Frozen

Wife texts husband on a cold winter’s morning:

"Windows frozen, won't open."

Husband texts back:
"Gently pour some lukewarm water over it."

Wife texts back 5 minutes later:
"Computer really screwed up now.”

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

January Florida Dinner

We have arranged for dinner at the Golden Corral in Lakeland, FL on January 31st, 2015, 1:00 pm.
Price will be $11.19 plus drink and tips at the table.
Please let me know if you are interested, so I can get a count to the restaurant. Check the tab above,
If you know someone who doesn't have internet, please let them know.

Tom Roule

Cell:  585-739-9074
email: troule@aol.com

New Page on our blog

We have added a new page to our blog. If you have an RV for sale, we can post it. Check out our "RV's For Sale" above.

October Rally highlights

NOT BAD FOLIAGE!

I start this note paying tribute to a great friend and tremendous asset to our chapter – Dick Moses. Dick was always a willing participant and helper in many ways. His presence will be sorely missed. Our prayers are with Celine.

Our October Rally headed back to Hammondsport.  For a change, we acted like real “campers” using a partially enclosed pavilion on a cool weekend. 12 of us participated. Perseverance prevailed as we parked campers along the edge of the open side and enclosed it in plastic. Warmed by a kerosene heater, we cuddled around and enjoyed ice cream.

Roule’s, Pangburns, Harold Wollaber with the Slikers along with other help provided the meals for the weekend.  If you arrived Thursday, there were hots, mac and cheese made by John. Friday John arranged for dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant. Breakfast was supplied Saturday and Sunday while a turkey dinner was supplied Saturday night. 

With foliage in bloom, lots to do, it was an eventful weekend and we showed cool weather is not a deterrent to tough campers – as long as the microwave, coffee maker and furnace are working.

THE COMMON INGREDIENT WAS THE KEROSENE HEATER!!

Governing board news from Tom Z

Hi,
I am currently in a board meeting, and asked for dates, this event has been 
approved by the GB.
Chris Lust just told me it looks like around the end of July. At this time

a confirmed date is not available.
If I here more before I leave Saturday I will let you all know.

Respectfully,

Tom
 

Waldo, FL shows mercy

Those of us who travel I-95 have taken the short cut diagonally southwest along US 301 from Jacksonville to get to central Florida.
Many know, Waldo is one place to be aware of as it was one the most likely places to pick up a traffic ticket.
Cpl. Kenneth Smith, the interim chief recently resigned. Five of the department's officers had told the city council that Smith had imposed a "strict ticket quota," according to The Associated Press. But now, the traffic situation in Waldo may be changing. 

Last week, the Waldo city council voted to disband the town's police force.  

In 2003, the AAA erected billboards along Route 301 that warn motorists of the speed traps ahead. We long ago decided to take route 19 through Ocala National Forest. Much prettier drive.
The grief of driving along US-301 still exists in Lawtey, Florida, about 19 miles north of Waldo along Route 301. AAA is erecting billboards warning of "speed traps".
Lawtey and Waldo are the only two communities in the United States that AAA erects billboards warning of speed traps.

September Rally highlights

Thanks to Harold Wollaber, in September, we headed close to Niagara Falls, to the Cambria fireman’s field. Ably assisted by Dick and Celine Moses, Ann and Reed Johnson and lots others from the 17 coaches who showed up in Cambria. In an area with lots to see and do and apples, peaches and more at peak, it made for a great weekend.

Supervising George

It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t mention Les and Betty Sliker who made 3 dozen scrambled eggs each Saturday and Sunday morning in the cool air.

Friday dinner was highlighted by Ann Johnson’s brew – a genuine western New York Fireman’s Chowder. Our Saturday pot luck dinner was provided by the skilled attendees. During the weekend, we were joined by the Lavenders, McSweenys and Fadales just to socialize. And, we had two camp fires.a
Thanks to Harold, Dick (in his memory), Celine, Ann, and Reed for a great weekend.

Our last rally of the year

This October, we are returning to Hammondsport and the fireman's field on southern tip of Keuka Lake. 

• October 9-12 are the dates. 
• The chapter will be covering the cost of the meals Saturday and Sunday.  I hope you like our cooking !!
• I talked to the Hammondsport fire department and they said "Anyone showing up on Thursday does not have to pay for that night". So, 3 nights for $40.

There are lots of things to see and do, including.

• Great wineries
• Curtis Museum
• Wind Mill
• Lots more

And .... Hammondsport was voted the best "Small Town" in the United States 2 years ago.

