Christmas Party and a Wonderful Year

 THANKS SUE AND KEN PACE FOR HOSTING !

 IT WAS A GREAT YEAR !!

December Meeting Minutes

Borrego Springs and Yuma

The week started out with a gathering of  Shanty Shaker members for a "pre-rally" in Borrego Springs, organized by Marilyn and David Anderson.

The blue skies, warm weather and desert surroundings were absolutely perfect !  The American Legion was our parking place about 3-4 miles from town.




It was a surprise to see Stan and Mary Baker arrive in their new rig. They will be traveling in style !

The group enjoyed standing in the sunshine on the cool mornings enjoying coffee while the hikers headed out for their daily exercise.

On Wednesday, a group toured the Anza-Borrego State Park Visitor Center and enjoyed a picnic lunch in Christmas Circle, a community park located in the heart of Borrego Springs.

No visit to the Borrego valley is complete without wandering around to explore the metallic sculptures scattered throughout the area. The story of how they came to be is told in the book "The Accidental Artist"  Available here

On Thursday, it was on to Riverfront RV park in Yuma, AZ. 

Here is the scoop as told by Faith Foster, the rally host:

The Traveling Neighborhood

After a nice pre-rally  the neighborhood moved to Yuma, AZ and we took over the Riverfront RV park with 28 rigs 48 people plus guests. Started with hor d’oeuvres at the rigs and  a nice fire.

 Saturday we all went to Lutes Casino for dinner........ 

then a nice walk on Main Street to view the local art work......

Saturday winds prevented the hot air balloons from launching so we sat out side and had our coffee and donuts with lots of conversation. Sunday morning a few balloons launched before the winds started up again.

Borrego hosts, Dave & Marilyn Anderson

The purchase of the year at the Yuma Market Place was chairs and laser light show machines. Dinner in the club house on Saturday, more goodies in the morning then it was time to take our neighborhood back to San Diego. A big thank you for all of the help.  (From Faith F)

We had several new members attend their first rally. We hope and you enjoyed yourself and will be back for more !! 

JJ Kent

Ron and  Karen Montgomery (along with 5 fur babies)

Phil and Dena Pou (thanks for contributing pictures for the blog !)

Steve and Jackie Portz

And it was great to see our new full-timers from the SS, Brian and Barbara Downing ! You can follow their travel journeys HERE

Thanks to David and Marilyn Anderson as well as Faith and Vern Foster for hosting a fun week!!

Rancho Jurupa Rally

Eighteen rigs gathered at Rancho Jurupa Park in Riverside County. What a nice park ! A great time was had by all (despite humidity, gnats, ants, and rain). Thank you to Jim and Sharan Harrison for hosting their first rally and to Ed and Abby Decouteau for assisting. There were several highlights of our time together but the first one was the presentation of the chapter's new banner and sign.

A great big THANKS to Debbie Lupton for leading the charge from the design phase to near final completion. (the CARE patches will be added to streamers to the side and/or bottom of the banner). 

On Wednesday morning several, energetic Shakers walked to the top of a nearby hill. At the top is a cross and a fantastic view. It was a good way to burn off  the previous evenings heavy hor'dourves.

The rest of us prepared for a spontaneous swap meet/auction. We searched through cupboards and basement compartments for those things we thought we needed, but didn't...and hoped someone else wanted it. A few items generated a bidding war and leftover items had to be given away. Don't be surprised if we see some of these "prizes" on the SS raffle table at the monthly meeting. However, the bottom line is that $94.50 was donated to the chapter. 

In the afternoon, 22 members toured the Jensen Alvarado Ranch, a 30-acre site housing the historic ranch built by retired sea captain Cornelius Jensen and his wife Mercedes Alvarado. This historic site affords visitors a peek into the past, depicting Southern California life as it was lived in the 1880’s. Lead by interpreters in period-appropriate attire, demonstrations of tortilla and butter making, adobe brick making, ice cream cranking, scrub board and wringer laundry, weaving, and various farming techniques from the 19th century can be observed.

The group spread out for dinner either in their rigs or at various restaurants in town such as ProAbition, Thai food, or Tio Tacos. Tio's  serves Mexican fare in a funky, unusually decorated space. In the heart of downtown Riverside,  a gentleman called Martin Sanchez has built a shrine out of trash. Recycling is taken to great creative heights. From refuse, he created pyramids, whimsical fountains, and a series of giant wire figures, filled with shells, shoes, toys and other cast offs.  A "must see" place when cruising Riverside.

