Those who roughed the rain and cold this weekend included: Don & Betty Elliott, Richard Stanton, Rod & Neily Trump, Joe & Geri Galloway, Gary & Barbara Lyons, Charles & Janet Goding, John & Linda Marano and Rene and I. Walter & Deborah Moore and Mike & Betsy Beaulieu arrived in the early afternoon on Friday, and Greg & Barbara Nicholas drove up from Charleston to spend Friday evening with us.
On our way home from Thanksgiving with our daughter, while gassing up in Columbia we met Tom Queen, from Lexington,who was also filling his truck. Rene and Tom got into talking and before I knew it, I emailed Tom and his wife, AnnaLisa, and invited them to join the Drifters Friday night for pot luck.
Thursday came with rain showers washing our rigs as we arrived and got settled. Around 7 or so we all gathered in the activity room for a meet and greet and had light snacks. Betty even made a batch of Camping Crack! J
Friday we were on our own until the ice cream social, which was scheduled for 1:00. The morning saw Rene and I skedaddle to Walmart in an effort to purchase an instant pot for our roast. Once again it was one of those moments where you could swear you packed an item only to find out you left it home. All was good, we found a pot that suited our needs just fine. The roast usually takes about 2 hours or so in a regular crock pot, but in an instant pot it’s just a mere 15 minutes and viola! Instant pot roast complete with savory tender carrots and potatoes… yum! As we were preparing for the pot luck later Friday, we created a couple of forms for club members to use to help attract possible new members.
At 1:00 we headed to the activity room where ice-cream and toppings were enjoyed by all. Rene, our President, decided to get our Business Meeting out of the way during the afternoon seeing that we had other events planned for later. He reviewed the form he created for the campout schedule and showed how easy it would be to volunteer to host a campout. Most of the work is already done for you, just fill in the blanks. Rene also discussed the need for a nominating committee. John Marano, Betty Elliott and Richard Stanton have agreed to be the nominating committee for the 2026 term. During the ice-cream social I received $80 in club dues from: Don & Betty, Richard Stanton, Deborah & Walter Moore and Rene and I. Official Minutes of that meeting can be seen <HERE>
Before pot luck our guests Tom & AnnaLisa Queen arrived. They enjoyed meeting the group and having some of their questions answered. AnnaLisa is going to school and will graduate with her doctorate in May. Tom is retired and looking forward to doing more camping once AnnaLisa graduates. They have a class C similar to Mike & Betsy’s.
Don and Rene sold 50/50 raffle tickets for a total of $90. Neily Trump was the lucky winner of $45! As everyone made their way through the line selecting spoonful’s of delicious dishes,Gary and I were last to move through the line. We both arrived at the deviled egg dish at the same time and had quite a predicament – there was only -1- deviled egg left and we both wanted it. I asked Gary, “I’ll thumb fight you for that last deviled egg”. Little did Gary know that my older brother and I are the thumb fight champions heralding from our small corner from Bangor, Maine. Gary responded saying that he didn’t know what a thumb fight was. So I quickly showed him the ropes. Now he was ready. “On the count of three we will start the fight”, I suggested, “Now get in your corner and let the best deviled egg fighter win! “ On the count of three we shook thumbs, I was all set to crumble this newbie thumb fighter, but low and behold he was so much stronger than me, plus his thumb was twice as longer as mine! Congratulations! Gary has won his very first thumb fight and he graciously conceded the deviled egg to me. Thank you!
After dinner, we all helped clean up and put left overs away. Linda Marano brought out a birthday cake to honor John turning 81 on Monday. Happy Birthday John! There were only 2 candles on the cake because Linda did not want the fire department called. J
We finished the evening with a fun candy exchange. Everyone had previously purchased their favorite candy and wrapped it upwith their name inside. Betty gave everyone a wrapped candy package and as Barbara Lyons read a story, you either passed your package left or right. It was fun and even got a bit confusing with all the left and right moves happening so quickly. It concluded with the packages shifting a final time to the right and you finally got the chance to open the bag to see what candy you got and whose favorite it was. I was really hoping for a bunch of Snicker fans, but alas it appeared like I was the only one! I learned two things about Gary this weekend, 1- he didn’t know how to thumb fight and 2- Gary likes dark chocolate. I’m talking chocolate so dark it doesn’t taste like chocolate anymore. It reminds me of the baking chocolate bars I found in the pantry and I mistakenly bit into as a child seeking sweet chocolatey heaven.
