I try to be a nice guy, and I think most of the time I come pretty close. But there are times when I just have to be a jerk. Or at least some people think that I’m being a jerk.

It has happened a couple of times in the last few days.

I got an e-mail from a lady who purchased our RVers Guide To Fairgrounds Camping a while back, and was upset because one of the fairgrounds had raised their rates and we didn’t have the new rate listed. She wanted to know what kind of satisfaction I was going to offer her.

I replied that while we are constantly updating our guides, it would be impossible for us visit each and every place on a repeated basis to check on any changes. But we do send out inquiries twice a year asking for any changes. If they don’t give us updated information, we can’t reflect those changes.  We have a disclaimer in the first page of the guide that we are not responsible for changes in site fees, availability, or access. I also asked her what “satisfaction “ she expected on a $7.50 guide that still lists fairgrounds with RV camping sites in states from border to border.  

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I got a second complaint on the same fairgrounds guide, this time because a gentleman stopped at a fairgrounds in Wisconsin to spend the night, and they told him that their RV sites were closed for the season and the water was turned off. He told me he expected us to not only refund his money, but also to pay him for his night at a campground he did eventually find open. Well, that’s just not going to happen. I did mention that it was Wisconsin, in December, right?

Back in August, just before our rally in Elkhart, Indiana, a vendor came by Elkhart Campground while Terry and I were laying out the vendor sales area, and demanded that we move him because he was too close to another vendor selling a similar product. We agreed to do so, and spent some time shuffling vendor spaces to make him happy.

A few minutes later I got a call from the campground’s owner because he was in the office making demands on who would be parked near him. So I had to stop what I was doing to go put that fire out, and to apologize to the campground’s owner for his rude behavior.

Then, a day before the rally started, he called me to say that he could not attend the rally because his wife had a medical emergency that required a trip back to California. He also said that his expected merchandise had not arrived, and asked for a refund, even though we don’t give refunds on last minute booth cancellations. But because of the emergency, I told him that we would refund his vendor fees, to help cover the cost of their unexpected trip back to California. Even though we had been turning away vendors because we were full, which meant we would lose money.

However, once the rally had started, this same vendor came through the campground, putting fliers on all of the RVs, advertising his products, which of course ticked off the dealers who had paid for their vendor sites. So obviously, he did not have to go back to California for a medical emergency, and he did have merchandise if he was distributing fliers trying to sell it.

I called him about it, and told him I didn’t appreciate that, and that if he wanted to sell his stuff at our rally, he needed to come and set up the booth he had reserved. He hemmed and hawed, but never came back.

So he didn’t get his refund, and yesterday he e-mailed me wanting to know why. I told him why, and that he would not be attending any of our future rallies either. I’m a pretty easygoing guy, and I believe in doing what I can to accommodate my customers.

But sometimes I have to draw a line. I don’t like being lied to, and I don’t like being taken for a fool. That’s when the jerk in me comes out.

Thought For The Day – You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.

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Okay, now I have officially seen it all. When we arrived at the Giant Center yesterday, everybody going into the RV show had to pass through a security checkpoint, where sheriff’s deputies were searching all purses, bags, backpacks, briefcases, and such. I asked what they were looking for, and the lady deputy told me they were trying to prevent anyone from bringing alcohol onto the premises.

Are you kidding me? Not guns, hand grenades, or flamethrowers, but booze! Heck, if I was an RV salesman trying to sell some of the crap they make these days, I’d want my customers to be half in the bag. It would make my job a lot easier! Maybe they were worried about the vendors making hot toddies to ward off the chill from standing on the ice rink? In all of our years on the road, working RV rallies from coast to coast, I’ve never seen that before!

Several of the vendors who have worked the Hershey RV Show in the past have been telling us all week that Friday and Saturday would be killer days, and make up for the terribly slow days we had during the week. As it turns out, yesterday was a better day than we had been experiencing, but it wasn’t the killer day they had forecast.

We did see more traffic, and we passed out a lot of sample copies of the Gypsy Journal, but sales were nothing to get excited about, and we were never overwhelmed with customers swarming into the vendor area. But, overall, we had a fairly steady flow of people passing by.

In the last couple of days, we did get the opportunity to see some folks we have met before, and we got to meet some longtime Gypsy Journal and blog readers. Ralph and Cheryl Schey stopped by Thursday, as did Brain Marsh, and Roy Brody. Yesterday Dave and Linda Spindle came by, also Dick and Susan Nevala, Jim Kilpatrick, Gary and Truann Berger, and  I know that there were several others whose names escape this late at night. I hope those who I missed will forgive me.

And here are some photos of the other vendors who are here with us. These three ne’er-do-wells are (left to right) Amy Cannon, Mike Hayn, and Walter Cannon, manning the RVSEF booth.

A few booths down from them, Sandy and Ralph Kinzer were in their booth, displaying Star Lights LED lights for RVs. Switching to LED lights can really help reduce your power usage, and boondockers have eagerly embraced the LED technology.

