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07-10-2004, 01:20 PM
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#81
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Air # 3974
1986 34' Excella
south bend
, Indiana
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 44
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Dateline: DeTour and Drummond Island
Dear Jack,
At this time you should be en route to Mackinaw. The weather up here for the last ten days has been dreadful, cold and very damp. But that may change.
It could get worse.
In reality, today is ideal, sunny, 70, and the next week promises to be free from depression. The only things blue here are blue skies, blue eyes, and bleu cheese.
Let's plan on Wednesday, the 14th, and hope that at least some, if not all, of your rallyers will have taken the mandatory excursion trip to Mackinac Island, eaten fudge and taffy, strolled the porch of the Grand Hotel with the rich,white people, and bought mountains of trinkets and souvenirs to support the local tax scheme, while concomittantly dodging the molehills of horse turds that made the island famous.
Those that choose to come to DeTour will be pleasantly surprised. My wife, Lynn, is an incomparable hostess, much like Martha Stewart. Not under indictment or awaiting sentencing, however, she's does a nice lunch. Actually, she's really a very nice person, a quality that awes me. Dress will be 'airstream casual'. Of course, if any one chose to wear a toga, that's acceptable too. If you plan to speak only in Latin. And if you want to smoke a cigar, your date better be Fidel Castro with a box of havanas for the host.
You will only need to bring the following five items;
a) 100% deet
b) long sleeves
c) 100 % deet
d) comfortable walking shoes
e) 100% deet
You''ll be fine even if you forget two of the five as long as you omit, b) and d). Mosquitoes, pesky as they are, never have amnesia.
An aside: the cabin is dog-friendly as our two dogs, ReWind and WrongWay, welcome canine visitors for the rectal aroma exchange ritual. Both male, neutered, aged in dog-years at 12 y/o, neither has been charged with sexual assault. Recently. Nothing we plan to do will exclude pets. Bring them.
I'd hope that we can accomodate all of you, but understand that everybody has an internal schedule and perhaps other interests. The outing should, however, be the highlight of your rally.
I'll call you Monday and try to get down to see your 'rigs', introduce myself, and provide directions or answer questions. I have a question but can't ask aloud because Rewind and Wrongway are watching me type this note, but, (wink,wink ), "is slobbering a sex crime ?"
Good thing they can't read.
Kind regards,
Dr. C.
__________________
Patagonia, Az
South Bend, In
DeTour Village, Mi
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07-18-2004, 04:55 PM
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#82
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Moderator
2004 30' Classic Slideout
Fenton
, Missouri
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 10,408
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Well we are back. Just pulled in an hour ago and will be probably spending half the night and tomorrow just catching up on what went on.
In summary, those in attendance had a good time. The day's were glorious and the evening fires were definately needed. I'll post pictures once we decompress and get unpacked.
Hope all the other travelers had a uneventful safe trip home.
Regards,
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo.
AIR #56 S/OS#15
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500
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07-18-2004, 09:58 PM
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#83
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4 Rivet Member
1975 25' Tradewind
, Michigan
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 450
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It was great to meet w/"old" friends and meet some new. Finally, got to meet norbert (and his friend) and Bill & Donna (Silvertwinky). Our next door neighbors to the right were Bill & Ellen (wflorencejr) and sweet dog Buddy from VA. and on the left, fellow Michiganians, Ayrstrm2 arrived on Thursday. We had Orland and Jean, also from MI, in the row behind us. Al, a few sites down, was heading for home - can't remember where other than it was a long distance from MI. And of course, Jack & Patty and Eric & Brandy. And last but not least, our DeTour/Drummond Is. hosts, Dr.C and Lynn.
We were a little disapointed our sites weren't next to each other at first or at least in a back to back cluster on 2 rows. By the time we left there were 7 of us in a row. So much for requesting "the group". Also, I now think maybe it would be nice to always have a pot luck scheduled one evening. =)
We had a nice get away, enjoyed our trip to Drummond Is., hanging out w/the Streamers, my new FLAMINGO SOCKS, bought a painted tin fish for our fish room, eating at Darrow's (Bill & Donna will attest to that!) and a spectacular view of The Might Mac (Mackinaw bridge).
Thanks to all who made our 4th outing with Cupcake so enjoyable!,
sue
__________________
sue and ike
'75 Tradewind - 25'
"Cupcake" air-912
2004 GMC Yukon XL 2500
Michigan - "middle of the mitt"
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07-19-2004, 06:13 PM
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#84
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2 Rivet Member
White Hall
, Virginia
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 25
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Macinaw Rally..
