Hello All,

As I mentioned, the rest of the weekend went as scheduled, another top notch air show by the Blue Angels and some great static displays on the airstrip. Friday night brought everyone out to the hanger area for grilled pizzas with your choice of toppings. This turned out to be a great new idea and we will surely repeat at future rallies. After a hearty Saturday morning breakfast provided by volunteers, the area was deserted as almost everyone was off to see the displays. All gravitated back to our area in time for our grilled steak supper that evening, topped off with an oldies but goodies performance by the Remminisants. There was however, some apprehension and concern during the Sunday afternoon Angels performance as suddenly the show stopped and it appeared that one of the jets was missing from the formation. After about a twenty minute delay the show resumed, it turned out that the "Boss" jet had a malfunction and the show could not go on without the main man. Many "thanks" to all of our volunteers that came forward to help during this annual event. Thanks to Bill and Jean, Mark and Janice and John and Kathy for heading up and organizing this rally.

Our balloon festival rally weekend at URI took place the weekend of July 22-24. We arrived in the HEAT of the day on Friday and were met at the gate by Ed and Aline Mahoney along with their daughter Karen, the organizer of this event. We were graciously parked in a frontline area with respect to the festival and balloon location and had a total of twelve coaches and family members in attendance. After a very warm (hot) afternoon, activity in the festival area picked up later in the evening and the balloons started to rise. Tethered balloons allowed both young and old to experience the thrill of ascent while others just enjoyed the activity at ground level. After things had cooled down, a 20x30 tent was set up for our weekend use, courtesy of the Hardwick Fire Dept. The tenting area was our salvation during the daytime hours as it provided a gathering point, protected from the sun and weather, for all of our rally participants. On both evening occasions, balloons glowed and liftoff's took place to the awe of the many attendees. Also included in this weekend, was an awesome 4th of July type of fireworks display that took place on Saturday evening. I would also like to mention that in addition to our rally group, there was a total of 97 units parked in this general area. Thanks to Ed and Aline and a very special THANKS to Karen for setting up and coordinating this event.

Hard to believe but mid-August has arrived, and much is left to do regarding our rally schedule. Dave and Murielle are again hosting their annual pig roast next weekend at Pepe's on the waterfront in Conn so get signed up for that ASAP. Also on the horizon will be the Bradley Air Museum rally, Anne and Charlie have got something up their sleeves that will prove to be a great rally weekend in the Berkshires and it looks like our annual Christmas party will take place at the Hardwick Winery. Please be sure to check your newsletter and website for any updated information. Leo Ouellette (Mass) has been working very hard as webmaster on our site, please check it often.

Charlie has already mentioned how important it is for all to renew membership as it becomes due and I would echo that message. We are all feeling the fuel crunch and the other runaway expenses involved in RV'ing, so simply pick and choose from all that is offered. Let’s get going, hope to see YOU down the road.