These are the reviews of SNU luncheons and rallies that were published in SNU newsletters. Most were written by Diane Leipper unless otherwise indicated.
The January lunch at Bavarian World reminded us all of why it is one of our favorite restaurants. Great food, great service and easy access. Top it off with a visit to the bakery after lunch and it doesn't get much better. We had a great turnout for the lunch including Robert and Cecilia Stansbury and Richard and Marian Rego whom we haven't seen in about a year. In fact, the Rego's have now become affiliate members of the SNU. We are glad to have them aboard. Others attending the lunch included Jerry & Dyann, Gary & Anita, Wes & Roy, Mike & Cindy, Roger & Janet, Jim & Barbara, Dave, Diane, & Bryan. Listening to all the conversations it sounds like there are a lot of travel plans in the works for various SNU members in 2011. These plans include Robert & Cecilia attending the Mardi Gras Rally and then going on their first WBCCI Caravan. Roger and Janet are on the reserve list for their first caravan of the Northeastern U.S. Jim and Barbara have plans for a trip to Mexico with Rotary International. Rich and Marian will be heading for the Hobo Rally along with Robert & Cecilia. Vaughn Peak will also be at the Hobo rally. There seem to be various other plans in the works as well. Rumor has it that one of our roving correspondents, Frank Colligan will soon be sending us an article about the Rose Parade Rally that he and Carol attended. We hope to hear from everyone about their travels. Their stories will certainly make for a lot of interesting SNU newsletters. There was also conversations about the special rallies the SNU has planned for 2011. It looks like everyone is looking forward to the joint rally with the San Fernando Valley Unit in August at Obsidian Dome and the SNU Anniversary rally at Zephyr Cove in September. All in all, 2011 seems to be shaping up for a very special year. After a delicious meal and a lot of visiting, we all adjourned to the bakery where everyone picked up a few treats to take home.
Despite some questionable weather, we had a good turnout for the February lunch at El Charro. Participants included Jerry & Dyann, Wes & Roy, Mike & Cindy, Vaughn, Roger & Janet, Randy & Vicki, and Bryan & Diane. As usual, we had a great time catching up on all the news while enjoying some great Mexican food. Mike and Cindy just recently returned from a trip to Daytona where the main attraction was the Daytona 500. They got to watch Trevor Bayne win the race. Trevor, who at one day after his 20th birthday, is the youngest person to ever win that race. Mike said one of the best parts was being able to go on the track itself and walk around the pit areas. Mike and Cindy did some other sightseeing while they were in Florida. There was so much to see and do, they now want to go back and spend a little more time exploring. Roger and Janet have now moved up to a 1st alternate position for a WBCCI Caravan next fall covering the Northeastern U.S. We'll keep our fingers crossed that they will be able to go as this will be their first caravan. Randy has some work ahead of him correcting a problem with the wheels on his Airstream. He got some good tips and ideas from Mike and others at the lunch. It's been a while since we have seen Vaughn so it was nice to have him at the lunch. Vaughn's wife Donna recently passed away after a long illness. Vaughn is planning on attending the WBCCI International Rally in DuQuoin in June. Dyann, Diane, and RoyLaine had a brief discussion about an unofficial rally this coming Thanksgiving. We all enjoyed Thanksgiving at Scout Camp in 2009 and agreed it would be fun to do it again this year. More information on this plan will be forthcoming. Anyone who wishes to participate would be welcome. Lunch at El Charro was a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a cold Saturday. Now we are all looking forward to the first SNU rally of 2011 at Weed Heights in March.
