MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Scott Hicks
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| Scott Hicks Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
The first-ever SoCal, three stop,
summertime rolling rally is in the history books! We ended up with 21 coaches representing not only SoCal, but at least one member from every Alpine chapter. Most everyone had experienced the Oregon
coast before, some having visited multiple times over the years. I think I succeeded in finding at least a couple new attractions to show off to even the most seasoned traveler. You will find articles in this newsletter
that detail some of our fun times.
As our country opens up, rallies
are abounding! Starting in May, ACA
hosted the Salem (OR) rally, followed by the June NorCal Yo-Yo rally, and then the SoCal
Oregon Coast rolling rally. As I write
this, NorCal’s Etna, CA rally is wrapping up.
Next up is the NorCal/SoCal/ACA joint rally near Sonora, CA and the
NoWaca McMinnville, OR rally, both tasting wine in September. Then our own SoCal fall rally at Pala Casino
Resort in early November. The new year
begins with a return to the WMHA annual convention at the Indio Fairgrounds,
followed by the 20th Anniversary Quartzite Desert Rat XX. March of ’22 brings the Seven day (!!)
SoCal/ACA Yuma Pre-Rally right before the FMCA International gathering in
Tucson. Just 5 days later brings the
SoCal/NorCal Morro Dunes rally! Whew! I hope you are ready to rally.
On a more serious note, our club
membership continues a slow decline with recent non-renewals due to some retiring from RVing along with life changes for others.
With all these rallies coming up, please be on the lookout for possible
new Alpine owners to whom you can regale the many benefits of joining our
great club! A club application is
available on the SoCal website. Please
consider carrying a few copies in your coach.
I would be remiss if I didn’t
introduce you to our new newsletter editor. Let me go get her. Please welcome my wife Marcia! Outgoing editor Teresa Weitz partnered with Marcia for this edition, but will be retiring upon publication. Please thank Teresa for her service, and
welcome Marcia, when you see them at upcoming events.
Please continue to stay safe, and
enjoy an upcoming rally (or two).
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
Janet Prodanovich/1st. V.P. Membership
Our current numbers of active SoCal members stands at 57 that includes
7 updated renewals. Let's tell others about how much fun we are having and encourage others to join this amazing group of fellow travelers!!
FMCA NATIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Gayle Picha
Greetings from the FMCA convention in Gillette WY. We made it here in one piece, enjoyed a little down time between the daily thunderstorms, and made it through the brutal Governing Board business meeting… so life is good here on the road!
Here are some fun facts you may not know about Wyoming:
Wyoming is the biggest coal producing State ahead of Kentucky and West Virginia.
The tallest building in the State is 12 stories high.
They also are a State with a lot of firsts-
1st JC Penny store opened in Kemmerer, in 1902 and is still open today.
1st National Park (Yellowstone).
1st National Monument (Devil’s Tower).
1st State to allow women to vote.
1st Woman Governor (Nellie Ross 1925).
We did manage to connect with all the Alpine Coach owners in attendance, (about 10 coaches out of 1342). This was due to the efforts of Dwight and Carolyn Bevans out cruising the complex in their Side x Side. Some sad news though… after careful planning, our Alpine cocktail “meet up” got rained out Wednesday, and :got rescheduled on Friday before the Three Dog Night concert. We managed to take over an empty seminar room for a fun meet and greet with everyone in attendance. Now that the important stuff is on he table, I’ll get down to the mundane meat and potatoes.
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| Three Dog Night Concert Photo by: Gayle Picha |
There was a lot of business to take care of in the Governing Board meeting. We met the day before to review the proposed changes to both the By-laws, and Process and Procedures in an attempt to keep the official business meeting to a realistic time schedule… despite the effort, it still went into overtime.
I won’t go into detail on things but will hit the highlights of the things that affect most
members. The first being the election of officers for 2021 Executive Board. They are as follows:
Senior Vice President: Gary Milner
Secretary: Kathie Balogh (current secretary, ran un-opposed)
There were changes to both the By-laws, and Policy and Procedures that needed to be addressed to prevent a repeat of several issues that arose during the last term. The most important of these has to do with Budget and Reporting. The Budget was unanimously approved, but not without a lot of discussion and questions from governing board members about how things were reported and represented.
The good news is, six months into 2021, and I might add, for the first time in many years, we are operating in the black. John Reynolds, current Treasurer was heavily grilled by many members of the governing board early in the meeting. By the end of the day, he was credited with doing a great job in tough times.
Outgoing President, John Walker, also gave his report and farewell. He accomplished his goals despite challenges Covid threw in front of him. As of this point in time, FMCA is stable and on an uphill climb.
I want everyone to know that serving on the Executive Board is a volunteer position. For the most part, these jobs are a tough and thankless job, yet these people continue to serve under difficult and sometimes adverse conditions. They have my total respect.
Other pertinent bits of information I have to share are as follows:
“FMCA Assist”, a worthwhile benefit, will remain “as is” for the time being. Chubb, the current insurance carrier, has worked hand in hand to keep our policy affordable. Lloyds of London had previously been the carrier, and would not commit to a fixed rate.
Chubb has said that as long as the loss rate remains under 60%, rates will not change. Our loss rate is currently running between 37 and 40 percent.
Dues have been reduced and will remain at $50 for family members. Commercial members will also pay the $50 membership rate. Commercial members do not receive all the benefits FMCA offers, but must be members in order to offer their products and services in the magazine and at events. By not charging them a higher fee, it is hoped that more will
join and offer products and services that we, as RVer’s want and need. As members we should first seek to support those that support us.
It should be noted that FMCA’s #1 priority is Membership, and the key to the future of
FMCA. We all need to do our part to talk to and invite both RVers and suppliers that share our love of the lifestyle. Ask them to join with us to build and restore our organization. To insure long-term success, it is important to share the benefits of membership to this organization with the next generation of RVers.
So much of what has happened in the last few days has focused on “reviewing and adjusting
knobs”, resulting in major strides to improving the platform that is FMCA. I sincerely hope I haven’t missed any important highlights.
We wish everyone good health and safe travels, and hope to see you all again soon.
Alpine Coach NorCal and SoCal
Jim Archer
I hope everybody is doing well, slowing coming out of our Covid shells. Our lack of club activity has led to inactivity of our website with few rallies to add to the list. Most of last year’s activity was behind the scenes where a few software updates caused a few glitches in my system. Now that we have finally had a rally (yea!), I was informed there is a glitch in the website where we add a list of rally attendees. So now I have a project!
This is in addition to the coach projects I have from our trip to Oregon for the rolling rally. (The rally was great for those of you who did not attend.) Our hydraulic system stopped working, so no slides or jacks. The problem was traced to a bad relay on the HWH control box, which I was able to replace. The jacks and slides are working again.
Years ago I built a bypass box to operate the jacks in the event of a control box failure. Unfortunately it didn’t work as planned. So now I am working to fix that as well.
And to top it off, my beloved plasma TV HDMI circuits stopped communicating with my other device's HDMI circuits, resulting in a “No Signal” error. This led to another project I am currently working on.
GEARHEAD REVIEW-OREGON COAST RALLY
Scott Hicks
On the last Wednesday of our Oregon Coast rally, I hosted a gearhead talk. The topic was Solar and
Lithium Batteries. I had just finished
upgrading our coach to lithium batteries with new solar panels. The rally was our first trip of actually
using the system. We were dry camping in
Newport, so it was an excellent opportunity to share how we liked the system.
We had a great group with varying experience ranging from
already having Solar and/or lithium batteries installed, to those interested
upgrading. Great input from all, and I
think everyone went away with something learned (including me!).
The talk began with a discussion of benefits of lithium
batteries, followed by potential issues and myths of the technology. Information on how many batteries you need,
various brand names, building your own battery, and technical terms were
covered.
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| Solar Panels install on our Alpine Photo by: Scott Hicks |
We then moved into solar, again demystifying some technical
terms, determining how to calculate the number of solar panels needed, tips on
DIY installation, and a review of types of charge controllers available.
