Forest City and the Winnebago Pre-rally

Tuesday 16 July 2019

Waiting in Line!

No need to hurry this morning since we have a short drive to Forest City for the Winnebago Rally.  And of course we were ready by 10:00 anyway.  We drove Iowa route 9 for much of the trip but of course there are no interstates in this area of Iowa.  After a stop for fuel we rolled toward Winnebago and as we closed in on the last 30 mile a very sever storm bared down on us.  My speed dropped to 20mph for several miles but alas, as we rolled through Forest City the rain stopped and the sun came out.  We found our spot in line around 2:00pm and just about 15-20 rigs ahead of us but not all that bad for the first day of parking for the rally.  We parked walked up and down the row talking to other

Finally parked!

campers asking about how things work and we quickly found out the grounds have been temporarily closed due to the rain.  As time went by excitement turned to frustration they talked of turning us away or parking us on a gravel lot with no hook ups.  Some where around 3;30 pm they opened up the gates and we made our way quickly to our spot. Phew!!  We went straight to happy hour as soon as the A/C was up and running.  Burgers for dinner and talked to some of our neighbors. 

Wednesday 17 July 2019

Even before breakfast but after coffee we went down to the service center to sign in for some service.

We wanted our three slide serviced, two TV's weren't receiving cable or air signals and I have one basement bin leaking.  After filling out the paper work we were on the waiting list and it wasn't long until they called and told us to be at the service center at 6:30 am Thursday morning.  Next was breakfast at the Cabin Coffee café, we had a very good croissant sandwich.   We drove around town for a while re-familiarizing ourselves with the area.  We were here in 2013 and not much has changed.  Back to the Moho, walked around the campground and stopped at the office to get our badges and seems they couldn't find them. It is still hotter than crap mid 90's  plus and 90% humidity so we didn't move fast or far.  We had sausages for dinner, stayed inside in the A/C and started packing for service in the morning.

Found this a the visitors center!

Thursday 18 July 2019

 Now some of you may remember that the Angeli girls do not do well at 5:00am. I was up and had a cup of coffee but someone had to wake Diane.  I was going to call her on the phone but eventually worked up the nerve and took her a coffee.  She was really already awake waiting on her coffee.  We made it to the service center at 6:30 right on time.  We dropped off the coach  and headed to breakfast (with Rudy) so Diane had to order while I waited with Rudy. The temps are still in the mid 90's so we couldn't leave Rudy in the truck at all.  We drove to Mason City and Clear Lake about 35miles away. Clear Lake is a resort type town with little shops and a park on the lake.  We walked around on the shady side of the street,  had lunch in the park but just to hot to enjoy the place.  We took the long way home and arrived at the service center about 2:30 and the Moho was waiting on us.  Oh Yea!  Went in to pay only to find out they weren't done. Oh Boohoo.  We have to bring it back tomorrow at 6 AM.  Back to the camp ground park for the night and leftovers for dinner and early to bed.

Friday 19 July 2019

Up at 4:30 (that's right) day two of service.  Not much talking this morning Rudy would not get out of bed until Diane started to put the slide in.  We arrived at the service center 6:05 not to bad.  Today they are working on the slide outs.  We went to breakfast same place same food.  We just went back to the service area to sit, just to hot to be outside. We waited until lunch, went to lunch and back to wait some more.  There were probably 35 people and 15 dogs in the center all who were up by 5AM and have been here for 8 or more hours.  When some one went for a walk some else took their seats.  Moho came out about 3:18.  We went to pay and guess what.  We need to bring it back but after the rally to get new slide out motors.  Good news is we are done for now.  Back to our site, get situated, and grabbed a beer.  Hot, sticky, tired and just wore out.  Showers and bed.

Saturday 20 July 2019

Done with service and time to go have some fun.  Today begins the Pucker Brush celebration in Forest City.  We arrived in town at 10:30 for the parade and then some good fair food.  At around

The storm heading for the Rally Grounds!

11:15 just half way through the parade a severe storm hit.  Wind 50/60 mph and rain.  We were by the vendor's area and tents, hats, all kinds of stuff flying around.  We ended up in a entry way with 3 little boys crying because a lot of the candy they collected blew away.  We kept them company until their parents came by to pick them up.  Back to Moho, no fair food for us. When the storm was over we went for a stroll with Rudy and three of the  porta potties had blown over, one of the tents blew away and three big event tents collapsed. The only good news the temp's dropped quickly into the 60's.  Diane did laundry (in town) we had dinner and called it a day.