Posts Tagged ‘RVing’
My very good friend, Dale “Dawk” McFarlane is a rock artist and no, he can’t sing or play a guitar. His artistry shows in the colourful and amusing cartoon faces and characters he creates from rocks. By slicing and overlapping the rocks, he uses the natural lines, grains, textures and colours to fashion rock-comic faces or whole rock-comic body characters.
These characters are then readied for printing on T-shirts, greeting cards and post cards. Many of these can be seen on various international artistic websites.
The artistry starts with Dawk’s ability to see the potential for a comic-body feature as he studies what most others would consider to just be a colourful piece of rock. He sees an eye here, a mouth there, the shape of a head in a third rock.
Recreational vehicles aren’t just for retired couples anymore. North America is seeing an RV boom, with more young people hitting the open road then ever before.
“It’s growing in numbers we can’t even fathom,” says Ron Hall, President of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association of Canada. “In the United States alone, it’s up nearly eight million units since 2001.”
Hall says in the last five years, the average age of an RV’er has dropped drastically, from 65 years and older to 55 and under. “You wouldn’t believe how many people driving RV’s are between 27 and 35,” says Hall. “It’s probably one of our biggest markets.”
Doug Pinney, President of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association of Alberta agrees. He says more young families are choosing to take their vacation in motorhomes instead of paying for a hotel. “People are starting to find out that RV’ing is a very inexpensive way to go on a holiday. More first timers with young kids are starting out with a tent trailer, and then upgrading as their needs change.”
RV dealerships across Canada are also seeing more customers without grey hair and wrinkles. “We’re seeing a large demographic shift,” says Jeff Redmond, Co-owner of Bucars RV in Balzac, Alberta. “There are a large number of baby boomers close to retirement getting into it, but we’re also seeing a number of people wanting to spend more quality time with their family.”
Redmond says it doesn’t take long for first timers to get hooked.
“We have lots of people who say they don’t know anything about RV’s but want to start at an affordable level. They buy used to see if it’s something they want to do. Nine times out of ten they come back, say they love it and buy their dream unit.”
One person looking to buy their dream unit is 30-year-old Mark Fauser from Calgary. He’s been looking to hitch a fifth wheeler to the back of his truck for the last two years. He says the investment is worth it. “It’s the convenience of having a second home that can go anywhere,” Fauser says, “I don’t have to be locked down.”
The feeling of not being “locked down” is a common one. Fourty-two year old Audrey Atkins from Calgary says it’s the freedom of an RV that convinced her to take the plunge ten years ago. “If you have a cabin, then you feel obligated to use it and don’t have opportunities to travel more. Also, with a cabin or cottage, it’s more like another house. You end up doing renovations and yard work.”
Redmond says buying a motorhome or trailer is a big investment. Besides your home, he says an RV will likely be the second largest purchase you can make. He says if newcomers are looking to buy, they better do it right. “Deal with a professional and do your research to make sure your dollars are spent as wisely as possible,” he says. “If you don’t feel comfortable with the person selling you the RV then just walk away.”
We owned a boat – a 28-footer – with twin engines. Wait a minute! What the heck does a boat have to do with an RVing magazine? Because we got rid of the boat, that’s why.
Since it was too large for us to haul, we moored our floating liability in salt water during the six-month boating season. You’ve heard the various clichés – the two best days in a boaters life are the day he buys and the day he sells, or a boat is nothing but a large hole in the water into which you pour money, and the letters BOAT mean bring on another thousand. Well, they are all true! When we sold that boat, you could hear the sigh of relief echo across Vancouver Island. So when we decided to try RVing it made sense to be very cautious. One bad experience was enough.
We had many questions about the RVing scene: Will we like it? How many Griswold families will we meet? What are the RV parks like? What about the dog? These and other questions rattled around in our heads like the balls in a bingo machine. As each question popped out we immediately added it to our list.
We were five Canadians enjoying a typical sunny southern California winter day when we met up with four Americans from the area and spent an enjoyable afternoon of chit-chat.
Late in the afternoon they suggested we all go out for dinner, Dutch treat of course, which was fine with us. They then told us of a neat steakhouse just outside of town, but we would have to be there before five as they fill up quite rapidly after that. So we followed them out of town to an off-ramp that took us to a large paved parking lot that would hold at least a hundred cars, with a gravel lot alongside to hold more yet. All adjacent to a one-story barn-looking place with weathered, natural wood vertical siding. Across the entire front of this barn was an old horse-hitching railing behind which was a full width open porch containing swinging seats, rocking chairs, wicker-type chairs around cable spool tables.
Upon entering through swinging doors, the interior was also natural vertical wood, we came upon a waiting or holding room, which could accommodate about 50 people, and was adjoined by a well-stocked bar with seating for about 50 more, which was next to a ‘private’ dining room for thirty guests.
Now being led down the other side of the building, by a very courteous and pleasant young lady, we passed a solid glass wall behind which was probably the largest open pit barbeque in the state, and was protected by a wood railing to keep anyone from touching the glass which was quite hot. Behind the barbeque stood six chefs all in full-length aprons of what appeared to be leather. They all wore gauntlets from wrist to elbow, but were barehanded except for the one with fingerless gloves; and they all wore the tall billowy type ‘white’ chefs’ hats.
