long RV friends would be Rich and Diane Emond. I
had been e-mailing Rich with questions and have
followed his web-page www.roamingamerica.com for
several years now. Rich and Diane were passing
through our area and decided to put a face with a
name. We had a great visit with them the week
preceding Labor Day 2004. In the picture Rich and
Diane are standing next to their beautiful Dutch Star.
We will always be grateful for their encouragement
and guidance as we proceed.
RVing Fulltime. They are pictured standing next to
their brand new 2005 Dutch Star. I have also been
following their information packed web-site
www.seeya-downtheroad.com for several years.
Norm and Linda were close to our area and stopped
to say hello the week-end of July, 9th & 10th, 2005.
We had a great visit. E-mailing, and contact through
the internet is wonderful, but when you can finally
meet each other and instantly feel that warmth
through an introductory handshake life is good.
When you part company with huge hugs and
sadness after two very short days of talking and
sharing life experiences, you know you have found
friends for life.
relatively new (like us) to owning an RV and
thoroughly enjoying it. We had the pleasure of
camping near and meeting this wonderful family while
at Goose Island CG, South of La Crosse, Wisconsin
while finishing up business in the local former home
area, and preparing to depart for our planned
retirement travels.
just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and our just
been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and our plans of
yesterday were suddenly to be interrupted.
plans of yesterday were suddenly to be interrupted.
The Wilsey's without hesitation took us into their
hearts and under their wing so to speak and for a few
short days became that shoulder and support that we
so desperately needed. The genuine concern and
heartfelt warmth truly helped us through a rough
scary time.
Thank you, Dennis, Ginny, Bennett, & Anna; we look
forward to camping next to you in the future and value
your friendship. You epitomise what this RV lifestyle
is all about.
factory for some annual warranty work during April 2007.
We shared a lot of conversation about the RV lifestyle
and went out to eat together at a great steak house in
Elkhart called the RoadHouse. Jim and Pat expressed
that they would be traveling the North West in late
summer and fall of 2007 and it is our hope that we can
connect with each other as we will be in the North West
during much of the same time.
various parts of the country. We were privledged to
meet them at BlackHawk Park near Lansing Iowa. Jerry's
frequent stops at our site to visit were always welcomed
and their joining us for a couple of cook outs and our
special Champagne celebration at the conclusion of
Kathleen's radiation treatments will always be
remembered. They will return to their stick home in
Florida at the end of this assignment but we hope to
cross paths with them in the future.
their coach being about 10 days old when we had the
pleasure of meeting them at Goose Island Park near La
Crosse Wisconsin in July of 2007. They had just taken
possession of their coach and were making a trip cross
country to a couple of rallies in Oregon. We will also be
attending one of those rallies in August and hope to
connect with them again.
River Trip with Norm and Linda Payne and it was our
pleasure to meet them as Norm, Don, and I got to spend
several wonderful days together fishing and just
enjoying each others company during July 2007. Gloria
is Norms sister. Don and Gloria call Indiana home yet as
they still own that stick home but they do travel more
days each year than they spend at home. Don gave
Kathleen and I hand made lanyards to hold our
identification cards when we attend Rallies and we will
put them to good use soon.
of October 2007 staging for our winter trip to La Penita
Mexico when Glen and Brenda pulled in next to us and
after introductory hello's we discovered they too were
going to be on the caravan. Glen and Brenda were in a
different group than the "Hooker" group that we were
part of in the caravan but our friendship had been
cemented in Tucson. We helped welcome them as
honorary "Hookers" when they attended a good ol' USA
Thanksgiving celebration at our pad after arrival in
Mexico. We look forward to staying in touch with them
in our coming seasons of travel. Glen, Brenda, and
Lu Lu (their miniature poodle) call Campbell River, B.C.
home.
# four in the caravan coming down to La Penita RV Park
in Mexico, Ken and Debbie added a great deal of
stability to some tough driving situations. With Ken
behind the wheel and following me I knew that I had
nothing to worry about if I had to get on the binders.
Ken and Debbie are full-time and originally called
Minnesota home. They like us now use South Dakota
as their domicile.
Our group of six couples, the Hookers, have continued
to remain close. Ken, Debbie, and Buck (their huge
loveable pooch) always have the welcome mat out at
their pad in La Penita Mexico.
Marg and Gerry Perron from Courtenay, B.C. are a
delightful couple who both add a unique element of
humor to every function they participate in. On
Hamburger night when all have been fed, Gerry and
Marg are the first to hit the dance floor and they can
really "Cut a Rug" and get us all clapping. Like us
they are enjoying the Tropics for the winter and
come spring will head back to B.C. We will for sure
make plans to visit Margaret and Gerry if we are
ever in the Courtenay area.
Brian and Olga are from Castlegar, B.C. Close
friends, fishing buddies, and frequent travel
companions with Gerry and Margaret, Brian and
Olga round out a fun group. When having
conversation with Brian one is always waiting for his
one line zingers! He can get you laughing when you
least expect it. I will gently twist the arms of Brian
and Gerry to take me fishing when we travel to their
part of the world.
and are part of our original band of six "Hooker"
couples. They are shown standing in front of their
location in the La Penita RV Park and after dark
have a very festive, appropriate to the area, light
display. Jim has an inflatable Kayak and has done
the ocean shore several times. Debbie is the life
of and active in most of the events going on in the
park. Truly a fun couple to be around.
were our La Penita "Hooker" Caravan Leaders.
"Hooker #1" as they became known on the radio's.
