Our First Big Trip---The Rally

The AltoGroup

We took our first long trip in the Alto in July, 2015. The whole trip was centered around meeting up with my Alto friends on Kelleys Island in Lake Erie. We decided that since we were already on our way "out west" we would "swing by" and see Steve's sister and his friend just south of Minneapolis. Then on the way back we'd go to the Upper Peninsula, MI and visit Sleeping Bear Dunes, National Seashore.

Leslie, Barry, and Nella.

We arrived at a ferry to get to Kelleys Island. So many firsts for us--first long trip, first time with a trailer (and kayaks) on a ferry, first time for Sophie on a boat of any kind. The ride was great and we arrived, quite nervous, to the campground. This was the first time we met my Facebook friends in person. The smiles and hugs were genuine, and the spouses who do not participate in the FB group hit it off. How special. One by one the families arrived. We had a meet and greet the first night, and wow, everyone had fun.

The next day we toured each trailer getting ideas and inspiration. We went to the beach with my friend Leslie, her husband Barry, their daughter Nella. Later we met for dinner and a training session on towing! We met for breakfast and planned the next rallies, next year on the west coast, and two years from now on the east coast. Leslie and I will plan the east coast rally, and another friend, Alissa will plan the west coast rally with the help of someone yet to be named.

Steve and I met a couple at the campground, who had nothing to do with Rally. This young couple just became engaged, the guy was a chatty fellow. They had a golf cart, and I swear, no matter where we were we saw them. The chatty one knew us as Karen and Steve and would pop out of nowhere and offer us rides. The Alto clan thought we knew people on the Island, but we were from Maryland... They were curious about the Altos, saying they'd never seen one before, and wondered how so many of these things they'd never seen before ended up in Ohio, here, at this campground. Was it a coincidence? They were a cute couple and we wished them well.

Kelleys Island was pretty. We had free time to drive and walk around the island. So many people had bikes. The bikes will be a subject for another post down the road. Here are a couple of pictures from the island.

 

 

Alissa and Richard

We said goodbye after our breakfast, knowing we would chat with each other online, and see one another at a future trip. We headed west towards MN and camped south of Chicago with Alissa and husband Richard, our Alto friends from CA. We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Kankakee. The food was great and so was the company. We also sat through a huge mid western style rain storm, pretty scary.

 

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