Halloween AGAIN!

So this isn't a second post about our annual trip and Cardinal Center, but instead about an annual Airstream rally that we've not been able to make it to...ever; and it's in its 3rd year.  An unexpected bonus to this rally is that the campground (Findley State Park http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/findley) moved its trick-or-treat from the previous weekend which was lousy weather to this weekend.  It is also the campgrounds' annual chili cook-off.  So we hit the tri-fecta.  Trick-or-treat, chili, and an Airstream rally.  Loren left no stone unturned as usual for her rallies.  This rally is also the "Anniversary Rally" for Loren and Mike.  So there's a lot of things that came together for this rally and we were thrilled to be able to finally take part in it.  It was a bit chilly weather-wise, but we came prepared.  The kids scored big-time on candy.  The rally was a hit as 32 Airstreams showed up from two countries and (I think) 3 states.  I discovered a thing called Everclear, and I hope to never discover it again.  I don't remember much after consuming it.

This is what a rally should look like.  A gathering around a campfire.

It got a little chilly at night around the fire.

The boys ready for trick-or-treat/

The campsite.

Candy gathering made easy...just run the gauntlet.

  

Cellular reception was good.

 

This was a great picture taken by one of the rally guests.  It has been printed in full size and will become a picture that is hung on our house.

Halloween, again

This post is the first time in this blog that I'm repeating myself.  It's likely to happen again since our 4-camper group reserved our spots at this campground again next year for the Halloween party.  We've gone to Cardinal Center Campground (http://www.cardinalcentercamp.com/) for the past 4 years now for their Halloween weekend and party.  The usual events are primo trick-or-treating within the park and pumpkin decorating.  There's other things for costumes, site decorating, hay rides, etc, but we've not done well at participating in those so they aren't big events for us.  The other general attraction to the campground is their large indoor pool.  When the weather turns cold, an indoor pool (and a huge one!) is a major plus.  Amazingly, every year except for the first we have had exceptionally good / warm weather.  This year was no different as the trick-or-treat candy had to be set in the shade to keep from melting!

After the weekend, the four of us who have religiously showed up to this gathering since the first year decided that we might has well succumb to the fact that we're going to be here again next year.  So, what better thing to do than to reserve our sites before leaving.  This is something that is advertised by the campground, so we got in line (literally) and reserved for next year.  Surprisingly, there's not "squatters' rights" for sites and we scored some nice sites in a cul-de-sac with full hookups for next year.  A full group dinner is planned for next year as well.  It only gets better from here.

No captions for the pictures in this post.  I think they speak for themselves.

What?!? No other Airstreams?

Believe it or not, not EVERY camping trip that we go on revolves around meeting up with other Airstream owners.  We have friends that camp without an Airstream.  I'm not sure how they do it ;-) but nonetheless they are still fun to camp with.  Back in September, (yeah, I know I'm way behind on updating the blog) we camped with some local friends at a local campground.  No driving for a day to get there, no scrambling after breakfast on Sunday to pack up and drive the whole day to get home.  It was a complete departure from the norm.  We had a great time though.  We were at a campground called Hidden Acres (http://www.hiddenacrescampground.net/).  We were there about 10 years prior when some relatives visited with their camper and we were still in a tent.  Dealing with the management in order to get 3 sites near each other that could accommodate our group was a bit more drawn out than it needed to be, but in the end it was just because the owner/management was trying to be TOO accommodating in their service and doesn't normally deal with weekenders.  If anyone has happened upon this blog entry as a result of a search for this campground, please send a comment and I'll get with you about questions.  It's a worthwhile visit.

Back to the trip itself, though...  We were there with two other campers.  We're local and see each other often, but it seems that we only get together with our campers every couple years.  Each of the families has kids with overlapping ages and for the most part they manage to find things to do together.  One such event occurred Friday night when the younger crowd decided to take over the Airstream as their art shop.

We walked around the campground the following day.  It's largely a seasonal campground.  On our way back to basecamp (pardon the intended pun), I paused for some pictures of the campsite.

The Airstream is partially obstructed by that beautiful vintage Ford Excursion, but nevertheless it was a nice setup.

Here's the people we were camping with.  I know...which ones?  The two closest SoB's in the picture are our camping mates.

I wasn't going for clarity here.  This was more to demonstrate the kids around the campfire and the apparent need for electronic devices.

One of the neat things that this campground does is bingo on Saturday night.  Pretty much the whole campground shows up and it's a very social event.  I remember this from camping here 10 years ago and it's still going strong and just as fun.  Parker managed to get BINGO on a four-corners match and netted himself $43.

An evening of BINGO and a campfire can suck the energy out of some kids

Despite being a "local" campout, we still managed to be up at a way too early hour for the weekend, did breakfast at a leisurely pace, cleaned up, packed up, and were hitched-up and headed-out before anyone else.  I try to get the kids to sleep in.  It rarely happens.