Expanding my horizon

I was off fairly early this morning to drive in to visit the Folkston Funnel.  The Funnel is a very busy place for trains.  All the trains headed from Savannah to Florida, or coming from Florida to Savannah and points beyond have to funnel through Folkston, GA.

Folkston is a mecca for train lovers.  70 trains a day funnel through this small Georgia town.  I was hoping to understand why people watch trains by talking to them at this train viewing platform complete with picnic tables, a bathroom, a charcoal grill, and internet access.

Yesterday I visited the Chamber of Commerce and was given a train schedule.  I chose to come this morning before nine so I could be prepared to see the Tropicana Express from Florida bringing oranges north from Florida.  I was hoping to see the white cars which I assumed would have oranges painted on them.  I was also told a local train enthusiast named Cricket would be there on his cart.

Well folks, no one was at the platform.  It was chilly and the wind was blowing hard.  I waited for about 45 minutes, but the orange juice special never appeared.  Nor did Cricket.  I did see one train, though.

                                                                                   It came�

                                                                It went� with horns blasting.

                        Sorry SAM, I�m still at a loss as to what the draw is to see and hear noisy trains.

Across the tracks from the platform is a red caboose in the woods.  Whatever happened to cabooses?  I never see them at the end of trains anymore.

                 There�s also a nice mural across the tracks depicting the trains and a fierce alligator.

I did a little grocery shopping in town before heading back to the rig to gather my thoughts before a telephone interview.  The National Elk Refuge in Wyoming is a very popular Nat�l Wildlife Refuge for RVers that are into the volunteer lifestyle.  For every open position, there are many applicants, so it is rather competitive.

I made it through the first cut and had my interview this afternoon.  I think it went well, but then you never know.  I was on a speaker phone with several brown shirts in the room at the refuge.  However, only the volunteer coordinator did any speaking.  I find phone interviews harder than face to face interviews.  You just can�t read facial reactions over the phone.  I was honest when she asked me how I felt about 32 hours/week.  I�m not crazy about it, but knew it going into this application process.  I told her that once you do your four days, then do your laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping, it doesn�t leave you much time to visit and enjoy the area.  I�ll find out whether or not I�ll be offered a position a week from Friday.  This was the first day of interviews, so there are lots more people for her to speak to.

Thanks for stopping by� talk to you later,  Judy