Monday April 9, 2012-Caddo Lake NWR

Today was a very laid-back day for all of us. The refuge was taking all the employees and volunteers out for lunch to honor us and to thank us for our work. They gave us certificates with our hours that we worked on them along with a lapel pin showing the hours. Our totals showed that we had worked almost 40 hours a week between us for the two months that we've been here. We got certification for the classes we took on invasive species that can be used at any U.S. facility. I also received training in operating the John Deere mower and the Kubota "Zero Turn" mower that can also be transferred to other locations. See, I'm already qualified for another volunteer job!

We went to Cajun Tex again because it was the only restaurant that had a private room available today, and the food was very good. I had the chicken fried steak, and even though it was the lunch size, it was HUGE! We all enjoyed our meals and visiting with the refuge employees. They are very nice and I can assure you that we will be back here as soon as we can work it into our schedule.

We returned home and Todd and Sue began preparing to leave tomorrow. We will miss them when they're gone. We have come to like our afternoon happy hours! We did get together with them and Josh and his fiancee Jennifer. Todd and Sue had promised to take them out for an engagement dinner, but the timing had never worked out and tonight, everyone was still full from lunch, so we just made snacks and had drinks on the pavilion. It was a very nice way to end our last night together.

So long.