Despite an interruption in their travels, this couple never lost their enthusiasm for RVing or the special camaraderie they enjoyed with other motorhomers.|
By Paul Legare, F286201
May 2017
Having married very young, we promised each other that we would take time to play and enjoy life when we were in our 40s. Both of us always worked at least two jobs to make ends meet and to save a little for that playtime.
We borrowed Kay’s sister’s small Type C motorhome for a three-day trip in our home state of Maine. We made almost every mistake possible. Still, we became hooked on RVing.
In 1998, convinced that the profitable restaurant and general store we owned would sell quickly, we purchased our first motorhome. That 2-year-old Holiday Rambler Endeavor was the first one we looked at. It felt like home as soon as we climbed the steps.
In August 2000, FMCA came to Maine in a big way. The association’s international convention at the Brunswick Naval Air Station was FMCA’s largest ever, with a coach count of 7,422, and it made TV news across the state. We still had not sold the restaurant at that time and did not yet know what FMCA was. But we met a wonderful couple from North Dakota who were attending a convention prerally some 22 miles away. (Miles don’t seem to mean much to RVers.) During the afternoon, we filled them with lunch, and they filled us with knowledge of travel and FMCA. That evening, we joined the association and wished for the day we could experience a convention.
In December 2000 we sold the store and were free to roam for the first time in our lives. As full-timers, we were among the FMCA family gathered in Redmond, Oregon, for the association’s summer 2001 convention — our first.
For 17 months, we had more adventures than we ever dreamed possible. They even included a 9-month job in marketing and promotions with Carson & Barnes Circus.
Unfortunately, the restaurant did not stay sold, and our RVing came to an abrupt end. Though we never lost our desire to finish the travels we had enjoyed so much, we sold the motorhome and dug in to rebuild the business.
During the winter of 2016, we once again passed the restaurant keys to an ambitious couple. We attached our FMCA “goose egg” membership plate to another Endeavor motorhome and became full-timers for the second time.
This past March, we were among the hundreds of volunteers needed to make FMCA’s 95th International Convention in Chandler, Arizona, a success. Seeing firsthand how much effort it takes from so many members gave us a new appreciation for the event. We became friends with two other couples we met in the advance crew and gained new knowledge at the numerous seminars we attended.
Through all those years, we have stayed in touch with our very first FMCA ambassadors from North Dakota and have managed to cross paths with them at a half dozen locations. They have truly shared the family part of FMCA with us and many other RVers.
This column provides a glimpse into who makes up the FMCA family.