What a great rally! Jan and I enjoyed our first ever get-together like this last year, but this year was even better! Rod and Kelly did a superb job planning and carrying out all the logistics and little details needed to make something like this go from "pretty darn good" to "Great." Rod chose the park wisely and made the necessary arrangements to keep all of us reasonably close together, assure that the picnic shelter was reserved for us all weekend, and even arranged for just enough hot days (but cooler evenings) for us to test our Heartland rigs' a/c (ours worked well). It is always a pleasure meeting other Heartland owners and sharing stories, and the good food (augmented by Rod and Kelly's contributions) helped create the friendly atmosphere. On Saturday afternoon, Rod's "entertainment" turned out to be a real educational experience: Deputy Rod and Rex the Wonder Dog, along with Wenatchee Police Officer Scott and "Gino the Nose" drug dog, provided a carefully controlled, extended demonstration of how smart, well trained, and capable police dogs are. What a fine idea it was to do something like this at a rally!
We had a truly wonderful time. We will be full-timing next year, but we'll be making an extra effort to get to the Washington Chapter Rally wherever it may be.
As an aside, Jan and I would have been more than happy to pay $20, or $30, or whatever for the "community" drinks, barbecue meat, breakfast fixings, and prizes that Rod and Kelly contributed for everybody this time. It's very nice when some things are provided for community use. We are grateful to Heartland for their significant contributions to these events, but I think the poll for next year should ask for opinions on charging each trailer a little extra for amenities.
It was great! Thank you Heartland, Rod and Kelley, John and Lori, and Mark and Kristi for everything that made this rally truly wonderful!
Tom and Jan
