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THE RVERSCORNER
Newsletter
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Sept, 2002
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Total
subscribers this issue 7525! Welcome new
Subscribers!
Inside this issue:
- Winterizing time is near! How-to ... by Les Doll
-
Enhancing your RV Getaway! by Peggi McDonald - The
NEW
Rverscorner bulletin board! - A new RV park in 2003 with
a
unique focus!
Joke of the Day: Classified Ad Section:
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Painless
RV Winterizing Les Doll
Step 1. Locate the fresh water tank drain valve or plug &
drain the
water.
Step 2. Locate the water heater drain plug and remove it to
drain the
water heater tank.
Step 3. Bypass the water heater.
Step 4. Locate the water pump, disconnect the inlet fitting,
install the
winterizing hose and insert the other end into
the jug of antifreeze.
Step 5. Turn on the water pump and open the taps, one by one
until the
antifreeze appears. Do the hot and cold taps at
every sink or shower faucet .
don't forget the toilet or the
outside shower if you have one!
Step 6. IMPORTANT! - Make sure to relieve the water system
pressure
before proceeding! Turn off the water pump and
de-pressurize the system by
opening a cold water tap. At the
city water connection, pry out the screen
and washer, and
press in on the valve stem until the antifreeze runs
out.
Step 7. Pour about a cupful of antifreeze into every drain
to displace
the water and protect the trap. Finally, dump
the holding tanks and pour a
pint or so of antifreeze
directly through the toilet and the shower drain to
protect
the dump valves. That's it!
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Enhancing your RV Getaway! by Peggi McDonald
Life in the RV Lane can be a real whirlwind where you run
from
here to there or as laid back as you want it to be.
However finding a
place to visit when you arrive in an
unfamiliar area can become a
real challenge trying to
discover what's 'happening'. During our
stay near 'Mickey
Mouse Land' in Disneyland in Orlando, Florida
this past
winter we had to look real hard to find fun things to
do
other than the expensive attractions and theme parks.
When
you're only in an area for a few days your search can
becomes
even more trying.
A few suggestions we follow to gain maximum enjoyment from
our
stopovers.
· First we ask the
park office for an on-site
activity listing and what can they recommend
we should see
in the area.
· Next we check with our
neighbours. Sometimes the
seasonal RVers are a preferred source
of info especially if
we are looking for less expensive enticement.
· RVers on the move may
have recently stopped at a
nearby attraction or two en route. Don't
hesitate to ask
them for their favourite stops, RVers love to share
info.
· We find the most accurate
information comes from
Tourist Bureaus and Chamber of Commerce
Centres.
(Provincial and state phone numbers plus webpages
are
listed on the RV WebLink page of www.rvliving.net). RVers
who plan to spend
time in a particular province or state
should order the Travel Guides
for that area before
beginning an adventure.
For Example --- When our 12-year old niece Kayla travelled
from
British Columbia to Ontario with us last summer we
asked her to find
places to visit on the way. Kayla and
her mom searched the travel
guides and found some neat
stops John and I had never seen such as a
covered wagon
ride through a Manitoba desert near Brandon or a swim in
the
hot spa waters at Revelstoke, BC. We also visited a ghost
town
between Calgary and Edmonton en route to the fantastic
West Edmonton
Mall. Some of these places were more
memorable than others but
they each added one more
dimension to our adventure.
· John and I included a few
more of our choice
destinations along the way based on our previous
trip
experience. At several places we added
rewarding
unforeseen circumstances to our initial plans. For instance
in
Winnipeg my girlfriend Fern, from my military basic
training days, was
a foster mother to a 12 year old and her
younger sister. Kayla and
Theresa (the 12 year old) had an
absolute ball; Kayla really
appreciated having someone her
own age to socialize with. Our 'girl's
day out' at a museum
and then the afternoon at Chucky Cheeses was most
enjoyable.
Seeing the obvious delight the girls were having
was
rewarding plus it gave Fern and I a perfect opportunity to
catch
up on what had happened over the past year. John
stayed behind to
catch up on some routine maintenance.
· This trip proved that RV
Travels are enhanced if
you include visits with family/friends along
the way. Just
south of Calgary we combined a laneway camping stop
with a
very creative friend Marcy and her family. This was
a
wonderful opportunity to teach Kayla how to create crafty
gifts
for her family and friends back home --- a
much-needed diversion from
all the adults at the house.
