Fishin report for Lake Iwanttobethere..

[Bobby Bass]

Town Hall meeting last night as it was the fifth Tuesday of the month. Normally this time of the year we have the town hall meeting out on the ice but this year's ice village is some what scattered. The old mobile home with the hundred and sixty-three holes in the floor was not hauled down onto the ice so the meeting was held at the Lodge. Seeing as the town has not held a meeting for awhile and there was not a Lodge meeting this month there was a lot of committee meetings held. After the general meeting and the reading of the minute's groups broke up and scattered to various round tables in the Lodge for discussions. I have been easing myself out of several groups as I am starting to get the hang of this retirement lifestyle. No longer the chairmen of several groups I still do have some impute as an advisor. A sneaky way of suggesting that things should be done this way or that but not having too actually do anything.

Reminds me somewhat of the title of foreman, A foreman may direct others on a job site but a working foreman is someone who still has to do the work. Guy still does the same job as before but now he has a title. Of course there is a general foreman whose job is to get blamed for everything. I like the advisor title better, allows me to move freely from table to table with a mug of Hamms in one hand and some blank index cards in the others. Nod my head from time to time and move onto the next table. Of course the town is running along just fine, the current leaders just need to smile and kiss babies and the people who have been running the town are still steering and turning the wheel. The town of Lake Iwanttobethere is a lot like the weather, we have good times and some bad times but they all still average all out.

The ice village is on the ice and it may not look as pretty as it has in the past. There are no straight streets and the garbage cans are scattered, but the access is busy on decent days. We are behind on snowfall but with the snow of the last week there is enough to get out and ski and we are starting to see some sleds parked out in front of the shops and vistors driving through town pulling trailers. Ice carnival to be held next month and we will be picking on a weekend to harvest ice for the Lodge's ice house. A weekend lumberjack contest and the dog sled races which were pushed back a month but are still in the works. Old McDonnell's farm is offering hay rides in the evenings and Stormy Clearweather is calling for a few more cold nights but it looks like things will be milder. Maybe not our best winter but to the town that means we are looking forward to a better spring. Has to be better then the flood we got last spring and all the damage that we are still working on.

I have had jury duty the past two weeks so that has changed my schedule around some. Don't expect to get called in the rest of the week so my service will be done and I will get back to sleeping in late again. It did give me a reason to go into the big city and spend time with my daughter so it was not lost by any means. Of course I also got a chance to troll through a few other bait shops and I have a few ideas on maybe buying some lures. I first have to clean out some tackle boxes so I can make room. It is after all still winter and we have to get through winter before we can get into Spring, from Lake Iwanttobethere. {940,741}

[Bobby Bass]

Tomorrow is Duncan's birthday, how quickly did he get to be two years old. It is also the daughter's lab Buster ninth birthday and of course the big one is the oldest granddaughter turns eleven. February first is going down as a pretty big birthday day. Of course I have been kidding the granddaughter for the last month about the big birthday party plan. How we are going to have a doggie slide and a bobbing for milk bone contest. Raw hamburgers and everyone will get colorful collars to wear not to mention the special birthday cake that grandma will be baking. She is getting old enough that I think she see's right through the teasing but a grandpa has to try. Speaking of Duncan he is sitting next to me as I type this trying to get my attention. Whining for me to get up and follow him somewhere.

I follow Duncan out to the kitchen where he sits and looks at the jar of dog biscuits and then back at me then back at the biscuits. I take the hint and give him one and he lopes to the living room to jump up on the couch and hold the biscuit between his front paws he crunches it into smaller pieces. The wife is not home so I don't yell at him to get off the couch. I return to the den and the desk and as I sit here I suppose I could make out his report card. I am very happy with how he has turned out. I thought he would be a little bigger and heavier but that just might be because the other boys Buddy and Barney are so big. He has all the commands down that we want him to learn and his only fault that he has is that he is too happy to see the wife when she comes home. Part of that may be the wife does not talk firmly enough to him ordering him to stop jumping. He does not do that with me but then I let him chew on my fingers and let him take me by my hand and lead me places.

He has been excellent with the grand kids and has learned not to chase the cats, unless they run. He shares his food with the other dogs and takes turns at the water bowl. We did spend some time grouse hunting this past season and he did well. Of course he is first a family pet then a hunting dog so as time goes on I expect him to get a little better at the hunting part. For being two he is pretty laid back and well mannered. Still a puppy though as when strangers come to the cabin he will bark but will come to stand behind me looking for protection. I have noticed that he is starting to stand in front of me blocking visitors. I know this because his tail is beating my legs up from wagging so hard. Normally by now he should be done growing but he seems to be having one last growth spurt as he can now look over the kitchen table. Sometimes a little unnerving when eating breakfast and he pops up on the other side looking for my last strip of bacon.

One last thing I should mention on his report card is his singing voice. The other day both my wife and I were gone and the daughter was home but Duncan did not know it. The daughter said Duncan sat at the top of the stairs and howled. That kind of howl that only chocolate labs seem to do, the I am all alone what am I to do blues. The daughter listen for awhile and started laughing, Duncan heard her and sought her out and only as a lab can do made it look like the joke was all on her and there was nothing wrong. Of course five minutes later he was back on the stairs howling, guess he still had a verse left in him, from Lake Iwanttobethere {941,302}

[Bobby Bass]

So I am at the Lodge last night and it is kind of slow even for the Lodge. Guys were just kind of scattered around the place watching a little basketball on the TV and others playing cards. A few guys were just sitting by the fireplace with their beer mugs resting on their chests looking into the fire lost in their thoughts. More then likely they had been sent out by their wives to pick up something and had found themselves here instead. A few more guys were gather in the corner listing to the CB on the lakes fishing channel trying to decide if it was worth a trip out on the ice to fish. Couple of the old guys were out fishing off Root Beer Island and there was some chatter going on between them. I wandered over to give a listen and right away I knew it was Elmer and Marv talking. Since Marv is only a few years removed from New York you have to have an ear to understand what he was saying and it sounded like Elmer didn't have his teeth in so he was hard to make out.

When I open by mouth to tell the guys they were being played with I got hushed up so I just let their imagine run wild as they listen to Marv and Elmer boasting of the nights catches. Faint in the background I could hear another voice and it took me awhile but then I figured it was Vic fishing from his pond behind the retirement home. I have noticed that after a few cocktails Vic can hold his own telling stories with Marv and Elmer. Seeing what was happening I just kind of eased my way out of the group and went to the bar for a refill of my mug. Gary one of the Fellows was just getting a refill on a pitcher and I followed him over to the big round table where the Fellows were holding court. After a round of HiYA's I took the offer of a chair and sat down next to Gary. "So what is tonight's topic?" I asked. Steve looking over one shoulder then the other said "De Fibulators"

I looked cautiously around and leaned forward onto the table and whispered "You mean that machine you guys made to tell your wives lies with? "A round of nervous laughter sprang up from the table and all the guys looked over their shoulders and Steve said " We don't talk about that anymore, Gary's lawyer told us not to mention it. I nodded my head remembering something about the machine that would make little fortune cookies with lies for all occasions. "So what are we talking about then?" I asked. Looking over his shoulder Gary looked back and said "We are thinking of all going in on one of them medical Defibrillators for when you have heart problems. We are thinking of mounting it in our boat and then tweaking it so we can use it as a battery charger and maybe run our phones off it." Steve added "If it works it could be like one of them multi function tools and we could make hundreds of dollars off them!"