What a wild start to the 2011 rally season, at least weather wise! The cold stormy weather was just not conducive to prepping the Airstream, never mind getting ready for, or traveling to a rally. Never the less, a few of us did make it to Weed Heights, It turned out to be an interesting first SNU rally for Rich and Marian. They were assisting with the Friends of NRA dinner on Saturday so the rally served a dual purpose for them. They got a sample of the SNU's flexibility and adaptability. The other rally participants were Jerry & Dyann and Bryan and Diane. Our hosts, Mike and Cindy weren't able to come because Mike got the flu. Wes and Roy were also planning to come but their dog Sam needed a little surgery on Friday. We missed them all. We hope that Mike is feeling better and that Sam's surgery went well. We made a few changes in the rally plans. Instead of doing omelets in a bag, we did scrambled eggs with sausage, mushrooms, cheese & olives. Since Rich and Marian were going to be involved with the NRA dinner Saturday, we moved the crock pot pot luck to Friday so they could participate. We were delighted to have Wheels and Doris drive out on Saturday for the afternoon and join us for dinner. Anita stopped by on Sunday on her way up to Goose Lake. The weather was windy most of the weekend which made us really appreciate the nice warm club house. Thursday there was a good snow flurry but it didn't stick. Saturday we were rocked to sleep by wind gusts. The activity level at this rally was anything but wild. It was a great weekend just to visit, to do some reading, take dogs for walks, take some inspirational naps, and play cards. One of the most exciting highlights was a card game between Wheels & Dyann on Saturday. Check the link in this newsletter to see the video – don't fall asleep! All in all it was an enjoyable weekend. We are all looking forward to April at Boca. Hopefully by then spring really will be here.
Although it was a rather windy and cold start to the Boca rally, the weekend ended with almost perfect weather on Sunday. We had a great turnout including 10 kids! A new record for the SNU. Gene & Carmen had six of their kids and grandkids. Jerry & Dyann had two kids, Taylor and Sammy. Tom & Kristy and their two kids, Patrick and Brien also attended. In addition to the kids, other rally participants were Roger & Janet, Rich & Barbara, and Bryan & Diane. Tom had a neat game he set up that the kids really enjoyed. Then there was attempts to catch fish and crawdads in the lake, riding bikes around the campsite, and cooking hotdogs and other treats on the campfire. We also enjoyed shared meals for dinner on Friday and lunch and dinner on Saturday. We spent a lot of time sitting around the campfire swapping stories, maintenance tips, ideas for other Airstream related projects and just enjoying the views and the company. This was Tom and Kristy's first SNU rally and we hope to see at many more rallies. All in all it was a great weekend
Once again, Mother Nature and circumstances provided the entertainment for a rally. Once again, it was clear why we don't let weather forecasts impede rally plans. Even though it seems yet another frontal system or two were supposed to move in over the weekend, we had a great rally at Ft Sage. For the most part the weather was moderate and wind was minimal. We enjoyed beautiful mornings around the campfire and were able to have our Friday shared meal outside. The wildflowers at Ft Sage were spectacular. Paintbrush, lupine, and many other varieties were blanketed amongst the sagebrush. We did have to share the campground with some other campers this year. Except for letting the kids drive noisy off road vehicles in circles around the campground they were good neighbors. SNU members at Ft Sage included Randy & Vicki, Wes & Roylaine, Jerry & Dyann, Bryan and Diane. It's been a while since Randy & Vicki have made a rally. The same with Wes & Roy. Randy has been busy putting in another Fantastic fan and doing some other projects on his Airstream. Wes & Roy ended up getting a new refrigerator for their Airstream. It seems like all the new pieces and parts worked just fine this weekend. Saturday things got a little interesting. Just as we were getting ready for dinner, we began to have some rain showers. Not to be deterred, Jerry rolled out his awning and we set up tables, hauled in our chairs, sat almost knee to knee and enjoyed another great meal with rain, thunder, and even a little hail providing the entertainment. Of course, as soon as we finished eating the showers stopped. The storm clouds made for a spectacular sunset. Sunday was warm and sunny. After morning coffee and goodies, we began to pack up and head home. Another great weekend with good friends.
