Oysterfest 2011

[kenrobertson]

Hi Michael - Just a note......You have my vote for a permanent position as activities director for all future POG events...... Job well done! See you around noon Thur. with some new friends that you will all enjoy getting to know, Lee and Doug Cox. BTW - Keep me down for 2 dozen, I wasn't going to share them with Melodie.

[michaeldterry]

Hi Michael - Just a note......You have my vote for a permanent position as activities director for all future POG events...... Job well done! See you around noon Thur. with some new friends that you will all enjoy getting to know, Lee and Doug Cox. BTW - Keep me down for 2 dozen, I wasn't going to share them with Melodie.

Ken - thanks for your kind vote of confidence, but apparently I'm not as good an activities director as you so kindly give me credit for! :p Let's see how severely Murphy's Law comes into play by the end of our little get together before lavishing the praise! Whatever happens, I am sure of two things - 1) we're going to have a grand time, and 2) the staff at Bella Terra will move heaven and earth to resolve any issues arising that threaten to put a damper on our fun and fellowship.

[Seabyrd]

Does anyone know a good park to stay in around Baton Rouge or Hammond... somewhere on I-10 or Loop 12 ... everything I have googled looked pretty rough or unpaved I should say...We usually stay in New Orleans but didn't want to drive down there just for one night.. we're coming from East Texas ... leaving Wednesday morning sometime ... planning on arriving at Bella Terra Thursday early evening ?? Any input would be appreciated... Thanks Larry & Diane

[michaeldterry]

Does anyone know a good park to stay in around Baton Rouge or Hammond... somewhere on I-10 or Loop 12 ... everything I have googled looked pretty rough or unpaved I should say...We usually stay in New Orleans but didn't want to drive down there just for one night.. we're coming from East Texas ... leaving Wednesday morning sometime ... planning on arriving at Bella Terra Thursday early evening ?? Any input would be appreciated... Thanks Larry & Diane

Larry - there's a KOA in Denham Springs that looks fairly decent for a quick overnight stay http://koa.com/campgrounds/baton-rouge/ or there's Lakeside RV Park in Livingston, LA off I-12 that looks okay http://www.lakeside-rvpark.com/default.asp (looks like paved roads/pads and has pull-throughs). It's 225 miles from Denham Springs, LA to Foley, AL, so you should be able to arrive at Bella Terra by noon or 1:00PM depending on how much beauty sleep you need! :p

[Seabyrd]

Ahhh... Thank you Michael... we will check those out... and thanks again for all your hard work.. I second what Ken just said !! Looking forward to meeting you and Vita.
Larry


Larry - there's a KOA in Denham Springs that looks fairly decent for a quick overnight stay http://koa.com/campgrounds/baton-rouge/ or there's Lakeside RV Park in Livingston, LA off I-12 that looks okay http://www.lakeside-rvpark.com/default.asp (looks like paved roads/pads and has pull-throughs). It's 225 miles from Denham Springs, LA to Foley, AL, so you should be able to arrive at Bella Terra by noon or 1:00PM depending on how much beauty sleep you need! :p

[phorner]

Does anyone know a good park to stay in around Baton Rouge or Hammond... somewhere on I-10 or Loop 12 ... everything I have googled looked pretty rough or unpaved I should say...We usually stay in New Orleans but didn't want to drive down there just for one night.. we're coming from East Texas ... leaving Wednesday morning sometime ... planning on arriving at Bella Terra Thursday early evening ?? Any input would be appreciated... Thanks Larry & Diane

There are a couple of good lots at Punkin' Park in Hammond, LA. Can be tight pulling into their driveway but I've done it more than once without incident.

[Jerry Winchester]

Larry,

We had a similar issue on the way over and just decided to stay at a rest area. I've stayed in Port Allen at an old Wal-Mart parking lot and at the aforementioned KOA, but it's pretty slim around BR. we have also stayed at the TA truck stop in Slidell.

Jerry

[SteveCooper]

What about that rest area about half way along the causeway over the Achafe...Atchafe...Achafela... the swamp?

