2015 Sept 13-18 - AOC North American Rally in Cherokee, NC

We drove about 500 miles from Brown County, IN on Sunday and arrived at the Happy Holiday RV Village in Cherokee, NC at about 5:30pm. This is this year's site of the annual Aliner Owners Club North American Rally. There were about 149 campers and 270 people there. Most of the campers were Aframes, but there were some S.O.B's (some other brand), like ours, there. We were allowed to attend because we once had an Aliner Aframe camper and we pay our dues to continue our membership.

The campground is actually on an island with a lake in the center of it. The island is formed by a stream that splits up at one end of the island and rejoins itself at the other end. Pretty cool!

After we arrived, we explored the campground and enjoyed the sandwich dinner provided by the rally. It was early to bed after a long day on the road.

Monday was a day to relax and register for the rally which started that day. We wandered around and checked out the campers and chatted with rally goers. The evening's entertainment was provided by Davy Arch, a local Cherokee artist and story teller.

Tuesday morning dawned with a large flock of quacking ducks practically outside our door. We were fairly close to the lake. After breakfast, the white water rafting bus picked us up at 9:00 for the 30 minute ride to the rafting headquarters. The  pictures of us actually in the raft were taken by the rafting company. If you think all guides are the same, check out the rafting pictures. BTW, Capt. Ron is 80 years old!

We were back at the campground by 2:30 and had a snack so we wouldn't spoil the rally-provided BBQ pork dinner. After dinner we watched the entertainment. It was a great day. Marsha said she got to cross white water rafting off her bucket list and she didn't even know it was on the list! She had a ball!

Wednesday was the day for our trip on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway. We were in the "first class" car, so we had lunch and libations served at our table. You will se mention of Fontana Lake in the pictures. That's the name of the town that was covered by the lake after the dam was built. It was a nice relaxing trip into the Nantahala River Gorge. When we got to the upper end of the gorge, the engine disconnected onto a siding and went back to what was the rear of the train and pulled us back out of the gorge.

On the way back, we stopped for about an hour at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, a spot along the Appalachian Trail for sportsmen, including kayakers. Some of the U.S. Olympic teams trained here. They have tents available for people hiking the trail.

After the train trip, Cindi, Loren, Jim, Jan, Marsha and I pitched in and had our dinner in the quiet of Jim & Jan's campsite rather than joining the rally potluck. We finished off the day sitting by Chuck & Val's campfire with friends.

Thursday, we didn't do much but relax. The rally provided fried fish for dinner. And, of course, there was more entertainment.

On Friday morning, the 18th, we took our time breaking camp. We drove up Rt. 441 thru the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and took a few pics along the way. There was a car show going on in Gatlinburg which had collector cars lined up for at least three miles on each side of the road.

We stopped and visited friends in Cookeville, TN on Friday afternoon. We went to dinner with John & Rebecca. They have a little campground on their property where we were able to plug in and camp for the night. On Saturday, we said goodbye and drove 450 miles to get home about 7:15.

Great trip!

 

2015 Sept 10-13 - AOC CGLR Rally in Brown County State Park, IN

We attended the Aliner Owners Club Central Great Lakes Region Rally in Brown County, IN on the way to the big North American Rally in Cherokee, NC. As you will see, it rained and we didn't even move the car after we arrived on Thursday. We've been to this area many times, so we just hung out and visited with friends, old and new.

There were people there who had never camped with our group, but came to the rally to break up their trip to North Carolina. We had a good time and the pizza was great!

2015 July 29-30 - Rainmaker Campground - Our shortest camping trip ever!

Our neighbors, Andy & Bev, have a seasonal lot at Rainmaker Campground on Lake Lou Yeager near Litchfield. They asked us to join them there this weekend, but we couldn't leave until Saturday morning. So, we only spent Saturday afternoon and night there.

We hadn't even gotten set up yet when Betty, our travel agent, and her husband, Sarge, came rolling up in their golf cart. We met a bunch of real nice folks and got involved in a Cornhole tournament. It was a lot of fun. Saturday evening, someone threw a party down by the lake for their son who is leaving for Utah to attend college there. They had hot dogs, a keg of beer, and karaoke. I even sang a song!

Sunday morning was a no-rush morning, getting ready to head for home. It's only 50 miles, so we're looking forward to going back again sometime when we can stay longer.

2015 July 12-20 - Potato Creek, IN and Van Buren, MI State Parks

This trip was a dual campground outing. We spent four nights at each park with the Gathering of Aframes camping group. They're both nice parks, but Indiana only charges the $9.00 day use fee for one night when you're camping there for several days. Michigan charges the day use fee for each night you stay. It was cheaper to buy a $31.00 season pass for Michigan State Parks than to pay the $9.00 day use fee for four nights.

At potato creek, we mostly sat around. The nearest town, North Liberty, isn't much more than a wide spot in the road, so there's not much to see or do there. On the way into the park, we saw an osprey buzzing a bald eagle that was sitting on a branch in an old dead tree. The tree wasn't far from the osprey's nest where there was a young osprey, so I guess it was a territorial thing. One day we took a hike along the lake trail and checked out the osprey nest.

On Sunday afternoon, we drove the 79 miles to Van Buren State Park, on the shores of Lake Michigan just south of South Haven, MI. South Haven is a bit more touristy and they have a Meijer and a Walmart! We went into town a few times while we were there. We walked around downtown and ate dinner at Clementine's Restaurant. It's a large place on the main drag of the tourist district. Last year they served 14 tons of lake perch, one of their specialties. I recommend the perch and the onion rings. Really good!

We had a nice potluck at the campground and went to town the next day(!) to get Sherman's Ice Cream for dessert. Marsha and I strolled on the beach and checked out the nuke plant there although we couldn't get very close to it.

It was a nice trip, but it was the second time we've been to Van Buren State Park. Been there; done that! Probably won't do it again, but there are several places in Michigan where we'd like to camp, some of them federal campgrounds where they don't charge a daily fee!

2015 Aug 2 - A day with our Grandson

Mom, Dad, and Sissy went to a Shinedown concert in St. Louis, so we kept Grayson at our house for a couple of days. We had a great time and he was a really good boy the whole time he was with us.

On Sunday, we went to all the places Grayson wanted to go to while he was staying with us: The zoo, Chuck E. Cheese, and Scheel's to ride the Ferris wheel.

Here are a few pics I took during the day.