HitchHiker International Rally - 2012
Updated: 10/28/12
Our 2012 HHAI was held the second week of October. It was a little cool some of the days, almost cold some nights. We think that was better than hot weather.
We arrived at the fairgrounds a week early from the the Indiana Good Sam Samboree in Fort Wayne. We parked in the water and electric area and moved into the full-hookup area for the HitchHiker International Rally.
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
SUNDAY . . .
Sherry,
Mary Lou and Marilyn are waiting for members to arrive and register for the
International Rally. A jar of Amish apple butter and a jar of pear butter were
our gift from Recreation Club Management, Inc.
We had only 55 units so there was never a long line in registration.
Ann
and Tom tried their best to make the rest of us feel guilty by washing their
HitchHiker. It didn't work. It was too cold for the rest of us to attempt washing our HHs.
Some of our chapter members were traveling out West - but - those in
attendance had a great time. We shared good food and good conversation at a
potluck for Sunday dinner.
Movie Night was an addition to the usual rally schedule. We watched the The Long, Long Trailer with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. It was a colorized version of the 1953 movie. It was a much appreciated addition - everyone had a great time.
MONDAY . . .
The fairgrounds had a campground where we could park in close proximity of each other. You will note a few 'gaps' between our HitchHikers. Most everyone arrived before the rally started on Monday - a motorhome rally in the fairgrounds the week before our rally was told they could stay in the campground until Sunday. Thus, the 'gaps'.
The
standing joke during the International Rally was . . . "how many trains did you
hear last night?". We all agreed that the railroad tracks behind the campgrounds
had to be the busiest two track in the country. Of course, the road next to the
campground was cause for repeated blasts from the train's horn. The horn blasts
got 'old' fast.
The First
Timers Meeting had a good number of people attend. From the meeting name, you
can deduce this was their first International Rally. Kevin gave them some
background information about HitchHikers of America International (HHAI).
Welcome aboard!
Kevin
was the MC for tonight's Opening Ceremony and Introductions.
Kevin's wife, Kim, presented information about the area's history and things to do in the Goshen area.
You
may notice two little assistants behind Kim. They thought they were the center
of attention - but - Kevin was quick to corral them.
The evening closed with
a Meet and Greet for all attendees. The Amish pies - a selection of nine kinds -
were just fantastic.
Everyone enjoyed the special treat.
Well,
not everyone 'said' they were enjoying the Amish pies. I was called over to a
table and told Ron and Gayla said they were on a diet. I was asked to take their
photograph eating a piece of Amish pie. I stood there waiting for them to take a
bite of the delicious pie. They would not.
Not until I started to walk away did either of them touch their forks. But, I was ready - got ya.
I hope they enjoyed their pie.
TUESDAY . . .
Several seminars were scheduled for this morning. We had more vendors than usual at this rally in Goshen because the location was close to Elkhart. We missed a couple seminars because they were scheduled too early in the morning - who schedules seminars for 7:00am?
Several
boats, motorhomes and travel trailers were frequently parked on roads in the
fairgrounds. Then, they would be gone. Fred saw a motorhome being driven into a
building on his way back to our HitchHiker. Later, we checked out the building.
We found two boats, the motorhome and a truck in the building. We later saw
other boats and RVs parked in buildings and semi-enclosed structures. We
concluded that people brought their boats and RVs to the fairgrounds for winter
storage. Then, fairground employees moved them to a storage location.
Today
was the Greasy Hat and Red Hat luncheons. Both were held in the main room of the
event building used for all indoor activities.
For those who do not know, HHAI started the Greasy Hat luncheon a few years ago so the men had someplace to go while the women were at their Red Hat luncheon.
Both groups had a box lunches. The women had table decorations, flowers and a printed programs.
The guys . . .
The gal's program was a presentation by Mary Ann, from the Purdue Extension Office, on "food safety".
