Thursday, Apr 4 This rally, hosted by Alan, was an opportunity to visit Elkhart, IN – the RV capital of the world! It is also the home of the RV Hall of Fame where vintage campers reside in a handsome museum dedicated to camping throughout history. Our group of old campers couldn’t wait go see those old campers! First, we were gathering at Eby's Pines Campground in Bristol, IN. Our weekend began a night early as rally host Alan drove to our home to camp in the driveway on Wednesday night. It is always fun to have TWO silver beauties in the driveway! Thursday morning we left at 9:00 for the 1½ hour drive to Elkhart. We discovered that Lou and Larry were already busy in Elkhart, where they had outfitted their 29’ Airstream with a new sofa . . . with two recliners! Other early arrivals were Gary (in his Globetrotter) and Brad (NOVA president) who had some AS/ RV business to take care of in the area. Jane would join him the next day. Chris and Lauren are still working, and they didn’t arrival until way after midnight. A surprise couple, Dik and Lucy, appeared in their Airstream 190. They have only had their Airstream a few months, and they decided to test the WBCCI waters with this rally. There were a few other friends and family that joined in, making a total of 7 Airstreams and 2 other-style campers! It was cold and rainy and by group consensus we headed 12 miles down the road to the Das Dutchman Essenhaus buffet for supper. Still raining when we got back, everyone headed to their silver habitat for the evening. Late at night, Tom saw it was snowing and ventured outside to retract the awnings! Friday, April 5 The main focus of this rally was the RV Hall of fame. Since 1972 the museum has showcased vintage campers along a roadway back into history that meanders past vintage motor homes, pop-ups, and travel trailers dating back to pre-World-War II. Our group of old campers spent two hours checking out these old campers! Here are a few: After lunch, back at the trailers, we headed out to Yoder Meats & Cheese, and the Ris’N Roll bakery. Tom and I stocked up on our favorites: smoked bacon cheese, aged swiss, summer sausage, sweet-meat sticks, Cajun crab dip, and a sausage bread loaf. This would provide our snacks and lunches for the next few days. The weather had improved and prompted us to all prepare our own dinner and then gather around several picnic tables. . . where I had a chance to sneak a few up-close pictures. We adjourned from the table to the campfire for the rest of the evening. Saturday, April 6 In the middle of Indiana Amish country are old-world towns such as Nappanee, Shipshewana, Middlebury, Wakarusa, and Goshen. All are famous in their own way for good Amish offerings, and in separate groups we headed off to explore. Our destination was the Old Bag Factory – a shopping mall that had been built around an old factory building. Since we were here the last time the shops seemed to have declined and were mostly second-hand stores with lots of empty spaces and not of much interest to us. We returned to the campground by 2:30 to enjoy the nice day – sun and warm temperatures. Around an afternoon campfire we socialized, crafted, and Lou gave Lucy lessons in crochet. This trickled into another shared supper-time and an extension of the campfire into the evening. Jane got this group picture of us gathered around the picnic table. That is pretty much a wrap for this rally. Several of us were going home to regroup, repack, and head out for the next big event – Gettysburg!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |