IN: Indiana Meanderers

August State Rally

This year’s state rally was held at Pla-Mor Campground near Bremen, Indiana on August 20-23. The Who’s Yur Winnie state officers were the hosts for the rally and although we had a much smaller group than usual we managed to have a great time with the best weather ever. First time in my recent memory that we managed a four day outing with no rain! It was warm and sunny in the daytime with cooler temps in the evening which was perfect for sitting around the campfires while we talked and solved the problems of the world. There were 15 members attending in 9 coaches for part of the weekend including Scott Feichter, Glen & Janet Gish, Jim Iding, Ron & Tammy Kline, Dorothy Michalak, Mike Pieczko & Lori Tindall, Gene & Kathy Rieck, Bob & Ruth Stoeckley, and Fred & Carol Thomas. Susan Iding was home resting up after a trip to take care of their grandchildren so didn’t make it to the rally. And Mike & Lori came on Wednesday but due to some technical motorhome issues they left on Friday morning. Also former member Sandy Ellis stopped by for a visit and we talked her into staying for dinner on Thursday. It was so nice to see and visit with her. She’s doing well and misses seeing everyone. Then Bill Newcomb and Jean Powell stopped by on Saturday and we also talked them into staying for dinner. So it was a nice turnout and even without very many planned activities we had a great weekend.

Most of us arrived at the rally on Wednesday with Jim Iding and Klines coming on Thursday. So Wednesday evening 12 of us went in to Nappanee for dinner at Hunters Hideaway restaurant and had a nice meal on their outdoor patio. There was a bit of a wait but their corn chowder was worth the wait for me! Thursday there were games in the building and trips to town by car and trips around the campground by bike. It was nice to be lazy and just sit around inside or outside. We hadn’t been anywhere except the occasional trip to the store since February so it was a joy just to talk to and socialize with real people in person who were not family for a change! Thursday afternoon Gene was having an electrical issue and went out to the box to check on things. He accidentally tripped over the water hose and broke the water pipe off at its base so there was a bit of a gusher going off until the campground sent a man over to fix it. Kathy said that Ruth had hit a water pipe at that campground once in Bob’s truck and they had called it “The Fountain of Ruth”. Hopefully by the time we camp there again the campground folks will have forgotten all about our water “mishaps” with their pipes.

Dinner in the building Thursday was provided by the officers. We had spaghetti with meat sauce, crockpot green beans, Cesar salad, watermelon, deviled eggs, and garlic bread. Also several members contributed desserts and as usual there was plenty of food to go around. Thanks to Ruth for cleaning and sanitizing the tables and seats before and after our meals every day. It was much appreciated. After dinner we had the Who’s Yur Winnies state meeting followed by the Meanderers meeting. Normally we have nominations for state officers in July and they are elected in August. Then the new officers are installed in October. But this year was really messed up with the virus and since there was no July outing and there will be no October outing we had the nominations, election, and installations at the August rally. Your officers for the upcoming year are Scott Feichter president, Carol Thomas Vice President, Kathy Rieck Secretary, and Lori Tindall Treasurer. Just a reminder we have waived the dues for both the state club and the Meanderers this year so everyone’s memberships are paid. Dinner and the meetings were followed by a campfire at Scott’s coach and star gazing.

Friday was also a relaxing day with some people playing games or just relaxing. We made a trip up to Michigan with Klines to get hot dogs that aren’t available in Indiana. We stopped for lunch on the way and made it back in time for dinner. Dinner at the building was fish prepared and deep fried by Scott, crockpot baked beans, coleslaw (brought by Ruth), watermelon, garlic bread and wheat rolls, and lots of yummy desserts. Dinner was followed by a lively game of Pictionary, women against the men. The women won 2-0 and I’m not sure if it was because we were better drawers or better guessers. Either way we had a lot of fun! If you haven’t played Pictionary, it’s a drawing game where one player draws an object from a card and their team has to guess what that object is. Many of the players were quite creative in their drawings. Glen had a particularly unique style of talking while drawing and we had lots of fun guessing what he drew. Kathy showing Glen how to draw “the rings” Saturday was another day to relax or explore and several went into town. Klines and Gish’s headed for Elkhart for supplies, shopping, and lunch. We ran into Nappanee and showed Ruth a little about geocaching. We ended up at an awesome Junkyard Dog exhibit near a dog and nature park. Very cool dogs and other items made completely from junk. Ruth, Harley, and Fred and some Junkyard art For dinner on Saturday we had a “bring your own meat” cook out and everyone also brought side dishes and desserts. Ron and Scott set up their tripod grates over two fire pit rings and cooked our brats, hot dogs, and hamburgers. Then we had a really great meal followed by another game of Pictionary. We had five women playing and only three men so after soundly defeating them the first game we levelled the playing field by letting them use the junior version cards while we used the adult version cards. We still won! Sunday morning we had cookies at Scott’s coach and said our goodbyes until next time. We discussed a tentative plan for September’s outing at Hoffman Lake and will be sending out more details soon.