By the end of the rally, we had spent 3 days in a row dry
camping in Newport. The generator was
never started! Despite overcast skies in
the mornings, and partly sunny afternoons, our four 175w panels harvested more
than enough power to fully recharge the batteries. Bring on Quartzite!
SARC 3rd QUARTER 2021Debbie Lacy
First off, we would like to introduce our newest member to our SARC Committee, Linda Matthews. Thank you Linda for joining us!
After our Pandemic Hiatus it appears that we are back with a vengeance. The Oregon Coast Rolling Rally was a huge success thanks to Scott & Marcia Hicks and Steve & Linda Matthews. (See the enclosed articles regarding the details of the rally.)
Below is the rally schedule for the balance of 2021 and 2022
2021
Location Date Wagon Masters
Black Oak Casino RV Park, Sonora, CA September 23-28 Matthews / Polk
(Joint NorCal/SoCal/ACA)
REGISTRATION DEADLINE-AUG 31ST
Our destination is in the Sierra Foothills. The RV park is fairly new and features concrete RV pads, full hook-ups, and a clubhouse, heated pool & spa, and shuttle service to the casino. The resort has a bocce ball court, cornhole, horseshoes and a fishing pond.
Our 6 day—5 night rally will include an optional private guided tour of the Gianelli Vineyards, premier producers of award winning Italian varietals. During our tasting we will have a spectacular view of the surrounding foothills seen from their picnic area. We encourage all non-tasters & tasters to bring a picnic lunch & enjoy the view.
We will also venture to Railtown 1897 State Historic Park where we will board a vintage steam train for an excursion through the golden Sierra Foothills. After our train ride we will tour the historic park and a working roundhouse.
Other activities include:
Fishing derby so bring your tackle with barbless hooks, you might catch the big one!
For the ultimate game of chance - The 2nd First Annual Pumpkin Bowl!
Lots of fun, good food & great camaraderie.
Pala RV Resort, Pala, CA November 5-8 Hambarian / Prodanovich
Pala RV Resort is located in Pala not far from the Wine Country of Temecula. Details still in the works
2022
WHMA Indio Rally, Indio, CA January 12-16
ACA Desert Rat 20th Anniversary Rally January 19-25
Quartzsite
FMCA Tucson Pre-Rally Yuma, AZ March 13-20 Picha / Barr
(Joint SoCal/ACA)
FMCA 106th Int’l Convention Tucson, AZ March 23-26
Morro Dunes RV Park, Morro Bay, CA March 31-Apr 5 Collins / Hasman
(Joint SoCal/NorCal)
Kinectic Sculpture Races Mad River RV Park May 25-Jun 1 Fichera / Mayfield
Arcata, CA (Joint NorCal/SoCal)
Railside RV Ranch, Williams AZ Sep 7 – 14
Tentative Spot Rally
Alpine SoCal 20th Anniversary Rally Nov 3 – 8 Prodanovich / Archer
Chula Vista
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Marcia Hicks
Over the last four years this newsletter has been faithfully composed and edited by Teresa Weitz and I would like to thank her for her hard work and dedication to this momentous task. I would also like to thank Michael Weitz for his contributions to the newsletter as well. Michael has taken the time to plot out all of the rally locations on a map for our convenience. The map page can be found at the top of the newsletter page adjacent to the home page. At this point we don't have anyone to take on this aspect of the newsletter and Michael is willing to train someone to carry on this project. Please let me know if you would like take on this part of the newsletter.
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www.clipartlibrary.com
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Looking forward, I foresee having the newsletter published three times yearly-August, December and April. Hopefully this will cover most of the rallies that happen in between these dates. Submissions for the newsletter can be made at any time, so be thinking about what you might want to share with your fellow Alpine travelers! We all love to hear about your adventures, good, bad, funny or sad! Send your submission to newsletter@alpinesocal.com. When sending photos with your submissions, please include the pdf as well.
Use your imagination, get creative and let's expand the newsletter. I'm sure there are other things that our fellow Alpine travelers would love to hear about. Maybe you have come across a great attraction in your travels or a fabulous restaurant, a lovely winery or an amazing lookout along the route that you took to the beach. Let me know and I'll include it in the next edition!
