A Reunion at MCD

We got a wonderful surprise here at MCD in McKinney. Hank and Lillie were coming across Texas with their motorhome so they called and said they would like to stop by for a visit. "Come on over", I said "and we'll find a place for you to park!" They were coming off highway 35 and thought MCD was pretty close to that highway but, in reality, it took them about two hours to get to us. It was worth the visit! We were so happy to see them. Dave and Marie were here next to us for the month as well, so all six of us had a wonderful visit and we all went out to dinner together.

I guess we talked Hank and Lillie into staying around for a couple of days with us and, while here, they decided to get their coach measured for MCD shades. The shades will look great in their Dynasty! The day after their windows were measured, they took off down the highway headed for home in Tennessee. They will return at a later date to have the shades installed. We look forward to seeing them again at the end of the summer...

Our First Two Rallies With MCD Are Now History!

I have not posted much on this blog since we have been so busy as employees of MCD Innovations (the RV shade people) and doing their marketing, website, graphic design and traveling to rallies to work the MCD booth. We just got done with a "double header" rally. The first in Tucson, Arizona which was the Monaco Pre-rally at Beaudry RV and the second which was in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the FMCA Convention.

At the Tucson rally, we were fortunate to see several of our RVing friends. We were able to eat dinner with Lew and Dottie, Dave and Marie, Ron and Wanda and of course our new bosses, Dave and Carla (not pictured). This was a good rally to get our feet wet in the MCD booth and get to know the product and pricing better. We also learned how to set up the booth and get the materials ready for taking orders and giving out information. The food at the rally was great and Peg and I had a few libations after a hard day at work!

The Albuquerque FMCA rally was much bigger and we were constantly busy talking with folks and taking orders. Many of the new coaches on display had our MCD shades in the Class A motorhomes, Class C and Class B units. The final count on coaches at the rally was 1600, slightly down from previous years, but a rather good turnout for this economy! We were a bit more experienced at this rally and I think we both felt more comfortable quoting prices and helping people at the show.

The two rallies went very well and we sold a lot of MCD products. It has been a tough two weeks and we have been on our feet a lot. I am not used to that, but I survived! We packed up our booth around 5pm yesterday along with MCD owners Dave and Carla and Peg and I headed for a motel since we did not have the coach last night. That was the first time we did not sleep in the coach in a long while!

Peg and I are now just outside of Albuquerque in a small campground (Hidden Valley) staying put for the afternoon/night because of the high winds we are having here. We had to take the motorhome in to the Cummins dealer in Albuquerque for an exhaust manifold gasket repair yesterday, and they didn't get it repaired until just after noon today. We noticed a high pitched whistle coming from the engine when we accelerated, so we knew something was wrong! It's all better now, so if the weather cooperates, we will be on the road heading for McKinney, Texas in the morning.

We look forward to being stationary in McKinney for a month or so and then we head out to the next rally that MCD Innovations is sponsoring a booth at. The good news is that because of the rallies, Peg and I still get to travel through out the year instead of having to be at one place to work and give up the RV lifestyle. A perfect compromise for us!

The Two Fools Tavern!

After working a long day at the FMCA Convention here in Albuquerque, NM, we met up with our friends Ron and Sandy Jones. We videotaped some back-up signals near a motorhome for Ron's new website and then decided we were hungry and it was time for dinner. Ron and Sandy's friends, Rick and Lana were also at the video shoot and we all jumped into our cars and drove down to a tavern in town that Ron suggested.

We walked into this typical English Pub called the Two Fools Tavern. It is located in a section of town they call Nob Hill. Peg had fish and chips and I had potato pancakes with brown stew on top. Delicious! We also had some wine with dinner and of course the other guys had a few brews.

Could not resist getting a photo of both our group, the bar and the cool looking napkin...

The Last Supper (at Bob and Marlenes)

We finally made it to Beaudry RV in Tucson today where the Monaco Pre-rally was to be held. We checked in, got the coach set up and jumped into the car and headed for Casa Grande. Bob and Marlene were hosting a dinner for us at their house and invited many of our friends. This was probably the "last supper" we would have with them for quite a while, so it was really special to us.

We had not visited with the Rea's for over a month and in that time they had the backyard of their brick and mortar home re-designed into a wonderful living area complete with fountains, a built in grilling area and even some grass for Scout, their dog. A new wrought iron fence was installed which now means that Scout can be let out into the backyard and he has plenty of room to roam off the leash!

When dinner time rolled around Hank and Lillie, Rod and Jean and Ron and Wanda stopped by so we could all visit and eat another meal together. We had such a good feast and a great time catching up.

One of the best parts of choosing the full-time RVing lifestyle is the people you meet along the journey and those people that become your close friends. This group is one such example. Since we will now be living in Texas, we will really miss these type of get togethers. Hopefully, we will get visits from all our friends down in Texas as they travel!! Ya'all come down, ya hear!

An Evening At The Theatre

We were invited out to a night "on the town" in Dallas by our nephew James and he wanted us to see a comedy called. "I Love You, Now Change". It was being held at Theatre 3 downtown. The four person cast stages several vignettes about love and marriage. It was quite funny. The actual performance took place in what they call Theatre 2, a renovated basement area that would hold about 40-50 people. It was an intimate setting and you were definitely close to the action.

Before the theatre, we strolled around Central Market, a large indoor market near downtown Dallas. It was amazing the selection of fruit, produce, wine, meats and breads they had there. There were also samples of anything you wanted to try around every corner. We all purchased some food there, took it back to Mark and James' place and had a great dinner before the show. We had a great time with James and Mark and look forward to seeing some other entertainment in the days ahead. By the way, I had to get a photo of me and the "Duck Wall" at Mark's house before we left!