Dulcimer and Other Pleasures

Today was a day of novel pleasures.  We were able to start the morning with a short run around the campground - something we haven't done since last August - 7 months too long.  It felt good, although we were careful not to overdo it the first time out.  David felt a little something in his hamstring, but it was a run to build on, for sure.

After lunch, we drove over to the nearby Perry Golf & Country Club to use the driving range and putting green and generally warm up our golf games.  Again, it has been too long since we last golfed - perhaps 4 years!  But it felt good, and we don't think we overdid it.  We plan to give our muscles until Monday to recover, and then we'll play a real round of golf on Monday.

Here's Kathy showing her classic golfing form:

... and David addressing the ball (I think he called it "Mr. Ball" because it's been so long since they had last spent time together:

Getting back to the campground, we met a fellow - we'll call him "R" - from Michigan, who was one of six people to win the lottery a year or two ago.  His share of the winnings totalled millions of dollars, most of which disappeared the first year for taxes.  He and his wife quit their jobs (he worked in building maintenance) and purchased an RV and spend part of the year travelling around the country.  It was interesting to hear his experiences.  It's clear that lottery winners can get very concerned about their privacy and about the risk that others who learn they have won the lottery will take advantage of them.  But he was a lot of fun to chat with.

We then talked with Doug and Darlene, a couple from British Columbia, who purchased a motor home and are experimenting with the full-time lifestyle.  Their little black dog, Tuxedo, was a smart puppy - he reminded us of Katie's puppy Maggie - and loved to play fetch.  Tuxedo knew how he wanted to play the game, using a flexible disc, and let his displeasure be known if you didn't play his way.

No sooner did we finish chatting with Doug and Darlene than a new couple pulled into the site next to us.  Fran (Francis) and Jan are from Tennessee.  They're older and have downsized from a fifth wheel to a pickup truck pulling a small travel trailer.  In chatting about things with them, we learned that Jan plays the dulcimer.  We invited them over to our rig for a small concert after dinner.  It was wonderful.  Jan played a number of traditional and recognizable Irish songs, and we sang along where we could.  Here is a little video of Jan playing one of her instrumentals:

After saying goodbye to Jan and Fran, we trotted over to take our nightly dip in the camp's hot tub.  Kind of a mellow day of unique little pleasures.