July 2024
Since we’ve apparently decided we are in fact, rally people, we decided to expand to a different kind of rally. We really like the smaller, off beat rallies and found a combination balloon and Airstream rally in Lexington, VA. When we were kids our small town had the second largest balloon rally in the country, so we’ve kind of grown up around them and love them- although neither one of us have ever flown in one! So we floated on up to Virginia to combine two things we are really fond of…
It was put on by the Virginia Airstream Club and hosted by Natalie & Roger, as well as the club president Jeff and his wife Leigh. While not their first time putting a rally together, it was the first time at this event and they did a fantastic job of arranging everything and making us feel welcome! There were 11 rigs there, so our smallest rally ever, but everyone was friendly and we had a lot of fun meeting new people and, of course, their dogs! We had a few people stop by to check out Tess and see how vintage campers live- we love showing her off and it was nice to just have a few Airstreamers stop by and not the overwhelming number of people we get at the urban rallies. And, in a wonderful surprise, our Airstream neighbor Debbie gave Melinda some beautiful flamingo designed jewelry, so that made her day.
We were camped at the Virginia Horse Center– we were in a field with power and water, but no trees! It was blazing hot- well into the 90’s, so having AC was mandatory. For the balloon rally we volunteered to crew and we were assigned to the Cosmic Crisp balloon with captain Steve. While the liftoff was cancelled due to high winds we got to help put it and and take it down- Melinda got invited into the gondola to act as ballast- and got to fly a good two feet off the ground… not much but I guess she can claim a flight?
We also explored a little bit- Natural Bridge State Park was close by. It was very pretty and bigger than I expected. Since the walk in was short and took less than an hour to thoroughly I wouldn’t drive there as a destination, but if you’re in the area it is worth visiting. We then went to Great Valley Brewing, which was also worth visiting! The beer was very solid and the food truck was both delicious and reasonably priced… the and view was fantastic!
So will we be back to this rally? Absolutely! Good people, good food and good times!
