Beauty Queens Meet

Hi Classmates:

This is Bobbie again. Jim and I had a pleasant surprise last night as we gathered with others to get our work schedules for Amazon.com. I thought I recognized that figure!

Yes, that is Jim Cumberland, also Class of 2007, from the Desert Rose Beauty Contest at the Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande, AZ last February. In fact Jim C. will be working with me as a Stower on the same night shift.

We have found another member of Class of 2007 here in Coffeyville, Kansas, Anita and Bob Bligh. They didn't make Q but plan on going to the reunion in San Antonio. We will also be working the same shift as classmates, Bill and Leslie Thomas, so will be able to develop our friendship with them also.

Photos of Fay and Jay

Hi all this is Bobbie Chapman.....For those of you who may not have seen Fay and Jay Carter for a while, here are a few photos we took during our visit. Jay is in a walking cast; he sure is happy to be out of the wheelchair and able to navigate on his own....Fay is happy about it also! It sure was nice to have Joe and Marcia Jones visiting as well.

More GJR Photos

Nick hugs all the gals!

Ellie and the barn kitty with Ron Fleeger

Gary and Deb Pearce

Washing the rigs after a dusty, windy storm left "gunk on them!

The barn kitty attacks the doggy "Stuart"

Bob proves he can dance with "One More Time

Photos of Class at GJR

Jim and Nancy Tidball, Gary and Deb Pearce with Ellie, and Bob Pinner

Joe and Marcia Jones

Doing what we do best!

We break bread together....Jim Tidball cuts the bread! Yum!

Gypsy Journal Rally

Wanted: Proofreader

Someone plays a little joke on Nick!!

Several of the Class of 2007 and Class of 2005 attended the Gypsy Journal Rally and had a little mini-reunion before and after this great event. The Mercer County Fairground is a nice venue, with grassy sites and clean showers and bathrooms....it has been a most pleasant facility for an itty, bitty price!! Nick even ordered perfect weather for us..crystal clear days and bright blue skies!!

What a terrific Rally Nick and Miss Terry offer to their friends! Ever gracious hosts, it gets better each year. A whole lot of really nice folks show up at this event and it sure is fun to be around them. Every now and then "Bad Nick" shows up...then it's even more fun!!

Occasionally "Bad Pam" shows up...then it's game on for everyone!!

Big thanks to John and Doni Hargis and Linda and Ron Fleeger for organizing our reunion get-togethers. Some of the fine folks who are here include Jim and Nancy Tidball, Deb and Gary Pearce and Ellie the gentle Doberman, Ron and Linda Fleeger, Joe and Marcia Jones, Trisha Schmidt, Hank and Patti Landry, Bob and Molly Pinner (all Class of 07) John and Doni Hargis, Pam and Smokey Ridgely, Terry and Dale Pace, Bill and Helen Moll (all CLass of 05).

If you weren't here, well, then, you missed a great time and some first class educational opportunities!! Make plans now to be at the next rally in Casa Grande, AZ Feb 13-19, 2009 (go here http://www.gypsyjournal.net/arizona_rally.html to check it out), and next fall we'll be back in the lovely town of Celina, Ohio the last week of September again.

More photos coming soon!
Well wishes to Carolyn and Kieth and Jay and Fay....hope you're all back on the road again soon...we sure miss you!
Big hugs to everyone...hope to see all of our buddies on the road soon!

Class of 07 at Escapade in Gillette

Here are a few more photos of the group in Gillette...Big Thanks to Norah, Paul and Connie and Rick and Terry for getting it organized, getting us a room....Yes, that's right we had our own room with NO wind and NO dust!!! We are moving up in the world!!

There were three of our Cactus Queen contestants in attendance, and they affixed the patch we received for our $1000 + contribution to CARE to our banner.

It was great to see everyone and to finally meet others.
The food was terrific (as always) and Mary Nan had another hit with her Italian Delight..Yum! We do have some very fine cooks in our midst!!


A few photos follow...
Jim & Terrie Corless

Jim & Faye
John and Mary Nan Wehrung Dave and Kathy Bennett

Jim and Nancy Tidball
Check back for more photos to come!

Another successful potluck - ;-)

Hi everybody, I just wanted to get a picture up for y'all so you can see who made it to Gillette,WY for the Escapade from our class.

I'm sure we'll get a few more pictures posted, but for now, here's the group. Sorry everybody couldn't make it.
Oh yeah, in case you haven't seen one before, there was a very cool Motorhome being shown here this week. A cool $800K and it's yours.

Ya gotta love it.

Paul

Ahhh- Old FFFaithful in the Summer!!

Hi guys,

Just wanted to let everybody know that Connie and I are alive and well and on our way to Gillette.

We went to Yellowstone last week (6/7/08) and just wanted to show you the Glorious weather we had for about 3 hours while we waited for Old Faithful to spout.

We stood in about 3/4" of snow for 30 minutes waiting. It was pretty cool to see, but too dang cold, so when we finished that, we headed back for lower and warmer temps.

Hope y'all are doing OK.

