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Before and during FMCA’s 2001 summer convention in Redmond, Oregon, people would ask us what we would be doing with our free time once Charlie’s tenure as FMCA national president was completed. Fortunately, we had an immediate answer.

Although you may see shorter routes to the fairgrounds, the routes outlined here have been coordinated with local police to provide for the safety of convention attendees and to minimize traffic tie-ups as much as possible. Your cooperation is very important and is appreciated by everyone.
Following are directions to the Holding Area located at the intersection of Airport Road and 4th Avenue.

Holding Area

From the South: Travel north on K-96.

This is the 12th in a series of articles written by motorhome manufacturers that address the subject of quality control. Recently, FMCA commercial members involved in the production of type A, type B, and type C motorhomes were invited to describe the quality-control strategies they have in place at their manufacturing facilities.
Every step leading up to the completion of a luxurious Blue Bird Wanderlodge motorhome is vital.

Living in the country has its advantages and disadvantages. On the upside, we enjoy clean air, quiet nights, and star-filled skies.
On the downside, mice can be a big nuisance.

The 2002 election of FMCA National Officers will be held September 29 & 30, 2002, at FMCA’s 68th Premier International Motorhome Extravaganza in Hutchinson, Kansas.
This year’s Nominating Committee was elected by the Governing Board in accordance with FMCA Bylaws. Its members are Chairman Kent Jacobs, F97114; Manuel Canales, F59832; Dave McFadden, F74806; Gerald Parker, F36980; and Richard Wright, F42952.
FMCA’s Nominating Committee has submitted its slate of candidates recommended for national office for the 2002-2003 term.
Although balloting is restricted to National Directors and National Officers, we invite all FMCA members to review the candidates’ resumes and to communicate their preferences to their respective National Director.

Lily did not want to go on the motorhome trip.
“I want to stay home and be with my friends!” She folded her arms and pouted. She had just gotten out of school for the summer.

Imagine Kansas and you may think of rolling plains, vast oceans of wheat waving in the breeze, and perhaps Dorothy, Toto, and Auntie Em. But a space museum? Indeed, this is not just any space museum, but one of world-class quality and, in many respects, unlike any other.
The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson is a 105,000-square-foot facility that is crammed with one-of-a-kind space and flight artifacts.

Hutchinson, a central Kansas town with 43,000 residents, will see a temporary increase in its population when thousands of motorhomers arrive at the Kansas State Fairgrounds to participate in FMCA’s Motor “Home” On The Range convention —the association’s 68th Premier International Motorhome Extravaganza —on October 1, 2, and 3.
But having company is not unusual for Hutchinson. Like good neighbors whose doors are always open, residents of this town are familiar with making guests feel at home.

Here’s a fast and simple way we found to check in at campgrounds. We printed campground registration cards, and instead of filling out the registration by hand, we simply staple one of these cards to the campground’s registration form.

One of the toughest aspects about becoming a full-timer is parting with the goods and possessions in your home. These are the things that you used and needed for years.

Dear Editor:
I am associated with the United States Forest Service in Jackson, Wyoming, in the Bridger Teton National Forest. We will be rehabbing an old log cabin guard station this summer and are seeking volunteers with construction skills.

Sometimes we try to take shortcuts and they do not always work out as planned. In October 2001, I did just that.
We were home for a brief period, and I needed to mow the pasture in preparation for winter.

Using the Internet on a day-to-day basis has become second nature for many of us. Being online is almost as common as watching television.

When we pulled into a campground on the first night of our test of the Grand Sport motorhome by Dynamax Corporation, we weren’t prepared for our new celebrity status. Other RVers came to see us simply to look and ask questions.

Xantrex Technology Inc. offers Jazz 150, Jazz 300, and Jazz 500 power inverters that convert 12-volt direct current (DC) electricity from a vehicle battery into alternating current (AC).

National Park Service Camping Guide ($12.95, Roundabout Publications), by William C. Herow, provides information for all 118 National Park Service areas that offer camping.

Most plants make their own food from sunlight and carbon dioxide, but a few do it in other ways. They may parasitize other plants or dine on decaying plant and animal material found in the soil; some use a combination of both methods.

As full-timers, you can always get away from noisy neighbors simply by starting up the coach engine and driving someplace else. But it’s just about impossible anymore to outrun deception, quasi-legal hassles, and outright crime.