And .... Gas is down 19 cents per gallon in the past 2 weeks.

We sure hope you can make it.

Check the tabs above for all the details.

NMA News - Sept. 2014

Below are a couple updates about 2015 NEAR and the 2016 International.

"Next year's rally in Vermont will be July 8-12. Wednesday-Sunday . Sunday being move out day.

Tentatively it will be move in on Wednesday, Thursday the dinner cruise because of so many requests to bring it back again. Along with Bingo in the Blue Ribbon for those that do not do the cruise.

Friday it's Ed Clifford. Also, requested to have him back.

Saturday an all new group playing a variety of music that was a big hit at the Labor Day Susquenango Rally.

Discussions are under way, we have a verbal commitment from the 2 dealers already also. A few vendors have also contacted me about the dates also.

Finally we voted at the national convention in Redmond Oregon in August to host in 2016 a national rally in 2016. So we will not be having a rally of our own, as we will be busy as host since this event will fall in the Northeast Area. This will be a big plus for the area.

Respectfully,

Thomas Ziobrowski
Your Northeast Area President
tziobrowski@fmca.com

More news from Redmond

Charles Marston directs the Frustrated Maestros at many area and national rallies, including NEAR, 2014.

Roxie, his wife sent us the following:

--------------------------------------------------

I inquired from a Maestro at Redmond...and Syracuse was approved, 2016!!  Yeah!  Chas will not do NEAR 15 as we are doing GLAMA, early in June ends and the Madison. These were approved by the GB Redmond:

2016 Winter @ Perry

2016 summer @Syracuse, NY

2017 winter @ Pamona

Yes, they were approved.  Some changes might take place, especially the National Directors asked that an alternative to Pomona be considered.

 

Roxie

-----------------------------------------

By the way, he will directing in Madison, WS at the 2015 International.  Charlie Adcock specifically asked for him.

News from NMA President, Tom Ziobrowski

Great News. We got this over the weekend from Tom Ziobrowski.

FMCA Assist voted "IN" at the governing board meeting, after many questions and lengthy discussions during the meeting.

A very great benefit to current members as well as perspective members.

Tom

August Rally Highlights

This month, Walt and Beryl Linden hosted a weekend in their back yard surrounded by the Avon Corn Festival.  We ate at the Golden Corral, the Country Diner, had catered pulled pork and turkey, a full breakfast, played games in his yard and burned his fire wood.  All this was done in spectacular weather in spite of the rain before we arrived. Walt’s new generator supplied the electricity we needed.

After rain, grass yards can have this tendency to jump up and bite a camper. This year it happened to Les and Betty Sliker. They thought they got stuck coming in and guess what, they got really stuck. Buried the left rear jack about 6-8 inches. Roy manned the shovel to get the jack out. Fortunately, Harold hooked trailer hitches to his car and was able to get the coach loose.

Washer Toss

Enlarge Picture by clicking on it

There was a first appearance of a Roy and Annie’s completely transformed SEE-YA.  “WOW”!

Welcome new members - Jim and Charlene McSweeney.

It all was a fun weekend !

September Rally

There is information about the September rally on the TAB's above. Look's like fun. Please check out the agenda and application.

Coffee Pot Update

As those who were at the rally in Olcott, NY know, our 25th anniversary coffee pot did a swan dive off the table holding it.
Parts were available, but not the same as our 15+ year old pot. After a couple of false starts, we have combined parts from the web and hardware store plumbing adapters.
I am enjoying a "delicious cup of hot vinegar" right now.
Check it out this weekend.

Harborfest July Rally

Harborfest has turned into a major event with 93 +/- campers coming. It was now a joint rally with the New York Centrals, Pen-NY Mixers and Vintage Bluebirds.
The mayor of Oswego, Charlie Adcock (FMCA President) and Tom Ziobrowski (NEA vice president) visited. A cloud burst on Monday damped us but not our spirits. 

Fingerlakers play a major part as Harold Wollaber, the Sprouts, and Wordens along with rest of us worked through the weekend (5 days) to help make it a success.  Fingerlakers continue to have one of the largest representations and our tent is what made the rally possible. We had a fish fry, pizza dinner and breakfast every morning along with Harborfest and all its entertainment and craft shows

.

JIM and SHERRY MILLER conceived the to come to Harborfest and continue to lead us each time we have done this. 

Pictures may be viewed full screen by clicking on one.

Fingerlakers Help At NEAR

Frustrated Maestros

Three Fingerlakers members headed to Essex Junction, VT for the Northeast Area Rally where we worked with the New York Centrals on seminars. NEAR had about 345 coaches. 

