February 2003

The “Go Fast” Blue Bird, a specially outfitted 2003 43-foot Blue Bird Wanderlodge LXi, was at the center of opening festivities for West Virginia’s largest outdoor festival, Bridge Day, held October 19, 2002, in Fayetteville.
Governor Bob Wise got the event started from a special platform placed on the roof of the motor coach, which was parked on the 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge. Later, an estimated 400 BASE (Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth) jumpers parachuted into the gorge.

Meguiar’s Deep Crystal System is a multistep process that cleans and protects the painted surfaces of RVs and other vehicles. According to company literature, the 1-2-3 format eliminates confusion about what products to use together and provides an integrated system that cleans, polishes, and protects a vehicle’s finish.

When getting our motorhome ready to roll, on occasion I have neglected to lower the antenna or stow the jack pads before taking off. Since I needed a nudge to remember these items, I came up with a simple reminder by using spring-type clothespins borrowed from my wife’s clothespin bag.
I disassembled the clothespins, painted them red (any color will do), and reassembled them.

Approximately 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, California, is a region called the “Inland Empire,” filled with prospering businesses and suburban communities. It’s close enough to L.A.

The Recreation Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF) has completed work on its comprehensive RV Safety Education Program, and it is now available to FMCA members. RVSEF, a nonprofit safety education organization, provides safety education materials and services to the RV community.

Membership in the Family Motor Coach Association brings with it a wealth of benefits that are of value to the motorhome traveler. Some of these benefits are obvious — the subscription to Family Motor Coaching magazine, for example — and some are not so obvious.

When I complained to my husband, FMCA Insurance and Risk Management Committee chairman Dick Sherman, about how difficult it is to understand the association’s Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) policy, he pointed out two things: 1) It is not a policy that I see in the magazine but simply a description of the policy; and 2) It seems perfectly clear and straightforward to him.

As a base camp from which to inaugurate a late-winter sojourn along California’s central coast, the bucolic and provincial town of San Luis Obispo is as near perfect as a place can be. The town’s name means “Bishop Saint Louis” in Spanish, and it is often referred to by its initials — S.L.O.

When it comes to insurance, I am usually as much in the dark as the next person. However, when I found out about the Deductible Reimbursement Insurance Plan — group travel accident and medical deductible and co-insurance reimbursement coverage that is being extended to FMCA members — I immediately became interested.

I remember watching Lisa Whelchel, F264975, on television years ago as Blair Warner, the self-centered rich kid she portrayed in the 1980s sitcom, “The Facts of Life.” So, sitting in her motorhome discussing her life, then and now, was quite an experience. Lisa is nothing like the character that catapulted her to teenage stardom.

Your motorhome came with an instruction manual, but your life didn’t. It’s a big world out there, with no shortage of off-ramps and activities to pursue.
Now, I’m not one to interfere (okay, maybe I am), but I’ve given your traveling lifestyle some thought, and I have a few recommendations.

The proposed FMCA Bylaws state, “The President is FMCA’s chief elected officer. The president shall promote FMCA’s welfare and programs and preside at all meetings of the membership, Governing Board, and Executive Board, and shall exercise supervision and control of the affairs and business of FMCA.”
This description of the president’s duties is simple and straightforward, and except for being more concise, is basically the same as the one in the current Bylaws.

As the New Year rolls around, it seems an appropriate time to communicate with you about your member benefits. FMCA provides its members many benefits that are specifically tailored to the traveler and, in some cases, the motorhome owner.

Dear Editor:
After attending FMCA’s convention in Hutchinson, Kansas, we were on our way to a Tucson Drifters chapter rally in Branson, Missouri, where we were to co-host the event.
We entered the small town of Parsons, Kansas, approximately 80 miles from Hutchinson, and came to a stop at a light on Main Street. We then experienced an RVer’s worst nightmare.

Q: My wife and I are planning a trip from the San Francisco Bay area to the East Coast and back. I would like to buy a laptop computer so that we can keep in contact with our friends and relatives via e-mail.

The 29th annual FMCA South Central Area Six-State Rally, dubbed the Roundup At The “OK” Corral, was held October 8 through 11, 2002, at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Oklahoma. The event took place just a few days after FMCA’s 68th Premier International Motorhome Extravaganza in Hutchinson, Kansas, and many of the 450 motorhomes in attendance were driven straight from the wet, muddy convention.

The FMCA Strategic Plan is alive and well. Many of you will recall that the Strategic Plan was approved by the Governing Board at the 2001 summer international convention in Redmond, Oregon.
The plan was developed over a three-year period by an 11-member select committee.

Full-timers can find numerous ways to save money, time, and aggravation. The key to doing so is by staying informed about the best products and information sources available.

Atlantis Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
This makes an elegant appetizer but it’s also a satisfying supper meal when you serve several shrimp with salad, bread, and a side dish such as corn souffle. The recipe is from Atlantis, the gourmet restaurant in the Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.

It’s wintertime, and time to go whale watching along the West Coast. Although many whale species call the Pacific Ocean home, the gray whale (Eschrichtius robutus) is the obvious choice to write about, even though it isn’t the largest, smallest, fastest, or strangest whale in the ocean.

This month’s “Window On Nature” column delves into the natural history of gray whales. So it seemed appropriate in this column to suggest some places where these magnificent mammals can be seen during their 12,500-mile migration.

As any traveler will tell you, the need for good telephone communication is heightened when the road beckons. To help enhance enjoyment of life on the road and provide peace of mind to members, FMCA began offering an emergency telephone message service in 1982.

What to do about the mail is always a concern for the traveling family. Motorhomers who enjoy extended summer trips or winters in warmer climes and full-timers who travel wherever the winds may take them are especially aware that keeping up with the mail can be a source of frustration and worry.

The vast majority of the liquefied petroleum gas (LP-gas) sold to the motorhome industry is propane (C3H8); however, I am told that butane (C4H10) is still available in certain parts of the extreme South and in Mexico. Huge differences exist between these fuels, and motorhome owners should make certain that they are indeed getting propane when filling their tank in those areas.

Below is a chart that illustrates some of the differences between propane and butane.

This is pretty neat info! Now we can tell how much fuel each appliance consumes.