white t-shirts for Ron. I think we now have enough work clothes to get us through a two week carnival run.
Sunday, Ron was pleasantly surprised as he ran into a friend of ours from home. Sean Smith, from Birch Bay, was here in Wenatchee for some training and was walking through the carnival when they ran into each other. Sean took Ron's picture and sent it home to Teresa via his cell phone.
Monday night at the carnival was a little crazy. It was the first night where you could buy a wrist band and ride unlimited rides for the evening. Another new thing we had to teach the cashiers how to sell. I spent the first hour we were opened running from ticket booth to ticket booth fixing errors ~ wrist bands not being scanned when sold which made them not work on the rides. We had our first lost child ~ a little girl of about 6 or 7 who got separated from her parents was found wandering in the games area. We put it out across the radios that she was lost, where she was at - sitting with a gamer in front of one of the games and asked ride operators to watch for frantic looking parents. We are happy to report parents and child were reunited after about 15 minutes.
Ron and I have enjoyed two treats at the carnival. One is a bag of dried onions that are like potato chips. You can get white onions that are flavored with butter, salt & pepper or red onions that have paprika, salt & pepper on them. They are delicious and only cost $2.00 a bag. I think I am going to buy a couple of bags on the last day to take with us. The other treat is getting a large cup of fresh fruit & vegi's (mango, pineapple, watermelon and cucumbers) for $3.00. The fruit tastes yummy and the price is pretty good. Oh, a third treat Ron has enjoyed a couple of times is fresh made lemonade.
That about sums up our last week here in Wenatchee. The Apple Blossom Festival runs through Sunday, May 2nd. We have heard rumors that tear down will be a two day affair next week so not sure when we will leave for Sequim from here. I hope to find out today or tomorrow if I will be driving the show van for that trip.
Praises this week ~
~ for good weather this week as we worked
~ that we were able to get the motor home repaired and a safe trip to Wenatchee
~ for being able to meet our financial obligations
~ for all the walking we are getting in. Ron lost 4 lbs last week and I lost 1 lb.
Prayer requests ~
~ we are still waiting for one check to come in from a customer. Ron spoke with him and was told that we should get our money around the 5th of May. Please pray that it comes in as we were told
~ for continued good health. I spoke with my endocrinologist and she lowered my insulin and I have not had any problems with low blood sugars for over a week.
~ for safety as we work especially as we do the pick ups of cash from the ticket and food booths
Thanks for reading my blog and keeping up with us as we live/work/travel with the carnival. Feel free to leave a comment or drop us a note on facebook or via email. We love hearing from you!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Going to Wenatchee - Part II
We are in Wenatchee!
After spending the night at the RV Repair Shop we were their first customers of the day. Josh started working on the motor home about 8:30 a.m. He checked all the fuel lines, checked the fuel filter, then crawled out from underneath the motor home and talked to Ron some more. Then they both went in and talked with Mark, the owner. Josh then came inside the motor home and opened the engine cover. He took something apart and exclaimed...well look at this...a burned out coil. He took it out, talked to Mark and then ordered a new one from Napa Auto Parts. We waited about an half hour for it to arrive and then Josh put it in along with another new fuel filter, which by the way looked pretty dirty.
After Josh finished, Ron went in and paid the bill. Another $260. That made a total of $345 for repairs in two days.
We then went and got gas and got back on I90 and headed towards Snoqualmie Summit. Made it without any problems, continued on to Bluett Pass and went up and down without any problems. Our speed dropped to 35 miles per hour but that is to be expected since we don't have a huge engine in this thing. We arrived in Wenatchee about 12:30, stopped at Walmart and bought us each a new pair of tennis shoes. Then off to find the bone yard. It is about 2 1/2 miles from the carnival lot. The carnival lot is right alongside the river. We drove past that on our way to the bone yard.
We got parked into our spot, hooked up the electric and then Ron changed and headed off to work on the set up. I spent some time organizing the inside of the motor home and am now catching up on emails, sending out this blog update and then will make something for dinner. Hopefully this evening, Shawn or Albert will give us a ride to the laundromat. We didn't want to stop and take the time to do laundry today as Ron wanted to get here and get to work as planned.
We will be here in Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Festival through Sunday, May 2nd. We leave for Sequim on Monday, May 3rd.
Praises ~
~ that we knew an honest and reliable mechanic who got us fixed and running as quick as possible
~ that we had the money to get the motor home fixed (thank you Northwood family for the gift!)
~ that we slept well last night
~ and for the uneventful trip to Wenatchee today
Prayers ~
~ still waiting for one more check to come in, Ron is going to call Chad tonight to see where it is
~ for us to have a good work week
Thank you all for reading along on our journey of living/working/traveling with the carnival. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question.
Love and miss you all!
Alice & Ron
After spending the night at the RV Repair Shop we were their first customers of the day. Josh started working on the motor home about 8:30 a.m. He checked all the fuel lines, checked the fuel filter, then crawled out from underneath the motor home and talked to Ron some more. Then they both went in and talked with Mark, the owner. Josh then came inside the motor home and opened the engine cover. He took something apart and exclaimed...well look at this...a burned out coil. He took it out, talked to Mark and then ordered a new one from Napa Auto Parts. We waited about an half hour for it to arrive and then Josh put it in along with another new fuel filter, which by the way looked pretty dirty.
After Josh finished, Ron went in and paid the bill. Another $260. That made a total of $345 for repairs in two days.
We then went and got gas and got back on I90 and headed towards Snoqualmie Summit. Made it without any problems, continued on to Bluett Pass and went up and down without any problems. Our speed dropped to 35 miles per hour but that is to be expected since we don't have a huge engine in this thing. We arrived in Wenatchee about 12:30, stopped at Walmart and bought us each a new pair of tennis shoes. Then off to find the bone yard. It is about 2 1/2 miles from the carnival lot. The carnival lot is right alongside the river. We drove past that on our way to the bone yard.
We got parked into our spot, hooked up the electric and then Ron changed and headed off to work on the set up. I spent some time organizing the inside of the motor home and am now catching up on emails, sending out this blog update and then will make something for dinner. Hopefully this evening, Shawn or Albert will give us a ride to the laundromat. We didn't want to stop and take the time to do laundry today as Ron wanted to get here and get to work as planned.
We will be here in Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Festival through Sunday, May 2nd. We leave for Sequim on Monday, May 3rd.
Praises ~
~ that we knew an honest and reliable mechanic who got us fixed and running as quick as possible
~ that we had the money to get the motor home fixed (thank you Northwood family for the gift!)
~ that we slept well last night
~ and for the uneventful trip to Wenatchee today
Prayers ~
~ still waiting for one more check to come in, Ron is going to call Chad tonight to see where it is
~ for us to have a good work week
Thank you all for reading along on our journey of living/working/traveling with the carnival. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question.
Love and miss you all!
Alice & Ron
Monday, April 19, 2010
Moving to Wenatchee Today - Part I
Today we began our move to Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Fair.
Ron worked till 5:45 this morning. He came home, showered and then slept till about 8:30 a.m. I had gotten off Sunday night at 10:30 so came home, showered and went to bed. I slept till about 5:15 a.m. when my blood sugar dropped again to 55. I got up and ate a yogurt, drank a juice and then ate a granola bar. Got my number back up to 90. Went back to bed, woke up briefly when Ron came in and fell back asleep till about 8:15. I got up and started getting things ready in the motor home for the move to Wenatchee. We were ready to leave the campground at 10:00 a.m. I had not heard from Rick or Theresa that I was needed to drive a company van so we headed out.
Our first stop was to see Cory Crawford at the elementary school where he is the principal. He was Jamie's 3rd grade teacher and a good friend of ours. We attended his wedding the summer after Jamie's 3rd grade year. It was so good to reconnect with him. I showed him the family book that Danalyn made for us for Christmas two years ago. After visiting for about an half hour we left him so he could go back to doing assessment tests on some of his students and we made our way to Winco to do some much needed grocery shopping. After having a lunch of sandwiches in the motor home we then made a stop at Target to get a couple packages of white t-shirts for Ron. He only had 4 and we needed to make sure he had enough to get him through two weeks of carnival work since we don't know if we will be able to get away to do laundry while we are in Wenatchee. After Target we filled up the motor home with gas on got on the freeway headed to Wenatchee.
We were driving along and started climbing Highway 18 when the motor home started acting like it wasn't getting any gas (like it had done when we were on our Fall trips last year). We stopped/started multiple times on Highway 18 but made it to the top of Tiger Summit. Going down hill the motor home had no problems. After missing our exit to I90 and turning around we headed through Issaquah and through Northbend. As we started the climb up I90 the motor home again began having problems. We started/stopped multiple times again finally turning off at exit 38. Ron made the decision we would turn around and go to the mechanic who had replaced our alternator two years ago. We knew him to be a good and honest businessman and trusted his work. We pulled into his shop about 2:30 p.m. It was about an hour wait before they could work on our rig so we each took a short nap. At about 3:30 they drove the motor home into the shop. Found a melted spark plug wire, replaced it and $85 later we were back on the road. We made it about 15 miles before we started having the same starting/stopping problem and so Ron quickly called Mark back at the shop, told him what was going on and said we would make our way back to the shop so they could work on it in the morning. It was now 4:45 and they close at 5:00. Mark said he would put out a 30 amp plug for us for the night so we could have power (that's why I can write on my blog tonight and check emails). Now they are thinking we have a bad fuel pump that will need to be replaced in the morning.
We arrived at the repair shop at about 6:00 p.m. Ron got us level and I hooked up the power. Ron then called Rick & Theresa to tell them what was going on and that we would not be in Wenatchee tonight as planned. Rick's response was a positive one and said better to take care of the problem now before things get possibly worse. Ron felt bad that he was not going to be at work tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. as scheduled but we also know there is nothing we can do tonight. We did spend some time in prayer thanking the Lord for getting us to a safe and secure spot for the night and that we are not stranded somewhere on the road.
We had a dinner of brats and mac & cheese. Ron then spent time reading and I have been checking emails and writing my blog.
Please keep us in your prayers that the necessary repairs will be made quickly and without a lot of expense and that we can then get back on the road and over to Wenatchee. We still need to make a stop and do laundry before settling into the bone yard.
On a positive note it is very quiet here and relaxing and after a busy week it is a nice break. We know we are where the Lord wants us for the night and are looking forward to a new and wonderful day tomorrow.
I will make another post tomorrow night to let you know how things turn out tomorrow.
Alice
Ron worked till 5:45 this morning. He came home, showered and then slept till about 8:30 a.m. I had gotten off Sunday night at 10:30 so came home, showered and went to bed. I slept till about 5:15 a.m. when my blood sugar dropped again to 55. I got up and ate a yogurt, drank a juice and then ate a granola bar. Got my number back up to 90. Went back to bed, woke up briefly when Ron came in and fell back asleep till about 8:15. I got up and started getting things ready in the motor home for the move to Wenatchee. We were ready to leave the campground at 10:00 a.m. I had not heard from Rick or Theresa that I was needed to drive a company van so we headed out.
Our first stop was to see Cory Crawford at the elementary school where he is the principal. He was Jamie's 3rd grade teacher and a good friend of ours. We attended his wedding the summer after Jamie's 3rd grade year. It was so good to reconnect with him. I showed him the family book that Danalyn made for us for Christmas two years ago. After visiting for about an half hour we left him so he could go back to doing assessment tests on some of his students and we made our way to Winco to do some much needed grocery shopping. After having a lunch of sandwiches in the motor home we then made a stop at Target to get a couple packages of white t-shirts for Ron. He only had 4 and we needed to make sure he had enough to get him through two weeks of carnival work since we don't know if we will be able to get away to do laundry while we are in Wenatchee. After Target we filled up the motor home with gas on got on the freeway headed to Wenatchee.
We were driving along and started climbing Highway 18 when the motor home started acting like it wasn't getting any gas (like it had done when we were on our Fall trips last year). We stopped/started multiple times on Highway 18 but made it to the top of Tiger Summit. Going down hill the motor home had no problems. After missing our exit to I90 and turning around we headed through Issaquah and through Northbend. As we started the climb up I90 the motor home again began having problems. We started/stopped multiple times again finally turning off at exit 38. Ron made the decision we would turn around and go to the mechanic who had replaced our alternator two years ago. We knew him to be a good and honest businessman and trusted his work. We pulled into his shop about 2:30 p.m. It was about an hour wait before they could work on our rig so we each took a short nap. At about 3:30 they drove the motor home into the shop. Found a melted spark plug wire, replaced it and $85 later we were back on the road. We made it about 15 miles before we started having the same starting/stopping problem and so Ron quickly called Mark back at the shop, told him what was going on and said we would make our way back to the shop so they could work on it in the morning. It was now 4:45 and they close at 5:00. Mark said he would put out a 30 amp plug for us for the night so we could have power (that's why I can write on my blog tonight and check emails). Now they are thinking we have a bad fuel pump that will need to be replaced in the morning.