Cruise ship

Happy Hour with NY Centrals

We represented the Fingerlakers at their annual meeting. A new secretary and two new vice presidents (Bob Mills and Don Osterhout) were elected. All other officers remain the same. With several officers new in their positions, we saw some new ideas and some problems that may result from inexperience.    

Evening Entertainment

We really enjoyed the "mystery dinner cruise."

NEWS from NEAR

Thought you might like to know that Charlie Adcock (FMCA President) announced he's on his way to Syracuse to finalize a deal for the FMCA International to be in at the NY Fairgrounds in 2016.

He is coming to Harborfest. So, we might have more news after that.

August Rally

Our August rally is all set, we head for the Linden's estate in AVON, NY where they are planning a great weekend.  It will be dry camping but that’s a way to keep the cost down.

There are TWO tabs above with more information -

• One has the agenda
• The other has the application.

That weekened is also the AVON CORN FESTIVAL with crafts, entertainment and more.
We are looking forward to seeing you all there.

For those who did not see the Newsletter, Walt Linden provided the following information about the August Rally.

FINGERLAKER RALLY

AUGUST 8-10, 2014

ADVANCE NOTICE

Final details have not been confirmed. Due to time constrants below are some details. A special flyer will be e-mailed in the beginning of July. The price for two people will be under $55 including a complete meal, full breakfast, continental breakfast and an ice cream social or two. We are also planning for a guest speaker.

We will have an area for 24 hour generator use. There is a diner at the cornor of Rt 5/20 and Bronson Hill where we will make dinner arrangements with a room for our group.

This is the weekend of the Avon Corn Festival. We will have lawn games and plenty of room for just sitting around under shade trees to enjoy visiting.

This will be a dry camping weekend. Members may arrive any day or time and stay as long as they wish. We will order pizza for lunch on Sunday for those who wish to stay late .

Please bring your own chairs and tables if you have one. We will have the Fingerlaker tent set up.

June 27th - Rally site investigation

The Linden's and the Roule's promised to do some investigation into potential rally sites.

So, in beautiful 75 degree weather we left Livonia, NY about 9:30 am heading east toward a potentially target rich area - Bristol NY.  There, we visited several possible future sites. Bristol Mountain has lots of potential, but they have never hosted a rally and aren't interested.  Ontario County Park has 26 water/electric sites and are willing to allow reserving the sites right after New Years.  The Bristol fireman's field has lots of potential, but we don't have the phone number, yet.  We visited "Bristol Woodlands Campground". It's close to the top of Bristol Mountain on a dirt road. Not quite suited for a group.

From there, we headed northeast toward Montezuma stopping in Geneva for lunch. In Montezuma, we visited Hajamada Campground who advertized caravan and jamboree friendly. After my "thin skin" was penetrated, we decided this place might not be for us.

So, we headed south down the east side of Cayuga Lake and stopped at Twin Oaks Campground and Marina. It's a beautiful marina, but not set up for rallies.

We decided to visit the Pen-NY Mixer rally at Elmira Airport. Getting there shortly before dinner, we joined them.

With one more stop on our agenda, we headed for Hammondsport and the fireman's field to check out the pavilion. We wanted to use the hall for meetings, but it's being used for a wedding.  The pavilion is easily enclosed with tarps and we can use kerosine headers to heat the place.  They are anxious to have us back.  At $20/night including water, electric (looks like 30 amp this year) and the pavilion, it seems like a good choice for our October rally.  We have booked the place.

From there, we headed back to Livonia, arriving 12 hours and 250 miles from our start.

June Rally Highlights

There were 19 of us who showed up for our June rally at Krull Park in Olcott Beach for a great weekend hosted by Roger and Delores Flick (and Nick). Lots of help was supplied by Gary and Sharon Davignon, and many more.  We were on the edge of Lake Ontario with great views from sun-up to sun-set. There was no extra charge to show up on Thursday, so most did. Nick was

responsible for the weather and he came through.

Olcott Beach has a “street of shops” with unique crafts, art and jewelry.

We had 2 nights of dinner in great local restaurants, and Saturday the Flicks supplied ½ chickens while the rest of us supplied our culinary sides and desserts.  Donna Struble supplied a birthday cake to help celebrate Gene’s 80^th.  Breakfast was highlighted by breakfast pizza, rolls and donuts on Saturday and a continental breakfast Sunday. I would be remiss if I did not mention the part the wind played – it blew over the table storing the coffee and condiments on Saturday. Lost about 75 cups of coffee, much of it on Dorothy Taylor. Fortunately, warm clothing, shoes and lots of ice helped protect her from injury.

