The Great Northeast Travelers 2025 Spring rally was again back by popular demand at Apple Island RV Resort, overlooking beautiful Lake Champlain, where every LTV had an inspiring view. We had coaches from 11 states and 2 Canadian provinces, truly making this an international rally.
Typically, our rallies start on a Tuesday and end on Friday. However, in past rallies, eight LTVs arrived on Monday to enjoy an extra day at this beautiful spot.
We had our first social gathering Tuesday evening in the amazing community building. We like to call it a meet and greet happy hour, where members bring an appetizer to share. It was fun sampling all the fare.
After a brief overview of the rally itinerary, it was off to enjoy the rest of the evening around the campfire, talking to some first-timers and catching up with others.
Wednesday was a busy day. In the morning, we had coffee, provided by Apple Island, with muffins and Danish. Immediately following breakfast, we had what many were waiting for, the LTV wizard and head of Marketing, Josiah Wiebe, dazzled the attendees with the history of Triple E and LTV, as well as some insight into what new things may be coming. He also fielded questions from our group on numerous topics. Thank you to Josiah; it was a pleasure having you attend this event.
After all that fun, it was down to business. It was time for the group photo. Laurie, our resident photographer, would normally have used her drone for this shot, but it was in the shop getting some new parts after a little crash landing.
Wednesday afternoon included a golf outing on Apple Island’s 9-hole course, organized by Larry and Judy Chin. Five teams played the best ball format, battling it out for bragging rights. Winning closest to the pin, Jackie Shannon and Bill Bryans, while Patrick and Christine Fitzgerald and Mark Hickman were the winning team, really, we were all winners on that beautiful day.
Wednesday evening, we had our traditional pizza party. How many pizzas does it take to feed over 84 hungry campers, 25 on this night?
Following the dinner, Jackie and Brian Shannon hosted a game of trivia, with questions ranging from music to history and everything in between. I think everybody enjoyed trivia night. Especially the question of who was the only Canadian voted the world’s sexiest man by People Magazine. It turns out it wasn’t Dean from Leisure Travel Vans.
The winners, Lisa and Mike Flannery, Mark and Mary Hickman, and Tam Benjamin and Lisa Cavanagh, got hand-painted stones that Brian and Jackie created out of stones gathered from the shores of Lake Champlain.
Thursday morning, it was time for the group bike ride. Brian and Jackie Shannon took charge of some 30-plus riders to traverse the country roads of South Hero,
The ride ended at Two Heroes Brewery just down the road from Apple Island.
After resting up from the bike ride, Thursday afternoon was open house, it is a lot of fun, not only seeing the modifications that have been made to some LTVs, but seeing a couple of brand new rigs, that still have that new coach smell.
On the final evening here in Vermont, I can’t believe how fast three days go by. We had sandwiches and fixings for our group.
Judy and Larry Chin gave a short presentation about how they planned their 90-day cross-country trip. It was really helpful information. Thank you, Larry and Judy.
We discussed the club’s future leadership and introduced Brian and Jackie Shannon as new assistant club leaders–welcome to the team.
We did have some prize giveaways from Leisure Travel Vans and a couple of sponsors’ prizes. SDG from Elkhart, Indiana, and AB Lifestyle had giveaways for a lucky attendee. Thank you to both for helping us have a fun rally. Special thanks to Leisure Travel Vans for their support.
Friday is check-out. I call it sad Friday, when you see LTVs roll out, and by 11:00 am, they’re gone, headed in different directions, going to their next adventure.
Safe travels, and I hope to see you all at the Fall Rally in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Written by: Paul & Marilyn Goodwin
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://leisurevans.com/blog/2025-spring-rally/