Anniversaries, Brides and Birds

[ronmarabito2002]

Terrific memories Ralph. I doubt you will ever meet anyone you
couldn't call a friend. Happy Anniversary to you and Charolette.

Ron and Shirley, Dallas, TX 92WB40


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ralph L. Fullenwider"
wrote:
> Good Monday morning to everyone:
>
> Today is Charolette and my 20th anniversary, does not seem that
long ago to
> me. My bride of 20 years, patiently puts up with my antics,
ravings and a
> yen for Bluebirds. Over the years, she has learned to place the
toad in
> perfect position for the 1 minute hook up, then the light check
and roll
> check then bouncing into the Coach with a smile and off we go.
There has
> been threads about first trips to the Birds Nest in Ga. and ours
is not
> much different really. In fact we did not even know it existed
when we
> first rolled up and parked out front of the offices way back when.
The out
> the door we went, and the very first person we met was Brenda
Rodgers.
> After small talk and the usual out line about a tour and such, we
were
> asked if we were staying in Birds Nest for a couple of days. My
bride
> looked at me and I at her, not having a clue as to what Brenda was
talking
> about, I calmly said, "well I guess so, where is it and what are
the rates
> per day?" Brenda just smiled and said the entrance is around the
side of
> the factory and there are no charges for the stay. Well now, that
hit our
> pocket book just right as we were on the tail end of our very
first trip in
> the Coach of 6,000 miles. So back into the coach we bounced and
headed off
> to find the entrance to this birds Nest. Driving to the side of
the
> Factory, neither Charolette or I saw a campground entrance that we
had come
> to be accustomed to. Only the employee parking lot was spied, so
we thought
> it might be a little further down the road. Yep, we drove around
that
> factory facility 2 times before my saying the heck with it and
pulled into
> the parking lot to ask the guard about this Birds Nest place. As
we pulled
> in, the guard smiled and pointed down the left hand side of the
fence and
> off we went, still looking for the place. As we made a left
through the
> fence we drove into a beautiful lower part of the Birds Nest and
then
> through the mid gate with the sign over head that said "Birds
Nest," and
> starting to feel warm and fuzzy about it all, we found a parking
spot and
> set up. WOW, we both thought, they must cut the grass by hand and
manicure
> the trees, it was a 5 star park for sure! And this happened to be
on
> another of our anniversaries to boot. Off to the club house we
went to look
> around and met some of the few people that were staying there at
the time.
> A little later Brenda drove by, stopped to ask if everything was
ok and
> mentioned that is was ok to wash our Coach if we liked. She, the
Coach, was
> dirty for sure, but this being our first trip, we did not have a
brush or
> things to get the job done. Next thing I know here comes a couple
of guys,
> fellow owners staying there, brushes in hand, buckets swinging and
smiles
> from side to side asking,
> " you have any beer?" of course it took only a shake of the lambs
tail to
> get that taken care of and the washing began.
>
> Mind you, we were not the first owners of this fantastic Coach
called a
> Wanderlodge and she was older being an '85 and here were new
Coaches all
> around. But the smiles and Bird talk put my bride and I at ease.
That
> evening, out came the wine and glasses filled all around, toasts
were made,
> smiles and hands offered, now that is an anniversary that
Charolette and I
> will never forget. We have been blessed with all the friends met,
camp
> fires shared, trouble with systems in the Coaches talked about and
fixed
> and always the helping hand when needed.
>
> Bottom line to all this, Charolette and I wish to thank you all,
for the
> memories on this our 20th Anniversary, though temporarily Bird
less, we are
> Birders to the core and it is the people on this forum whom are
very
> precious and dear to our hearts.
>
> Safe travels,
>
> Ralph and Charolette Fullenwider
> Ralph's RV Solutions, Duncan, Oklahoma
> http://home.swbell.net/rlf47/index.htm