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We had some good responses to the article on the first van event..Here now is the answer to the question of what to bring.
Food: There is usually a food vendor at the event, but not always, so bring some with you. One couple a few years ago- unsure of what to expect, brought a dozen or so sandwiches...And at one event there was only one food vendor selling only roast beef sandwiches(good sandwiches, but not something you want 3 times a day)....But in general, most events will have vendors to get you thru...It doesn't hurt however to have some food with you...A few cans of food might make the difference.Lucy and I always carry some dehyderated soup packets in the van.
Clothing:Be prepared for any weather conditions..Bring hot weather items of course, but also have something like sweatshirts, rain gear,and perhaps a warm jacket...One tip- wet feet can ruin your stay. We bring a supply of plastic bags. Put on dry socks (bring extras) and then put the bags over the sock..Your shoes will be soaked but your feet will remain dry !
Other items: Sun block (skin cancer can kill you) extra toilet paper for your lady (sometimes disappears from the rest rooms/portable toilets..) and shady hats to go with the sun block...also handy are things like a sharp knife, perhaps a small axe for chopping up firewood,and blankets or sleeping bags ...It may be warm and sunny when you leave home, but weather changes often and the night may be cold and wet...And one last item: some kind of insect repellent, because bugs can annoy the hell out of you and ruin an otherwise fun time...Also throw in a small amount of paper plates, plastic utensils, and a flashlight(gets dark at night for some reason)
In general: Think about what you would bring if you were going camping for the weekend because you ARE ! TIETIS
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I wasn't surprised at all to find that this was a fine run as usual..I WAS a bit surprised to see that in this time of turmoil over gasoline prices that their attendance was UP this year....Last year they had 124 entries, and this year there were 139!....This is the first run this year that has had an increase, the others were slightly down- but still respectable in size.....Can't say the same about boating. Boat folks tell me that boats in the bays are WAY down in numbers....Can't afford to "float their boat".....
All the usual accolades to the tribe- things went smoothly, the band this year was in the front building and the picnic tables between the band building and the food vendor was the spot to be....The food vendors were having as much fun as anyone there and that made for a pleasant evening until the fog rolled in.
NOW- here is the CRAP...literally......It only takes a few to leave a bad taste with things.....Mens room....Some (a--hole,s---head, f---face,scumbag, idiot,bum) (use your own choice here)though he might have some fun (???) and took a s--- , not once but TWICE, in the mens room sink....THEN, as if that wasn't enough, this (refer to the list again) wiped it on the wall..
Now- I know a little about having fun...THAT my friends ISN"T fun..It is SICK......
Now we don't know YET who this (list again) was, but IF we find out, I will make it a point to release his name to every van club in the list so that this (refer again to the list) will be turned away from EVERY van event I know of.....SOMEONE probably knows who the scoundrel is and if they have any concience at all they should let us know....any information will be kept confidential....
Doc Sousa takes care of latrine duty for many events in the northeast and he has seen it all, but there is no excuse for this to happen....Doc- thanks for your efforts, sorry that you had to deal with this (see that list-again).....
DINERS...Said we'd try a new diner....The new one is up and running in Lake George..Brand new DINER MITE that was shipped up from Georgia in 3 sections..very nice..stainless steel, black /white ceramic tile floor, red metalflake vinyl...We had the open faced turkey sandwich with mashed potato and gravy...enjoyed it a lot........Yankee Diner on Rt 20 was closed, although we were told last year it would re-open....Sunday at the Aero Diner on Rt 6 between Brooklyn and Willimantic...I ordered the country fried steak , w/ eggs,toast, and homefries...Great food..BIG portions....Flea market was packing up due to it starting to rain ...we drove up rt 32 thru some GIGANTIC thunderstorms, shopped at Wally World near Ware MA, and the Big Y in Greenfield MA....Hit the truckstop for soup and a sandwich and got home at 11:00PM....Great time. Thanks to all who made it so!...TIETIS
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Some of you may have heard Knighty talking about going to the New Englad Summer Nationals. It's held from July 3rd through the 6th, right here in Worcester, Massachusetts, where Shawn & I live. We'd really like to see a bunch of vanners there this year. Please feel free to email me and let me know if you'd like to spend a night or two at our house during that week. We'd love to have you! We're about an hour outside of Boston, MA; 45 minutes from Springfield, MA; 30 minutes from Providence, RI; 1 hour from Hartford, CT; and 1-1/4 hours from Manchester, NH. We are 10-15 minutes ride from Green Hill Park, where the Summer Nats are held. My email address is blenderqueen@verizon.net. We look forward to putting together a caravan to drive into the park!
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Last year I was given the tremendous opportunity to join the Nats Board as alternate to Howard a vanner I met at my very first van run back in 1976 and have looked up to ever since. I have been pretty close to the Board since 1997 when they helped me cover costs for the original Virtual Nats online from La Plata Maryland.
The Nats Board has had their critics, myself among them but they have listened to us and particularly what was suggested on Vannin.com here about changes to the Show n Shine. Standing up in front of the stage with the rest of the Board members when the Flying Eagle award was presented to the Collins was one of my proudest moments in vanning. To be able to encourage the younger vanners to build vans to this level is so important to the survival of vanning.
Given all of this it is very hard to step down from the Board. But family obligations force me to do this and prevented me from going to the CofC and now the 36th Nats. My family who I rarely talk about and very few vanners have ever met are very important to me and when I am not vanning I give 100% to. Our daughters now 16 and 19 are pretty amazing and are getting opportunities offered to them that unfortunately are taking place the same week as the Nats.
This and the fact that the events that I was involved with already as well as the websites and calendar are taking more of my time each year. All of this has been taking a toll on me and I have dropped the ball a few times recently on stuff that I was doing that needed much more attention to finish. So I spoke to Howard on Sunday at Vanfest about stepping down and advised Judith and the rest of the Board this week. I am leaving on very good terms and leaving the door wide open to collaborate with them on whatever crazy idea I dream up down the line or whatever they volunteer me for in the future.
I also just finished editing my Vanfest pictures for Truckin'. Some may think it is a waste of time, but for those who have encouraged me to continue, I thank you. If this runs it will be 26 years since my first event coverage ran in Truckin'. Sometimes persistence pays off.
Keep on Vannin' by any and all means.
Doug
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WE ARE ON THE WAY...or at least within the next hour....The van is packed, and since it is raining now, I'll not bother washing it...perhaps somewhere along the way....We leave today even though the event doesn't actually open until tomorrow...We have one or two new diner destinations to check out and also plan on hitting a few outlet malls in Lake George....The new diner in Lake George is now open for business..A year or so ago the old Prospect Mountain Diner burned to the ground..When stainless steel diners, replete with years accumulation of grease ,catch fire, the chance of putting them out are slim....But there is now a brand new stainless diner in it's place, and if schedule permits we will see what it is like.....We'll stop overnite, hit another diner and get to the fairgrounds around noontime
If you are one of those I mentioned recently that have never been to a van run, this one might just be your best bet...The grounds are really nice and the event usually gets a good crowd of New England vanners...The location is the Woodstock Fairgrounds on Rt 171 in CT...It's a short scenic run down from the Mass Pike and close to Route 6 which runs east to west....Hope to see you there.....For info: (www.newenglandvancouncil.com) TIETIS
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