Sunday, October 21, 2018

Issue #28 -- TDC Rally - International



If you own a motorhome, you most likely have been to a rally, or you belong to a camping group. Both have their benefits and you participate for different reasons.  TDC - Thor  Diesel Club is a group we belong to. The members own a diesel coach manufactured by Thor Motor Coach. Our coach is a Thor Tuscany 40DX. Our club has several rallys during the year, but annually the club has an International rally, some call it a "Welcome Home" rally.  This annual rally is held during the first weekend of October in Goshen, Indiana. Our sponsor is Thor Motor Coach of Elkhart, Indiana. Our club plans the rally and events of the rally and Thor Motor Coach provides it's services to make minor repairs to our rigs while attending the rally.



This years Rally Masters were; Kay & Barry Rubin, Sharon & Joe Kuebler and Sue & Mike Jones. In addition to these folks there were lots of great volunteers to assist with everything from parking to greeting, as well as bar-tending, set-up and clean-up.



The location for the rally was the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen, IN, and the theme was "Out of This World" - anything Outer Space related.  The rally ran from September 30th - October 5th.  There are lots of things to do and lots of time to socialize and meet new people, as well as reconnect with past rally friends.








The first day is arriving, setting up and checking in at the registration tables.  Here you get all the information you'll need to get; where you sign up for some of the rally events and review the week's agenda.













Our club also collects donations for local charities. This year we collected clothing donations for The Window of Goshen.















We arrived a couple of days early in order to get set up and check out the fairgrounds.  Others also arrived early to get set up and head off the aliens. There's word there will be several aliens among us.
























The decor throughout the fairgrounds are quite interesting.










Don't know why I can't find my rain boots.













                


















Put out some farm or ranch equipment and men become little boys again.















Another good use for your worn out blue jeans.




Back to the rally: after a potluck supper Sunday evening your days begin with a wonderful breakfast, served at 8:30 AM "SHARP." As you enter the dining hall, you are greeted with a warm "Welcome," and lots to eat. Evening supper was also catered at 6 p.m. I don't think anyone went away hungry.


Great Supper time Bartenders 






If you needed something for lunch, you could stop by the Holy Smokes BBQ Co. lunch truck for some really good BBQ.














In between all the eating there is a lot of time for vendor seminars, which are held daily. These are great seminars giving you a lot of info, and tips in maintaining your rig.  There are also seminars for cooking products, beauty tips and craft classes.  Some of the vendors attending were; Ruby Ribbon, Kleen Tank, King Connect, Techno RV, Mobileye Inc., Skymed International, RV LED Lites, Elkhart Satellite, Aqua Hot / Hydronic Heating Specialist, Go Power - Solar, RV Tire Safety, Freightliner, No Shock Zone, Norwex, Magne Shade, Dometic Corporation, Dura Flap Mud Flaps, G&S Specialties, Cummins/Onan Generators, Lippert Components, Mito Corp / Axxera, Carefree of Colorado, Aqua View, Inc, as well as instructors to assist those wanting a little more help learning to drive their rig.
This is a lot, but we're not done yet. If you wanted, you could join a group for a golf outing or go to a local gun range for some target shooting.

In addition to some minor repairs completed by the great service people of Thor Diesel Motorcoach. We also had maintenance service on our diesel engine and generator. Service was done by Erik & Jennifer Powers of Mobile Service Pros. Great service at a great price!

Erik & Jennifer Powers
 Thor Motor Coach also provided tours of the Thor Facility where Motor Coaches are built. We've toured all the other major brand factories and believe Thor techniques are the best that money can buy.






































Even at the Thor factory you could find an Alien hanging around.

                       



           






In addition to all the above, there were seminars for cooking tips, beauty tips and three craft classes. These seminars included Pressure Cooking, Air Frying, Convection Oven Cooking, Kitchen Craft Cookware, Bread - It's In The Bag, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Usborne Books & More. Mary Kay Cosmetics and Color Street Nail Polish were also on hand with some great beauty tips.

















Mary Kay Cosmetics



             
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Silk Christmas Ornament Craft - Sue Cutter, Instructor





JOYful Christmas Craft - Margaret Davis, Instructor




Solar Lanterns Craft - Diane Stojanovich, Instructor



                 

                















Afternoons - There was socializing, supper, and entertainment.

 BINGO

Pulling the BINGO numbers?


BINGO prizes
Entertainment by SPITTIN' IMAGE



                                             


Anson Adams "Sings"


















Some group participation, always fun. 

They did a great job - Good sports.
I think she wants to sing.

As the Rally Theme was "Outer Space," there had to be costume contests.
Let the judging begin:






The spaceship has landed
"Am I Pretty?"

















Here come the Aliens:









                                                           




The Winners


















 We met so many wonderful people:









Proceeds donated to Disabled American Veterans































 David's Buddy Stops: