PNW retreat at Hoodsport--[was--Re: [wanderlodge] Long Island Mini Rally)]

[Jo-Ski]

Hi, folks--

Just wanted to give a resounding second to Tom's very nice list of reasons on
why to attend regional mini-rallies, as well as recap our recent Pacific
Northwest Blue Bird gathering.

The Pacific Northwest Blue Birds (a loosely-organized,
ever-changing/ever-growing group--no dues, no officialities, or anything like
that) just had a retreat at Hoodsport, WA, along the beautiful Hood Canal last
weekend. 10 coaches were in attendance (along with a new couple from the area
whose coach is currently in repair). We camped facing Hood Canal, which was
about 40 feet in front of the coaches, and lined with the campground owner's
private oyster beds (nice extra--a complimentary Saturday evening oyster
barbecue provided by the owner--you should have seen that oyster
mega-chow-down!).

Had a nice, informal, finger-food get-together on Friday evening, and a small
group of us even got a bit of a musical jam going later that night. Saturday
evening, we had what's become our traditional potluck dinner and
sit-around-the-fire-pit time. Also, this time around, before the fire-pit, we
had a "white-elephant" gift exchange. It seemed like everyone got a real hoot
out of that, and with the rolicking senses of humor in this group, there were
some real hilarious things going on with that, as you might imagine! And, of
course, we had the usual informal coach tours throughout the weekend, which are
always enjoyable, plus plenty of time to just casually hang out in front of the
canal (which is actually a natural fjord) and talk Blue Bird and whatever the
heck else we wanted to talk about.

Many of the same folks who attended our 2005 retreats (the original one of which
was organized by Dave Beatty--thank you again, Dave, for getting this group
going!) were there. And, this time around at Hoodsport, we were pleased to
welcome newcomers Wilma and Bruce from Oregon, Lori and Dan--also from Oregon,
and Marilyn and Larry from nearby Port Hadlock, WA.

From our group discussions, preliminary plans for 2007 retreats include a
possible gathering near La Conner, WA in early-to-mid-spring; Tokeland, WA
somewhere in June-July; Pt. Hudson (near historic Port Townsend, WA) in August;
and Hoodsport again in October. We'll keep ya posted, and, of course, we extend
the invite to Blue Birders and wanna-be's everywhere.

In closing, I think Stew put it best when he commented about how great to see
this group of Blue Bird friends growing closer each time we get together and
meeting new friends who'll hopefully become part o' the "flock."

Thanks to everyone who made our Hoodsport retreat again such a pleasure! And, to
those of you who wanted to attend, but for whatever reasons could not, we hope
to meet up with you at future retreats!

Best regards,

Jo-Ski (also for Stew)
'83-FC 35 RB
"The Bird Abides"
Blaine, WA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----- Original Message -----
From: thomas_sorrentino
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 7:08 AM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Long Island Mini Rally


Three wanderlodges and one ex-pat. wanderlodger showed up for the
mini rally. Campground was nice. A very short walk to miles and miles
of beach. Excellent restaurants everywhere ( to quote Shane
Fedeli "NY has all the good stuff"). It was a special treat to see
Jonathon Fines,new to him 1963(or 1965 can't remember) bus
conversion, only 363,000 miles on it!
I'd like to urge any New Englanders (or anybody else interested) to
try to attend any of these forum rallies.

1.) Its nice to put faces with names.
2.) Its just camping fees, so very economical
3.) Its very low key, no pressure to do or attend anything, and easy
to have fun!
4.) You get to see many models of wanderlodges and compare.
5.) This is especially important! You get the collective insight and
wisdom from years of previous wanderlodge owners (many of them multi-
previous ownners). Which in my opinion is priceless comodity.

Hopefully we can get a few more of these going next year in the North
East Area. Just my 2 cents!

Tom Sorrentino
Bedford Hills, NY
1987 PT38





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