Today the Early Birds will be arriving here at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina for our Ohio Gypsy Journal Rally, and I’m already one tired puppy before we even start!
Yesterday we got the vender area and registration tables set up in the Junior Fair building and the vendors who are already here got their booths set up so they could be ready to do business when folks start coming in to register at noon today. We also had a lot of RVs coming in to get parked, and by the end of the day, there were 40 rigs here.
It had rained most of the morning yesterday, and then stopped in the afternoon and the sky cleared up nicely. I was worried abut people getting stuck, but so far no problem, even with the three heavy bus conversions we parked
About the time I thought I had everybody parked, my friend Butch Williams called to tell me that he was five minutes out in his MCI bus conversion, and that he had two other buses with him. I got them all parked, and by the time I was finished with that, Dennis and Gabriella Selm pulled in with their medium duty truck and fifth wheel trailer. Once they were squared away, we headed for the China Wok buffet, accompanied by Mike and Elaine Loscher, Greg and Jan White, and Jim and Chris Guld.
This is one of our favorite Chinese buffets in the whole country, and the food was as delicious as always, and the company was even better. Well, except for me, maybe? By the time we had finished eating, I was falling asleep at the table.
I would have been more than happy to just go home and crawl into bed, but duty called. While Greg was out soliciting door prizes from the local merchants, the folks at Lost in the 50s, a diner in the nearby town of Saint Marys, had asked him to return yesterday. So we drove the eight miles to Saint Marys, and it was well worth the trip. Besides giving us a number of gift certificates, the restaurant also has a nice little museum with a 1950s theme.
There was a collection of automotive memorabilia, model cars, and a display of old gasoline pumps.
They also had a couple of hotrods that I would have been very happy to take for a Saturday night cruise.
And if you’re an Elvis Presley fan, you would enjoy the two stage costumes Elvis wore, as well as his army fatigues.
I had revived by the time we got to Saint Marys, so we drove around the charming little town for a few minutes, admiring some of the beautiful old homes, as well as the old commercial buildings in the downtown area.
By the time we got back to our motorhome at the fairgrounds, that Winnebago sure looked good! I wrote my blog early, so Miss Terry could proof it, and I’d be ready to post it right at midnight.
About 9 p.m. it started raining again, which seems to be the pattern here – wet mornings, nice afternoons, and then it starts to rain again every night. The weather report, if it can be trusted, says that we’ll have rain off and on through Wednesday, and then it will clear out. Somebody suggested we start holding our rallies in drought stricken Texas, where they are desperate for rain. I may call a few Chambers of Commerce and see what we can work out! 🙂
Thought For The Day – The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
We are due north of you just off 127 in Michigan and we have had no rain
up here since Wed. Maybe we should stay here. (Ha). Hope you still
have room for our 5th wheel. We should be there by 1:00 Monday.
Virg
Everything seems to be really well organized (Great job, Terry! lol!) You guys are off to a great start. It’s gonna be a great rally as always!