May 18, 2018
We got up very early on Thursday
morning by CDT, but it was 7:30 EDT, which was what we decided to
work on. We knew we’d be back into Eastern time as soon as we hit
the road. And after we filled the water tank, and dumped the waste
tank, and walked the dog, we started off for the RVillage Rally 1:
The Connected Road event. It is the first rally that RVillage has
done, and it’s our own first RV rally as well. We were only about
90 minutes away via non-highways, so we drove the backroads to
Elkhart, Indiana-- which meant we drove from a site in Indiana to
another site in Indiana via Michigan.
We arrived at about 11 a.m. and were
greeted with hugs by Curtis, the founder of RVillage. We were
directed to our campsite, and got ourselves settled in among the
other hundred or more RVs of every description. I took Cassie to the
large grassy dog run, where she enjoyed meeting a few other dogs and
rolling in the grass. Then I checked in,
Although we’ve never been to a rally
before, this was exactly the way I expected it to be. Joey and I each
went to a seminar in the afternoon. He learned about solar powering
for RVs, and reported back that it would cost thousands of dollars to
do it. I went to a seminar given by a company called Fantasy RV
Tours, which takes “caravans” of RVers to pretty much everyplace
in the US and Canada, as well as Mexico and even Australia! Their
tours are very expensive, but they take away a lot of my own “job”
on our trips-- planning a route, deciding what sights to see, and
where to camp--as well as providing the reassurance of help in case
of breakdowns or other unforseen troubles. And the cost also includes
the entry fees for everything such as parks, attractions, museums,
and campgrounds. On the other hand, we would still be paying for our
own gas and most of our food (although a number of meals are
included.) I think it could be worth considering for some trips to,
for example, western Canada (which is the trip I saw featured.) It’s
worth thinking about, anyway--I can always steal their itinerary and
plan it out myself!
In the evening, we went to a Welcome
session, with everyone there. It looks like several hundred people
are attending. The information (sessions, activities, etc.) are given
out via a phone app called HelloCrowd, which RVillage is utilizing. I
am not thrilled with it-- it means always having to use the wifi or
my data to call up the schedule. So when I checked in, I took a photo
of the paper copy of the agenda at the check-in desk, to refer to.
Several things are already changed around, but for the most part, it
will help me know where to go. I still think paper is a lot easier
than encouraging people to always be looking at their phones-- even
though I’d say we are at the median age for attendees, even our own
age group is phone-addicted.
After it got dark, there was a
get-together at the Firebirds installation, a metal and fire art
exhibit set up outside the seminar room building and the big meeting
tent. We sat there for a little bit, but nothing really seemed to be
happening, although the firebirds were very pretty. So we came back
to our RV, and I read my book while Joe went to sleep.
Friday morning, Cassie woke me at about
6a.m. with an urgent need to go for a walk. After that, I fell back
asleep, and so it was a late morning for all of us. Joe was planning
to go to a seminar on Internet on the Road, which was ironically the
one we were most interested in, but his body did not cooperate, and
he missed it. I’m planning to go to a workshop on genealogy at
1:30, and then meet up for my tour of the Thor factory at 2:45, so
I’ll have a full afternoon. The weather is a little less glorious
today-- I’ve gotten mixed weather reports on my phone, and the
awning was flapping earlier. We just did some tinkering to stabilize
it, and I hope we don’t have any strong winds. It is a big pain to
raise and lower it.
OK-- time for a quick lunch and off to
my seminars!
Added at 7:30 pm: The genealogy seminar was not so interesting, so I left it and went into the vendor room. I can't say there was a lot there that excited me either, except for a really fantastic little electric bicycle called an URB-E. I thought it would be ideal to help Joe get around while his legs feel too weak to take him very far. I spent a bit of time talking to the lady who was demo-ing the URB-E, and as a result, was late getting to the meeting point for the Thor factory tour. Fortunately, everyone had already left--but a couple who had followed the wrong tour group returned to double-check their directions and I overheard them ask about the Thor tour. So I was able to hitch a ride with them, and we got to the factory before the large group had filtered inside.
The tour was interesting--I love watching how things are put together in factories. I also happen to be attracted to the Thor ACE Class A RV, and of all things, they gave us a tour of the Class A line which included the ACE. So I got to see how they put it together, and then we got to go inside a few completed ones. I often don't see them at RV shows, so this was a treat. I still like it-- if we ever upgraded to a Class A, this is a real contender. Thor also makes 22 other models of RVs, including the new RUV style (a combination of SUV and RV), which I'd love to see sometime.
Anyway, the tour was very interesting, and then we came home (in the rain AGAIN, will it EVER stop??). I found that Joe had put up the awning, had taken the dog for a walk, and had been researching motorized bicycles without my mentioning the URB-E yet (we'd seen someone driving it around the campground before I went into the vendors, so I guess that's what made him interested.) We'll go test drive the URB-E tomorrow, but he found a much less alternative (albeit not as nifty) on line. We'll have to see what he thinks when he meets the URB-E in person tomorrow.
Curried Noodles for dinner!!!! Yay!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment