Now Marsha has my head cold, or whatever it is, so we're both hacking, sniffing and coughing. We drove up to Sturgis, MI (about 10 miles) in search of a decent Wi-Fi connection at the local Mickey D's. That's how I was able to post the pictures in the previous entry. After that, we went back to Shipshewana and wandered through one of the local hardware stores. You'd be surprised at the different stuff you see in a hardware store in an Amish community!
Then we came back to the campground and checked out the on-site custard stand. Good stuff! After that, it was the usual wandering around, visiting old friends and meeting new ones. There are about 40 Aframes attending the rally, so we have a pretty good crowd.
Before dinner, we had a local merchant tell us all about Honda generators. The subsequent potluck dinner was good, as usual, and many stories were told around the campfire while John was trying to get a fire stack going. Marsha and showered and turned in early in hopes of shaking our colds.
More later.
I'm writing this on Thursday afternoon, August 18. Between not having Internet access sometimes and having too much fun other times, I haven't posted anything since we left home on August 10, headed for Bill Kerola's Big Little Rally in Transfer, PA. So here's a thumbnail sketch of what we've been doing for the past 9 days.
We probably could have made the drive all the way to the Big Little Rally in one day, but the driving time was about ten hours let alone stopping for gas, etc. So we decided to spend the night at Alum Creek State Park near Delaware, OH. It's about twenty miles north of Columbus on Rt. 23. Nice park! We got in there about 4:00pm and had a relaxing evening with dinner by the fire.
Thursday morning, in no big hurry, we left the park and drove the last 176 miles to Transfer, PA. Bill Kerola puts on a free rally there at the county fairgrounds. Free camping, free bonfire each night, free ice cream social, free band and a free great time! Bill is a camper dealer there in Transfer and the rally is open to anyone who has the kind of camper he sells, even if you didn't buy it from him. We had a great time and met Jim and Elaine Cardinal from Mill Hall, PA with whom we spent quite a bit of time gabbing. Most of the pictures below are from the rally.
I almost forgot - Bill Kerola's pastor did the judging to see who would win one of the three trophies they were awarding. As you can see from the pictures, we lucked out! The trophy's were not awarded for the cleanest, coolest, most unique camper. It was more for the pastor's "experience" as he visited with the many rally participants. The "Aliner" on the trophy simply means that the winner was in that brand of camper. Marsha and I were dumfounded when Bill called our name to come up and accept the trophy.
On Sunday, August 14, we headed north to Girard, PA, about fifteen miles west of Erie, to spend a few days with our old friends, Jim & Sandy Anderson. It was only an hour-and-a-half drive. While we were there, we drove out to Kenny and Georgia Prather's house to take a look at Kenny's latest project. It started out as a 1973 Suzuki 500, but will end up looking nothing like it used to. The plan is to attach a hand built side car. Knowing many of Kenny's former projects, some of which have been featured in Hot Rod Magazine and several others, I'm sure it will be real neat when it's done. Just Google "Kenny Prather" for a look at his chopped VW bus with a supercharged Chevy engine behind the seats!
On Wednesday morning, August 17, we left Jim & Sandy's house for the 313 mile drive to Shipshewana, IN where we are attending the Aliner Owners Club Central Great Lakes Region Rally. Nice weather, so far, and people are still rolling in because the rally actually starts today (8/18). About forty units are expected.
Well, that catches you up on our current trip. More as we get time!
Marsha and I were the first of our group to arrive at the state park on the south edge of Nauvoo, IL on Wednesday afternoon and get our camper set up. The campsite loop with electrical service was pretty crowded and we questioned whether the 11 other Aframes scheduled to join us in the next couple of days would be able to find a site. But, as other campers left, those of our group who were there parked their cars in the empty sites, saving them for those Aframes yet to come. It worked out fine and all of us got a site.
The weather was in the mid to upper 90s with high humidity (see the weather screen by Chuck McCullough below) every day until Saturday evening when a storm skirted the area, dropping temperatures enough for us to have a campfire. I started a small fire for cooking, but after dinner, Larry Lippman built it into a roaring inferno!
For those who are unfamiliar with Nauvoo, Illinois, it was established in 1839 by early members of the Church of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons, led by Joseph Smith. When they were forced to leave the area, they traveled west and established their new home in Salt Lake City. A very interesting historical account of the rise and fall of the Mormons in Nauvoo is available at: http://tinyurl.com/3j6hl7g
On Wednesday evening, those of us who had arrived went into Nauvoo for dinner at the Nauvoo Hotel. Other than that and an "ice run" on Friday, Marsha and I stayed in the shade of the tall pines in the campground visiting with our fellow Aframers. Thank goodness for our air conditioned camper, which made sleeping very comfortable.
Once again, we celebrated Marsha's birthday while "on the road," as we have done so many times over the years during our motorcycle travels.
Enjoy the pictures below.
