15 Years Of Memories - Rallies from 2000 to 2003

[Madame Boomer]

WE'RE CELEBRATING 15 YEARS!

a monumental accomplishment

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION


Irv2.com, a website for RV’ers started in January of 2000, was the instigating force behind the organization of the TEXAS BOOMERS. The website encourages participants to share their favorite RVing stories, ask questions and obtain answers to common problems with their various RV’s and it is a great way to get people together online who enjoy the same things. Since its formation, the website has become one of the foremost Rving websites with 100,000+ registered members. From the start, folks from all over the country have formed groups in their various states or combination of states to get together at Rallies whenever possible.

Cathy Jo, of Beaumont, logged onto the website shortly after it was formed and became immersed in meeting new people all across Texas. She organized the TEXAS BOOMERS RV CLUB and planned their first rally in the summer of 2000. Four couples gathered at Sea Rim State Park for a weekend of fun.Following that rally, she organized another rally in Kerrville for October of 2000. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to attend and her return to a writing career and family matters prevented her from being as active in the group as she had hoped to be.

At the October 2000 Rally in Kerrville, four new couples gathered for the first time.
Rusty and Sandy Creekmore Ken and Susan Wilson
Jim and Kitty Gardner Marc and Marcia Budge
and quickly decided that Cathie Jo’s goal of building a TEXAS BOOMER group would not be forgotten. Sandy Creekmore took on the challenge (with Cathie Jo’s blessing) of organizing the group and began planning future rallies.


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We hail from all over our great state
Houston San Antonio Austin Ft Worth Dallas
Killeen Streetman Cedar Park Copperas Cove Wills Point
Wharton Arlington Carrollon LaPorte Buda Haslet
Lampasas Waco Tomball Liberty San Angelo Big Spring Dickinson
Missouri City The Woodlands Cypress Garden Ridge
Lumberton Gardland Schertz Beaumont Pearland Caldwell
League City Point Blank Mansfield Harker Heights
Richmond Deer Park Santa Fe Liberty Hill Victoria
Flower Mound Bay City New Braunfels Spring Branch
College Station Conroe Frankston Alvin Salado Texas City
Manvel Crosby Temple Grand Prairie McKinney Katy Richards
Jarrell Kingwood Burleson Round Rock Adkins Giddings
Hawkins New Caney Devine Gilmer Oak Ridge Red oak
Deer Park Rockwall Sugarland Del Rio Seabrook
Bellville Georgetown Beaumont Hockley Porter
Humble Keller Garland Sherman Helotes Briggs
Brazoria Wimberley Cat Springs and Pipe Creek
...just to name a few...

mmm

We also have members who hail from

the great states of Oklahoma, Missouri and North Dakota

as well as "across the pond" in Denmark!!!

mmm
LIFE IS SWEET WHEN

THE TEXAS BOOMERS MEET!

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[Madame Boomer]

OCTOBER 2000 RALLY

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Rusty Creekmore

Kitty and Jim Gardner

Marc and Marcia Budge

Ken Wilson

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[Madame Boomer]

February 2001 - Bastrop State Park
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Rusty and Sandy Creekmore Ken and Susan Wilson

Jim and Kitty Gardner and welcomed newbies Steve and Evelyn Simmons

headed to Bastrop State Park
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What had been a wonderful, bright sunny weekend turned VERY COLD and dreary overnight! We nearly froze to death!

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All of us were going to cook chili by the campfire, but it turned so cold we all ended up in our RV to serve up the supper!

[Madame Boomer]

Easter Rally - Shertz, Texas

April 2001
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Attended by

Howard and Sue Bradford with Sierra

Rusty and Sandy Creekmore with Brittany and Bandit

Jim and Kitty Gardner with Freckles

Bill and Myra Marshall with Tangie

Jim, Pam and Mary Pruitt with Tonka

Steve and Evelyn Simmons with Lucy and Desi

Ken and Susan Wilson with Teddy and the birds, Frosty and Kellie

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THE BIRTH OF OUR BELOVED PINK FLAMINGOS

HAPPENED HERE

(it's a long story, but well worth it to read how an "unlikely" mascot was born!)