[michaeldterry]

We're on I-285 leaving Atlanta headed for Bella Terra and a fabulous gathering of POG friends, old & new, for Oysterfest 2011! Vita is driving the first leg, the doggies are lounging happily, and I'm playing navigator (i.e. - backseat driver). As I was composing this post, Tara from Bella Terra called my cell phone just to check in and make sure all is well. She says that everyone at Bella Terra is excited/looking forward to meeting everyone in our group and she hopes that everyone will attend their St Patrick's Day party tomorrow evening! I know that some of you are already there and I hope you are enjoying yourselves at the wonderful Bella Terra resort. Vita and I plan to drive until we get tired, overnight in a Wal-Mart parking lot or truck stop, and then arrive at Bella Terra by noon Thursday. But knowing how we roll, it wouldn't surpise me too much to be rolling up to the Bella Terra front gates about midnight tonight! Either way - we can't wait to see/meet everyone tomorrow and enjoy a fantastic weekend of fun, good food, and fellowship!

[Seabyrd]

Jerry,

You are right about slim pickins around here.. we are at the KOA in Baton Rouge, got space #2 which was an easy pull thru space and surprisingly level !! so we are set up for the night..
The good thing is its only a couple of miles off the Interstate!
See everyone tomorrow and thanks to everyone for their input and help.

Larry




Larry,

We had a similar issue on the way over and just decided to stay at a rest area. I've stayed in Port Allen at an old Wal-Mart parking lot and at the aforementioned KOA, but it's pretty slim around BR. we have also stayed at the TA truck stop in Slidell.

Jerry

[michaeldterry]

It's 10:15PM local time and we just pulled into a rest area on I-65 South about 2 hours from Bella Terra. We get out to walk the dogs and the first thing I see is two beautiful Prevost conversions a few spaces down from us. I wander down to check for POG stickers/tags and discover that both buses are from TN. A POG sticker and a Jay Faires Music bumper sticker on one of the toads reveals that it must be Eric, Deb, & Jay Faires! I couldn't tell who the other one is, but we'll find out tomorrow. We're going to rest for an hour or two and then press on to Bella Terra.

[Seabyrd]

Thought about that one too as we drove over it.. I thought it might be pretty noisy down there.. Has anyone ever stayed there ????

Thanks for the thought.





What about that rest area about half way along the causeway over the Achafe...Atchafe...Achafela... the swamp?

[michaeldterry]

It's 2:36AM local time and we're parked at the front gate at Bella Terra! We'll be first in line to check in to our spot when the office opens later this morning! :cool:

[Seabyrd]

Michael
Good Driving! See you around noon Larry and Diane

[michaeldterry]

POGer's are arriving for Oysterfest and beginning to gather to catch up and renew friendships!

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Ken Robertson, Andre Ducote, Tuga's friend, Tuga Gaidry, and Michael Terry share a few moments of conversation prior to the Bella Terra St Patrick's Day party Thursday afternoon.

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Tuga Gaidry, Vita Terry, & Ann Ducote

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Michael & Vita Terry's '96 XLV Evangeline

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Ken Robertson brought a gorgeous 2007 H3-45 for it PDI cruise.

More pictures as the weekend progresses!

[bonhall41]

We're here but must be a mile away from everyone else. Anything going on tonight or are we on our own?

Bonnie

[phorner]

We're here but must be a mile away from everyone else. Anything going on tonight or are we on our own?

Bonnie

Bonnie,

We're all invited to the St. Patricks Day party here.... a lot of POGgers are going, us included.

Starts at 5:00 at the clubhouse....

[michaeldterry]

We're here but must be a mile away from everyone else. Anything going on tonight or are we on our own?

Bonnie

Bonnie - like Paul said - join us in the clubhouse for the St Patrick's Day party! We're headed that way right now!

[Seabyrd]

Bonnie..
Be sure to come to the Clubhouse..
Diane



We're here but must be a mile away from everyone else. Anything going on tonight or are we on our own?

Bonnie

[CAPT MOGUL & Sandy]

We have made great time today. In rest area tonight just west of Tallahassee. Ed plans on pulling out very early in am. Might make it for lunch. If any extra raw oysters, we will gladly eat them!
To bed now at 10:45pm. See u hopefully by noon!
Sandy & ed

[michaeldterry]

We have made great time today. In rest area tonight just west of Tallahassee. Ed plans on pulling out very early in am. Might make it for lunch. If any extra raw oysters, we will gladly eat them!
To bed now at 10:45pm. See u hopefully by noon!
Sandy & ed

We'll leave a light on for 'ya! See you later today!

