The Carolina LTVers Spring Rally was held at Camp Margaritaville in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and in attendance were 45 rigs. In addition to North and South Carolina attendees, we had owners attend from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. We had Wonders, Serenitys, and Unitys with model years spanning from 2014 to 2023! We also had all experience levels of owners, from people on their first RV trip to tenured LTV owners.
Camp Margaritaville is a tourist’s heaven and home to Dollywood. It is also close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Camp Margaritaville resort offered several amenities, including a pool, a lazy river, an arcade, duck bowling, a billiards room, corn hole, pickleball courts, and a restaurant. The resort was within walking distance of several restaurants and had a trolley service to take you to the main trolley station. Depending on where you were going, the trolley was either a quick trip (i.e. to Dollywood with no stops) or a long ride to go 5 miles (with stops every few blocks). It took us an hour to go 3 miles from the park and an hour and a half to get back to the campground.
Due to all the nearby attractions, our agenda was limited. We were all located in the same loop in the RV Park, so most attendees took advantage of walking around and talking to their neighbors. We had a pavilion in our loop where we held the opening session and BYO breakfast meeting. It also had a beautiful view of the mountains and impressive sunsets. We had an opening session on Monday evening to review the limited agenda and do introductions. We also had a group dinner on Tuesday, a continental breakfast on Wednesday, and a Q&A session on Wednesday afternoon.
We could not have asked for better weather, with the upper 70s and low 80s during the day and 50s at night. Our attendees did various activities, from floating down the lazy river, going to Dollywood, attending shows, riding bikes to Pigeon Forge, hiking, sightseeing, and biking in the National Park.
Cades Cove is closed to automobile traffic on Wednesdays, so it is a great time to ride bikes. Parking can be an issue there, so you have to go early. We were told that starting June 1st, a shuttle from the trolley station will take you and your bike there for a fee. Traffic can be very slow in the National Park, especially when bears are out.
The Pickleball courts were also popular in the mornings, with both players and curious onlookers. We even had a few first-timers on the courts! With the sport’s popularity growing quickly, it’s another necessity to put in the rig.
Victoria Bouldin facilitated the Q&A session and was well-attended. Every one of the 80-plus seats was taken. The topics of discussion included whether to change to lithium batteries, how to make your rig feel like a home away from home, pets on the road, and trip planning. Victoria also put together a nice list of resources for LTVers.
We are lucky to have so many nice owners attend this Rally. We reconnected with friends from our past Rallies and met new owners attending their first Rally and the first Carolina LTVers Rally. Many owners commented they liked the casual atmosphere of this Rally and learned many things from fellow owners.
Enjoy this video of the Rally.
Written by: Jerry and Debbie Stephens
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