And...It's Only Day Two!

The day started at 7:30 with coffee and donuts and by 9:00 the morning class sessions were under way.

While I finished up here at the motor home, Mark  was off to a class where he learned all about Bicycling for RVers.  Next, he was off to  the vendor's building for his assigned security job.

I made it over to catch part of the session on cleaning the RV.  I wondered through the vendor building and then headed back to the motor home for lunch.  This afternoon, I attended three of the Geek's on Tour's sessions...

The first one was,

Managing Digital Photos With Picassa.

Karen and Arlene were there too.

Next was a class regarding

E-Mail Issues On The Road, and immediately following was a class about using Google Earth.

Wow, was my brain on overload after 3 hours with these two!  And, I can't wait until tomorrow to attend more of their sessions.

I made it back to the campsite in time to

sit and visit for just a little while.

We were pleasantly surprised to hear from Bill and Kathie Bevington this afternoon.  They came by the park for a short visit.  We are looking forward to spending some time with them in a couple of weeks at Escapades.  Bill and Kathie are friends from Retama.

Soon, it was time for us to head back to the

big tent.

Dennis

had Brenda up and dancing for a little pre-program entertainment.

Soon,

Nick showed up and it was time for door prizes.  Lots of winner tonight.  After the door prizes, it was time for the fun to begin...

The Hoosier Honey Beauty Contest.

  I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves..., but, I will give you a little hint...

Mark escorting Mac

 

Al

Jim

 

Jim escorted Chuck

and last but not least was Frank.

Now, one last look at all the

contestants...and the winner is...

Jim.  Wow, he is one talented "Geek"!

Tonight's fun with these guys collected us

$450 for Care!  Way to go guys!

So many laughs at these guys expense.  I not sure anyone can top tonight's fun!

Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally 2010

As the day dawned in Elkhart, Indiana, so dawned the first day of the Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally 2010.

  We have heard so much about these rallies and are really excited to be here.  We have been here two weeks and have enjoyed participating in what I call  pre-rally activities...line dancing, meeting new friends, visiting, etc.  Now, we are ready for the start of what promises to be a great week of learning mixed in with a lot of fun.

The morning started with Connie helping with

registration.

  Miss Terry was busy

signing up a few new comers and keeping control over all that was happening.

There were plenty of

sign up sheets for volunteer help.

Or...how about an

official rally tee-shirt.

The vendors were all busy

getting their booths ready for opening day.

Outside, I ran into

Chuck proudly wearing his rally badge.

Carol

was busy at the booth of the Too Crazy Ladies.  They are the ones that make all the badges and pins.

Once we were registered, Mark and I made a run to Goshen to pick up his new eye glasses.  Perfect fit and now he can see better.  We also made a stop by the Wal-Mart store to return that cute little DC Cooler we purchased a couple of weeks ago.  It seems that it doesn't work quite like it was suppose too.  I know, Darrell, you told me so.  Guess it is back to the ice chest and a bag or two of ice.  At least, now the cold drinks are cold like they are suppose to be, not just cool.

We made it back to the campground in time to join all

the others for the official

welcome from Nick and Miss Terry.  They have worked so hard to get ready for the rally.  I hope now they can just enjoy it along with the rest of us.

All of the

vendors took a minute to explain their products and/or seminars to us.

There was an afternoon break for happy hour and dinner.  Then around 7:00, we all gathered back

at the tent for evening announcements and door prizes.

Tonight, Arlene and I won restaurant certificates and Ellie won a patio rug.

After door prizes, everyone wandered back to their rigs for the evening.  Tomorrow's events start early with coffee and donuts at 7:30 and class time will start promptly at 9:00.  So many good ones, I am having a hard time picking out the ones I want to attend.  Guess, I better get busy and decide!

Lake Michigan

On Saturday, Mark and I drove with Jim and Ellie for a trip across into Michigan.  We made a couple of stops before lunch and then took a drive to the beach at

Lake Michigan.

I figured I better keep up my habit of putting

my feet in all water.  So I have officially added

Lake Michigan to my list.

Today, we mostly hung out around the campground.  Things are beginning to pick up speed as the rally registration starts tomorrow.

We are looking forward to the next several days and our first Gypsy Rally.  I am sure I will have a lot to report as it gets under way.

Fun Just Happens

I can't believe that we have been here almost two weeks and the rally hasn't even started.  We are having so much fun.

We have had a great time seeing old friends.  But, how great is it to be able to meet new friends, or finally get to meet people that you have communicated with on face book or through blogs.