· With pre-planning it may
be possible to coincide a
getaway with local festivals or flea markets
and/or
attractions in a specific area.
· Those who stop at large
campgrounds that feature
weekly hayrides, nature walks, bingos or craft
days,
horseshoe or shuffleboard tournaments, periodic dances
or
evening entertainment can add yet one more dimension to
their
travels. Many of these activities are low-cost or
no-cost for campers.
Some parks routinely offer a craft
sharing session where everyone
brings their favourite
project to teach others; it may also include
learning a new
craft for a small fee designed for kids of all ages.
· Both male and female
RVers participate in
knitting, crocheting, quilting, and woodcarving
projects.
They are interesting hobbies that fill some quiet
hours.
They are great diversions for inside or outside of the unit.
Of course relaxing in a campsite provides a perfect
opportunity to
catch up on overdue reading.
· Working at a project on
the picnic table is a
super way to meet other RVers. Those
strolling the park
will frequently stop to say Hi or simply to see what
you
are doing. When a male RVer wants to meet his neighbours
all
he has to do is to open the hood of the tow vehicle or
the motorhome
and within minutes several male neighbours
will be over see if they can
help---sorry guys but it's
just a 'man' thing. Polishing your
unit works the same way.
When women are travelling alone, raising the
hood is even
more of a magnet to get to meet your neighbours.
· Lawn games such as ring
toss or board games like
monopoly or puzzles (complete with an edged
board that can
travel on the bed) are lightweight and don't take up
much
storage space. Playing games or cards under the awning
or
socializing around the bonfire adds a finale to the
adventure.
· At larger resort style
parks, on-site amenities
may include a video game room for the kids and
billiard
table(s) or dart board(s) for the adult children. A heated
swimming pool/hot tub, tennis courts, shuffleboard courts,
mini golf etc
only add to the fun.
· Electronic toys like game
boys, DVD players and
similar amusements help to break up a long drive
for kids
of all ages. Self designed diversions such as spotting
the
most 'visiting licence plates en route' or a game of 'I spy'
or even a
'sing-a-long' add an appreciated dimension to the
trip as well.
Other extras that can enhance a trip include a small
vehicle for
touring. If your RV is a towable you already
have a touring
vehicle but if your unit is a motorhome
having access to a tow car
promotes an extra plus. John
and I did not tow a vehicle for the
first eight months of
our travels. We had set aside a substantial
rental
car/towing budget and didn't feel we needed a
car---in
reality we were actually afraid to tow. Not until
we
arrived at a beautiful state park in Oregon where the
closest store
was simply too many miles away to bike did we
realize what we were
missing. We also had just assembled a
new add-a-room attached to
our motorhome awning so to become
mobile it meant a lot of packing up.
However when our
'newest best friend' neighbours offered to take
us
spelunking (cave exploring) in the Oregon Mountains we
jumped at
the chance. That was 17 years ago and it is
still one of our most
memorable side trips we've ever
experienced. Even if our
motorhome had been moveable it
never would have traversed the hilly
road to these
fantastic caverns. This incident was the determining
situation that made us realize we NEEDED a tow vehicle. We
also
discovered it was no big deal to tow.
Our car is now our perfect getaway machine --- when we
stop, we
simply unhook and explore the surrounding area by
car. The number
of neat events we accidentally have ran
across over the years while
exploring in our 'toed' (tow
car) is overwhelming. Having touring
wheels other than
your unit definitely adds to an RV getaway.
The final way to enhance an RV adventure is for each of you
to
claim your own space within the RV, no matter how small
or large your
unit is. In our first RV I used the living
room foldaway table (we had
no dinette) and in follow-up
RV's we modified the dining table to
become my
computer/work station. John claimed the bedroom as his Rec
room in our Kruisin' Kastle #1 and in our Kastle #2 and #3
it was his
turn to use the foldaway tables in the living
room and/or the bedroom.
Following the modifications we
made this spring he now has his own
workstation and a
special place to watch TV in the living room.
On this unit
our bedroom TV is only used early in the morning or late
at
night. Your individual space may be as small as the
folding-table
and a separate storage area or it could be
the upper bunk in a small
unit or a desk/table set within
the slide in the bedroom of a fifth
wheel or, or, or. It
doesn't matter where it is so long as you
have a spot to
call your own --- with a place to work at your leisure
and
to keep your stuff in a separate area.
