Me and Polly showing our "biscuits" on the pier at St. Simons

Both nights that we were in town, Polly came over and spent the evening with us in our room, before heading back over to here school for the night. We had a laugh-fest, that’s for sure! We talked about everything and anything, just as you would expect when getting together with friends. She told us this story:

“I decided to make some home made biscuits, and I thought they turned out pretty good. I munched on biscuits for several days while sitting at my desk. A few days later, I happened to notice a line of ants marching down the kitchen cabinet and through the dining area towards my desk. I thought the ants were going over there to eat up the biscuit crumbs I dropped on the floor under the desk, but NO! They were eating up a dead roach bug that I had swept over by the door and hadn’t picked up yet to put it in the trash. Can you believe that even the ants wouldn’t eat my biscuits?” That had us laughing even harder than before.

The last night we over to St. Simons Island to Barbara Jean’s for dinner. I forgot to take a picture of my food! If you  have never been to Barbara Jean’s you have to go. Fabgrandpa had squash casserole and buttermilk fried shrimp. I had a “Coastal Platter” that came with a grilled fish fillet, grilled shrimp, and a crab cake with no filler on a bed or rice. Polly ordered the chicken fried steak and a baked potato. All of it was sooooo good!  You can order crab cakes from their website and have them shipped anywhere in the country, so guess what I am getting for my next birthday (which I am changing to next week!)

After dinner we walked down to the pier. It was so nice down there, it was hard to believe it was the first week of November. The view at night is awesome, too. This photo doesn’t do it justice:

The lights on the water were beautiful

The evening was over much too fast! We went back to the motel and said our goodbyes. I missed her as soon as she walked out the door.

My friend Gaelyn, from Geogypsy, had a “end of season and open house to show off her new RV” party the other day. I didn’t get many pictures there. In fact, I didn’t get any pictures of the inside of her digs. I do have to say, however, that there was the best bunch of people there! We had good food, again, and good drink, and good company.  Those folks from interp party like no others!

Here’s a couple of the pics I did get, from outside around the fire:

Mike and Jim

My drink(s) of choice Tequila and Beer

Bill and Jim

There were lots of people indo0rs, including me, but there was also lots of food and lots of good conversation. I’m going to miss all these people!

You know, the end of the season. Party time. The end of the season means everyone who can throws a party to say good bye to friends and co-workers. Some, we’ll never see again–they move on to other parks, other jobs, retire. Others, we’ll see next year, or at the next park. Then there are the ones we meet up with during the off season whenever we can.

Preparing for the fire.

While I’m not saying that park rangers throw the best parties on earth, I am saying we certainly know how to improvise, and how to create something from nothing. With two days notice, we can prepare the biggest fire pit in the history of the universe, scrape together some pretty darn good curry, make a killer chili, or even a pie, with what is left in the pantry that we’re trying to “eat down” because we’re leaving. And most of us DON’T live in a travel trailer–most live in government housing, those tiny little cabins or apartments.

Friends around the fire

We all work long hard days making the park safe, creating a memorable time for our visitors, greeting the public and answering their questions.  We can go days on end without seeing our friends who work just down the road. But mention the word PARTY, and we are there.

The parties have begun!

I love the parties, the food, the fellowship, the beer, the fun. There are more to come in the next two weeks. Love the parties, yes. But it means goodbye. And that is the hard part.

The view from our picnic table--it was truly Grand!

Yesterday was my and FabGrandpa’s “Friday”, the last work day before two days off. Since it was a gorgeous afternoon, we decided to get out the grill and eat outside. Our friend, Terry, came over, and we had a “grand” time just hanging out.

He was having a really good time!

I cooked up some country style pork ribs, mashed potatoes, and baked beans, while we had a couple of beers and a weeee tiny bit of tequila. Cause you know it was Friday! And while I totally forgot to take pics of the food, I did get a great shot of just the day:

Our home at the Grand Canyon

We’re having a little get-together with some more of our friends tonight–a wine tasting and appetizers–it should be a lot of fun. Can’t wait!