Thursday, March 8, 2018

T@b Rally! 08.07.17

Our first rally! We were so excited!

We belong to a Facebook group for Midwest T@bs. In that group, people share stories and pictures, help each other with problems and questions, recommend different campgrounds and hacks, and they coordinate multiple rallies each year where the T@bbers meet up and camp together.

We had been looking forward to meeting people and sharing in some of our obsessions with the T@b. This rally was held at Sugar Bottom Campground on Coralville Lake in Iowa. We hadn't camped there before, but apparently it was a favorite of the group, so we knew it would be good!

We made a quick stop at the theatre on Thursday before we left to pick up some stuff we had left there, then off to the rally!


All hitched up and ready for fun! We arrived just as the sun was setting. To let you know how helpful and friendly this group was, one of the guys came over, walking his doggos, introduced himself, and asked if we needed any help setting up since it was getting dark, and it's much harder in the dark. We thanked him and said we were just going to get level and stable and call it good for the night. He then invited us to bring our chairs to the campfire at their site where many of them were already gathered. Awesome!

I bought some special wine, just for this trip called "Happy Camper Wine." I poured myself a glass and we joined the group.


I chose the chardonnay, and I would buy it again. I thought it was pretty good, and certainly added to the camping experience.

We enjoyed a short visit with everyone, promptly forgetting names as we went around the circle. By the end of the weekend, we had most of them down, and most people remembered ours, too!

The next day, I began snapping pics of our setup as well as some of the others. I got almost everyone's, but I know I missed a few. You can see, people love setting up their campers and accessories!



Our weekend setup. We made sure to use our fancy awnings to make sure The B@r T@b was at its cutest.


Notice all the stickers? Those are from parks he's visited. What a fun way to keep track of your travels!


This unit was super sleek in all silver! Isn't that visor awesome? It's like a hat for the T@b!


She also had a visor to match her T@b. Love the red and white. Also, we noted where her spare tire was mounted and thought it was a really good idea to move ours there as well, and we put it on our 2018 to do list.


Another yellow/silver combo, set up with their matching awning for more outdoor space.


Another visor, but they added cool Edison-style clip on lights! Very attractive!


Lots of flags and fun welcoming us to this site!


I lost the picture I took of  her T@b, but this is a gift made by one of her friends for her T@b she named "Sputnik." You'll have to take my word for it that her T@b looks just like this cool string art!


Another cool add-on, a fully enclosed tent! This keeps the bugs away, gives you almost twice the space, and adds quite a bit of privacy. I love the pennant banner adorning the front. Fun touch!


One last pic. His blue and white T@b was decked out in Hawaiian themed decor, as it was the theme of the rally. Bright and fun!

When I wasn't busy walking around gawking at all the awesome setups, people did come over to check out ours. As we were new, and nobody had seen ours yet, it made sense. A couple of things that stood out at our site were the Lagun table that attaches outside the T@b, and my insanely organized cabinets! It's good to be good at something, I guess. 😊

I took a little "me time" and walked around the absolutely huge campground. I knew it was located on Coralville Lake, so I explored.


What a lovely spot!

Lots of time spent sitting, reading, and chatting with our fellow campers. It was fun to get to know people who have a passion similar to ours. We especially enjoyed campfires at night with the big group.


Very relaxing, and lots of "early to bed" kind of people. We were usually the last ones in for the night!

On Saturday, we enjoyed a group breakfast with camper-themed pajamas, hosted by one of the Midwest T@bbers.


If you're looking past all of our goofy camping jammies to their camper, you will notice it's not even a T@b! Turns out, a few folks used to own T@bs, but ended up switching to some other brand, naming themselves SOBs. HA! Since they're such fun people and T@b fans, they keep coming to the rallies, even if their campers don't match anymore.


It was a lovely breakfast, and lots of layering over the cute pajamas as it was a little chilly!

That evening, we all participated in a potluck luau. I cooked a pork roast all day on the table outside The B@r T@b, using liquid smoke and salt to make Kalua pork, Hawaiian style. There were lots of amazing dishes, and some Spam dishes, and a few people even dressed for the event!


I mean, how often do you get the chance to wear a pineapple headpiece?  The ladies in their dresses looked lovely, and added to the fun of the luau.


Even Gracie joined the fun with her tiny lei around her neck! Sweet little puppy.

Sunday morning arrived, and since we had a pretty long drive, we were the first ones to leave. Lots of hugs, Facebook friend requests, laughs, and promises to stay connected were exchanged, and we headed home.

We did make one quick stop though, purely for a photo op!


This is what happens when a tiny trailer meets a huge frying pan! Iowa's largest frying pan was impressive next to The B@r T@b.

Thanks for a great weekend of memories, Midwest T@bs. See you at Sugar Bottom in 2018 if not sooner!

Happy camping!
Peggy

2 comments:

  1. I just found your blog and loved it. I'm actually from Brandon, IA & my father still lives there. I get a kick out of finding all the photos of the fry pan! :)

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  2. Thanks for the kind words, Mary Jo! The frying pan is awesome, and we knew we had to get a pic with the camper there. :)

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