We arrived at the repair shop at about 6:00 p.m. Ron got us level and I hooked up the power. Ron then called Rick & Theresa to tell them what was going on and that we would not be in Wenatchee tonight as planned. Rick's response was a positive one and said better to take care of the problem now before things get possibly worse. Ron felt bad that he was not going to be at work tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. as scheduled but we also know there is nothing we can do tonight. We did spend some time in prayer thanking the Lord for getting us to a safe and secure spot for the night and that we are not stranded somewhere on the road.
We had a dinner of brats and mac & cheese. Ron then spent time reading and I have been checking emails and writing my blog.
Please keep us in your prayers that the necessary repairs will be made quickly and without a lot of expense and that we can then get back on the road and over to Wenatchee. We still need to make a stop and do laundry before settling into the bone yard.
On a positive note it is very quiet here and relaxing and after a busy week it is a nice break. We know we are where the Lord wants us for the night and are looking forward to a new and wonderful day tomorrow.
I will make another post tomorrow night to let you know how things turn out tomorrow.
Alice
Long Week in Puyallup
Hello There!
Stopping in to let you all know we survived the Puyallup Spring Fair. Ron worked 64.25 hours and I worked 53 hours. Needless to say we didn't do much but work and sleep. Ron ran the Fire Brigade ride. It is a kiddie ride in the shape of a fire engine. All the kiddos are seat belted in and then the fire engine goes up and makes a circle in the air. The ride lasts about 3 minutes. Ron said the most fun was to watch the kids in their excitement of getting on the ride and going way up.
I worked in the Rides Department office and Customer Service. God answered my prayers as the gal I worked with, Debbie, is a Christian. She holds the same position with the White Unit that Theresa does with the Blue Unit (the unit we work for). We had some good talks, sharing how the Lord is working in our lives and how he brought each of us to work for the carnival. Debbie has worked for Funtastic Shows for 22 years. It was so nice to be in an office where there was no swearing and just a positive outlook for each day. I look forward to meeting up with her again in Eugene and Salem later in the year. I handed out uniforms, pay sheets, coats and answered lots of questions each day. At the end of each day I collected the uniforms, pay sheets, coats and answered more questions. I also helped to process the prior days time sheets, handed out Show Dough (purple dollars that worked the same as cash at three different food booths and was a draw from peoples checks). At the end of the day yesterday I did the inventory of coats and shirts some of which stayed in Puyallup for the Big Fair in September and some were sent back to the Portland office.
Again God answered my prayers ~ before going to work in Customer Service I was told all these horrible stories of angry customers swearing at you, calling you names. The picture that was painted was one that I was not looking forward to working in. I prayed that the Lord would give me the right words to say, for me to have a joyful and happy heart while I was working and to let the love of the Lord shine through me. Every interaction with the customers were a good one for me. A couple of times I had to ask for help from Rick or Ron Burback but all went well except for one customer. In Customer Service I answered questions and checked ride cards to see how many games and ride tickets were left as well as deal with upset customers for a various reasons. We always tried to send them away happy. There was only one negative experience. I opened the window to a lady and just as I did, she started spouting things to Ron Burback who was sitting behind and to the left of me about how evil he was, that she had a good lawyer and she would see him in court, that she knew his name and was harassed for the last time by him. Ron Burback, called on the radio for the police to come and escort her off the property. Many things had transpired in the hour before I went on duty at Customer Service with this lady and she was clearly drunk and reaking of alcohol. It wasn't but a couple of minutes and three cops came up and stood at the foot of the stairs of Customer Service and watched her from afar. I felt very well protected by the local police department. I didn't see that lady again. God is so good and helped me to have an easy time at the Customer Service window whenever I was working at that post.
For the Big Fair in September I will probably do much of the same things that I did this past week, at least I hope so.
I was very proud of myself as I only spent $2.50 on a pepsi one day. Ron did buy a couple of scones so we did really well in NOT eating the fair food. We have been taking our lunches to work as well as yogurt for me and granola bars for both of us for snacks. Now to just keep that up for the rest of the summer.
I did meet the owners, Mr. Ron & Bev Burback and their son, Ron Burback. They all seemed like nice people.
One exciting thing happened while there though...on one of Ron's lunch breaks he went walking around and found Karen & Cory Crawford and their pygmy goats. Cory was Jamie's third grade teacher at Dick Scobee Elementary in Auburn. It has been over 20 years since we have seen them though we have kept in touch through Christmas cards and letters. Today, before leaving Puyallup we went by Zieger Elementary School where Cory is the principal and spent about an half hour with him. We showed him pictures of the boys and their families. It was so fun to get caught up with each other.
That about sums up our week in Puyallup. We go back there the weekend after Labor Day for 17 days.
We leave on Monday 4/19 to go to Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Festival for two weeks.
Stopping in to let you all know we survived the Puyallup Spring Fair. Ron worked 64.25 hours and I worked 53 hours. Needless to say we didn't do much but work and sleep. Ron ran the Fire Brigade ride. It is a kiddie ride in the shape of a fire engine. All the kiddos are seat belted in and then the fire engine goes up and makes a circle in the air. The ride lasts about 3 minutes. Ron said the most fun was to watch the kids in their excitement of getting on the ride and going way up.
I worked in the Rides Department office and Customer Service. God answered my prayers as the gal I worked with, Debbie, is a Christian. She holds the same position with the White Unit that Theresa does with the Blue Unit (the unit we work for). We had some good talks, sharing how the Lord is working in our lives and how he brought each of us to work for the carnival. Debbie has worked for Funtastic Shows for 22 years. It was so nice to be in an office where there was no swearing and just a positive outlook for each day. I look forward to meeting up with her again in Eugene and Salem later in the year. I handed out uniforms, pay sheets, coats and answered lots of questions each day. At the end of each day I collected the uniforms, pay sheets, coats and answered more questions. I also helped to process the prior days time sheets, handed out Show Dough (purple dollars that worked the same as cash at three different food booths and was a draw from peoples checks). At the end of the day yesterday I did the inventory of coats and shirts some of which stayed in Puyallup for the Big Fair in September and some were sent back to the Portland office.
Again God answered my prayers ~ before going to work in Customer Service I was told all these horrible stories of angry customers swearing at you, calling you names. The picture that was painted was one that I was not looking forward to working in. I prayed that the Lord would give me the right words to say, for me to have a joyful and happy heart while I was working and to let the love of the Lord shine through me. Every interaction with the customers were a good one for me. A couple of times I had to ask for help from Rick or Ron Burback but all went well except for one customer. In Customer Service I answered questions and checked ride cards to see how many games and ride tickets were left as well as deal with upset customers for a various reasons. We always tried to send them away happy. There was only one negative experience. I opened the window to a lady and just as I did, she started spouting things to Ron Burback who was sitting behind and to the left of me about how evil he was, that she had a good lawyer and she would see him in court, that she knew his name and was harassed for the last time by him. Ron Burback, called on the radio for the police to come and escort her off the property. Many things had transpired in the hour before I went on duty at Customer Service with this lady and she was clearly drunk and reaking of alcohol. It wasn't but a couple of minutes and three cops came up and stood at the foot of the stairs of Customer Service and watched her from afar. I felt very well protected by the local police department. I didn't see that lady again. God is so good and helped me to have an easy time at the Customer Service window whenever I was working at that post.
For the Big Fair in September I will probably do much of the same things that I did this past week, at least I hope so.
I was very proud of myself as I only spent $2.50 on a pepsi one day. Ron did buy a couple of scones so we did really well in NOT eating the fair food. We have been taking our lunches to work as well as yogurt for me and granola bars for both of us for snacks. Now to just keep that up for the rest of the summer.
I did meet the owners, Mr. Ron & Bev Burback and their son, Ron Burback. They all seemed like nice people.
One exciting thing happened while there though...on one of Ron's lunch breaks he went walking around and found Karen & Cory Crawford and their pygmy goats. Cory was Jamie's third grade teacher at Dick Scobee Elementary in Auburn. It has been over 20 years since we have seen them though we have kept in touch through Christmas cards and letters. Today, before leaving Puyallup we went by Zieger Elementary School where Cory is the principal and spent about an half hour with him. We showed him pictures of the boys and their families. It was so fun to get caught up with each other.
That about sums up our week in Puyallup. We go back there the weekend after Labor Day for 17 days.
We leave on Monday 4/19 to go to Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Festival for two weeks.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Change of Plans for Alice this week at the Puyallup Spring Fair
Change of plans for Alice ~
Just got a call from Theresa about my job this week at the Puyallup Spring Fair.
The original plan was that I would be working in the Pizza concession stand Thursday through Sunday. This is because Puyallup hires their own ticket sellers and they are not through Funtastic Shows. Okay, no problem for me. I don't mind doing something different. Now the plan has changed again.
Mrs. Burback, one of the owners, switched people around in the office jobs and now there is an opening in the ride office for me and it is an all day job...12+ hours each day. Guess the Lord knows I need the hours :) My job this week will now be clocking people in/out at the beginning and end of each shift. They run two shifts a day here so I will work in the morning's handing out time sheets, clocking people in and then work on the previous day's time sheets. Then at the change of shift in the afternoon I will be clocking people in/out and then again at the end of the swing shift I will be clocking people out. In between times I will be processing the time sheets of all these wonderful ride people. I like doing the time sheets...reminds me of payroll when I worked at OptionCare. In between times if the Pizza concession stand gets slammed I will be helping in there. I will be working 13 to 14 hour days Thursday through Sunday this week.
A little update about yesterday and today. Theresa had asked me to be "on call" to do office work yesterday and today. I worked all of 15 minutes yesterday processing/making bar codes for the rides. Once again she commented on how quick I was ~ maybe I should learn to work slower ~ just kidding :). She was supposed to call me about 5:00 to help do some data entry last evening. I didn't hear from her so I called her about 8:00 p.m. The first thing she said after I identified myself was "oh crap, I forgot you. I am so sorry" I told her no problem. I had made a nice dinner of chicken and wild rice and ate it with Ron and we had a good evening together. After talking for a few minutes it was decided she would just call me today when she was ready to teach me how to do the data entry stuff - it is inputting all the employees into a separate payroll system that is used only for the Puyallup fairs. She said she would call late morning or early afternoon today and it would be four or five hours of work. Fine with me, I like having my mornings free to spend time in the Word, praying and then time on the computer checking in with friends and family.
So Theresa called me at 9:30 this morning and said the plans for my job have changed. She was talking to Mrs. Burback about my skills in the office and what a quick learner I am. And that is how the change in what I would be doing this week happened. Theresa asked if I was okay with the change...of course I was...office work is definitely more my thing then working in a pizza stand. And I thought to myself, I can do anything for four days.
Don't want to leave Ron out of what is going on with him. Yesterday, Kenny, the rides supervisor, started teaching Ron how to set up the Lolli Swings (a giant lollipop with swings on it). The guy who currently is in charge of setting up the swings is getting a little forgetful and Kenny wants someone on there who knows what they are doing. Ron said he liked learning how it all goes together. So today is finishing up setting up the Lolli Swings and then will go on to the next job whatever that is. Today could possibly be a long day for set up as they have to be totally ready to go for tomorrow morning. At least the weather outside is nice. There is not a cloud in the sky, the sun is shining bright and it is just beautiful out there.
Praises today ~
~ for the hours this week. Even though they will be long it is what we need to get back on our feet financially after 3 months of almost no work for Ron
~ for the nice weather. It is so much easier to work outside on nice weather days then in the rain and cold.
~ for the nice evening Ron and I had last night and the good sleep we both had. We both woke feeling ready and eager to start the day
~ for the check from Sunset Inn we received yesterday. It was not the big check that we are still owed but it was still a payment that came in that had been owed to us since early March.
~ that Theresa and Rob Rhew (he is the one who interviewed us and offered us jobs right away and who is the boss of Theresa & Rick and the Blue Unit) recognize my skills in the office setting and are utilizing those skills in the work I am being asked to perform
Prayer requests ~
~ for us to have the energy and stamina to work the long hours this week and to work with a cheerful heart and attitude
~ for the checks to come in that is still owed us from jobs that were completed before we left Blaine
Thanks for reading my blog and holding our prayer requests up to the Lord. We know the Lord is in control and feel the love and prayers of our many friends and family as we travel this journey of working/traveling with the carnival.
Till next time, Alice
Just got a call from Theresa about my job this week at the Puyallup Spring Fair.
The original plan was that I would be working in the Pizza concession stand Thursday through Sunday. This is because Puyallup hires their own ticket sellers and they are not through Funtastic Shows. Okay, no problem for me. I don't mind doing something different. Now the plan has changed again.