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The first indication of how the beloved pink flamingo would soon become our mascot and motto was at our first Christmas Rally White Elephant Exchange in December 2000. Four couples gathered at Galveston to celebrate the holiday season. After our rally supper, we began our gift exchange and wouldn’t you know it…someone dared to bring a set of pink flamingos! Little did we realize they would be the hit of the Christmas party! We fought valiantly over that pair of birds, but alas they ended up in the hands of a couple who would be traversing the country as fulltimers! We received many emails of their adventures and everywhere they went, they were photographed in fabulous, exotic places!
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Three months later, eight couples gathered at our first Easter Rally at an RV Park east of San Antonio. It “just so happened” that a Motorhome Group was at the same park at the same time. They were of the “very high dollar" persuasion and it quickly became very apparent by their actions that we were NOT in their class! All our attempts to be polite and friendly went on deaf ears and upturned noses.
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One afternoon, a couple in our group was out walking their pet when they overheard the other group talking about the “trailer trash that was having a rally at the same park!”. Without a doubt, they were talking about US!
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Later that night, as we gathered around a rig to visit with one another, the topic of “trailer trash” was brought up. We all discussed the various definitions of that word and the question was posed…”what is the tackiest thing that truly depicted what trailer trash was?” We all chimed in, at the same time, that it could be none other than having a pink flamingo in our yard!
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The next morning, the Motorhome Group left the park……in shambles. They allowed their pets in the swimming pool and rally building. Residue (of the four legged furry kind) was all over the place. Their sites were a muddy mess as they all got up and washed their rigs before leaving the park (which was against the park rules), but that didn’t matter…they were of the "high dollar" persuasion….you know!
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Unfortunately, the Texas Boomers got blamed for it though! The rest of the day was spent on a recognizance mission – we were “cited” for everything imaginable and unimaginable by the park owners.
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THE IDEA WAS BIRTHED!

That did it! We decided if we were going to be called “trailer trash” and be blamed for every infraction caused by the other group, we would show them what true trailer trash was! The ladies headed to Garden Ridge that afternoon to buy our pink birds!

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Since then, the flamingo has become our status symbol - we take pride in what we have regardless of the price tag attached. We work hard and make sacrifices to get our rigs and take care of them as long as we have them!
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And those pink birds have become our statement as well – we are NOT an exclusive RV Group as many are. It doesn’t matter whether you have a Travel Trailer, pop-up, 5ver or a "high dollar" Motorhome – you are welcome with a friendly handshake by the Texas Boomers!
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What matters the most is being a part of a great group of people, making new friends across the state and enjoying a rally filled with fun and laughter as often as possible.
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Wherever we go, our pink birds follow and they are proudly displayed in front of our rigs. They draw a lot of attention! The story is told far and wide and we continue to grow by leaps and bounds because people see that we are good, honest folks...just like them. If that makes the Texas Boomers "Trailer Trash", then we're proud to be called that any day!

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[TXiceman]

Sandy, we are looking forward to a great 15th anniversary rally. Thanks for being the driving force behind this great group and all of the rallies.

Ken and Susan.

[Madame Boomer]

Memorial Day Rally 2001

Riverview RV Campground

in Waco, Texas

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ahhh....the good life.....for a day!
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7 rigs gathered at this quaint, rustic campground just south of Waco for a weekend of fun and festivity!

We enjoyed cooking our meals outdoors and spent the day basking in the warm May weather
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It was wonderful....until it started raining!
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BREAKFAST IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM

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Just as we all gathered outside the rigs to start breakfast, the heavens opened up and it began to rain buckets!
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I went to the office to see if we could use the on site rally building but was told because we had so few rigs in our rally group that she would have to charge us $75 for a hours use of the facility. No way!
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I guess she felt sorry for us because she offered us free use of the laundry room so we could finish preparing our breakfast and eat it in the luxury of a dry accommodation.
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The laundry room had 3 small rooms - maybe 10 x 15 ft total square feet!

Really!
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Rob Nixon did the cooking in the "folding" area

Only 2-3 people at a time could eat their breakfast in the "waiting" area

so all 14 of us had to take turns having our breakfast!

Clean Up was a breeze! We took our plates to the only water in the building! Opened up the washing machine, turned the machine on and rinsed our dishes!
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We survived and had a blast!!!
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[Madame Boomer]

Labor Day Rally - 2001

50's Theme at Country Place RV Park

Cut 'n' Shoot, Texas

We braved the prediction of heavy rains and ended up having a fabulous rally

despite the weather! Country Place is a nice, quaint park with a rustic atmosphere in the country just west of I-45 near Conroe, Texas.
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The Case of the Missing Birds

We awoke Sunday morning to the biggest mystery! During the night, five sets of our beloved mascots had disappeared without a trace.
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We searched high and low for those birds

behind every bush, up in every tree...around every rock!
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We even rushed over to the swimming pool to see if they'd made their way there for a morning dip....alas no flamingoes anywhere in site!
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Madame Boomer was distraught - our birds had vanished into thin air!

