RV club cruises together to rally

BROOKSVILLE -- The club met behind Big Lots on State Road 50 and U.S. 41 for its reunion Tuesday afternoon.

The location near the trash bins was short on scenery, but one can't be picky about meeting places when members all drive recreational vehicles the size of city buses.

The atmosphere didn't seem to faze the old friends, who hail from Kentucky, Indiana or Ohio. They parked their eight leviathans next to one another, then climbed down and gathered in a cluster to catch up as they waited for three late members to arrive.

A police escort was due at 2 p.m. to stop traffic on U.S. 41 so that the 11 recreational vehicles of the Kentuckiana Travelers RV club could pull out on the road as one line.

The group's members have gathered behind the shopping center for four years in a row so that together they could finish their journey to the Florida Motor Coach Association's Southeast Area Rally at the Hernando County Airport.

If they arrive at the event together, they get to park next to one another at the airport. And togetherness is a big part of the annual rally.

"You just won't find better people" than RV people, said Beverly Wyman, president of the Kentuckiana Travelers.

By today, roughly 2,000 of the elaborate homes on wheels are scheduled to be parked along two of the airport's runways.

Although the event officially kicks off today and ends Sunday morning, its organizers -- and their motor homes -- began threading their way through Brooksville's construction-related traffic jams last week.

In addition to visiting with one another, rally attendees can lust after the newest motor coaches on the market, shop for motor home accessories and attend seminars on everything from motor home care to recognizing real diamonds and gold. Entertainment is scheduled throughout the event.

Members of the general public can stop by the rally even if their biggest car fits nicely into a standard parking space. For $4 per person, they can visit vendors' tents and the new motor homes on display from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Saturday. The seminars and nighttime entertainment are for rally attendees only.

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