2015 July 21-26 - CrossRoads of America Tearjerkers Gathering

We attended our first teardrop gathering at McCormick's Creek State Park in Indiana. VERY nice park. The international teardrop camper club is called the Tearjerkers. There are chapters all over the US and around the world. This particular gathering was a bi-annual, multi-chapter event, so it was much larger than the individual chapter gatherings. There were 146 camping units in attendance.

The event didn't officially start until Thursday, but we arrived on Tuesday. I would guess that at least 80% of the campers there were homebuilt units. The creativity and attention to detail just amazed me.

As we have found with virtually everyone we run into in a campground, whether we're camping by ourselves or as part of a group, everyone at this event was super friendly and eager to show off their camper. We had a great time. Looks like we're going to have to carve out some more time so we can attend more Tearjerker events!

Enjoy the photos!

2015 July 07 - Camping with the Aframes at Thomson Causeway Recreation Area, IL

We arrived on Tuesday. The mosquitoes were waiting for us! With all of the standing water from the rains along the Mississippi River, they were out in droves. The weather was good until Saturday morning when the rain started. It rained all day, but stopped by evening, so it wasn't bad.

We went to Lock & Dam 13 and watched a few boats go thru. The canoe was paddles by two men from Stockholm, Sweden who had started in Minnesota, headed for New Orleans. Good luck!

There was a potluck on Friday evening and we all went to Poopy's Grub n' Pub in Savanna, IL. That's the last time we'll go there. They were not exceptionally crowded, but it took about 2 hours to get our food and the checks were so screwed up that it took a half hour to straighten them out.

In spite of the mosquitoes, the rain, and Poopy's, we still had a good time.

One the way home, we stopped in Le Claire, IA at Antique Archaeology, the store featured on American Pickers on The History Channel. We got there before 11:00am and the store didn't open until noon, so we took a few pics and hit the road.

2015 June 20 - Ford Tri-Motor Over Our Neighborhood

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) was selling rides in the Ford Tri-Motor. They flew over our neighborhood several times.

The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed "The Tin Goose") was an American three-engined transport aircraft that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Tri-Motors were produced. It was designed for the civil aviation market, and was also used by military units and sold all over the world. It made the first flight over the geographic south pole in 1929 with Commander Richard E. Byrd as its navigator. Source: Wikipedia.org

2015 July 04 - An Evening with Scott, Lynn and Pat

We ate burgers, then got in the boat to go out and watch the fireworks. Fun evening even though the boat acted up a bit and we were in the early stages of being towed back to the house when Scott finally got it started.

 

2015 June 28 - Walden Reunion and the Big 7 - 0!

We attended the Walden Reunion which is Marsha's paternal grandmother's side of the family. It was pretty much like every other reunion, but it was also my 70th birthday. It's all down hill from here!