Quote:
Originally Posted by eikel1we
It was great to meet w/"old" friends and meet some new. Finally, got to meet norbert (and his friend) and Bill & Donna (Silvertwinky). Our next door neighbors to the right were Bill & Ellen (wflorencejr) and sweet dog Buddy from VA. and on the left, fellow Michiganians, Ayrstrm2 arrived on Thursday. We had Orland and Jean, also from MI, in the row behind us. Al, a few sites down, was heading for home - can't remember where other than it was a long distance from MI. And of course, Jack & Patty and Eric & Brandy. And last but not least, our DeTour/Drummond Is. hosts, Dr.C and Lynn.
We were a little disapointed our sites weren't next to each other at first or at least in a back to back cluster on 2 rows. By the time we left there were 7 of us in a row. So much for requesting "the group". Also, I now think maybe it would be nice to always have a pot luck scheduled one evening. =)
We had a nice get away, enjoyed our trip to Drummond Is., hanging out w/the Streamers, my new FLAMINGO SOCKS, bought a painted tin fish for our fish room, eating at Darrow's (Bill & Donna will attest to that!) and a spectacular view of The Might Mac (Mackinaw bridge).
Thanks to all who made our 4th outing with Cupcake so enjoyable!,
sue
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Ellen and I would like to second the idea that the Rally was a great experience with much time to explore the area and make new friends.
Visiting with Dr. C and Lynn was definitely a high point for us and fortunately, we were able to leave before the famous DeTour mosquitoes carried us away! While evening fires were popular, it seemed at times were
were living in the middle of a forest fire.! Nevertheless, we truly enjoyed
meeting all of you.
We are still on the road at this time, in Traverse City, we are taken with the cool air "UP NORTH" as they say here.
Thanks, to Jack and Patti for their efforts in arranging the details. We hope to see you "down the road" sometime in the future.
Bill, Ellen and Buddy
__________________
2004 Safari 28' S/O
2001 Dodge 24valve Diesel Quad Cab
WBCCI 1502
Thorobred Jack-Beagle
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07-19-2004, 09:41 PM
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#85
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Rivet Master
1966 22' Safari
1979 30' Argosy
Armada
, Michigan
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 950
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This being our first rally and our second trip out in the Safari, I want to say thank you to Jack for organizing it. It was really nice meeting everyone from the forum and getting to talk A/S, camping and Blazing Saddles. It was really neat being in amongst campers who didn't contantly look over at you, thinking, "what the heck???" And if it weren't for the darn fishflys, Shelly would have been out more often. All around we a great time, and for a recap of Airstreams seen on the trip, read my post here.
Saturday night at the park was a circus. It filled up and everyone had guests in for dinner it seemed. And by the way, it seems that to park on row 5 you had a to have a dog named Buddy! After the rest of you left, we met several Buddys that wandered by.
We left Sunday morning and took US 23 down the coast of Lake Huron. This was a beautiful drive, with lake shore views about 85% of the time, until getting to Tawas city, about 2.5 hours south. We then snuck thru Bay city, hit another state road through more picturesque towns, stopping at the roadside parks along the way. If you haven't gone this way around the Lake, I really recommend it. The gas stations are basically built to RV and Semi sizes and are really easy to get in and out.
However, we had a mishap once we hit I 69. We were less than an hour from home, when I looked up and saw a State cop car with his lights flashing behind me. I pulled over, but he stopped someone else way behind. I did a check and the service door had somehow worked loose. I (stupidly) put it back in place. And drove off. You know what happened. i didn't feel right about it and stopped about 15 miles later and it was gone. The battery had worked loose on the awful road and and slammed the door out somewhere. That road was like driving on speed bumps at 55 mph. We went back, but it had already been flattened and twisted. I was sick. Well, the good news is is that Shell (who's really the no nonsense brains behind our little operation) already ordered a replacement from Inland today and we'll be good to go for our western Michigan Winetasting trip in August.
Keep in touch everyone!
John
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07-19-2004, 10:15 PM
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#86
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Moderator
2004 30' Classic Slideout
Fenton
, Missouri
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 10,408
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Reflections on Mackinaw City
Well it will still be a few days before I get the pictures up but here are some preliminary thoughts. The campground was nice although the sites were much closer together than what we experience at Moraine View. It's a big campground and there are lots of folks coming and going.
We pulled in on Sunday and got there close to four PM. I got the Classic backed in on first attempt. I was pretty proud as this campground is tight on road space. As I got pulled in I looked to my right and there waiting for me was Hunter Hampton and her friend Daisy from the Yahoo Airstream Listserve. She apparently was driving through Mackinaw City and saw my trailer. She knew I had a van and slideout trailer so she guessed it was me and followed us in the campground. Always nice to meet folks face to face after talking with them for years.