Now here’s a shady character it there ever was one. That’s my pal Al Hesselbart, historian for the RV Hall of Fame Museum in Elkhart, Indiana.

Al may look like a cowboy in that picture, but the picture I can’t get out of my mind is the one of him as one of the Hoosier Honey beauty contestants at our rally in Elkhart a couple of weeks ago. I’ve tried, folks, I really have. But it’s burned into my psyche forever.

Here’s Miss Terry petting one of the rabbits that Flakey the Clown uses when he entertains kids young and old at RV rallies and shows.

The pretty smiling lady on the left is Carrie Freeman, from Round Top Campground in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Carrie is about the most cheerful person I’ve ever met. She’s so happy she depresses me sometimes. I can’t tell you her friend’s name, because she in the federal witness protection program and it’s classified information. Or else I just forgot it, I can’t remember which. When we leave here next week, we’re going to stop at Round Top Campground for a couple of days and get underfoot until Carrie throws us out.

So today is supposed to be the big day at the Hershey Show. We’ll see how it works out.

Before I close, one bit of RV industry news. We learned yesterday that Thor Industries has purchased Heartland Recreational Vehicles. I’ve already heard a lot of comments from RVers about how this will impact the marketplace. I’ve always been impressed with Heartland products, and I hope this will be a good move for the company. It’s obviously good for Thor, based upon Heartland’s record setting history of growth, even when the rest of the RV industry was in a deep slump. What are your thoughts on the deal?

Thought For The Day – I took an IQ test, and the results were negative.

Proving just how hard it is to break a bad habit once it gets established, I was awake by 7 a.m. yesterday morning. That’s about four hours after the time I normally get to bed. This really has to stop!

The weather report had called for scattered thunderstorms in western Michigan, and soon after I woke up, strong winds began to rock the motorhome, followed by rain.

Now we had a decision to make. Do we go ahead with our plan to drive to Elkhart, Indiana, hoping we can find a window of good weather to travel in, or do we sit tight at Fisherman’s Landing Campground in Muskegon?

Normally, we would stay put and avoid traveling in bad weather. But the storm passed by in a few minutes, and the weather report called for more of the same for all of this week. Add to that the fact that our power had been kicking off every few minutes at the campground since the night before, even though we had turned off the TV and Dish network receiver, switched our water heater and refrigerator to propane, turned off our air conditioning, shut down our computers and wireless router, and set the battery charge rate on our inverter to just 5 amps. It doesn’t do you any good to have a 30 amp RV site if the campground is crowded, their power is crappy, and everybody else is running everything they have.

We didn’t feel like paying another $25 to dry camp, and with temperatures in the mid-80s, it wouldn’t have been very comfortable anyway. So a little after 9 a.m. we pulled out, stopped at a Bob Evans Restaurant to meet Berni and Rocky for breakfast and a last goodbye, and then headed south on U.S. Highway 31.

Fortunately, we got a break in the weather, and except for a few sprinkles, we had a nice trip. Well, except for the road construction.

Michigan has two seasons; winter and road construction, and we’re smack dab in the middle of the latter. We hit a couple of construction zones on our trip south. I’ve never understood drivers who come into a construction zone and ignore signs telling them to merge right or left, instead speeding forward until the every last minute, then trying to muscle their way in. All they do is create a bottleneck and make things harder for everybody, themselves included. Just get over as soon as you see the signs and keep on rolling. At least until you have to slam on the brakes to keep from running over the idiot trying to wedge in ahead ahead of you, who didn’t.

We pulled into Elkhart Campground a few minutes before 2 p.m., and the place is packed! A lot of folks are here early, just hanging out before our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally.

By the time we got unhooked, Greg and Jan White had come out to greet us, Jan with a batch of freshly baked cookies in her hand. What a beautiful sight! A pretty lady with a handful of goodies beats the heck out of an angry woman with a revolver, a rolling pin, or a restraining order. Trust me on this!  Several other folks came by to say hello as we were getting set up, but I was busy and didn’t get everybody’s name.

Bob and Gita Patel, owners of Elkhart Campground, have really been busy this summer, adding a lot of new 50 amp full hookup sites, and upgrading older sites. If you’re a regular here and haven’t seen all of the improvements yet, I know you’ll be impressed.

Here is our Winnebago on the right, and Greg and Jan’s American Eagle on the left. Don’t you just love a spacious RV site?

Once we were all settled in, and had time to check our e-mails and rest up a while, we went to dinner at Famous Dave’s BBQ in Mishawaka with Greg and Jan. We like Famous Dave’s because they serve huge portions, and everything on the menu is delicious. We always have fun with Greg and Jan, and the time went by fast as we talked about the upcoming birth of their second grandchild, about our mutual RV travels, and anything else that came to mind.

Back at the RV park, we visited for a while more, and then Greg and Jan called it a night. Soon after they left, Frank and Marlene Hinman stopped in to say hello and welcome us to Elkhart. We love visiting with our friends wherever we may be!

