GOSHEN, IN: Another Rally Is Under Way

Yesterday morning, we made our campground reservation for next year's Hamvention to be sure we had a site we wanted to be one, said good-bye to the remaining friends around us, and hit the road toward Goshen, IN.  We had a little delay because of a detour that we tried to work around and to end up backtracking to clear it, but we eventually got pointed in the right direction.  The 155 mile trip took us down mostly two-lane state and federal highways going through farmland just waiting to be tilled and planted.

We arrived at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in Goshen about 3:30. We are here for the 25th Anniversary of American Coach Rally. One of the benefits is free 90 minute service by Fleetwood technicians and our appointment as at 4 P.M. Bob & Todd arrived promptly at 4 P.M. and started on the list we had submitted when we signed up for the rally.  The items they worked on included fixing a leak behind the panel in the outdoor water bay, replacing a drawer latch so the drawer will stay closed while traveling, adjusting the leveling legs on the washer/dryer combo which should cut down on vibrations,  giving advice on keeping air from coming in from a slide out area, and attaching the plenum on the ceiling so it doesn't come loose.  The main job was replacing the toilet bowl seal, a job that nobody would enjoy doing.  The deal of only paying wholesale cost for parts and nothing for the labor involved is a great savings. (Most RV repair places charge $100 or more per hour for service).  We wanted to tip the guys but they wouldn't accept that.  While our repairs were being made, a heavy thunderstorm rolled through the area.

After we finished the setup procedure, we visited the Happy Wanderers social hour.  The Happy Wanderers is one of the chapters of the American Coach Association.  All of the others cover various areas of the country, although you can belong to as many chapters as you wish.  The Happy Wanderers were started for full-time RVers who no live in one place.  A lot of the members are no longer full-timers, and many come from many areas of the US, but it's a fun group with interesting people.

Since we hadn't eaten lunch, we got cleaned up and headed out to get some food and a few grocery items.  By the time we returned, we were ready to settle down for the night.

Temperatures fell into the high 40's overnight and with a strong breeze, it was downright cold all day on Tuesday,  the first official day of the rally.  There was a First-Timers meeting at 4 P. M, for those attending their first national rally, and that included us.  There were introductions of those holding various offices, the rally organizers, and chapter presidents.  Some events were described as well as the location of such events.  This fairgrounds is fairly large, and not laid out in as orderly a fashion as most campgrounds, with buildings and pavilions mixed in among campsites.  They can accommodate over 700 RV's with water and electric hookups, and well over 200 with full hookups.  We're on the far side of the property, and several of the Happy Wanderers are in the same area. There are 210 RV's here....not as many as shown in the picture.  We are in the area above the right side of the track on a full hookups site with 50 amp service..


 


At 6 P.M., the rally opening ceremony was held with a color guard from the local American Legion post doing the honore,  There were more announcements and introductions, a couple of songs by a talented lady, Sarah Getto.http://sarahgetto.com/bio.html

Yesterday (Wednesday),  breakfast included biscuits and gravy, several egg casseroles, cinnamont rolls, and fresh fruit salad.  There are 32 vendors in one building offering all type of RV and other service/items for purchase as well as information.  There are different forums offered all day long on various topics.  Last night's dinner was "A Taste of Italy" and included salad, lasagna both sausage and vegetarion, chicken parmesan, mixed vegetables of carrots, sweet peppers, and zuchini and garlic rolls with a cherry or blueberry dessert.  Last night's entertainment was  Daisy Mallory  from Nashville,  a young country & western entertainer and her 3 male band members. 

Today's breakfast included baked oatmeal with yogurt and granola toppings, fresh strawberry and blueberry mix and two types of  breakfast breads.  Selene attended a two-hour seminar on microwave/convection over cooking by  Janet Sadlack, a well-know cookbook author and microwave/confection oven expert. She prepared several dishes and explained how to get satisfactory results from using microwave/confection oven combo units, which are in most RV's.  Hank attended a forum on the Aqua-Hot system which provides Little House's hot water and basic heating. We joined the Happy Wanderers happy hour, and then had dinner at Los Primos Restaurant in nearby downtown Goshen.

The last few days, the weather has been cold and windy, but today the sun finally came out, and temperatures would have felt fairly warm except there was still a strong breeze.