Glamping Days

After driving several hours & crossing the border, I arrived at Riverside Park Motel & Campground just outside Niagara Falls, ON - a day later than planned.  The hosts of the upcoming rally arrived yesterday. Since I was the only other early bird for the rally, we had a nice long visit this afternoon.  * * * * * Addendum: The lady I mentioned meeting in yesterday's post was most interesting. She captains a tourist paddle boat in July & August, so she knows a lot about all things relating to boats on the Great Lakes. This boat, really a barge, went by as we talked. She pointed out that the white tower at the rear of the barge is actually part of the tug boat which is pushing it along. The second pic shows the tug inside a cutout in the back end of the barge (hard to see because of the lighting). Many things about the RV lifestyle appeal to me, but the chance to sit a bit & talk to an interesting person might be my favorite; the laid back atmosphere in a campgrou...

Most of the morning was spent pottering around the campground saying goodby to folks. A NL (Newfoundland) sticker in the window of a trailer caught my eye; by the time the owner & I finished talking, we were confirmed friends.  Here's a last look at the river & a fun item in the campground.  Toward noon, I prepared for the short drive across the border into Canada & on to Niagara Falls. Yikes, my passport wasn't in the glove box! I've kept it there since getting th trailer, as I've crossed into Canada from 1 to 6 times each year since then. It seems that I failed to put it back there after being in the UK this summer. So, the new plan was the "scenic route" to Niagara Falls. I drove 5 hours home, did a load of wash, washed my hair, showed the trailer to some curious neighbors, & picked up the pass port. There's a 2-hour limit to park the trailer at my condo complex, so I headed 1 1/2 hours up the road to an overnight stop at a Cracker Barre...

Many folks left today, but there were still a fair number of folks around to visit with.  A friend introduced me to the "Boat Watch" app, which lets users track the boats coming by. It was fun today seeing when a big boat was approaching & walking over to watch it pass.  This ship is American Mariner, sailing to Buffalo.  Someone here said that the Paul R Tregurtha is the largest on the Great Lakes. According to Boat Watch, it's 309 meters long.  And this evening, the Iver Bright passed on its way from River Rouge (Detroit) to moor a bit further up the St Clair River. 

There are 2 rallies going on here this weekend.  Pics of a variety of fiberglass trailers have appeared elsewhere on this blog, so I've just included a pic of the coolest overall rig here.  As cool as we think our FG trailers are, most of us agree that these GMC motorhomes, all built in the 1970s, might be even cooler. There are 20-25 of them here this weekend. 

Though most folks arrived over the last few days, quite a few came in today. The kick off event this evening was a bring your own pudgy pie dinner. The pics show folks cooking their pudgy pies & half the circle. Some folks stayed with smaller groups at their own campsites. Though I've never been to this rally before, I recognize about a third of the folks here from other rallies.  

I drove today from home to Algonac State Park, north of Detroit, about 330 miles. My trailer has been sitting for 6 months, so she got a much needed bath at a truck wash along the way.  For the uninitiated, an explanation of the name of this rally may be in order. "Glassic" of course is a play on the word "classic" & also references "fiberglass", the material our trailers are made of. And, fiberglass trailers are referred to as "eggs", hence the rest of the name.  The cutest rig in the park is not a fiberglass trailer, but this setup. The owner completely built out this rig; they sleep in the van, & the trailer serves as a kitchen, dining room, & living room. They have a bathroom set up in a tent to the left of the trailer.