I leaned back in my chair and I gave it some thought, "So you would use this when you are fishing right? Several guys around the table nodded their heads, and you would be out on the lake in a metal boat right? More heads nodded around the table, "You will have to let me know how that works out for you, from Lake Iwanttobethere {942,609}

[Bobby Bass]

Crunch, Crunch..... Scrape..... Creak.. Crunch..Crack!...Crunch Crunch Crunch......

Who ever said winter is quiet never walked across a wood deck covered with frozen snow at first light. I let the dogs out first thing this morning and I had to go out to the truck to retrieve a fishing catalog that I had forgotten to bring in last night. The dogs went out the door and headed toward the lake to do their thing which left me alone in the quiet of the cold morning. I tend to move kind of slow in the morning especially when it is cold out and I took my time getting to the truck. Since I was looking where I was putting my feet I guess that is why I heard all the noise I was making as I crossed the deck before stepping off into the yard. No soft snow in the yard as it is all crunchy, with each step I sound like I am walking on gravel.

So now I am walking on the noisy snow trying to be quiet but failing miserable. I pulled my hood of my coat up around my ears as it is colder than I thought it was. I didn't plan it but the hood is now focusing my hearing even more. I stop in my tracks and just listen for awhile. Looking upwards I spy a crow sitting on the power line watching me, he looks cold. He or she is sitting on the line kind of hunched up. Hard to describe, it is like the crow is trying to make himself small and his head is pulled down on his chest. He is looking at me or at least he is pointed in my direction, I can't really see his eyes from where I am. We stand and sit and stare at each other for a moment. The crow I am sure is not thinking anything but I am thinking he is probably thinking to himself why I am just standing out in the cold doing nothing. Funny thing is I am thinking the same thing about him. Has to be a warmer place to hang around then clutching to a power line in the middle of no where.

Crunch, I take a step towards the crow, being stealthy ain't working this morning. The crow sits up right and taller on the power line. Definitely looking at me now he cocks his head and then just falls off the power line. He drops a few feet before he opens his wings and does a sharp turn away from me and flaps his wings a few times. He fly's away and tosses a caw at me before disappearing from view behind a pine. I watch as he fly's away and I see my breath rise in front of me, I shuddered a little and zip up my coat. I do it quick so I can put my hands back in my coat pockets. No longer trying to be quiet I walk across the hard snow to the truck, the crunching snow calling out like a cadence to me. Crunch, Crunch, Crunch.

Even the door of the truck opening sounds loud, creaking and fighting against me for the first few inches then it gives in with a groan and opens easily the rest of the way. Catalog rests on the seat right where I left it and the paper is about as cold to the touch as something can get. I tuck it under my arm and close the truck door. I turn to head back to the cabin and in my way sits Duncan. I never heard him arrive, probably was walking with me the entire time, I think he has Ninja skills, from Lake Iwanttobethere {944,300}

[Bobby Bass]

I would imagine if you took a plane and flew over the town of Lake Iwanttobethere this morning we would look like a busy little ant farm. Over night about two inches of lite powder snow fell quietly covering everything in a clean blanket. I first noticed it when I went to the bathroom and the skylight was dark. Since I get up about the same time every morning and the days have been getting longer there should have been light coming through the skylight into the bathroom. I turned on the overhead light and saw that there was snow covering the glass. A glance out the window confirmed it had snowed and a few minutes later dogs were out the deck door running like kids in the freshly fallen snow. I got my boots on and checking the bass thermometer on the cabin wall I saw it was warm enough that a hat was not needed.

Walking around the lot I found that my stealth skills had returned as I was quiet, might also be that the new snow was covering the dragging of my boots. Yesterday crunching snow was replaced with the quiet squishing of new snow under my feet. I picked up the shovel and cleaned off stairs and made a path to the shop. Two sets of fresh deer tracks down by the apple trees so I guess the deer are still coming in to check. The lake has a new blanket of snow and it looks like a white desert. A bright blue ice house sits off the point but it very well could be a mirage. The dogs thinking I am heading to our ice house dash out on the lake. They weave in and out like a basketball team practicing a figure eight fast break. I stop at the dock and just take in the morning and they skid to a stop and watch me for a few heart beats before racing back to shore.

When I was young it seem every farmer had a back hoe now it seems everyone living out in the country has a Bobcat. Two inches of snow is more than enough reason to start your Bobcat and go play in the snow. I stand on the dock and hear the whine of Bobcats dumping snow and the clanking of buckets. I had some morning errands to be done so I took a broom to the trucks and cleaned the snow from hoods and windshields. Bud and Barney went back in the cabin to take a nap but Duncan was ready for a ride and no sooner did I open the Tahoe door and he was in. We have not had a lot of snow this winter so moving a few inches of lite fluffy stuff even this late into winter is considered fun. As I drove down Main Street on my way to Ma and Pa's Grocery, shop keepers were out in full force with brooms and shovels.

Big Earl was of course already done at the General Store, armed with his red handle corn broom and wearing his apron he stood at the front door daring a snow flake to fall on his clean sidewalk. Out back Junior was in the Bobcat moving snow from one side of the parking lot to the other. I always thought it was kind of funny the attitude we have about snow here at Lake Iwanttobethere. I guess we share it with others, we refuse to give up any of our concrete to storing snow. If snow falls on a sidewalk, parking lot or driveway it must be relocated to a grassy area. There has to be one really big snow storm for us to give up a parking space to the storage of snow. We can usually tell how bad a winter will be by how far back Elmer pushes the snow from his driveway. I bet you have someone in your neighborhood who does the same thing. From a clean white winter day here at the lake, we are just busy moving snow, from Lake Iwanttobethere {945,389}

[Bobby Bass]

You have read about the Lodges lunch hour Coney's so here the secret sauce is revealed.

[Bobby Bass]

I have a special announcement to make...... I bought a resort! Yup, I am now the proud part owner of a resort right here on Lake Iwanttobethere. We are still working out a few minor details but it is a done deal. Had our last meeting with Reed the Realtor last night and we all signed off on the paper work. With out going into a lot of detail I found out that Vic owned a resort that has not been open for about twenty years. A Ma and Pop operation that had been in his family for just about forever. Vic is not really happy with the fishing at the retirement home and was looking for someway to move back to the old resort. Marv has decided he is staying here at Lake Iwanttobethere and that it was time to move his airstream trailer off Hammering Hank and his daughter Tess's property. Since Elmer and Marv are now the best of buds and have been hanging out with Vic and they got to talking and the old resort came up.

