Old Friends, New Friends = A Great Time

On Wednesday we arrived at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina, OH. The weather was heavy overcast with drizzle most of the day and into the night. We've encountered a lot of that since we left the New England states, but that's OK.

There is a harness race track here at the fairgrounds and every day they exercise the horses.



Mickey & Patti and several others from the Class of '05 were here already. You know how bad I am about names, so I can't begin to tell you who the "several others" are. Just nice folks!

Thursday night 17 of us went to town for dinner. The restaurant that was chosen sits a total of maybe 45 - 50 people - really small. After a wait of about 30 minutes we finally got seated at three different tables, which was OK. Everyone that was in the dining room knew that we were all together - we are such a quiet bunch - yea right! After dinner some of us went to Dairy Queen for dessert. Later in the evening we had a campfire where everyone had a good time listening to some "stories" and jokes.

There isn't much to do in this area in the sightseeing category. On Friday we took a road trip to Delphos, OH to visit a Post Office Museum and a Ohio-Erie Canal Museum, both of which were closed - bummer! The ride through the country was nice and FLAT. Dean is really enjoying the no mountains! Seems like at times you can see miles and miles ahead.

This is one of the many "tower" houses in Delphos. Not sure why they were built this way, probably had something to do with the canal.



Friday evening we had "hobo stew". I was really skeptical when I first heard about this dish. One person (the one who suggested it) brought browned hamburger and onions to start the pot. Then everyone brought at least one can of veggies and added them to the meat. Some brought rice and pasta. What the end result reminded me of was vegetable soup. It was very good. What was really nice is the manager of the Fairgrounds gave Mickey a key to the activity building, so the stew could be cooked indoors and we could eat there as well. We are having hamburgers and hot dogs tonight.

We had another bonfire last night and there were about 30 +/- there. A really nice bunch of people. We went around telling what we liked and disliked about fulltiming. Some interesting answers were heard, but most agreed that it was the freedom to go where you want, when you want and do what you want. Of course the women all agreed that the one thing we hate the most is the bad haircuts! At least it will grow back and you get to try again - LOL!!!

Saturday evening we all cooked hamburgers and hot dogs (some had sausage and chicken) with several side dishes of various salads. There was a yummy chocolate cake and some cookies for dessert. I think everyone had plenty to eat! After getting everything cleaned up and put up, we had our farewell campfire. This one ended early as those that were leaving in the morning for the Escapade had to be up and ready to roll at 9:30 per Terry's orders.

Our farewell campfire.



Today, Sunday, we got out of bed around 8 a.m. and went out to see what was happening with those that were leaving. Some had already left (those that were not parking with our group) and the rest were busy hooking up, dumping and lining up. Sure enough, at 9:30 a.m. they rolled out the fairgrounds gate on their way to Van Wert. Was a sad sight to be sure, but we know that we will see them again down the road. We then bid farewell to Tab and Deanna as they were heading back to St. Paris, OH (home for now). We will be seeing them in about a month as we are going to stay at Camp PullTab for a few nights on our way south.

Dean and I drove up to Van Wert around noon so we could check out what the vendors at the Escapade were offering. Very disappointing. We did subscribe to Gypsy Journal and bought a set of awning claws from Tom (Datastorm). Saw some of the group and bid them farewell again!

Tomorrow we leave Celina headed for Goshen, IN. which is near Elkhart. While there we are going to plan a visit to the RV Museum, the Mobile Suite factory, Utility Bodyworks (they retro-fit pick-up's for towing) and Shipshewanna Flea Market and other stores in the area. (Amish country).

Check back for more updates......