Yesterday, we all loaded up and headed for the

RV/MH Museum/Hall of Fame.

The foundation was formed in 1972 and their mission was to honor leaders who had been instrumental in the growth of the industry.

The guys

took care of the admission.  Like all other museums, we started with the

introductory movie.

Afterwards, we were own our own to tour the building.  We looked at some the

newest appliances on the market.  Donnie, Karen, and Ellie are checking out the under the counter refrigerator/freezer.

Cummings had this

engine on display.  Lots of nuts and bolts...

Then it was on to look at the oldies...this was the way to

camp in 1923.

Or,

maybe you would have had this Tennessee Traveler.

Jim is looking for Ellie

to ask if he can trade his motor home in on this nice yellow one.

Personally,

I would hold out for this one.  It was built in 1988, using a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado Chassis and a 1976 Olds Toronado 455 cu.in engine.  It was designed to fit a standard garage door.  It is 270 inches and weighs 5400 pounds and is 83 inches high.

How about this one...talk about full timing.  The Boatman's

purchased this 8X23 foot trailer in 1940 for $1,972.00.  Following Mr. Boatman's jobs building municipal water towers around the country, they lived in this home form 1940 until Mrs. Boatman's death in 1988, 48 years later.

During that time, they changed nothing of the original equipment and all of it remains in tact.

It features one cold water tap, no bathroom, an icebox without refrigeration, a gasoline fueled cook stove and a fuel oiled heater.

This is the

living room.

Can't imagine what they would think

of today's rv's.

As everyone finished the tour, they

gathered in the lobby for a committee meeting regarding...what else...lunch.

We all went in different directions with different agendas, but we all ended up back at the campground in time for happy hour and snacks.  This is where we spent the rest of evening...just visiting.

Today has been a pretty laid back day with everyone doing their own thing.  Again, we all seem to know when to return to the campground.

The rally starts on Monday, and Nick already has the big tent up.  Lots of folks have now settled in here at the campground so we decided to move our Happy Hour time to the

tent.  We are still catching up with old friends and there is not a day that goes by that we don't get to meet someone new.

We took time out to sing Happy Birthday to

Connie and Brenda, before heading back to our end of the campground.

Mark and Jim

seem to be our official grillers...tonight they are roasting up some good old fashion hot dogs!

Of, course, by the time

dinner is served, there is a table full of goodies.

It is for certain that no one is going hungry around here.  Thank goodness for those morning walks and line dancing!

And, again...the after dinner fellowship is priceless.  Tonight, we decided it was time to bring out the cards.  So, several of us headed to the club house to see who could be the Hand and Foot winners tonight.

There were four tables of cards going on at once...and I think it is rumored that ALL THE GIRLS WON!

We are all having such a great time...

Fun Just Happens when you are among friends!

Same Story...Another Day

Yes, this morning was like all the others...so I won't even go into detail.  Let's just pick up the story around noon.

When the girls and I returned from line dancing, it seemed that everyone had a different plan.  Donna and Keith had already headed out.  Donnie and Karen were planning to go back to Shipshewana, but ended up just hanging around Elkhart and doing a little shopping at the Wal-Mart store.

Mac, Lynette, Chuck, and Kathy headed out to drop Mac's truck off by the Ford Dealer.  He needed to have some work done and have the radiator checked for a leak.  Then they were headed to Focal Wood to check out some furniture ideas.

Jim and Ellie are in the market for a new chair for their motor home and ask if we would like to go shopping with them.

So everyone left in different directions...but as always, we would return to the campground in time for Happy Hour which consists of bringing a beverage of choice and

your lawn chair.  Today we started at Donnie and Karen's.

When they start in with "Feed Me", we move the party to our dinning room, which is located between our house and Jim and Ellie's.

Somehow everyone brings a dish and we end up with

a great dinner.  Tonight's fare was Mexican...enchiladas, tacos, chips, salsa, and all the trimmings.

After eating Arlene's

extra hot yummy green dip, you had to treat yourself to one of

Donna's extra special brownies.

I heard there was some banana pudding...I looked and looked for it...

I finally found it...thanks Donnie, you saved me from those calories!

After dinner there is usual visiting, laughing, and story telling until dark or the bugs take over.  However, tonight, it wasn't the mosquitoes that ran us all in.  It was the chilly night air.

We all said our good nights and see you tomorrow's.  I am not sure what the plan is for tomorrow, but there might be an adventure in the plans.

See you then!