Gypsy Journal Rally

Gray skies and whipping flags from Ike's winds.
Class of 2007 guarding the Margarator.
Ellie the attack doberman and a barn cat.
Pot Luck

What full timers do after a hard week at a rally.

The Margarator in action.
Washing away Ike's mud.

Nick Russell (left)
Jim and Chris - Geeks on Tour

We are staying at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina, Ohio while attending the Gypsy Journal Rally. We arrived a couple of days early to get together with members of the full time RVing Class of 2007. We have had a great time with this gang going out to dinner, sitting at the campfire and just shooting the breeze around the Margarator. On Sunday we did get a lot of wind from the remains of hurricane Ike that knocked down some small branches, tore an awning on one RV and destroyed the tent of one of the vendors, Smokey Ridgely. The only thing that happened to our rig was the mud rain that covered it. Several of us hooked hoses together on Monday and wash the mud off of seven RVs. We did not lose our power and the damage was not nearly as bad as other parts of the country. Nanc will not be able to take the driving class because the instructor, Denis Hill, had to return to Livingston, Texas because of damage to his property there. The Escapees headquarters located in Livingston was without power and closed for a few days. Others at the rally had to return home because of the damage here in Ohio and Nanc's sister, Judy, in eastern Ohio was without power from Sunday to Tuesday. We were fortunate to "weather" the storm here and hope everyone else from Texas to Pennsylvania who had damage is on the road to recovery.

The rally has been very informative and a lot of fun. We attended seminars on boondocking, RV appearance care, refurbishing your rig, tech tips for women, and I took three computer classes from Geeks on Tour. Jim and Chris did a wonderful job of explaining things in terms that were easy to understand. The evenings have been filled with entertainment, socials, door prizes and games. One program covered 100 years of RVing and on another evening the group "One More Time" put on a lively and fun variety show. We want to thank Nick and Terry Russell for putting together a great rally.