VA Commonwealth Rally: Harrisonburg

We took a long weekend off from our home sale preparation to attend the Virginia Commonwealth Airstream Rally at the Harrisonburg Fairgrounds with many of our friends. In addition to several unit rallies each year, there is a state rally, region rally, and international
event. This was the first rally we had attended since beginning our 18 months full-time RV tour back in November 2005.

At this rally our NORVA unit was responsible for preparing the Sunday morning breakfast prior to the church service. One of the photos features some of our dedicated ladies who prepared the meal.

The featured 1959 Vintage Airstream coach (above) has been restored by our good friends, Eric and Norma. They are among our more adventuresome NORVA members. Recently, they purchased a campground in New Brunswick. We are tentatively planning to spend some time helping them during the Summer of 2009. Eric is shown here with their famous canine, Stasburg.

This was our first rally to fly our Texas state flag. Don't hold your breath waiting to see a Dallas Cowboys pennant waving.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

One of the joys of being home is getting to spend time with Robin and Samuel. Alejandro is in Colombia attending to his coffee business. Samuel, age 8, is having lots of fun playing for the Angels in the Single A Baseball League. We have attended several of his practices and games, and he keeps improving. Robin also gave us a special treat--tickets to a Washington Nationals game against the Atlanta Braves. It was an afternoon game, and the weather was perfect as was our ride on Metrorail. We think you will be able to tell the difference between the Angels and the Nationals in the photos.

A Mother's Day We'll Never Forget!

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and Robin, our only child in town, treated Mom (Dad got to go too) to Sunday dinner at Outback Steakhouse following church. As the dinner progressed, Robin, with the help of waiters and waitresses gave us our greatest gift ever. She and her siblings had decided to surprise us with an expenses paid trip to Hawaii for our 50th wedding anniversary next September 7. In preparation for the huge announcement, each of our five kids had sent cutouts of themselves, their spouses, and their children to Robin for the big presentation. The Outback employees stretched the cutout banner full length for all to see. To say that we were shocked and overjoyed is putting it mildly. We have been in every state EXCEPT Hawaii. We celebrated our 49th anniversary in Alaska, the 49th state (see our September 2006 blog post), and now we will get to be in the 50th state on our Golden Anniversary. Do we have great kids or what? How blessed we are to have such a wonderful family.

Home At Last!

A couple of days ago, we returned to Skyline Ranch Resort, near Ft. Royal, VA. This is the same place where our coast-to-coast venture began back in November 2005. We drove our car about 35,000 miles during the past 18 months; actual towing miles were less. Many miles were driven without the Airstream as we toured various locations, to include Alaska, the Yukon and British Columbia.

We love it here at Skyline. It was the place we joined 23 years ago when Courtney was only five years old. We still remember how she loved to ride the horses, muck the stalls, use the pool, attend barn dances, and run around with other teens as she grew older. Once she learned to drive, here interest waned, but we have continued to enjoy this wonderful respite. After paying our annual membership dues, are camping is free. There have been many improvements here since our initial trip with our old 1963 Magnolia trailer. Floy, who was the co-owner then, is now the Campground Manager.