Paul n Connie
Our blog - A Breath of Fresh Road

Arches National Park

Yesterday Mike and Sandy Bubar, and Jim and I went to Arches National Park here in Moab, UT. Sandy has followed rv-dreams.com since the beginning and knew the authors, Howard and Linda Payne, were camp hosting at Arches; so we stopped by and visited a bit and took this photo. We are staying at OK RV Park and with Passport America it is $14.50 a night with no limit of days that we can see. We are here for 4 days and it is nicely situated to visit Arches and Cayonlands. Happy Trails to you, Jim and Bobbie Chapman

Sand From AZ

Marcia and Myself have wound up in SC, near Augusta GA.

After spending OCT, NOV, DEC, JAN, and FEB out in the desert, many times right in the middle of nowhere in the desert we finally found a RV Park that allows us to wash the rig.

Now I have to say Marcia did most of it, but I did help a little,


She got so carried away she even cleaned out all the storage compartments.
Now we had a lot of sand that we brought back from AZ and we decided to build a sand castle out of it.


This is made of AZ sand brought back east in all our little cubby holes.

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Take us out to the BALLGAME !!!

A few days ago, Connie and I were hanging around the rig and Mike came calling. He wondered if we'd like to meet up with Jim and Bobbie in Tucson (they're out in BLM country right now) today for a day at the ballpark.

Although we're not really baseball fans, we figured it would be a good time with the group, so we signed on. Rick and Terry were also asked, but unfortunately, Rick apparently caught something and really wasn't feeling well enough to go , so Terry decided to "stand by her man" and stayed home with him.

Mike and Sandy rode with us to Tucson, and after a quick stop at Camping World (can't seem to get by that place) and another stop for Sandy to pick up some beading supplies, it was off to the ballpark.

Hi Corbett Field is a pretty nice facility, compact, well maintained and Winter home of the Colorado Rockies.

We arrived about 11:15 and weren't supposed to meet Jim and Bobbie until Noon, so after waiting for about 30 minutes and seeing lots of people start to come to the gates, Mike called Jim and they decided to have Mike buy tickets for all and we'd repay him.

Mike decided to get us one notch higher in the seat ratings ($) but also better views. However, (ahem) he bought tickets that were on the Visitors side (Texas Rangers) and in case you didn't know, Bobbie and Jim are avid Colorado Rockies fans.

(can you see where this is going? hee hee)

When Jim and Bobbie arrived, Mike tried to convince Bobbie that it would be OK to sit on the visitors side and harass them behind their dugout. NOT

Soooo, after Bobbie and Mike traded in the tickets for the "correct" side of the field, we were good to go.

It was warm and sunny at the field and somewhere around 80 degrees. We're not sure how hot it actually got, cuz the digital thermometer at the field was bouncing up and down all afternoon.It was a nice time, chatting, laughing, people watching, and oh yeah, watching the ballgame.

Bottom line:

Rockies 6, Rangers 6
at Hi Corbett Field
Tucson, Ariz.

Just another Field-Trip :-)

Paul n Connie Anderson
Mike n Sandy Bubar
Jim n Bobbie Chapman
absent with a legal excuse - Rick n Terry Traver

Saguaro National Park

We went to Saguaro National Park yesterday with Howie and Norah. It was so interesting to walk among so many varied types of cacti. I learned that a saguaro is about 75 years old before it creates a limb or "arm" and that they live to be 175 to 200 years old.....amazing!!! Love you all, Bobbie and Jim Chapman

Stuck in San Antonio while Grand Baby is Born

We are stuck in San Antonio until Monday 03-10-2008 because the rig is getting a new roof installed.

Yesterday we got a call from our son Corey telling us his wife Jennifer was in the hospital getting ready to have their first baby. Things didn't go quite as planned so this morning the doctor broke her water and said he would do a C section if she didn't have it herself within 24 hours.

Tonight around 7 PM eastern time they took Jennifer in to do the C section. Jaelynn was delivered around 7:30.

Jaelynn weighted in at 6 lbs and 14 oz, she was 20 inches long, and has all ten toes and fingers.

This pic was taken shortly after Corey cleaned her up for the first time. Corey is a RN at Pineville hospital in Pineville Ky, Jennifer is an accountant for a firm in Corbin Ky and they live in Cumberland Gap TN.

They have been trying to have a baby for 6 years now. I guess this proves that it will happen if God wants it to happen. I know they will both be very good parents and Jaelynn will be a very spoiled child.

Jaelynn is our 4th grandchild, our first grand daughter, and the first grand baby on Jennifers side of the family.

I know many of the class of 07 are grand parents and maybe some great grand parents, but I think Jaelynn is the first baby born since the class graduated back in Jan. (and I am really proud of them and glad for them after they tried for so long)

Benson gathering

The group at Benson has been doing what we all do best-eating and gathering together. Connie and Paul supplied a wonderful lasagna with the rest of us providing the side dishes. Three of the nights we got together to play Mexican Train with much laughter and rowdiness.

Today Norah, Howie, Jim and I will travel to BLM land south of Tucson for a couple of weeks. We will miss Rick and Terry who have gone out of their way to make our visit to Benson enjoyable - which it was.

Thanks, Paul, for letting us use your internet connection.....maybe it will convince Jim we should get an aircard.

We will also leave behind Paul, Connie, Mike and Sandy (who is off dogsleding in Minnesota). Mike is busy putting in wood floors in his rig. What a wonderful time we have had with you all and we look forward to seeing you on the road.

Bobbie

Betty Crocker at work in Hondo Texas

Marcia and I shared another meal with Jay and Faye tonight here at the Lone Star Corral.
Jay is hard at work at the grill while I am busy taking the pictures.





While marcia and Faye are busy sampling the fruits of the Margarator.

We had another terrific meal with a terrific couple we would have never met if it had not been for the CLASS OF 2007 gathering up in fridgid Quartzsite AZ.

For all of you that attended Q and the GJR after Q knows that we were blessed with the honor of being able to spend a little time with the famous, charming, and delightfull,

Mrs Faye Betty Crocker, as you can see in the next photo Jay isn't the only one that can cook.

And this shot was taken after faye and Marcia had sampeled the fruits of the Margarator.

We are having a wonderfull time fulltiming, and spending time with classmates.

We hope it will be very soon that our paths cross with other classmates, and people we have met since selling the bricks and sticks and moving into the house on wheels.
Here's to seeing you on the road again.

A "mini-meet" in Laughlin....

Jim & Bobbie Chapman and the Beenie Weenies met up with Bob & Molly in Laughlin for a few days. We had the $69 coupons from Quartzsite which gave us three nights of camping, with one night free, and four free dinners or breakfasts each...so how could you pass up this deal??? The weather was just beautiful and we toured Laughlin on our stomachs (so to speak)!

We had Prime Rib in the Rib Room that was the tenderest and tastiest we can remember...this was in addition to all the other free dining!!
The Colorado River was running fast and clear, so we hopped the water taxi at night to visit Harrah's and to try out their buffet; of course, we couldn't miss a meal!!!

We also had our first ever In-and-Out burgers in Laughlin!! They were indeed the best we've ever tasted, and it was a first taste for all of us. Now we're hooked!

What did Joe say about the Class of '07 and food???? Seems some things never change!

It was a nice time with good friends, sharing some sun, fun and laughs!! Thanks so much to Bobbie and Jim for navigating this "meet"!!! (Now we all go on diets until we meet up with more classmates again!!:)

Belated Happy Birthday Molly!!!!!!

Hey all, it just occurred to me that nobody really said anything about our first day/night at the Gypsy Journal Rally on Feb. 9th, so I guess I will. :-)

It was a really nice sunny day when Connie and I arrived and were guided to the rest of the group that was already parked in our designated area.

As soon as we got parked and hooked up, I grabbed my camera and we wandered down to the rest of the Class. If you check the photos closely you'll notice that Joe and Marcia made a lifetime investment in a new Margarator, and it was being tested by many in the Class :-)



Once we kinda settled in for a bit, Bob asked us if we could help him celebrate Molly's birthday that night. Needless to say, it was a definite yes. So many of our beloved class started to "prime the pump" in anticipation.

Molly felt obligated to help Joe and Marcia break in the margarator, along with most of the other Class members.
While this was going on, a reservation was made at McMasher's in Casa Grande where the food was supposed to be decent and more importantly, they had Karaoke set up.

Once everyone was relaxed a little, someone asked Jay Carter to show us how he could tell Fay was really ticked at him. If you haven't seen it before, brace yourself. :-)

In short, when Fay puts a hand on her hip, Jay takes notice.

On to the evening entertainment!!!!!

We all managed to successfully find the place and continue to have just a little fun, some great conversation and decent food and then they brought a cake for the Birthday Girl. :-)

After the "official"birthday stuff was finished, the serious insanity started when the karaoke got fired up. The restaurant had a couple of regulars who sang to get things started and then our very own Sal Tumolo sang his rendition of "Bad To The Bone" and absolutely brought the house down.

Sal made a small fortune with dollar bills. hee hee

Patti and Sal showed that the Margarator worked well today.

About this time, Connie and I decided to head back to our rig. I guess we really are turning into old farts. ;-)

On the way out I took a picture that is my personal favorite for the day.
I'm calling it "Belonging Together"

Happy Birthday Molly, and many many more!!

Paul

Farewell Dinner in Benson

Five couples from the class of 2007 gathered on lot 322 at the SKP park in Benson to share a last supper together.

Marcia and I, Howie and Nora, Jay and Faye, Rick and Terry, Von and Christina ate BBQ ribs, potato salad, beans, salad, chips, and drank Margaritas from the Margarator Monday night. After eating we went to the clubhouse to play mexican train. A gr8 time was had by everyone, and if anyone left hungry it was their own fault.

I just wish everyone could have been there to enjoy it with us.

Valentines Day at the GJR

Why is it that almost any time any of the class of 2007 gets together there is food involved?

We had a terrific time valentines day sharing all the goodies the terrific ladies prepared for us.

I think I gained ten pounds since our graduation in Quartzsite, but I enjoyed every pound.