More Oddities for us…

We had two things planned for today; get Robin’s hair trimmed and do some golfing. She asked other workampers about venues for her to get this done. Our setting is a beautiful pastoral setting, high on a hilltop, in a very rural setting. Henceforth, we need to inquire of the whereabouts of almost everything we need to find. She was referred to the nearest local town, New Holland, which is a short 12 miles down route 23. By late morning we drove through Blue Ball, (yes, Virginia, there is a village with this name) and right on into New Holland. The first suggested hair dresser was closed for the day. This may be understandable since it was a Monday, however walking down the street we found the other suggested coiffure closed for good. Perplexed, we sauntered down Main Street, taking in the horse and buggies leading lines of autos awaiting a passing lane. New Holland is best known for their huge farm implements and machinery, but the Mennonite and Amish farms imploring horse drawn cultivators and plows is quite the contrast. Finally she spotted a hair dresser that was open and took walk-ins. She asked for a trim but not too much. I guess the girl didn’t hear her quite well as this is the shortest she’s ever had it. We’ll get used to it, whadaya’ think. On to the golf course. We found the Hawk Valley Course off route 625 just outside of Bowmansville. It looked rather well kept and was in a relatively new housing development. The aesthetic beauty of the place was well apparent. We pulled up to the parking lot and I asked a man standing next to a grill selling hot dogs where the clubhouse was. He stated there was no clubhouse as it was torn down years ago. I asked how do we get a tee time. You don’t he stated, you just go over there and get a cart and start to play. Well, how do I pay I asked. I was told not to worry about it. It would be $20 for the cart and 18 holes and a man would eventually find us on the course and collect our money. I was aghast at the trust and honesty put into this system. But it works. The course was well maintained, the greens were great and by the sixth hole a cart came rolling down the fairway toward us. It was the manager welcoming us and collecting our fee. No checks, no credit cards, just plain cash. Plain and simple, remaining in tow with the rest of the county. Back at Lake in Wood, we walked to our place of work, the Gnome Cafe and met Mike, the Porkmeister.  Mike showed us the ropes, explained the processes of operation but also said that new ideas and methods were a welcomed addition. Mike has been chef-ing here for about a year now and is the master griller for outdoor barbecue events. In getting to know him, it seems as if we’re going to hit it off well. His demeanor is laid back and unobtrusive with a large dash of comic relief thrown in. So far, this looks like a good stop for the summer.