My neighbor Chuck is looking to expand his Maple Syrup business and the resort has a pole building not to mention a stand of Maples. I have retired and not spending as much time at the Lodge so somehow I got pulled in on the deal. Ok I might have tossed my hat into the ring as I thought the idea of having my own resort is actually a good idea. We signed the paperwork last night and now we own a resort with Vic as our caretaker. Now I already know what you are thinking, a bad idea right? But we did put some thought into it as the five of us sat around the big round table at the Lodge and tossed the idea of owning a resort around. First off, we are not going to open the Resort to the general public. If we were open then we would have customers that we would have to wait on. We would have to have cabins in working order and mow the grounds, put out docks, clean fish and haul the garbage away and have to entertain kids while their parents are drinking in the resort bar, did I mention the resort has a bar?

The first order of business was to name the resort just so we would have something to call it in conversations. We tossed ideas around and as we talked something always seem to come up a lot. The resort is close enough to a lot of things we will need to be close enough to. It is close enough to the lumber yard because we are going to have to do some roofing on the cabins, It is also close enough to town and the General Store. I can get to the resort dock from my dock over the waters of Lake Iwanttobethere, it is not too far but actually it is close enough. Which mean that Elmer and Chuck can reach it to. If we put a motor back on the S.S. Mistake it will be close enough for the old pontoon to make it to. The more time we spent at the round table talking about the resort the more it sounds like a plan that some kids would make over the building of a tree house.

Now there might be a minor problem on my end as I have not yet told the wife that I or I mean we are the proud owners of a tree house, I mean resort. But I am sure she will understand. For years she has been telling me to clean out the old shop and garage of all that "Good Stuff" I have gathered over the course of many years and many jobs. Now I have a place to bring all them windows and odd ball pieces of trim and siding and shingles. The old work trailer can be put to use again and Vic tells me their was a big garden there at one time. I can see a lot of potatoes in my future. Maybe even a greenhouse. So before I forget we have decided to call the place "Close Enuf" right here at Lake Iwanttobethere {947,316}

[Bobby Bass]

Well, the bear is out of cabin number one.......

I was just going to post that one line and let you think about it for awhile. Depending on how much time you have on your hands you could let your mind take that line and run with it for awhile. As you know I have bought into a resort here at Lake Iwanttobethere and you would be right in assuming that the bear was in a cabin in that very resort that I just bought. Cabin number One would have been another clue that it was in the resort and now you are probably thinking about what kind of condition the cabin would be in if it had a bear in it in the dead of winter. Your thoughts might wander to who or how the bear was found. How was the bear removed from cabin, did it go on it's own? Was it persuaded to leave? Was it alone?

If you sit and think long enough you might be asking if the bear was a wild bear, you would think so. But it could have been a circus bear, one that had escaped from a passing train. I didn't mention that we found strange tracks leading up to cabin number one which made us investigate. Not bear tracks but tire tracks from a single tire. We got suspicious when we saw the unicycle leaning up against the side of the cabin to the right of the open door. Did the bear wear a hat? Because most of the bears I have seen in the circus wear hats like they belong to some Lodge and they all seem to have a gold tassel hanging off the top of the hat. Or it could have been a wrestling bear who just found the unicycle and figured out how to ride it. Don't care for wrestling bears, I have had some bad experiences with them before.

This post might seem a little different then what you normally read. Might be because having an encounter with a bear in a dark cabin can have that effect on a guy. Bears can run really fast, did you know that? Bears can run really fast when chasing fat old guys in knee deep snow. Fat old guys can get really motivated when being chased by bears, especially if all they have to do is out run the other fat old guy next to them. Lucky for me Elmer has been chased by bears before and as he ran he was tossing his moon pies from his pocket over his shoulder. I made it to the Tahoe and was in the front seat with the door closed just as Elmer made it to the passenger's side. The bear was pawing the snow looking for more of the tasty moon pies and could care less about us. Elmer breathing hard and with a big grin on his face turned to me and just said "Close Enuf for ya" from Lake Iwanttobethere {948,274}

[Bobby Bass]

The big main cabin is in pretty good shape at "Close Enuf" Vic wanted to move right back in but he is paid up till the end of the month at the retirement home and there is no refunds. This will give us three weeks or so to do a little remodeling and fixing up. Hammering Hank came in with the work truck and with the plow cleared out the main entrance road and did a little pushing of some snow. Vic rode shotgun as there are some stumps along the road that he needed to point out to Hank. After opening one lane and then widening it some Hank hit a few stumps with the plow and declared it was close enuf.

The bear was not a problem as it appeared to be just passing through, this morning there was no sign of him or his unicycle. With a fire going in the potbelly stove of the main cabin we pulled up chairs and started to make a to do list. Elmer and Marv were taking inventory of the bottles on the back bar of the bar. Underneath the bar they found a box of pull tabs and with a dusty bottle the two of them sat down and started to pull the tabs. Chuck walking around the bar with his clip board stopped at the table and asked if they had won anything yet. Elmer held up a five dollar winner and Chuck asked him who he was going to collect from. Elmer looked at Marv and said "As the owner of this fine establishment, you owe me five dollars!" Marv looked at Elmer and held up a pull tab, "You owe me ten!"

Moving snow and getting inside the cabins was first on the list but with a snow storm on the way it didn't make much sense to have to do it twice. We sat around a long table that is so big it looked like they built the cabin around it. The table was covered in cigarette burns and stains from long forgotten drinks spilled on it. I was thinking to myself how I would resurface it when Vic started to tell stories about the table. After listening to a few tales I knew we were going to leave the table just the way it was. This place was Vic's home and he was going to be a great source of information. So we didn't really get much done other then plowing a road in so we can get in and out. The main cabin has an apartment upstairs with stairs that lead up from the door off the small kitchen. The main room has a small entrance area with a short hall. You need to come in the first door, close it then open the second door to get in the main room.

The great table as we started to call it sits in the center of the room and a Cherry bar runs along one wall. Not a very big bar I am guessing sixteen feet or so but it sure is pretty. You don't see Cherry bars much anymore and it's deep dark reddish wood looks like you are looking into a barrel of well aged brandy. It could use a few coats of varnish and I can see myself in here come this summer with the windows open and a cold beer in my hand. A couple of pinball machines sit dark against the back wall and a dart board hangs on the wall under a cracked Hamms sign. A few tables are scattered about and there are four booths up against the wall under windows that look out at the water of Lake Iwanttobethere. It might not be the best resort on the lake but for right now it is close enuf, from Lake Iwanttobethere {949,428}

[Bobby Bass]

Like a kid with a new toy I want to be over at the Close Enuf Resort today but I know there are things here at the cabin that need to be done. The forecasted storm has arrived about thirty minutes ago and already the windows on the lake side of the cabin are covered in snow. Depending on who you listen to we are going to get anywhere from eight to fourteen inches of that heavy wet heart attack snow. I kind of miss the old days of weather forecasting when they would tell you a storm is coming and within a day or so it would arrive. Now a days they tell you what time of the day it will get here, how long it will stay and what it is going to leave behind. Kind of takes the adventure out of it if you ask me.

Got some pretty good wind gust's going on here and the big blue spruce tree is doing some serious swaying back and forth. This morning I went into town and I finally filled the gas can for the snow blower. I figured if the report is right about the heavy wet snow I am not going to be doing much shoveling of it. Of course the roofs will have to be raked of snow and that stuff is heavy by itself, another reason to get the snow blower out for the first time this season. Extra firewood was hauled down from the big pile which is not so big anymore. The outside rack is full and I tied a brown tarp down over it. The inside box is also full and I have a nice fire going in the fireplace. Matter of fact as I write this I can hear the popping and crackling of the burning wood.

