Tom Mason leads a discussion about fresh water systems.
The second day of the Arcadia (Bussin’) Rally kept us busy. Breakfast was sponsored by Luke of U. S. Coach & Equipment Sales. (Breakfast yesterday was sponsored by Steve Foster and the activities building is sponsored for the entire rally by Central Florida Bus.) I went to the 9 AM seminar on the use of the on-board fresh water tank, put on by Tom Mason. Tom uses the water in his tank for all domestic purposes, including drinking and cooking, and described the filtration system he uses to make sure it is safe and tastes good. From there it was a Q&A/discussion format, which works well at a rally where there are a lot of very experienced people but the number of attendees at a seminar is not too large.
The Love Bus. Groovy.
The “official” open house was today from 10 AM – noon, but many attendees have had their buses open to visitors since they got here. Linda and I decided not to open our coach because of the cats, who are very stressed by strangers in their home. We visited a few coaches including the Ultravan, the Love Bus, the Cool Cruiser, and two gorgeous trailers–a Spartan belonging to the Bone’s, and an airstream belonging to the Hunt’s—both with highly polished aluminum exteriors.
A vintage Airstream trailer and tow vehicle.
The “Old Hounds” group met for lunch at the Wolfert’s bus, so I stopped by there to get a few photographs. After we had our own lunch, I attended the 1:30 PM seminar; a presentation by John Hunt of Tin Can Tourists titled “Home on the Road.” John had researched and prepared an excellent presentation on how American’s took to the road in automobiles over the last 100 years. The emphasis was on the evolution of where they stayed: think primitive roadside camping (the original boondocking) through the development of various kinds of campgrounds, cabin camps and eventually motels. John’s delivery was very good.
The “Old Hounds” lunch meeting.
The South East Bus Nuts were having a mid-afternoon meeting so I stopped by to take a few photographs. Linda and MaryAnn went to play bingo and had a great time. Bob Ernst was the caller, one of his many volunteer duties at the rally. (Bob also takes care of the coffee all day, and was one of the golf cart drivers escorting buses to their sites.) While the ladies played bingo, I went back to the Iron Horse and spent a couple of hours with owners Jimmy and Sadie Clay. I took additional exterior photos and interviewed them about the conversion project.
Tin Can Tourists, L to R: Hunt Jones, Margaret Way (of Arcadia), & Forrest Bone. Margaret’s parents were original TCTs.
We went over to the activities building with Bill and Karen for dinner around 5:30 PM. As promised, Brenda Phelan had prepared salads for us. We had hoped we might be able to have some corn, but after grilling it (yum) they put it in pans with butter (yuck). The only other thing they had that we could eat was bread, so we each took a piece.
The South East Bus Nuts afternoon meeting.
Dinner was followed by door prizes followed by a break before the evening entertainment started. I used that opportunity to return to the coach and process some photographs. I went back for the evening entertainment where Linda, Bill, Karen, Mike, and Kathy had held on to our table near the front. Normally we don’t sit up front, especially for bands, but tonight was Sally Langwah and her husband, Roy. They did a “Nashville impersonation” show in which Roy did Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley songs while Sally did a range of famous country female singers including Dolly Parton and Patsy Kline. She changed into a different/appropriate outfit for each singer.
Sally Langwah leads a line dance.
Sally and Roy were very entertaining. They both interacted with the audience, who played along wonderfully, and their show lasted about 90 minutes. After their show they provided another hour of music for dancing. Linda and Karen learned a couple of line dances, and Linda and I got up for a few slow numbers (that’s the best I can/will do). Although the crowd thinned as time went on, there were still 30 people there at the end having a great time. Sally and Roy have already been invited back for next year’s rally.