RALLY REMINISCINGS
Oregon Coast Rolling Rally-June 16-25, 2021
Stephanie Archer
Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’
Up the Oregon Coast we’re goin’, Alpine. Through wind &
misty weather, we’re having fun together, With our Alpine friends right by our
side. Head ‘em up, Move ‘em out. Alpine.
Twenty one coaches met at Turtle Rock RV Park in Gold Beach,
Oregon to begin a nine-day trek up the Oregon Coast. Rally attendees came from California,
Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arkansas with Alpine club
representation from SoCal, NorCal, ACA and NoWaCa.
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| Turtle Rock-Oregon Coast Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
We were treated to a catered brisket dinner after arriving and
setting up in Gold Beach. We huddled
behind and between the wagon masters’ coaches for happy hour and dinner because
the wind was really blowing off the ocean.
The following morning a group of us took a 104-mile jet boat ride up and
down the Rogue River. We saw sea lions,
bald eagles, osprey, great blue heron and deer.
During the warmest part of the day, the jet boat pilot did his best to
get us wet, either making 360 degree turns in the middle of the river or
speeding through the dips in the rapids.
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| Jerry's Jet Boat Excursion! Photo by: Jerry's Jet Boats |
We stopped at a fishing lodge in Agnes for lunch and were treated to a
home cooked meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, coleslaw
and lemon berry cake. I’m surprised the
jet boat didn’t sink on the way back to the dock! The next day was a free day to explore the
towns around Gold Beach (Bandon & Brookings). Pizza and salad were served for dinner that
night with ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
Have I mentioned we’re eating really well on this trip?
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| Lunch in Agnes Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
Saturday was travel day to Winchester Bay RV Resort, a 2-hour
drive north from Gold Beach. This resort is one of the premium RV resorts on
the Oregon Coast….beautiful views of Salmon Harbor out your windshield! Once
again, the wind was really blowing off the ocean. So we huddled between the two wagon masters’
coaches for happy hour and to “burn our own meat” for dinner.
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| Winchester Bay View Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
On Father’s Day we drove to Florence, where
Scott grew up, for Scott’s famous “Old Towne” walking tour. While ambling along Bay Street, he shared
lots of history about sights and buildings around town as well as stories about
some of the town’s more colorful residents.
After the one hour walking tour, the group split up to enjoy shopping
and lunch. Later that afternoon, Linda
Emory walked a group of junior Picassos through the process of creating an
acrylic painting master piece – “SoCal Tsunami.” I named my master piece “Nessie,” because it
looks more like a sea serpent than an ocean wave. It was my first “sip &
paint” session. I think I should have
done more “sipping.”
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| Sip & Paint Photo by: Debi Johnson |
Dinner that night
was chicken or tri-tip, mashed potatoes, veggies, macaroni salad, potato salad,
coleslaw and strawberry shortcake. Have
I mentioned we’re still eating really well on this trip? Monday morning, the group headed south to
Charleston for a tour of the arboretum at Shore Acres State Park and then into
Coos Bay for lunch at one of Scott’s favorite restaurants, Fisherman’s
Grotto. That afternoon we took a tour of
the Historic Egyptian Theater in downtown Coos Bay. The theater opened in 1922. It contains a working Wurlitzer organ that
was installed when the theater opened to provide sound effects for the silent
movies. After the theater tour, we were
treated to an hour long organ concert by the organist who has maintained that
organ since 1980!
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| Egyptian Theatre Photo by: Debi Johnson |
Tuesday was travel day to Newport Marina & RV Park, a
2-hour drive north from Winchester Bay.
There were magnificent ocean views and forested roads along the
route. Light houses, whale watching, the
Newport Aquarium, fresh seafood are just a few of the draws to Newport. Many of us spent the afternoon exploring the
area and/or relaxing. Happy hour was
followed by another yummy catered meal….clam chowder or chili in bread bowls,
salad and ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
Scott’s gear head session, on Wednesday, may end up costing some
attendees money….He discussed his installation of lithium batteries and the
solar panels used to charge them. Thursday, the
skies were blue and the sun was shining for our final day in Newport. It was a nice change from the low clouds and
overcast skies we’d had for almost a week.