[CAPT MOGUL & Sandy]

On road at 6am. Alot of fog!! Loxley, AL is 13 miles ahead.
See you all soon!
Sandy

[michaeldterry]

Bella Terra threw a great St Patrick's Day party for all owners and guests last night that included green beer, wine, grilled rueben sandwiches, a plethora of pot luck dishes and a variety of tasty desserts! The event provided a nice unofficial opening to Oysterfest 2011 and POG was recognized and welcomed by Bella Terra Staff and owners several times during the party. "They like us - they REALLY like us!" :D


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Diane & Larry Byrd enjoy some of the St Patrick's Day party faire.

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Guests enjoy the party as Tara delivers a green beer to a thirsty party goer.

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Vita test drives a POGer's new Segway before the party.

"The weather is here, wish you were beautiful!" - <$1 to Jimmy Buffet> :p

[michaeldterry]

Some of the early arrivals at Oysterfest 2011!


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[johnklopp]

One size fitts all?
Back and pocket

[michaeldterry]

Oysterfest 2011 participants gathered at the Bella Terra clubhouse complex this afternoon for the Oyster Shucking Extravaganza & Oysterita Happy Hour. Vita Terry welcomed the crowd and Bella Terra developer Chuck Smith offered brief comments welcoming POG to Bella Terra and expressing his appreciation that Bella Terra was chosen as the site for Oysterfest 2011. Chuck even extended an exclusive discount offer to POG Oysterfest 2011 attendees for attractive discounts on ownership at Bella Terra.

Oysterfest participants enjoyed over 50 dozen oysters this afternoon offered up on the half shell by two dedicated oyster shuckers arranged by Bella Terra. In addition, several POGers contributed delicious culinary delights including bar-b-que, various salads, chips, dips, and a variety of fabulous desserts. Bill Cleverdon supplied 25 pounds of delicious boiled shrimp to augment the main attraction oysters! As the Oysterita Happy Hour portion of the afternoon got underway, Reagan Sirmons blended seemingly unlimited batches of wonderful Oysteritas (commonly known as margeritas).

Two POGers contributed wonderful unique keepsakes of the event. John Klopp supplied custom designed Oysterfest 2011 T-shirts for everyone in attendance and Ann Ducote made custom embroidered fabric cooler bags for each participating bus!

By the end of the evening, hundreds of oysters had been consumed, thousands of shrimp devoured, gallons of Oysteritas sucked down, and countless other culinary delights enjoyed by all in attendance! Once we closed down the clubhouse, several of the partygoers retired to gather around Ken Robertson's firepit to continue the good times as Ken cooked hot dogs and delicious gourmet sausage delights on the outdoor grill of the H3 he brought for all to sample.

Here are a few pictures of the evening's festivities:

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Vita Terry offers welcoming comments at the beginning of the event.

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Bella Terra's developer, Chuck Smith addresses the Oysterita Happy Hour participants and welcomes POG to Bella Terra.


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Courtney Fox, Michael Terry, Vita Terry, Julie Irwin

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Jay Faires goes in for an oyster.

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Hard at work blending that frozen concoction - the incredible Oysterita!

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Our shuckers - laying them up on the half shell!

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Ann Ducote's embroidery wizardry on the cooler bags presented to each participating bus.

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Ann Ducote, Janice Horner & Mom Ducote with the cooler bags!

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Michael & John Klopp display an example of John's generous T-shirt contribution.

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The back print on John Klopp's custom Oysterfest 2011 T-shirts

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The hard working Oysterita team!
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[michaeldterry]

Oysterfest 2011 participants will gather at the Original Oyster House, 701 Hwy 59, Gulf Shores, AL at 1:00PM Saturday, March 19th to enjoy yet another fabulous meal and good fellowship. The Original Oyster House is 8 miles from Bella Terra and is reached by turning left out of Bella Terra onto Brinks Willis Rd, traveling 1.6 miles to Hwy. 59, turn left onto Hwy 59, and travel 6.5 miles to the Original Oyster House. We have the banquet room reserved for 1:00PM and the reservation is under Bella Terra.

We will order from the menu. If you would like to preview the offerings, here is the link: http://www.originaloysterhouse.com/menus.php?category=Gulf+Shores

[Seabyrd]

Awesome job Michael and Vita !!!

Thanx so much for ALL your efforts !!

Great pictures !!!

We had a great time last night !!

Diane & Larry

[Seabyrd]

Many thanx to Reagan, Betty & Bonnie for the greatest Margaritas !!