The Greasy Hat program included a tour of Mor/ryde International. Mor/ryde provides products for the RV industry. They started in 1966 with suspension products for several industries including the RV industry. In 1994, they began to diversified their product offerings and currently RV suspension systems account for only 7% of their business and the RV industry products account for 52% of the business.
The Mor/ryde tour photographs are posted at the end of this page. You can view them now, or wait until you have viewed the other rally events.
After you view the Mor/ryde tour photographs, a link is provided to return you to this location .
Late afternoon, after the MorRyde tour, the competition heated up. The Ladder Golf (LadderJacks) players took to the grass by Heritage Park. Did you notice that the players and the spectators are wearing jackets and parkas? It was a chilly, breezy afternoon.
After a few announcements, Bingo was Tuesday evening's entertainment. It is free unless you want more than one page of Bingo cards (6 or 9 cards to a page).
WEDNESDAY . . .
A pancake breakfast tasted good and was entertaining.
Pull the lever and batter for four pancakes falls on the griddle - like magic.
It
will be a surprise if this guy standing close to the griddle will be served.
Most people were told to "back up".
If you can't catch the pancake tossed to you, you might not eat.
Once
you caught your pancake, you could flood it with syrup, surround it with sausage
and take a place at a table.
After
filling themselves with pancakes and sausage, chapter officers met to discuss
various topics including future International Rallies and issues facing HHAI.
"Unwanted HitchHikers" was a presentation about "Bugs" not HitchHiker fifth wheels. Jeff, from the Purdue Extension Office, told us about the many species of bugs that have been transported into Indiana. Transported by unsuspecting carriers - not all human. Transporting firewood is one way "Unwanted HitchHikers (Bugs)" are introduced to new areas. He stressed that not moving firewood into a new area is a very important way to reduce the spread of bugs. It takes years for the bug's natural enemies to 'follow' them.
This map showed the spread of
infestation from state to state.
Whether
we are in our jackets and parkas or not, the Ice Cream Social must go on as
scheduled.
Of course, we showed up.
The Pet Parade followed the Ice Cream Social.
Bean Bag Baseball is always one of the more popular games played at any gathering of RVers. The HitchHiker International Rally was no exception. The games were held "indoors" because of high winds and cool temperatures.
Spectators sat on the 'bleachers'
or stood near-by.
For those less athletic, table games were available - including . . .
Dominos . . .
< Connect four >
These two photographs do not relate, directly, to the rally. This being our Web site has its advantages - we can post what we want.
We
are partial to older pickup trucks. We do not know who owns this 1951 Chevy
pickup. It was just a nice clean vehicle we saw on the fairgrounds several
times.
T
his
Dodge Ram was parked in the campground near us. We rode the golf cart by this
vehicle several times before we caught the owner outside. Being curious about
the little ramp, we stopped to find out . . . "why the ramp"? The explanation
was that he had purchased fuel and filled the tank and filler tube. After
traveling the short distance from the fuel station to his HitchHiker, fuel
leaked out of the filler tube. Thus, the little ramp.
Vendors were located at the rear of the event building.
We went to a local restaurant for dinner with Rex and Marilyn - people we met at our first International Rally in 2002. We see them regularly throughout each year - an example of how HH friendships can develope.
While at the restaurant Fred noticed an Amish wagon pulling a metal trailer (Tractor Supply?) The only thing he had with him was his 'dumb' phone but he photographed it through the window. After dinner, Rex drove over to a different Amish wagon with a wood trailer for a better photograph. Seeing Amish wagons pulling trailers is probably common ... but ... not to us.
Zoomed in . . .
The
evening's entertainment was provided by Connie Strange. She sang with background
music and occasionally played an electronic saxophone. She threw in a few jokes
also. Tom made eye contact with her when she needed an assistant from the
audience. Of course, he was selected. Afterwards he said it was a good thing the
words were on the screen.
THURSDAY . . .
After two more morning seminars, additional games were on the schedule.
While Bocce Ball was played outside, other combatants were facing challengers inside the building.
Head and Foot card game . . .
Wii bowling . . . .