After a day on our own, we enjoyed each other’s company one more time
over another delicious meal, a fried chicken feed. Then it was time for hugs and safe travels
until the next rally.
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| Historic Newport Bridge Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
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| Rock Formations Oregon Coast Photo: Stephanie Archer |
I want to extend a
gigantic THANK YOU to our wagon masters, Scott & Marcia Hicks and Steve
& Linda Matthews! A nine-day rally
with three separate stops was a tremendous undertaking. The rally was a roaring success. And from this attendee’s perspective, the
rally came off flawlessly. I’d also like
to thank Linda & Jay Emory for providing the art supplies and leading the
“Sip and Paint” session for junior Picassos to create their own “SoCal Tsunami”
master piece.
MAIL BOAD ADVENTURES
Susan Vargo
Jerry’s Rogue Jets (RogueJets, Inc.) established in 1958, and the Rogue River Mail Boats (Mail Boat Service, Inc.) established in 1895, have shared a competitive history. On March 1, 2010 Jerry’s Rogue Jets purchased the Rogue River Mail Boat company merging nearly 160 years of commercial jet boat experience on the Rogue River.  |
| Rally Guests-Ray & Wendy Sell-Oregon City Photo by: Scott Hicks |
On June 17th a group of 27 brave souls headed to Jerry's
Rogue Jets in Gold Beach Oregon for a memorable 104 mile round trip adventure
on the Rogue River. Our boat captain was John Carl, accompanied by his dog
Brandy.
John grew up along the Rogue River and was an excellent guide
full of knowledge about the wildlife, plant life and historical places along
the river.
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| Mike and Donna Hambarian Photo by: Sue Vargo |
Jerry’s Rogue Jets and the Rogue River Mail Boats are a careful blend of adventurous jet boating, nature based tourism and unscripted narrated entertainment; all of the captains are veteran boatmen of the Rogue River.
We saw deer, Osprey, heron, American bald eagles and turtles. We
enjoyed a delicious fried chicken supper at a lodge along the river. We
all got wet, did lots of spins, hooted and hollered and had a great day.
No doubt everyone slept well that night.
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| American Bald Eagle Photo: Debi Johnson |
GASTRONOMICAL AND CULINARY PURSUITS ON
THE OREGON COAST
Mikey Collins
The Alpine SoCal Rolling Rally along the Oregon Coast was a
huge success and culinary treats were to be found! If you like eating out, good food, and
bakeries in particular, read on!
Our first 3 days were in Gold Beach and started with Jerry’s
Rogue River Jet Boat Tour. A wet and
wild adventure and loads of fun! We were
treated to a yummy fried chicken lunch, family style, dining alfresco, with all the
trimmings (corn, mashed potatoes and
gravy, coleslaw, watermelon, cake.) Provided by the amazing owners at Lucas Lodge in Agnes, OR.
While in Gold Beach, we had lunch at Barnacle Bistro. Great fish tacos, the garlic fries are their
specialty! While driving around Gold Beach (it doesn’t take long) I came across a
little bakery called Leavened Bread at 2nd & Stewart. Open
W-Sat, 10-6. We tried the delicious,
still warm-from-the-oven polenta rosemary bread, as well as a few of their "kouign
amanns" – like a croissant, only better!
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| https://clipartcraft.com/ |
Day 4, we moved on to beautiful Winchester Bay. Scott Hicks led a personal tour of Florence
and while there, we all lunched at various places. We chose the Beachcomber Bar-great
burgers! We can also recommend Lovejoy’s
Tea House for baked goods and chowder, and Novelli’s on the Dock for chowder.
After 3 days in Winchester Bay, we moved on to Newport. We lunched at the Rogue Brewery- really tasty Rogue beer-battered halibut fish-n-chips!
I cannot say enough about Tidal Raves in Depot Bay. Depot
Bay is about a 15-20 minute drive north but well worth it! Delicious seafood,
great service, and amazing view!
(I have it on good authority that Georgie’s in Newport is
very good as well. Too many restaurants,
not enough time!)
La Maison is a little sort of hole-in-the-wall bistro in
Newport that is outstanding for breakfast.
