2007 Spring Rally Diary

Monday (Sep 21st) - By Monday Sept 21st we had 4 units in for early parking. Monday just happened to be Peg’s birthday. Bill gave us all advance noticed so we had reservations at a local restaurant. Peg was really surprised and we all had wonderful meals. The Game Pie was the biggest hit. After the meal we went back to the Rec Hall where Terri supplied a couple of Amish baked pies for dessert. Tue was filled with more rally preparations and welcoming more early arrivals. Peg & Terri & Nancy A. decorated the Rec Hall while Bill & Jerry ran local errands. A small 4 O'clock social got people settled into the partying mood. As you can guess, card games started that night. TOP

Wednesday (Sep 23rd) - Opening day ceremonies started on time with members greeting old friends and meeting new members & guests. Members attending were Bill & Peg Jones, Jerry & Terri Hopman, Pete & Nancy Armitage, Carol Clyde, Mitch & Renae Butler, Carl & Val Farley, Ed & Kay Lee, Dave Delamater & Joanne White, Don & Ann Splain, Dean & Winnie Murphy, Paul & Sharon Surhoff, Jim & Marge Eckles, Bob Boxell, Ernie & Judy Finch, Paul & Angie Thrash, and Fay Levine. First-timers and new members Bob & Judy Pearce were introduced to their angels Carl & Val. Guests John & Barbara Marciano, Mark & Carol Kenderdine and Joel & Charlotte Fowler were introduced. Bob & Mary Ireland and Guests Lee & Terry Favre had not arrived by Opening Ceremony time.

The hosts started the week's activities by welcoming everyone and explaining some details of the week's happenings. Past President Judy Finch filled in for sorely missed President Bob & Marie Smith. Judy introduced new members & guests and swore in Bill as Treasurer, Terri as Secretary and Dave as Board Member.

After socializing, our first meal of chili, soup, bread & dessert was enjoyed by all. The evening continued with games and thunderstorms. TOP

Thursday (Sep 24th) - On Thursday the group viewed the Diorama in the Artillery Ridge Campground office building. The Diorama is a miniature scale model of the Gettysburg battlefield with more than 20,000 hand painted soldiers and a thousand cannons & horses. The structure took 3 years to build, is the largest military diorama in the US and impressed everyone. Shortly after, we all went to the newly built Gettysburg Visitor Center and Museum. The video, the cyclorama and the museum took nearly everyone over an hour to browse through. The remainder of the day (now early afternoon) was free time. 4 O'clock social and games finished off the day. TOP

Friday (Sep 25th) - Friday was pretty much a free day until the afternoon. We met at 3:00 PM at the Hauser Winery. We had special indoor seating for a wine tasting. Although the many selections of ciders & wines were not to everyone's taste, quite a few bottles were purchased. The winery had a catered meal & entertainment which we participated in. Special seating for our group was provided outside. The meal, the music and the unique surroundings made for a very nice outing. TOP

Saturday (Sep 26th) - Saturday started off with a Continental Breakfast of bagels, English muffins, mixed fruit & coffee. Rain started around midday, but it didn't stop some of our hardy ladies from shopping at the local discount mall. During the afternoon, Bill Jones had arranged for a group of 7 Civil War Re-enactors, one of whom is Bill's cousin. They had us all mesmerized for over an hour, explaining the life of a soldier in those days, including the uniforms and accessories, the lifestyle as a whole and descriptions of the 3 days of battle at Gettysburg and other Civil War battles as well. They hung around for a while and shared some 4 O'clock goodies with us. After a hurried “dinner on your own”, ice cream was served before games began. TOP

Sunday (Sep 27th) - Artillery Ridge Campground, along with it's RV sites, also hosts horse stables and offers riding tours. On Sunday morning a group of mounted police from Lexington, KY arrived for a day's ride before heading to some local competition. Riding troops from various other locations also arrived later in the day and gave us a different aspect than the RV parks we're normally used to.

Sunday afternoon was taken up with crafts & seminars. Terri provided 2 designs of beading kits and Jerry discussed digital photography. A book exchange was organized by Peg. It ended up looking like a small library before we were done.

If it's 5 O'clock it must be Pot Luck time!!! What a feast! We had to use an extra table to hold all the food. While the men cleaned plates in the kitchen (that's right, the men cleaned the plates!!!), dessert was set up. Nancy baked a cake to celebrate birthdays for Peg, Terry F., Carl, Judy and today's birthday boy, Pete who showed off his card and flower by trying to wear the flower. More door prizes were drawn and 50/50 tickets sold. I think everyone had such a good time that games got started a bit late. TOP

Monday (Sep 28th) - Monday morning we all drove to Hanover, PA to visit the Utz Potato Chip Factory. This was a self guided tour. There was a short film about the company history and then a long hallway with many windows to view the factory floor. At each window station a recorded description of that viewed process could be played. The best thing was the complimentary small bags of chips we all grabbed to keep our strength up for the tour. We then had enough energy to drive the few blocks to the factory store where most everyone stocked up on chips & pretzels of various flavors. Yeah, even chocolate covered pretzels. After the Utz tour, many drove to the Hanover Foods Outlet Store for good buys on frozen veggies, soup, etc. TOP

Tuesday (Sep 29th) - On Tuesday morning the day started with another Continental Breakfast. What a great way to start the day! Shortly after, the group caught a tour bus from the Gettysburg Visitor Center to the Eisenhower Farm. Several guides there told us about the history of Dwight D Eisenhower, he & Mamie's purchase of the farm, and stories of their stay there; before, during and after his presidency. It was a very impressive National Historical Site, and if the weather had not been so cool and windy, we probably would have spent more time there.

The afternoon was filled with Board Of Directors & General Member meetings. At 4 O'clock social good news was shared concerning Tommy Pritchard's recent successful surgery and Tommy's desire to share a good booooffee with Chap 400 again soon. The 50/50 drawing was held and $201 was split. Dinner on you own and games followed. TOP

Wednesday (Sep 30th) - Wednesday was a good morning for golf. The mini golf center had 2 different 18 hole courses. We took off screaming onto the courses. Some were screaming all the way through. There were several holes in one, but lot's more 6's than anything else. The courses were not exactly easy. There sure are a lot of hills & rocks around here. The ice cream at the end of it all was especially nice.

Sometime during the morning, a scarecrow at the Lee's site with a name tag that read “Carl” came up missing. It reappeared sometime later at Carl's site with an additional smaller lil man. The Carl tag now read Carl – Master. The smaller man tag read “My name is Ed. My master is the greatest”. No one actually saw the gremlin do this deed, but rumor has it that a Maine accent could be heard in the distance.

Farewell dinner was catered BBQ chicken with baked beans, coleslaw & rolls. Remaining ice cream was served for dessert. Afterwards, the guests each thanked the group and expressed what a good time they had. VP Bob Bragg presented the hosts with Certificates of Appreciation and formally closed the Chapter 400 Fall Rally. A group picture was taken just before the meal as well.

As a final note, food and paper products & money was collected for the Adams Rescue Mission in Gettysburg, the 50/50 raised $201 for charity and approximately 4 pounds of pull tabs were dropped off that will be given to the Ronald McDonald House via the Escapees RV Club-Elks Members (BOF). What a great charity effort this rally was! TOP