The wife has left me, not to worry she will be back. She went this morning to her mothers to give her a perm. I do not allow perms done here at the cabin in winter, I can't stand the smell that lingers for hours in the air. A little winter storm is not going to stop the wife from going to her mothers and pick up on hours of gossip and family doings. If the weather gets bad enough she will just spend the night and I will be left here alone with just the dogs, dang. Before she left she made a big bowl of potato salad and I have Coney fixings and a six pack of beer in the fridge, I will be just fine. I did tell her about the resort and I was a little surprised how well she took it. Last night I took her over and we did a quick ride around the place and she looked over the cabins and out buildings. She gave it her approval and then was pretty quiet on the drive back home. Later that night I found her at the kitchen table making notes on a yellow legal pad. Looking over her shoulder I asked what she was doing and she told me that she was just working on some ideas on how we are going to "Decorate" the cabins, she was thinking each cabin should have a "Theme"

I just nodded my head and walked away, too bad that jelly spilled on the legal pad this morning and Duncan while licking the jelly smeared the writing, but that stuff happens..... Just stepped outside to let the dogs out for a moment. The snow has changed into big fluffy flakes but the wind is still blowing briskly. Bass thermometer on the wall is holding right at thirty above and there is a good inch of new snow on the deck already. I think I am going to crack a beer open and get a book. I will have to move Duncan out of my easy chair in front of the fire but with the wife not home I am sure he will find a comfortable spot on the couch. No football or hockey to watch so I guess a good old fashion snow storm will have to do, from Lake Iwanttobethere {950,444}

[leechlake]

Bobby,

could you clarify what the Lodge actually is? I was under the impression it was kind of like a lodge at a resort and now that you've bought a resort I've become confused. Thanks, I need to stay in the loop!

[Bobby Bass]

Bobby,

could you clarify what the Lodge actually is? I was under the impression it was kind of like a lodge at a resort and now that you've bought a resort I've become confused. Thanks, I need to stay in the loop!

The Lodge where I so often hang my hat and where the Fellows gathered to discuss ideas is kind of like a Moose Club or a VFW if you have been thinking it was a resort then you might have had a different take on a lot of stories! I have recently retired as the manager of the Lodge but no one has been hired to take my place so I am still in the loop so to speak. Thank you for asking and I hope that answers your question, Bobby

[leechlake]

thank you. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this but I woke up last night and was thinking about the Lodge and my confusion. I now understand. I may send my resume to the Lodge for consideration. I have no experience managing a place like that but like the concept of the Lodge!

[Bobby Bass]

Snow has come and gone here at Lake Iwanttobethere, we received about eight inches during the storm and some blowing winds made a few drifts. Took me a few hours with the snow blower to clear up around the cabin and then I hooked up with the guys at the resort. Someone has been there just about all the time the last few days and the heat has finally warmed up the walls and furniture in the main building. I don't want to say it is cozy but we are getting comfortable in the place. Might take awhile before guys will have a favorite chair to sit in or a spot to hang their hat so to speak.

We have noticed that we are a group of planners and we have been doing some planning and coming up with ideas. Of course as planners we are making tweaks as we go as that is what planners do. One of the first things we have decided is that Vic is not going to be able to use the upstairs apartment. Part of the reason he is in the retirement home is he just does not do stairs well. We put on our thinking caps and Chuck mentioned that he has an old hay conveyer belt that we could install in the stairwell and Vic could just ride it up and down the stairs. We did some thinking on that and we could not figure how we would get the belt inside the stairwell. So we moved on. Then we got to thinking that if we are never really planning on opening the resort to the general public then we wouldn't really need a dining room. The main building does have a dinning room off the kitchen and with some work we could just turn that into a bedroom and a nice little living space. We ran the idea pass Vic and he thought it was a great idea. Heck the space would be even bigger then what he has at the home plus he would have direct access to the screened in porch and the bar.

Now we just have to get around to doing the remodeling, we had the planning part all figured out it was just the doing part we needed a little help on. That is when we hit on the idea of doing some bartering. Instead of opening to the general public we will barter out some of the cabin time for general repairs and maybe some needed goods and supplies. We all sat back in our chairs and toasted ourselves to a brilliant idea. I must pat myself on the back as I was the first one to embrace this idea of bartering for goods and service. I made a phone call to the Johnson brothers at their brewery and lined up a keg of Needabeer to be delivered to the Resort tomorrow. In exchange I gave the brothers a free weekend tent site for opening weekend. My next calls went to Reed then to Hammering Hank and we negotiated for him and Skinny to come over with the work truck and haul away the old dinning room tables and chairs, They are going to Reed the Realtors place where he has a buddy that runs an auction house. Hank and Skinny will work for beer and Reed will give us a cut on the auction sale.

With a plan for the new living space in motion we all sat outside in the screen house and enjoyed the bright sunshine coming in. The five of us sat on old benches and chairs in need of paint and from time to time offered up ideas of what we could do to the place. I did notice with no womenfolk around we are not in a real hurry to act on any of our ideas that involve work. Today just having ideas was Close Enuff, from Lake Iwanttobethere {952,614}

[Bobby Bass]

Done running errands in town already this morning, on my way in I saw the county was out clearing away snow from the wayside rest just outside of town. They had one of them bobcats with the big snow thrower attachments on it. There was a drift at the entrance big enough to make using the blower worth wile, of course it being a county rig it didn't really have to make sense. Behind the bobcat snow had been removed and a wall of straight snow was left behind. Looks just like one of them mining core samples as you can see the layers of snowfalls that have fallen this winter. Not to many layers as we have not had all that much snow till this past week. Stormy Clearweather is calling for more snow today but she may be wrong, nothing but bluebird skies overhead right now.

Down in the big city the boat and camping show kicks off tonight and as of now I don't have any plans on attending. Spent just enough money last year down their buying the new graph for the Puddle Humper that I don't feel the need to go this year. Might also be that I see that they raised the ticket price a dollar again and parking is another four dollars. By the time I park and buy tickets for me and the wife twenty-five bucks is gone and I still have to put gas in the Tahoe to get me there and back. Now add the price of a couple of semi cold glasses of beer and some beef jerky and I would have to go on Thursday and call it a Valentines date for it to make any sense.

On the brighter side it is the middle of February already and it has taken this long for it to actually look like winter in these parts. There are snow piles along the sides of the drive and deep snow covers the shingles on the out buildings. Icicles hang from eves and when it warms up some today there will be the sound of water dripping from them. The Luge down at the Lodge finally has a nice smooth track and with no school next week we are expecting it to be used a lot. Ice fishing contest this weekend and then during the week next week we will also be harvesting ice for the Lodges Ice House. Thinking ahead we are going to see if we can cut some extra ice and bring it to the Resort, as there is also and ice storage building there. But we will have to clean it up before we can use it, so it might not get done this season.