They bake their own goodies (go early, they open at 9:00 and run out
quickly!) I love this place.
Next time I want to explore Nye Beach restaurants.
Misc. notes
- Thriftway grocery store in Newport has a very
nice wine shop with local (Oregon) wines.
- For a hardy, diner breakfast, Pig-n-Pancake is
located in various towns on the coast.
DAY IN BANDON-WASHED ASHORE GALLERY
Linda Matthews
The Washed Ashore Exhibit is located in Bandon, Oregon and was started in 2010 by Angela Hazeltine Pozzi after the tragic loss of her husband. The gallery, located in a newly remodeled space feature collections of intricate, beautifully designed, giant sea life sculptures made entirely of marine debris collected from beaches.
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| Jellyfish made from recycled materials Photo by: Linda Matthews |
Definitely a
fantastic display of creativity and awesome imagination the Washed Ashore
Museum was a highlight for me. All of the artworks were
created with pieces that were found on the local beaches. Instead of this
“trash” harming wildlife or clogging up the beaches artists collaborated to
repurpose their findings into these fabulous pieces that others could enjoy.
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| Steve and Linda Matthews--Co-Rally Masters Photo by: Linda Matthews |
The displays have been highlighted in many traveling exhibits all over the country. Currently showing at Green Bay Botanical Garden in Wisconsin, The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, Florida, The Norfolk Botanical Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia and the gallery has an ongoing exhibit at the Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
SIP AN PAINT--"TSUNAMI WAVE"
Bill & Rhoda Barr
After the Rogue River Mail Boat
Run, eating gobs of wonderful seafood, and a walking tour of Florence led by
our own Scott Hicks, what else could we do to have fun? We got to participate in a Sip N Paint class,
led by Linda Emory. Linda took us through each step of the process as we painted each color of the background and then we carefully made our "wave" come to life--it was like magic!!
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| Linda Emory Photo by: Debi Johnson |
We sipped our wine. We painted.
We laughed. There were a few “Oh no!” and “Oh my!”(s). Some of us were
beginners and some more experienced, but thanks to Linda, we were all artists. Our Alpine Tsunami Waves rolled into Winchester Bay.
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| Bill Barr - "Tsunami Wave" Photo by: Rhoda Barr |
SCOTT HICKS’ FAMOUS WALKING TOUR
FLORENCE, OREGON
Marcia Hicks
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| Scott Hicks Florence Walking Tour Photo from 2018 Archive |
When Scott Hicks was growing up in Florence, Oregon the weather was
always grey and gloomy, but on this lovely morning the skies were a bit bluer
and the temperature was a balmy 60 degrees as he led a group of approximately
30 of his fellow SoCal Alpine owners thru his (second) hometown of Florence,
Oregon. The group marveled at the
Siuslaw River Bridge, designed by Conde McCullough and built in 1936 by members
of the CCC, (Civilian Conservation Corps) which provided jobs for young,
unemployed men during the Great Depression.
At this point it was where Scott introduced the group to one of the
“characters” of Florence! Bill
Karnowski, owner of Bill’s Auto Service was a local fixture of the town and was
famous for flying his Piper Cub airplane UNDER the Siuslaw River Bridge and
taking along local boys and girls with him on the “trip of a lifetime”!! My, how times have changed.
Moving on down Bay St. Scott pointed out
Addie’s Café, which was lovingly known as the “friendly café”, however if Addie
didn’t like your appearance, she would refuse to serve you. So much for the
“friendly” part!! The Florence Hotel,
probably built around 1910, was condemned and burned down by the local
volunteer fire department as a training exercise in 1969. The famous Kyle Building was built in 1901 by
William H. Kyle as a mercantile. In the 60’s the building was known as the
Cooper Building and in the early 70’s the building was in the City's sights to be razed, but then saved by three young
couples who had moved to Florence from the LA area. They created a space for themselves and other
artists. At one point the building was
used to print and manufacture foil backed wallpaper. The Harbor Theatre as well as George’s Place
Tavern was purchased by Donald E. Hicks, Scott’s father in the late 1960’s and
the theatre is where Scott honed his sound and projection skills for his
future career in the movie theatre business.
