Busy Week

We just completed three and a half fun filled days attending a Monaco Come Home Rally (22nd through the 25th) which was held at the State Fair Grounds here in Salem. Folks were allowed to arrive one day before the event took place, so we moved our coach to the fair grounds on Sunday (21st) morning. It was amazing how many others had the same idea. The entire north end of the parking area was full of coaches being staged and readied for parking. We got in line, and after an hour of waiting, were finally able to choose where we wanted to park. It cost us an extra $10 to come in one day early, but if we wanted electric and pavement parking, it was going to be another $90. Well, Ken did not want to park on grass (especially since rain was in the forecast), so he opted for the full charge and got us placed in the electric site. It was really nice because we had full power and no generator noise or fuel smell from our neighbors.

We have attended many of Monaco’s Rally’s, but this is our first that included all of their coach brands (Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Beaver, and Safari). Actually, this is the third “Western Family” (multi-brand ) rally that Monaco has held, but during the first two, we were in Alaska and couldn’t attend. We heard there were just over 500 coaches in attendance, which is very small considering the four makes of coaches involved. It is not surprising due to the cost of fuel and how far many have to travel to attend. We probably wouldn’t have taken the coach in, but we wanted a door arm replaced and a bay door adjusted, so with the “free” labor, we couldn’t resist.



Monaco always puts on a grand party because they have their new coaches on display and want people in the grand frame of mind to buy, buy, and buy. The new coaches are gorgeous, but also have a huge sticker price. We were very interested in a Beaver Patriot Thunder, but the one we liked wasn’t on display and we didn’t want to get excited about something we couldn’t actually see…. Besides, the base price started at $435,000 and then the options were tacked on top of that (yikes). We controlled our urges and decided to just look and enjoy our “old” 2002 Dynasty.

There is always a theme for the Monaco “party,” and this year’s theme was a Masquerade Ball. The three day “event” included catered breakfast and dinner, plus an all you can drink Cocktail Hour and all you can eat Salad Bar each evening before dinner. On top of that, the “sponsors/dealers” held their own parties: A Wine & Cheese Social, a Keg Party, and a Champagne Social. Again, it was an all you can drink (and eat) period which were designed to impress and encourage you to buy. We did find out there were 18 coaches sold (new and used).

After dinner was the entertainment. On Tuesday, we saw Bob Anderson: “The Dean of Impressionists,” who impersonated Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Steve Lawrence, and many more. Wednesday was Jimmy Travis: Comedian, Singer, & Songwriter (he was fantastic), and on the last evening (Thurs) was the Four Preps. What can I say about them? Golly Gee, they are from my teenage/young adult era and were great!! We were seated center stage third table back during each show and had a ton of fun….even got some dancing in (grin).

Of course, the rally schedule was packed full of interesting classes, and informative seminars which were put on by the usual vendors, suppliers, and Monaco staff. There was even a pet parade which we missed because we don’t have a pet and were doing something else at the time. So many things were going on from 7 am till 9 pm and everyone was having a blast.

Our next big adventure is to take our "old" coach and revamp the front cabinets and replace the old TV with a new 37" LCD TV. Also, the rear TV will be replaced with a new 26" LCD TV. Sure going to make a huge difference!

Sorry for not having more pictures for this posting, but again we forgot the camera. The only two pics I took were with my iPhone. Check back in a week, and I will post pictures of the before and after work on the coach.