Saturday (April 5th) - The 2008 Chapter 400 Spring rally commenced today at the 4 o'clock in the Anchors Aweigh RV Resort in Foley, AL.  Pete welcomed everyone and introduced our rally hosts Tommy & Doris Pritchard and John & Alice Duhe.  There are 29 rigs on site with 4 first-time couples.  Rally attendees:  Pete & Nancy Armitage, Buddy & Shirley Barbe, Bob & Shirley Bishop, Ed & Bev Boehm, Bob & Dot Bragg, John & Carole Burnham, Art & Kathy Conway, David & Joanne Delamater/White, John & Alice Duhe, Jim & Marge Eckles, Carl & Val Farley, Ernie & Judy Finch, Les & Ingrid Foster, Ralph & Carol Hattery, James & Ginny Hoffmann,  Ben & Marissa Issacs, Tom & Mary Lou Janis, Bill & Peg Jones, Mark & Carol Kinderdine, Ed & Kaye Lee, Fay Levine, Glen & Flower MacMillen, John & Darla Miller, Dean & Winnie Murphy, Tommy & Doris Pritchard, Lyle & Karen Prockish, Jim & Pat Reed, Bob & Marie Smith, and Doug & Judy Trumbull.

After announcements and the first timer ribbons were presented, Bob Smith showed the Oscar he was awarded at the Southwest Sunshine Rally.  He said the award should be shared with Judy Finch - reasoning: the award was for the category of "longest hair on a male" - and his hair is that length because Judy hasn't been around to cut it.

At 5 o'clock pizza was delivered and then at 7 o'clock all gathered to play "Card Bingo".  Afterwards, the hardcore card players continued to play various card games.  TOP

Sunday (April 6th) - The day was a fairly quiet one.  Judy Finch had her beauty parlor going in the morning.  At the 4 o'clock, Past State Manager, John Burnham, swore in two Chapter 400 officers, Shirley Barbe as Director, and Judy Finch as Vice-President.  Neither officer was able to be present for the normal swearing in at the 2007 Pre-Rally.  After some announcements, we all rode a short distance down the road for dinner at Lamberts.  If you have never been to a Lamberts, you might wish to try one for a fun dining experience.  Their claim to fame is "throwed" rolls.  You want a dinner roll?  The waiter will throw you one - clear across the room.  Their staff also had plenty of gags like spilled drinks, squirting ketchup bottles, raccoons, mice, etc.  A truly fun time and great food too!

Following dinner at 7:00 PM, many met in the recreation room for various games.  TOP

Monday (April 7th) - The organized event for the day was a tour of the Bellingrath Gardens and Home located in Theodore, AL.  We departed at 9:00 AM for the approximate 60 mile drive to the gardens.  The Bellingrath's earned their sizeable fortune first through a franchise to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in 1903, but quickly expanded into other ventures.  The property started out as a fishing camp in 1917, and grew into a 65 acre estate with a 15 room "fishing cabin".  In addition to the tours of the grounds and home, we enjoyed an entertaining and informative river boat cruise on the Foul River.

At the 4 o'clock, we were treated to wine, beer beer, soda and cheese courtesy of Bella Terra - a luxury RV resort community being built not far from Anchors Aweigh.  I didn't notice too many of our members with their checkbooks out though.  At 7:00 PM, members gathered for their nightly game session.  TOP

Tuesday (April 8th) - While some of the group arose at the crack of dawn to journey to Pensacola, FL to watch the Navy's Blue Angels practice, others arose at a more reasonable hour and drove to see the Foley Alabama Railroad Museum Model Train exhibit located right in downtown Foley.  This is a fantastic "O" gauge model train layout consisting of 84 freight cars, 50 passenger coaches, an assortment of engines - all traveling over 1/4 miles of track.  The entire layout was donated to the city of Foley.   It is quite an operation and the M/C was most informative and entertaining.  After viewing the trains and watching a video, we walked down the street to an old fashioned ice cream parlor.

The 4 o'clock was short but not without significance.  Marissa Isaacs was presented with a card and a small American Flag in honor of her receiving her United States citizenship - Congratulations Marissa!!!  The 4 o'clock was cut short so most of us could travel a short distance to Lulu's Seafood Restaurant (Lulu is Jimmy Buffet's sister).  The reason for leaving early was so we wouldn't have to wait for a table.  Evidently quite a few people had the same idea.  We had a great dinner including live entertainment.

At 7:00 pm, - well you know!  TOP

Wednesday (April 9th) - Today was the day for the ladies Red Hat luncheon.  After gathering for pictures, they headed out to Jesse's, a gourmet restaurant not far from the RV resort.  Fay Levine recited the Red Hat poem and Judy Finch read some interesting and humorous items to the group.  Word is that the lunches were delicious.  So they would not be bored, the guys went out to the "library" - a seafood restaurant a short drive south.  Both groups had a great time.

At the 4 o'clock, Alice Duhe brought out her famous margaritas for all to share.  Art Conway gave an explanation of the upcoming television changes from analog to digital transmission and the affect it will have on Rvers.  Evidently, those who have older style televisions will still be able to view television through the use of a converter box.  This change only affects the reception of off-air signals - using the antenna - and does not affect either cable or satellite reception.  Before and after the 4 o'clock, the game tables were going strong.  TOP

Thursday (April 10th) - The rally officially came to a close at the 4 o'clock.  Pete presented Certificates of Appreciation to Tommy & Doris Pritchard and John & Alice Duhe for their efforts in organizing and coordination the 2008 Chapter 400 Spring Rally.  Following the closing, we all joined in a pot luck dinner.  As usual, the ladies outdid themselves with delicious dishes to share.  Everyone got together at poolside for a group picture which was uploaded to the Chapter 400 Yahoo! Group.  Then the cards and games came out once more to enjoy our final rally night before we all start heading in our different directions.  TOP