Mrs. Burback, one of the owners, switched people around in the office jobs and now there is an opening in the ride office for me and it is an all day job...12+ hours each day. Guess the Lord knows I need the hours :) My job this week will now be clocking people in/out at the beginning and end of each shift. They run two shifts a day here so I will work in the morning's handing out time sheets, clocking people in and then work on the previous day's time sheets. Then at the change of shift in the afternoon I will be clocking people in/out and then again at the end of the swing shift I will be clocking people out. In between times I will be processing the time sheets of all these wonderful ride people. I like doing the time sheets...reminds me of payroll when I worked at OptionCare. In between times if the Pizza concession stand gets slammed I will be helping in there. I will be working 13 to 14 hour days Thursday through Sunday this week.
A little update about yesterday and today. Theresa had asked me to be "on call" to do office work yesterday and today. I worked all of 15 minutes yesterday processing/making bar codes for the rides. Once again she commented on how quick I was ~ maybe I should learn to work slower ~ just kidding :). She was supposed to call me about 5:00 to help do some data entry last evening. I didn't hear from her so I called her about 8:00 p.m. The first thing she said after I identified myself was "oh crap, I forgot you. I am so sorry" I told her no problem. I had made a nice dinner of chicken and wild rice and ate it with Ron and we had a good evening together. After talking for a few minutes it was decided she would just call me today when she was ready to teach me how to do the data entry stuff - it is inputting all the employees into a separate payroll system that is used only for the Puyallup fairs. She said she would call late morning or early afternoon today and it would be four or five hours of work. Fine with me, I like having my mornings free to spend time in the Word, praying and then time on the computer checking in with friends and family.
So Theresa called me at 9:30 this morning and said the plans for my job have changed. She was talking to Mrs. Burback about my skills in the office and what a quick learner I am. And that is how the change in what I would be doing this week happened. Theresa asked if I was okay with the change...of course I was...office work is definitely more my thing then working in a pizza stand. And I thought to myself, I can do anything for four days.
Don't want to leave Ron out of what is going on with him. Yesterday, Kenny, the rides supervisor, started teaching Ron how to set up the Lolli Swings (a giant lollipop with swings on it). The guy who currently is in charge of setting up the swings is getting a little forgetful and Kenny wants someone on there who knows what they are doing. Ron said he liked learning how it all goes together. So today is finishing up setting up the Lolli Swings and then will go on to the next job whatever that is. Today could possibly be a long day for set up as they have to be totally ready to go for tomorrow morning. At least the weather outside is nice. There is not a cloud in the sky, the sun is shining bright and it is just beautiful out there.
Praises today ~
~ for the hours this week. Even though they will be long it is what we need to get back on our feet financially after 3 months of almost no work for Ron
~ for the nice weather. It is so much easier to work outside on nice weather days then in the rain and cold.
~ for the nice evening Ron and I had last night and the good sleep we both had. We both woke feeling ready and eager to start the day
~ for the check from Sunset Inn we received yesterday. It was not the big check that we are still owed but it was still a payment that came in that had been owed to us since early March.
~ that Theresa and Rob Rhew (he is the one who interviewed us and offered us jobs right away and who is the boss of Theresa & Rick and the Blue Unit) recognize my skills in the office setting and are utilizing those skills in the work I am being asked to perform
Prayer requests ~
~ for us to have the energy and stamina to work the long hours this week and to work with a cheerful heart and attitude
~ for the checks to come in that is still owed us from jobs that were completed before we left Blaine
Thanks for reading my blog and holding our prayer requests up to the Lord. We know the Lord is in control and feel the love and prayers of our many friends and family as we travel this journey of working/traveling with the carnival.
Till next time, Alice
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, April 12th - Puyallup, WA
Good evening!
I have gotten a few emails asking where I have been since I did not send out any blogs this past week. We have been a workin' at the Lacey, WA carnival. This past week was much better than the week before. We were open every day! The weather the last few days has been just gorgeous and we had lots of visitors to the carnival. We continue to enjoy seeing the little children encouraging their parents to buy tickets and being so excited when they realize they get to go on the swings or the bears. Saturday we worked our first full 8 hour day and then yesterday I worked 11 hours and Ron worked from Noon on Sunday to 3:30 this morning. The carnival was open from Noon to 7:00 p.m. and then they had to do the tear down. I worked in the office with Theresa from 6:30 p.m. till 10:50 p.m. I was tired at the end of my shift but Ron was plain exhausted when he came in the door this morning at 3:45 a.m.
We have seen a few different things this past week:
~ a girl with very purple hair
~ a guy with dregs (that crazy hair do where it looks like it is all in knots) that was longer than mine, he also had the weirdest beard I have ever seen. He was clean shave on his cheeks and had growth from the chin to below that was about 4" long. To top it off he was wearing a skirt with jeans!
~ and of course girls in short shorts on a cold, wet, windy day
~ two middle school girls who kept flirting with Ron through the ticket window. They told him he was nice and then came and told me he was nice. I said I knew that because I had been married to him for 34 years. They just giggled and walked away. Later they came back by the booth to tell us good night and they thought we made a cute couple. The next day they were back ~ came to window and asked if they could have some free tickets. I smiled and said, no, we can't do that. They replied, that's okay you are still both cute and nice.
I had a great conversation with Shawn yesterday morning about how the Lord has been working in our lives and the doors he opened for us to be able to come to work for the carnival. It was neat to be able to share all the details from the first email to our prayer before going in for the interview, to being offered jobs within the first 15 minutes, to all the positive comments and encouragement we have received from so many. Shawn said it is nice to see how the Lord works isn't it. It is neat to find another believer among the carnival workers. From the things Shawn shared, we think Albert, his roommate and best friend, is also a believer. We will investigate that further once we are in Wenatchee.
Ron had his first negative interaction with a customer when she accused Ron of stealing $20 from her. We were taught from the very beginning that when a customer gives us money we are to either put it under the corner of our cash box or lay it on top, then print up the ticket and count out their change. She had not handed Ron any money but swore up and down that she had. She finally gave Ron more money to get her tickets. She then went and complained, quite loudly, to her friend and then went up to Customer Service (Theresa) and complained. I spoke with Theresa later in the evening and Ron's cash box came out to the exact penny ~ Ron and I both knew he had not taken the money but it was nice to have that confirmed by Theresa. She did say to me, she was surprised that had not happened before because that is one of the most common things that carnival workers are accused of ~ stealing their money either from a ticket seller or a gamer. Ron and I were glad to see the Lord working and affirming Ron's honesty and integrity.
On a positive note, I was asked to apply to be a show van driver as right now there are only 3 people who can drive company vehicles and they need a van driver to transport people from one location to another. This will mean extra hours for me. On one hand I felt good that they asked me to do this because the extra money will be nice on the other hand it means that Ron will drive the motor home and I will drive a company van so we won't be traveling in the same vehicle though we would caravan from one location to another. I should hear this week if I am approved to drive or not. I am thinking if Ron was and he has a couple of speeding tickets on his record I should have no problem being approved. We will just have to wait and see.
Late in the day yesterday while I was on my break, Rick went and spent time with Ron in the ticket box. They couldn't talk a lot but Ron said it was nice to have Rick out there seeing that he does his job well. One thing that Rick talked to Ron about was our time in Puyallup this week. This is the week that all three carnivals come together to work the Puyallup Spring Fair. Theresa had said that the week starts Tuesday morning with set up and goes non-stop till the tear down is complete on Sunday night.
Anyway, due to the fact that all three carnival units come together there are 13 condo units plus numerous travel trailers and fifth wheels in the bone yard and it is very crowded. Rick asked Ron if we would like to park in the campground where the show managers, Ron Rhew (who hired us and is one of the upper management people) along with the Burbacks (the owners) camp together. We would have full hook ups which is something we have come to appreciate since we were two weeks with just the two holding tanks (have to really watch how much water and stuff goes into the gray and black water tanks) and it would be much quieter. Ron said that was fine with us. Rick did not know if we would have to pay or not to camp there or if we could get a pass. Ron said if we did, then we did. Well, I went on line and the fee to camp here is $25 a night. I prayed that we would be able to get a pass for the campground especially since we had very few hours last week. Well, God provided (doesn't he always?) for us. We pulled in to the campground and was greeted by the camp host. She asked if we were with Funtastic Shows. We said yes. She told us where to park and to have a great time this week. And didn't charge us! Yeah ~ we didn't have to pay $175 to camp this week while we are working.
Since Sunday is the final day of the pay period there is always lots to be done in the office and being it was the last day of the carnival in Lacey there was lots to be done on the carnival lot. Theresa is teaching me more and more things to do in the office. One day she taught me how to read the computer screen for each Fun Card (tickets are scanned on a card and then each ride or game scans the number of tickets needed) so that I can work in Customer Service. Yesterday she taught me how to count the ticket sellers cash box, to sort out accounts payable and to figure out the receipts for the days sales. I also helped with the timesheets again. I spent 4 1/2 hours in the office working last night. I heard her tell Rick "she is sure quick at what she does." Made me smile.
I have been praying that Ron and I can be examples of Christs love in us and through us. I didn't know if we were making a difference or not. Yet, God showed me we were. Working in the office last night, Theresa would swear then say she was sorry. She did this multiple times. I guess my not swearing is very visible and she sees that and is realizing how much she swears (a lot!) Thank you Lord for letting me see that I am making a difference, even if only a little one.
As I mentioned Ron worked a very long day yesterday and so we had a very short or long night depending on how you look at it. I came in about 11:00 p.m. after my shift was done and then read emails and a few of the blogs that I follow. I balanced my check book and did a few things to get ready to leave today for Puyallup. I went to sleep close to 1 a.m. Ron came in about 3:45 a.m. I woke up when he opened the door (I don't sleep well when he is not here). We talked for a little bit, he got something to eat and I tried to go back to sleep. About 4:30 my insides started shaking real bad and sweating profusely...signs that my blood sugar was dropping. I checked it and it was down to 45 ~ should be between 90 - 110. I quickly grabbed an orange juice, Ron made me a tuna sandwich and I ate two small tangerines. I began to feel a little better about 5:00...it took me till almost 6:00 to fall back asleep though. Ron went to sleep once I started to feel a little better. We were rudely awakened at about 9:15 this morning with lots of shouting, swearing and angry voices outside our bedroom window. We quickly got up and got dressed to see what was going on.
Well there was a major upheaval out in the bone yard. Seems the gamers were up really early this morning (they were done with their tear down by 8:30 p.m. last night) and left the bone yard before any of the rides people were up. They left water and electrical hoses out. Needless to say this was very upsetting to the ride people because at the safety meeting last Friday everyone was told that everyone in the bone yard had to help with pulling the electrical lines, cleaning up the water hoses, the water tree and doing a final walk through to make sure the area was clean before anyone left. This left only the ride people to do the clean up and tear down of the bone yard ~ about a two hour job. There was much grumbling going on. Finally Kenny, the rides supervisor, let it be known that Rick and Theresa had been notified of what had happened and that the situation would be addressed with the game people when they showed up in Puyallup. (Another reason we are glad to be away from the bone yard this week).
After the bone yard was tore down and the area cleaned up, Ron, Michael (the young man who rode with us from Kelso to Lacey and one of the ride people) and I left about 11:o0 a.m. and went and did laundry. Boy is that expensive here in Lacey. $2.75 a load to wash and 25 cents for six minutes to dry ~ we are used to paying $1 a load to wash and then a $1 a load to dry. We finished up there about 12:15 and then drove to Camping World to pick up an electrical extension cord and plug for us, a light cover for Albert (one of the ride people with a travel trailer with a broken lens cover) and a "gate" for one of the condos. (The gate is something to do with the plumbing and Ron has been called on to use his plumbing expertise to fix it ~ this time on company time ~ he will do that tomorrow during the day). We then stopped for lunch before heading to Winco to pick up some necessary groceries. We arrived at the fairgrounds about 4:30 p.m. Dropped Michael off at the bone yard, commented we were glad we didn't have to park there as it was very crowded, and drove over to where we are to camp. After getting checked in, we set up our motor home. It is so nice to have full hook ups. We will be using our regular dishes and silverware this week ~ no plastic or paper for us ~ yeah, saving money, and it is so nice to eat on glass plates and use real silverware. The weather was nice so we even had the door open for a little while enjoying the fresh air.
This week we will be doing different jobs as the fair hires their own ticket sellers. Ron is going to be doing ride set up and tear down as usual. Set up this week is Tuesday and Wednesday. Tear down will be Sunday evening/night after the Spring Fair closes. He will be working for Kenny this week in the rides department though we are not sure doing what. I will be doing one of two things: I will either be working in the ride office doing time sheets or working in the pizza food booth. I will find out tomorrow morning. I am supposed to call Theresa at 9:30 a.m. I suggested that I take the week off thinking I could talk someone into coming down here and picking me up so I could go back to Blaine for a visit...I was sure I could find one person that would let me crash on their couch. Theresa just laughed and said "if she was working, I was working." Oh well, nice try, right.
