Thursday, September 16, 2010

Escapade Rally Day 4 – See You Down the Road

(Goshen, IN) – It rained most of the night, and all day it was either raining or misty.  That didn’t stop us from going to more seminars and get togethers.
We went for breakfast at the Hospitality building, but we were too late, so just had a doughnut and cup of coffee. 

We both went to the seminar on RV Preventative Maintenance, things that should be done on the RV to prevent problems and keep things from turning into big repair bills. 

After that we went to lunch.  We met a few other couples, which is always fun.  It still amazes me how many are full time and travel with no intention of going off the road.  After lunch we both went to the RV Boot Camp Panel of Experts.  All the instructors for the RV Boot Camp were there to answer questions from the audience.  RV Boot Camp is a series of seminars geared to new full timers, and Jim went to several of them.  Today’s Panel of Experts was very entertaining and informative.  It was interesting to hear the questions and comments from folks who are just starting out on the road.  We really felt for them because we were in their shoes just a short time ago, and we’re amazed at how much more relaxed and confident we are since we started.

The panel
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The closing ceremony was a grand show of appreciation for everyone who worked hard to make the rally a success.  Also, a grand prize of a RV Caravan Tour was given out, worth almost $2,000.  There was a final total of 796 rigs.  We then had a going away picnic of hot dogs and chips.

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After the picnic we enjoyed some great music from “One More Time,” a very talented couple that sang songs from 1940’s to the present day.  They were really good.  Here they are doing a great Sonny and Cher impression.
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There was a dance party for the evening entertainment, but our group, the class of 2007, and a few others gathered for more Hand and Foot.  We had twenty people playing at tables of four, all guys against gals.  The gals did most of the winning.
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Lynette playing the last hand.
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The game is played with SKIPBO cards.

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We leave in the morning, if we can get out.  We’re packed in pretty tight so we may have to wait for a few rigs around us to leave before we can get out.  I’m looking forward to a better internet connection once we leave here.

Tomorrow we’re headed to White Pigeon, MI (about 25 miles away) to have some maintenance done on our Big Foot levelers.  Jim called Quadra Mfg. (makers of Big Foot) and told them that the rear legs are getting a little balky.  A nice guy named Rick told him to bring it on up to them and they’ll make any necessary repairs and go over the entire system and make sure it’s in good working condition.  Pretty nice customer service, and a great opportunity to have it done while we’re in the area.  Afterwards we’re coming back down to Millersburg, IN (about 8 miles from here) and parking overnight at the Carriage factory.  They have a 25-site courtesy park behind the factory with full hookups, and any Carriage owner can park there for free.  Saturday we’ll head for Dayton, Ohio (Wright-Patterson AFB).

I’ll sort the hundreds of pictures, download the really good ones and have a place for everyone to see them.  If you want specifics on certain seminars, please email us. It’s way too much info to put in the blog.

It’s sad to leave so many people, but we’ll meet them all again down the road.

2 comments:

Ali Workentin said...

So good to get caught up with you again. Life with the carnival has been crazy. We have 10 days to go and our season will be over.

Have been asked to come back next year. Have not made up our mind yet. Have to do some thinking and planning.

Will be glad to be a regular reader again once we are done here.

Have a safe trip today.

KarenInTheWoods said...

Ooooh I like your last line the best!


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(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
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