Smiles

Breaking bread is always representative of what friends and family do together. This sharing of sustenance that keeps us alive, keeps us going, and binds us together to make us family is a long-time tradition.

When I arrived in Michigan, my family welcomed me with warm hugs, love, and food. There I spent nearly
2 weeks, relaxing, creating an even stronger bond (if that is possible), enjoying the welcoming Arabic culture, celebrating birthdays, and of course eating.

The same was true with Eggs at Egg Harbor Fiberglass Rally. Imo, my friend from Quartzsite was there to greet me, help me back into my odd-angled site, loan me a much needed electric extension cord and an extra water hose because my site was too far from the shared electric and water post. Imo to the rescue. Right away, I was invited to share food with Imo and Carolyn. Breaking bread.

Why go to rallies? Why travel across the country to attend a rally that will only last a few days? Wouldn't it be better to just go sight-seeing? These are a few questions that come up when I talk to people who have never done such a thing.

It's the same reason that people join Facebook. It's to connect with other people. In the case of a rally, it connects people with a common interest. I attended 'Eggs at Egg Harbor' which was held in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin this year, and the common element was fiberglass. So if your travel trailer was made of fiberglass this was a rally for you. The Quartzsite Fiberglass rally, back in February, the common element was the same: fiberglass. It was not limited to a particular brand of trailer, which to me is really cool. Imo told me about this particular rally which I registered for my campsite while still at Quartzsite . I do occasionally write some of my travel plans in stone on my calendar and this was one of them, unlike other events which tend to be written in sand.

Smiles and friends are the main reasons I go and will keep going. This year's Eggs at Egg Harbor was hosted by Tony and Darlene Nowak who did an outstanding job. These are the stats per Tony's post on the FiberglassRV forum: 120 people showed up from 8 states and Manitoba with 59 trailers which included 9 brands. The weather was cool and wonderful while I watched temps reach triple digits back home. Five of my friends from Quartzsite were there to greet me with smiles and hugs when I arrived. I can see a trend happening here: the more rallies I go to the more friends I will acquire. Even if you don't stay in constant contact with your new found friends, the bond has been formed and when you chance upon each other again, you're family.

The other perks of the rally included great food (breaking bread), music (in which I was able to participate),

games, a movie night, and an excursion to a local restaurant for a fish boil which was delicious as well as entertaining. Smiles and friendship--that's my takeaway.

After the rally ended, I was invited to follow Imo and Carolyn to Grand Marais. It was so chilly I know all my friends back home would be jealous as I actually had to wear layers to stay comfortable. We didn't let the rain stop us from enjoying ourselves. We hunted for moose (didn't find any), went to look at with awe a grand hotel from the 1920s, and marveled at the beauty that surrounded us. We had one wonderful day of sunshine which Carolyn and I took off on what we thought would be a short hike along Cascade River, but there were so many unmarked forks in the trail that we ended up on the Superior hiking trail and were headed to Canada. We even crossed a small, cold stream in our bare feet (twice, because we had to come back). So what started out to be a 45 minute trek turned out to be 2 hours. We both knew that Imo, who patiently waited back at the truck, would be understandably upset. It was such a glorious hike, that I was all smiles and giggles as she chewed us out with humor.

The magic just continued. Imo and Carolyn was not bored of my company and invited me to follow them to Minnesota to visit Carolyn's nephews, nieces, spouses, grand nephews, grand nieces, and her brother and his wife. What a pleasure to meet these beautiful, artistic, musical, welcoming, charming, happy, inviting family! I love to laugh and I've had a good dose of happiness and laughter here. The large extended family came and went with pure comfort through what seemed to be a revolving door. It was a joy just to watch the harmony. Yesterday, I had a sauna then jumped into a 60 degree pool--three times (apparently that's the magical number) and while other people were complaining of the humidity during the afternoon, I felt perfectly fine and energized all day long! And guess what the common element was? Food, music and smiles. That's why I travel! Now where can I go next? Oh! I know!

I want to add more pictures but I'm having technical difficulty. I'll add more when I get a better connection.