2013 Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country Rally

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2013 Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country Rally

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                                                                Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country Rally
                                                                         April 21 – 24, 2013


The Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country is a quiet area of expanding vineyards and horse ranches. The rally was held at the upscale Pechanga RV Resort, ideally located between Old Town Temecula, with its antique shops and restaurants, and the valley of vineyards. The RV Resort is next to a golf course and near the Pechanga Casino.

Some of us arrived a day early and, that evening, enjoyed dinner and conversation at a communal table at the casino’s café. This was followed by our traditional dog walk around the park, some with dogs and in this case a cat in a stroller. The dog walk, and talk, is a spontaneous event we had every morning and evening.

There was much excitement as the remaining RVs pulled in the following day as we greeted each other and met four new couples, whom none of the “regulars” had met before. They also had recently purchased Born Frees and were new to the rally experience, so there was much to talk about.

One of the advantages of this RV Resort is that we had our own clubhouse and the RVs were nestled around it, making for ideal socializing experiences. No one was left out and impromptu gatherings occurred under RV awnings, and sometimes in the clubhouse. We enjoyed ideal weather at this time of year with temperatures around 70 degrees.

Our first dinner was the traditional sharing of heavy appetizers in our cozy clubhouse. The next morning everyone brought their coffee over to the clubhouse and we enjoyed a selection of flavored loaves while chatting and exchanging ideas as to which activities each of us was interested in. Maps were distributed to local attractions of Palomar Observatory, the San Diego Safari Park, the Western Science Center, and Lake Skinner for fishing.

Some of us had registered for the optional wine tour and the brand-new luxury bus picked them up to spend a day at four wineries, touring the valley, and enjoying their pre-selected lunches at one of the wineries. There were excited, smiling, tired participants, many of them carrying their wine purchases, when the bus dropped them off at their RVs early that evening.

That evening, we all piled into two shuttles and were taken over to Kelsey’s where we had an excellent Born Free-sponsored dinner prepared just for our group. We enjoyed a dinner of stuffed potato skins, salad, penne marinara, barbecued chicken, roasted potatoes, squash medley, and assorted mini pastries, and our buffet was so large that the staff boxed everything up and we warmed it up in the clubhouse for lunch for all of us the next day.

We split up in groups for the remainder of the rally, most taking the trolley bus to Old Town, some for multiple days; one group had a long lunch in the golf course’s restaurant; another group went to the local VFW; some relaxed and chatted.

Our remaining dinners were a grill-your-own barbecue with baked beans, potato and green salads, and brownies, followed by a gift drawing and a rousing game of bocce ball; and a pizza and salad party with birthday cake and celebration for one of our attendees, followed by an exciting game of Baggo.

During the rally we helped each other out with medical and RV issues, and talked about, and looked forward to, future rallies.

By Phyllis and Jim Howard

NOTE! This recap was posted for the authors by the Website Administrator (bfadmin-2)
Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Website Forum Administrators
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