Have fun and enjoy you journey.
Peggi and John McDonald have lived on wheels fulltime RVers
for the past
17 years. Their very informative website of
www.rvliving.net is the Information site for
International
RVers plus it has mega tips and hints for all RVers
from
Newbies to Part-timers to Fulltimers too. Peggi is the
author
of the best selling how-to publication 'Spirit of the
Open Road' and
two free ebooks 'RV Living--- Facts Tips
Hints and More: Vol One and
Two. (See links on RVers Corner
for all these publications)
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Thanks to all who responded with your emails in support of
John and
Sylvia's Paraiso Park development. Here is a bit
more about them ...
"Paraiso" pronounced pair e so is Spanish for Paradise, the
name
effectively describes the motif of the pleasure ground
and the feeling
of utopia produced by the exhilarating
views.
Jim & Sylvia are in their early 40's, they have 2 boys Aaron
16
Daniel 13 who are both so excited about the entire
development and
can't wait to host guests to the new
development. The family
spent five years researching the
Tourism / RV camping industry, and have a
firm belief they
have learned what people want and expect from a
quality
development.
The piece of property they finally chose for Paraiso Point
Resort is
very private and secluded yet has an incredible
180o panoramic view
over Okanagan Lake in Vernon B.C.
They have hiked the property with their boys for ten years
during this
time they developed a true deep passion for it
and when it was offered
for sale they were concerned it
would be purchased for an upper end
housing development as
so many fine pieces of view property often
are. With this
in mind they set out to preserve the property and
develop
something unique that they could share with friends
and
guests throughout the world.
The central campfire site will be surrounded by sculptures
resembling a
giant circle of friends, this will be
gathering place for guests to
Paraiso. The 12 to 15 foot
high sculptures will be created from
pink granite stones the
size of a large SUV vehicle that are located on
the
property. Each sculpture will be unique yet resemble
the
"stone heads" on Easter Island.
In addition the resort will be working closely with 30
independent
adventure tourism operators who will offer
excursions such as boating,
rafting, mountain biking,
shopping, fly fishing and much much
more. The onsite
swimming pool fed by a natural rock waterfall
will provide
the opportunity to cool off or just sit and relax with
a
cool refreshment while gazing out over the lake.
In addition their plans will enhance the abundance of beauty
that
resides on the 25 acre property by introducing more
native flowers,
trees and shrubs, while the RV sites will
be strategically located
between the existing tall trees in
an effort to preserve the
established growth.
They are awaiting the approval from Vernon City Council that
will permit
the rezoning of the property so they can begin
construction of their
dream.
If all goes well they plan to be open for business in the
spring
2003.
If anyone has any questions feel free to contact Jim or
Sylvia
Mennear @ 250-549-4341 or paraisopoint@shaw.ca
http://www.paraisopoint.com/
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Joke of the Day:
The Worst (or Best) Country-western Song Titles Of The Year
1. Get Your Biscuits In The Oven, And Your Buns Into Bed 2.
Get
Your Tongue Outta My Mouth, 'Cause I'm Kissing You
Goodbye 3. How Can I
Miss You, If You Won't Go Away? 4. I
Don't Know Whether To Kill Myself
Or Go Bowling 5. I Keep
Forgettin', I Forgot About You 6. I Liked
You Better,
Before I Knew You So Well 7. I Still Miss You Baby, But
My
Aims Gettin' Better 8. I Wouldn't Take Her To A Dog Fight,
Cause
I'm Afraid She'd Win 9. I'm So Miserable Without You,
It's Like Having
You Here 10. If I Had Shot You When I
Wanted To, I'd Be Out By
Now 11. Mama, Get A Hammer
(There's A Fly On Papa's Head) 12. My
Wife Ran Off With My
Best Friend, and I Sure Do Miss Him 13. Please
Bypass this
Heart 14. She Got The Ring and I Got The Finger 15.
You're
the Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly
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CLASSIFIED ADS
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SPIRIT OF THE OPEN ROAD by Peggi McDonald is a 'must have'
for all
RVers, both novice and experienced travelers.
Although written from a
Canadian point of view it is 95%
generic and a valuable guide to RVers from
all countries.
For complete details -
http://www.rverscorner.com/spirit.html
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!!! HAPPY CAMPIN' !!!
Les Doll - RV Technician My advice is free and worth only
what you
gain from it!