We made it back from the rally safely and uneventfully Sunday. Check out time is 11 AM, we didn't quite make that deadline. After many H&H (handshakes & hugs) we left about 11:36. We made good time, drove 142.2 miles and got back to the storage lot about 2PM. We got a bit of rain overnight and a cold front moved in. It was mostly cloudy but not raining when we got up. Stayed dry all morning, but as we were getting on 81 south it looked like it could rain anytime. We did get rain/sprinkles on and off until about Charlottesville, then it cleared up and was sunny the rest of the way back. Terri called ahead to the storage lot and asked them to unlock a gate that's not normally used. It's much easier backing into our space through that gate. So glad they're so accommodating.
I think the rally was a success. Everyone seemed to have a really good time. Thursday night we had fried turkeys, Friday was barbecued chicken, and Saturday night was a whole roasted pig. Everyone brought side dishes or deserts each night potluck style. It was your own fault if you left hungry. Saturday afternoon they had a horseshoe tournament, we just watched and talked to others sitting around us. Then, before dinner Saturday night we had the Club meeting. Mark and Kim volunteered to be wagon masters for the fall rally in NC next year. It was also decided that a one time fee of $50 would be collected from each couple to increase the club fund in order to cover rally expenses. Also, the annual dues increased from $20 to $30. It was really great seeing many of the people we had met at the Spring Rally and to meet new people too. Too many to list here, but it really was nice seeing all of them again.
We only forgot two things before we left today, that we know of. It was brought to our attention that we had left a bedroom window open and the step courtesy light on. We got both taken care of before we left thanks to our rally friends. This is only our third time out ever, so I think that was pretty good. Hopefully we can get back out again before Winter sets in.
Just a quick explanation about the title today. House is our sticks & bricks where we currently live, home is our Excel.
--mike
FOREVER YOUNG
Welcome, and thanks for visiting our blog. Follow us as we explore this beautiful country and enjoy life's simple pleasures.
Saturday, 9/25/10: EXCEL MID-ATLANTIC CLUB FALL 2010 RALLY
It's Saturday night and we're here at the Excel Mid-Atlantic Club Fall Rally at the Endless Caverns RV Resort just south of New Market, VA. We're located at the foot of the Massanutten Mountain range on the western side. We drove up Thursday, arriving about 3:15 PM with beautiful "Fall" (Thursday was the first day of Autumn) weather all the way. The trip was uneventful, the way I like it. It took us about 2.5 hours and about 145 miles. The route we took was 295 north, 64 east, 81 north, 11 north, and endless caverns road east.
This is a newer RV park, the new owners are in the process of upgrading many things here. They've added a new pool, WIFI (which has performed excellently), 50 amp service, and have added and upgraded many campsites. The campground is situated on the side of a hill, so be prepared to climb. The sites are terraced into the side of the hill and are wide, long, and level. There's also a cave tour here and if you're camping here, you get a $3.00 discount. We really enjoyed our tour today and we had the pleasure of having 9 year veteran tour guide James show us the way. We were lucky enough to be the only two on this particular tour so he was able to talk to us one on one and show/tell us some interesting info about the cave.
I believe there are 16 Excels here and 12 guests. The main activity seems to be eating, games, talking, catching up on what others have done all summer and just having a good time. Joining us this time from Peterson Industries, maker of the Excel, is Curtis Peterson and his wife Martha. We met Curtis at the Fredericksburg RV Show earlier this year. He personally spent almost an hour with us, showing us the many attributes of an Excel. Curtis and Martha are from Smith Center, KS, the home of Peterson Industries. They flew out here and our local Excel dealer Bubby Settles set him up in an Excel along with a really nice F350 to pull it here. They're so nice to spend time with, and they're hoping to join us at the Spring Rally in Charleston, SC. We also had the pleasure to meet Richard Settles, Bubby's father, and Tammy, Bubby's sister. Terri and I really enjoyed our time talking with each of these fine people. Also, our friends Mark and Kim were not able to get here until today, Saturday, due to a work commitment that Mark had on Thursday and Friday. It was great to see them again and I'm glad they made it here.
It's hard to believe it's Saturday night already and we have to head home tomorrow. It seems like we just got here. I really enjoy spending time with our Excel friends and meeting new friends at the rally. It'll be hard to leave and go back to our current usual lives of work, sticks and bricks, and other day to day stuff.
Be careful and stay safe,
--mike
This is a newer RV park, the new owners are in the process of upgrading many things here. They've added a new pool, WIFI (which has performed excellently), 50 amp service, and have added and upgraded many campsites. The campground is situated on the side of a hill, so be prepared to climb. The sites are terraced into the side of the hill and are wide, long, and level. There's also a cave tour here and if you're camping here, you get a $3.00 discount. We really enjoyed our tour today and we had the pleasure of having 9 year veteran tour guide James show us the way. We were lucky enough to be the only two on this particular tour so he was able to talk to us one on one and show/tell us some interesting info about the cave.
I believe there are 16 Excels here and 12 guests. The main activity seems to be eating, games, talking, catching up on what others have done all summer and just having a good time. Joining us this time from Peterson Industries, maker of the Excel, is Curtis Peterson and his wife Martha. We met Curtis at the Fredericksburg RV Show earlier this year. He personally spent almost an hour with us, showing us the many attributes of an Excel. Curtis and Martha are from Smith Center, KS, the home of Peterson Industries. They flew out here and our local Excel dealer Bubby Settles set him up in an Excel along with a really nice F350 to pull it here. They're so nice to spend time with, and they're hoping to join us at the Spring Rally in Charleston, SC. We also had the pleasure to meet Richard Settles, Bubby's father, and Tammy, Bubby's sister. Terri and I really enjoyed our time talking with each of these fine people. Also, our friends Mark and Kim were not able to get here until today, Saturday, due to a work commitment that Mark had on Thursday and Friday. It was great to see them again and I'm glad they made it here.
It's hard to believe it's Saturday night already and we have to head home tomorrow. It seems like we just got here. I really enjoy spending time with our Excel friends and meeting new friends at the rally. It'll be hard to leave and go back to our current usual lives of work, sticks and bricks, and other day to day stuff.
Be careful and stay safe,
--mike
Thursday, 9/9/10: First Post!!!
Well here it is, my first post. Not much to report, still trying to learn this whole blog thing. Howard and Linda Payne announced the 2011 RV-Dreams.com Rally last week. We signed up on Saturday. I also reserved our site at the River Plantation RV Park in Sevierville, TN. We'll be in site #419. We're really looking forward to this rally and seeing all of our friends that we met at the 2010 rally and meeting new friends too. Friday is supposed to be an open day at the rally, nothing scheduled, and I hope that we can get together with some of our friends. I'm not sure what our status will be by then, we'll just have to wait and see.
We've only been out twice so far this year. First trip was to the RV-Dreams rally in South Carolina in April and then we went to the Mid-Atlantic Excel Club rally in Pennsylvania in May. Hopefully, we'll get out again soon.
That's about it for now. I hope to have some interesting and insightful posts in the future. Most will be RV related, some just life in general, and some other moments of reflection. Maybe I can even get Terri to submit a post once in a while.
Be careful and stay safe.
--mike
We've only been out twice so far this year. First trip was to the RV-Dreams rally in South Carolina in April and then we went to the Mid-Atlantic Excel Club rally in Pennsylvania in May. Hopefully, we'll get out again soon.
That's about it for now. I hope to have some interesting and insightful posts in the future. Most will be RV related, some just life in general, and some other moments of reflection. Maybe I can even get Terri to submit a post once in a while.
Be careful and stay safe.
--mike
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)