Perry Days

The time had arrived!  1,924 miles later we arrived at the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter for the 99^th FMCA Rally.

We arrived after the parking volunteers had finished for the day and spent the night in the holding area.  We deployed the slides, turned on the satellite, grabbed a beer and headed out for a walk around the grounds.  Our driving days were long and a big walk was the perfect way to get our bodies moving and hopefully burn off some extra calories.  I have to tell you the sunset was beautiful; it was a rainy day and the clouds gave way just enough to show the waning light.

Lucky us, we arrived a day early.  While Mark worked, I set out about the place.  First up was the FMCA table. I wanted to introduce myself and meet people I’ve corresponded with.  Since I struggle coming empty-handed, I took them a plate of cookies to snack on.  I walked the entire grounds, determined to make up for sitting so much on the drive days.  Rally planners knew what they were doing picking this venue.  The place is huge and the grounds are beautiful.  I was excited, this was going to be fun.

I really wanted to get to Lane Southern Orchards and this was my only day with a car.  Mark would be leaving me in the morning for a business trip and taking the Jeep with him.  He didn’t want to miss the orchard either.  We made it there just in time when his calls were done.

Lane Southern is a little northwest of the fairgrounds on a two-lane road that is lined on both sides with both peach and pecan trees.  It’s not peach season yet and the trees were just starting to bloom.  No peach season meant no tour, majorly bummed about that.  We wandered the store marveling at all the peach related items they had.  They even had peach wine!

I had peach cobbler on the brain and had been looking forward to visiting this place since the day we decided to come to Perry.  We were not leaving without some.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  It was amazing.  We both opted for the peach ice cream on top.  My only complaint was that I picked the small one; darn calorie watching.  We left with a jar of peaches, a bottle of peach wine and some peach salsa.  I wish it wasn’t so far away as I think it would be fun to be there during peach season.

Wake up, it’s Rally Day!

Poor Mark had to leave for the airport before it officially opened.  He really wanted to see the new coaches before he flew out.    We walked through the member fair and joined the Tiffin Travelers group.  One thing about all the chapters, there is something for everyone.  After lunch, I kissed him goodbye and watched him leave.

Everything opened at 1pm and I wasn’t the only one excited.  The RV area was jammed and I don’t think you could fit another person in the vendor building.  After walking in the front door and seeing the traffic jam, I quickly changed course and headed to the very last row.  From way back there, I was able to get a better look at the booths without being shoulder to shoulder.  The FMCA store booth was very popular; I wonder if the big coupon was the reason.  That would be a booth to hit another day.  We only had one need-based purchase, new step covers which I found at the ShadePro booth.

From the vendor booth I headed over to check out some new motorhomes and trailers.   Being a happy Tiffin owner, naturally I started there.  A new Allegro Bus was up first and guess who was standing behind the drivers’ seat?  None other than Mr. Bob Tiffin!  I videoed the interior to send to Mark then had my fangirl moment with Bob.  He is very gracious with everyone and talks to them like an old friend.  I went through all the diesels then headed to check out some others.  I knew this area would be the first place Mark would want to see when he returned Saturday morning so I didn’t go through them all.  I wanted to feel tall so I checked out the showers in the Airstream trailers.

 

FMCA set up a large white tent that served as the Town Center for the week.  It was an active place, donuts in the morning, entertainment and ice cream in the afternoon.  They picked the right band to kick it off, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys.  They had the place clapping along and cheering wildly.  I’m a sucker for an accordion since my handsome man grew up playing one.

I took my new step covers back to the RV and got ready for the evening’s event, a Tiffin party meeting and potluck.  Bill & Willemina Flowers started a new Facebook group called Tiffin Lifestyle last summer and this night was their first official gathering.  The meeting room was packed and I was happy to see many people move onto the potluck afterward.  I made a bunch of cookies before we left and froze them for this night.  It was nice to put a face and voice with different people from across the country.  I sat down next to a nice couple from Georgia, Milo and Donna and we talked about how his Georgia Bulldogs beat my Oklahoma Sooners in last years’ Rose Bowl.  He didn’t gloat too much, haha.  Day one was complete and it was a great day.