Suddenly we are a mite busy around here, With work around the cabin and now adding the Resort and late winters projects at the Lodge the days really do need to get longer. As mentioned already the grand kids are out of school next week so I am already lining them up to put them to work. I will give them flashlights and send them off on their own Indiana Jones Adventures into the cabins. Later today the Beer should arrive and we will have another planning session. High on the list is we need to name buildings. We have the main cabin/building, several cabins, pole barn, work shed, barn, two garages and what was once a bait shop/store. We need to name them all so we know what we are talking about. Cabin One has already been renamed the Bear Cabin as that was an easy one. Add the ice storage building and some long forgotten out houses and the Close Enuff Resort won't need any new building for a little while, from Lake Iwanttobethere {953,276}

[Bobby Bass]

So it starts, the teasing from Mother Nature. Yesterday it reached a high of forty-five on the old bass thermometer handing on the wall here at the cabin. The jumping bass was looking kind of happy if ya stared at the thermometer long enough. Today it is windy and in the mid twenties, not bad but then again it is not forty-five. Some sunshine slips in between gray clouds and Stormy Clearweather has forecasted some snow showers. Was supposed to snow some yesterday but it never happens, it got to be to warm. Today the wind is banging wind chimes and in the cold the chimes clanging against each other sound cold to. Yesterday with a fire going it got warm in the cabin, matter of fact I was thinking of opening a window. Today the fire is still needed to keep the chill out and I am looking forward to the return of sunny days and free heat coming through the windows.

Days are getting longer by four minutes or so, the sun is rising the same time I get up every morning and I am going to let it start winning here soon. You are not going to be seeing me up at five forty-five in the morning coming mid June. I will however keep going to bed after sunset and once fishing season starts I will be on the water still fishing long after the sun has slipped away and twilight has it's brief hold. There are several different names for that time after the sun falls, most people call it twilight. Photographers call it the Sweet Light and painters refer to it as the Blue Hour. My daughter is a painter so I learned of the Sweet Light and Blue Hour from her. I just call it a real good time to be on the water in mid summer tossing top water lures. If you position the boat facing where the sun settled you can still make out the wake of a working prop bait as it comes back to you. A big splash is visible and the sound of a fish clearing water is echoed by the darkness.

Thinking of a warm summer night with soft breezes and calm water at darkness might be a little out of place here in mid February. In four months the sounds will change, no longer will the sound of a heater be heard in the background. The snap of a fire will be gone as the fireplace will sit cold and silent. Pretty sure mosquitoes will be around and their annoying buzzing will be heard. Elmer says they never bother him, I think that is because at sundown he just turns his hearing aid off. The fire will not be gone though, I am sure the fire pit will be crackling and smoke rising up through the blue light of twilight. Backs will lean deep into chairs and legs will stretch out, shoeless feet with wiggling toes will seek the heat of the fire. Falling ice will be heard if listen for, not the ice sliding off roofs in winter but the sound of clinking ice in a glass.

If it is a hot night there will be some complaining, someone will wish out loud for a cooling breeze to take the heat and the skeeters away. They are usually the same ones who wish for snow in summer and rain in winter. I'll just sit with my old friends around the fire and wish for another tomorrow from Lake Iwanttobethere {954,444}

[Bobby Bass]

We made a trade yesterday with Elise the owner of the Doze Inn. The Inn sits right off the main road from the town of Lake Iwanttobethere. It just happens to be where you turn on to the dirt road that will bring you to the Close Enuff resort. The Doze Inn is busy in summer but just has a few visitors who rent a weekend at a time come cross country ski season. Elise waved me down yesterday and asked about all the traffic that was going along side her Inn. I explained that me and my partners had bought the old resort and would be spending time down there. She was happy to hear that Vic would be returning to the resort as I guess the two of them had gone to high school together. As for the trade when I told her we were cleaning up things and selling the tables and chairs from the dinning room she asked if she could get a couple of tables and some chairs for her small lobby. She puts out coffee and juice and donuts for her weekend guests there.

A little bartering later and I had a used bedroom set for Vic's living space complete with a couple of dressers. I gave up two tables and eight chairs along with a weekend in the bear cabin. Elise tossed in some wall space on the side of her Inn where we could hang a sign giving directions to the resort. Seems back in the day Vic had a resort sign hanging in the same spot. We also came to a verbal agreement about sending customers to each other. On the corner of her Inn she has a small gift shop that sells some Swedish handmade items and in return she will send us some of her guests. So now we are thinking we may have to work on cleaning up the little bait house and maybe stocking the minnow tanks. Having owned a tackle shop years and years ago I still have some inventory in my basement. The idea of having our own bait shop is sounding kind of good, we figure we can hang a lot of stuff we have just hanging around.

As you can see we are still doing a lot of planning we know we are not going to be open and up to speed in just a few months but it is always good to have plans and then take the time to tweak them. Last night I was in the Lodge and word has traveled about the resort. Guys were trying to buy me beers and get an inside track on a cabin or a tent site to rent. Sticking to our barter idea I just took names and started making a list of what was being offered and a general idea of what was needed in return. The bear cabin already is a popular place, seems there is a story going about the bear and the claws marks on the door jam where it took a swipe at me and missed. Now I am not saying it happen nor am I saying it didn't happen but I do have on my work list to bring out the wood chisel and freshen up a few old scratches.

Somehow I have become the manager of the resort, Vic is the caretaker and Marv and Elmer are in charge of ideas. Chuck has become the foreman and the one we blame everything that is not done on. Chuck does not know that but he will when he reads this. Hammering Hank and Skinny have become hired hands and Tess and my wife are now interior decorators. Grand kids have become groundskeepers and the oldest granddaughter is going to learn how to become the dock girl. So far Barney has taken a real liking to the place and he might just spend the summer here being the porch dog. He looks good laying in the screen porch sleeping in the sunshine. Echo the wonder dog might be our watch dog, she just runs around the place barking at everything. She is not a real watch dog, but she is close enuff from Lake Iwanttobethere {955,529}

[Bobby Bass]

I am always surprised at how quickly things can come together when you have a lot of hands doing one job. Yesterday afternoon everyone was at the resort and even though we all worked well after dark we were rewarded with a clean place to hang our hat. The bar and kitchen area is now clean and the dinning area has been emptied of tables and chairs. Windows have been washed and floors mopped clean. We took about half of the plates and glassware and sent them with Hammering Hank to auction. Skinny did some work on the walk in cooler and the grill after some serious cleaning had hamburgers sizzling on it again. The leather booths were cleaned and today we are going to strip and wax the floor, bet it has been twenty years since that has been done.

The back bar glass has been cleaned and a few bottles that were left have been wiped off and put back on the shelves. I doubt if we are ever going to pour from them but they look good shinning up there. The keg of Needabeer was tapped and Vic was given the honor of drawing the first beer. Some sodas were stacked in the fridge under the bar and the ice machine was turned on and we have cubes! Over a dinner of burgers and chips we crossed off a few things on our huge to do list and came up with a name for the main building. We have decided to call the place "The Clubhouse"

Now the name has a couple of meanings for us, I make a pretty mean Clubhouse sandwich and we figured we needed something that people might come here for. We of course will have chili and Coney's but I wanted us to have a little something else. I have been eyeing where Vic told me they used to have the family garden and I think I can expand it some and we will be able to grow our own tomatoes and lettuce, add in some home grown spuds and we can offer up a home grown samwich and some fresh home grown fries. Marv worked for awhile as a baker back in New York and says he can still bake bread so we might try that, the clubhouse could be a real name maker for us. Another reason for calling the main building the Clubhouse is we needed a name for it, can't call it the Lodge because we all spend time at the Lodge and we would get confused as to what Lodge we were talking about. Something else we are going to do is paint the outside doors all a different color, will make it easier for us to tell guests which door to go in to.