Our June rally at Sweetwater Summit was great as usual. By Friday we had five rigs at the rally, six counting the Bvan. Jerry says since Bryan was using it as a ham shack it could be counted as an independent rig. Rally participants included Jerry & Dyann, Bryan, Diane, Randy & Vicki, Roger & Janet, and Wes & Roy. Bryan had just gotten some radio equipment from Gary so this Field Day rally was the perfect time to test things out. Over the weekend, we finally figured out why most WBCCI Units schedule at least some activities for their rallies. People get into too much mischief sitting around brainstorming, swapping stories, and throwing out ideas. That's how the SNU ended up with inspirational naps, hap-hazzard parallel parking and, at this rally ideas about tatoos among other things. The highlight of the rally was Sunday morning when Bruce Rhymes flew down in his Cessna to visit us. He's the guy Randy and Vicki met at Ft Sage. We saw Bruce circle over us and we thought he was landing, then we noticed him circling again. Jerry drove over to pick him up. What had happened was there were cows on the landing strip and Bruce had to try and shoo them off, then had to wait for one who was walking down the center of the airstrip to move before he could land. Bruce's wife Kathy wasn't able to make this trip but we hope to meet her soon. Bruce is also a ham radio operator so he has a lot in common with the SNU. Also, as usual, we enjoyed our morning coffee and goodies and we had some great shared meals for dinner. Roger cooked a roast on his Cobb Cooker. It was the highlight of Saturday's dinner. Sunday it was time to head home and get ready for the next rally.
Hickison was well worth the drive out Hwy 50 past Austin. The campground sits up on pine and juniper covered hills with panoramic views of the Eastern Nevada landscape. Other than a few overnight campers we were the only ones there for the weekend. There was a well maintained interpretive trail that included several petroglyph sites and a hike along the ridges with more breathtaking views. Rally participants included Wheels & Doris, Bryan & Diane, Randy & Vicki and Jerry & Dyann. We all agreed that Hickison is definitely on the SNU top 10 rally site list. Wheels & Doris arrived first. Doris met us all decked out in her pink flamingo finery. Saturday Dyann and Vicki took turns getting photographed in Doris's flamingo vest, crown, and necklace. All in all it was nice relaxing weekend with good food, good friends, and a great location.
Nine rigs from 3 different Units attended the August Rally at Obsidian. Unique at this rally was that we had more California residents than Nevada residents. Rally participants included Victor & Bobbi Kingsland and Jerry & Jackie Freeman from the San Fernando Valley Unit. Gregg & Valri Ayer represented the NorCal Unit. SNU members included Jerry & Dyann Thornburg, Mike & Cindy Gower, Don & Gail Williams, Dan Randall, Rick & Jeanne Sassin LaBorde, and Bryan & Diane Leipper. Among the highlights of this rally were the pancake breakfast on Friday and the omelets in a bag breakfast on Saturday. Don thinks we have started a new tradition for the SNU with these special breakfasts. It is always nice to have the right equipment when you are doing things like this. Victor and Bobbi brought their electric griddle which was hooked to a generator to cook pancakes. Jerry brought his propane griddle which was put to good use cooking sausage and bacon. Jerry also brought his propane stand burner and that along with the one Mike and Cindy brought, were used to boil big pots of water to cook the omelets in. Having breakfast was Bobbi's idea and it was a huge success. Our Friday night BBQ was also a success. Don made a peach cobbler in his dutch oven. It turned out great. Jerry & Dyann BBQ'd some great tasting ribs. Gregg & Valri also had some tasty ribs. Along with all the other contributions we were not lacking in variety and we definitely were not in fear of going hungry. Other than eating, we had a great time, exploring the area and just visiting. Friday night the skies clouded up but other than a few sprinkles, it didn't rain. We were treated with an exceptionally beautiful double rainbow during our dinner. Sunday after most people had headed home, we were fortunate to spot a deer family walking down to the stream. A nice buck with a good set of horns, a doe and a fawn. About 1pm Victor & Bobbi, Don & Gail, and Bryan & Diane head on to Mammoth to spend the night at Mammoth Mountain RV park. Jerry and Jackie were already there. Everyone went to a local restaurant for dinner Sunday night. Two other Airstreams were spotted in the campground and needless to say, they received visitors. One couple, the Swaffers were home and were invited for breakfast Monday morning. Bobbi caught up with the other Airstream owners later. As it turned out it looks like both the San Fernando Unit and the SNU gained potential new members. The Swaffers live in Reno and the other Airstream owners live near Victor & Bobbi. Bobbi outdid herself with Monday breakfast. She had all sorts of muffins, bagels, fruit, jams and jellies. It was a great way to end a rally and it left us all excited about next year's rally at Obsidian.