Obviously without making all reservations at one time, we couldn't do much about the placement of trailers. As we got to the mid week and as other SOB's left and Airstreams filled in, we were all together in a long row. My major disappointment was the lack of a single lakefront site that I thought all groups received.
Obviously this rally was much different than Moraine View in that the outside activities pull most of us apart rather than keeping us all together....but I had planned to make this a vacation type of rally rather than doing every thing together so there was something for everyone.
We did have three nights at least with campfires with the Thursday night highlight being Steve's copy of Blazing Saddles being played back on Eric's widescreen MAC. "Mongo likes candy!".
The weather was great for us folks who live in the heat and humidity, and even on the one rain day, we went to Dr. C's place and once there the rain stopped. You can't argue with temps in the low to mid 70's in the day and low 50's at night.
Special thanks to Charles and Lynn, on hosting a wonderful luncheon and tour. I've got some neat pictures of this day.
One of the things that messed up a lot of us was the late sunset. At 10:00 PM we still had minimal light. And midnight was upon us in no time.
Some of us went to Mackinac Island on Thursday and toured the island by carriage. Friday, Eric & Brandi parasailed. We found some nice places to eat. From the Saloon in town to Gracie's sitting on the side of an inland lake. Friday evening brought us to 'Neath the Birches where we hoped for a quiet dinner and ended up eating next to a large family gathering and another very large group.
We also ended up meeting other Airstreamers up there. Two of which, Al from Minnesota, and Orland from Michigan. Both guys saw the forum and requested to camp with our group. We also met two ladies from Oregon nearby, and Dave and Carol Keller who are WBCCI National Caravan Leaders from Nokomis Fla. Ike went to the rescue of a late nite Airstreamer (not with our group) whose wheel had fallen off earlier in the day. Ike helped get the gentleman backed into his dark site. It was a struggle!
And how about that bridge? An engineering marvel...would you believe that in extreme winds this bridge can swing as much as 35 feet? I think on Friday the speed limits for 18 wheelers and RV's was 20 mph due to wind. You get lots of viewing time at that speed when you are on a 5 mile suspension bridge.
All and all it was interesting and different from what we have done before. Will we do a week again? Probably yes. Where? Hmmm....lots of thoughts there.
Thanks to everyone who attended. Your presence added greatly to the success of this rally. It wouldn't happen without you being there!
Regards,
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo.
AIR #56 S/OS#15
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500
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07-20-2004, 07:06 AM
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#87
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Rivet Master
1966 22' Safari
1979 30' Argosy
Armada
, Michigan
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 950
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Jack, the little TeePee town campground next to Mill Creek was where I saw a '68 Ambassador. We pulled in to check out the camper and the sites were nice. Typically sized and with a nice amount of shade. Didn't have full hookups though.
John
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07-20-2004, 07:49 AM
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#88
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Moderator
2004 30' Classic Slideout
Fenton
, Missouri
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 10,408
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AYRSTRM2
Jack, the little TeePee town campground next to Mill Creek was where I saw a '68 Ambassador.
John
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It looks nice also. The lack of sewer sites is why I didn't consider that location.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo.
AIR #56 S/OS#15
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500
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07-20-2004, 08:02 AM
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#89
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Rivet Master
1968 22' Safari
1976 27' Overlander
Newport
, Washington
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 864
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Wow
Sounds like we missed a beautiful time. Tony and I drove all around up there in October of last year, and it was incredible... But we didn't have our airstream yet...
Would love to make it to the next one thought.... Jack...get plannin...LOL
Ron
__________________
Ron ... now in Newport, Washington
[font=Impact][font=Arial Black]
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07-21-2004, 07:11 AM
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#90
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Rivet Master
1966 22' Safari
1979 30' Argosy
Armada
, Michigan
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 950
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Too bad! You could have parked you Safari next to ours! That would have been cool...Maybe next year.
John
Quote:
Originally Posted by tin can luv
Sounds like we missed a beautiful time. Tony and I drove all around up there in October of last year, and it was incredible... But we didn't have our airstream yet...
Would love to make it to the next one thought.... Jack...get plannin...LOL
Ron
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07-27-2004, 02:53 PM
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#91
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Moderator
2004 30' Classic Slideout
Fenton
, Missouri
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 10,408
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Pictures
FYI, I've started posting pictures of the Mackinaw City rally to the photo section. At this point I have many more to do and have noticed that there have been 50 views or so of some of the pictures. I'll post a message and a link once I get everything up. At this point stay cool. The only pictures posted right now are exterior trailer pictures.
Regards,
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo.
AIR #56 S/OS#15
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500
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