Thursday's catered dinner was another opportunity to eat together. You may sit next to a future friend during the dinner.
The line moved fast because the volunteer servers formed an assembly line.
Fred
tried to get a photograph of Carol as she was leaving the food serving table.
His new camera did not 'fire' until Carol was almost touching the lens. (It is a
learning curve thing.)
The assembly line was well organized. The stacks of plates were staggered for easy pick up, the plates were passed from station to station until ready to be handed to a hungry customer.
Brownies with or without nuts were
ready to be to picked up with our
other
hand.
The
dinner was very good.
The evening program began with awards and presentations to the winners of the various games. The photographs below show some of the winners being recognized.
One of the traditions at each International Rally is passing Hilda HitchHiker to a new couple. Each couple takes Hilda HitchHiker with them for a year of travel. They make a scrapbook of where she has been during that year. Unfortunately, Hilda was AWOL from this rally.
So, a temporary mascot - a cow - was made available. A first-timer couple, Don and Pat, 'volunteered' to travel with Tex the Cow until Hilda HitchHiker returns.
Another
tradition is the attachment of pieces of ribbon with the names of members who
have died since the last International Rally to our Memory Bear. Sherry read the
names.
The dates and location of the 2013 International Rally were not announced at this rally. Be sure to watch the Hitchin' Post E-News for an announcement regarding the 2013 International Rally. If you are a member of HHAI and do not receive the Hitchin' Post E-News, you can sign up at http://www.hitchhikerrvclub.com .
The
entertainment for the evening was provided by the Everyday People Band.
It consisted of a lead singer, a drummer and a guitar player.
By
the time we left our HitchHiker Friday morning for the Farewell Continental
Breakfast, many people had already hitched up and headed to their next
destination.
As we approached the event building, we discovered that some had only moved their rig and parked near the building.
The Farewell Continental Breakfast was nothing fancy - mini-muffins. They were very tasty served with juice and coffee.
However,
the main purpose was not enjoying more food, it was having an opportunity to say
'good-bye' to old and new friends.
Hoping that if we did not see them on the road, we would see them at the next International Rally.
We thank Kevin, Sherry, Teri and all the
volunteers
who helped make the
2012 International Rally a success.
Mor/ryde tour photographs . . .
The Greasy Hat program was a tour of Mor/ryde International. Their building was about a 30 minute drive from the fairgrounds.
Our group was split into three groups. Our tour guide was Gary, the salesman who presents the seminars at any rally we have attended where Mor/ryde is represented.
Gary showed us how Mor/ryde has engineered designs and developed processes to guarantee that the final product is exactly to specs.
The
notches cut into the material hold the material in the exact position for
welding and when bent the 'V' cutout forms a perfect corner.
In
addition, many fixtures on this rack are used.
Fifth
wheel owners will recognize these as part of a pin box assembly.
Photographs
of the other two groups of HitchHikers on the tour . . .
All products are double checked for accuracy.
The bends are made with the help of machines but must be held in the correct position by an employee. They start with flat material which has already been laser cut.
The finished piece has several bends.
This laser cutting machine can be cutting one sheet of steel while a second sheet is loaded and ready to be cut.
The pieces cut can be complex. The edges of the cut piece are very smooth as a result of the laser cut method.
This sheet with the pieces cut and removed will be recycled.
This laser cutter was cutting an intricate pattern.
A small parts recycle bin. Like most companies today, Mor/ryde recycles all of its scrap.
They store all of their inventory indoors.
The machine held, rotated and put holes in tube stock.
Powder coating requires seven different wash cycles. Every part passes through a long wash line.
Mor/ryde can change the powder coat color in ten minutes.
Instead of manually wrapping pallets of product with plastic sheeting, this machine is used.
At the end of the tour, Fred noticed this part having multiple cuts and bends.
This was an interesting tour for Fred. He has never been in a shop that fabricated so many different small parts. It was his first personal viewing of laser cutting.
It appeared everyone enjoyed the tour.
Use this link to return to the prior location for the remainder of Tuesday's events.