Nothing like the sound of road construction and traffic with a heavy dose of motorcycles and the smell of hot asphalt to let you know you are NOT at a typical SNU rally. Despite the road construction during the day, what a fantastic weekend we had at Campground by the Lake in South Lake Tahoe. Even the weather cooperated. The campground is located right across the highway from Lake Tahoe in a pine forest. The pine trees provided some interesting challenges for maneuvering a trailer. We all met the challenge with no scratches or dents on the Airstreams and no nicks in the trees. Friday we had happy hour about 4:30 then dinner. As usual, the SNU cooks outdid themselves. After dinner we sat around the campfire and just enjoyed a quiet evening. Saturday, after morning coffee we all headed off to the Lake Tahoe Historical Society Museum. A very unusual sight seeing the whole group hiking together through the woods. That museum is really worth a visit. It is small but full of wonderful exhibits that give you a great overview of the history of the Lake Tahoe area. Lynn was our tour guide and she was just chock full of interesting information. Then it was back to camp to rest up for the evening. About 3pm we were surprised and delighted to see the Gorsuch's pull into the campground. We had been expecting them Thursday and were wondering what happened. A ball joint in their motorhome broke. Thank goodness they were at a dump station just leaving an RV park when the MoHo just dropped down. With a little effort and luck they were able to get the joint replaced and made it to the rally in time to join us for dinner on the Dixie. At 4pm we gathered for a short walk across the street to catch the shuttle to the M.S. Dixie. The second group walk in one day! A record for the SNU. What a great time that was. The dinner was excellent. Watching the sun set on Lake Tahoe was beautiful. Seeing the lights along the shore and all the stars in the sky made the return trip something special. Listening to the live band, even doing a little dancing and watching the other cruise participants also provided some entertainment. Sunday while enjoying a leisurely coffee and goodies gathering. Vicki provided a little morning entertainment by her dance rendition of some of the more interesting cruise participants. Unlike our cruise buddies, Vicki was a little overdressed but she certainly had us all laughing. After that, everyone finished packing up and the Airstreams started to depart the campground. We had 12 rigs at this rally. Participants included Randy & Vicki Grossmann & Vicki's sister, Ann, Wes & RoyLaine Warn, Don & Gail Williams, Jerry & Dyann Thornburg, Gary & Anita Haskett, Bryan and Diane Leipper, Jim & Barbara Muff, Wheels & Doris Wheeler, Rich & Barbara Osborn, Richard and Sylvia Gorsuch, Bob & Cecilia Stansbury, and Ken & Judy Bechthold. Saturday two of the Muff's grandchildren and new SNU members. Baxter & Marlene Swaffer joined us for the dinner cruise on the M.S. Dixie. Judy Bechthold is current President of Region 12. Bob Stansbury is the 2nd VP of Region 12 and the chair of the 2011 Region 12 Rally. Cecilia Stansbury is the Region 12 Recording Secretary. With the Region 12 rally and business meeting coming up on October 13th, it was great that they all could take the time to join us for the SNU Anniversary Rally. Randy did an outstanding job of putting this rally all together. His contact for the M.S. Dixie and the campground staff were great to work with. That made Randy's job easier and helped ensure that everything went smoothly. The SNU wanted to do something special for it's 35th Anniversary and this rally more than met expectations.
