NuRVers Gathering 2010: Day 4

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.

Follow along:
Twitter: #NURV
NüRVers Flickr group
Our photo gallery is here and our Flickr set is here.



NuRVers Gathering 2010: Day 3

Day three of the rally started off bright and early with a pancake breakfast. There is nothing better than the smell of pancakes and coffee OUTSIDE in the morning. Love it. It probably stems back to the days of when my dad would make “bacon grease pancakes” when we camped out as a family...along with coffee in the percolator.

As nostalgic as those grease pancakes may be...sorry Dad. None for me anymore! These days, I make a much healthier version. I tried out a new recipe today from Tara…oat pancakes. Super healthy…like eating a bowl of oatmeal. Check out the recipe here!

After breakfast, we scattered and then reconvened for the afternoon workshops. Michelle taught a wildly popular jewelry making class. I had a BLAST learning how to make my very own earrings. I’ve always wanted to know how…and now I do. Yippee! I made 4 pairs (yes, it was that fun). Michelle also fixed some necklaces of mine that had broken clasps. I’m pretty much in love with her.

Michelle has been working full time creating eco-friendly, earth sensitive and sustainable jewelry for over 10 years and she is AMAZING at it. I loved hearing her tell us about the origins of all the stones and beads. So fascinating! You can see Michelle's work at her Etsy store, Mad Earth.

Next up was Matt’s veggie oil system demonstration. There was a great question and answer session and everyone came away knowing A LOT more about using veggie oil as fuel.

I also hosted a small green smoothie demo at our house…and we had a great time talking about all things green and healthy.

The costumed happy hour started in the late afternoon and there were some very creative costumes! We may not have big closets, but apparently we have enough room for elaborate outfits! Cherie even had on a CUSTOM fitted corset. Wow. It was so great seeing what everyone came up with.

Next up: "Asian fusion" themed supper. Oh. My. Yumminess. There were tons of curries and stir fries and rice and seafood…it just keeps getter better each night! One of my favorites was a cilantro peanut chutney. I wanted to jump right in the bowl and swim around.

And the best part? It’s not over yet. We still have an entire fun-filled day yet tomorrow. We kick off the day at 11:00 a.m. with the RV "Garage Sale" where we trade, sell, and barter our stuff and services. Can’t wait!!

Lastly, we were excited to welcome TWO new families to the rally today. Gillian, Kwamena, and Efua rolled in right after breakfast this morning. And Skipper, Selena, and Levi arrived just before supper. They have meshed with our little community perfectly and we're thrilled they are here! Tomorrow we will meet the Tacky Texans, Brice and Rose!

I have now edited all the photos up to this point...so go check out our adventures in more detail HERE.

Follow along:
Twitter: #NURV
NüRVers Flickr group
Our photo gallery is here and our Flickr set is here.



River Time

Whenever we have the chance to meet up with friends on the road, we do it! It hadn't been long since we said goodbye to Kev and Angie in Quartzsite...but we missed them and we were looking forward to a few days with them in New Braunfels at Landa RV & Campground.

We parked right next to them in a river front spot. The spring-fed Comal River runs right through the park and it's lovely...I've never seen water that clear! And so many birds to listen to...loved it.

Within minutes of arriving, Bella had her swim suit on and was ready to float. She LOVES the water. Just a short walk down from our RV, there was an entry point to jump in. Everyone had fun floating in the water on a hot day.

The next day, we walked around the downtown "crazy days"...which turned out to be not as crazy as we thought it would be. You never know what you'll get in a small town...but it was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed it.

Bella enjoyed seeing the different artists...in particular this potter. The potter told Bella that she had just started to learn pottery when she was "very old"...and we had a talk about how it's never too late to try something new!

After a stop at the coffee shop and the bakery for a special treat, we headed back to the RV's to relax a bit before heading out for Thai food that night.

We went to Sarika's Thai in New Braunfels and it was very tasty. We shared a big hot pot of tom kha, which we LOVE...fresh spring rolls, and pad thai. So good.

We headed out the next morning after a sweet coffee time together. We'll be seeing Kevin and Angie again soon...they are only 45 minutes away from where we are staying for the next couple of months!

Photos of New Braunfels here.
All photos available for comment on Flickr here.