Praises this week ~
~ that we got more hours this week
~ that it was proven that Ron had not taken any money from a customer
~ that I am learning new and different things to do in the office
~ that we received our first mail package from home
~ that we were able to move to our new location without any problems
~ that we had good weather for the last few days of the carnival in Lacey
~ for the notes of encouragement from friends back home
Prayer requests ~
~ for the money still owed to us from three customers comes in
~ for us to do good at the new jobs we are assigned to this week
~ for us to continue to show God's love to others
~ for our automatic deposit to go through correctly (we were told our paychecks from last week were automatically deposited but they weren't - Mark the guy from the corporate office is supposed to get that fixed early this week)
~ for us to continue to enjoy what we are doing
~ and for safety next Monday as we drive to Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Festival
I think that catches everyone up on what we have been doing this past week. I hope to be better about writing on my blog a couple of times a week instead of just once a week.
Until next time...we love and miss all of you.
I have gotten a few emails asking where I have been since I did not send out any blogs this past week. We have been a workin' at the Lacey, WA carnival. This past week was much better than the week before. We were open every day! The weather the last few days has been just gorgeous and we had lots of visitors to the carnival. We continue to enjoy seeing the little children encouraging their parents to buy tickets and being so excited when they realize they get to go on the swings or the bears. Saturday we worked our first full 8 hour day and then yesterday I worked 11 hours and Ron worked from Noon on Sunday to 3:30 this morning. The carnival was open from Noon to 7:00 p.m. and then they had to do the tear down. I worked in the office with Theresa from 6:30 p.m. till 10:50 p.m. I was tired at the end of my shift but Ron was plain exhausted when he came in the door this morning at 3:45 a.m.
We have seen a few different things this past week:
~ a girl with very purple hair
~ a guy with dregs (that crazy hair do where it looks like it is all in knots) that was longer than mine, he also had the weirdest beard I have ever seen. He was clean shave on his cheeks and had growth from the chin to below that was about 4" long. To top it off he was wearing a skirt with jeans!
~ and of course girls in short shorts on a cold, wet, windy day
~ two middle school girls who kept flirting with Ron through the ticket window. They told him he was nice and then came and told me he was nice. I said I knew that because I had been married to him for 34 years. They just giggled and walked away. Later they came back by the booth to tell us good night and they thought we made a cute couple. The next day they were back ~ came to window and asked if they could have some free tickets. I smiled and said, no, we can't do that. They replied, that's okay you are still both cute and nice.
I had a great conversation with Shawn yesterday morning about how the Lord has been working in our lives and the doors he opened for us to be able to come to work for the carnival. It was neat to be able to share all the details from the first email to our prayer before going in for the interview, to being offered jobs within the first 15 minutes, to all the positive comments and encouragement we have received from so many. Shawn said it is nice to see how the Lord works isn't it. It is neat to find another believer among the carnival workers. From the things Shawn shared, we think Albert, his roommate and best friend, is also a believer. We will investigate that further once we are in Wenatchee.
Ron had his first negative interaction with a customer when she accused Ron of stealing $20 from her. We were taught from the very beginning that when a customer gives us money we are to either put it under the corner of our cash box or lay it on top, then print up the ticket and count out their change. She had not handed Ron any money but swore up and down that she had. She finally gave Ron more money to get her tickets. She then went and complained, quite loudly, to her friend and then went up to Customer Service (Theresa) and complained. I spoke with Theresa later in the evening and Ron's cash box came out to the exact penny ~ Ron and I both knew he had not taken the money but it was nice to have that confirmed by Theresa. She did say to me, she was surprised that had not happened before because that is one of the most common things that carnival workers are accused of ~ stealing their money either from a ticket seller or a gamer. Ron and I were glad to see the Lord working and affirming Ron's honesty and integrity.
On a positive note, I was asked to apply to be a show van driver as right now there are only 3 people who can drive company vehicles and they need a van driver to transport people from one location to another. This will mean extra hours for me. On one hand I felt good that they asked me to do this because the extra money will be nice on the other hand it means that Ron will drive the motor home and I will drive a company van so we won't be traveling in the same vehicle though we would caravan from one location to another. I should hear this week if I am approved to drive or not. I am thinking if Ron was and he has a couple of speeding tickets on his record I should have no problem being approved. We will just have to wait and see.
Late in the day yesterday while I was on my break, Rick went and spent time with Ron in the ticket box. They couldn't talk a lot but Ron said it was nice to have Rick out there seeing that he does his job well. One thing that Rick talked to Ron about was our time in Puyallup this week. This is the week that all three carnivals come together to work the Puyallup Spring Fair. Theresa had said that the week starts Tuesday morning with set up and goes non-stop till the tear down is complete on Sunday night.
Anyway, due to the fact that all three carnival units come together there are 13 condo units plus numerous travel trailers and fifth wheels in the bone yard and it is very crowded. Rick asked Ron if we would like to park in the campground where the show managers, Ron Rhew (who hired us and is one of the upper management people) along with the Burbacks (the owners) camp together. We would have full hook ups which is something we have come to appreciate since we were two weeks with just the two holding tanks (have to really watch how much water and stuff goes into the gray and black water tanks) and it would be much quieter. Ron said that was fine with us. Rick did not know if we would have to pay or not to camp there or if we could get a pass. Ron said if we did, then we did. Well, I went on line and the fee to camp here is $25 a night. I prayed that we would be able to get a pass for the campground especially since we had very few hours last week. Well, God provided (doesn't he always?) for us. We pulled in to the campground and was greeted by the camp host. She asked if we were with Funtastic Shows. We said yes. She told us where to park and to have a great time this week. And didn't charge us! Yeah ~ we didn't have to pay $175 to camp this week while we are working.
Since Sunday is the final day of the pay period there is always lots to be done in the office and being it was the last day of the carnival in Lacey there was lots to be done on the carnival lot. Theresa is teaching me more and more things to do in the office. One day she taught me how to read the computer screen for each Fun Card (tickets are scanned on a card and then each ride or game scans the number of tickets needed) so that I can work in Customer Service. Yesterday she taught me how to count the ticket sellers cash box, to sort out accounts payable and to figure out the receipts for the days sales. I also helped with the timesheets again. I spent 4 1/2 hours in the office working last night. I heard her tell Rick "she is sure quick at what she does." Made me smile.
I have been praying that Ron and I can be examples of Christs love in us and through us. I didn't know if we were making a difference or not. Yet, God showed me we were. Working in the office last night, Theresa would swear then say she was sorry. She did this multiple times. I guess my not swearing is very visible and she sees that and is realizing how much she swears (a lot!) Thank you Lord for letting me see that I am making a difference, even if only a little one.
As I mentioned Ron worked a very long day yesterday and so we had a very short or long night depending on how you look at it. I came in about 11:00 p.m. after my shift was done and then read emails and a few of the blogs that I follow. I balanced my check book and did a few things to get ready to leave today for Puyallup. I went to sleep close to 1 a.m. Ron came in about 3:45 a.m. I woke up when he opened the door (I don't sleep well when he is not here). We talked for a little bit, he got something to eat and I tried to go back to sleep. About 4:30 my insides started shaking real bad and sweating profusely...signs that my blood sugar was dropping. I checked it and it was down to 45 ~ should be between 90 - 110. I quickly grabbed an orange juice, Ron made me a tuna sandwich and I ate two small tangerines. I began to feel a little better about 5:00...it took me till almost 6:00 to fall back asleep though. Ron went to sleep once I started to feel a little better. We were rudely awakened at about 9:15 this morning with lots of shouting, swearing and angry voices outside our bedroom window. We quickly got up and got dressed to see what was going on.
Well there was a major upheaval out in the bone yard. Seems the gamers were up really early this morning (they were done with their tear down by 8:30 p.m. last night) and left the bone yard before any of the rides people were up. They left water and electrical hoses out. Needless to say this was very upsetting to the ride people because at the safety meeting last Friday everyone was told that everyone in the bone yard had to help with pulling the electrical lines, cleaning up the water hoses, the water tree and doing a final walk through to make sure the area was clean before anyone left. This left only the ride people to do the clean up and tear down of the bone yard ~ about a two hour job. There was much grumbling going on. Finally Kenny, the rides supervisor, let it be known that Rick and Theresa had been notified of what had happened and that the situation would be addressed with the game people when they showed up in Puyallup. (Another reason we are glad to be away from the bone yard this week).
After the bone yard was tore down and the area cleaned up, Ron, Michael (the young man who rode with us from Kelso to Lacey and one of the ride people) and I left about 11:o0 a.m. and went and did laundry. Boy is that expensive here in Lacey. $2.75 a load to wash and 25 cents for six minutes to dry ~ we are used to paying $1 a load to wash and then a $1 a load to dry. We finished up there about 12:15 and then drove to Camping World to pick up an electrical extension cord and plug for us, a light cover for Albert (one of the ride people with a travel trailer with a broken lens cover) and a "gate" for one of the condos. (The gate is something to do with the plumbing and Ron has been called on to use his plumbing expertise to fix it ~ this time on company time ~ he will do that tomorrow during the day). We then stopped for lunch before heading to Winco to pick up some necessary groceries. We arrived at the fairgrounds about 4:30 p.m. Dropped Michael off at the bone yard, commented we were glad we didn't have to park there as it was very crowded, and drove over to where we are to camp. After getting checked in, we set up our motor home. It is so nice to have full hook ups. We will be using our regular dishes and silverware this week ~ no plastic or paper for us ~ yeah, saving money, and it is so nice to eat on glass plates and use real silverware. The weather was nice so we even had the door open for a little while enjoying the fresh air.
This week we will be doing different jobs as the fair hires their own ticket sellers. Ron is going to be doing ride set up and tear down as usual. Set up this week is Tuesday and Wednesday. Tear down will be Sunday evening/night after the Spring Fair closes. He will be working for Kenny this week in the rides department though we are not sure doing what. I will be doing one of two things: I will either be working in the ride office doing time sheets or working in the pizza food booth. I will find out tomorrow morning. I am supposed to call Theresa at 9:30 a.m. I suggested that I take the week off thinking I could talk someone into coming down here and picking me up so I could go back to Blaine for a visit...I was sure I could find one person that would let me crash on their couch. Theresa just laughed and said "if she was working, I was working." Oh well, nice try, right.
Praises this week ~
~ that we got more hours this week
~ that it was proven that Ron had not taken any money from a customer
~ that I am learning new and different things to do in the office
~ that we received our first mail package from home
~ that we were able to move to our new location without any problems
~ that we had good weather for the last few days of the carnival in Lacey
~ for the notes of encouragement from friends back home
Prayer requests ~
~ for the money still owed to us from three customers comes in
~ for us to do good at the new jobs we are assigned to this week
~ for us to continue to show God's love to others
~ for our automatic deposit to go through correctly (we were told our paychecks from last week were automatically deposited but they weren't - Mark the guy from the corporate office is supposed to get that fixed early this week)
~ for us to continue to enjoy what we are doing
~ and for safety next Monday as we drive to Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom Festival
I think that catches everyone up on what we have been doing this past week. I hope to be better about writing on my blog a couple of times a week instead of just once a week.
Until next time...we love and miss all of you.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Happy Easter Everyone!
Happy Easter everyone!
Woke up this morning and spent time reading scripture with Ron. Thanks Charles for the service plan as that was our guide for reading this morning. He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!
We have had a pretty quiet week this week. We moved to Lacey on Monday. Ron did set up of rides on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday during the day I went grocery shopping with Diane, one of the game people and then in the evening we were able to use a company van to go do laundry. Wednesday afternoon we set up the ticket box. Set up for that includes washing all the windows inside and out, sweeping the floor, setting up the computers and getting ourselves organized. Thursday was a scheduled day off. In the morning we went for a walk. Found a Shucks so Ron bought some light bulbs for inside the motor home. We had five not working but now they all are ~ thanks Ron for being so handy. It rained all afternoon so we spent the day inside reading, checking emails and just plain relaxing. Ron did get asked to drive Richard, the mechanic, to the Napa Auto Parts store. Ron is one of a few who has his drivers license so he can drive a company van. Once he is approved by the company he will get paid for driving the company van. Plus then we will have access to a vehicle.
Friday we were supposed to start work at 1:00 but it was really windy and rainy so they postponed the start to 3:00. At 2:45 we got a call from Theresa that the carnival would not be opening at all due to the high winds. Another day to hunker down, do lots of reading and stay inside where it was warm and toasty. Saturday we opened the carnival at 12:00. It rained quite a bit with a few heavy down pours. At 5:45 Rick told me to close up my till and Ron closed his at 6:00...the end of another day of working for the carnival. We had between 25 to 50 customers. The rain didn't seem to bother the children but the parents looked a little worse for wear. One bad thing about yesterday is that we found out the heater does not work in the ticket box. It got mighty cold in there and by the end of our shift we were both freezing. After walking back to the motor home in the rain we got on dry clothes, had some coffee and hot chocolate and turned the furnace up for about half an hour. We finally thawed out. We spent the evening reading ~ we do a lot of reading.
Today the carnival opens at 1:00. I forgot to buy a ham for dinner today so we are having chicken & broccoli with creamy noodles and salad for lunch before we go into work. The recipe calls for tuna but I am using canned chicken instead. I am sure it will be tasty.
We have been asked by a couple of people why we can't go in the local mall (where the carnival is set up) or Applebees which is also here in the shopping center. We have been told that we are not to go into these places for a couple of reasons. One is due to the history of "bad carnies" that they are up to no good and only cause trouble. Theresa said it is also to avoid being accused of anything by the shop owners (remember bad carnies) and the fact that some of these guys get really dirty working on the rides and don't always do the best at cleaning up and this avoids the chance that they will get clothes/items dirty in the stores. We can understand where Rick & Theresa are coming from because we don't want to have any problems arise. It was a bummer though because when we pulled in Monday afternoon we talked about going to Applebees for dinner that night. On a good note though, it saved us probably $25 or so.
Praise & Prayer Requests:
Praise that we are getting into a comfortable routine.
Praise that we invited Michael to have lunch with us on Friday and when Ron prayed for our lunch at the end of the prayer when we said Amen, Michael did too. We know people are noticing that we are different (I know we are really different :) even Theresa apologized for swearing in front of me the other day.
Praise that we are learning our jobs and being given other things to do besides just sell tickets.
Prayer request ~ that the three checks we are waiting for will come in.
Prayer request ~ that I won't have too much homesickness this week. Last Friday and Sunday were difficult for me.
Prayer request ~ that we will be a shining light of Jesus to those we come into contact with.
That's all for today ~ hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!
Woke up this morning and spent time reading scripture with Ron. Thanks Charles for the service plan as that was our guide for reading this morning. He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!
We have had a pretty quiet week this week. We moved to Lacey on Monday. Ron did set up of rides on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday during the day I went grocery shopping with Diane, one of the game people and then in the evening we were able to use a company van to go do laundry. Wednesday afternoon we set up the ticket box. Set up for that includes washing all the windows inside and out, sweeping the floor, setting up the computers and getting ourselves organized. Thursday was a scheduled day off. In the morning we went for a walk. Found a Shucks so Ron bought some light bulbs for inside the motor home. We had five not working but now they all are ~ thanks Ron for being so handy. It rained all afternoon so we spent the day inside reading, checking emails and just plain relaxing. Ron did get asked to drive Richard, the mechanic, to the Napa Auto Parts store. Ron is one of a few who has his drivers license so he can drive a company van. Once he is approved by the company he will get paid for driving the company van. Plus then we will have access to a vehicle.
Friday we were supposed to start work at 1:00 but it was really windy and rainy so they postponed the start to 3:00. At 2:45 we got a call from Theresa that the carnival would not be opening at all due to the high winds. Another day to hunker down, do lots of reading and stay inside where it was warm and toasty. Saturday we opened the carnival at 12:00. It rained quite a bit with a few heavy down pours. At 5:45 Rick told me to close up my till and Ron closed his at 6:00...the end of another day of working for the carnival. We had between 25 to 50 customers. The rain didn't seem to bother the children but the parents looked a little worse for wear. One bad thing about yesterday is that we found out the heater does not work in the ticket box. It got mighty cold in there and by the end of our shift we were both freezing. After walking back to the motor home in the rain we got on dry clothes, had some coffee and hot chocolate and turned the furnace up for about half an hour. We finally thawed out. We spent the evening reading ~ we do a lot of reading.
Today the carnival opens at 1:00. I forgot to buy a ham for dinner today so we are having chicken & broccoli with creamy noodles and salad for lunch before we go into work. The recipe calls for tuna but I am using canned chicken instead. I am sure it will be tasty.
We have been asked by a couple of people why we can't go in the local mall (where the carnival is set up) or Applebees which is also here in the shopping center. We have been told that we are not to go into these places for a couple of reasons. One is due to the history of "bad carnies" that they are up to no good and only cause trouble. Theresa said it is also to avoid being accused of anything by the shop owners (remember bad carnies) and the fact that some of these guys get really dirty working on the rides and don't always do the best at cleaning up and this avoids the chance that they will get clothes/items dirty in the stores. We can understand where Rick & Theresa are coming from because we don't want to have any problems arise. It was a bummer though because when we pulled in Monday afternoon we talked about going to Applebees for dinner that night. On a good note though, it saved us probably $25 or so.
Praise & Prayer Requests:
Praise that we are getting into a comfortable routine.
Praise that we invited Michael to have lunch with us on Friday and when Ron prayed for our lunch at the end of the prayer when we said Amen, Michael did too. We know people are noticing that we are different (I know we are really different :) even Theresa apologized for swearing in front of me the other day.
Praise that we are learning our jobs and being given other things to do besides just sell tickets.
Prayer request ~ that the three checks we are waiting for will come in.
Prayer request ~ that I won't have too much homesickness this week. Last Friday and Sunday were difficult for me.
Prayer request ~ that we will be a shining light of Jesus to those we come into contact with.
That's all for today ~ hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Boneyard at Lacey
I am sure you are asking what is "the boneyard?" The boneyard is what I called the campsite last week. Found out yesterday that where we park all the trailers, our motor home and the condo's in carnival language is called the boneyard.
Ron went around after everyone was in place and took a few pictures to show you what it looks like where we are going to be living for the next two weeks.
The top picture is Alice inside the motor home after we got to Lacey, WA. and before we are set up. Once we are set up the TV is between the two front chairs and the plant that is in the sink is on the counter.
In the second picture our motor home is parked between a condo and a trailer. At least in Lacey we are not parked on soggy wet grass. Being parked on black top the motor home should stay a little cleaner.
This picture shows all the rigs in a row. The open space between the two trailers is waiting for a late arrival of one of the trailers. That is where Diane's trailer will go. Her hubby, Eric, had to take it in and get the wiring fixed ~ they had the brakes as flashers and the flashers as brakes. Not a good thing while traveling.
The top picture is another view of the front of all the rigs lined up. The rig to the far right belongs to Rick & Theresa, our bosses. It is a very nice fifth wheel with three slide outs. They always park on the end. The next picture is a view from the back. The wide area between the two white lines is a bike path. Can you see the porta pottys to the far right? That's right folks, the bathrooms for those living in the condos. Makes me so happy to have my own private bathroom in our motor home. Oh the comforts of home.
Well I just wanted to show you where we are living for the next two weeks. I hope to have more pictures later in the week of where we work and what the views are from our ticket windows. Ron took some pictures with his phone last week and I downloaded them to the computer but can't figure out where they are at so I will have Ron take more pictures this week and try again to let you see where we actually work and what beautiful outfits we get to wear (that's a joke folks!).
Hope you enjoyed seeing where we live right now.
Ron went around after everyone was in place and took a few pictures to show you what it looks like where we are going to be living for the next two weeks.
The top picture is Alice inside the motor home after we got to Lacey, WA. and before we are set up. Once we are set up the TV is between the two front chairs and the plant that is in the sink is on the counter.
In the second picture our motor home is parked between a condo and a trailer. At least in Lacey we are not parked on soggy wet grass. Being parked on black top the motor home should stay a little cleaner.
This picture shows all the rigs in a row. The open space between the two trailers is waiting for a late arrival of one of the trailers. That is where Diane's trailer will go. Her hubby, Eric, had to take it in and get the wiring fixed ~ they had the brakes as flashers and the flashers as brakes. Not a good thing while traveling.
The top picture is another view of the front of all the rigs lined up. The rig to the far right belongs to Rick & Theresa, our bosses. It is a very nice fifth wheel with three slide outs. They always park on the end. The next picture is a view from the back. The wide area between the two white lines is a bike path. Can you see the porta pottys to the far right? That's right folks, the bathrooms for those living in the condos. Makes me so happy to have my own private bathroom in our motor home. Oh the comforts of home.
Well I just wanted to show you where we are living for the next two weeks. I hope to have more pictures later in the week of where we work and what the views are from our ticket windows. Ron took some pictures with his phone last week and I downloaded them to the computer but can't figure out where they are at so I will have Ron take more pictures this week and try again to let you see where we actually work and what beautiful outfits we get to wear (that's a joke folks!).
Hope you enjoyed seeing where we live right now.
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Carnival Schedule
Our schedule for the next 12 weeks is listed below. The dates listed are all Monday's and is the date we move to a new town. The carnival usually runs Thursdays to Sundays if we are only there for a week. I don't yet know the schedule if we are somewhere for two or three weeks.
If you are able to meet us somewhere along the road, give us a call to see if we have any off time that we could get together. Because the carnival is usually only open afternoons and evenings we are usually free in the mornings. Don't know what are schedule will be when we are open all day like at the state fairs.
So for the next 12 weeks this is where we will be:
March 29 ~ Lacey, WA ~ we will be here for two weeks
April 12 ~ Puyallup, WA ~ we will be here for one week at the Puyallup Spring Fair
April 19 ~ Wenatchee , WA ~ we will be here for two weeks
May 3 ~ Sequim, WA ~ we will be here for one week
May 10 ~ Port Townsend, WA ~ we will be here for one week
May 17 ~ Ft. Lewis ~ we will be here for one week. I think we will be on the base itself. If it is different than that I will let you know
May 24 ~ Portland, OR ~ we will be here for three weeks at the Rose Festival
June 14 ~ Marysville, WA ~ we will be here for one week
The above schedule is all that we have for now. When Theresa gave me the schedule she said they are still firming up some of the smaller places we will be but once she has the schedule for the rest of the carnival season she will pass it on to me. We do know that our last carnival is the Puyallup Fair in September. We don't have the exact dates but once we do I will post it.
NOTE: I will do a post every Monday that we move so I can post exactly where we are in each town. Since we are new at this I don't know where each specific location we will be just the towns. I will also try to post when we will be open at that location.
Again, if you have any questions drop us a line via email, through comments or give us a call. We sure hope to see some of you along the way.
Thanks for traveling with us. We love you all. Ron & Alice
If you are able to meet us somewhere along the road, give us a call to see if we have any off time that we could get together. Because the carnival is usually only open afternoons and evenings we are usually free in the mornings. Don't know what are schedule will be when we are open all day like at the state fairs.
So for the next 12 weeks this is where we will be:
March 29 ~ Lacey, WA ~ we will be here for two weeks
April 12 ~ Puyallup, WA ~ we will be here for one week at the Puyallup Spring Fair
April 19 ~ Wenatchee , WA ~ we will be here for two weeks
May 3 ~ Sequim, WA ~ we will be here for one week
May 10 ~ Port Townsend, WA ~ we will be here for one week
May 17 ~ Ft. Lewis ~ we will be here for one week. I think we will be on the base itself. If it is different than that I will let you know
May 24 ~ Portland, OR ~ we will be here for three weeks at the Rose Festival
June 14 ~ Marysville, WA ~ we will be here for one week
The above schedule is all that we have for now. When Theresa gave me the schedule she said they are still firming up some of the smaller places we will be but once she has the schedule for the rest of the carnival season she will pass it on to me. We do know that our last carnival is the Puyallup Fair in September. We don't have the exact dates but once we do I will post it.
NOTE: I will do a post every Monday that we move so I can post exactly where we are in each town. Since we are new at this I don't know where each specific location we will be just the towns. I will also try to post when we will be open at that location.
Again, if you have any questions drop us a line via email, through comments or give us a call. We sure hope to see some of you along the way.
Thanks for traveling with us. We love you all. Ron & Alice
First Official Moving Day - What an Experience!
Today was our first moving day! Moving days are always on Mondays.
We moved from Kelso, WA to Lacey, WA. We are at South Sound Center Mall, exit 108 off I5.
There was excitement in the air this morning as we woke. Our first moving day with the carnival. We had all of 70 miles to go. I think the excitement was mine and Ron's as everyone else just seemed anxious to get things ready to move and then do it.
Weather wise the day looked good. A bit overcast with peeks made by the sun. The goal was to be on the road by 11:00 a.m.
