Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, MN. And we were there. Actually we arrived on Sunday, two days prior to the start of the rally. They set us up in the dry camping area in Lot 56, just south of the Warner Coliseum. Dry camping means that we have no hook-ups. It was pretty hot, and so we had to run the generator to power the air conditioners to keep Matilda cool. We were also parked near the caravan area where many of the folks from Safari International were parked. Safari International sends a truck full of adult beverages to FMCA conventions. The tailgate becomes an open bar for SI members each afternoon. Sweet. Country Coach International could learn something from Safari International.There was an extremely full calendar of events, with seminars and presentations going on in 14 seminar rooms, non-stop for three days. We attended seminars on Cummins engines, Allison transmissions, refrigerators, hydronic heating systems, pet training, "cooking on the go", braking systems, various computer topics, crafts and many, many more. There really was not enough time and energy to do and see everything we wanted to do and see. There was also daytime entertainment and evening entertainment, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Gary Puckett. Additionally there were hundreds of display coaches and hundreds of vendors selling parts and accessories. I dropped several hundred dollars on fuel filters and oil filters and hard-to-find synthetic transmission oil. We also bought a few nifty accessories and scored some free parts from the companies that built some of the systems in our coach.
The convention was not as well attended as expected, probably due to fuel prices and other economic woes. The final coach count was 3078, which includes display and vendor coaches. This is the lowest attendance at an FMCA international convention since 1990. Still, there were a lot of folks there. The Country Coach Veranda seemed to be a hit. Folks had a wide range of opinions about it, but everyone wanted to see it.
We enjoyed the convention, but didn't
get to do everything we wanted to do. My biggest regret is that we had no time to explore the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, which has many interesting sights. Our only off-site excursion was to the Mall of America, "the nation's largest retail and entertainment complex". A brochure claimed that the Mall of America had more visitors than Walt Disney World and the Grand Canyon combined. I find that hard to believe, but can understand how Minnesotans, afflicted with severe cabin fever in February, would flock to this huge complex, complete with indoor parking, an amusement park and aquarium. We spent about three hours there and didn't nearly see it all.When we left St. Paul today, we had hoped to get into the campground at St. Croix State Park, about 75 miles north of the Twin Cites. They were full up for the weekend however, so we looked at the Grand Casino Hinckley, which is said to have a nice RV park. They too were booked solid, because Willie Nelson is playing there tonight, but let us stay in their overflow lot tonight and will put us on a regular site on Saturday.
Whew! This rally marathon has been hard work! We have been attending rallies since July 1, with practically no break. But now we are done with the rallies. We are looking forward to doing nothing for several days. Then we will spend some time digesting and transcribing our rally notes and literature.
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