The Clubhouse will have a front door that will lead you into the second door that will take you into the bar area. Vic has an entrance door to his living space, another door will lead you to the screened in porch area yet another door will take you to the back of the clubhouse that goes upstairs. While we are at it we are thinking of painting the cabin doors different colors and we of course have to have a colored door for the bait/tackle shop which is at the back of the Clubhouse. I know this is all confusing that is why we need to come up with some kind of system. As we figure it out I will pass it on to you. I'm thinking maybe my daughter the artist will have to come up and paint the doors, won't be done today she has plenty of time. For now the main door is clean and that is close enuf, from Lake Iwanttobethere {957,253}

[Bobby Bass]

It took everyone we could find to lift the Great Table, flip it and put it upside down on the bar so we could strip and wax the floor. I had borrowed both the sixteen and twelve inch buffers from the Lodge and the floor was stripped quickly. It was done so fast because I really don't think there was any wax left on the floor to beginning with. Thinking ahead Hammering Hank and Skinny and brought sanding screens with them and the plan was while I seal the bar floor and wax it they would go ahead and screen the maple floor of the dinning room, soon to be Vic's living space.

The guys have experience at doing this as every couple of years they do the church gym floor so doing the dinning room should take them no more then the afternoon. With the bar floor dry and everything off the floor I got out the wax bucket and my wax mop. To keep the room clean of sanding dust Hank closed the door and put duck tape around the edges. Then for some reason he taped some newspaper over the glass window. I turned on the exhaust fan and went to work sealing the old black and white checkered tile floor. I kind of sealed myself into a corner and I sat in one of the booths admiring my work. I could hear the sound of the buffers running and the muffled sound of Hank yelling at Skinny and Skinny yelling back. After twenty minutes or so the sealer was dry and I started to lay down the first coat of wax. As I was waxing I saw a few of the Fellows walk by the windows heading towards the dinning entrance.

With the first coat of wax drying I was sitting back in the booth with my feet up resting on the other side. My two young grandsons waved at me as they walked alongside the Clubhouse with their dad carrying his toolbox. With the first coat of wax almost dry I looked out the window to see Gary and Tiny going by carrying some two by fours and a plank. Next I see Elmer and Marv passing by and they kind of avoid looking at me. The wax is dry now and I walk over to the dinning room door but I can't see anything with the newspaper covering the glass. I can hear muffled talking and the sound of at least one buffer running. As I get back to waxing I am thinking Hank and Skinny have brought in some help and by the time I am done with the third coat maybe they will be done sanding.

I am sitting back in the booth admiring the two coats of wax I have down and the old black and white checkered floor does not look brand new but it sure does look purty. I'm thinking if I bring the car buffer over I can sure polish up that brass kick rail on the bottom of the bar. I start putting down the last coat of wax and this time I am working backwards. It is quiet and I don't hear anything coming from the dinning room, no sound of the buffers. I stop and listen careful like and I can hear some soft conversations going on, that is not good. Then I hear a distinct GO and hear some brief cheering and large thump and some clapping.

I keep waxing and every few minutes I hear the same thing, someone yelling GO I think it is Elmer and then cheering and a loud thump, sometimes two thumps close together. I wax my way right up to the dinning room door and I stand and try to peek around the paper which has slipped off to one side. There is just enough of the paper off one corner that I can see into the dinning room and the doings going on.

The room is kind of heavy with sanding dust and it looks kind of yellow through the light coming from the work lights hanging from the ceiling. I see several two by fours connected and laying on the wood floor. Up against the wall I see a plank on edge and I can see everyone standing on the other side of the room. I see the blue and yellow extension cords laid out in the center of the room. The yellow one is close to me while the blue one is on the other side of the two by fours. Several tool boxes sit open by the door and both buffers are alongside. The crowd of guys step back and I see what they are up to. My six and seven year old grandsons are wearing their bicycle helmets and elbow pads. They are sitting on top of belt sanders and the two by fours are now seen for what they really are, a belt sander drag track!

Elmer sanding with paper dust mask over his mouth raises his hand and shouts GO the two extension cords are plugged into the outlet, the lights in the room dim for a second and the boys on the belt sanders take off down the track to end twenty feet later hitting the plank protecting the wall. They tip over laughing and the men cheer, they all seem to be holding their own belt sanders waiting their turn. I watch a few more runs waiting for my wax to dry, as soon as I can cross the floor there is going to be some yelling. They don't know it, but I got my belt sander in the Tahoe, from Lake Iwanttobethere {958.441}

[Bobby Bass]

Not much work was done in the Clubhouse on Sunday, everyone was at the Lodge at one time or another as almost everyone in town was involved in the ice fishing contest. I guess I am still the manager of the Lodge but I am no longer receiving any pay, which is no change from before since I never have received a paycheck. But it was agreed on that I would no longer have to pull any shifts bar tending and can come and go as I please. So this works out just fine with me as it will allow me to "Borrow" items from the Lodge. Having said that the twelve and sixteen inch floor buffers along with the left over wax and sealer have been returned to the basement storage room. This morning finds me with clipboard in hand ordering candy to refill the case that was wiped out by kids yesterday.

Fishing was kind of slow and but I am happy to report that a two pound bass won the ice fishing contest. The best part was it was caught by a die hard walleye fishermen who does nothing but trash talk about bass all year round. He was pretty happy holding up that bass and his winning check for the Lake Iwanttobethere Times photographer. Weather was ok, could have used a little sunshine but the wind was a non factor. Hammer Hank and Skinny plowed the ice roads and at the end of the day a few of the guys took advantage of the clear roads and some of the shanties came off the ice. Ice fishing is drawing to a close here but the cross country skiing has taken off. With the recent snowfalls the trails are in excellent shape and Main Street is seeing some weekend traffic.

No school this week and we expect the Luge to be a busy place with kids riding all day for free. I expect that next Monday I will have to order more candy and chips to fill the case again. Several of our vendors here at the Lodge have heard about us opening the Close Enuf Resort and are asking if they will be needed. I told them we are looking to do some bartering and I think I might be able to trade pizza to the milk guy in exchange for ice cream for the chip's guy and then trade chips to the pizza guy. Some where in there I should be able to get pizza, ice cream and chips for the resort. Toss in a few weekend camping spots and I can save us a few bucks.

