For Brad T...a new Daddy who cooks

Coffee and Molasses Brined Pork Chops

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups chilled strong brewed coffee

1/4 cup kosher salt

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup ice cubes

4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

1 cup hickory wood chips

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

8 teaspoons Pepper-Garlic Spice Rub (recipe follows)

Cooking spray

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until salt and

sugar dissolve. Pour salt mixture into a large zip-top plastic bag. Add

ice and pork; seal. Refrigerate for 3 hours, turning the bag

occasionally.

Soak wood chips in water 1 hour. Drain well.

Prepare grill for indirect grilling, heating one side to medium-high and

leaving one side with no heat.

Place wood chips on hot coals. Remove pork from bag; discard brine. Pat

pork dry with paper towels. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon salt over pork. Rub 8

teaspoons Pepper-Garlic Spice Rub evenly over both sides of pork. Place

pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat;

grill 2 minutes on each side. Place pork on unheated side of grill;

grill 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from heat. Let stand

5 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

CALORIES 254 (31% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 3g,mono 3.9g,poly 0.9g); IRON

1.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 107mg; CALCIUM 50mg; CARBOHYDRATE 3.8g; SODIUM 584mg;

PROTEIN 37.7g; FIBER 3.1g

Pepper Garlic Spice Rub

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

Combine all ingredients. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Green, Green Exceedingly Green

Butch had to scrape the mattress off his back at 5:30 AM and all who know him can imagine how much angst that caused him but he did arise to the occasion so he could learn to mow greens. I have lots of catching up to do on many things one of which is laundry. Also had to call XM radio because I noticed an unauthorized charge on our credit card. After that we had to get a cake ordered for Butch's birthday next Wednesday. So I had better get laundry in the works...later.

Oh and the Elk is not real but there are real ones here. Will get pics when I can.

Great Grand Elise- 3 weeks old

Aaaaaaw...

Quilters

Quilt Retreats are one of the many activities offered here. The quilters look so intense so they must be having a good time! When one is concentrating intensely the look on your face can be a bit misleading.

Big smile here!

Butch and friends in the river

From left to right Randy Sadler, Butch Booker and Howard Payne

Couples Golf plus other stuff

Wednesday night we played in the couples golf event. We had a great time with Trish and Dan and Wanda and Tom. It was the first time I had played golf since March and the first time for a couples event since June of 2006 in Atlantic. We did well as a team and won prizes. Enjoyed Pizza after in the grill.
Yesterday Butch and I went on a road trip after he played golf with his co-workers in the morning.
We went to Alpena,Pop.10,465, 23 miles east of Hillman, to do some shopping. Alpena is a big surprise for a town of its size although I imagine the population swells considerably in the summer months. Besides that it is the largest town around for quite some area. In looking around we spotted 3 McDonalds and it is the largest WalMart Supercenter we have ever seen anywhere. It took a long time to walk from one side to the other and they were busy although not crazy busy like in other places. It also seemed to be well staffed and that is another contrast. And the clerks were friendly, courteous and helpful! We also stopped at a Super K-Mart while in town. I have always liked K-Mart. The parking lot and the aisles of the store were empty of people. It is really sad but I told Butch this store isn't long for this world. A business cannot stay afloat without customers. We purchased some shorts for Butch and he picked up some golf balls on sale, another story there.

Thunder Bay Golf course eats golf balls all day long! By my standards it is a tough course. I like my golf easy so I plan to center all my golf around Butch's help. The couples golf is a scramble which means you all share the burden of playing the hole. On this course I need all the help I can get. There is water, sand and lots of distance. I will say the greens are the best I have played anywhere. They are not razor fast and they have enough character to make you think about how to play it but not so much that you 4 putt every hole. End of story.

We purchased the bulk of our groceries at WalMart, simply because we are familiar with layout and products but we also stopped at Perch's IGA, a small grocery store in another part of town. They have an excellent meat department. We purchased a steak for supper and a couple pounds of hamburger for Runza casserole. (Butch can hardly wait.) We will definitely be buying our meat there and as we get better acquainted with the store we will buy other things as well. Oh and the prices! We are finding nearly everything comparable to prices in Iowa. Colorado always had us cringing when looking at price tags but Michigan is much, much better.