Day two started out with a big walk around the grounds and another stroll through the vendor booths.  It was much less crowded and I was able to see more.  There were lots of campgrounds, beauty products and camping furniture in addition to the customary RV products.  The campgrounds looked good but they were too far east for us.  The DirectTV and Dish booths were busy every time I walked by.  After lunch I called Uber for a ride into downtown Perry.  I love checking out small town downtowns on our travels.  This night FMCA had set aside for a Block Party of sorts.  All of the FMCA chapters were hosting get togethers and the Tiffin Travelers one was for me but I never made it.  When I got back from downtown Perry, our camping neighbors Dave & Dotti invited me to join them for a drink.  I poured some wine, picked up my chair and joined them.  We talked about all kinds of things and before I knew it, the time had passed for the block party.  As I picked up my chair to head in and make dinner, Dotti insisted I join them.  These are the kind of people who belong to FMCA.

Day three was my last full day at the Rally and I intended to make the most of it.  I started with donuts in the Town Center where Milo and Donna quickly found me.  We ate, talked and laughed.  Again, I wandered through the vendor booths and I’m sure the lotion booths were tired of asking me if I wanted as sample.  I almost bought a few things, I’m good at that.  I almost buy a lot, I hope Mark appreciates that.

From there it was off to The Ultimate Air Dog Competition.  What a fun show it was!  Dogs of all breeds and sizes flew across the 35-foot pool fetching their favorite toy.  For me, the bulldog stole the show.  He didn’t fly so much as step off the edge and flop into the water.  He sure was cute.

Back to the Town Center I went after lunch for the ice cream social.  The line was huge, even longer than the DirectTV line.  I wanted to video the line so I asked the couple in front of me if they would hold my spot and of course they said yes.  We got to talking while we waited and they are brand new full-timers.  Like, a couple of days brand new.  The line moved very fast and they asked me to join them so we could talk some more.  Danny & Karen told me all about their full-time adventure plans.  They are heading west to spend time with their son who is stationed in El Paso first then want to check out the American Southwest.  She wants to start a blog and we talked about mine and guess what?!  She has been following me for a while!  Milo and Donna found us and the six of us chatted for a little while.  Any trepidation I had about being by myself was unnecessary; people welcomed me like long-lost friends.

Friday night’s entertainment was filled with tribute bands of the 50’s and 60’s.  Tonight, I donned my red OU shirt just for Milo, and hoped I could find him and Donna in the arena.  As I walked in, I quickly gave up that thought as I saw how many people were there.  I decided to just find a seat and enjoy the night.  I looked up and literally two rows in front of me sat Milo and Donna with empty seats next to them.  I jumped up and told them hello then told him I wore this just for him.  We had a good laugh at that and I sat down by Donna.  The concert was really good.  We danced and sang along with the songs for two solid hours.  The very last song was Shout! by the Isley Brothers.  It was the perfect song to end the night with.  Dave and Dotti made sure I got back to my RV safely, too.

Mark’s flight was an early one and he arrived at the RV a little after 10am.  We had a big drive to New Orleans ahead of us so he wanted to leave no later than 2pm.  He fetched a water bottle from the refrigerator and off we went to check out the entire place in record time.  We rode our bikes instead of walking to maximize his viewing time.  Mr. Tiffin was in the same RV as Wednesday and we talked to him for a couple of minutes.  We walked through almost every diesel RV then headed into the vendor booth.  I wanted Mark to talk to a man selling a headlight cleaner.  We rode through some of the other camping sections looking for my new friends because I wanted to introduce Mark to the nice people I’d met during the week but we didn’t find them.  Many people, including Dave and Dotti, had already left.

Our time at the rally was done, it was time to hit the road.  We loaded up the bikes, pulled in the slides and pulled out.  Our first FMCA Rally sure was a fun one.  I hope Mark gets to stay longer for the next one.