After too many days inside, I get cabin fever. So yesterday afternoon I took a break from working on the new issue of the Gypsy Journal to make a quick run to the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Fairhope.

While Miss Terry picked up some groceries and other items she needed, I browsed the book selection and picked up a couple of paperbacks that caught my interest. From Wal-Mart, we made a stop at Big Lots, and I waited in the van while Terry ran inside. We were only gone an hour or so, but the break really helped me feel rejuvenated.

Back at Rainbow Plantation, I knocked out several more pages of the new issue, and about 5 p.m. we went to Darryl and Judy Patterson’s nice Cedar Creek fifth wheel for dinner. They have been inviting us ever since we got here before our trip north to Indiana, and since they are leaving in a couple of days, it was now or never.

Norm and Linda Payne also joined us for dinner, and we had a couple of hours of good food and good conversation before it was time to say goodbye and get back to work. I love talking to other experienced RVers, and I always learn about new places to go and new things to see and do from them. It was nice to have the time to visit with both couples, and we really appreciate the great dinner. Miss Terry took over some of her great peanut butter cookies, and they were a hit with everybody.

The rain seems to have moved on past us, and hopefully things will start drying out around here. We are parked next to a tree, and when it rains hard, the leaves seem to get weighed down with the water and rub the top of our motorhome. It’s not enough to do any damage, the noise is just irritating. I want to move the coach a couple of feet to get away from them, but the ground is so darned soft that I’m afraid we’ll get stuck if I try.

We got a Wii for Christmas last year, and enjoyed it quite a bit, but we got busy and it got put aside somewhere and we have not used it in quite a while. Miss Terry mentioned several times that she missed it, so when we got back to the Winnebago I hooked it up and we played four games of bowling. It was a pretty close match – I won two games over Terry’s one, and we were tied on the fourth game. But she had more cumulative points overall, because she trounced me so badly in the game she won. We need to use the Wii more often, it’s a lot of fun, and it gives us a little exercise in the process.

Today and tomorrow will be more of the same, finishing up the new issue. I only have a few more pages to go, so I should be able to send it to the printer on Monday morning. The supervisor is a good guy whom we have worked with before, and he knows about our unexpected delay and said he’ll expedite the job, so hopefully we’ll get them back and in the mail within a few days after they get it.

While I was out goofing off, Bad Nick took over the keyboard and posted a new Bad Nick Blog titled The Rules Have Changed. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Do not light a fire you cannot yourself put out.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally

My friend Jan Chilson had a post in her Wanderings and Side Trips blog yesterday about playing games, from Wahoo to bowling on the Wii, that I found timely because Ron Speidel just introduced us to a new game called Bongo (sometimes called Ladder Golf).

You may have seen this played at RV parks before. Ron made the components of the game, two “ladders” and the balls out of plastic PVC pipe, golf balls, and cord. Basically, the object of the game is to throw two golf balls, linked by a cord, at the ladder, hoping to wrap the cord around one of the three horizontal ladders. It’s a lot harder than it sounds!

We played in three husband and wife teams; Ron and Brenda, Ken and Billie Barker, and Miss Terry and myself. Being newbies at this, Terry and I came in last every game, but we sure had fun, and I can see that we’re going to have to get in some serious practice to redeem our reputation! We don’t have time for Ron to build any more sets before our Ohio Rally, but maybe in the future we’ll have some championship playoffs at a Gypsy Gathering rally.

RVers enjoy a lot of games, from cards to cribbage to Pegs and Jokers, to our personal favorite, Mexican Train. We also got a Wii last winter and have enjoyed bowling and playing tennis on it. With the extra room we have in the Winnebago, we plan to get a lot more use out of the Wii in the future.

What are some of your favorite games?

Speaking of the Ohio Rally, we’ll be leaving Elkhart Campground Sunday, headed for the fairgrounds in Celina, to get set up for the rally. Yesterday we stopped at RV Surplus Salvage, where owner Trina Ambris gave us several very nice door prizes for the rally. Every year Trina has faithfully stepped up to the plate and generously donated door prizes to support both the Ohio rally and the Western Gypsy Gathering in Arizona. We sure appreciate you, Trina!

We’re looking forward to getting our Winnebago back today from Phoenix Commercial Paint. Yesterday Michele Henry painted a new stripe on the motorhome to replace the chipped up one that was on it, and kept it overnight to finish the job this morning. We stopped in yesterday evening and the rig was still covered in masking paper, and Michele had a crew hard at work on it. I’ll have pictures in tomorrow’s blog!

I’ve sure had a lot of responses to yesterday’s Bad Nick Blog post! I’m all for give and take, and I certainly support anyone’s right to speak their mind, even when they disagree with me, but I find it interesting that some people can get so bent out of shape when something doesn’t agree with their way of thinking. It’s all about dialogue folks! About a free exchange of opinions. We don’t have to agree 100% of the time. What fun is that?  

Thought For The Day – America is the land of the free, because it is the home of the brave.

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally