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.



NüRVers Gathering 2010: Day 2

It's no secret that the majority of the NüRVers enjoy a good drink now and then. And today, they celebrated that fact! Around 10:00 a.m., a train of vehicles headed East to Shiner, Texas to tour the Spoetzl Brewery...home of Shiner Bock Beers.

We stayed home, but judging from the photos...it looks like they had a great time! I heard that the bottling and labeling operation was quite fun to watch. Thanks to Karen Nace for capturing the memories!

Back at Hill Shade, we had a full living room as we all tried to avoid the staggering humidity outside. I enjoyed chatting with Tara, Becky, and Beverly about life on the road, choosing an RV, blogging, unschooling, food choices, and more. Justin and Matt ran to town to pick up some odd and ends (including Avatar...I still haven't seen it!). The kids ran in and out all day...playing legos and jumping on the trampoline. They stopped for a moment to eat...but only for a moment!

Later in the afternoon, the much-anticipated "Bartender Wars" began! I rarely drink and Matt doesn't drink at all...but these tasty concoctions were not to be missed.

My favorite of them all was the "Thai Tea" served up by Damien and Michelle. They just returned from 3 weeks in Thailand (and 1 in Japan) and their drink was like Tom Kha soup in a glass. Oooooh so yummy. Lemongrass makes me happy.

After much hoopla and lots of creative drinks, everyone voted...and the winners were:

Jim and Rene for Best Presentation. I don't remember exactly what was in their drink, but I do know that it was a very pretty bright blue and had a little umbrella and pineapple wedge. :) They even had a special song for Kevin to play while they prepared it. Such fun.

Ben won Best Overall with his "Blazing Bloody Mary". I've never had a bloody mary, so I had to taste it. It's not as bad as I imagined :) My dad would love it. It had all kinds of fresh veggies and good stuff in it.

Look at all the pretty colors!

Next on the agenda...supper! This has been the highlight for me, of course. I'm such a food geek, so I love seeing what other people's favorite dishes are. Plus, there are many vegetarians in our group, and tonight 2/3 of the table was either vegan or vegetarian dishes. Woo! The theme was "free for all"...with everyone bringing their favorites. We brought kale salad, watermelon, and brownies. I filled my plate with orange curry potatoes, tabouleh, broccoli + poblanos, a Cambodian noodle dish, salads, and a pita. To top it off, I had a little scotcheroo and a vegan chocolate cake truffle from Quack's Bakery in Austin that was divine (thanks Jennifer!). My tummy is still happy.

Other happenings at the rally...Richard (the egg/raw milk/homemade wine guy) stopped over to say hello. Dr. Bob, a retired science teacher and neighbor stopped in as well. The local newspaper came out to do a story on the "young nomads". And lastly, a new piece of wi-fi equipment that will improve the signal arrived at the park today to keep all the geeks happy.

We're looking forward to another fun-filled day tomorrow!

Note: I am pulling "highlight" photos for the daily blog updates and then uploading all the other photos as I have time. Lots of new pics from today...check them out!

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