Last day of work today. And it was a much better day than the last several. We managed to get a lot of work done in spite of the rain, but it does wear on a person. The continual slogging through standing water. Tracking all that wet grime inside the RV. Days of 100% humidity where everything feels damp and nothing dries out. I’m not complaining, but when the sun comes out and the water starts to recede, it just makes for a better day.
And today was a beautiful one. Sunny, upper 60’s. Uncharacteristically calm. Several of the women were able to observe a few dolphins surfacing very close to shore for a good half hour.
Our plumbing guys managed to complete the task they started yesterday. The only thing left is to mount a mirror back on the wall. I ran through a list of little details. Smoke alarm batteries that the women were unable to reach. Several lights that didn’t work.
We spent a good part of the afternoon moving all the furniture out of the eight hotel rooms that were flooded when pipe fittings split. We tried to dry the carpet out, but with the rains and high humidity that proved nearly impossible. Those carpets will probably all have to be replaced. Probably a task for another group of SOWERs.
We loaded all the furniture on a trailer and put it in one of the gathering rooms of another lodge. At some point, another group is going to have to move all this back.
The women scrubbed all the bubbling water seal off the benches that they had just put on. They weren’t too happy with the news that this had to be done, but they got it done.
They also roved around the camp again and picked up sticks and debris. Again, I think this was an excuse to drive the golf cars. This time, they took the limousine. They had great fun until the battery ran dead.
We had our last lunch served by the cooking staff here at camp. We got so spoiled here, with all the lunches provided for us. Just show up and sit down and eat. And the meals were delicious. From here on out we will have to make everything ourselves. Gotta get used to that all over again.
We gathered together at 3:30 for a wrap-up meeting. Everyone received a Pay Day candy bar (we are volunteers, after all).
Two couples are staying here for another month. A few more are going on to different projects, and some of us are heading for home. Always a little hard to say goodbye to these friends we have made over the last few weeks.
A few of us gathered on lawn chairs outside and enjoyed some conversation and especially the sunshine. We shared RV stories, SOWER stories and other stories, enjoying the time to just sit and talk.
After dinner we gathered for the last game night. Since there were no benches in the Tabernacle, we set up the Pickleball nets and played some Pickleball for a while. I can see why this is such a popular activity. It is a lot of fun without being too strenuous. Perfect for us old people.
Deb and I took a walk after the games ended. It was a pleasant evening and very calm. Almost weird to have it so calm as the wind blows so much around here.
Tomorrow we leave for parts unknown. Hard to believe that our fourth SOWERs project is now in the books.
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