I took the little Honda Fit down to Bondville Vermont on Friday to drop in on the WBCCI Region 1 Rally. It’s about 100 miles from where we are parked. Since we are so settled and busy where we are, it made more sense for me to just drive down for one night with the economy car rather than towing down the trailer. I brought the tent again.

Bondville, the location of the rally, is one of 254 towns in Vermont. I lived in Vermont most of my life and had never heard of it. For the past two weeks I’ve had fun asking long-time Vermonters where Bondville is (near Stratton Mountain Ski Resort in southern Vermont). It’s a rare person who knows where it is.

We’re about 1800 feet elevation here, a fact I had overlooked when I packed. I only brought shorts, no pants. Fortunately I had a fleece. Already around here the cooler temperatures have arrived and yesterday was only about 70 degrees, with 40’s and plenty of dampness at night. Last night’s campfire was essential.

The theme at Happy Hour was something to do with hippies. At least, that’s what they told me. Maybe some of these people just dress like this all the time.

This Airstream Interstate B-van is driven by a happy new owner. He says he gets 22-23 MPG on diesel fuel and he just returned from an Airstream B-van rally organized in Ohio which was apparently a big success. These vans are small inside but really practical for fast, lightweight, and low-cost travel.

Tenting overnight was fun but I’ve been reminded of the condensation issue that plagues tenters. Last night the humidity was high and as soon as the sun went down the grass was soaked, the tent was beaded with shiny drops of water, and anything left on the ground inside the tent got damp. I still had fun tenting, but an Airstream is certainly easier.

Part of my reason to be here is to meet with friends who I otherwise wouldn’t see this year. A lot of them we last saw in October 2006 at a fall rally in Townsend VT, but I correspond with several via email. That’s one of the best things about this community. We can miss each other for a year or two, but when we do finally meet again it’s like the time lapse never happened. Everyone understands that we all travel and have busy lives, and they’re happy to see the faces again and recount events and travels and ideas whenever we do have a chance to get together.