Many thanks to Bill for the shrimp too, they were perfect !!

Yummmmy

Larry & Diane

[Jerry Winchester]

Fellow Oyster Eaters,

Rae and I are sorry we didn't get to meet many of you during our brief stop. I have somehow managed to pinch a nerve in my hip that has made it almost impossible for me to sit or walk without a serious amount of pain. In fact, I tried to walk down to the clubhouse last night and made it about 100 yards before turning back.

Luckily for me Rae is quite able to drive the bus, so we lit out for Houston this morning with her at the wheel and Abbie
serving as co-pilot and stewardess.

Hopefully we'll get to see everyone at POG X.

JDUB

[kenrobertson]

JDUB - Sorry you missed the festivities, and even more sorry that we missed seeing you and Rae.

Take care of that nerve and we will see you at POG X,

Ken

[phorner]

JDUB,

Sorry to hear that you're still hurting. I know from personal experience just how badly that can hurt.

Glad I had a chance for a quick visit during the oyster delivery....

Take care of yourself and we'll see ya down the road.........

[michaeldterry]

Fifty POG Oysterfest participants gathered in the reserved banquet room at the Original Oyster House in Foley, AL Saturday to enjoy more wonderful food and each other's company. Much laughter and animated conversation could be heard throughout the meal that later turned into moans of misery and discomfort from the overstuffed diners! :p

As usual. the food and company were enjoyed by all at the final planned activity of Oysterfest 2011. No doubt, many in the group will gather again this evening around the fire pit at Ken Robertson's coach to cap off the wonderful weekend before heading our separate and diverse directions tomorrow.

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to every POG Oysterfest 2011 participant whose attendance, cooperation, assistance, and good humor made Oysterfest 2011 so enjoyable! I hope you will agree that the weekend was a success. The kind, generous comments from many of you regarding my efforts are humbling and much appreciated - but I must tell you, I had a blast working with the staff at Bella Terra to coordinate/facilitate the event. Having said that, I would also like to thank Julie, Courtney, Tara and the developers/owners at Bella Terra for helping to insure everyone's enjoyment during our little event! I can only hope that everyone found the resort as enjoyable as Vita and I did! And how about that weather, huh? Perfect! :cool:

Here are a few pictures from today's lunch:


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I hope everyone had a wonderful time! Safe travels home (or wherever your next destination may be). See you all next year?

[michaeldterry]

Fellow Oyster Eaters,

Rae and I are sorry we didn't get to meet many of you during our brief stop. I have somehow managed to pinch a nerve in my hip that has made it almost impossible for me to sit or walk without a serious amount of pain. In fact, I tried to walk down to the clubhouse last night and made it about 100 yards before turning back.

Luckily for me Rae is quite able to drive the bus, so we lit out for Houston this morning with her at the wheel and Abbie
serving as co-pilot and stewardess.

Hopefully we'll get to see everyone at POG X.

JDUB

JDUB - so sorry we missed getting to meet you and even more sorry that you're hurting so bad. From experience, I know that you sure appreciate that Rae can drive the bus and get you home safely! Many times, I've depended on Vita to take over behind the wheel when I get too tired or my eyes start acting up! Best wishes for a speedy recovery and hopefully we'll get to meet you at another POG event soon!

[michaeldterry]

Tonight, several of the Oysterfest attendees gathered around the fire pit at Ken Robertson's bus to sample more great food, toasted marshmallows and good conversation. Here are a few pictures from the evening:


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The fire pit.

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My Shih Tzu's basked in the extra lovin' supplied by the fire pit group! Scooter lounges in Eric Faires lap, while the baby, KC is held lovingly by Carol Cleverdon.


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Vita is so coveting the bay grill set up in the H3 that Ken brought!

[truk4u]

The big Morning moon over Bella Terra:


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[michaeldterry]

The big Morning moon over Bella Terra:


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Beautiful!

