Camp Kamp

Hi, I am new to this group and live in San Dimas CA.  I have a friend coming out from Illinois on November 8th and am trying to figure out where to go for a week.  

Anyone been to Sedona and have recommendations for an RV camp?

Thanks,

Tim and I had some time this last weekend to do some more work on the high heel shoe prop we built for last years Palm Springs pride parade. TonyP the Palm Springs event host secured a place for us in this years parade and we didnt want to show up without adding something to the mix or making some changes. The steel frame of the shoe was not our in...

I haven't been keeping up with this blog the last couple of months, because the summer was so busy ! What a summer it was ! We had so many great events like Country Cowboy Weekend, Bearapalooza Spirit of the Bear, Hawaiian Luau, and much more !  

  Something everyone has been enjoying a lot is outdoor Golf Cart Drive In Theater. We have been showing movies on the stage with our new projector and everyone  has been a enjoying it quite a bit !! You don't need a golf cart to join the fun, we have lots of chairs, and our full-timers often have room in their carts to snuggle up with new friends. We will do a few more before the weather gets too cold and maybe we can build a fire too. So far it has been an impromptu thing we have been doing on Sunday evenings, but we will be working it into the regular schedule for next year.   

 One of Dorothy's poodles had another litter of puppies and they are just the most adorable creatures. I think that some of the pups have been sold but she still has some of them.

Here's some pictures on Facebook 

Today, we found this terrific RainbowRV website and are very interested in participating with other gay RV owners for fun and travel events. My partner of 8 years, Mike and I are leaving Dallas on 10/15/10 in our newly renovated Class A motor home, nicknamed 'Ugly Betty'.  We would like to ask if anyone knows of good gay RV campgrounds off Rt 40 W hopefully out of Texas and into New Mexico.  Thanks for your help!

Some internet glitch with the Mexico ISP has been preventing me from checking on the site.  Out foxed it by logging remotely into my compter at the office. 
We are having a blast in Mexico and have an accepted offer on a house here in the Ajijic Village.   It reminds me a lot of the French Quarter in New Orleans.  All the houses are inside wall and have wonderful courtyards. 

Thought I'd check and see what you guys(and gals) were up to. 
Will be checking back in now that I know how!

Steve

Michael and I want to thank everyone who participated in this year's Big Bear RRV event!  We hope everyone enjoyed the setting, the activities and most of all each other's company.  Those of us who went on the Action Zipline Adventure had a blast and we wish everyone could have experienced it. 
Hope to see you all next month in Pismo!

Peter and Michael

Hi Guys,

George and I are enjoying retirment.  So far so good!   We've been traveling the southern states visiting relatives before we head south of the border.  We've started a blog on Travelpod.com which is where friends and family can check in and see where we are and how we are doing.  It includes a map showing where you were on your last check in.  Pretty neat!
Will be heading to the Ajijic area of Mexico hopefully in early September. 
If you are interested in checking out our blog here's a link.

http://www.travelpod.com/z/steveandgeorge/1/1280398796

Steve

PART I -
Okay, well, for US seven states, 3600 miles in fifteen days is a BIG trip!  I realize for others that is a drop in the bucket of gas and miles, but it was pretty good for us.  We started in Washington state, headed first to Nampa Idaho where we snagged furniture to replace the missing pieces in our new *used* class A motorhome.  We were thrilled to get an incredible deal on furniture we loved, so it was a great way to start the trip.

We left from there and headed further south in Idaho and found some friends that had moved away from our area years ago.  Had a very short but nice reunion with them, and left the next day for Utah.

Okay, so, Utah.  First of all, we had every kind of weather there possible--rain, sleet, snow, sun, wind.  Wow, the wind.  Second...does Salt Lake City ever end???  We drove and drove and drove (through construction) and I thought it would never end.  The scenery was amazing, that whole are just wasn't what I thought it would be like.  We spent the night in a great little park that was called "Lakeside RV" but was actually "Riverside" :)  But it was a nice place, some beautiful walking trails running around the park, and the lake within walking distance. 
We left there for Zion National Park and our only regret was not planning a LOT more time for that stop.  We only spent one day there and it wasn't nearly enough.  Stupendous, amazing, stunning...just not enough words.  If we go again we will stay close to the entrance of the park in a little RV park in town or right in the state park.  Then we wouldn't have to travel to the park like we did this trip.  It is a great town, seems like a lot to do, and though I may have to get Diane drunk twice to go back (once to agree to the trip, and once to get through the climb out on the very steep, windy roads) I would love to spend an entire vacation between Zion and Bryce--which we missed completely on this trip!

