World United States Illinois Du Quoin

Wild West Roundup 2010

School Day At The Rally Jun 28, 2010

ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS, DU QUOIN, IL......MONDAY

The alarm went off at 0700 this morning. This is the day we are supposed to get our waste tanks pumped out. There are no sewer hook-ups here and our registration fee included one pump out. I had some coffee and a donut then went out and opened the bay that houses the drain connection. Also the CEO of Fleetwood is making a presentation at 0900 this morning and I wanted to attend that.

The presentation by Fleetwood was very informative. He covered the bankruptcy, year before last, the organization of the company and the current status of production and sales. It appears that the RV market has stabilized, and they believe that if credit restrictions are eased that it will improve. It seems the company is on the right track and poised to once again be the leader in market.

After that I went to the vendor area and swapped the LED lights. We now have three of them over the vanity. They make a nice white light and really brighten the area. I also found another cute toy that seems to have some utility value. Clip on led's that fit on your glasses. Shines a bright light on your book or whatever you are looking at. You don't know that they are there other than the nice light. Should come in handy for detail work on the train layout back home as well as reading in bed.

When I checked last Saturday, I was told that Edie's driving school was scheduled for 1230 today. We went there and were told that it was scheduled for 3PM. Administration is not their strong suit. So we went inside and strolled thru the new RV's some more. That 40 foot diesel is looking better all the time.....hmmmmm. At two o'clock ice cream bars were being served by one of the sponsors. We got a cup of coffee and enjoyed the ice cream break.

As 3 o'clock approached we went back out to the large parking area behind the main building and checked in for Edie's driving session. Her instructor was named Bob and seemed like a nice guy. I got their picture just before they boarded the 40 foot Fleetwood Discovery diesel coach. The instruction included a verbal tutorial on driving a big rig and then maneuvering forward and backward among some traffic cones and finally driving out onto the small road that goes along the side of the lot then back into the lot and parking the vehicle. I didn't stay to watch since it was still pretty hot.

Instead I came back to the house and made the journal entry for Sunday. While I was doing that the honey wagon appeared and drained our waste tanks. So now we are good til we get to St. Louis. The driving session was to last for two hours, so when I finished the journal, I went back over to wait for Edie.

I got to see her backing the coach and then pulling forward thru the cones and out onto the road and back. She sure looked good in the driver's seat of that rig. They pulled up and parked and I caught another shot as she was coming down the steps. What a grin!! A happy driver here. Her first words were "I want one". Sheesh...maybe I goofed signing her up for this. Hehe. Her instructor said she did very well and that I was a cad if I didn't buy a big diesel for her. Anyway, now she has some new knowledge and experience. I'm sure I will be reminded from time to time that I am not following safe driving practises.

We went out to dinner at Alongi's world famous Italian restaurant in downtown Du Quoin,to celebrate Edie's successful completion of the driver school. They have autographed pictures of many famous entertainers and sports figures who have been there....most of them having been in town for the State Fair. The restaurant has been operated by the same family for well over fifty years and the food was excellent. Edie enjoyed a glass of Chianti with her pasta.

While we were downtown we also stopped at Ye Olde Country Store, ice cream and fudge shoppe. Our registration package had a coupon for a free half pound of fudge with the purchase of a pound. So we left with a pound and a half of delicious fudge.

It was a fun day all around. We are surely blessed to have each other and to be able to enjoy the life we are living.