This “modified” Class C was set up across from us at a show this summer. Wow. The fellow who drives this did all the artwork/painting himself. He is from Canada and sets up at shows all across the country. You might see him at a festival some time. His rig is hard to miss!
The whole rig is covered in paintings. The more you look, the more you see!
The Annie Oakely Festival took place last weekend. This theme festival is held near Greenville, Ohio, the home of the famed markswoman. It seemed fitting that the Ohio Fast Draw Association International held one of their competition shoots at the festival.
Fast draw shooters with their six guns ready to compete.
Sher and I had an absolute ball at the Luther Logging Days festival in Luther, Michigan. The festival ran the week of July 4th. We heard about this festival from a fellow vendor who was kind enough to give us the information for registration so we could set up and sell our wares.
Luther is a very small town (population 310) and is in the heart of logging and outdoor recreation country. The festival took place on the one main street in town, and we set up our selling space right next to the curb.
This festival was really fun. Sometimes when we are set up and selling we don’t get to share in the festivities. Not so at Luther: most of the activities took place near or in front of our booth space! There were bands, games for young and old alike and a wonderful parade on July 4th.
This was our set up
AM VET bikers in the parade
The people of Luther were very friendly and enjoy life to the fullest. Young and old alike really know how to have a good time.
Our Four Winds with the new cargo trailer
Sher and I bought our Thor Four Winds class C motorhome from Tom Raper RV in Richmond, Indiana in December of 2014. We got a great deal, were treated well and very satisfied with the transaction. Tom Raper has been in the RV business for decades and most in the Midwest recognize ads for Exit 149A on I-70 in Richmond.
I was surprised when I went to the Tom Raper website in the search for a cargo trailer and bam! there was the Camping World website! The deal was reported back in January by media. Sadly media also reported that founder Tom Raper passed away this April in Florida. Tom Raper RV is now a Camping World dealer.
We got another great deal on a cargo trailer, working with Mitch Crowe, our salesman from the Thor Four Winds deal. Once again Mitch took great care of us. Within a couple of hours we had purchased the trailer, had it correctly hitched to our motorhome and were on our way.
We went to Michigan to get some merchandise to sell at upcoming festivals and shows. The pesky April weather was chilly, and our furnace in the Thor would not work. Heading back south we detoured to the Tom Raper/CW dealership. Long story short, the service department with no hassel found the problem (a bad contact in the thermostat) and even took care of a couple of other minor issues. Hats off to technician Steve and Hank and Paul at the service desk.
I have talked to several Tom Raper employees from the sales, parts and service departments. All said they were pleased with the transition from Tom Raper to Camping World. This change sems to be a good thing for not only the staff but also the customers of this dealership. I was very pleased with the way they took care of our furnace issue and the help with the other minor issues.
We were visiting family near Columbus Ohio this weekend. We all piled into their van and headed out for the day. We ended up in downtown Columbus and were amazed by the huge crowd at the conention center for the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Fitness Festival. According to local media over 180,000 people attended the weekend event. This is a yearly event for Columbus,and is one of a series of events from around the world that carries Schwarzenegger’s name.
One company’s banner with a vintage picture of Arnold
The crowds were huge. We walked through the convention center to see all of the events in the outer hall ways. The actual event required an admission charge which we passed on.
The streets and sidewalks were packed!
The Navy Seals gave folks a chance to prove their strength
Just when you think you have seen everything, here comes a self propelled two seater bathtub.
Yes, this is a motorized bath tub.
Today Sher and I finished setting up for the Flywheelers show that starts Wednesday. Final cleaning of some of the glassware and a couple of cabinets was needed. Then we finished putting the price tags on anything not already priced.
Later in the day friends of ours kindly let us borrow their golf cart. We took it for a tour of the grounds looking at lots of the other vendors and their displays.
On our route we passed a couple of areas that were filled with antique John Deere tractors. This show is featuring John Deere. I’m not really sure what that means, but there are a ton of the old green and yellow tractors on display. There are other different makes of antique macinery here, but the John Deere machines are everywhere.
An impressive line up of antique John Deere tractors
An old Case threshing machine
We also drove through the Flywheeler’s Village. It will be very busy during the show, but today we could see all of the old fashioned looking buildings. There were many, many of these.
Going to see a lot of John Deere vintage tractors this week
Today we went out to dump the black and grey water and get our propane tank filled at a Pilot Travel Center up the road. The cold weather around here means more RV’s using their furnaces. The tech at Pilot told me he has had their bulk propane tank filled three times in the past 48 hours.
This Forida weather is really strange. This morning it was very chilly: we had to fire up the space heater. This afternoon it felt hot, even though the temperature was only a bit above 70: we got the fans out.
Saw this cute little bird near our RV today
We will now stay here until the show is over next Saturday. We are at the Florida Flywheelers Antique Engine and Tractor show at Ft. Meade in central Florida. We were here for the show in January and decided to return for the February show. This show is featuring John Deere tractors. We have already seen John Deere green and yellow on everything, including the old John Deere tractors, of course.
Over 1700 vendors and exhibitors are expected by the start of the show Wednesday. This place has over 240 acres and is turning into a little city. Vendors and tractor exhibitors have been coming in all day.
Beautiful sunset to end the day
Yesterday evening we had a fun time at a local event outside of Snohomish, Washington. We went to a local farm named Craven Farm to witness their Pumpkin Glow event. This facility had given 100 pumpkins to the local Boys and Girls Club. They also offered free pumpkins and carving tools anybody else who brought their kids.
The carved pumpkins were put on a pyramid frame. Just at dark the “friendly Harvest Witch” told some stories and then after a countdown all the pumpkins were lit up! It was really fun to see, and the throng of kids were delighted as well.
We really enjoyed this event. Local happenings like this are great to seek out and attend.
Necklaces displayed on a peg board and in packages on the table.
We help finance our full time RV lifestyle by selling at festivals, fairs, and sometimes
Single pegboard display and necklaces in white jewelry boxes
flea markets. The set-up costs including at least electric hook-ups give us not only very cheap camping but a chance to make some money by selling our wares.
What do we sell? The main product we sell are hand made glass necklaces. We got a great deal on 5000 units about a year and a half ago.( I won’t advertise our source here but contact me if you want details.) Necklaces like these have been around a while. Often our customers will comment that they have bought some at other places. This is fine, as we have a huge variety and they usually buy one or two more from us!
The price? We normally sell these for $5.00. At one large ten day festival we had two prices: $5 and $7 depending on the style. This two tiered pricing worked fairly well, though we have not used it at three or four day events.
We have also sold “cooling” neck and head bandannas with great success. You have to look for good wholesale pricing on these to be profitable. We also have had reasonable luck with cheap imported turquoise necklaces. Both these items we have found on Liquidation.com, an auction site where you can find about anything!
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