The rally drew to a end on Thursday evening when we shared a pot of Hobo Soup. For those who have never experienced this before, you missed out. Every one brought a can of soup to the big pot and along with a few other ingredients, added by "soup chef", Janice Huskey, the mixture then simmered together. It was served with sides of salads, crackers, cornbread and freshly baked rye bread then followed by delicious pumpkin pie and ice cream. Yummy !!

 

THANKS AGAIN TO JIM AND SHARAN, ABBY AND ED FOR A FUN RALLY !!!

*************************************************

Now, for special recognition to a very special man who celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this month....the one and only Clark Paxton !!

Clark, his older sister, and beautiful wife, Betty !

Update from the Downings

Just some news from us as we finish our first whole month of full-timing. We miss the Shanty Shakers so much!

Best wishes to everyone.

Brian and Barbara Downing

Our first month on the road

 Barbara and I sold the house in San Diego and hit the road in our ’99 Rexhall Rexair 36’ Class A on July 24^th. Our first stop was Yuma where we thought we’d try the SKP’s park, not realizing it closes for the summer. After wandering around a little we stayed at Araby Acres for the night then moved on to Congress and stayed at SKP’s North Ranch for several days while the closing completed on the house.

We were headed for Rapid City SD to get registrations and drivers licenses but wanted to avoid Sturgis Bike Week and the week after, so we slowly drove thru AZ, UT and WY visiting all the National Parks and cashing in on our senior passes!!

We’ve been dreaming of going full time for about 10 years and planning our way to making the dream come true. One of my dreams was to find a nice place to camp, meet some fellow RV’ers and sit one beautiful evening with them swapping places to go, camp grounds to stay at and things to do.

On Wednesday that dream came true too! We camped next to Mike and Suzi on one side. Lee and Marylyn on the other side at the Rapid City Elks Lodge 1187. Next to the Elks golf course with lots of big trees and well away from any traffic this is a nice place to stay. Our rig was nicely in the shade and we all pulled up our chairs and drifted into the “Have you ever been to….” “If you’re in that area go see…” conversation that was just so natural for all of us, it felt like we’d been friends for ever.

After a little paperwork problem we got our vehicles registered in SD and our Drivers Licenses. It was so simple! The drivers licenses were handed over after filling out a 1 page form and taking an eye test. The drivers license office opened at 7.30 am and there was NO LINE. Yes just walk in and you got served.

The office for vehicle registrations’ was across town but again no line. No inspections required, no smog. We had registrations done in 30 minutes and the cost for the RV AND the car? Less than $200 TOTAL for tax, tags and registrations. And NO LINE. What a pleasure after San Diego!!

So next we have decided to see Devils Tower and Yellowstone before heading south to Austin TX for the US Formula 1 Grand Prix October 23^rd where we have a camping spot reserved trackside.

We have reservations for the winter in Casa Grande then maybe in the spring we may show up at a SS meeting in San Diego!

If you are bored and desperate you can follow us on our blog 

http://banbrv.blogspot.com/

Have Fun

Brian and Barbara Downing

50s week in Grants Pass, Oregon

Oh what a week it was !  Between Jacks Landing RV resort and Schroeder County Park there were 21 rigs plus Mary Wilson who arrived by air, and our rally hosts Jerry and Carol Miller for a total of 44 Shanty Shakers in attendance. The fun...and the eating.....officially started Tuesday evening  with a pot luck at the Miller's home.

On Wednesday morning, many gathered under the gazebo at Jacks Landing for coffee and donuts. It was very different for the group to be separated in two different parks and to not wake up to John P's coffee, but everyone made the best of it.

The afternoon was spent at Hendersons for a safety presentation. There must have been some lessons learned because a few guys decided to schedule maintenance or repairs on their rigs. The guys at Hendersons also treated the group to ice cream. (they obviously know the SS)

By now, an unofficial challenge was made on the SS Facebook page to get as many pictures as you can with the Bears of Grants Pass. The challenge was accepted and here are some of the results.

             

The Taprock Restaurant was the next group gathering. It was a beautiful evening on the river with a delicious meal, a good time for conversations and building friendships.

