Peaceful Julian rally

Relaxing and cozy. That would be a good description of the Rally at Pinezanita Campground In Julian. With only five rigs there was plenty of time to sit and chat, getting to know friends even better. Coffee and sweet rolls in the morning, happy hours with munchies and a pot luck all on the agenda. There were long walks through the campground and sitting in the evening until the bugs chased in for an evening or reading or watching DVDs.

 

The highlight was an outing to Lions, Tigers and Bears, a big cat and exotic animal rescue located in Alpine.

LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS

submitted by Mike Formico

For those of you who didn’t go, you should put this on your bucket list. The place is a sanctuary for large rescued animals, who will live out the rest of their lives in this wonderful setting. Our tour started out with a video presentation and a short intro talk by one of the volunteers. Did you know that many states do not have any laws concerning the keeping of exotic animals. They are cute till they start to get big. We were able to stand as close as 5 feet from lions, tigers and bears. Up close these are beautiful animals. One thing that really struck me was in a zoo setting these are big animals but standing next to them they are REALLY BIG ANIMALS. When they stand on their hind legs, we look very very small. I think everyone both enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about the exotic animal trade in the U.S.

The rally itself was very small. In total we only had 5 rigs.

While it was 105 in town, we were very comfortable amid the trees. Hopefully we can do better next time.

Mike

Tom and MaryAnn C stayed at near-by Cuyamaca Lake. Tom wanted to go fishing. Other than a tree stump, here is his catch of the day.😃

CARE Auction: A new record !!

Submitted by Mike Formico:

I want to thank everyone who helped make our rally and 30^th anniversary a success. I believe we had 25 rigs at Pechanga and a number of folks drove out both Tuesday and Wednesday. The auction was a great success with over 60 people attending. Don, as usual, was a great auctioneer. We took in over $2,300 for CARE. The items everyone brought for the auction were great. I don’t think anyone went away from the pot luck hungry.

The 30^th anniversary was standing room only. We completely filled the main room and used the second room for serving. Herb, Dayle, John and Wendy and their crew served an excellent dinner. If you missed it, you missed a great meal.

I would also like to thank Herb and Dayle Sands for all their years of helping to make Shanty Shakers a success. As you may or may not know, they are moving to Colorado to be close to family. Maybe in the future we might have a rally in their neighborhood. I hope everyone enjoyed the rally as much as I did.

Mike Formico

(President)

Sunday was very windy for the early arrivals and Monday had scattered rain showers and cool temperatures. As always, the group found a way to have Happy Hour and gathered under an area for shade by the pool. Nothing stops this group !

Tuesday started off with a Pot Luck followed by the auction for CARE.

 

Don Regnier does a great job as auctioneer and pumping up the bids. His able assistant John Pumphrey would give some clues about the weight or smell of the wrapped gift. There are always  good laughs as the bidding becomes lively then the fun of seeing what the gift was.

On Wednesday the Chapter celebrated their 30th anniversary with a yummy, catered lunch. Thanks again to John &Wendy P and Herb & Dayle Sands for arranging the special celebration

The cake was cut by members who have been with the Chapter the longest, Clark and Betty Paxton and members who were the most recent to join, Marty and Sue McMahon.

Thank you to Brian Downing and Sue Ford for contributing the pictures for this post. 

59th Escapade in Tucson, AZ

(From Escapees.com)

"Escapade, our national rally is the largest and most extensive gathering of the Escapees community. It is a fantastic way to learn more about the RV lifestyle from professionals, as well as from experienced RVers, all while having an amazing time! Escapade packs a wide variety of seminars, social gatherings, nightly entertainment and much more into five, fun-filled days."

That about sums it up ! Five jam packed days and nights ! Shanty Shakers had about 22 rigs attend this year (that is why there were only 12 people at the monthly meeting 😄). Most of us were able to park together but some were in the Staff area, some in Handicap area and a few in Boomers area. 

We gathered Thursday night at the Spotted Bull Eatery one exit away from Fairgrounds so we could caravan in as a group. Dinner was good, the beer was better but the Karaoke in the Saloon was not so good according to our sources. 😝

We spent Friday getting settled in and registered. Despite the chilly wind a small die-hard group still gathered for the beloved Happy Hour.

Sunday morning started with opening of the Row of Chapters (aka: the Row). Wayne and Lynn Selden represented Chapter 25 and stayed very busy talking to fellow RVers. Later that afternoon was the official start of events with the Opening Ceremony. There were two highlights from that time. The first was the recognition of the Chapters celebrating milestone anniversaries. Our group stood and whooped and hollered when Chapter 25 was announced for announcing their 30 year anniversary.

The second highlight was hearing John Luptons name drawn for the $250 prize of the night. But why did Debbie go up to collect the money and was later seen sticking it in her pocket? 😉 (Note: John was working on the sound system).