The United States National Park Service manages 384 areas, including national parks, memorials, historic sites, and reserves. With so many areas in the system, it’s no surprise that some remain relatively unknown.

How long does it take to cook a 3-minute egg? The answer to that and many other simple cooking-related cooking questions can be found in The Absolute Beginner’s Cookbook, Revised 3rd Edition ($14.95, Prima Publishing) by Jackie Eddy and Eleanor Clark. If you suddenly find yourself solo in the galley and haven’t a clue, this is the book for you.

Last summer my wife and I attended a rather unusual christening. This baby was more than 500 feet long and weighed approximately 9,000 tons.

Q: I have a 2002 Tiffin Zephyr motor coach. I am looking for a supplier that sells an electrical monitoring system that will automatically start my generator when the house battery voltage reaches a preset or low-voltage level.

It was recently brought to our attention by a transmission engineer at Volvo Cars of North America that Volvo vehicles cannot be flat towed. This is contrary to information previously provided by the company and listed in the “Towables For 2002” article published in the March 2002 issue of FMC.

FMCAStore.com is a convenient way to buy FMCA logo apparel for men and women, and FMCA accessories.
After you make a series of mouse clicks and keyboard entries, items purchased at FMCAStore.com arrive at your door in approximately seven to 10 days — if you use standard United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery.
FMCAStore.com never closes, so you can place an order any time of day. Other advantages include no checkout lines; no bags to store in your motorhome; no shopping carts to push around; and great-looking merchandise for year-round comfort.
Come inside. FMCAStore.com consists of two main areas: one area for shopping and a secure area for checking out.
All customers automatically receive a virtual shopping cart as they enter the store.

From a personal perspective, the most interesting and applicable seminar I have attended at an FMCA convention or rally was offered in 1995 at the first Great Eastern Area Rally (GEAR) in Nashville, Tennessee.
The subject of the seminar was highway safety, and the presenter had driven commercial buses for more than 20 years. He spoke with a great deal of experience and authority.

Several articles about Habitat for Humanity International have been published in recent issues of this magazine. This month I want to talk about the experience that Jean and I enjoyed with fellow members of the FMCA Chapter: Habitat for Humanity®.
The FMCA Chapter: Habitat for Humanity is made up of FMCA members who are interested in helping Habitat for Humanity International, a non-profit organization that works to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness worldwide.

It has become an FMCA convention tradition to adopt a charity with the idea of leaving something behind in the local communities FMCA visits. Since the international headquarters of Habitat for Humanity International is located in Americus, Georgia, only a few miles from the convention site in Perry, it seemed fitting that this non-profit organization devoted to eliminating poverty housing be recognized with that distinction for the recent “Southern Sensation” convention.
Members of the FMCA Chapter: Habitat for Humanity® coordinated a variety of Habitat-related activities throughout the Perry convention.

“Welcome home, FMCA” read the sign at the entrance to the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter in mid-March. That sign embodied the welcome that FMCA members who attended the “Southern Sensation” convention in Perry, Georgia, March 19, 20, and 21 received from the fairgrounds staff and from city officials and local residents.

Hyder, Alaska, may be one of the few places in the United States where nature still rules. It is a place to wake in the morning and breathe pristine pine mountain air, and at the same instant see bald eagles soar through a misty sky.

My wife, Claire, and I are full-timers and travel throughout North America happily following the seasons, and our bliss, as hikers, bicyclists, runners, kayakers, and bird-watchers. Our traditional RV is a type C motorhome, perfect for getting in and out of the hidden campgrounds closed to larger units.

What does America mean to you? Even if your level of patriotism is higher than most folks’, it will be elevated even further by the time you’ve seen the Flags Over America program.
This pageant presents the flags that have flown over the United States from Colonial days to the present. A narrator explains each flag’s history as stirring melodies play in the background, and important historic moments are associated with particular flags.

When selecting cooling equipment for your new motorhome, or if you’re replacing an existing roof unit, several choices exist. You can opt for a conventional air conditioner, a conventional air conditioner with an optional heat strip, or a heat pump air conditioner.

The Yukon Territory is still as wild as it sounds. Look at this region on a map, and you’ll find precious few roads.

The 328-mile Glenn Highway through southeast Alaska yields gold. Well, not nuggets, perhaps, but gold in the form of mountains and fertile valleys; glaciers and lakes and streams; farms and museums; and sled dogs, musk ox, and bears.
The Glenn Highway begins at the town of Tok (pronounced “toke”) and is also known as Alaska Route 1.

It was a Wednesday afternoon when the phone rang. The voice on the other end of the line said, “The coach will be ready for you on Friday.

It’s a new kid on the block! Quite a few global positioning system (GPS) navigation devices are available today and of particular interest to RVers. Now a combination of a new navigation program and a palm-sized computer is making its debut.

We were looking for a way to protect our crystal stemware and other glasses while going down the road. We found that a Prest-O-Fit straight hose coupler, available at Camping World and other RV stores, worked great.

The Komo Multipurpose Chest is compatible with motorhomes and with most other vehicles as well, because it has a tilting feature that allows access to the rear of the vehicle. Constructed of polyethylene, it is resistant to cold temperatures and ultraviolet rays.

On January 25, 2002, Home & Park Motorhomes, C3790, presented rock-and-roll legend Ronnie Hawkins the keys to a Roadtrek 190-Popular motorhome.
Jeff Hanemaayer, chairman of Home & Park Motorhomes, said, “Ronnie Hawkins is a Canadian rock-and-roll legend. He also has been a Roadtrek owner for the last four years.

Each year in North America, approximately 300 new custom coach conversions are built using Prevost, MCI, Neoplan, Dina, Setra, and other bus shells. These coach conversions typically sell for $600,000 to more than $1 million each.

I began building boats in 1954. In 1961, I started my own boat-building business in San Diego, California.   We moved to Alameda, California, and in 1965 my wife, Ellie, opened a boat upholstery shop while I …

Although most of this month’s column contains information for new and soon-to-be full-timers, veteran full-timers might take a look at it as well to avoid any potholes in the road ahead.
The transition into full-timing is not the same for everyone, because we’re all different. Much depends on whether you are fully retired with enough income for all your needs, partially retired and in need of part-time work, or have no retirement income and must work to support your lifestyle.

By and large, humans dress for the occasion — a swimsuit at the beach, boots for hiking, a nice dress or suit for weddings. But the picture is far more complicated and interesting in nature.

The time we spend reading and organizing our past collection of tips for travelers takes our minds through and around our many years of travel. We began with a Volkswagen camper, moved up to a mini-motorhome, and then spent an entire year converting a highway bus into a motor coach.

With a well-stocked spice shelf and some bottled flavorings, you can put a homemade touch on easy dishes such as these.

Grenadian Honeymoon Soup
This is my adaptation of a soup that goes together quickly, using canned foods. The original version is from the spice island of Grenada in the Caribbean.
1 large onion, finely diced
1 pat butter
16-ounce can chicken broth
16-ounce can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
Small can crabmeat, drained and picked over
Salt, pepper
Dash of hot sauce
1/2-teaspoon nutmeg or to taste
1/2-cup evaporated milk
Dry sherry
Sauté the onion in the butter in a roomy soup pot.

The FMCA Education Committee came into full committee status this past summer when Jeff Jefcoat, F118344, was elected national president of the association. Prior to that, the Education Subcommittee had been functioning for 2½ years.
Now that the group has full committee status, we have had the good fortune of having two more members assigned to join us.

The Southeast Area (SEA) held its 21st annual area rally from February 6 through 9, 2002, at the Hernando County Airport in Brooksville, Florida. By the time the last motorhome rolled onto the grounds, 2,095 family member coaches were parked, with members ready to enjoy the planned festivities.
The Hawaiian theme of the rally was a huge success.

Q: I have a 1989 Coachmen on a Chevrolet chassis with a 454 engine. It overheated on me.

Dear Editor:
We are from Ontario, Canada, and drove out to Oregon last summer to be volunteer hosts for the Adaptive Riding Institute’s program at Silver Falls State Park. We are horse nuts and enjoy working with people.
We parked our motorhome in the horse park free of charge.

In September 1998, Family Motor Coach Association started an effort to develop a document that would solidify the goals and objectives of the association as well as strategies that would contribute to their accomplishment. Over the following three years, a committee made up of family members of the association met periodically and developed FMCA’s Strategic Plan.