Asphalt or Dirt!!

That was the question yesterday as we all contemplated where we might end up parked at this rally.  There is a lot to be said for arriving early, but being so close to New Years, many didn't want to travel the crowded highways, and you certainly can't blame them for that.

As usual, I was up early, knowing I had to move my rig from the vendors lot to our Brown Lot destination.  In this case, it was a VERY good thing, because the parking crew decided to move Kurt and I first .... at 7:00 am!!  Lucky for me, I had my rig buttoned up, but Kurt got a rude awakening when I knocked on his door!!  At least we moved to an amazingly beautiful morning sky.

So the plan was for everyone to arrive at the old Sam's Club parking lot in Indio, where we line up before heading to the fairgrounds.  We even number our rigs in the order we prefer to be parked.  What can I say ... sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't!!  I drove over in my car to lead the group and make sure no one made a wrong turn ... that part worked swimmingly.

When we arrived at the fairgrounds staging area, it all went wrong.  The parking crew took us in OUT of order, and made it worse by parking us even further OUT of order!!

To make matters worse, our rig signs said 1 of 18, 2 of 18 ..... well some people didn't show up, so we actually only had 15 rigs.  Wouldn't you know, two strange rigs showed up right behind us and got parked with our group.  Funny they didn't say anything to the parking officials ... they just plowed right in!!  In the end, about seven of us ended up on pavement, with the rest of our 17 rigs parked across a wide fire lane on hard gravel/dirt.  We even got the parking crew to hold three spaces for our latecomers ..... if they remember that is!!

The bad news is the generator just 50 yards East of us that runs day and night.  That puts a loud HUM on the party, so we all have to talk a little louder!!  Our first Happy Hour get together took place at 4:00, and as you can see, we were all bundled up.  There is rain in our future as the forecasters explained yesterday ... possibly every afternoon.  That will put a real damper on our happy hours!!

Here's the crew so far!!  When we heard this rally was the Call Of The Wild, we all showed up!  This group consists of some of the nicest people you will ever meet in the RV world!!

And so the rally begins!!  The especially good news is that when I contacted the ice cream company yesterday, they said the order was in and the driver ready to roll.  Music to my ears!!!