Although people were arriving at Leiby's parking lot in a downpour.... The skies were kind to us for most of the rest of the day.
And what a showing we had!!!
This year we had 28 cars in the rallye.
That's about twice what we had last year.
This year was the "Game Rallye".
Due to local flooding ( 2 weeks prior to the Rallye) and roads being washed out in almost every part of Schuylkill county, the rallye route consisted of many little rallye "Legs".. instead of one big long run for the day.
We all started at Leiby's Lot. Participants had some brunch, and then headed out for the driver's meeting. At the meeting, participants were given their first leg route. They had been given their general rules to read while at brunch. This year's route was explained in traditional text instead of photographs. This was a change from the past 5 or 6 years. This was to give the participants more time to work on their puzzles. Participants also picked numbered poker chips from a bag, to pick their car numbers. these would come in handy later. So the participants had to read the route, answer questions pertaining to each turn, and find scavenger hunt items, all while trying to accomplish some bonus points along the way. ;-)
A pleasant surprise for all was the special appearance by Ed Kaler of Just Brits. Ed has been supplying prizes for the Rallye since it's beginning, and this was the first year that he could actually attend.
Leg 1
Leg 1 was a short run from Leiby's lot to Heislers.
This leg is kept short to ensure everyone's car is in good working order.
Before the participants left the lot, they all opened their scavenger hunt list.
Usually the scavenger hunt is a list of items. Not this year! Remember, this was the "Game Rallye".
This year the participants had to find as many hunt items, in a word search, as they could. Yeah, a word search. Whatever they could find in the word search, they could hand in for the scavenger hunt. We put about 100 items in there.... there were inadvertently about 40 more, that the software put in, as well. This was actually pretty cool. People found what they could on the hunt... then went around hunting for the actual items.
Anyway, like I said leg 1 was short, and went well.
At the end of leg 1 participants had to hand in a gas receipt dated that day, for bonus points.
Off they went.....
Leg 2
Leg 2 was a bit longer than leg 1.
On this leg the participants were instructed to stop at a "soda stand" along the route.
(My sons had their own soda stand)
The sodas were not really for sale..... but you got one free when you purchased a straw for $.50. ;-)
Rob's kids got a big kick out of being able to help with the rallye this year. They are 5 and 7 years old.
Along this route the teams had to trade poker chips with another team. When they returned from the leg, the participants had to turn in a poker chip from another team. I told you these would come in handy. They were given back the poker chip, and given a crossword puzzle to complete. This was all or nothing.... and spelling counted. Not many got all the answers correct. It was tougher than it looked.
Off they went....
Leg 3
Leg 3 was yet longer than the first two legs.
During this leg the participants were to turn a receipt from the soda stand on leg 2. ;-)
Yep, almost all of them had to stop again. The route, fortunately, went right by again.... but receipts were only given with a purchase. Hehehe. (Not a previous purchase).
After this leg the participants had the option to participate in "Bobbing for Apples"... kinda.
Normal bobbing for apples bucket... normal apples worth 15 points each.... but, if you were chicken, you could bob for a ping pong ball from the top for only 5 points. Best part was that you could go for a whopping 30 bonus points if you got one of the golf balls from the bottom of the bucket.
Would you believe that almost everyone went for the golf ball. Both driver and navigator each got a shot at scoring points. You must see the pictures!
Off they went....
Leg 4
Leg 4 was a nicer, more open run, and the first to go through an actual town.
Now, leg 4 was a bit easier of a run, and it gave the participants a chance to get some of their scavenger hunt items form the local stores....(Those who chose to BUY their items). ;-)
At the end of this leg, participants were to hand in the original poker chip they had picked out of the bag. There were alot of people waiting at the checkpoint for other cars to come in with their chip, that they had traded with earlier.
Everyone then got a chance to do the fan belt toss. You know like ring toss, but only with fan belts! Yup, more pictures.
Off they went....
Leg 5
Leg 5 was the last leg and the longest.
This leg was a nice drive through the country. It even had the participants visiting the local state park.
At the end of this leg, the participants were to hand in their scavenger hunt items to be sealed, and then head over to their last challenge.
This time they had the option of doing the "Watering Can" challenge. One participant holds a plastic cup on their head, while the other fills the cup up to the line with a watering can. Yeah, they got soaked. They then had to run back to the start line and set the cup down...(Full)... before the time ran out. They had about 30 seconds.
After all of this, we did the group shot, and headed to Rob's back yard for a picnic.
Here we went through the scavenger hunt items. Boy, people found alot of things we did not intentionally put in the hunt. Most were given the points for valid items. Some were shot down by a democratic vote of the participants. All in all this was a highlight of the rallye. Points were totaled while we had the white elephant gift exchange. The Elvis painting came back as an Elvis pillow. Wow! Good job Jim & Karen. Biff got a geiger counter. There was all kinds of stuff. finally, the points....
1st place
(for the 4th year)
Larry and Theresa Macy
They finally broke their 3-win hurdle.
2nd place
Abby (15) & Annabelle (20)
This was the girl's first rallye, and they got 2nd place!!
3rd Place
Jim & Karen Schulte
All their studying the clues paid off.
Last place was awarded to:
John & Rhonda
They came in an MGB, lost their brakes near the end, and went home... Only to return to the rallye in a convertible Corvette.
Talk about dedication... That's what we like to see!
They Finished!!!
Again this year "Just Ed" from Just Brits provided us with the prizes. And wow, what prizes. A very fancy hardwood dart-board in it's own cabinet, some leather attachés, some wool convertible driving blankets, and even a sleeping bag. And Ed even surprised us by attending the rallye this year. It was a pleasure to finally meet the legend in person. ;-) Ed, I got to say THANKS!!! again. We really appreciate all that you donate to this little rallye. We hope you can make the drive from Illinois again next year!
You can visit Ed's website with this link:
http://www.justbrits.com/
All in all, I think just about everyone had a great time. I
know I did!!! We hope to see everyone back again next year.
With a total of 28 cars this year, we doubled last year's
count. I wonder what next year will bring?!?
Thanks to everyone who helped make this rallye such a fun
event, again.
And thanks to all the participants!
It's the camaraderie of you guys that makes this event what
it is.