We came back to TBR (Thunder Bay Resort) and Butch grilled our steaks. Long time since we have had a steak. After supper he went on a couple of electrical service calls. I am working on a wedding afghan and I am really liking it. I may have to make one like it for myself. So we are settling in and getting acquainted with our new surroundings.
Having fun in Michigan ...till next time...

After the round

Chatting as they make their way to their vehicles. Hey! There are young people who will carry those clubs for you guys!

The entrance

And below is the gathering spot for RVers after their daily activities.

Thunder Bay Resort Today

The RV site we have is very nice here. I love the patio furniture instead of a clunky picnic table. Much more

 practical.

This is the backside of our car. I could throw a rock and hit the # 4 tee box or the # 3 green. Butch loves being close enough to hear the ping of a club making contact with a golf ball throughout the day.

The practice range is across the street west from our RV. Everything is handy and close. I had planned to count the steps from number 1 tee box to our RV but as it happens we are at the far end of the RV park so it is about a city block walk. Too many steps to be impressive. For our friends who do not have RV's you could gather up a foursome and stay in the suites,villas or chalet. They are all set up to accommodate a number of people or not. Depending on your choice..

We are in a beautiful part of Michigan. Very rural and non-touristy.

The seniors played this morning and Butch was among them. These two fellows were looking for a golf ball. Imagine that!!

Getting settled

The trip up here apparently dragged me down but I am slowly regaining me vigor. Jack picked us up yesterday and we toured the resort and the town of Hillman. He picked us up at 10:00 AM and I was shocked upon returning home to find that it was noon. There is much to see here and it will take awhile to learn the ropes.
After our very informative tour Butch decided to go play golf. He picked me up after the first nine to ride along. The ranger stopped to visit and asked Butch if he would like to sub for league at 4:00. He said "yes" and thus played 27 holes yesterday. He said he went brain dead on the last nine. It has been a long time since he played 27 holes in one day. Used to be a fairly common event but only if I wasn't with him!
I was looking at a Google map yesterday because we have decided that if the weather holds we might go north to return to Iowa. I wish I had checked it out before because mile-wise it is only about 25 miles difference. I-80 was so bumpy in places that it unpotted my cactus and knocked the plug-ins out of their sockets. We have never encountered those kinds of bumps before. It would also take us through a different part of the country. We would see part of Michigan's U-P, Wisconsin and Minnesota if we chose that route.
I promise to get out my camera soon and post some pictures. The trees are magnificent as many have told us they would be.
Till next time...

Worry Wart?

Butch and I stayed at a Flying J truck stop in LaSalle Ill on Saturday night. It wasn't a bad place to stay. It was quiet and since we were in a boondocking situation we watched very little TV. Read a book and did Swedish weaving. Went to bed early as we planned to make our run through Chicago/Gary area as early as possible. The plan worked. Butch awoke at 4:00 AM so we got up and ate breakfast waiting for a little daylight.
We did sail through the area very easily. We knew at one point I-80 and I-94 joined up and that was good because we needed I-94. We planned to make note of when I-80 split off from I-94 but we never did see it. It was okay this time but if we had wanted to stay on I-80 it would have been traumatic. I-80 went missing!

We had a good travel day and even though it was well over 400 miles we made it all the way to Hillman/Thunder Bay Resort in good time, around 5:00PM Eastern time.
The volunteers have a potluck on Sunday nights at 6:30PM so we quickly set up and grabbed a couple of items for the potluck (fruit and chips) and began the get-acquainted process. They seem like a good group and we look forward to getting to better know them all.
We are on site #19 in the RV park section of the resort. As I look out the window I can see the sprinklers running on number 4 tee box. Once I have a walk route established we will both be happy. Jack (the owner) met us and guided us to our site. He also stopped by the pot luck and visited with us for awhile about our wants and needs. A full orientation happens this morning at 10:00 AM.
Lum is the one who did that for us at Snow mountain Ranch and it is funny to me that Lum and Jack both have similar looks.
Here is the league schedule for golf play. Butch will like it. He might actually get to play 'enough' golf this season. [Love that little snippet tool in Windows 7 by the way.]

Stay tuned for further developments...