2010 Rally, Day 1 - (Longs, SC)

It was a relatively calm morning.  Linda & I went to the Banquet Hall around 10:00 a.m.

We were joined by several volunteers that helped us get things set up.

This is where all the seminars and meals will take place.

We had registration on the back porch overlooking the lake.  More volunteers handled each check-in station.

Bill was concerned our nametags wouldn't be large enough to read, so he brought his own.  :)

We had the usual noon to 1:00 rush and then folks trickled in afterwards.  But that gave our volunteers more time to get to know each other.  :)

Ed, half of the "Ed & Diana" team from Canada, chatted with my Mom.

We've been joking that Ed & Diana make this an "international" Rally.  :)

In the photo above, my Mom has on last year's Rally T-shirt and it is "braided" at the bottom.  As the day went on, she and Ginger helped several ladies learn to do the "braided" T-shirts throughout the afternoon.

Some brought practice shirts before they tried it on this year's Rally shirts.  :)

This year's shirts are a stone-washed blue with the state of South Carolina in dark blue and our Rally symbol "Harvey" the motorhome in a hammock between two palms and the South Carolina crescent moon above.  The writing is "RV-Dreams Low Country Rally" at the bottom with dates and location in the upper right.  Thanks to Linda's brother, Jon, for the design.  :)

We have about 10 extra large shirts left over.  If anyone wants one, just send us an email - $15 plus shipping.  :)

I got our projector set up for the seminars and our "sound system" which is basically a borrowed karaoke machine.  To use the resort's built-in surround sound, we'd have to have a staff member there all the time, so we're making do.  :)

Other than that, Linda & I greeted guests and made several trips back to our rig for stuff we forgot.  :)

Linda took a little time out to try Rick's Trikke.

There were a pair of Trikkes at last year's Rally, too.  I did a little better on them this year.  :)

There is a one-mile walking, biking, and Trikking trail around the lake.  One of these days, we might get a chance to make it around.  :)

We had a couple of Bald Eagles that soared over us much of the afternoon as things wound down and the caterer arrived to set up.

I took over the check-in station as our volunteers went to get ready for dinner.  Well, I sort of wandered around taking pictures during that late afternoon lull.  :)

This is a view of the cottages and pedal boats from our registration area.

A view across the sandy beach and a corner of the lake to part of the RV park.

Gary & Peggy (we have two sets of Garys & Peggys) talked with my parents as they sat on lakeside benches.

I walked over and got a pic of the pool area with the fitness center and laundry room in the background.

Another shot of the pool and hot tub.

I'm hearing some pretty good reports about the hot tub.  :)

At 6:00, we opened with the Rascal Flatts song "Me & My Gang", the theme of our first Rally in 2008.  Linda did a brief introduction and then randomly drew tables to start the buffet line.

After dinner we did more introductions and identified our current full-timers, our future full-timers, and those in between.

Wow!  The folks standing are the future full-timers.  :)

I think it's about half the crowd, maybe more.  :)

After introductions, we gave an overview of the Rally and went over tomorrow's agenda.  Then we did a little ice breaker - RV-Dreams trivia.  :)

We joined tables together to see if they could answer 25 questions about RV-Dreams and Linda & I.  One group got 22 of 25 right!  We weren't sure if that meant they really paid attention or they were stalkers.  :)

We had a great time.  At the end of the evening, we played a new song from the Zac Brown Band that sort of sums up our feeling about the full-time lifestyle.

It's called "Free" and we've posted a video for you to enjoy.

And we'll leave you with that.  It was a great Day 1.  :)

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Comments

[Janette and Steve - Omaha]

That song brought tears to me. We are so close and can't wait! See ya down the road!

[Mark & Nancy Wessinger (aka azrving)]

Man I wish we could have made it to SC for the rally! SC was my home for 42 years:) Y'all enjoy that "Southern Hospitality" and have fun.

[Bob and Lynda]

Hello to Sterling and Anita. So glad they are getting to know the new comers to your RV-Dreams family.

[ronandjacki]

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful time at the rally. I'll be thinking about you all every day and keeping up with the journal.