The last week in Sep, we spent a few days with Gwen and Ric at their Lake Carey home. The lake is the second largest natural lake in PA. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. Keith wanted to tap Ric's fishing expertise since he's decided to try his hand at fishing at the park's Lake Blackshear.
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| Early morning mist over the lake |
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| While the guys fished, Gwen & I shopped at TJ Max!! |
Luckily, this year the only glitch we had before leaving was a little rain so we lost one day of packing the trailer. We were able to leave as planned on Thurs, Oct 10. We spent only three nights in route and arrived at Georgia Veterans Memorial Park in Cordele GA on Sunday.
We met our new neighbors before we even parked the trailer, and they invited us to join them and other train volunteers who were going out to dinner. After dinner, Tim and Gail built a fire and we went over to continue getting acquainted. Big Mistake! About 4 am I woke to burning and itching on both ankles. I was told that they were Chigger bites and I counted 20 to 30 bites on each ankle. I was trying everything that anyone suggested but wasn't getting relief. On Friday, after buying two different types of ointment and still itching, we were in a local grocery store and I mentioned to the clerk that I was suffering from the bites, and she suggested a cream called 'Chiggerex' that they sold. Finally...relief!
Monday morning we started setting up the midway for the Thomas the Train event. The SAM Shortline has been holding the Thomas event for a few years and are very organized with about 150 volunteers; many from the local community. Julie, the volunteer coordinator, said that they had 6,000 advance ticket sales this year. Since Keith and I haven't had our training yet, we were assigned to different midway stations during the five-day event. We met visitors from as far away as FL and LA. Several people told us that they had gone to other Thomas events and this one was the best.
This sign made me laugh. I said, "You know you're not in PA when you have to explain what a Funnel Cake is."
We worked again on Tue and the only thing left to do was clean the train on Thur. It was the first time Keith and I had a chance to get on the train. It reminds me a lot of the Strasburg railroad. There are two premium cars featuring wood and leather decor, four coach, and a commissary car. The cars are from the 1940's and they're named after towns along the route: Cordele, Georgia Veterans, Leslie, Americus, Plains and Archery. On Friday, we decided to take a drive and stop at the towns on the route to familiarize ourselves with what they have to offer. I had a chance to talk with the Thomas the Train coordinator and he told me that Mattel actually has seven 'Thomases' that appear at events across the country between March and November. When not in use, they are housed at Strasburg (because of the large facility) and they do any maintenance that's necessary.
Bright and early Saturday morning, we were at our station assisting the photographer taking pictures with Thomas while he was at the station. There was a diesel engine at the other end that would take the train out for a 30-minute run. Thomas would blow his whistle and smoke comes out of the stack, and the kiddos get so excited...he's real, he's really real!
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| Keith with Thomas |
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| Sir Topham Hat |
Sunday, we were assigned to help dress Sir Topham Hat (a young girl from the local high school). She wore an ice pack vest and another ice pack on the back of her neck. I would guide her out to the photo spot since it was difficult for her to see wearing the large head. She could only be out for 20 min every hour.
The event will continue next Fri, Sat, and Sun but we have off this week, except for and hour of 'host' training with one of the veteran volunteers on Mon. Any time that we're around the train, Keith has found an opportunity to talk with the engineer or a couple of the conductors. I'm sure he'll find his way into the engine before the winter is over.
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| Sunset over Lake Blackshear |