Another couple of wonderful friends of ours, Jerry and Suzy LeRoy, just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and are spending the summer on their lot at the Escapees co-op in Benson, Arizona. This is monsoon season in Arizona, which was always my favorite time of year when I lived there.  Jerry has some awesome photos of the dramatic cloud formations that fill the sky during monsoon season in their blog. Check them out, I think you’ll be impressed.

Thought For The Day – I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.

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We love touring small town historical sites, and we spent part of yesterday doing just that, here in Muskegon, Michigan. Rocky and Berni picked us up at the campground and took us downtown to introduce us to a little of their community’s past.

Charles H. Hackley came to Muskegon as a 20 year old man, in 1857, with just $7 to his name. Through hard work and a vision of the future, he parlayed that money into a fortune of over $12 million by the time he died in 1905. In the process, he transformed Muskegon from a sleepy little logging town into a major industrial and commerce center.

Hackley made his fortune in lumber, and built an impressive Queen Anne style mansion in Muskegon that is a showplace of opulence. 

Even his carriage horses lived in style! No simple barn or stable would do for the steeds of such a prominent citizen as Charles H. Hackley!

Inside, the house is decorated with elaborate carvings in the woodwork, paneling, and stair rails. This carving on a coat rack shows some of the intricate details.

As does this China cabinet.

All told, Hackley kept sixteen woodcarvers busy for four years creating the interior of his home.

Many of the home’s windows are beautiful stained glass works.

No detail was spared, and it truly is a showplace, and an example of how the timber barons of America once lived.

Right next door is the home of Hackley’s business partner, Thomas Hume. While still very impressive, the Hume house was designed for comfort and to accommodate Hume’s large family.

While the Hackley House was more impressive, in terms of showing just how well the wealthy live, we found the Hume house more comfortable. Charles Hackley built his home to be a showplace, and it certainly is. But I could never be comfortable living in a place like that. Hume’s house just had more of a welcoming feel. You just know that kids slid down the banister and ran through the third floor rooms playing hide and seek, while no such nonsense would have been tolerated in the Hackley house.

We have enjoyed our time here with Rocky and Berni, but unfortunately, all good things must end. Today we are heading for Elkhart Campground, in Elkhart, Indiana, to get the new issue of the Gypsy Journal ready to go to press, and to get all of the last minute details ready for our upcoming Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally.

Rocky and Berni, we sure do appreciate your hospitality, and you making time for us in your busy schedules. We love you guys.

Thought For The Day – The rewards of age are not for wimps.

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I spent quite a bit of time over the weekend finalizing things for our upcoming Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally in Elkhart, Indiana. Can you believe that it’s less than a month away? It seems like we were just wrapping up our Western rally in Yuma, and here we are halfway across the country getting ready to do it all over again!

Yesterday, I e-mailed info letters out to all of the rally participants whom I have e-mail addresses for. We had several that bounced, even though we checked their addresses against their original reservations. So if you have registered for the rally and didn’t get a letter, it’s either because we have a bad e-mail address for you, or none at all. Please send me a quick e-mail and I’ll get a letter off to you.

Of course, no project is perfect, especially if I have anything to do with it. I had the wrong starting dates for the rally on the first letter I sent out. The rally starts on Monday, August 30 and ends on Friday, September 3rd. If your letter has an incorrect date, my apologies.

I talked to Gita Patel at Elkhart Campground yesterday. They have been busy upgrading a lot of their RV sites to 50 amp full hookups, but they are not sure the job will be completely done before the rally. So at this time, all we have left for sites that we can guarantee, are 30 amp water and electric, and a handful of 20 amp water and electric. If you register and more full hookup sites become available, we can upgrade you once you arrive at the rally, if you wish. But again, there is no guarantee.

Camping for the rally is for four nights, from Monday, August 30 to Thursday, September 2. You can arrive early or stay later if you wish, but those arrangements have to be made directly with Elkhart Campground at (574) 264-2914.  They will not take your reservation for the rally dates, that is handled through us. But for before or after the rally, they will be happy to reserve a site for you.

I also arranged for our entertainment for Wednesday night after the pizza party. Whitt and Judy McKinney, who perform as the McKinney Washtub Two, come highly recommended by several people we know, including Larry and Melissa Beahm of One More Time music, who have performed at our last two Eastern rallies. I think it’s going to be a fun show. Check out the Music Page on their website for sound clips of some of their original songs.

I talked to my buddy Greg White, who pulled into Elkhart Campground yesterday. Greg said the place is really busy, and quite a few folks are already there just waiting for the rally to begin. We’re really looking forward to seeing Greg and his pretty wife Jan again, because like I said, Jan is really pretty, and because I have a lot of projects for Greg to work on.

We also spent a couple of hours last night filling orders that came in with our last mail delivery, or from our website. I’ll be making a post office run this morning to get them in the mail.

It’s been a busy weekend, and it’s only going to get busier as we get closer to the rally dates!

Thought For The Day – Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?

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