6-5-06 (Monday): I started today with a real chuckle. Wiley wanted to check the camper’s tire pressure because it’s not good to let it get low. It stresses the sidewalls. Anyhow, to check the tire pressure, we have to bring in the slide. So, as usual, I made sure Monkey was out of the way (she was on the couch) and started bringing in the slide. Monkey went bananas as the size of her domain decreased! She leaped from the couch to the chair to the counters and table and back again, circling the entire trailer twice, meowing loudly! Once we put the slide back out, she returned to her usual morning spot on the back of the couch where she can look out the window. Quite a hoot!

Today was my first full day of training. Lori and John have another campground about 3 miles from here. They have three work camper couples there: Joyce (!), Carolyn and Marcia (I haven’t met their husbands yet). Those three women and the three of us here all squeezed into the camp store and Lori began the training. It was very well organized. We each got a manual with all the procedures spelled out so that we didn’t have to take notes. There was lots of hands on practice and role playing (we paired off with one of us playing the camper and the other playing the worker). I must say, it was some of the better training I’ve ever received. I feel much more confident already. In addition to the practice work, we took turns handling the real phone calls, store customers and the two couples who checked in today. It’s actually kind of fun—lots of interaction with people whose interests are similar to mine. I have two more days of this, and then I'll be on my own!

I liked the other workampers, too. Carolyn has a pronounced southern accent and a great sense of humor. She cracked us up. Joyce has spent some time in Virginia and Maryland, so we had something in common (besides our names). Marcia is the quiet one.

Wiley cleaned the swimming pool this morning and cleaned out a couple of cabins this afternoon. We both finished up at 4 PM. It's great working just 6 hours a day and not having a commute! And, of course, those 3-day weekends are going to be nice, too! Since it was still early, we went and checked out the two thrift stores nearby. We were hoping to find some Corelle and/or a small vacuum cleaner, but no luck. We had sloppy joes, homemade French “fries” (I actually bake them instead of frying them), and fresh corn on the cob. Yum!

After dinner we watched the news and potted around the camper. Then, just as the sun was starting to set, around 8 PM, we walked down to the ocean and sat on a rock and watched the sunset. Of course, we’re on the Atlantic, so the colors we were watching were all reflected ones, but it’s lovely nonetheless. The lighthouse on the island close to our bluff (which I now know is called Indian Island Light) was glowing faintly pink, and the string of islands stretching southward from it were lit one-by-one, as though the islands were spot lit for a few minutes of fame each. How long has it been since you took the time to just sit quietly and watch a sunset? Wiley and I are truly enjoying each other’s company and simple things like sunsets and observing wildlife.

I think of all of you often, but tonight my friends, Julie and John, are especially in my thoughts (that's them in the picture on the left with Wiley). They’re going through a very rough patch due to John’s eyesight. Also, my friend Kay is in the hospital and I know Troy is taking good care of her, but they’re in my heart as well. I don't have a picture of Troy and Kay--take my word for it, they're good looking folks! (By the way, all of you know that you can click on any of the pictures I post to make them bigger, right?) These friends of mine are very special people and I know they’re going to get through whatever happens to them, but I want them to know we’re thinking of them.

May peace and love flourish in your lives. Goodnight!