We woke up about 9:30 this morning. Ron made hazel nut coffee - boy did it smell good. Ron tried to hook Maggie (our Magellan GPS system ~ thanks Jamie and Suzanne ~ we expect to get lots of use out of it) up so we could plan the route from Kelso to Lacey. It would not stay powered on. So Ron tried to start the motor home - it wouldn't budge. In looking for things that could be wrong, Ron figured out we had left the levelers in the on position (something to add to our check list when we set up). So he did what needed to be done. He jumped the engine battery with the house batteries (good thing we have a double set up). It started right up ~ yippee!!
We programmed Maggie for the trip to Lacey including a stop to do laundry. We then readied the motor home for travel: moving stuff on the counters into the sinks in the bathroom and kitchen, locking the fridge and freezer so they don't swing open unexpectedly, rolled the rug that goes outside the front door, unlocked the step so it would retract whenever the door is closed, moved the laundry hamper from the front seat to the back of the motor home, disconnected the water and electricity and finally took the curtain off the front window and raised the levelers.
A couple of the guys wanted to ride with us so in jumped James and Michael. Michael knew where we were going and what rest area to stop at to dump the holding tanks. We pulled out at 11:02 a.m. Right on schedule.
We had an uneventful trip to Lacey though James got a little frustrated when we said no smoking in our rig. He was so thankful when we stopped at the rest area to dump our tanks. Don't know if he will ride with us again. But our rules are our rules. And not smoking in our motor home is one rule I am not negotiable on. Michael is a smoker but he did not seem to mind. It was nice to have Michael along for the ride as we learned a little more about life with the carnival.
Michael told us the plan is that we all convene where we park our rigs and the condo's and everyone helps set up. He had a word for it but I can't remember what it's called. I will find out and share that with you after our next move. It took from about 12:30 to 4:30 to get all the trailers, fifth wheels, and the only motor home (ours) set up with electricity and water. It takes everyone to pull electrical lines from the electrical box to behind the rigs. Each rig is set up by those who live in it. The people who live in the condo's have to help set up their condo. It is easy to tell who has done this before and those who are new at this. Lots of bossiness from those who know what they are doing to those who don't. It started raining about 3:30. I came into the motor home where it was warm ~ Ron stayed out and helped to finish up the water and electricity set up. Another job that had to be done was to move the porta-pottys over to behind the rigs. They had been put along the fence at the end of the parking lot.
After all the rigs were hooked up to water and electricity. People went to their own rigs or condo to get set up. We are going to be here for two week so in our rig we set up the TV and Wii, moved stuff from out of the sinks and back onto the counters. We thought the plan was going to be that we would go do laundry and pick up groceries after everyone was set up. We had made plans to go with Diane, Rose and Marva to do that. After waiting around for about an hour ~ it was now about 5:30 p.m. Diane came over to our rig and asked if we could go and do laundry and grocery shopping tomorrow. I told her that would be fine as she and I are both off tomorrow. She was waiting for Eric to show up with their trailer and it would be another couple of hours before he arrived. He had run into some problems and had to get some electrical wiring fixed before he could leave Vancouver. He did not work last week so stayed in Vancouver until today. So instead of going to do laundry and grocery shopping I got out the computer and started reading emails and catching up here on my blog.
About 6:00 Ron came into the motor home. He had been out walking around and burning off some energy. Ron set up the DVD player so we could watch a movie tonight. While he was doing that I made dinner. Nothing fancy tonight as I was going to buy some chicken at the store but that is put off till tomorrow. So we had rice, hot dogs and cheesy tortillas.
One of my observations about moving day ~ you hurry and wait a lot. Everyone is anxious to get out of the old campsite but not everyone moves at the same speed. So we hurried to Lacey to only have to wait for someone to tell us where to park. They definitely have a system to how things are done. I just kept telling myself I was so thankful I was not the one in charge. Leave that to someone else. That way if there are problems no one will be yelling at me.
One story from today ~ Pat, one of the ride managers and the one in charge of setting up the camp today had gotten his fifth wheel into place. Set up his Direct TV which was no easy task as we are backed up to some trees and then threatened anyone who bumped his set up. A couple of the younger guys were not watching where they were walking and almost walked right into his set up. Pat yelled, they jumped and moved quickly away. I heard rumors that Pat's threat was if anyone knocked down his satellite system they would be in big trouble. Boy did those boys move away fast. Don't know what Pat would have done but no one wanted to find out.
One of the rules we found out about working/traveling with the carnival is that we are not allowed to wander the malls or eat at certain restaurants. Here in Lacey it is Applebees. We are not sure of the reason behind the rules, no one seems to know why, just that we are not to do that. Good thing we did not know that last Tuesday when we pulled into Kelso because the first thing Ron and I did was walk through Three Rivers Mall and go shopping at Target. They are right next to each other. Sometime when I am working with Theresa I will ask her the reason for that rule. Ron and I wonder if it is the negative atmosphere that has been associated with carnivals in the past.
Another rule we found out about is that we are fortunate to have our own rig and not live in the condos. If you live in the condos you cannot have any visitors to your condo room. There is no drinking or smoking in them either. Because we are in our own rig we can smoke if we want - we don't! and there are no rules about drinking. A good thing because Ron has had a beer a couple of times after working. We can understand about the no smoking and no drinking in the condos because of liability issues. One of the things we noticed was that if a smoker dropped a cigarette but someone was yelling at them to pick up their trash. Us and visitors ~ we can have visitors in our own rig ~ so if you are in the area sometime give me a call and if we are off we would love to get together. In speaking with Theresa, the owners of Fantastic Shows, the Burbanks, run a tight ship and they don't tolerate people who abuse the rules and for that Ron and I are thankful.
We are all settled in now. We have had dinner, Ron got the DVD player working and so now we are watching a movie and doing stuff on the computer.
Sure hope you enjoyed reading about moving day.
We moved from Kelso, WA to Lacey, WA. We are at South Sound Center Mall, exit 108 off I5.
There was excitement in the air this morning as we woke. Our first moving day with the carnival. We had all of 70 miles to go. I think the excitement was mine and Ron's as everyone else just seemed anxious to get things ready to move and then do it.
Weather wise the day looked good. A bit overcast with peeks made by the sun. The goal was to be on the road by 11:00 a.m.
We woke up about 9:30 this morning. Ron made hazel nut coffee - boy did it smell good. Ron tried to hook Maggie (our Magellan GPS system ~ thanks Jamie and Suzanne ~ we expect to get lots of use out of it) up so we could plan the route from Kelso to Lacey. It would not stay powered on. So Ron tried to start the motor home - it wouldn't budge. In looking for things that could be wrong, Ron figured out we had left the levelers in the on position (something to add to our check list when we set up). So he did what needed to be done. He jumped the engine battery with the house batteries (good thing we have a double set up). It started right up ~ yippee!!
We programmed Maggie for the trip to Lacey including a stop to do laundry. We then readied the motor home for travel: moving stuff on the counters into the sinks in the bathroom and kitchen, locking the fridge and freezer so they don't swing open unexpectedly, rolled the rug that goes outside the front door, unlocked the step so it would retract whenever the door is closed, moved the laundry hamper from the front seat to the back of the motor home, disconnected the water and electricity and finally took the curtain off the front window and raised the levelers.
A couple of the guys wanted to ride with us so in jumped James and Michael. Michael knew where we were going and what rest area to stop at to dump the holding tanks. We pulled out at 11:02 a.m. Right on schedule.
We had an uneventful trip to Lacey though James got a little frustrated when we said no smoking in our rig. He was so thankful when we stopped at the rest area to dump our tanks. Don't know if he will ride with us again. But our rules are our rules. And not smoking in our motor home is one rule I am not negotiable on. Michael is a smoker but he did not seem to mind. It was nice to have Michael along for the ride as we learned a little more about life with the carnival.
Michael told us the plan is that we all convene where we park our rigs and the condo's and everyone helps set up. He had a word for it but I can't remember what it's called. I will find out and share that with you after our next move. It took from about 12:30 to 4:30 to get all the trailers, fifth wheels, and the only motor home (ours) set up with electricity and water. It takes everyone to pull electrical lines from the electrical box to behind the rigs. Each rig is set up by those who live in it. The people who live in the condo's have to help set up their condo. It is easy to tell who has done this before and those who are new at this. Lots of bossiness from those who know what they are doing to those who don't. It started raining about 3:30. I came into the motor home where it was warm ~ Ron stayed out and helped to finish up the water and electricity set up. Another job that had to be done was to move the porta-pottys over to behind the rigs. They had been put along the fence at the end of the parking lot.
After all the rigs were hooked up to water and electricity. People went to their own rigs or condo to get set up. We are going to be here for two week so in our rig we set up the TV and Wii, moved stuff from out of the sinks and back onto the counters. We thought the plan was going to be that we would go do laundry and pick up groceries after everyone was set up. We had made plans to go with Diane, Rose and Marva to do that. After waiting around for about an hour ~ it was now about 5:30 p.m. Diane came over to our rig and asked if we could go and do laundry and grocery shopping tomorrow. I told her that would be fine as she and I are both off tomorrow. She was waiting for Eric to show up with their trailer and it would be another couple of hours before he arrived. He had run into some problems and had to get some electrical wiring fixed before he could leave Vancouver. He did not work last week so stayed in Vancouver until today. So instead of going to do laundry and grocery shopping I got out the computer and started reading emails and catching up here on my blog.
About 6:00 Ron came into the motor home. He had been out walking around and burning off some energy. Ron set up the DVD player so we could watch a movie tonight. While he was doing that I made dinner. Nothing fancy tonight as I was going to buy some chicken at the store but that is put off till tomorrow. So we had rice, hot dogs and cheesy tortillas.
One of my observations about moving day ~ you hurry and wait a lot. Everyone is anxious to get out of the old campsite but not everyone moves at the same speed. So we hurried to Lacey to only have to wait for someone to tell us where to park. They definitely have a system to how things are done. I just kept telling myself I was so thankful I was not the one in charge. Leave that to someone else. That way if there are problems no one will be yelling at me.
One story from today ~ Pat, one of the ride managers and the one in charge of setting up the camp today had gotten his fifth wheel into place. Set up his Direct TV which was no easy task as we are backed up to some trees and then threatened anyone who bumped his set up. A couple of the younger guys were not watching where they were walking and almost walked right into his set up. Pat yelled, they jumped and moved quickly away. I heard rumors that Pat's threat was if anyone knocked down his satellite system they would be in big trouble. Boy did those boys move away fast. Don't know what Pat would have done but no one wanted to find out.
One of the rules we found out about working/traveling with the carnival is that we are not allowed to wander the malls or eat at certain restaurants. Here in Lacey it is Applebees. We are not sure of the reason behind the rules, no one seems to know why, just that we are not to do that. Good thing we did not know that last Tuesday when we pulled into Kelso because the first thing Ron and I did was walk through Three Rivers Mall and go shopping at Target. They are right next to each other. Sometime when I am working with Theresa I will ask her the reason for that rule. Ron and I wonder if it is the negative atmosphere that has been associated with carnivals in the past.
Another rule we found out about is that we are fortunate to have our own rig and not live in the condos. If you live in the condos you cannot have any visitors to your condo room. There is no drinking or smoking in them either. Because we are in our own rig we can smoke if we want - we don't! and there are no rules about drinking. A good thing because Ron has had a beer a couple of times after working. We can understand about the no smoking and no drinking in the condos because of liability issues. One of the things we noticed was that if a smoker dropped a cigarette but someone was yelling at them to pick up their trash. Us and visitors ~ we can have visitors in our own rig ~ so if you are in the area sometime give me a call and if we are off we would love to get together. In speaking with Theresa, the owners of Fantastic Shows, the Burbanks, run a tight ship and they don't tolerate people who abuse the rules and for that Ron and I are thankful.
We are all settled in now. We have had dinner, Ron got the DVD player working and so now we are watching a movie and doing stuff on the computer.
Sure hope you enjoyed reading about moving day.
The End of Week One!
I am sure most of you are wondering how our first week went...so here goes:
If you read the previous post you will know all about our first day but to sum it up here it was a good day.
First I should tell you that Rick & Theresa are the show managers and our bosses. The carnival opened on Thursday at 3:00 so we reported at 2:45...fifteen minutes before carnival start time. We each got our uniform shirt and jacket and put them on. Not the most stylish of things. We found out that they check a jacket out to us for the season but we have to check it in and out each day. Every day we get a clean uniform shirt. I was going to say new BUT some of them have definitely seen better days. We check those in and out each day too.
The first day the carnival was open in Kelso, Thursday, we were only open for 3 hours. It was raining hard and so Rick closed us down at 6:00. It was a very slow day but a good day for Ron and I to get in practice on learning the procedure for selling tickets. Thursday morning, Ron's plumbing skills came in handy as one of the showers in the condo trailers (where the single people live) was plugged. Ron pulled out some of his tools and fixed the clog. The guys in that condo were so excited to have two working showers. Michael made the comment "what do you know, we thought we were just getting ticket sellers and we got a plumber too."
Friday we opened up at 1:00 and closed at 8:30 p.m. Ron made a whopper of a boo-b00 - he sold a ticket worth $88 when it should have been $8 BUT he caught it before it was given to a customer. The weather on Friday was mixed with rain and sun and gray clouds. Business was a little busier. During our 15 minute breaks we usually just hang out in the back of the ticket box. During our half hour lunch breaks we usually walk around and talk with others who are working. It felt good to both of us to put in a full day. We each bought a Funtastic Shows baseball cap - a necessary part of the uniform for those rainy days.
Saturday was our long day. We were open from noon to 10:00 p.m. The weather was beautiful - lots of sunshine. The great weather brought out many people. We saw lots of grandparents with their grandchildren, groups of teenager and moms and dads with their kids. The best part is seeing the excitement on the face of the little kids as they watch the rides go round and the anticipation on their faces, knowing they will be going on the rides soon. It was also fun to hear the shouts of glee when prizes were one at the game booths.
One of the games is to hit the hammer as hard as you can to see how strong you are. Children under the age of 12 always win at that game. It is so cute to see some of the little toddlers carrying these big plastic hammers which are twice as tall as the children. I hope to get some pictures on a sunny day soon.
Late Saturday afternoon, Theresa had me go in the office to learn how to do some stuff in there. I worked in the office for about an hour and a half. It was so good to be doing some familiar things like checking time cards and tallying numbers for different reports.
Sunday we were greeted with a dry day but it quickly turned to rain. I had a rough morning. I was feeling very homesick and missing our Northwood family and getting ready for church. I wondered what the bulletin looked like, missed the marching around the sanctuary with the palm branches singing Hosanna! Hosanna! and being home. I shed a few tears, got a couple of big hugs from Ron and then prayed for the Lord to take away my tears. Reminded myself that we are where we know the Lord is leading us and felt the peace of God come over me.
Ron worked the ticket box by himself for the 2 hours we were opened. Rick closed down due to no customers and lots of rain. I worked in the office for six hours. Theresa taught me some of the stuff to do for payroll - oh, the memories that brought back: frustration over not being able to read people's writing, numbers not adding up and things missing from the time sheets. Theresa and I connected with stories of doing payroll and the joys (headaches) that come with that job. I also counted money, input stuff into the computer and other general office duties. It felt so good to be doing office stuff ~ I am definitely at home working in the office.
After Rick closed us down the for day, Ron did the tear down of the ticket box. That includes removing the computers from the ticket box to the main office, laying the chairs on the floor and securing everything inside. He also got the fun job of emptying the garbage. Kenny, the ride boss, then had Ron help with tearing down a couple of the rides. Boy do they get dirty doing the tear down. Ron needs to remember to take work clothes on closing days so he doesn't ruin his "show clothes." That's what they call our uniforms. Kenny liked the work Ron did and so is going to have him help with the set up on Tuesday.
We are slowly getting to know some of the people and learning some of the jargon. Those who work in the games are called gamers. A few people have taken us under their wings. There is Marva, Roseanne and Diane (who Ron calls Michelle ~ why I don't know, he just does and she just laughs about it). They are all gamers and have been with the carnival for multiple years. Marva and Rose are mother and daughter. Diane's husband, Eric, will be joining us when we get moved to Lacey. Eric is also a gamer.
Michael, a ride man, has also welcomed us on board. He made sure on Wednesday night to get us set up with water and electricity. His actions definitely helped us to feel welcome. A couple of other guys, Sean and Albert, two brothers, are also ride men. They have also been encouraging to us. A few of the other ride men are Ricky, BJ, Thomas and Daniel. BJ and Thomas also are in charge of the uniform trailer. One of the requirements for being a ride man is that you also know how to service your ride.
One of the jobs that Ron picked up was shuttling people from the campsite to the lot (that's where the carnival is at) and taking people to the store. It made us getting to work a breeze since Ron was driving. Sunday night we finished up with work and running people around about 9:00 p.m. All in all it was a good week. Tomorrow starts a whole new adventure for us as we tear down camp and move to a new location.
Thanks for your continued prayers for us as we settle into this new life ~ a life of working & traveling with the carnival.
Alice & Ron
If you read the previous post you will know all about our first day but to sum it up here it was a good day.
First I should tell you that Rick & Theresa are the show managers and our bosses. The carnival opened on Thursday at 3:00 so we reported at 2:45...fifteen minutes before carnival start time. We each got our uniform shirt and jacket and put them on. Not the most stylish of things. We found out that they check a jacket out to us for the season but we have to check it in and out each day. Every day we get a clean uniform shirt. I was going to say new BUT some of them have definitely seen better days. We check those in and out each day too.
The first day the carnival was open in Kelso, Thursday, we were only open for 3 hours. It was raining hard and so Rick closed us down at 6:00. It was a very slow day but a good day for Ron and I to get in practice on learning the procedure for selling tickets. Thursday morning, Ron's plumbing skills came in handy as one of the showers in the condo trailers (where the single people live) was plugged. Ron pulled out some of his tools and fixed the clog. The guys in that condo were so excited to have two working showers. Michael made the comment "what do you know, we thought we were just getting ticket sellers and we got a plumber too."
Friday we opened up at 1:00 and closed at 8:30 p.m. Ron made a whopper of a boo-b00 - he sold a ticket worth $88 when it should have been $8 BUT he caught it before it was given to a customer. The weather on Friday was mixed with rain and sun and gray clouds. Business was a little busier. During our 15 minute breaks we usually just hang out in the back of the ticket box. During our half hour lunch breaks we usually walk around and talk with others who are working. It felt good to both of us to put in a full day. We each bought a Funtastic Shows baseball cap - a necessary part of the uniform for those rainy days.
Saturday was our long day. We were open from noon to 10:00 p.m. The weather was beautiful - lots of sunshine. The great weather brought out many people. We saw lots of grandparents with their grandchildren, groups of teenager and moms and dads with their kids. The best part is seeing the excitement on the face of the little kids as they watch the rides go round and the anticipation on their faces, knowing they will be going on the rides soon. It was also fun to hear the shouts of glee when prizes were one at the game booths.
One of the games is to hit the hammer as hard as you can to see how strong you are. Children under the age of 12 always win at that game. It is so cute to see some of the little toddlers carrying these big plastic hammers which are twice as tall as the children. I hope to get some pictures on a sunny day soon.
Late Saturday afternoon, Theresa had me go in the office to learn how to do some stuff in there. I worked in the office for about an hour and a half. It was so good to be doing some familiar things like checking time cards and tallying numbers for different reports.
Sunday we were greeted with a dry day but it quickly turned to rain. I had a rough morning. I was feeling very homesick and missing our Northwood family and getting ready for church. I wondered what the bulletin looked like, missed the marching around the sanctuary with the palm branches singing Hosanna! Hosanna! and being home. I shed a few tears, got a couple of big hugs from Ron and then prayed for the Lord to take away my tears. Reminded myself that we are where we know the Lord is leading us and felt the peace of God come over me.
Ron worked the ticket box by himself for the 2 hours we were opened. Rick closed down due to no customers and lots of rain. I worked in the office for six hours. Theresa taught me some of the stuff to do for payroll - oh, the memories that brought back: frustration over not being able to read people's writing, numbers not adding up and things missing from the time sheets. Theresa and I connected with stories of doing payroll and the joys (headaches) that come with that job. I also counted money, input stuff into the computer and other general office duties. It felt so good to be doing office stuff ~ I am definitely at home working in the office.
After Rick closed us down the for day, Ron did the tear down of the ticket box. That includes removing the computers from the ticket box to the main office, laying the chairs on the floor and securing everything inside. He also got the fun job of emptying the garbage. Kenny, the ride boss, then had Ron help with tearing down a couple of the rides. Boy do they get dirty doing the tear down. Ron needs to remember to take work clothes on closing days so he doesn't ruin his "show clothes." That's what they call our uniforms. Kenny liked the work Ron did and so is going to have him help with the set up on Tuesday.
We are slowly getting to know some of the people and learning some of the jargon. Those who work in the games are called gamers. A few people have taken us under their wings. There is Marva, Roseanne and Diane (who Ron calls Michelle ~ why I don't know, he just does and she just laughs about it). They are all gamers and have been with the carnival for multiple years. Marva and Rose are mother and daughter. Diane's husband, Eric, will be joining us when we get moved to Lacey. Eric is also a gamer.
Michael, a ride man, has also welcomed us on board. He made sure on Wednesday night to get us set up with water and electricity. His actions definitely helped us to feel welcome. A couple of other guys, Sean and Albert, two brothers, are also ride men. They have also been encouraging to us. A few of the other ride men are Ricky, BJ, Thomas and Daniel. BJ and Thomas also are in charge of the uniform trailer. One of the requirements for being a ride man is that you also know how to service your ride.
One of the jobs that Ron picked up was shuttling people from the campsite to the lot (that's where the carnival is at) and taking people to the store. It made us getting to work a breeze since Ron was driving. Sunday night we finished up with work and running people around about 9:00 p.m. All in all it was a good week. Tomorrow starts a whole new adventure for us as we tear down camp and move to a new location.
Thanks for your continued prayers for us as we settle into this new life ~ a life of working & traveling with the carnival.
Alice & Ron
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Our first full day!
We have had a good three days. We spent Sunday & Monday nights at Chehalis Thousand Trails. We spent lots of time reading, resting, spending time on the computer and going for a couple of walks. Tuesday morning we ate breakfast and then went on a walk. After lunch we got the motor home ready to leave Chehalis. We then went to the laundry there on site and did two loads of laundry. While the clothes were drying we played some pool. Ron won 4 to 3. We then drove from Chehalis to Kelso (Three Rivers Mall). We saw where the carnival was parked at parked the motor home behind Target facing the carnival. We went for a walk through the mall ~ it is about half empty of stores. We then went to Target to buy some UNO cards. When we got back to the motor home and started making dinner, Ron put the UNO cards in the cupboard and what did he find ~ another pack of UNO cards. I didn't think we had any ~ lesson learned check before buying stuff. In the evening we read and I checked emails on the computer. We ran the generator for about an hour.
After a breakfast of bagels & cream cheese we got ready to walk across the street to the carnival site. We arrived at 9:00 this morning and was told it would be about 15 minutes so just hang loose. We watched the set up guys busily working. Ron was just itching to get out there. He kept wandering around, just watching what everyone was doing. We then met briefly, and I mean briefly ~ like 2 minutes with Rick. He said Theresa would be in at 10:00 and then we would complete our paperwork and then learn how to sell tickets. Our first jobs will be as ticket sellers. Rick said, go grab some coffee and come back at 10:00 and when we complete our paperwork make sure we put down we started at 9:00 since that is when he told us to be there. Okay with us. We then walked back to the motor home for about 45 minutes.
At 10:00 we met Theresa and completed our paperwork. We chatted for a few minutes and then stood around waiting for Rick and Theresa to figure out who was going to teach us what. About 11:00 we were shown where the ticket booth is and we did some spring cleaning. The booth had not been cleaned since the end of last August and the Salem OR State Fair. Ron washed windows, I dusted and wiped down counters and swept the floor. It was so much nicer being all clean and shiny. We took a lunch break about 12:30. When we got back from lunch - we had walked over to the motor home, remember it was just across the street, Rick then showed us how to set up the computers and how to sell tickets. The training took all of about 15 minutes. One note of interest here ~ you no longer get tickets you get a little card like a credit card, that you put money on. You can use the card for rides, games and buying food. Pretty slick. Everything is computerized ~ Ron did pretty well and caught on pretty fast. He then had to reorganize how the booth was set up ~ putting the card reader (like a library card scanner) and the receipt machine in the right place.
We finished up with the training, talked with Rick & Theresa again about the plan for tomorrow and the rest of today. We met Kenny ~ he is in charge of the Camp and Ricky ~ he is in charge of transportation from the Camp to the Carnival. The Camp is about 1 1/2 miles from the Carnival site. After talking with them we then walked over to Target and bought white tee shirts. We have to wear white tee shirts under the uniform shirts. One nice thing we found out today is that each day of the carnival we are given a clean uniform shirt and we turn it in at the end of the day ~ one less thing I have to worry about washing :). About 5:30 we were told where the Camp was and we drove over there. I made a quick dinner of hot dogs, chili and carrots. After dinner we went out and met more of the people who work and travel with the carnival. There are three semi-trailers of condo's (8 little bedrooms for the workers ~ we are so thankful we have the motor home to live in ~ feels like a mansion compared to the little condo rooms). Kenny showed up about 6:30 and showed Ron where to park the motor home. We are on a grassy area between one of the condo trailers and the big generator/truck that provides us with power. The generator runs from about 6:30 to 10:00 pm and again from about 6:30 to 10:00 am. Michael, one of the set up guys got us hooked up with water ~ it took 150 ft of water hose! But we have water and that is a good thing ~ we do have the water tank full on the motor home but it is nice to keep that for reserves.
