The Rally is Over

We had a great time at the Discovery Owner’s Rally the past week in Sevierville, TN.  There were 101 Fleetwood Discovery motorhomes at the rally so we got to ask questions about our motorhome to people who have experience living in them.   The rally schedule included a few workshops about topics dealing with a motorhome, trips to local sites, dinner most nights, and nightly entertainment.

One of the highlights of the week was a trip to the Bush Bean Factory!  OK, maybe it wasn’t a “highlight”, but it was interesting and the price was right (free).  The tour used to take you through the plant, but automation has the process going so fast it’s difficult to see anything so they built a visitors center across the road where you can watch a video that explains what they do in the plant.  The video was very good and was easier than walking through the plant anyway.  The picture is a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea (a giant can of Bush Beans!).  Another day activity was a golf outing with 30 other attendees at a local course, which was very nice.

Three evenings dinner was provided in the park’s meeting room, followed by entertainment provided by a local talent.  Since we were in a resort area the local talent was just that, talent.  All three groups were very talented and entertaining.  Two nights we went to shows in Pigeon Forge, just down the road from our park.  The first was a country music show with a number of excellent singers and dancers.  The next was the “Temptations Revue”, not the kind of show one would expect in a country town, but this was the best show we attended.  The quartet is led by Nate Evans, a singer who sang briefly with the Temptations in the early 70s.  It was an excellent show!

One dinner was provided by our neighbors at the rally, Bob and Sandy Silva.  Bob and Sandy are from Carson City, NV but now have their address in South Dakota as do many full-timers.  South Dakota is very “full-time friendly” and has no income taxes and low vehicle registration fees.  We really enjoyed spending time with the Silvas and hope to meet up with them again somewhere down the road.

The rally ended on Sunday but, since the weather was calling for heavy rain, we signed on at the park for two more nights to await dryer weather.  When retired, why pack up and drive in poor conditions?  Today (Tuesday) the weather is much improved so we moved 40 miles north to a small Escapees park north of Knoxville called Raccoon Valley.  Escapees is an RV club headquartered in Texas that has a few parks around the country for members only.  From here, with the improvement in the weather, we plan to spend a week riding the motorcycle through the Smokies.

Thats all for now . . .