Today's report has taken me several hours to write as I keep getting interrupted. Stan and Jean were just in with their ice cream truck and they were on their way down to park by the ice rink. They to heard about the resort and were asking about a parking space for their rig. They would be willing to provide some banana splits at a very deep discounted price. They were in a hurry and said they would get back to me come closer to fishing opener. Elmer and Marv came in as Stan and Jean were leaving and they exchanged HIYA's I told Marv and Elmer since they are the thinking part of this partnership to come up with a way for us to have cabin's, tenting sites and now a place to park a few RV's besides the space we already have for Marv's air stream. The three of us stood leaning against the candy case quiet like for awhile, Marv then said "Good thing we are not going to be open for the public" I nodded my head and got to thinking about renting the rooms upstairs of the Clubhouse as a bed and breakfast, from Lake Iwanttobethere {959,975}

[Bobby Bass]

Monday afternoon found us searching through the upstairs of the Clubhouse for treasures. Vic didn't think there was any thing of any value up there and just said if we found anything of interest to haul it downstairs. Well we did find two boxes with some interesting stuff under some cases of old bait cups. Matter of fact the cases of old bait cups will be used as the grand kids are now going to be running their own night crawler business. We found several cases of green and white cardboard cups and also the plastic lids. They never go bad and the kids profit margin just went up with the find. Anyway we also found a box of punch boards and they brought back memories and stories for Vic, Marv and Elmer.

When I blew the dust off the box and opened it I had a little idea as to what I had found. Back in the day as Elmer put's it, it was common to find these punch boards in the taverns and out of the way drinking establishments. Vic taking a board out of the box said he remembered his mother and the boards. In case you are too young to know what a punch board is it is a gambling device, illegal of course. It is a board with hundreds of small little holes that each hold a tiny rolled up wad of paper. You buy a chance and using a small little stick you punch out the wad of paper and roll it open to find out if you just got a quirky little saying or if you won a prize. The holes are so small you would have to use a pencil tip. I vaguely remembering one at a resort back when I was a kid and I think it cost a nickel to play. They were kept out of sight behind the bar and you had to be in the know to get to play them.

Here we had a box of ten of them in pretty good shape. The kids wanted to punch them out but we put them off to the side. Talk of selling them on the Internet was briefly spoken about but I already have an idea that we could use them for what they were intended for, it would just cost you more than a nickel to play. The second or actually the third find was a box of Magic Finger machines. Something else from back in the seventies, these I had knowledge of. Magic Fingers were popular in the motel business back in the day. They were a vibrator that was attached to the box spring on your bed and a cord ran from the vibrator to a slot box mounted on the wall close to the bed. For a quarter you got fifteen minutes of bed shaking vibration.

Advertised as a relaxing way to soothe bones for the weary traveler they were not that uncommon back in the day. I knew about them as I did some work for a guy who had the local franchise and had a basement with cases of them. If I remember right I got a dozen of them from him thrown in the payment for doing some remodeling work. I don't have a clue what happen to them, I more then likely barter them away for other things. I do remembering having a couple for the boys cribs when they were young. They did a good job of sending them off to sleep. Of course if one worked good then two or three would work better and after the wife saw a crib vibrate across the bedroom floor she made me take them all off. The last I remember of them is bring them to the Lodge and the young Fellows putting them on the bottom of folding chairs and playing vibrating football in the main room trying not to spill their beer.

We got out some quarters and tried them out, all but two of them vibrated across the floor. I'm thinking the broken ones could still be used for parts. I packed them back up and put them off to the side, in the back of my mind I am thinking I could use them in the Bed and Breakfast. I'm thinking we will be finding more "good stuff" from Lake Iwanttobethere {961,017}

[Bobby Bass]

The smell of fresh bread is in the air, Marv has his first batch of bread baking in the oven here at the Close Enuf Resort. We have a big pot of spaghetti sauce simmering on the cook top and later this afternoon we will have a big sit down supper at the great table. That is if we can get enough guys to lift it off the bar and place it back on the black and white checkered newly waxed floor. Skinny and Hank are working in the dinning room today, they already have put a sealer down on the floor and covered the floor with rosin paper. With Vic giving directions they are putting up a few walls to give the big room a more cozy feel. After the walls are framed up I will run some wire for outlets and we will redo the ceiling lights. Tomorrow we will hang drywall and start mudding. We got a deal on some carpet so we will give Vic a carpeted living room and his bedroom will be done to match.

When everything is up and painted the boys will finish off the hardwood floor and Vic will be moved back in by the first. Hammering Hanks work truck is parked at the back stairs and we have been cleaning out the upstairs. Vic was pretty much right on not much up there worth keeping. I like doing one touch cleaning, I pick up a box look it over, take it to the window and toss it in the waiting bed of the work truck. I don't like to touch junk more then once. I sat down with the guys last night with my Bed and Breakfast idea. Of course it would be done in our style which I guess it means it is not really like a Bed and Breakfast where someone actually waits on you. I was thinking more along the lines of just making sleeping rooms and we can convert the kitchen into a more shared by all kind of kitchen. We can put a lock on the back door to the stairs and create a private entrance. With a little moving of some walls and some framing we could make a half dozen rooms up there.

Every time Hank drives his truck into the resort he has had his plow down and the road is about as wide as it is going to get. Chuck has been spending time up in the pole barn and working on moving stuff around up there. He has found a lot of goodies up there as every time he moves a tarp he finds more "Good Stuff" underneath. He has been back in the Maple stand looking for trees to tap and he is on the fence whether he will just tap trees here and transport the sap back to his cabin or if he will just build another evaporator here this season. Last night I heard shouting up there and saw him dancing a jig from the light pouring out through the open barn doors. When he came back to the Clubhouse he told me he found a still, well most of one anyway. He sat down in one of the booths with some paper and a pencil and was busy doing some sketching last I saw of him.

Elmer has the kids hauling brush out on the ice in front of the resort. They are tying up brush piles to sink with in casting distant of the dock and a little point that juts out. Elmer is already planning on getting crappies closer to shore once the ice melts. Elmer has been looking over the tiny building that served as a bait shop, he thinks we should just tear it down and expand off the side of the Clubhouse where the tanks were. More on that later as we all seem to be getting into our own little pet projects. At supper tonight we are going to ask Hammering Hank if he would like to join in on our venture and become a part owner. Truth be known he is doing so much work around here we can't afford to pay him. Might as well make him a partner, he already is close enuf to one, from Lake Iwanttobethere {962,381}

[Bobby Bass]

Over fresh dinner rolls last night all of us sat down at the great table and slopped up sauce and ate our fill of spaghetti. Grand kids were picked up soon after and amazing how quiet the place got with them gone. Hammering Hank was asked to join the partnership and he accepted, Skinny was offered a room upstairs in the bed and future breakfast in exchange for running it and he accepted as long as he would get to use one of the resort's rowboats for fishing. We all acted like that was a deal breaker before giving in. We had already decided that any one can use a row boat free of charge. Skinny then announced that he had a friend who has a friend who is willing to look at getting our two pin ball machines back up and running and also will take a look at the air hockey and pool table that was found under a couple of sheets in yet another room used for storage.

The more we wander around the resort the more things we find. Now that we have given the Clubhouse a real going over we have a better idea of what is going to be tossed, saved or sold. The main entrance has been closed for quite some time and has some plywood nailed over where the door was, we are thinking to reopen that entrance and replace the rotting porch. Inside the area was used for storage but we are going to return it back to a greeting area. Underneath the stairs we found a dust covered switchboard and to our surprise the phone in the bear cabin is still live! Right away I got an idea to restore phone service through out the resort.