Saturday night was highlighted by an RV’ing toys auction hosted by Gene Struble.

Thanks to Roger, Delores, Nick and all their helpers for a great weekend and we hope to return to Olcott soon.

Nicholas' Pictures

Nick (Delores' and Roger's) grandson supplied some pictures from our June rally. Here are a few.

ANY PICTURE CAN BE VIEWED FULL SCREEN BY CLICKING ON IT.

2015 Rally Dates are set

Our dates are set for 2015. Click on the "Future Rallies" Tab above.

Also, remember if you find a site and date that will not work on our scheduled date, just propose it. We can work something out.

Book Exchange

Many folks like to read books. One way to get new material is to bring some of your "old" material.
If many do, we have a "book exchange".
Feel free to bring some books to trade. It's free.

June Rally

Our June rally is all set, we head for Olcott beach on Lake Ontario where Roger, Delores Flick, and Nick are planning a great weekend.  It will be dry camping but that’s one way to keep the cost down.

There are TWO tabs above with more information -

• One has the agenda
• The other has the application.

These are also in the newsletter.

Should you want to print out the agenda of the application from the tab above, here's the trick: 

• "Block" the text to print. To "block", move the cursor to the start of text you want to print. Hold down the "left mouse" key and drag to the end of text you want to print. The chosen text will change background color. Screen should look similar to the above:
• Next, bring up a printer screen by pressing and holding the 'Ctrl' key and pressing 'p'.
• Click on 'Selection' to print just what you 'blocked'.

Now the screen will look similar to the one below:

•  Once you are set, click on "OK" and your selection should print.

Remember, if you don't want to fool around with this procedure, you can print the information from the newsletter.

You can view any image full screen by clicking on it.

May Rally Highlights

We are in Amish Country

Our first rally of the year was hosted Jan and Wes Barager, Mary and Dick Randall, and Barb and Dan Burgmaster.  They

Good Eats!

presented us with 3 beautiful days, 1 night of rain to water our freshly fertilized lawns and some great fun in Elkdale RV Park. 16 campers were present for the weekend.

Enjoying the sun

We welcome new members, Jerry Seiwert and his girl friend, Carol.

Saturday morning was highlighted by pancakes (with corn if you like) and sausage put on by Wes and Janet. During the rest of the day while the rest of us wandered, Jan, Wes and Mary put together an Italian lasagna fit for Caesar. We proved it by devouring it in less than 15 minutes. 

Then, Saturday evening, Mary Randall designed a devious game to get us to divulge our inner most secrets about camping experiences. No prizes – just fun. Sunday, we were presented with donuts and coffee to send us on our way to catch up with the Flicks for the June Rally. Thanks to the Baragers, Randalls and Burgmasters for a great weekend.

Any picture can be viewed full screen by clicking on it.

RV PARKY

We spent the last few days after the May Rally traveling through southern Pennsylvania with some old friends from California. One of their favorite means of locating places to stay while traveling is the website -

http://www.rvparky.com/

If you go to the above link, it immediately locates nearby campgrounds (including state parks), Walmarts, Cracker Barrel, Cabellas, Camping World, rest areas, casinos and more. Clicking on their link to the place enables you to find information about  it - like if it allows over night parking. They claim to show 25,000 places. It's updated by folks like us. For example, it lists 16 places around Geneseo, NY - some we didn't know about.

And ........ It's FREE !

There is an APP for Android and I-Phones, too.

You might want to check it out.

We are putting the link under the "Links to other sites" tab above.

National Park experiences

Share the Experience Photo Contest is Back!

With all our travels, many of us take lots of pictures.  Some of these may be in National Parks. The National Parks Service sponsors a photo contest for those pictures. Below is a link to the contest if you might be interested.

The 2014 Share the Experience Photo Contest is now accepting entries through December 31. If you’re an amateur photographer, this is your chance to submit inspiring images of America’s federal lands, national parks, forests, waterways and historical sites. The 2014 contest features many prizes and a brand new submission category – Night Skies.

May Rally

Our May rally is all set.
Wes and Janet Barager, and Dick and Mary Randall have planned a great weekend May 9-11 in Salamanca, and Elkdale campground. Their plans are under the May Rally tab above and a sign up sheet is under the May Application tab.
You can print out the page by -

• Hold the "Ctrl" key and press "p". Print options will come up for your printer
• Choose "Print" and you will get the whole screen as seen.

It is also in the newsletter.