I will come back with PART II - Grand Canyon and Scottsdale later!

I decided to post some recaps of recent trips and go backwards threw the months to include several highlights. I am doing this posting by signing into the members area then hold my mouse over Profile then click on MyBlog Dashboard.  Everyone is encouraged to start a blog.

Temecula Wine and Balloon   is an annual event in Southern California .  In  '08 Tom Davies  the then Southern California  Chapter Rep asked my Tim to host this event.  Tom picked up the momentum that Mike Culpepper started in the Southern California chapter and involved members in hosting events while Tom assisted in the organizational  and promotional aspects.  Tom  set members on a path to better organized events.   Club activities and participation grew to involve almost 200 members at the 2010 campout.  The more the merrier is a proven concept .

Tim and I arrived at the campground early and met Rodney and Gorden to help set up the main meeting area. We collected 200 chairs and 35 tables then planned out the best way to facilitate the planned social gatherings.  We declined the  rv's parks offer to use a concrete court yard and opted to keep members on a close to camp grass area.  Closer to the event start day other members chipped in and help us complete the staging area.  Robert and Randy set up the sound, Cindy and Pat made the name badges, Rainbow Cinema's 16 foot screen was erected by Jody and Allen.  Countless other members assisted in the effort and clean up Sunday morning.

Thursday night was fun but we noticed that many of the members scheduled to arrive for the extra day did not.  Member had a chance to set up, enjoy new friends catchup with familiar faces and get the party started. Friday morning we brewed 120 cups of coffee and members toasted Beagles at the first gathering of the event.  The  various scheduled gatherings are the clubs tool to facilitate fellowship and foster new friendships. Everyone is encouraged to hangout and meet their Rainbow family. 

Friday noon many members ventured into Temecula and the Balloon grounds 5 miles from camp. Local vineyards and shops got their share of members business evident from all the goodies members schlepped (Barry is that the correct spelling?) back to camp.  Tim and I hug out with many of the members who gathered close to their camp with new friends met earlier that day.  I strategically positioned the RainbowRV van where  Tim Beth and Elia sold Jackets, shirts and hats with the new RainbowRV Logo.

Hmmmm

My first time -  out -   with  Betty  - the travel trailer.

The Pacific NW as I have found out is rather wet.

The darkness came too soon and with it the rain.

What I did not know was my battery was just about dead.

Tim and I had some time this last weekend to do some more work on the high heel shoe prop we built for last years Palm Springs pride parade.  TonyP the Palm Springs event host secured a place for us in this years parade and we didnt want to show up without adding something to the mix or making some changes. 

The steel frame of the shoe was not our intended final parade entry last year but the look  worked as time ran out to cover the frame with some type of finished surface.  We experimented with foam and fiberglass with poor results then decided to pull out the singer and review  some quick Youtube How To Sew videos.  

Tim found some silver sequence spandex fabric at a craft chain and traveled to three locations to collect enough material to complete the project.  We needed to have the liner material and sequence-spandex sent out for treatment with fire retardant prior to assembly.  I took advantage of our slow work schedule to make a pattern using cotton sheeting and paper for the heel while we waited for the fabric to be treated.  We were surprised that the treatment took only two days and we were able to get right to cutting and sewing without any delay.

For the construction of the covers we used a machine to sew the black cotton blend liner then inserted 1/4 inch rods to stretch the cover into shape.  The three sections of the shoe were then dressed with the wire enforced liner material then we hand stitched the sequence fabric to the liner. 

Tim pinning liner sections for machine  sewing

Took the RV out for a little shake down trip up to the Buffalo National River here in Arkansas this past week.   Fortunately this river was hardly affected by the rain unlike the deadly flash flood in south western Arkansas.  Our River rose about 4 feet over night with swift currents.  This is a major floating river in Arkansas.  We are planning several more trip this year and needed to find out if all systems were working properly.  A little problem with the pressure switch on the Jabsco water pump but fortunately we had an older one with a good switch.  All systems worked well.

Sleepless night at LL Stub Stewart State Park. Left Portland today to travel around the NW for the Memorial Day Weekend. Man I needed to get away. Work has been a bitch lately. Never ending work. Well, I am away from that and exicted about traveling. I will be meeting my good friend Don at Anthony's Home Court this weekend. What a great place! Dan and Wayne I look forward to seeing you.

Hello Rainbow RV!