Donald Hicks was sometimes called the “Baron of Bay Street” by some, and "the old goat" by others. As owner and operator of Don’s Beachcomber
Tavern, Don brought people together from all walks of life. As his son-in-law remembers, “He just
accepted everybody.” His daughter Jill
said, “He wanted to get things done and get them done in a way that was
best”, and "best" was usually his way. “He also knew how to throw a
party”! The tour ended at the wharf at
the end of Bay St., the place where in the old days the local fishermen would
tie up their boats and lumber up the docks after a long day on the water for a
cool one in the tavern. We availed
ourselves of some of the local cuisine—it was the topping on the cake of a great
morning stroll down Bay Street!!
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| Siuslaw Bridge Photo by: Debi Johnson |
SHORE ACRES GARDEN AND ARBORETUM
Cindy Lagerstrom & Bob Preston
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| Shores Acres Garden and Arboretum Photo by:Cindy Langerstrom |
A
friend of ours had recommended going to Shore Acres State Park, so we were
happy to see that it was a scheduled activity during the Oregon Coast
Rolling Rally. We assembled at the entrance where hosts Marcia and Scott
Hicks presented an overview and history of the park. In the formal garden
we found several roses a friend of ours had hybridized, Tom Carruth who is
currently the curator of the rose collections at The Huntington Library in
Los Angeles and has created more than 100 rose varieties.
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| Floribunda Rose Photo by: Cindy Langerstrom |
After touring
the garden, we embarked on a 4-1/2-mile hike on the Cape Arago Pack Trail which
led us through the forest above the coast and past a WWII bunker and down to
Cape Arago South. We followed the coast trail back to the garden which
included spectacular views of Simpson Reef and Simpson Beach.  |
| Simpson Beach Photo by: Cindy Langerstrom |
We
want to thank our hosts Marcia and Scott Hicks as well as co-hosts Linda and Steve
Matthews for organizing several activities such as this that made for an
enjoyable and smooth-running rally!
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| Steve Matthews, Scott Hicks, Marcia Hicks, Linda Matthews Photo by: Teresa Weitz |
WHAT FUN WE HAD!!!
Marcia Hicks
Nine days of fun, fun, fun! And the food!!! Twenty coaches and one guest coach gathered for the rolling rally to the southern Oregon Coast.
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| Turtle Rock RV Park Photo by: Teresa Weitz |
With wagon masters Scott & Marcia Hicks and their trusty cohorts, Steve & Linda Matthews the gang rallied along the Oregon Coast for the best time exploring the great food, fauna and friendships that go along with being a member of SoCal. There were many scheduled trips, but there was also time for daily excursions to explore each area on our own as well.
Be sure and check out the "Photos" page here on the Blog to see additional photos of this fabulous rally!! Thank you to all of the photographers who graciously contributed photos for this newsletter and for the photo album-Stephane Archer, Bill & Rhoda Barr, Scott Hicks, Debi Johnson, Linda Matthews, Gayle Picha, Susan Vargo, and Teresa Weitz.
I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE...
Marcia Hicks
I Heard it through the Grapevine... I just discovered this phone app: "Caltrans
QuickMap". http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ Thought it would be handy for anyone travelling through
California. Among other things, it can display all the rest areas in California
and whether they are open or closed. Stephanie Archer-Lake Forest, CA
I Heard it through the Grapevine...."After the Rolling Rally, several owners traveling to their next destination faced triple digit temperatures. Here are some recommendations that one Alpine owner found helpful .
How to survive traveling in 100 +degrees"! Here is what we've done. Drive with engine back cover open.
Bedroom shades closed. When we went to Alaska I made cover to put up in shower
to block light it also kept heat out. Rigged towel to cover bathroom
window to cut heat entering next lowered the rest of night shades except
for one needed by driver. We put a spring rod between
front and rear area of coach. I pinned a casing in long towel to hang there. Helped
keep heat from engine in back so front AC worked better. Also run generator to
power main AC when dash couldn't handle heat while driving. Cool collar and mist spray bottle would be helpful also. Debbie Johnson-Simi Valley, CA