After two rather atypical rallies (The South Lake and the Region 12 Rally) it was great to have the October SNU rally at Scout Camp. This rally was unique too in that it had a very special happy ending. Scout Camp is part of the Ft. Churchill State Park. It is a dispersed area right on the Carson River. The weather was absolutely perfect, in particular, no wind! By Friday there were six of us at the rally. The Thornburg's and Leipper's arrived at Scout Camp on Monday afternoon. We all decided a few extra days in the boonies was a great way to relax after the Region Rally. We did get some work accomplished though. The park service had made a large pile of tree limbs and logs earlier in the year. There was still a large pile left so we loaded it in Jerry's truck and hauled it to our campsite. Jerry got out his electric chain saw and went to work. We had enough wood to keep a nice campfire going all week and burned the last of it on Sunday morning. The rally was the usual SNU event with morning coffee and goodies, inspirational naps, short walks along the trails, shared dinners, and all day campfires. We had evening serenades by cows and coyotes. We spent a lot of time visiting and sharing ideas and information including reviewing the Region Rally and winterizing your rig. The big project for the weekend though ended up being power systems. Wes and Roy woke up Friday morning with no electricity. Jerry and Bryan soon discovered it was a faulty GFI circuit breaker. After some clean up and tweaking, Wes and Roy were back in business. Paul, the Ranger came by every morning. His new assistant is a young woman named Kim. She apparently had lots of plans for tours and other activities at Ft Churchill and at Buckland Station. They would stop by for coffee when making morning rounds and we had a great time chatting with them. We had noticed that there was what appeared to be a stray dog roaming around. Wes and Doris had put out some food for it. Not long after Gene and Carmen's grandkids arrived, they had managed to befriend the dog. The dog seemed to be less than a year old, a mixed breed with huge paws. Needless to say, all of us took a liking to him and knew we couldn't leave him at Scout Camp. As it turned out, Wes and Roy ended up taking him after the pup had met with the initial approval of Sam, Lilly, and Hugo. Talking to Roy a week after the rally, she says that “Scout” has adapted very well, is gaining weight and that recently Sam took his ball to Scout to get him to play. The ultimate sign of acceptance. We'll all look forward to seeing Scout at many more SNU rallies, watching him grow and be a happy healthy dog
The November lunch at B.J.'s BBQ gave us a chance to catch up on everyone's travels. Mike & Cindy recently returned from a trip to Italy. Baxter & Marlene toured the Southwest in their Airstream. Check the link in this newsletter for their excellent trip report. Roger returned home from spending time in Michigan with his daughter. Roger and Janet had a little excitement the day before our lunch. They live close to the area affected by the Caughlin fire and had to evacuate their home. They took the Airstream to a safer location in case they needed a place to sleep and Roger got his classic MG out of harms way. Although homes near them burned their house survived. Wes and Roy reported that Scout, the dog they so graciously took in. got a clean bill of health from the vet and is adapting well to his new home and family. The only problem with the lunch at B.J.'s was deciding which of the great menu items we wanted. Everyone got it figured out and we all enjoyed some delicious BBQ.
It was a beautiful December day for the drive to the SNU lunch at the Overland in Fallon. The food was good and the company as usual, was great. Jerry & Dyann, Mike & Cindy, Roger & Janet, Bryan, Diane, Bob & Cecelia, Rich & Marian and Gary & Anita were all there. Bob & Cecelia filled us in a little on their recent cruise through the Panama Canal. Looks like Bob & Cecelia along with Rich & Marian are planning on a spring trip to China. That's in between a full schedule of Airstream trips and rallies and other personal travels. The rest of us are looking forward to travels closer to home. Other topics of discussion at the lunch included yet another Motorhome proposal coming up at the 2012 WBCCI International Rally and the SNU's possible involvement in the 2015 Region 12 Rally. This luncheon was a great way to end 2011. I think we are all looking forward to another great year in 2012.
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