Tanglewood tales

Last weeks rally at Forsyth County, Tanglewood Park, in Clemmons, NC, was another great outing. Our campouts keep getting better and better. The park was one of the nicer ones that we have visited. The sites were wide and shady. Our section, the lower numbered sites, was mostly level. The shelter was large, covered, well maintained, and had grills and a fireplace. There were plenty of long tables, and we used most of them. There were adjoining walking and jogging trails, dog parks, a farmers market on Thursday evening and Saturday morning, an aquatic center, horse stables with hourly rentals, tennis courts, lakes and ponds for fishing, two golf courses, and a lot of quite acreage. The park is the former R.J. Reynolds summer estate, one of many large estates the Reynolds family once owned in the Carolinas.

Some of us arrived as early as Monday, with most coming in on Thursday and Friday.  Thursday night we went out to a nearby Greek restaurant. we had a large section in the rear reserved for us. The food choices were varied, the prices were reasonable, the service and the food quality was good. We lingered inside and outside, after the meal, talking and planning our weeks events. Most of us met back up at the campground shelter and chatted away till the rain started. The forecast was for rain most of the weekend but this was the only rain we got. The rest of the weekend we enjoyed cooler temperatures and some nice breezes.

Friday most of us split up looking for our own adventures. Some went to Campers Inn to look at new RV's and shop for supplies. Others went to Walmart, or one of the nearby grocery stores, to stock up for the weekend. I think there were also some excursions into nearby Winston-Salem for lunches and shopping. Friday evening we were treated to snacks and a Low Country Boil by our host Ed and Martha Calkins, and their son Brandon, who was our visiting chef for the evening. He was assisted by his two boys. With members and guests, who came in just for the evening, we had about twenty five people for dinner. Our guests included; Kirk and Randy from Campers Inn, who brought gifts from the dealership for us. Potential new members, David and Rebecca Vaughn, who live nearby, also stopped by. Dinner was followed up by a couple hours of conversation and games.

Low Country Boil

Seems like all we do is eat.

Are you complaining?

Saturday was another free day with some leaving the campground for nearby excursions, and others spent the day enjoying the great weather and good company, in the campground.  Our hosts gathered us all for a homemade ice cream social, at their camper, in the early afternoon. As always when camping, we found ourselves adapting to what life brings, when one of our hosts ice cream churns refused to work. Luckily, another member soon came to the rescue with their own churn, and we didn't miss a beat. Dinner was again provided by our hosts, and was supplemented by everyone else. The main course was meatball subs, with several cold salads and lots of desserts. More conversation, a club meeting, and games followed, ending in a family duel between Minnie and Jim Hale. Minnie prevailed, and was the nights big winner.

Ed - When is the ice cream going to be ready?

Hold your horses!

Sunday found most of us not wanting the weekend to end. As usual, most of us gathered here and there, saying our goodbyes. One by one we packed up and pulled out, vowing to see each other in October at our next scheduled campout.