[michaeldterry]

Well, we just pulled onto I-65 North Atlanta bound and Oysterfest 2011 is "in the books"! I've said it numerous times before, but I'm going to say it again! Vita and I had a blast from start to finish. The food, the weather, the resort, and most importantly - the people, made this one for the memory books for me! Thank you to each and every one of you who participated and were so complimentary of the events we planned and shared together! A lot of you complimented me for "all my hard work", but I'm being totally honest when I say it sure didn't feel like work! I thoroughly enjoyed the process from beginning to end and it was more than enough thanks to get to see so many of my beloved POG friends enjoying themselves and each other's company! We loved meeting and spending a little time with each and every one of you. I appreciate the way you were so inclusive of this old "road whore, hippie looking ex-musician" with no current socially redeeming values to his name! (That's where Vita comes in - she's the "face" and "voice" of the Terry team! :p)

I can't wait to have another opportunity to see any and all of you again! If anyone thinks of a good excuse for another mini-rally in the southeast - count us in!

[Neal&Carla]

We are home in Oklahoma City. No road problems. Safe trip. Greatly enjoyed visiting with those we did. Wished we could have visited more with those we didn't. Roger, Michael, Vita, Reagan, Betty, Ann, John and everyone else who made our week so enjoyable--Thanks so much. Look forward to next time.
Neal and Carla

[charlesebrownjr]

Wish I could receive some LOVE like "SCOOTER". Is he not soaking it up!!!!!!!!! Typical BUS DOG!

[bonhall41]

Made it home safely after an afternoon of shopping at the outlet mall. Had a great time and hoping to see everyone again soon. Also, good luck to the high rollers in Mississippi!

Bonnie

[rfoster]

Bonnie: Micki is the highest roller so far tonight, but she says it will take another day to be up to same level as you.- But a long long way to catch Jo.

[truk4u]

The High Rollers are overloaded on their steer axles after the feeding last night!

[SteveCooper]

Back in Clearwater this morning after dropping off the Divine Ms. M at our house in Gulf Breeze and will try to wrap up the winter season this week. Many thanks to Vita and Micheal for a really great job. Also, what a great job Courtney and her team did for us at Bella Terra. I've already set aside a date for our next Parliament Travel Club rally for the fall.
Thanks again for a wonderful weekend.

[kenrobertson]

Howdy everyone - Back home, safe and sound, after a fantastic stay at Oysterfest ( obviously, needs to be an annual event ). Enjoyed all the old friends, and especially getting to know the newer members. Got Doug and Lee ( LEDO ) and the herd of dust mops home, and they can't wait for the next get-together. A hearty second to Steve's comment on the BT staff.......Exceptional.

See you down the road, Ken

[michaeldterry]

Howdy everyone - Back home, safe and sound, after a fantastic stay at Oysterfest ( obviously, needs to be an annual event ). Enjoyed all the old friends, and especially getting to know the newer members. Got Doug and Lee ( LEDO ) and the herd of dust mops home, and they can't wait for the next get-together. A hearty second to Steve's comment on the BT staff.......Exceptional.

See you down the road, Ken

Ken - thank you for the extraordinary hospitality around your firepit each night! Your goumet culinary skills are quite impressive, sir! The gatherings at your coach each night were definitely a highlight for Vita and me!

[Seabyrd]

And they were for us too... wonderful way to end each day... Thanks Ken and "YES" this does need to be an annual event!! Such a great way to welcome in the "Spring". What do you say Michael & Vita ????



Ken - thank you for the extraordinary hospitality around your firepit each night! Your goumet culinary skills are quite impressive, sir! The gatherings at your coach each night were definitely a highlight for Vita and me!

[michaeldterry]

And they were for us too... wonderful way to end each day... Thanks Ken and "YES" this does need to be an annual event!! Such a great way to welcome in the "Spring". What do you say Michael & Vita ????

I would be delighted to organize/coordinate Oysterfest annually if the group would like that! (You can't beat free labor!) :p

[bonhall41]

Oysterfest has been an annual event. Coaches have been meeting at a campground in Mobile for a number of years. I think some years there were spring and fall gatherings. I believe there were three or four coaches originally. It has been posted on the forum every year for anyone to attend because that's how we found out about it. However, in the past it was much less structured with no real organized activities. However, Shady Acres, where it had been held in the past, certainly could not handle the number of buses that attended this year. Thanks to everyone who made this year a great get-together.

Bonnie

[michaeldterry]

During Oysterfest 2011, many of you expressed interest or had questions about the golf cart that travels in the front bay of our bus. For those interested enough to check it out, I thought I'd supply website and contact information for the company. The company is called Wheels To-Go Electric Carts. Their website is at http://wheelsto-go.com/. Brad King is who we deal with - great guy! His e-mail address is bking@wheelsto-go.com. Let me know if you have any other questions!