I think it was about a week before the district rally when I realized I had gravely miscalculated my school schedule, thinking there was a week AFTER the rally and THEN semester final exams only to realize Brad and I had planned to leave the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! Oh well, you know what the priority turned out to be and I would return in time for semester finals!:) Just what the doctor ordered after a hectic year of new curriculum, rolling north on 281, ticking off the miles and what period had just finished back at the school!
We ended riding up on our own as other chapter members had the ability to get away in time to be there for the start of the rally. The good thing is that we were able to bring up cords needed by the District that had been left behind which meant bringing Fanny our trailer...gosh, gee, darn, now there was room to bring along AND buy more at the rally! We had a delightful day driving up: pleasant 70 degree temperature, wildflowers and lots of green due to spring rains, and a stop at the Koffee Kup in Hico which brought the pleasant surprize of running into fellow San Antonio Goldwingers from Chapter H, Felipe and Rose Martinez, Mary and Bill Rutan, and Jim and Rebecca Gantt! I would recommend the strawberry pie if you are up in Hico and it is in season!
Chapter H Members
Heading off again trying to get those cords to the district rally, we arrived in Wichita Falls just before some rain blew in. The cords got into the district rally nice and dry but the GoldWing cover got damp! Fortunately the host hotel was just across the MPEG convention center parking lot and we arrived slightly damp but in good spirits. With Chapter U spread out among many hotels and the roads wet from the rain, we joined Chapter O in Austin for a pizza and beer party prior to walking over to the MPEG center for the District Talent Show. Brad forgot the digital camera and when I got up to pick it up, everyone had vamoosed to get ready to go to the talent show and even the pizza boxes and beer bottles had been cleared away! No picture but you probably get the picture! The best part of staying at the host hotel were the number of fellow GoldWingers staying there AND its close location to the district rally so you had the choice to ride or park and walk! Our happy and relaxed group arrived just in time to hear an Elvis Presley imitation that ended up winning the District talent show competition for a single person! Other fun was provided by Chapter R performing a take-off on the old "Laugh-In" show, and musical comedy numbers (ask about the "Wing A Ding Ding song!) and "My Shipppp" (advertising next year's rally in Corpus Christi"). It was a fun evening and we looked forward to more fun on Saturday.
Carolyn Tice with the COY Baskets Jill & Connie checking out the COY Baskets
Lots of great Goldwings at the rally!
Saturday morning brought a slight bit of precipitation as we wandered through the parking lot in time to eat donuts and drink coffee in the Hospitality Room and browse some more through the vendors. The early bird gets the worm I found out as Connie Jordan had wiped out most of the black with rhinestone hats that fellow co-riders had asked her to find at the rally! Kenny Jordan had purchased a great rally shirt and we wanted one just like his only to be told they were out of large red lettering. We were lucky that latter the large red lettering was found, and four more shirts were made up for Chapter U members. Bert and Linda Navin purchased a new ride-off kick-stand and a belly pan and their beautiful blue wing was in the vendor area being worked on! We all bought Couple of the Year (COY) basket tickets to try to win various Couple of the Year baskets donated from chapters to raise funds for the COY program. Connie and I ran into Rose, Mary and Rebecca from Chapter H perusing some of the same possible purchases in the vendor area!
Candy Brown and "Harley" Bert & Linda Navin
From the bike show competition: beautiful old wing and a real nice 1500 w/trailer!!
Amidst the shopping, Chapter U members did contribute to the District rally by acting as "Vendor Security" from 10-12 Saturday morning. As it worked out, the guys worked one end of the hall and the girls plus Harley, our security dog, worked the other. This entailed 30 seconds of training. You hold up a paint stirring stick with a star on one side that says "Please show your wristband" and when they show you the wristband gained by registering for the rally, you are supposed to flip to the other side of the star that says "Thank you!" I'm not sure we were always flipping the right part of the stick but we were busy talking and chatting and checking armbands and having great fun. Harley who was trying to make up for past transgressions, was on particularly good behavior, checking wristbands of people who stopped to pet him! All in all, Chapter U had a lot of fun while supporting the District! Thanks to Kenny and Connie Jordan, Candy Brown and Harley, (Charlie was teaching) for joining us in pulling the vendor security detail.
The Chapter U and H ladies shopping More shopping with Jill & Connie!!
Finally got some lunch Popular T-shirt booth (green ones in the back!)
Scenes from the dress competition, Best Dressed Chapter & Best Knit Shirts!! We got 2d in both!!!
After some more shopping, I think Brad was desperate to get me out of the vendor area, we wandered over to watch the dress competition. Brad and I haven't been to a lot of rallies so a lot of this is new to us. Wes Lewis, a very new Chapter U member, had joined us somewhere in the shopping frenzy...I think admiring Kenny's shirt. Wes, Connie and Kenny joined Brad and I as we wandered into the dress competition which was great fun. Now this competition has lots of categories of different type chapter and motorcycle wearing apparel...there was not one ladies' dress in the entire show! We were watching as it progressed and the competition for Chapter Knit Shirt came around and one chapter had entered, much to the disappointment of the judges and staff running the competition. Somehow, someone up front noticed four people wearing the same RED KNIT SHIRT in the audience and managed to cajole us into coming up and being part of the competition. After finding out we were wearing a chapter shirt, we were entered in the "Best Dressed Chapter" as well as the "Chapter Knit Shirt" competitions. So four of us tentatively sauntered out on to the stage (think of going up front to be part of the chapter monthly "games of skill"!), following directions to "face front, one quarter turn to the left, one quarter turn to the left, one quarter turn to the left, face forward again." You'll notice Kenny and Connie are holding hands for moral support...they even participated in a competition specifically for couples! Well we won 2d place in both categories and special thanks to Kenny and Connie for being such good sports to participate in competition to represent the chapter on a spur of the moment and to Olin and Martha Gover who came up with the great knit chapter shirts that helped our chapter place in these competitions! Somehow none of us had managed to wear our chapter hat but next year....It was a lot of fun to do something together and represent the chapter! Those red shirts really do stand out (it probably helped they were brand new as well!).
Theme Couple competition: Kermit & Miss Piggy and Sonny & Cher
Jill getting a shopping tip from Connie Waiting for our rally shirts to get finished!!
Well it came time to attend the closing ceremony. Special thanks was given to the district staff which did a super job, and we were thrilled to learn that our chapter had won best website for the district! What makes this award special is that every chapter with a website (35 or so) is entered automatically whereas all the other competitions, you have to participate to win. Our website really reflects our chapter and the fun we have. All those great pictures of smiles and bikes and activities not only has impressed the judges for the competition but keeps bringing new friends to our chapter! Congratulations to everyone who participated this last year in Chapter U activities and special thanks to those who helped taking pictures and sending them in to put on the website!
Waiting for dinner.......................................and...............At the dinner table! At least we have everyone!
We all celebrated by going to a GREAT nearby steak house that was not a well-kept secret among the GoldWing crowd! By the end of the evening, most of the restaurant was filled with rally participants who gave the District staff a standing ovation for the great job they had done!
BBQ Lunch in Stephenville Gas and butt break on the way back!!
Sunday morning brought a gathering of Connie and Kenny, Wes, and Brad and I heading south as Candy, Harley and Charlie Brown headed north for family business. Connie and Kenny took lead and Brad and I were happy to be drag on the way home. Sal Pesto had arrived earlier in the week only to return home the next day. We were sorry to have missed Sal but glad to have met up with Bert and Linda prior to their heading south. We had a great ride home, stopping at a GREAT barbecue place in Stephenville where we modeled our new rally shirts. Kenny continued the chapter tradition of selecting a bright, eye-catching color for our rally shirts. They even had real knives, forks and spoons (OK I am a pushover!). We also met Bill and Mary, Rose and Felipe, and Jim and Rebecca on the way home traveling south on 281!
Brad and I arrived home tired but happy. We put a lot of great, fun, miles on the GoldWing, saw old friends and made new friends. We contributed to the rally by checking wristbands (Chapter U security detail rules...we had the only security dog!), shopped until we nearly dropped, and strutted our chapter knit T-shirts! I would have to say, many more GoldWingers now have heard about Chapter U! Charlie Brown a couple months ago at a chapter meeting talked about how much fun the Regional rally was because of the other Chapter U members that were there. After this district rally, I can say it truly does make a rally more fun when other Chapter U members are there, just like any chapter activity! Brad and I look forward to many more rallies, much more planned and impromptu fun times with Chapter U, and hope you can join us! Jill Severe
