THURSDAY, 13 AUGUST, FIRST FULL RALLY DAY

Most rallies have an early morning breakfast call because of the day's events and this one was no exception. I'm usually awake early but like to relax with coffee and watch the news before I actually get dressed. Breakfast was from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. each morning and the shower facilities are limited so unless you shower in your rig (which I don't), it's helpful to get there early and stand in line. At 6 a.m. there were two others ahead of me! After a continental breakfast of fresh fruit, homemade scones and muffins, we boarded buses at 9:15 for an hour long trip to the Home and Park Motorhomes, Inc. - the factory where the Roadtreks are made. Although production is down, they are still producing new ones, and we were able to see the Roadtreks in various stages of being made. It's an interesting concept, especially when they just start from a shell of either a Chevrolet or Sprinter van, and cut out the windows and roof and proceed from there. We weren't able to take any pictures inside the factory, so I can't show you any of that. Afterwards, they treated us to coffee or cold drinks and donuts before our return trip back to the campground,

There were five different bus schedules, and other activities were planned according to the time of each tour. I had the afternoon free and was able to attend the hour and a half line dancing session which was fun. The instructors are also Roadtrek owners and have been line dancing for 30 years. We learned some easy dances and it was good exercise after all the food we've been eating.

Dinner Thursday night was Lasagna, Caesar Salad with Garlic Bread, and hot apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. We were joined by Jeff Hannemayer, CEO of Home and Park, along with other officials from the corporate office. Jeff's father was the creator of the Roadtrek but is now in poor health and Jeff handles all matters. He made a point of coming to our table to talk to the Solos, and we greatly appreciated that.