Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 1, 1993                   TAG: 9308010064
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

TECH TAKES A WIDE TURN AS U OF RV

They came in all colors - red, aqua, yellow, blue, pink and purple - and sizes ranging from 25 to 45 feet.

Lucky for locals, though, they came sporadically and the traffic tie-ups that officials had feared never materialized.

"It just reminds me of a big county fair," said Elizabeth Peters of Edisto Beach, S.C., who is attending her first Family Motor Coach Convention. "It's so colorful with all the tents and streamers."

The westbound lanes of the U.S. 460 bypass were restricted to motor homes and all other traffic was detoured through downtown Blacksburg on South Main Street. Traffic moved smoothly most of the day, backing up only when several motorists stopped to ask why they couldn't use the bypass.

Edith Langdon, who's been attending FMCA conventions since the '60s, said she was impressed by the hospitality and excellent planning by local officials, especially in Christiansburg where she attended a pre-convention rally last week.

"Everybody in that town went all out. They couldn't do enough for us," she said.

The roads could be clogged today, however, as the bulk of the convention's 4,000 motor coaches are expected on campus.

"Yeah, Sunday is usually the day when the coaches really get backed up," said Dolly Lain, from Berlin, Md.

The convention, which runs through Thursday, will feature hundreds of exhibits and seminars for the motor coach owners.

It was a tranquil day Saturday as most of the early arrivals spent their time socializing with friends and enjoying the spring-like weather.

"This is the first coolness we've had in months," Peters said. "Everyone here's been so sweet that we figured you ordered it for us."

Buck Flowers, an FMCA member from Lancaster, S.C., sat in a lawn chair and held a sign that directed the big coaches to a gathering point at the Virginia Tech airport.

Flowers said he was well qualified for the job.

"That's what I'm good at. Doing nothing."

Flowers said his plan after the end of his three-hour shift was to "drink some cool ones."

The convention is expected to pump about $10 million into the local economy. Several young entrepreneurs tried to cash in on their share.

Two Virginia Tech students combed the convention grounds selling maps for a buck that showed all of downtown Blacksburg's restaurants.

The two guys wouldn't give their names and were reluctant to talk about their business venture.

"We don't know if we need a permit to do this," one said.

Kirk Linkous and David Epperly, members of the Christiansburg High School wrestling team, stood at the intersection of Va. 114 and U.S 460 holding a sign that advertised an RV car wash.

The big mobile homes rolled past, but Linkous and Epperly had no takers between 8 a.m. and noon, frustrating their goal of raising money for the team.

Part of the pair's problem may have been the motor coach wash set up by convention organizers on the campus.

For $40, motor coach exhibitors could get their vehicles washed by hand.

Bob Makin, sales manager for Angola Coach Inc., waited patiently as the three converted buses his company drove down from Indiana were washed.

"They wash it and then we spend the rest of the day polishing and getting everything spit-shined," he said.

Staff Writer Robert Freis contributed some information to this story.