September 2003

I am the son of Portuguese immigrants. When I was growing up, Portuguese was spoken in my home more frequently than English, and the food smelled of cumin, onions, and garlic, as does most Portuguese cooking.

At FMCA’s 69th International Convention in Pomona, California, this past March, Ron Domiano and his grandson, Jeremy, were in the outdoor motorhome display area doing a land-office business. Ron and Jeremy operate Domiano’s RV of Stanton, California, one of several West Coast dealerships that sell Travel Supreme diesel-pusher motorhomes.

Alfa Leisure Inc., C8898, of Ontario, California, which began building the See Ya motorhome three years ago, is now offering the See Ya Gold, an enhanced model offered in the same 40-foot long, dual-slideout floor plans that are available in the Alfa See Ya. The See Ya Gold incorporates many additional luxury items as standard equipment.
The See Ya Gold is powered by an 8.9-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine that develops 1,200 pound-feet of torque and yields 400 horsepower.

The Quad-Loader from Hitch Things is described as a “revolutionary new way to haul an ATV.” It also is said to be ideal for hauling lawn tractors, golf carts, and even go-carts. The Quad-Loader features adjustable platform tracks to fit any width ATV; a powder-coated finish; lights; aluminum diamond-plate ramps; and a stowage compartment for the ramps.

My husband and I don’t rely on hand signals to help us park the motorhome. Instead, we use a pair of personal two-way radios.

While preparing for a trip some years back, my wife, Saraine, was driving our sport-utility vehicle to the grocery store to load up on supplies when she thought she smelled gasoline. When she jumped out and opened the hood to check, she discovered a fire in the engine compartment.
Having been a school bus driver for years, she had received fire safety training and knew exactly what to do.

It is written that James A. Garfield may have been the best prepared candidate to seek the office of president of the United States.

Most people know it’s wise to keep several fire extinguishers in an RV, car, boat, and house. However, going through the process of choosing which fire extinguisher is the best for each situation can be difficult.

I stood near the side of the road, mesmerized by the beauty of the striped red sandstone walls at Snow Canyon State Park near St. George, Utah.

I consider FMCA to be the premier organization in promoting a lifestyle of road travel and adventure in North America. The friends my wife, Jean, and I have made; the education we have gained; and the pleasure we’ve experienced traveling the continental United States and Canada will forever be instilled in our memories.
This month I’d like to highlight some of the most interesting locations we have visited in our retirement years.

Butterflies are more than tiny works of art — they’re fascinating little creatures. So this month we’ll share answers to butterfly questions that we’ve had in the past, and provide answers to other questions we didn’t even think to ask until we began working on this column.

The new FMCA North American Road Atlas & Travel Guide is now available to members. I hope you will take advantage of FMCA’s offer to send you a free copy of the revised FMCA atlas when you sign up a new FMCA member.

Dear Editor:
One of your readers showed me a copy of the March 2003 issue of Family Motor Coaching. My grandfather’s RV predates the RV pictured on page 24, in the “Readers’ Forum” column, by about 14 years, and I wanted to share a photo of it.
The bashful young lady to the left of her mother is my mother, Barbara, at the age of 6.

Thank you for the responses you forwarded to us regarding the shaking problem we experienced in our Holiday Rambler Vacationer (“Vibrating Vacationer,” March 2003, page 32). We took the motorhome to a Ford garage and a mechanic there was able to identify and fix the problem.

Raynell Proksa says that Ed, her husband of 13 years, is the most committed FMCA member she knows.
“The magazine is practically his bible,” she said with a smile. “He reads it cover to cover, then at campgrounds searches out coaches without a goose egg (oval FMCA membership plate).” Considered a “great recruiter” by his wife, Ed has given away many copies of Family Motor Coaching to non-member motorhomers, hoping to entice them to join the organization.

You’re a medical transcriptionist, an expert on oil well fires, a highly specialized Wi-Fi installer, or even a top executive at a major corporation. You long to go full-timing, but you must continue to work.

FMCA president Jeff Jefcoat, F118344, has said on many occasions that if a person wants to learn the operation of FMCA, he or she should be a member of the Risk Management Committee. When Jeff was the national vice president from the Eastern Area, he spent three years on this committee and still attends all of our meetings.

These easy-to-make and delicious dishes will keep you out of the galley as summer really heats up.
Chinese Crockpot Chicken
This recipe from Wendy Louise’s The Complete Crockpot Cookbook ($16, Champion Press) is a festival of flavor that requires little work. If you don’t have a slow cooker, put it in a roasting bag in the oven (see label directions, which call for the addition of a tablespoon of flour) or follow the directions for a three-pound chicken when using your microwave-convection oven in the combination mode.
One 3-pound chicken
1/4-cup soy sauce
1/4-cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons ketchup
6 cloves garlic, pressed
1 onion, sliced
Salt, pepper to taste
Place the chicken in the slow cooker.

Since we don’t have a huge motorhome, we try to carry multiple-use products as much as possible. Lemon juice certainly fits our requirements.

Ponder for a moment just how many items on a modern motorhome are powered or energized by some form of electrical current. Not including the cabinets, sofa cushions, and other soft goods, quite a few of our amenities are electrical in some sense.