Ron talked with one of the guys and he encouraged Ron to talk to Kenny about learning how to set up and tear down ~ they can always use the help so Ron will talk to Rick and Kenny about also jumping in right away and learning how to set up and tear down the rides. I know he is anxious to be busy and not just sitting/standing around ~ like we did a lot of today :).
The one piece of news is that everyone smokes! I told Ron we would have to take up smoking and he just laughed and said "I don't think so." I agree ~ that is one habit we won't be taking up on this new journey.
And that brings us through the first day of our new life of working for the carnival.
Prayer requests ~
1. For us to meet and make connections with another Christian couple on this new adventure.
2. For clarity of mind tomorrow when we actually start the job of ticket sellers.
3. For me to get into the routine of packing our lunches and water bottles since we can't just walk across the street to the motor home for breaks or lunch.
4. For us as we begin to build relationships and friendships with those we will be working with.
Praises ~
1. For the uneventful trip to Kelso.
2. For the warm greeting we have received from Rick, Theresa and the other workers.
In closing I just wanted to say Thanks for traveling with us along on this journey. We look forward to staying connected with each of you as we go. We love you all!
After a breakfast of bagels & cream cheese we got ready to walk across the street to the carnival site. We arrived at 9:00 this morning and was told it would be about 15 minutes so just hang loose. We watched the set up guys busily working. Ron was just itching to get out there. He kept wandering around, just watching what everyone was doing. We then met briefly, and I mean briefly ~ like 2 minutes with Rick. He said Theresa would be in at 10:00 and then we would complete our paperwork and then learn how to sell tickets. Our first jobs will be as ticket sellers. Rick said, go grab some coffee and come back at 10:00 and when we complete our paperwork make sure we put down we started at 9:00 since that is when he told us to be there. Okay with us. We then walked back to the motor home for about 45 minutes.
At 10:00 we met Theresa and completed our paperwork. We chatted for a few minutes and then stood around waiting for Rick and Theresa to figure out who was going to teach us what. About 11:00 we were shown where the ticket booth is and we did some spring cleaning. The booth had not been cleaned since the end of last August and the Salem OR State Fair. Ron washed windows, I dusted and wiped down counters and swept the floor. It was so much nicer being all clean and shiny. We took a lunch break about 12:30. When we got back from lunch - we had walked over to the motor home, remember it was just across the street, Rick then showed us how to set up the computers and how to sell tickets. The training took all of about 15 minutes. One note of interest here ~ you no longer get tickets you get a little card like a credit card, that you put money on. You can use the card for rides, games and buying food. Pretty slick. Everything is computerized ~ Ron did pretty well and caught on pretty fast. He then had to reorganize how the booth was set up ~ putting the card reader (like a library card scanner) and the receipt machine in the right place.
We finished up with the training, talked with Rick & Theresa again about the plan for tomorrow and the rest of today. We met Kenny ~ he is in charge of the Camp and Ricky ~ he is in charge of transportation from the Camp to the Carnival. The Camp is about 1 1/2 miles from the Carnival site. After talking with them we then walked over to Target and bought white tee shirts. We have to wear white tee shirts under the uniform shirts. One nice thing we found out today is that each day of the carnival we are given a clean uniform shirt and we turn it in at the end of the day ~ one less thing I have to worry about washing :). About 5:30 we were told where the Camp was and we drove over there. I made a quick dinner of hot dogs, chili and carrots. After dinner we went out and met more of the people who work and travel with the carnival. There are three semi-trailers of condo's (8 little bedrooms for the workers ~ we are so thankful we have the motor home to live in ~ feels like a mansion compared to the little condo rooms). Kenny showed up about 6:30 and showed Ron where to park the motor home. We are on a grassy area between one of the condo trailers and the big generator/truck that provides us with power. The generator runs from about 6:30 to 10:00 pm and again from about 6:30 to 10:00 am. Michael, one of the set up guys got us hooked up with water ~ it took 150 ft of water hose! But we have water and that is a good thing ~ we do have the water tank full on the motor home but it is nice to keep that for reserves.
Ron talked with one of the guys and he encouraged Ron to talk to Kenny about learning how to set up and tear down ~ they can always use the help so Ron will talk to Rick and Kenny about also jumping in right away and learning how to set up and tear down the rides. I know he is anxious to be busy and not just sitting/standing around ~ like we did a lot of today :).
The one piece of news is that everyone smokes! I told Ron we would have to take up smoking and he just laughed and said "I don't think so." I agree ~ that is one habit we won't be taking up on this new journey.
And that brings us through the first day of our new life of working for the carnival.
Prayer requests ~
1. For us to meet and make connections with another Christian couple on this new adventure.
2. For clarity of mind tomorrow when we actually start the job of ticket sellers.
3. For me to get into the routine of packing our lunches and water bottles since we can't just walk across the street to the motor home for breaks or lunch.
4. For us as we begin to build relationships and friendships with those we will be working with.
Praises ~
1. For the uneventful trip to Kelso.
2. For the warm greeting we have received from Rick, Theresa and the other workers.
In closing I just wanted to say Thanks for traveling with us along on this journey. We look forward to staying connected with each of you as we go. We love you all!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Let the Adventure Begin!
We are in Chehalis! The sun is shining, the sky is blue and it is so quiet. We are enjoying this beautiful day the Lord has made.
What a great day we had yesterday. We woke up early. I think we were a little excited and anxious to start the day. We did the final preparations getting the motor home ready to leave. Before we pulled out of Birch Bay we had a time of prayer. Thanking the Lord for this adventure we are starting, for the jobs we both will be starting and that we had gotten every thing done on our "to do" lists. We took the suburban over to Marquez and Nicole's and then went to the church.
What a great service and a tremendous send-off. Ron's sister, Judy, surprised us by coming to church to see us off. One of the songs we sang "They Will Know We Are Christian's By Our Love" was such a great song to send us off ~ we know that our love for the Lord shines through us and we are so excited to see how the Lord will use us as we work and travel with the carnival. One of the questions Charles asked during the sermon was "Are you BOLD in your walk with the Lord?" One of our prayers is for us to be bold in relationship with the Lord as we work, travel and meet new people. Thanks for the reminder Charles to be bold as we walk with Jesus. At the end of the service we were blessed with a generous love gift from the congregation. All we can say is Thank You! And we will definitely miss being a part of our Northwood Family. After the service we had cake and coffee and received lots of hugs. Thank You Northwood Family for loving and caring for us. We know that we will be surrounded by your prayers and thoughts as we travel and work the next six months.
After the service we went to Subway for lunch with Patrick & Patricia Alesse, Glenn & Marla Tuski and James Knight. It was fun to be together one last time and get those last hugs.
We then got on the road. First stop was at Costco in Bellingham to get gas and some groceries. We finally left Bellingham around 2:30. We then stopped at Winco in Marysville to get the more groceries. We left Marysville about 3:45. We drove through Everett and Seattle with no problems and very little traffic. We had our first hiccup with the motor home when we were stopped in traffic in Tacoma. The motor home just died. I sent up one of my arrow prayers "Oh Lord, please start the motor home" and God answered my prayer. It started right up ~ Ron has no clue why it died in traffic. We arrived at the Chehalis Thousand Trails Campground about 7:30 p.m.
The 2nd hiccup happened when we tried to climb the hill from the check-in gate to get up to where the campsites were. Remember our trip to Montana and how the motor home didn't like to climb the mountain passes - well, the motor home wasn't going up this hill either. Ron tried not once, not twice but three times to get the motor home up this hill (it is pretty steep) but it was not to be. We coasted back down the hill and finally talked to the ranger on duty. After a lengthy discussion it was decided we would just camp in the flat parking lot by the lodge for the night. There was an electrical box available for us to use. So that is what we did. After we got level and the electrical hooked up we made dinner. We had hot dogs and Zataran Dirty Rice - it was pretty tasty but a little spicy to my liking. After dinner we reflected about the good day we had, how the Lord protected us in the middle of a traffic stop and we had a safe place to spend the night.
This morning we woke up and got going about 9:30 a.m. the first thing we did was unhook the electrical and went up the hill to find a campsite. Yes, that's right, we made it up no problem! Ron just shook his head and said he doesn't understand why sometimes it will go up steep hills and other times it just doesn't. Who knows if we will ever know the answer to that question. Anyway, we found a great campsite at the top of the hill. We have great internet service up here. There are about ten other rigs up here. We are enjoying the quiet and solitude of the area. Today is a day of rest and relaxation for us. We thought we needed a day of rest and transition before we head off to Kelso tomorrow afternoon.
I just want to add a BIG thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for us the last few months. We have felt and know God is with us and has opened the doors for us to start this new adventure. Thank you for traveling this road with us and we look forward to having you along with us on this journey. Many of you have asked us our itinerary ~ as soon as we have it we will pass it on.
That's all for today, now it is time to get back to some relaxin'. Alice
What a great day we had yesterday. We woke up early. I think we were a little excited and anxious to start the day. We did the final preparations getting the motor home ready to leave. Before we pulled out of Birch Bay we had a time of prayer. Thanking the Lord for this adventure we are starting, for the jobs we both will be starting and that we had gotten every thing done on our "to do" lists. We took the suburban over to Marquez and Nicole's and then went to the church.
What a great service and a tremendous send-off. Ron's sister, Judy, surprised us by coming to church to see us off. One of the songs we sang "They Will Know We Are Christian's By Our Love" was such a great song to send us off ~ we know that our love for the Lord shines through us and we are so excited to see how the Lord will use us as we work and travel with the carnival. One of the questions Charles asked during the sermon was "Are you BOLD in your walk with the Lord?" One of our prayers is for us to be bold in relationship with the Lord as we work, travel and meet new people. Thanks for the reminder Charles to be bold as we walk with Jesus. At the end of the service we were blessed with a generous love gift from the congregation. All we can say is Thank You! And we will definitely miss being a part of our Northwood Family. After the service we had cake and coffee and received lots of hugs. Thank You Northwood Family for loving and caring for us. We know that we will be surrounded by your prayers and thoughts as we travel and work the next six months.
After the service we went to Subway for lunch with Patrick & Patricia Alesse, Glenn & Marla Tuski and James Knight. It was fun to be together one last time and get those last hugs.
We then got on the road. First stop was at Costco in Bellingham to get gas and some groceries. We finally left Bellingham around 2:30. We then stopped at Winco in Marysville to get the more groceries. We left Marysville about 3:45. We drove through Everett and Seattle with no problems and very little traffic. We had our first hiccup with the motor home when we were stopped in traffic in Tacoma. The motor home just died. I sent up one of my arrow prayers "Oh Lord, please start the motor home" and God answered my prayer. It started right up ~ Ron has no clue why it died in traffic. We arrived at the Chehalis Thousand Trails Campground about 7:30 p.m.
The 2nd hiccup happened when we tried to climb the hill from the check-in gate to get up to where the campsites were. Remember our trip to Montana and how the motor home didn't like to climb the mountain passes - well, the motor home wasn't going up this hill either. Ron tried not once, not twice but three times to get the motor home up this hill (it is pretty steep) but it was not to be. We coasted back down the hill and finally talked to the ranger on duty. After a lengthy discussion it was decided we would just camp in the flat parking lot by the lodge for the night. There was an electrical box available for us to use. So that is what we did. After we got level and the electrical hooked up we made dinner. We had hot dogs and Zataran Dirty Rice - it was pretty tasty but a little spicy to my liking. After dinner we reflected about the good day we had, how the Lord protected us in the middle of a traffic stop and we had a safe place to spend the night.
This morning we woke up and got going about 9:30 a.m. the first thing we did was unhook the electrical and went up the hill to find a campsite. Yes, that's right, we made it up no problem! Ron just shook his head and said he doesn't understand why sometimes it will go up steep hills and other times it just doesn't. Who knows if we will ever know the answer to that question. Anyway, we found a great campsite at the top of the hill. We have great internet service up here. There are about ten other rigs up here. We are enjoying the quiet and solitude of the area. Today is a day of rest and relaxation for us. We thought we needed a day of rest and transition before we head off to Kelso tomorrow afternoon.
I just want to add a BIG thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for us the last few months. We have felt and know God is with us and has opened the doors for us to start this new adventure. Thank you for traveling this road with us and we look forward to having you along with us on this journey. Many of you have asked us our itinerary ~ as soon as we have it we will pass it on.
That's all for today, now it is time to get back to some relaxin'. Alice
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