2013 - Aug 8-10 Big Little Rally, Transfer, PA

It took less than two hours to drive from Sheldon's house to the rally on Wednesday. We rolled in at 11:00AM and got a pretty good campsite. We were able to use the overhang of one of the buildings instead of our canopy, a good thing considering we had two days of rain. It started raining Wednesday evening and didn't really stop until Friday afternoon. Even then, it sprinkled a few time after that just to keep us on our toes.


The pictures kind of tell the story of the rally. The cool part was that it was absolutely free of charge. Camping, food, coffee, band, etc., etc. - no charge, compliments of Bill Kerola of Kerola's Campers in Transfer, PA. Bill sells  several brands of small, lightweight campers, so the rally was open to all small campers whether they were purchased at Kerola's or not. There were Aliners, R-Pods, Scotties, Vikings, just to name a few.

In addition to what's in the pictures, we went to Bill's shop to use the Wi-Fi and ended up buying a couple for Tilley Hats. A bit expensive, but they'll be great for rain, sun, and our trip to Africa next year.

We also explored a Corps of Engineers campground on Pymatuning Lake, just 3 - 4 miles south of Transfer. Nice campground, right on the lake. We'll keep it in mind.

It was a long drive home. We left Transfer at 8:30AM EDT and got home at 5:45 CDT. Another fun time!

2013 - Aug 6 Drove to Sheldon's house in Akron

We had a day to kill before showing up at the Big Little Rally in Transfer, PA, so we stopped in to see my nephew, Sheldon, whom we hadn't seen in nine years. He just moved into a new (built in the 1940s) house and was in the middle of renovations, but we had a great visit and enjoyed sleeping in a bedroom with its own bathroom.

We went out to dinner and sat around and caught up on all the news we had to share. Sheldon was up and gone to the hospital (he's a veterinary surgeon) before we got up Wednesday morning. We ate our breakfast in the camper and hit the road about 9:30.

2013 - Aug 4-6 Van Burenm SP, South Haven, MI

It was only about a two hour drive from Potato Creek to Van Buren on Sunday, but we managed to turn it into three and a half hours by stopping for lunch. Nine of the nineteen campers made the trip. It was cool, but pleasant on our first evening in camp, so we took the five minute walk to the beach to see the sunset. It was nice, but would have been better without the clouds.

It rained Sunday night and into the morning. We went into South Haven Sunday afternoon and checked out the shops and the Riverfront. Some of the group went to town for dinner, but Marsha and I cooked burgers over an open wood fire.

It rained some more Monday night. We hung out with Tom and Cathy and turned in early.

2013 - Aug 1-4 Gathering at Potato Creek SP, West Liberty, IN

We arrived at Potato Creek Stale Park in late afternoon on Wednesday, July 31, but I didn't take any pictures until Thursday. As you can see, it was a beautiful day. Just about perfect for camping and any other outdoor activity.

We sat around in the breeze under a shade tree and watched a young couple with three toddlers trying to set up a borrowed tent. After the husband lost his temper and left, Suzy went over and helped the wife set it up. It took a while, but they got it done. Then it rained HARD that night. They were gone when we got up on Friday morning.

It was still drizzling Friday morning, so we went to the South Bend Chocolate Factory with Cindi and Loren. Fun! Friday night was the traditional campfire. Chuck, from Indiana, smuggled in a bunch of wood and with what we bought, we had plenty.

Saturday was the potluck. Chuck, from Missouri, organized it: 5:30 - Bring whatever you want. It was Great!