Opening day at the Monaco Pre-Rally in Salem, OR. We have been here three days now, and today they finally decide to start this thing!
The start of the rally is a big deal - there are things to do now! Although we are not really rally-pros yet, we do know a few things: don't be late for a free cocktail hour, be sure to walk through as many coaches that you can't afford, and be prepared to hunt for a seat at dinner if you don't put out your little "reserved" tent.
This reminded us of Tom, so I had to take a picture
It appears that the Monaco-sponsored rallies are a bit different in that the cost of admission gets you some food and adult beverages. It doesn't seem that other non-manufacturer rallies do this. I suppose we will soon find out if this is the rule (or exception), but will enjoy the festivities as they are supplied to us!
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After the catered breakfast this morning - which included bacon of a color I did not know existed - we finally got to walk the isles of RV Vendorville. Vendorville is a building with rows of tables where people hawk their wares. You can find most anything RV-related in these rows - satellite dishes, hoses, cords, mats, chairs, bungle and bobbles of all kinds. There are many non-RV related items as well.
The vibe walking past some of the vendors is much like the feeling you get when walking through the local mall and the cell phone jockeys try to reel you in to their kiosk. Or like the lady with the "bean bag that heats up in the microwave and you put it around your neck" island. They more than likely all go to the same mall sales course.
However, the big difference in RV Vendorville is that the hawkers are actually hawking goodies that are interesting and desirable, or just cool. Ang and I had fun walking around the isles, although nothing in our price range really jumped out at us. Sure, there was the Datastorm system at Internet Anywhere, but that will have to wait.
After the (short for us) happy hour, we were entertained by several folks giving tribute to our Armed Forces, LEO, Fire, and EMS folks. Ang and I found a place to sit at a table with Don and Nora, and Leonard and Charlotte. The were kind enough to save us a spot, even though they had no idea we were coming (or even who we are!). Dinner was surprisingly good, in spite of the fact that they cooked it in a big semi trailer, and had to serve somewhere between 6-800 of us.
New Coach Area
After dinner, the band kicked in, and the dancing commenced. We are not sure how late the party continued, as we took off after a cup of coffee and some more visiting with our table-mates. I think we are getting old or something. We just can't keep up with all these kids here...
Tomorrow will fetch much of the same. A few seminars look good, and since work is a little slow at the moment, I will probably sit through something exciting like "Your Inverter And The Zen of Batteries". Or, maybe we will visit RV Vendorville. Or maybe walk through some more expensive coaches. Or maybe just sit around and wait for happy hour to appear.
Yea, that sounds good to me 
--kev