Unbeknownst to us, JERRY GROVES got up early (5:30 am) and rounded up all the birds we'd put in front of his rv the night before as a practical joke

and hid them all from us!
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We searched high and low the entire day....no one ever thought to look in the back of the Creekmores truck for our feathered friends!
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thanks Jerry!
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We were all happy to get our birds back!!!!!


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[Madame Boomer]

October 2001 Harvest Fest Rally

Boone RV Park in Lampasas

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Creekmores Wilsons Gardners Shields and two Simmons Families

were welcomed with a fruit basket from the park personnel

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Our Very First Garbage Can Dinner

Them: Are you sure we're supposed to put all this into one pot?

Me: Yes, trust me!

Them: okay, it's all in the pot! Are you sure we only put 2 inches of water in the bottom of that pot?

Me: Yes, trust me!

Them: Are you sure this is going to work?

Me: Yes! Trust me! I've done this 100 times already and never had a failure!!

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the ladies peeled onions and potatoes, snapped green beans, chunked up ham and sausage, shucked fresh ears of corn, shredded cabbage and cut up carrots. We filled the pot and took it to the "far" that Steve Simmons had ready for us!

2 inches of water and 1 hr & 20 minutes later

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Trust me! It works!

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This began the tradition of serving up the

Garbage Can Dinner every year in October!

[Madame Boomer]

Christmas Rally 2001

at Roadrunner RV Park in Johnson City

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Jerry is not happy with the "birds" Janell got for her birthday!

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Friday Night supper run to the infamous "Bluebonnet Café" in Marble Falls

Rusty and Sandy Creekmore - Ken and Susan Wilson - Jim and Kitty Gardner

Bob and Diane Berner - Jerry and Janell Groves - Jerry and Teresa Hall

Rob, Llana and Caitlin Nixon - Steve and Evelyn Simmons

Dennis and Maryjeanne Waterbeck

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Caitlin on top of the rig hanging lights for the first

Rig Decorating Contest

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Susan loves the weird doggie clock she got in the Gift Exchange

Ken ....not so in love with it!!!

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[Madame Boomer]

Memorial Day Rally 2002 at Waco, Texas

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Our attempts to find a suitable RV Park in Waco has not been successful thus far! I-35 RV Park north of town proved

to be an experience as we gathered in

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THE PADDED ROOM

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The floors and the walls in the rally hall were carpeted!

I'm sure it was to keep the noise level down in the small room

but....oh my...we knew at any moment

"they" were coming to take us away, oh yes

coming to take us away!

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[Madame Boomer]

Kickin' Up Our Heels at the

LABOR DAY RALLY in Sequin 2002

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Bob and Diane Berner having fun at Karaoke

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Glen Morgan, Diane Berner,...Jurhee Ivy, Jerry Anderson

Myra Marshall, Jerry Hall and Joanne Quick

kickin' up their heels in a line dance

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[Madame Boomer]

OCTOBER RALLY 2002

Guadalupe River RV Resort in Kerrville, Texas

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We arrived and decorated in the spirit of the event!

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apparently the witch wasn't watching where she was flying!


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two flamingoes joining in the fun


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OUR FIRST PRANK

Ed and Sharon, originally from upstate New York, came in late one night well after dark.
We lined their site with Christmas lights which helped to guide them

into their slot safely.
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However....another surprise awaited them!

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Sharon, being from "up north", insisted that we put rutabagas in the

annual garbage can dinner meal that was planned for the weekend.

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Several ladies headed to the closest Walmart and purchased a boat load

of rutabagas...which we systematically suspended from a tree in their site!

Floating ghosts were made by draping a white napkin over the rutabaga


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What a laugh we had

and those rutabagas DID NOT make it into the

Garbage Can Dinner

[Madame Boomer]

December 2002 Christmas Rally
at Belton KOA in Belton, Texas
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12 rigs welcomed 4 new rigs for our 3rd annual Christmas Rally at this small rv park in Belton, Texas. It, indeed, was a challenge to get our rigs situated amongst the giant trees, but we managed to get them all in without incident.....and had a wonderful weekend!
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The rally hall was nice and large although it had a VERY unique feature!
There was a huge round fire pit right in the middle of the room!
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Of course we decorated for the holiday incorporating our ever growing
flock of pink birds!
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Diane and Bob Berner are the proud recipients of a new Christmas doormat.
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A very large, rather interesting wrapped box, graced the gift table and everyone fought over it. It was stolen more than the allotted three times for sure!
Miss Kitty wanted it so badly and she wrangled her steals to make sure she ended up with that box! Boy was she in for the shock of her life!
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Wonder what ever happened to the oversized, overstuffed fish pillow?
Never saw it again after this rally
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[jwomack]

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