THE CRAZY CRUZERS ARE HEADING WEST!: FOREST CITY, IOWA

JULY 23 AND 24, 2015

The 2015 GNR had a lot of good entertainment and it afforded us the opportunity to get our new antenna installed, albeit the very last minute. We also had our front window trim fixed, also at the last minute. The weather cooperated until the very last night, early morning where severe thunderstorms plowed into town and made the rally grounds a mess. We heard many RVs had to be towed out because of the muddy conditions. The "honey truck" even cancelled their Friday runs. For those who don't know, the honey truck is the truck that comes to your RV and empties the holding tanks. As we left Forest City on Saturday morning, the line at the neighboring city park where dump stations were available was quite long.

July 24th was Thom's birthday and as chaotic as the day was it turned out to be a good day spent with our friends Shirley and Ed Parks, fellow Mid-Florida Winnies club members who live in Clermont. The final evening's entertainment was "American English", a fake Beatles group who entertained us with many of the group's songs but was cut short due to another incoming storm.

All in the all the GNR was just okay. We don't think we'll return for another 3 years. The GNR, however, is a great place to reconnect with folks you meet along the way, especially if you have been on a WIT Caravan or Adventure (once called rally). We had the opportunity to visit with quite a few couples we met in Alaska and two couples from MN and WI who we met in Naples last summer. For that reason, we just might return, but unless the same-old-same-old stays that way, I think the GNR may become a thing of the past, especially for us. As is, the total attendance was just over 900 coaches, compared to the 1200 in 2012, which was down from the nearly 2000 in 2011. Change is good, if people really want it.