Saturday saw most of us bundling up and braving the elements for the flea market next door. Some found real treasures while others picked up Christmas gifts and tools. Rene came away empty handed as he was hoping to get his bagels. Later on Rene and I took Rod & Neily with us to the antique factory mall in Columbia. We all usually go our own ways when inside the shops and I was following behind Neily when I heard this really loud crash. It sounded like something heavy had taken the entire shop out. In panic I instantly ran in the opposite direction until that little voice sitting on my right shoulder pecked and shamed me into returning and finding Neily picking some things up. I felt bad by retreating, that is not like me at all, but it was incredibly loud. All was well, nothing broken. In the afternoon, Charles stopped by with his fishing pole and he and Rene put line on the reel. They put line on Rene’s reel too, getting ready to fish at Bass Lake in March.
For dinner we all car pooled and headed for the Lizard’s Thicket. We had the entire back room all to ourselves and the tables were arranged so that the entire group sat together as one. Rene quickly called a meeting to order and called for nominations for Vice President. Charles Goding was nominated and quickly voted in for the office of Vice President. Motion made to adjourn, Don Elliott 2nd the motion and the meeting adjourned in just under 4 minutes! After dinner we met one last time at the activity room for apple and cherry pies, ice-cream, Camping Crack, cookies and left over birthday cake. We played 5 different games of bingo ranging from a regular bingo to four corners and even the letter T. A great time and belly laughs were had by all. I can’t recall exactly what Betty said about the people of her church, but when Richard reminded her that she too goes to church there, everybody just lost it, it was so funny!
Thanks for all the laughs and good times during 2025. We have been so blessed to have these wonderful opportunities to share,2026 can only get better!
Carolina Drifters December 2025 newsletter and meeting minutes
Rally at Barnyard RV Resort, Lexington, SC
December 4-7, 2025
Those who roughed the rain and cold this weekend included: Don & Betty Elliott, Richard Stanton, Rod & Neily Trump, Joe & Geri Galloway, Gary & Barbara Lyons, Charles & Janet Goding, John & Linda Marano and Rene and I. Walter & Deborah Moore and Mike & Betsy Beaulieu arrived in the early afternoon on Friday, and Greg & Barbara Nicholas drove up from Charleston to spend Friday evening with us.
On our way home from Thanksgiving with our daughter, while gassing up in Columbia we met Tom Queen, from Lexington,who was also filling his truck. Rene and Tom got into talking and before I knew it, I emailed Tom and his wife, AnnaLisa, and invited them to join the Drifters Friday night for pot luck.
Thursday came with rain showers washing our rigs as we arrived and got settled. Around 7 or so we all gathered in the activity room for a meet and greet and had light snacks. Betty even made a batch of Camping Crack! J
Friday we were on our own until the ice cream social, which was scheduled for 1:00. The morning saw Rene and I skedaddle to Walmart in an effort to purchase an instant pot for our roast. Once again it was one of those moments where you could swear you packed an item only to find out you left it home. All was good, we found a pot that suited our needs just fine. The roast usually takes about 2 hours or so in a regular crock pot, but in an instant pot it’s just a mere 15 minutes and viola! Instant pot roast complete with savory tender carrots and potatoes… yum! As we were preparing for the pot luck later Friday, we created a couple of forms for club members to use to help attract possible new members.
At 1:00 we headed to the activity room where ice-cream and toppings were enjoyed by all. Rene, our President, decided to get our Business Meeting out of the way during the afternoon seeing that we had other events planned for later. He reviewed the form he created for the campout schedule and showed how easy it would be to volunteer to host a campout. Most of the work is already done for you, just fill in the blanks. Rene also discussed the need for a nominating committee. John Marano, Betty Elliott and Richard Stanton have agreed to be the nominating committee for the 2026 term. During the ice-cream social I received $80 in club dues from: Don & Betty, Richard Stanton, Deborah & Walter Moore and Rene and I. Official Minutes of that meeting can be seen <HERE>
Before pot luck our guests Tom & AnnaLisa Queen arrived. They enjoyed meeting the group and having some of their questions answered. AnnaLisa is going to school and will graduate with her doctorate in May. Tom is retired and looking forward to doing more camping once AnnaLisa graduates. They have a class C similar to Mike & Betsy’s.
Don and Rene sold 50/50 raffle tickets for a total of $90. Neily Trump was the lucky winner of $45! As everyone made their way through the line selecting spoonful’s of delicious dishes,Gary and I were last to move through the line. We both arrived at the deviled egg dish at the same time and had quite a predicament – there was only -1- deviled egg left and we both wanted it. I asked Gary, “I’ll thumb fight you for that last deviled egg”. Little did Gary know that my older brother and I are the thumb fight champions heralding from our small corner from Bangor, Maine. Gary responded saying that he didn’t know what a thumb fight was. So I quickly showed him the ropes. Now he was ready. “On the count of three we will start the fight”, I suggested, “Now get in your corner and let the best deviled egg fighter win! “ On the count of three we shook thumbs, I was all set to crumble this newbie thumb fighter, but low and behold he was so much stronger than me, plus his thumb was twice as longer as mine! Congratulations! Gary has won his very first thumb fight and he graciously conceded the deviled egg to me. Thank you!
After dinner, we all helped clean up and put left overs away. Linda Marano brought out a birthday cake to honor John turning 81 on Monday. Happy Birthday John! There were only 2 candles on the cake because Linda did not want the fire department called. J
We finished the evening with a fun candy exchange. Everyone had previously purchased their favorite candy and wrapped it upwith their name inside. Betty gave everyone a wrapped candy package and as Barbara Lyons read a story, you either passed your package left or right. It was fun and even got a bit confusing with all the left and right moves happening so quickly. It concluded with the packages shifting a final time to the right and you finally got the chance to open the bag to see what candy you got and whose favorite it was. I was really hoping for a bunch of Snicker fans, but alas it appeared like I was the only one! I learned two things about Gary this weekend, 1- he didn’t know how to thumb fight and 2- Gary likes dark chocolate. I’m talking chocolate so dark it doesn’t taste like chocolate anymore. It reminds me of the baking chocolate bars I found in the pantry and I mistakenly bit into as a child seeking sweet chocolatey heaven.
Saturday saw most of us bundling up and braving the elements for the flea market next door. Some found real treasures while others picked up Christmas gifts and tools. Rene came away empty handed as he was hoping to get his bagels. Later on Rene and I took Rod & Neily with us to the antique factory mall in Columbia. We all usually go our own ways when inside the shops and I was following behind Neily when I heard this really loud crash. It sounded like something heavy had taken the entire shop out. In panic I instantly ran in the opposite direction until that little voice sitting on my right shoulder pecked and shamed me into returning and finding Neily picking some things up. I felt bad by retreating, that is not like me at all, but it was incredibly loud. All was well, nothing broken. In the afternoon, Charles stopped by with his fishing pole and he and Rene put line on the reel. They put line on Rene’s reel too, getting ready to fish at Bass Lake in March.
For dinner we all car pooled and headed for the Lizard’s Thicket. We had the entire back room all to ourselves and the tables were arranged so that the entire group sat together as one. Rene quickly called a meeting to order and called for nominations for Vice President. Charles Goding was nominated and quickly voted in for the office of Vice President. Motion made to adjourn, Don Elliott 2nd the motion and the meeting adjourned in just under 4 minutes! After dinner we met one last time at the activity room for apple and cherry pies, ice-cream, Camping Crack, cookies and left over birthday cake. We played 5 different games of bingo ranging from a regular bingo to four corners and even the letter T. A great time and belly laughs were had by all. I can’t recall exactly what Betty said about the people of her church, but when Richard reminded her that she too goes to church there, everybody just lost it, it was so funny!
Thanks for all the laughs and good times during 2025. We have been so blessed to have these wonderful opportunities to share,2026 can only get better!
Sam Bollengier, Secretary, Drifting Sams