They had been to the La Penita RV Park before
and were making their third trip South of the
border. The experience they brought to the trip
was invaluable, when it came to negotiating our way
through or around some of the towns. It made a
nail biting time more tolerable for us first timers.
Marion and Barry call Sooke B.C. home. Thanks
M & B, you are special.
for years and years to come. Or then again maybe
they won't. They lost the engine to a cracked block in
their beautiful Discovery Motor Home just miles short
of arriving in La Penita. Stayed for one month in
rental units in the Park as the engine was being
rebuilt by very competent Mexican Diesel Mechanics,
and now, since moving back in their own Motor Home,
have created one of the nicest pads for the rest of us
to stop for a visit. Al is a master carver and creates
beautiful pieces. Jean is active in most Park
functions and has taken on being the Chairman of
our scheduled RV Park Christmas Dinner. They call
Campbell River B.C. home.
Rob and Lori Nason. The first part of their stay in La
Penita they were accompanied by Robs parents and
we enjoyed meeting them as well.
Rob and Lori kept the humming bird feeders full at
their pad and it was always a treat to visit with them
as the little birds entertained us all.
Rob and Lori were an easy couple to be friends with
as they were always willing to be part of our
exploratory trips out and about in the La Penita area
of Mexico. We look forward to visiting them when we
make our trip through Sask. Canada.
have been a fun couple to get to know. Thursday
night is movie night at the pool and these two do a
great job of selecting the showing and then running
the equipment. When a bunch of us get together to
go exploring, Jack and Nancy are always game to be
part of the action. When Karaoke night is held at the
pool Nancy is happy to do a variety of songs and
does a beautiful job of keeping those of us who can
not sing entertained. When we make it to the
Winnipeg area we will be giving them a call.
were our neighbors in the La Penita RV Park for the
last half of our stay. Neil and Joan were immigrants
from Zimbabwe in the 70's and settled in Canada.
They both still have a very delightful South African
accent. We wish we had gotten to know them much
earlier in our stay as the conversations we did share
were enlightening about the trials and tribulations of a
young family having to uproot their lives and seek a
better life for themselves due to political unrest in their
home country. We admire them for all the adversity
that they had to overcome and consider them very
special friends.
and little did they know how valuable they would be to
the winter residents of La Penita RV Park as
teachers. Many, including us, when we wanted to
know something would seek out either Gayle or Tony
and either get a good recommendation or an answer
to our questions. They both have a lot of knowledge
about Mexico and especially the area around La
Penita. Tony and Gayle call BC Canada home when
the weather warms.
Lincoln Nebraska area were our neighbors at the
Thousand Trails Thunderbird Preserve near Monroe
Washington. We shared a couple evenings of
discussion with this delightful couple and enjoyed
seeing some of their Alaska adventure pictures as
they were just returning from that trip. They have
been on the road about as long as we have and it
was fun to exchange our thoughts about the life style.
like us are not looking back. When I first met Roger
he said to me, "Don't you just hate it", and we both
had a laugh. In just a few days camped side by side
we established another strong friendship.
Roger is a first class, talented carver and whittler and
we enjoyed seeing his work. Roger presented me
with my first carving knife and encouragement to give
it a try. Kathleen also has an interest, so who knows.
Roger also gave me a couple examples of his work
and they will remain treasures for sure.
We look forward to crossing paths with these two
wonderful friends again in the future.
Margaret McNew have been fun to spend time with.
We first met the McNews at the Toutle River RV Park
while doing some "Workamping" in the summer of
2009. We stayed in touch and hooked up again
during the Winter of 2009/2010 while they were
staying on South Padre Island, Texas and we were
at the Fun N Sun Resort in San Benito, Texas.
We will be making contact with them again this
summer of 2010 as they spend their summers as we
do in the North West of Washington State. They will
have Kids to spend time with as will we, but for sure
we will get together.
neighbors at Fun N Sun Resort in San Benito,
Texas for part of the winter 2009/2010.
One of the highlights of our travels together was to
go to Ganzalaz Burgers in Donna Texas where one
can experience the "Giant Burger of the Rio Grand
Valley".
We made several trips together but mostly just
enjoyed being neighbors.
Jean-Louis and Carole hope to travel to Mexico for
winter 2010/2011 and we have shared our
knowledge from our two winters there. We will be
anxious to hear from them when they are in Mexico.
This delightful couple are full-time in their beautiful
motorhome and call Montreal, Canada their home
area.
privileged to have Fred and Yvonne as our close
neighbors while wintering 2010/2011 at 'Fun-n-Sun'
RV Resort in San Benito, Texas.
Fred and Yvonne came to America from Denmark
when they were both in their teens (sweethearts at
the time), married, raised a family, became citizens
and are now enjoying the fruits of their labors
(retired full-time RV'ers). There is so much more to
their lives that I don't have room for here, and
admittedly don't know. We therefore hope we can
spend more winter months with them to get to know
them better.
In this life style one can only hope that our paths
will cross again a time or two.
Giacolino spend their summers in the NW
Washington area as this was their original home
area and family members, grandkids included, still
live here.
When winter shows its ugly self they head south to
the Lake Havasu area as they have a perminent site
that they are slowly fixing up.
When we arrive in the NW area to spend the
summers with our Brosius Families we look for Bob
and Coco as we enjoy their company. Admittedly it
is difficult to fit in time just for us adults as the focus
for all four of us is our grandkids, sons, and
daughters, but when we can its fun to get together.
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