Next we passed the salad and preparation kitchen then into the restaurant proper where a table for our party was already prepared.
“Not my cup of tea” was my exact thought twenty some years ago when my husband suggested that we join an RV club. We had just made the big move from tent trailer to 17-ft travel trailer and I was eager to get out there in all weather and enjoy. I now had a toilet, running water and something that was suppose to be a furnace.
“We’re all set so let’s get going John!”
But it was never that easy. Trying to decide where to go was a challenge, plus do you take a chance to just stop in or do you need reservations? Often as not we ended up staying home because we didn’t have the time for the planning as well as the preparation. Our little home on wheels sat in the driveway gathering moss. Our investment of $1,200 just sat there when it could be in the bank working toward our retirement. Brought up by parents who had lived through the great depression, enough of their principles had rubbed off on me and I grudgingly agreed to look into an RV Club.
Twenty-three years later we are still active members in the Burnabee RV Club. Approximately every two weeks between Easter and Thanksgiving we get together with our Burnabee friends to share laughter and enjoyment of whatever the weekend offers.
Yes, the Burnabees are an RV Club, but the name is really just the brown paper wrapper on the parcel. The best part is what is inside after you take the paper off. What’s inside? The people who make up the Burnabees. It is an extended family, friends who offer comfort and support. We help each other through the tough times and celebrate the happy ones.
We are a full service garage. Having RV problems? No problem!! The Burnabees have the skills, tools, knowledge, willingness and experience to get it fixed. Every male in the Club will be ready to give you a hand and if they can’t fix it they know the best place to get it repaired.
The Bees love a campfire. It is a place to gather, share a camelstarter lunch, a laugh or odds and ends of information. Not even Mother Nature can stop us from enjoying a good fire. Let it rain! Out come the golf umbrellas and the campfire is instantly ringed by giant multicoloured mushrooms.
Food seems to be a shared interest with all the Bees. Each couple hosts one outing a season and their job is to make coffee and help park the units when they arrive. Coffee time on Friday night is busy with the chatter of catching up and enjoying the goodies provided with the coffee. We enjoy a camelstarter lunch, which are sandwiches baked in a sandwich iron over the campfire, or the sharing of a soup pot. (Everyone contributes to a huge pot of soup.) Potluck suppers, desserts and pancake breakfasts are other activities we enjoy. My favourite is cook’s night out and that only happens if there is a handy restaurant close by.
We enjoy a variety of activities and often our outings have a theme. (If the hosts so desire, that is.) We have been hillbillies, pirates, cowboys, loggers etc. Bocce, beanbag baseball, cards, dice, you name it and we’ll try to play it. We have had an annual wellie toss and I have seen them heaving a haggis. We do some weird and wild activities and the reward comes in the form of laughter, camaraderie and sometimes prizes that you wished you hadn’t won. But not to worry, you can use it as a prize when it’s your turn to host.
When camping season comes to an end and the retired members head for the sun, do the ones left behind feel sorry for themselves? No way! We get together for winter picnics, dinners and try to win enough money at the horse races to buy a new rig when it’s our turn to follow the sun.
Who are the Burnabees? We are a mixture of people with a variety of talents, interests and abilities but what we all have in common is the love of RVing. We come in all ages, shapes and sizes, as do our RVs. As long as your unit is self-contained you can join the Burnabees.
If your unit is sitting in your driveway gathering moss and you keep forgetting to make reservations in time for the weekend, maybe an RV Club is your cup of tea. We enjoy and welcome visitors to our outings. We would like to meet and share our love of camping with you. A sense of humour is mandatory so bring yours along and be prepared to enjoy yourself. We are open to couples, children and well-behaved dogs. New ideas, activities and good baking are always welcome. You don’t have to live in Burnaby; we come from all over the Lower Mainland.
You may e-mail us at toga@telus.net or phone the Wagon-Master John at 604-939-8557. We will be happy to give you information regarding the Club or campouts.
The Burnabees have been travelling together for 39 years and because we can’t wait for one more year to get together with old friends we are celebrating our 39 th Anniversary with a reunion on Sunday, August 6, 2006. It will be held at Sons of Norway. Welcome at 12:00 p.m. and lunch at 1:00 p.m. All past-members of the Burnabees are welcome. After all it won’t be a reunion without you!
Please contact Ken Irving at 604-536-0654 or Arnie Brown at 604-522-2559.
The Living Forest Oceanside RV and Campground features 53-acres of pristine forested land situated on a peninsula where the Nanaimo River joins the ocean. There’s water on three sides of this spectacular natural setting. RVers and tenters have a wide selection of serviced and un-serviced sites for every taste: sunny sites, riverside sites, ocean-view sites, and secluded forested sites.
It’s hard to believe this tranquil setting is a five minute walk to a shopping centre, and only a five minute drive to downtown Nanaimo, a vibrant city of 100,000 which boasts one of North America’s most beautiful harbours and extensive waterfront walkways.
The Living Forest’s central location on the sunny eastern coast of Vancouver Island makes it the ideal homebase to explore the vast beauty of Vancouver Island. There are hundreds of Vancouver Island attractions awaiting you, and you’ll have a fabulous, affordable park to return to each evening.