Most attendees will agree that Hellgate Jet Boat ride on the Rogue River was the highlight of the rally. There wasn't a dry seat on the boat but the front row definitely got more than their share of splashes during the wild 360* turns. (Thanks David A for being such a good sport) The meal enjoyed mid-trip was delicious, with all you can eat bar-b-que chicken and ribs along with all you can drink beer, wine, tea and lemonade.

Friday morning about 20 or so members visited the Wildlife refuge. The guide was very knowledgeable and obviously connected with the animals. A favorite was the grizzly bears. They sat up and motioned for the guide to throw them a treat...big, scary creatures looking so cute !

Thanks to Debbie Lupton for taking this priceless video !!

Oregon's biggest Classic car show was held on Saturday morning in Riverside Park. Over 300 cars were on display, quite a sight to see. Several members topped off the week by checking them out.

It was a fantastic rally and special recognition goes to Carol and Jerry Miller for hosting and organizing the fun activities. Outstanding job !

Welcome to Jay and Carol Shirreffs to their first SS rally. They made it a big one !

One more recognition goes to David G who was awarded this special t-shirt !

Note from the VCRs:

We really enjoyed the gathering in Grants Pass, OR. More fun than expected, even if it was a little wet! David has finally dried out and Don, I hope your swollen thumb has recovered. Who knew jet boats could provide such a variety of entertainment, glad it was “our” boat for the trip.

Also wish to send out thank you to Dave & Carol; Garth & Judy; Jay & Carol for providing us with rides, appreciated them very much (even though I could not get out of Jay's child proof locked door).

And the very biggest thanks goes to the Millers. How nice to open your home for us to have a super potluck with much visiting. And arranging the Henderson tour; Wildlife tour; oh yeah, and the jet boats!

David & Marilyn Anderson

SEE YOU ALL AGAIN REAL SOON !!

Bob and Judy K in Nova Scotia

Submitted by Bob and Judy Kominski (June 2015)

We left Vista on May 13th with a stop at Sams Town in LV.  We started running into rain in Utah.  We had to stop and stay  a few nights with friends near Rifle, Colorado because of rain and snow on the high passes on I-70 to Denver.  After a 3 day stop over in Rifle we got a break  in the weather and got across the Rocky Mountains to Brighton, Colorado in times for our youngest grandsons high school graduation. It rained everyday we were there.  After 3 days,we were off to  Winnebago at Forest City, Iowa for two days.  As we traveled on across the states we have rain, rain and more rain.  Everyday we were driving and setting up camp in rain.  After $100+ in toll road costs and 4000 miles we made it to Prince Edward Island, but it is still raining.  We had one day of sun on the island.   On June 6th we left Prince Edward after paying $39.00 toll to cross the 8 mile long bridge to get off the island.  Again crossing in the rain. 

So now we are on Nova Scotia traveling around island.  We had two sunny days but it is still cool.  The mornings are in the low 40's and the days maybe get into the low 60's on some days. We find that a number of things do not open for the season till mid June.  Traveling here and on Prince Edward is like stepping back in time.  Our plan is to drive all the way around the island and hope to find better weather on the way.

Fortress of Louisbourg.  This is a 18th century French fortified town.  Dine like a settler on cod and rice.  We have traveled 80% of the shore line around the island (1300 miles) about 200 miles to go.  The roads are really bad this year in Nova Scotia because of the hard winter. We are finding that a number of attractions and state campgrounds are not open in June.  There season starts July 1st.  Diesel cost is about $4.30 U.S.   Camping fees run about $40.00 Canadian . The exchange rate was $1.25 when we started for our dollar and now is down to $1.19.  The weather still is cool in the mornings at 41 and we may get to 60 during the day.  We now have one or two days of sun and than a day of rain. Everything is so green here and the people are very helpful and friendly.

Thanks to Bob and Judy for submitting their travel experience. Please share yours by sending a short narrative and a couple pictures to shantyshakers25@gmail.com. Happy trails !

Link to June meeting minutes HERE

• Please let Betty and Clark Paxton know if you are interested in attending the lunch gathering at the San Marcos Spaghetti Factory on Saturday, September 12 at noon so she can give a count to the restaurant. (call please, no email 760 310-5854)
• Please email Faith Foster if you are interested in attending the Yuma Balloon Rally November 19-22 at the River front RV park faithf2@gmail.com
• If you would like to be part of the Nominating Committee for the 2016 Chapter officers, please let Garth and/or Judy know garthjudy2@gmail.com. Also, inform them if you are interested in becoming an officer. All elected positions are open.