I can’t believe it’s already the last day of the rally! The time has flown by...and I’m wishing that we had just a few more days here now that we’re all really getting to know each other well. We are just getting to the good stuff! There are only a handful of people leaving tomorrow, so I guess we will have another day! We've already started making plans to meet back up with everyone at other places around the country. We truly have a "new family"! Or should I say a "Nü Family"? tee hee.
Every morning around 9:00 a.m. NST (nomadic standard time), the morning lovers gather to have their coffee (notice I don't have any photos of this...I was still in bed!). The park slowly comes to life after that as people come out of their warm and cozy homes to embrace this amazing community that has formed over the last 4 days.
This morning’s event was the much – anticipated NuRVer’s Swap Meet. Everyone brought their unwanted stuff and we laid it all out for inspection. Bartering, trading, selling…you name it and it was happenin’. Everything from TV screens to flashlights to jewelry to handmade salves. Bella even joined in on the action by trading her artwork for goodies!
You would think that the purpose of this kind of event would be to rid yourself of excess items in your RV. However, we ended up with MORE stuff coming home with us than we brought! Ooops. Oh well…it’s all good stuff and we had a blast. One of the highlights for us was getting a massage by the fabulous Tara. Ahhhhhhh....just what we needed.
The afternoon brought an ice cream social hosted by Kev and Angie...along with an excellent round table discussion about everything "on the road" related. Technology, boondocking, mail forwarding, security, and more. Lots of great information was shared by "veteran full-timers" and newbies as well.
Next up was the “Parade of Homes”! Everyone opened up their home so that others could get a glimpse into their life and be inspired by different floor plans, storage ideas, and office spaces. It was great!! Everyone’s rig is so unique…and each person has different priorities as to their “must have” items. On the tour, we saw an espresso machine, a sewing machine, jewelry making supplies, turtle habitat, and more. All things that we don’t have with us…but that are important to other people. The lesson learned? You can make your life on the road be whatever you want it to be!
After that we congregated for another happy hour...we ate delicious appetizers, had yummy drinks, and danced to some sweet tunes. And then...we all lined up for a group photo to capture everyone forever together. Whenever I look at this photo, I get a happy feeling inside! Click here to see the larger version of the photo. Click here to see us behaving ourselves :)
Supper was a “free for all” again…and it was just as delish as the previous nights. My favorite dish? The raw vegan chocolate avocado mousse pie with strawberries. HELLO!? I don’t know many RV rallies in the country that you can go to and get gourmet raw desserts. We’re lovin’ it. Thanks Brice and Rose!!
Kevin handed out several prizes and gave his final speech for the rally. Technomadia gave us some cool stickers that say “When I grow up, I want to be me”. Thanks guys!
The last thing I did before I headed in for the night was have Rose teach me a hula hoop trick (yay!!) and Cherie taught me 2 different poi spinning moves (don’t worry, no fire!). She taught Bella as well! We're having so much fun living in community with others who can teach us new things daily. I think we'll be making our own "practice poi" soon!
Tomorrow we will say goodbye to a few and the rest of our group will head down the road over the next week. This event has been life-changing for so many and it will not soon be forgotten. We are already looking forward to next year’s event!
We’re also excited to start chatting around the “virtual campfire” over at the NuRVers forums…hope everyone will join us there!
More photos of our exciting day here.
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Our photo gallery is here and our Flickr set is here.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 
Looking out our kitchen window at any given moment during the day provided a view of the community trampoline...filled with little balls of energy bouncing up and down. The kids LOVED that trampoline. It became their common meeting area, napping place, and dance hall all in one.
We were very lucky to have several artists in our midst during the rally who donated their time and energy to help the kids have a great experience. Michelle, a jewelry designer for 10 years, taught a kids' jewelry class and the girls LOVED it. They all made earrings and bracelets were thrilled with their creations.
Chris, who is an amazing classically trained sculptor, taught the kids how to sculpt dragons with wire and a special clay. They were mesmerized...this class was definitely a hit! Tara wrote a beautiful blog post about Zeb's experience and how Chris has impacted his life. Be sure to read it!
And most importantly...the kids were kids. They played and played and played. They created. They ran. They jumped. They sang. They danced. They disagreed. They laughed. They were magical. They have created friendships that will last a lifetime...it will be so fun to see them grow as we come back together year after year.
