On our way to Roatan to see Sharon

We left Perry, GA. on Friday, March 18, after a very successful rally.  Said our good byes to our fellow vendor friends and told them we would see them down the road at another rally.  It is wonderful to see so many people enjoying themselves.  There were a lot of seminars and a wide variety of vendors that allowed an opportunity for attendees to procure some great deals.  As for the last part I did my best to help revive the economy.  This is the first rally that I wore my Retama shirt and jacket.  Bill said I looked "Hot".  Our first stop after the rally was at Hollywood Casino at Bay St. Louis, MS.  We stayed there for two nights.  We had a good time at the casino, especially on Friday night when we had the Seafood Buffet.  We had two free nights camping and two free buffets.  The campground is Big Rig friendly.  It was good for us because Bill did not have to disconnect the truck.  We left Bay St. Louis and headed for Beaumont TX.  We drove across an eighteen mile bridge, which went over the Louisiana wetlands.  It had its own beauty.  We saw fisherman in flat bottom boats, alligators and turtles sunning themselves.  One of the memorable things that happened on this trip is the air conditioner in the truck stopped working and it was windows down for 400 miles.  How did we ever do without A/C when we were younger.  It happened on our drive from Perry GA to Bay St. Louis.  We were very thankful when we headed for Beaumont, TX. that the air conditioner decided to work again.  We hope that it will continue to work.  Tomorrow we will be shopping to buy the things that Sharon has asked me to bring to her. We are very excited about our upcoming trip to see Sharon.  We will be there for ten days.  We are flying out of Houston to Roatan.  Will post again when we get to Houston. 

Arrived at FMCA Rally Perry GA. Mar. l4, 2011

We arrived in Perry,GA. on Thursday, March 10.  We are staying at the Fair Harbour Campground.  This is a great CG and I suggest it as a good option when in the area.    When we arrived here there was a group of Newmar Motor homes here.  Bill gave them the Golden Ticket for the 6 day 5 night stay at Retama.  We went to Lanes Peach and Pecan Plantation.  It was a neat place.  We had lunch and then topped it off with Butter Pecan Ice Cream.  They sold almost anything you could think of made out of peaches and pecans.  They also sold other jams and jellies and salsas.  We ran into two of the vendors that we met when we first started representing Retama at the rallies.  They sell flags and flag poles.  Christine and Michelle are a lot of fun to be around.  Bill did some maintenance on the trailer today.  We set up for the rally which starts tomorrow.  We heard there were 2,600 motor homes registered.  There are a few motor homes staying in the RV park where we are.  It is nice having full hook up.  We belong to a group called PRVVC (Professional RV Vendors Chapter of FMCA), and they had a dinner for all the members tonight.  This is a great net working opportunity for us, and we are enjoying the company of a bunch of hard working entrepreneurial couples. Tonight the motor homes were open for viewing from 5:00-8:00.  The hours for the rally are 8:30-5:00 starting Tuesday until Thursday.  We had a nice surprise on last Thursday night.  Our daughter Linda and her family stopped by for the night on there way to Florida.  Her husband Jeff, slept in the truck and Linda, Kira and Hunter slept in the 5th wheel.  We had a great visit.  We went to Sonny's Barbecue for supper and then went back to the park.  It was nice having the evening with Linda and listen to how excited she is about her new job.  They left in the morning about 7:30.  Bill and I went back to bed and enjoyed a cup of coffee.  Will write more after the rally.   Have a great day everyone.   

After New Orleans

We went to Bay St. Louis and stayed at the Casino Campground.  When we showed them my card they said we had 4 free nights a month. This was a nice surprise.  The sites are long enough so we could stay hooked up.  Had supper at Bogart's Steak House.  Great dinner with a view of the river.  Enjoyed playing the machines for awhile.  We went to Panama Beach to visit our friends Judy and Marcel at their condo.  The drive there was along the water part way.  We arrived at their condo on Sunday.  There condo was on the l2th floor overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.  Great place for morning coffee.  Spent a couple of days at the pool, turkey dinner with Judy's sister and her husband and of course some shopping.  We put the truck and 5th wheel in storage for the five days.  We left Saturday morning and drove about 100 miles once more along the water.  We stayed at HoHum Campground, which was on the water.  A small campground but worked great for us.  It is now Sunday and we are set up at the Monaco Rally.  We will be working Monday to Thursday from 9-4.  On Thursday we will go the Perry Georgia and set up for the FMCA Rally.  It looks like there are around three hundred Motorhomes at the Monaco Rally.  This rally is at Moultrie, Georgia.