Ben & Donna Barker (20884) – Washington State Directors
Happy Summer everyone, hope you are enjoying the sunshine and are having fun times traveling, wherever you are traveling.
This summer has been a busy one for us. Once we got on the road the miles just kept rolling on under our wheels. We attended three rallies back-to-back to back in June. Thankfully they were all in eastern Washington. We traveled from the very north of the state to the very bottom and back north again. One of the highlights of our travels this trip was a visit to the Goldendale Observatory, which to our surprise is a state park. It’s one of those places you always plan on stopping but for whatever reason you don’t. Well, it is well worth the stop, but make sure you check their hours before going. A great place to take the grandkids also, for it is very educational. Our final rally was the Evergreen Aires Rally in Soap Lake, Washington. What a wonderful time we had catching up with members we hadn’t seen since last year, and then meeting new members that have joined the chapter since we last met. Since our chapter presidents are now the new Region 2 Directors, we elected new presidents and secretary. The chapter has strong leadership going into the future. We also have new corn hole champions this year, as the raining champs fell hard in the first round. The July 4th holiday found us camping along the banks of the Sol Duc River on the Olympic Peninsula. What a beautiful place to just relax and enjoy the elk wandering through the camp in the morning. The annual 4th of July parade in Forks was just a fun time in a small-town USA parade, and nights around the campfire with friends were just as fun.
Now we are looking forward to spending a couple weeks in Birch Bay and then attending the Oregon State rally in Newport, Oregon in September. But first we will be spending time with friends in LaGrande, Oregon. Following the Oregon State Rally, we will be traveling to Coeur d’Alene Idaho for our joint Region 2/Washington State Rally at Blackwell Island RV Park. Along with the Region 2 Directors we are busy making plans for that rally now. So many of you were interested in joining us there and we hope not to disappoint with the things we have planned for the rally. It is a really beautiful time of year in that area, and we should have a really fun time. Don’t forget to make your reservation for the Saturday evening boat and dinner cruise on the lake if you haven’t already. The optional sunset dinner cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene is Saturday night September 28th. If you would like to go on the cruise you will need to make your own separate reservation. We recommend making your reservation sooner than later as these cruises fill up fast. The cost is $ 77.25 per person, over the age of 55. There is a fee of $7 if you want to insure your cruise and get a refund in case you have to cancel. You can view the cruise at www.cdacruises.com . Please call 208-292-5670 to make your dinner cruise reservation.
We will not be offering an evening meal on the Saturday night of the rally. For those of you not going on the cruise we recommend making a dinner reservation at the Cedars Floating Restaurant. It is located just south of the RV park, within walking distance and yes, it really is floating on the lake (no life jackets required). You can view the restaurant and make your reservation at www.cedarsfloatingrestaurant.com .
I guess that’s about it for this month. We look forward to seeing some of you in Oregon and some in Idaho in September. Until then safe travels.
