Good Sam Rally - Syracuse NY

The first Good Sam Rally to be held in the Northeastern U.S. took place in Syracuse, New York from June 11 – 16. Since Syracuse is a mere 4 hours from Ottawa and only 2 ½ hours from Kingston, we decided it would be a great opportunity to attend a rally.
We hitched up the Titanium at Rideau Acres Campground in Kingston (site of the Titanium Rally the week before) early on June 11 and headed to Syracuse. As we started to park at the Syracuse Fairgrounds, the drizzle became a hard rain so we were thoroughly drenched by the time we had leveled the trailer and hooked up the electricity. Our duck boots and rain jackets and even the 4-wheel drive on our truck became our best friends for much of the Rally.

After registering and exploring the fairgrounds to find the different venues, we decided to head to downtown Syracuse to find the Dinosaur BBQ. Built in the 1920’s, the building housed a number of barrooms until Dinosaur took it over in the mid-1980’s. The décor is rustic but the food is delicious and reasonably priced. We shared the Sweetheart Deal for 2 which gave extra ribs for a snack the next day. Wednesday evening we went to our friend Roseann’s for great dinner and conversation

         

For four days we went to various seminars on topics such as -Over-the-Air Antenna Products; Alaska by RV; How to Use Microsoft Streets and Trips Software; RV Tire Safety, etc. Jane’s favourite was the Good Sam Culinary Experience with the Canadian Food Network Chef Bob Blumer. 

There were also lots of RVs to tour but since there were more motorhomes than 5^th wheels, we came home with our Titanium.  Camping World had a large store set up in the exhibit building so we were able to buy a few toys including a camp rocking chair for Jane.

We learned on Thursday that many of the people who arrived that day were forced to park at the Destiny Mall (formerly the Carousel Mall) due the mud at the fairgrounds. It wasn’t until Friday that the Rally organizers were able to get port-a-potties set up at the mall and to get extra shuttle buses to transport people to the fairgrounds.

        

On Friday afternoon, we got Re-Hitched at the renewal of your wedding vows ceremony along with thousands of other rally attendees. It will be a few months before we know if the Guiness Book of World Records is broken. The weather was perfect on Friday so it was a great way to enjoy the afternoon in the sunshine. The entertainer was Sarah Getto, a talented singer / musician who we have seen at Fun N Sun in Texas. 

     

Wayne Newton was the Friday night headliner – not much can be said about his performance other than he is past his prime.  Reba McEntire, the Saturday night headliner, gave a wonderful concert and again the weather cooperated.  The Vogues were the closing act on Sunday afternoon – a great way to end the Rally despite the rain.

             

There were also Fireworks displays on both Saturday and Sunday evenings – fortunately the weather cooperated so that we could enjoy them.

Sunday night we ventured to East Syracuse where we found Dominick’s Italian Food and Pizza Restaurant. Another great restaurant in Syracuse and it wasn’t even that crowded considering it was Father’s Day.  Again our RV fridge transported our leftovers back to Ontario.

We had a great time at the Rally – so good that we are trying to figure out how we can go to the Atlanta Rally in October 2013.