Perry convention notes from Walt Linden

• Perry Convention - 2554 family coaches + 448 commercial coaches = 3002 total coaches
• Chapter members we saw - Millers, Anten, Wollaber, Whilen, Shafer, Moses & Fadale.
• FMCA Nat President (Charlie Adcock) will be in Essex Junction and will spend a few days at HarborFest.
• A proposal will be presented at the Redmond Rally to bring back free FMCA Assist.  Including ways to fund it.
• The Michelin tire deal will be expanded to include passenger vehicles. 
• More benefits are on the horizon.

Future Rallies -

• 2014 summer rally - Redmond , OR. 
• 2015 winter rally, Pomona, CA - Summer rally, Madison, WI 

Walt Linden
wlinden@juno.com

Harborfest Update

We are now ready to send out the Itinerary and registration for the FMCA Oswego Harborfest Rally 2014! While the music acts are not known yet I will pass it along when it is announced. Last year they had a fantastic lineup and we look forward to learning this years performers. I have been told that there will be tall ships this year. The trolley should be picking us up again and Mayor Gillen will be welcoming our group.

We have added a full breakfast on Sunday with pancakes, sausage and eggs. I will be busy fishing this spring as we went through 75 pounds of fillets in 2012. We are working with local vendors and RV suppliers on door prizes. Camping World will be sponsoring the Sunday dinner again and Burdick's RV will be sponsoring the coffee hours allowing us to keep the price unchanged from 2012. We already have 6 paid registrations so we are expecting a good turn out and welcome everyone. Please tell a friend about the rally and bring them.

For our friends making a long trip to the northeast and Northeast Area members wanting more to do, the new officers of the Northeast Motorhome Association led by Tom Ziobrowski have rejuvenated the NE Area Rally and it will be held in Essex Junction, VT from July 17-21, 2014. They promise a great rally and then you can spend a day along the St Lawrence Seaway and arrive in Oswego for the Wednesday fish fry. National FMCA President Charlie Adcock will be at NEAR and then coming to Oswego where he will greet the group and take questions. Tom Z. will join us Friday if you miss him in Essex Junction.

Thursday will have the cocktail and hors d'oeuvre party featuring rum drinks from our trip to duty free St Thomas. The music starts at seven and runs until Sunday at 5.

The fishing in 2012 was incredible and we hope to also get salmon in 2014. Please sign up for the fishing ASAP if you want to go. We hope to fill two boats again this year.  

If you have any questions please call or email.

Jim & Sherry Miller

email: jem590@aol.com

2014 February Florida Get together

For the past several years, we have gathered at the Golden Corral in Leesburg, FL for a western NY snowbird get together.
This year the restaurant in Leesburg closed right after Christmas. So, we moved to the Golden Corral in Lakeland, FL. It turns out to be a great alternative.

53 folks from the Fingerlakers, PenNY Mixers and the Long Islanders (thanks to president Eleanor Rizzi) showed up around 1:00 PM. (Some were REALLY early). We had a room for the whole afternoon and many folks stayed, ate and caught up on stories.

Thanks to all of you who came, driving many miles to see each other.

Microsoft Windows XP support

Some foks like me keep things going to the end of their useful life. Well, Microsoft has decided to finally discontinue support for Windows XP.  Below, I am including information from the Microsoft web site, if you are interested. 

" Microsoft has provided support for Windows XP for the past 12 years. But now the time has come for us, along with our hardware and software partners, to invest our resources toward supporting more recent technologies so that we can continue to deliver great new experiences.

As a result, after April 8, 2014, technical assistance for Windows XP will no longer be available, including automatic updates that help protect your PC. Microsoft will also stop providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP on this date. (If you already have Microsoft Security Essentials installed, you will continue to receive anti-malware signature updates for a limited time, but this does not mean that your PC will be secure because Microsoft will no longer be providing security updates to protect your PC.)

If you continue to use Windows XP after support ends, your computer will still work but it might become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Also, as more software and hardware manufacturers continue to optimize for more recent versions of Windows, you can expect to encounter greater numbers of apps and devices that do not work with Windows XP. "

Your choices are limited; but, most likely, if your PC is over 5 or 6 years old, the best choice may be - buy a new one. However, I will wait a year or so. Windows 9 may be out.

Osaka's Japanese Steak house in Leesburg

As weather along the Gulf coast deteriorated, Walt and Beryl Linden rapidly headed along the Gulf shore to Florida bringing the rain and 40-50 degree temperatures.
In spite of that, 15 of us welcomed them as they organized lunch at Osaka's Japanese Steak House in Leesburg. This has been an event every time they were in the area the last few years.