Woodstock Illinois Camping Rally - October 2012

It is with a sad, but hopeful heart that I write this post. Two things cause the sadness. First and foremost, my little buddy, Big Bill, suffered a near life ending, but certainly life altering injury during the rally. I won't show pictures, they are simply too graphic. We are hoping that Big Bill will be back on his feet in time. Although his first surgery was successful, which was great news, the surgeons have yet to give us a definitive long term prognosis.
The second matter is that camping season in northern Illinois has basically come to an end for the year. A few hearty souls will venture out into the abyss of cold night temperatures, but not en masse like the summer rallies. The Woodstock Rally was the final organized hurrah in the Midwest for 2012.

I must admit that those of us in attendance absolutely sent 2012 off with one heck of a final ride, even with Big Bill hurting while we continued to party. It wasn't like there was anything else we could do for Big Bill at the time anyhow...

This year's rally had "pods" like in the past. The pods this year were themed. This one is BJ's pod, the hostess with the mostess. A Chicago Bears themed pod. Had the Bears actually showed up that night and beat the Packers instead of caving in and losing, the night would have been perfect!

For the Packer's fans in attendance Thursday was a great night, especially the rubbing it in part. I still think I should have bit Rick and Gunther, but I am getting side tracked.

 Early morning in Woodstock. Clearly this picture was taken before Big Bill's encounter with... I get choked up thinking about it. I must remain strong, sorry.

Early morning, BEFORE COFFEE, meant running out to the cooler for the closest thing to caffeine that one could find. All because we had to wait until Norm got his lazy can out of bed and made the coffee! Gunther found that he liked the Yoohoo better than Dew. Big Bill just wanted beer.

This was part of the "neighborhood" at WillOaks. Norm should get a better camera with a wide angle lens.

I think this year had the biggest turn out for one of BJ's Woodstock rallies. There were a lot of new faces in attendance. There were also a lot of missing faces. Folks that we get to see but once a year and they missed the rally this year for whatever reason. We hope all is well and that we will meet up at a rally in 2013.

Our pod had a Gingerbread Hippie on Route 66 theme.

No, really! It was.

Three trailers, one Gingerbread, one Hippie, and one Route 66, it was a no brainer. The mascot? That took some doing.

This was part of our pod. Ginger on the left, Walter on the right, Norm & Jules' grandson Brock in the center and unfortunately our pod mate John & Ann's trailer hiding behind Walter. I don't know if their trailer was shy or if the chucklehead with the camera was just not thinking... (Norm of course)

These pictures are of John & Ann's trailer but they are from a different event.  



I like their thinking!



  

Alrighty then, back to our show. Big Bill and I met this guy at BJ's pod during the progressive meet and greet. I didn't catch his name but as you can see, he is a big Chicago Bears fan. I know, he is a blue hat and I'm red but that feud ended a long time ago. Haven't you seen Gnomeo & Juliette? Besides, the Bears would look funny with red hats.

If it wasn't for Jules I would put the move on BJ's mom. This is her, Barb, on the right, with her friend Joni. Barb is a hoot. I could tell you stories that would curl your toes.

Then again she might whomp me so I'll stay quiet.

You should attend a rally and make it a point to meet this wonderful lady!

Jules and Norm's daughter is also named Joni. But to find a Joni that spells their name the same way is rare. You know like Joanie but without the A and E. The A and E got used for a TV station.
That and they are both Bears fans!

Naturally that makes for a photo op!

The eats in this pod were different. A Halloween themed pod had some of the food looking questionable. Drinks that looked like blood.
Made me nervous. Big Bill kept asking for seconds. He is a weird duck!

I'm just kidding. Their food was great! Big Bill is weird though.

Along with Mike these were our hostesses at the Halloween pod, Katerina & Cheryl.

They were some of the "newbies" to the Woodstock rally. I hope they had fun. Big Bill and I certainly did meeting them.

This was one of the tow vehicles they had. I want one!

