We had not had the bus on the road since Arcadia in January or since I replaced the front brake pads in April. We had been planning to attend the Palmetto Cove rally last month, but a new job and perfect storm of issues, mostly involving the house that I am building, all came up that week and we had to cancel at the last minute. This week I again had lot of paperwork issues in-work, but I had no subcontractors working and there was even a bit of a lull in my job so we figured sure, why not go to the Bus-nut Gathering 2011 in Fayetteville NC.
The Fayetteville rally in 2010 was the first rally we ever attended so we knew the people and knew it would be a relaxing weekend so we went ahead with it. There were a minimal number of things to do to the bus to get it ready. All I had to do was to check the tires and oil and de-winterize the fresh water system and we would be ready to go. Flora had the week off and did all the packing and food preparation so about all I had to do was throw my clothes in a bag and drive, which was great because the day before we left I worked about 16 hours and then went to a birthday party that started at 10 PM; so I was not in great shape to do much else when I got up the next morning.
The KOA campground in Fayetteville is only about an hour and a half away so we cruised on down with no issues at all. The bus purred like she always does and the new brakes felt about the same as the old ones. Traffic was light and I used my old ploy of driving a few miles under the posted speed limit (I consider 64 MPH to be a maximum speed in the bus) and letting the traffic flow around me; this takes discipline on my part but always results in a less stressful drive. We spend the weekend relaxing (which we both needed), hanging with nice people and swapping lies and tales of past bus trips, and we ate far too much good food - aren't those the things that bus rallies are supposed to be about? Our thanks to Gene and Frances for organizing it all yet one more time and we look forward the the Gathering 2012, same time next year!.