Speaking of John and Debbie, they graciously hosted a St Patrick's Day potluck with corn beef, cabbage, potatoes and Irish stew (provided by Barbara Downing) that evening. It was a great time ! Then back to the event center for the evening entertainment provided by the American Rogues, an American/Canadian Celtic Band to "help get your Irish on" 

Monday the seminars began along with the Arts and Crafts. The Row stayed very busy and Chapter Director Lockie Sailer presented Wayne and Lynn with the Certificate recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Chapter's formation. Do you want to know what the most frequently asked question was to our Row Reps? It was "what is a Shanty Shaker?"  Do you know how to answer that?  (hint: Look carefully at our logo)

Brian Downing taught a beginners and intermediate painting and a few of our members attended. Never thought Wayne had it in him 👌 Speaking of Brian, he also won 3rd place in two categories in the photo contest. Proud of you, Brian !!     

 Since the wind finally died down, the group had a Happy Hour. People passing by told us we had the best HH going on !

The next few days were filled with seminars, shopping at the Vendor Fair then more of the same.

Tuesday evening we had a huge Bar-b-Que with hamburgers, brats, side salads and desserts. By this time our gatherings were growing as we picked up several new Chapter members and of course invited the neighbors since we were taking over the area. Thanks to the guys for grilling !

 

The gathering continued on past sunset and out came the propane firepit. It was a good day with good food and great friends !!

We need to give recognition to our Chapter members who served many long hours working as Staff.

Carol and Matt Matteson worked as Assistant Coordinators. They were both so busy, their pictures had to be taken separately.

John Lupton worked with the Sound Team. Debbie worked as Seminar Host and wherever else she was needed.

Marty and Peggy McCauley worked the Registration table,  and Marty taught a seminar on VA benefits.

Bruce and Sue Herriott volunteered to work the Volunteer Desk

Others gave a few hours of their time to provide transportation or serve popcorn

Bob and Dianna Simons had a table on the Row representing the WARE (Western Area Rally for Escapees) rally and attempted to recruit the next hosts. (anybody have a picture of them? Please email to Shantyshakers25@gmail.com to be added)

Wednesday evening we had a group dinner back at the Spotted Bull Eatery. Garth and Judy Carle as well as Don and Tracy Braun came for the day to visit everyone.

Thursday evening if you were not totally exhausted yet, there was a Fiesta by the Cantina with food trucks and live music. (sorry no pictures)

Carol and Matt made the table decorations in the Hospitality area. When all the coffee and donuts were served, the decorations were sold and the money donated to CARE.

Speaking of coffee and donuts...here is a screenshot from a Facebook post

It was a great week with a lot of camaraderie. The 60th Escapades will be in Rock Springs, Wyoming on June 21-26, 2020. SAVE THE DATES NOW !! The venue has 1200 FHU sites so there will be plenty for whoever wants one. 

Rally at Indio Elks

Submitted by MaryAnn Cathey

A few Shanty Shakers braved the snow, wind and rain to enjoy the sun in Indio.  Unfortunately for the first couple of days the cold, wind and rain followed us. 



Luckily, we were warm and dry while celebrating Judy Carle’s 70^th birthday with the Indio Elks at their Thursday dinner.

Friday and Saturday dawned warm and sunny, so we were able to explore the area and enjoy the sites.  Saturday most of us went to the College of the Desert street fair where we had fun shopping at the many varied and unique vendors.

Shirley Kuzmunich, a new Escapee and RV’er, joined us with her dog Bella.  She was able to learn much about RVing and her rig from the experienced RV’ers in the group. (see her input below)

Judy and Garth Carle brought friends, Ken and Jean, from Prescott Arizona.  They all missed the “storm or the century” at home which dumped 20+ inches of snow! (they were snowed out and had to delay their return home)

From the Prescott Daily Courier Feb 22, 2019

The Indio Elks is a wonderful rally spot.  The Camp Hosts, Carol and Bill, were helpful and welcoming as were the Elks members.  The weather is almost always warm and sunny.  😎Best of all the area provides many fascinating, fun and exciting things to do.

Submitted by Shirley Kuzmunich (new Chapter member)

My first rally experience with the Escapees Shanty Shakers Chapter was better than I could imagined.  Wow I had so much fun and felt so very welcomed by a group of fun loving funny incredibly helpful fellow RVers.  Loved our happy hour time to have snacks and hang out.  We were in Indio for four nights at the Elks Lodge and what a great location, even though I never left the lot lols.  There was a lodge serving food and drinks and town close by also.  Palm Springs had a lot going on to visit, but I was happy being a newbie just figuring out my motorhome and how to use all the buttons.  I very much appreciated the offer to ride with them to Palm Springs and dinner though.

I filled out my application before I even left and am thrilled to be welcomed into the group.  I was so very touched by all the people who answered a few hundred questions and showed me things on my rig I didn’t know I even had there.  My little dog Bella had fun with the other pups and got lots of love.  Everyone really went out of their way to make me feel safe and comfortable.  I feel so very blessed to have found this awesome group.  I already marked my calendar for the rally in April and look forward to seeing everyone again.

Blessings,

Shirley Kuzmunich