For the
last rally of our 45th year we were blessed with great weather. The weather for
most of September and October has been generally above average. I am sure that
winter's winds are just around the corner.
When we arrived at Cedar Oaks RV
Park in Grove, OK the usual suspects already there. The Severes, Cooks and
McVays had arrived the day before. We drove from the Springfield area with the
Backers. Shortly following us at the park were the Couchs and Sidebottoms. TJ
Ballard and Sandy Thomas had also arrived earlier. Since the McKinneys live in
Grove they did not drive their coach to the park but joined in the festivities.
Later in the afternoon there was a fix of a broken water fitting on the Cook
coach with the help of our loosely organized fixit team headed by Nick Backer.
They also did some investigation of John Severes water leak that had an unknown
origination. TJ Ballard may have come up with the best solution but only time
will tell.
The Severes were in charge of the Monday evening reception and Lucille
had decorated the clubhouse with a large amount of Halloween items; it looked
great. For the reception she had hot apple cider available and there were
plenty of snack and desserts for all of the hungry diners. Along with the
Halloween decorations there was also an appearance of Kansas City Royal World
Series clothing .
For our Tuesday breakfast Dan Couch manned his every-ready spatula and
served up those world-famous pancakes. He
stopped when he ran out of raw
material. I do not think any of it went to waste. The pancakes were accompanied
by sausage, orange juice and coffee. After breakfast we had a final business
meeting about which you can read in the minutes available at the link to the
left. Much of that day was spent with spirited conversations by the maintenance
team with a number of problems and solutions advanced. Some to be accepted and
others discarded. During the afternoon the ladies started a vigorous card game.
That evening Carol Genrich served up a chili dinner with french bread, salad
and two cakes. Many of the ladies were wearing special Halloween shirts for the
occasion.
Shortly after dark a number of the members were seen heading for
their coaches to watch the sixth game of the World Series. Good soundproofing
kept the cheers localized.
The Wednesday breakfast was handled by Elaine and Gary Sidebottom. We
were served egg casserole with fresh fruit and coffee. During the rest of the
day the ladies were involved with some jewelry discussions and then a card game
while the gentlemen were once again discussing the pros and cons of various
world problems. For the evening meal the McKinneys had invited the chapter to
their home. We were greeted by some well dressed witches living in a
Halloween-decorated abode. They have a lovely home situated on a golf course
and we were given the two dollar executive tour. After the tour and
conversation we sat down to a great mexican food feast consisting of beef and
chicken enchiladas, mexican rice, refried bean, hot apple cider and cake. This
was all prepared by the executive chef of the evening, Michael McKinney.
Our Thursday morning get away breakfast was hosted by the Severes.
Lucille Severe had made a deal with a bakery for some Halloween-decorated
cinnamon rolls. That was joined by the remainder of the fruit and the egg casserole.
All in all a very enjoyable rally.
There are some that may note our lack of off-park trips or games or other
events but there is much pleasure in spending time with friends who have
similar interests such a motorhomes.
FMCAssist. Your FMCA membership has become
more valuable ... FMCA’s Governing Board has approved the reinstatement of
FMCAssist as an association-paid benefit. Effective Oct. 1,
this medical evacuation/repatriation and emergency medical reunion benefit is
included as a portion of your annual dues. The latest issue of the FMCA
magazine has all of the details on this new program.
That is it for the year. When next we meet it will be to usher in our 46th year. See you in April!