My partner of seven-plus years, Dustin, and I have had many exciting adventures.  I've often thought about documenting it or sharing it with others per the suggestions of friends and family along the way.

At one point, a few film students out of LA asked to travel with us to observe our lifestyle and share our "ostentatious" attitude along with the benefits and challenges that brings to one.  That was related to an idea of purchasing a small beach resort off the Northern Coast of Venezuela on Isla de Margarita (Yes, Jimmy Buffet's Margarita Island).  As things progressed, and after meeting with the Venezuelan Consulate in San Francisco; our illustrious President W.T.F. Bush and Chavez stirred up a pissing match and we opted to seek out the perfect location for 'something' here in the states.

I was born and raised 5th generation Southern Californian mostly in the Big Bear Mountain region, and Dustin - a barn raised organic Coastal Oregonian... we had many considerations to keep in mind in order to find the perfect place that we both could call home.

I met 31-year old Dustin when I was 21 and working as a Systems Designer & Business Analyst for an insurance software development company in Los Angeles, he was working his way up an Electrical Engineering Firm that specialized in high-voltage electrical testing for data-centers and power plants in the area.  Our relationship grew, our love for one another innate, and within one-year we were living together in his centrally located historic home outside of LA.

Hi y'all.. I just took some good pics of my "new" motorhome this morning, before the rain set in. It's been warm and humid here, rain off and on the past week. I've not made the progress I was hoping for regarding the waxing, tune up, oil change, etc. There's been alot going on around me with work, sending my parents on a cruise ( I put them on an airplane this morning at 4:30..), company coming in from Florida, etc. In the midst of it all, I needed a break, so I took off to see my new hunny over in Galax, VA. for a day. Wonderful guy, I don't know where he's been hiding all this time, but ecstatic we have gotten together... wish us luck ! LOL ! I hope this finds everyone well, and I will write something more substantial in a couple days.... till then ! Keep a song in your heart....

Well we finally took the plunge.  Closed on the sale of our business(28 years)April 19th.  We are now in a three month transition period which will mercifully end soon so we can get on with the real business of retirement.  We are planning a trip thru Tennessee over to South Carolina, Georgia, Missisippi to visit family around the end of July.  This should be the start of the next great aventure.  So far so good.  Have the motorhome in tip top shape.    Just puchased a new HP laptop with the verizon MIFI since we both have laptops.  George is in the MAC camp.  There are advantages to both.  We can use all the support/information you guys can give us. 

Wish us luck!

 May need some help on the "BLOG" thing.

Steve and George

Roy just let me know about a new promotion we are going to be running, so I wanted to share it with everyone. I think it is really important for us, being the new kid on the block to build up a long term clientèle, so we are offering year leases starting at $1295 for a little while. If you are looking for a place to try out in South Georgia, give us a try !

 Freddy ________________________________________________________________

  - We want you to be a part of our family at Roy's Hideaway!! We understand how important full timers are to a campground and we would love an opportunity to show you what we have to offer here at Roy's. That's why we are offering a very special discount to new long term guests who sign annual leases !!!

 We often have Potluck Suppers, BINGO and movie nights, or you can enjoy the solitude of your own site ! Take advantage of our amenties like our clothing optional pool & spa, fishing lakes and more Year Round !!

Nobody and I mean nobody can deliver, Blues, Gospel and Jazz like the one and only "GEE" Tomorrow night our clubhouse will be transformed into "Gee's Juke Joint".   

Gee (Gordon Michaels)  arrived yesterday and I spent the day setting up the clubhouse for rehearsal.  Frank is backing him up on piano and I sat in on guitar. I am going to play a few numbers with them in the show. (mostly the blues numbers cause I'm not much of a jazz player, but I am going to try Autumn Leaves). It was a lot of fun. I cant think of many things in life I enjoy more than playing with other musicians.  

It's a beautiful morning. I'm sitting in my living room naked with all the windows open around me, watching people start to mill about across the pond. I guess its time to get on my cart and make sure Gee has everything he needs and see about rehearsing again. 

I cant wait to see his show. He is an old school "entertainer" who knows how to work a mic and knows how to work a crowd. He is doing selections from all of his one man shows to give is the full "Gee" flavor . The show is called "Listen to My Heart". That reminds me I also have to make sure the cupcakes and cookies get made to serve during the show !!  Dorothy and Gee wanted to do that together later today. 

Its a good day to live at  gay campground, the pool should be hopping this afternoon. I always enjoy my time with Gee. He's funny and filled with sass and that southern "attitude". Give me a call or just cone on out if you want to join us. 912 225 3900