A year ago today we were on our last day at Sturgeon Lake Regional park, and we couldn't wait to get out of there. I remember thinking that our last two weeks there just seemed to drag. The 16th couldn't come soon enough.
This year, we're here until the 30th...but it's not bothering us to be here.
Maybe it has something to do with the better experience we had here this year. For the most part, we actually enjoyed our time here.
Don't get me wrong...we are most definitely looking forward to our upcoming travels, but that feeling of I can't wait to get out of here isn't really there yet.
And it's a good thing because we've still got lots to do here!
There are probably 75 fire pits that need to be cleaned out. The grass is still growing, although most of it will need only one more trim. Still, that's a lot of hours sitting on the mower, so I'm trying to do an hour or two every day. Same with finishing up that wood pile. A couple of hours at a time so that it doesn't get monotonous! General leaf cleanup too. And getting the equipment ready for winter storage, although I'm going to be using most of it for another week or so yet. So that will be something I'll do in the last few days.
And, I have to get the little blue car ready for storage and change the engine oil and do some oil spray rustproofing touchups on the body. But again, that can all wait until the last week.
Bottom line, there's definitely lots to do to keep busy for the next two weeks.
But, we are going to take one day off at some point. Probably Monday or Tuesday next week. We want to go visit the Great Sandhills of Saskatchewan, a huge desert like area about 80 kms (50 miles) northwest of here.
I came across a kind of a neat security (and convenience) product on Amazon.com the other day. A wireless motion sensing LED spotlight that you can put just about anywhere that you need light. You can buy a package of three for $50. So they're only about $16.50 each.
Yes, they're battery operated so you'll need to buy batteries as well. They take those big "D" size ones, but they're not that expensive. You can buy a package of 12 Duracell Procell batteries for $15...
How do you take such great pictures of yourselves? Do you have a tripod?
ReplyDeleteThanks Shirley, yes we do have a little travel tripod but we hardly ever use it. Most of the time I just find somewhere sturdy to set the camera down. And of course, sometimes there is somebody else around to hand the camera to. :-)
DeleteThanks for asking Shirley, I've wondered the same thing for a while now.
DeleteHave a good last couple of weeks! You guys are an inspiration especially to us "older" folks who are planning to (soon!) hit the road, too. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWe will Sarah and thank you for those kind words!
DeleteLooking forward to hearing more about your South Korea plans. Enjoy your last few weeks.
ReplyDeleteSft x
We have actually talked a bit about our plans for South Korea in a couple of earlier posts. We are going to do lots of hiking, exploring the cities of Seoul and Busan, spending time on Jeju Island, biking along the Hangang River and a Temple Stay. These are just a few of the things that we have planned but there will be more. Oh, and we will be attending a wedding too!
DeleteMaybe it feels like home knowing that you will be using this as your home base next season as well. Sometimes it is nice to have a home to come to. You two do deserve a break but this year it seemed like everything went a lot smoother for you and perhaps this park is better ran than the one last year. It seems like they certainly appreciate you and take all of your suggestions into consideration. That makes a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteYou could be right Cheapchick! It is also nice to know that we don't have to look for another summer job over our time away in the winter. We will be able to just enjoy our time with no worries. Yes, everything thing did go much more smoothly this summer, we didn't have any sewer backups, no running out of water. We did enjoy last summer but it was definitely harder work and not nearly as much appreciation from the park board as what we have had this summer. We did met some nice people last year and it would have been nice to see them again but the overall experience this year was much better.
DeleteIt's good you're happy there. Otherwise, time goes by as if it was almost wasted. I hope you get a couple of more years out of Cabri. We liked it there.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are happy here Chris and I am pretty sure that we will be here for several more summers yet. Hopefully you and Juan will come back for a longer visit!
DeleteI got the feeling that you were really more invested in this park and your work there than last year. It seems you have had more respect in terms of what you wanted to do and thought was important. I'd say these folks know a gem when they see one and have acted accordingly. So I'm not surprised that you are not chomping at the bit like last year.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that we are Sherry. We did enjoy the progress that we made at the park last year and we were looking forward to continuing our work there but the board there was slow on the mark of excepting our terms so it was really their loss not ours. It ended up being to our benefit though because it is definitely much better here at Cabri. The board has bent over backwards for us and are very appreciative, they really wanted us back and we are happy to be returning next year. All the same we can't wait to get on the move again and get exploring new territory.
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