With all of us sitting around the great table we decided we should have a proper meeting and discuss where we are heading with the resort. The original idea was for us to have a hideout for ourselves but that has kind of grown. The more people we run into keep asking us if we are going to restore the place or just remodel it. We have not really thought about that as we are thinking that we will never open it to the public because none of us really want it to become a job. Finding the old working switchboard might have been the tipping point, we are really leaning now to making the place into a good old fashion resort with all the things we remember as kids which in Elmer, Vic and Marv case is really old.

With Vic taking notes we started to discuss some things we want to do, having big sit down meals at the Great Table was on the top of the list. The not opening to the general public is still our number one thought but between us we know so many people that we could probably be pretty full all summer long with people just looking for a place to get away. It would appear that a lot of our friends like the idea of just going away for the weekend or slip a way for a few day's midweek without having to pack a trailer. Several guys at the Lodge like the idea of launching their boat, fishing till dusk, dock their boat go in have a good meal or a few beers and take a nap till it is time to get up and catch the morning bite. Then just put the boat back on the trailer and take the short drive back home without having to pack up. If they can do this without having to make reservations months in advance and it just costs them something they can barter with it is all good.

Kids are going to be welcomed as that is one of the things we want them to experience, the good old days of playing outside, riding bikes and fishing barefoot. Chasing frogs and playing some sandlot baseball, Matter of fact I would like to play a little baseball myself, it has been a long time since I played any pitcher's hand. Hunting dogs will be welcomed and so will mutts maybe we will work out something where we have adult nights as sometimes it is good to sit around a fire and just hear grown men chuckle at things only grown men can chuckle at.

They have a word for what we are trying to figure out, call it a goal or a doctrine or just a plain old plan. We did figure out we are not going to be able to do it in one meeting. The Lodge fills it's niche for a lot of things but the resort will fill another. The Lodge is for talking about things you have already done where as the resort will be here for things for you to do. Having pizza for breakfast and scrambled eggs and pancakes for supper will be a resort thing. Fresh pan fried fish at midnight is something everyone should experience. With the resort you will be able to experience that without having to plan or wait for that week. So I guess this is a hint of things to come and what you will get to read about at the Resort. Time for me to end this as this afternoon is ice block cutting time for the Lodge and I am needed in the ice house to help stack, from Lake Iwanttobethere {963,338}

[Bobby Bass]

The place is starting to feel like home, or what home away from home would feel like if it was not under the supervision of a female. The bar area has a newly waxed floor and a clean bar top but the booths are starting to look like tables in a construction trailer. One booth has an assortment of outdoor magazines and an ashtray with a few cigar butts. A few Styrofoam cups hold cold coffee picked up down at the Gas-N-Go and forgotten. The next booth has a few construction books, and some light reading, mainly the thick book of state building codes. A few small samples of carpet are lying on one of the benches and a ten pack of outlets with one missing rests alongside. The charger for the impulse nailer is plugged in and sits on the floor, empty. The nailer is gone from it's plastic storage box and a box of nails sits open missing several sleeves of nails.

The walls for Vic are up and the drywall has been hung. Electric has been ruffed in and today the first coat of mud and tape is going on. A few doors have been allowed for and they are big enough so Vic will not be able to bang his walker off of the jams. Took a little longer because as long as we were at it we gutted the outside walls and added some insulation. Having five and sometimes six guys working with another running for parts and grand sons as gophers makes visible progress every hour. The best part for me is I will help tape but no sanding for me, I hate sanding mud. Skinny told Vic he has some wallpaper rolls and if he would like any of it he can have it. Been awhile since I have hung wallpaper but it would fit in nicely with the old look we want to restore.

Yesterday afternoon we got our ice cut and the Lodges Ice House is filled to the rafters or as close as we could lift it. As usual we set a keg of Hamms on some ice and it was ice cold when it came time to take a break and pour some. A few of the guys got brain beer freezes which are always something you want to watch but not experience yourself. A good day to harvest ice as it was not to cold and almost no wind. The sun came out briefly for a few minutes before slipping back into the overcast. While waiting for the ice wagon to make it's way down the hill from the Lodge guys helped get shanties off the ice. A bunch of guys sure make quick work with spuds chipping out frozen in houses.

Gus had the BBQ fired up and the sizzling smoky smell of hot dogs and sausage was in the air. Guys took turns riding the ice wagon up with a load and would grab something to eat before heading back down to the lake. Orange barrels were placed around the area as to warn people of the missing ice, by this morning I would think some skim ice had filled in where we had cut. We got a lot of good clean clear ice and also a good supply of smaller blocks that we will sell in July for the hill sliding event. I wish we had a place to store some of the ice back here at the resort but the building is in pretty bad shape. Lodge was a pretty busy place, you would almost think it was a weekend with all the guys harvesting ice and the kids riding the Luge and fishermen working on getting their shanties off the ice. I look at it as a good sign that spring is coming here at Lake Iwanttobethere {964,680}

[Bobby Bass]

The bar area was declared the "Clean Room" last night after Hammering Hank and Skinny attempted to come in after sanding the first coat of joint compound. Sounding like a bunch of old ladies Chuck, Vic and myself ordered the two of them to remove themselves from my newly waxed floor. With dust masks resting on the top of their heads they looked like bakers who lost a flour war. With Hank and Skinny gone we all looked at each other and the mess on the tables and booths and started cleaning them back up. Books and tools and supplies were moved to the room where the empty minnow tanks are.

With the room cleaned Hank and Skinny returned and Chuck slid a couple of bowls of Chili down the bar their way. Hank had brought his guitar in and Vic asked if he could take a look at it, between spoonfuls of chili and bites of cracker Hank nodded yes. Vic undid the snaps and lifted the guitar out from the black and battered case. Sitting on one of the bar stools with his back resting against the bar he started picking and I don't mean plucking or strumming he was a picking. Hank's spoon stopped halfway between his bowl and mouth and he turned his head to Vic. Skinny just said what we were all thinking, "That man can play" and play he did. Vic knew his way around a guitar and he was singing the blues.

I can't play a lick but I can listen with the best of them and Vic was making Hank's guitar sing. Hank just stopped eating and swivel his seat to watch Vic's fingers dance on the strings. Vic held the last note and it hung in the air and we sat all quiet like. Vic mumbled "I'm out of practice" I for one was speechless. Chuck leaning against the back bar just looked at Vic and told him he was just flat out great and had never heard a guitar let alone Hanks sound that good. That kind of broke the ice and Vic was flooded with questions about his picking. I was quickly lost in the following conversation between Hank and Vic, talk of chords and bridges and strings.

I was day dreaming about a warm summer night and a crackling fire in the pit. Sound of a couple of guitars reaching out in the darkness. Elmer can tickle the ivories and I am willing to bet the old guys can carry a tune between them. Throw in some croaking frogs and maybe a loon as a visiting back up singer and I think we found our summer after dark entertainment. My son Del plays the organ and he loves the blues he is just not old enough to do it right, I think Vic is old enough for both of them. Summer can't come quick enough, from Lake Iwanttobethere {966,834}