2017 Oct 3-8 - LBL Rally and Grayson's 8th Birthday Party

This was our 7th year to attend the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) rally at Piney Campground outside Dover, TN. It was kind of a typical rally - lots of fun, visiting and joking around. The potluck was huge with 44 camping units in attendance.

The door prize I won was a real cool solar powered motion detecting security light for the camper. The weather was absolutely perfect until a few showers showed up on Saturday afternoon. Then it started raining pretty steadily during the night and was raining while we broke camp on Sunday morning. Not bad though!

We got to Chad's house about 2:30 that afternoon after stopping for gas and lunch in Effingham. Grayson's birthday party was at 3:00, so we time it almost perfectly. We stayed there for a few hours and headed  for home at dusk which got us home about 8:30.

Good time! We just left the camper in the street because we're leaving for our last camping trip of the year on Wednesday. See you there!

2017 Sep 13-22 - Coles Creek and Cajun Palms RV Resort

We went to Coles Creek Campground at Carlyle Lake in Southern Illinois for a Gathering of Aframes Rally. After four nights there, we headed south for the Aliner Owners Club North American Rally at Cajun Palms RV Resort in Breaux Bridge, LA. We stopped overnight at Persimmon Hill Campground at Enid Lake, MS on the way.

The Gathering at Coles Creek was the typical, laid back get-together that we often enjoy with this group. Cheryl announced that she would be serving biscuits and gravy for breakfast on our first morning there. It was delicious!

On Sunday morning, we were on the road early for the trip to Breaux Bridge, LA, with an overnight stop at Enid Lake. It's a Corps of Engineers lake with concrete camping pads and air conditioned shower houses. Because we have our Lifetime Federal Recreation Lands Senior Pass, the fee was just ten bucks! What a deal!

The next morning, we hit the road and arrived at Cajun Palms RV Resort after a 356 mile drive. The resort was really nice. I heard several people say that it was one of the top venues they've ever had for an AOC national rally. The club house, where we had meals and other indoor activities was air conditioned which was welcomed in the 95 degree heat! The pool, where Marsha and I spent a couple of afternoons with friends, was great! The staff, especially Riva, were very friendly and accommodating. We had a great time.

I was sorry to learn that my favorite Cajun restaurant, Mulatte's in Breaux Bridge, had been sold and is now Pont Breaux's, which is Breaux Bridge in French. Marsha, Loretta and I slipped out of the rally after the door prize drawing on Wednesday night and had dinner there. It was good, but it wasn't Mulatte's! BTW, Marsha and I have been to Breaux Bridge several times during our motorcycling years for the annual Crawfish Festival, so we're fairly familiar with the territory.

On Thursday, Marsha & I went to see if we could find our old friends, Tony and Carolyn Courville who live in Breaux Bridge. They moved since we saw them last, probably twenty years ago, so we weren't sure where they live now. We found the house, but no one was home, so I left a card in hopes they would contact me because we didn't have their phone number.

On the way back to the rally, we stopped into a little hole-in-the-wall combination convenience store and Cajun restaurant that was discovered by one of our rally friends. I had a small bowl of crawfish etouffee, my favorite Cajun dish. It was wonderful!

That evening, Carolyn called me, but it was too late to go for a visit and we were leaving in the morning. We did a quick catch-up on each other's families and promised to touch vase with each other more often. Tony is now the head high school football coach, so he was at the football field helping to prepare it for the first game of the season. Hope they won! 

Friday morning, we were on the road by 7:30 and ended up driving 822 miles, straight through, and got home at 11:00 that night. It was a good time. I'd like to go down there again and spend more time at Cajun Palms and visit with Tony and Carolyn.