Our pod specialized in deserts. We had tasty beverages and regular food too. But the deserts were "off the hook" right down to the trailer & gingerbread cookies!

Mike was with the Halloween pod. Clearly he is a scary guy!













The other pods were the Flab 5. They used to be the Fab 5 but time had taken its toll.

What a great sense of humor! They also won an award for best food during the progressive meet & greet.

There was the 60's / hippie pod. 

"Special" brownies.





The brownies were certainly "special" and tasty too.
The picture on the left is difficult. The picture was taken a mere second or two before Big Bill's tragic accident.

There are a number of contributing factors that lead to the accident. However, it is counter-productive to point the finger at Norm and blame him for Big Bill's suffering, even if it would be extremely accurate!

Big Bill made me promise to let it slide.

Big Bill was taken back to the camper to rest. On the way back to the party, since there wasn't anything we could do for Bill at the time, we ran into George. George was concerned about Big Bill. He even offered his tasty beverage in the hopes that it would help Big Bill feel better and to make sure I was ok emotionally.

Hey George, Big Bill said thanks. So do I!

Norm said George was heading for the bathroom and just happened to be passing by. Norm is making it REAL HARD for me to keep my promise to Big Bill...

This is Beth. She was a "newbie" to the Woodstock Rally. Beth belongs to a group that call themselves Glampers. Glampers are "Glamorous Campers" or some such thing. I think a lot of Glampers are also involved with Sisters On The Fly but the Glampers allow the guys to participate.


I liked Beth. I did get a bit of an earful from Norm about my smoking. He was just mad because he became a quitter and can't handle the fact that I'm not.

Snackages in Zoe's trailer (a Frolic). This is where we first learned that there is a group called The Loyal Order Of The Glamper. The Loyal Order Of Glampers actually has a facebook page! Jules and I have since joined.

I'm not 100% sure what the theme of Beth & Zoe's pod was other than Sisters On The Fly and Glampers. It might have been something else but they were the last pod on the walk. I was a bit tipsy then and not taking notes anymore.



One of the major highlights of the Woodstock Rally is the grabus baggus on Saturday night. Also known as the Trailer Trash Speed Get-A-Gift program. The grabus baggus is a collection of items that our hostess BJ gathers all year long. Each trailer is entered and with everything layed out BJ starts calling the trailers.

When your trailer is called you pick something off the tables to take home with you. A key component of the event is speed. BJ calls a trailer and seconds later will call out another. If you see something you like you better be moving quick to get it. You may get beat to the grabus by a fellow camper.

This is BJ. BJ will be the first to tell you that there is only one rule to this event: EVERYTHING must go! No leftovers on the tables.
After a few rounds the tables are reorganized and the remaining items gathered closer together.

I had my eyes on these really cool wooden slat lawn chairs. Unfortunately with Jules, Norm and I sharing a trailer MY picking an item fell to the third in the pecking order. By the time the third round came about and I got my chance to pick, these babies were long gone. They were really cushy on the tushy.

We did get awesome stuff, even if I didn't get the chairs.

Sunday morning was coffee and danish at BJ's camper. Oh yeah, there was juice too.

Sven was a bit chilly so he had his blanket. I thought about teasing him and calling it his blankey, but it was toasty warm.

Sunday morning coffee is the final gathering before we all broke camp and hit the road. I think this was the saddest one for me. Not only was Big Bill layed up, but this was the last gathering, of the last rally of the season for us. I'm going to miss everyone.

I guess it will be solo camping until spring.

Our pod actually won a trophy during the rally. We got runner up for Trailer Ambiance.

I should have figured out who the judges were and slipped someone an extra five bucks.

It would have made my acceptance speech that much better.




I always thought runner up was better than last place. Norm said each category only had two spots, First & Runner Up.

Did I mention I don't like him much?

I'll let everyone know how Big Bill is doing in my next entry.

Until then,

Travis

By the way, here is the blog link for the Woodstock Rally http://woodstockrally.blogspot.com/