Our Second Annual Eastern Gypsy Gathering is getting closer every day. As of now we have over 100 RVs registered, and every day more registrations are coming in. Things are happening fast, and I have lots of rally news to share with you.

At last year’s rally, husband and wife team Melissa and Larry Beahm of One More Time delighted the crowd with their concert, and a while back they wrote to ask if we’d like to have them back this year. Their concert is set for Wednesday evening, and I know you’re all going to love them.

However, as they say in those television infomercials, but wait, there’s more! Yesterday Melissa e-mailed to offer to do a second concert on Thursday evening, this one a combination of soft rock, jazz, blues, and a couple of original songs they’d like to showcase. The performance will include some Carole King, Frank Sinatra, James Taylor, Johnny Nash, and The Beatles. Sounds great, doesn’t it? I told Melissa we’d love to have them give us two performances.

These two are very talented, and a lot of fun, and all they ask for their great contribution to the rally is that we pass the hat for donations. Last year the crowd was very appreciative of their efforts, and very generous in showing them so, and I know this year will be more of the same.

We know how dangerous an overloaded RV can be, and how carrying too much weight can cause all sorts of mechanical problems, from early tire failure to broken shock absorbers and even axles. So one of the first things we plan to do at the rally is have the folks from the Recreational Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF) weigh our new to us Winnebago motorhome. The new rig has a pretty healthy cargo carrying capacity, but you can never be too safe, and it is an investment in our safety.

The RVSEF representatives will be doing two seminars at the rally on RV Weight Safety and RV Tire Safety, both on Tuesday morning, because they have other commitments and will have to leave the rally early to get to another event back here in Indiana. Usually they schedule RV weighing for after a rally, but this time around they will be weighing rigs as they arrive.

If you plan to have your RV weighed, please click the appropriate link and print out and complete the Motorhome Work Sheet or the Trailer Work Sheet. Then when you arrive, you can just hand it to the weighing crew and save everybody a lot of time. For weighing fees and information, or any questions, call Rick Lang at (207) 522-3336, or e-mail him at ricklang46@hotmail.com.   

If you have not signed up yet for the Geeks on Tour pre-rally Computer Boot Camp Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27, click this registration link and get that taken care of now. Everyone I know who has attended one of the Geeks’ Boot Camps has had nothing but praise for it, including Miss Terry.

The material in the Boot Camp is more advanced than most people expect.  The program is designed to fill in the holes in your computer knowledge, and I promise you that you will come away a much more informed computer user. I’ve always been the one who knew his way around a computer in our home on wheels, but after taking the Boot Camp last year, Miss Terry has found herself answering questions for me many times.

The cost of the Boot Camp is $99 per computer for one person or a couple. This does not include your camping fee, which will be paid directly to the Mercer County Fairgrounds. For more information on the Boot Camp, go to http://www.geeksontour.com/bootcamp/.

The two new seminars the Geeks on Tour will be presenting, Blogger: Beyond the Basics, and Picasa: Beyond the Basics are a Gypsy Gathering exclusive that you won’t find anywhere else. They will be primarily a question and answer format, and if you will send your questions to Chris Guld in advance, she says it will help her insure they get covered.

As you can see, there is a lot going on, and if you click the Rally Registration Page and scroll to the bottom to see the schedule, I think you’ll be impressed. We think it’s going to be a great rally, and I hope we see you there! 

Thought For The Day – We teach others how to treat us by how we treat ourselves.

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally

We can tell it’s getting warmer down in the desert, because people are starting to head up to Arizona’s cool mountains. Last week Phoenix had its first triple digit day, and over the weekend we had an influx of neighbors at Show Low Lake Campground. Up until now, we’ve pretty much had the place to ourselves, except for the camp host and managers, and one other camper.

This is the best time of year for fishing Arizona’s high country lakes and yesterday we watched some of the action at Show Low Lake, across the street from the campground. One fellow was casting with a fly rod, his line trailing out behind him as he whipped his limber rod back and forth.

We had to chuckle at a couple in a boat who were coming in from fishing and almost swamped their boat trying to get out of it at the dock. It was kind of like watching newbie RVers trying to back into a campsite.

Of course, it’s not just newbies who have occasionalproblems. After ten years of fulltiming, we pretty much have it down to a science, and with Miss Terry’s expert guidance, I can usually get into any campsite on the first try, with maybe just a little bit of fine tuning once I’m in. But, if there is a crowd of people standing around watching, I’ll run over the utility box, the hose bib, a stray French poodle, or anything else without the good sense to get out of the way. I just don’t do well under pressure!

Terry got the last of the envelopes stuffed with the new issue of the Gypsy Journal over the weekend, and today we’ll drive back to Flagstaff to drop them off at the mail service. Then hopefully we will have some down time to enjoy our grandkids before we hit the road again.

While she was busy with that chore, I was working on lining up entertainment for both our Arizona Gypsy Gathering rally next March 8 – 12 in Yuma, and for the Ohio Gypsy Gathering rally, September 28 – October 2 of this year.

Melissa and Larry Beahm from One More Time wowed the crowd in Celina, Ohio last year, and they will be coming back with a brand new show this time around. We’re excited to have them performing for us again. Melissa and Larry are a fun couple, and they have been making a name for themselves performing at RV rallies and other events from New York to Texas. We’re excited to have them back again.

For the Arizona rally, we are bringing in an excellent performer named Michael Hargis, who has shared the stage with such big name acts as Chubby Checker, The Drifters, and The Oak Ridge Boys. After listening to Michael’s demo recordings, Terry and I both knew that we wanted to hear more from this talented entertainer. His range is really amazing!

If you haven’t made your plans to attend one of our rallies yet, mark them on your schedule now. And don’t forget, we still have vendor spots open at both rallies, so reserve your space now while it’s still available.

Thought For The Day – Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous. You will get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally