Lost In The 50’s Rally “It’s a Wrap Folks”

 

Well another rally is in the books and duly recorded in photos. What a great time we all had! Bev and Dennis worked tirelessly to prepare fun, on theme decorations and great activities. Between music bingo, kazoo singalongs, 7 little girls skit, great costumes and everything music, Bev and Dennis had us laughing, dancing and at times very animated! Thank you both for the time and energy that you put into our Rally. Bev and Dennis always step up to help and that makes our chapter a better place. Unfortunately due to the cooler weather and wind we weren’t able to do our sock hop. Hopefully we can postpone that for when we either have more cooperative weather or an inside room. Your ideas about cars on the tables and soda floats were a big hit; so yummy!

 

Cathy, Sue, Irene, myself and our long suffering husbands (Todd, Rick, Ralph and Gary) had a great time with the games. So fun to have new chapter members like Cathy and Irene who have such great ideas and take our fun levels very seriously. Thank you for finding such crazy games like the Oreo cookie challenge, pig, water ball toss, cheerios on pipe cleaners, trivia and of course “Would You Rather?”

 

The outdoor movies were a well enjoyed event. Although it was cooler, many of us brought out our blankets and enjoyed the popcorn and show. We had a glitch with the end of the movie Grease but most of us have already seen it many times, so that was fine. On the Sunday night we had a bonus movie “RV” with Robin Williams. It was exciting to be able to watch on such a big screen and a lot of laughs to see Todd and Ralph trying to hold down the 16 foot screen when the winds came up. So many fun memories. Thank you to Todd and Ralph for organizing the movies, the screen, the projector and the manly muscle to keep the screen on the ground.

 

Unfortunately due to covid we are still not sharing a lot of our meals. We always love our joint Happy Hour times and it was fun to eat together but with our own food. The food highlight for me was the delicious pizza that I didn’t have to cook. It made us smile to see how many of us older folks love candy so much; candy bags were a big hit and not just for me.

 

Thank you to all of you who came to the rally and especially to all of those who continually step up to help make our FMCA chapter stronger, more fun and inclusive. To our executive and their spouses who are always helping at events and in the background thank you as well. Audrey, Matt, Cathy, Kathy, Andy; please tell me that I haven’t forgotten anyone! Thank you also to Jaden for always helping out.

 

A big thank you to the wonderful folks at Cowichan Terminals who enable us to have our annual rally on their beautiful waterfront site. They go to a lot of effort each year to cheerfully clear a large area and get it super clean and swept of nails and screws before we get there. They also take extra time to move large lifts of lumber so that we can keep our community tents well anchored down in the inevitable winds.

 

We are looking forward to many more great events next year. Remember, each one of us is “The Vancouver Islanders FMCA Chapter” so come out and support events, tell your friends and nice strangers about what we are doing, the fun we are having and bring them and their rigs to check it out for themselves. Remember to hand out your FMCA magazines to folks who might be interested in learning more about RV’ing and the great benefits of becoming an FMCA member.

 

Travel safe and remember to pack your smile,

Cheers,

MaryAnn & Gary Tennent

778-966-1048

Cowichan Exhibition Grounds Rally -27 – 30 May, 2022

 The first Rally of the season was a basic, intimate rally with eight coaches in attendance. Some were

parked in the open lot around the light pole, whilst the others sought some shelter between the barns.

Little did we know, the wind would come from the west and funnel right down between the barns,

Mother Nature foiled us again!

Mary-Ann had appealed to the attendees to “bring a sewing machine if you have one”. No doubt Mary-

Ann had something neat planned out. So Friday night, rope baskets were being assembled and sewn.

When I showed up Saturday, I thought everyone was making a toque! They were neat baskets for sure!

Verne had brought his infamous fire pit, but it didn’t come up on the back of the coach, he stuffed that

thing in the back of Audrey’s car! What was he thinking?!

As usual, we huddled around the fire, trying to keep warm from that westerly. Audrey had asked me if I

could bring some firewood with me, it’s a good thing she asked, as we had burned every last scrap of

wood we had. So much so, on Monday morning, Verne had to use his portable compressor to finish

burning the ashes in the fire pit (before it went back into Audrey’s car).

Saturday night, Bev and Dennis put on a fun game of music bingo, I think it was 50’s and 60’s music?

Being as young as I am, I only recognized 3 or 4 songs! I bet you can’t guess who had a handicap in this

game?!

The first round cost 25 cents and we needed two full lines in any direction, Jody won that round. The

second round cost 50 cents and this time we needed to make an “X” and this was won by Verne. Which

brought us to our final round and cost us a dollar. This round was to be complete by getting the 4

corners and wouldn’t you know it, Verne won this round, too! I wonder if he had horseshoes in his

pockets?

Sunday was another cloudy chilly day, I made two pots of coffee on Sunday (thanks to the handy outlet

on the barn). The crafters were in the barn finishing the last bits and pieces of their baskets and Verne

had his fire lit first thing in the afternoon. People would come and go for the chit chat and warmth,

stubbornly sitting in the wind. It wasn’t until Happy Hour that we figured out, if we move the fire to the

lee side of the barn, the wind couldn’t get to us. So, Happy Hour was much warmer and with everyone in

attendance, patiently waiting for the pizza to arrive, looking at Mary-Ann’s collection of photos from the

pirate rally from Sept. we had some good chuckles and stories, reminiscing of times past. We had pizza

Sunday night from Ali Baba in Duncan. We all sat in the barn at our own tables and enjoyed the pizza,

we even had enough for some folk to take left-overs home. This was followed by a rousing game of

Jenga, courtesy of Mary-Ann and Gary.

Monday was the mass exodus, remembering the fun we had over the weekend and looking forward to

the next get together (July at the Living Forest), I headed for home, stopping for fuel and almost fainting

at what a ½ tank of fuel cost me! However, anytime in the RV is a good time, so I shan’t worry much

about the cost of fuel, I have two legs and two arms so surely I can do without one of them??

Matt

FMCA Pirate Extravaganza

 September 3-6,2021

The invitation read:

Avast ye!

FLOSS THE BILGES

SWAB THE DECKS

SHARPEN YOUR SWORDS

AND THEN, WHAT THE HECK…

PUT ON YOUR PIRATE GEAR

GRAB A BOTTLE OF GROG

COME HAVE A GREAT TIME

AND CREATE MEMORIES FOR OUR “BLOG”

Ahhhhhhr!

SHIVER ME TIMBERS!

And so it began…

Cowichan Terminal occupants were surprised to see that they were recently taken over by FMCA Vancouver Islander pirates, lots of pirates. Old pirates, young pirates, and a lot of “want to be young pirates.” The wenches and barmaids were of course there too.

A flotilla of rigs started arriving after the sun was over the yardarm. The tent and decorator crew slaved to get the tents up, decorations hung and rigs looking like 11 pirate ships at anchor. Captain Hook sat and drank a grog of rum, no whip needed, since everyone was pulling their weight.

No sooner had the sails been set when a mighty wind and rainstorm lashed the decks, but the awning held true, and everyone stayed dry. No ships were lost, or injuries reported.

Happy Hour was slightly delayed as everyone had a chance to make and decorate their own pirate hats. “NO DRINK FOR YOU UNTIL YOU MAKE A HAT!” roared Captain Hook. It was fun to

see everyone’s creativity levels and extra fun to have the pirates working hard to impress the barmaids. And impressed they were!

After tummies were full of provisions and grog (for some this was tea or soda) the rowdy bunch played a game of Giant Pirate Jenga to sharpen their skill for the next day. Captain Hook learned the hard way that hooks don’t work well for removing blocks of wood

Saturday started with the usual band of pirates, barmaids and wenches heading into town to pillage the local market. While no gold or silver was discovered, many interesting treasures were returned to the pirate ships. With so many treasures captured, it was decided that treasure chests were to be made and filled with necklaces, rings, and other jewels. Who knew that swashbucklers could be so creative?

A special tattoo artist was brought in to add more ink to all those brave enough to participate. All crews were proudly showing off their new “tats”. A rousing Happy Hour followed with singing, dancing, and sword fights. Ok that didn’t really happen, but there was grog and laughter. After filling their bellies, a band of pirates gathered for more Pirate Jenga and to watch the sun go down.

Sunday was the Pirate Extravaganza with everyone in their finest pirate/wench garments. The youngest and the most enthusiastic pirate was dressed and ready at 7 am, with most of the scraggly pirates arriving much later. The day was filled with walking the plank, grog tasting (rum varieties and root beer varieties), the rousing relay and the best event, the giant pirate ship battle. Each pirate/wench was part of one of two teams, with one team on each side of plastic pools (ships) full of water. The pools were full of ammunition. (splat balls that fill with water before you throw them) and were about 20 feet apart. Teams were to throw the ammunition at the opposing ship to try to sink it. The ship with the most ammunition on it at the end was the ship that sank. Of course, with pirates being pirates, the battle turned into a giant water fight with ammunition flying at players, soaking them, and one wild pirate even using a paddle to fend off the ammunition flying towards his team.

After a boisterous day, even the pirates had to take some quiet time and watch a pirate movie on the large outdoor screen. Did you know that pirates will pillage other pirates popcorn bowls when theirs are empty?

All pirates, wenches and barmaids were instructed by Captain Hook to raise their anchors and sail away from the bay before the sun was over the yardarm. The band of pirates and even Captain Hook slaved together to swab the deck, tear down the tents, carefully fold the pirate flags and store them in the provision ship for next time.

Special thank you goes to our swashbuckling team of Cathy & Todd, Rick & Sue and Gary. You were an awesome team to work with and your creative ideas, including organizing decorations was second to none. Thank you to our executive for their continual support of our crazy ideas and thank you to all the pirates, barmaids and wenches who participated and helped wherever

and whenever was needed. Special thanks to our youngest pirate for his hard work on building model ships, researching and naming the teams Dutchmann and Minerva and always being ready to help.

Looking forward to our next wonderful adventure with FMCA Vancouver Islanders!

Mary-Ann

 Hi Vancouver Islanders and all FMCA members!

 

The Cowichan Bay Rally is less than a month away.  Here is the information with the map attached for your arrival.

 

This rally will be similar to last year.  Meals will not be included and we ask that you bring your own table and chairs to the tent.

 

Please do not arrive before 1:00 pm on Friday, September 3, 2021.  Remember this is an active working area and if we would like to continue enjoying this site in the future, we need to respect the wishes of the management.  If you plan to arrive after 4 pm, please call me at 250 589-1445 or Audrey at 250 418-0578 as the gate will be locked.

 

Since there are no meals, the rally fee is $45.00.  Please send your cheque, made out to Vancouver Islanders, to our Treasurer, Audrey Hauge before August 27, 2021.

Audrey’s address is  3286 Jacklin Road, Victoria, BC, V9C 3H5.

 

Upon arrival, please follow the posted speed limits.  On arrival at the jetty, please pull between the two double wide trailers, we will have a sign posted.  Someone will be there to advise you where to park.

 

Departure is Monday, September 6, 2021 before noon. 

 

Looking forward to another great rally!  Travel safe!

 

Andy

 

PS.  We have an entertainment committee headed by Mary Anne Tennent.  More information to follow from Mary Anne.   I understand we will have a Pirate theme.  Sounds like a fun get together!!!

 Good Morning Vancouver Islanders!

 

I hope this email finds you and your family in good health! 

 

With the future Covid 19 restrictions for British Columbia still unknown, it is very difficult to set up rallies. I will be checking frequently with the BC CDC regarding the limitations in numbers.  However, we have the following set up at this time:

 

May 28 – 31, 2021   Cowichan Expo Center  This rally would be a no host rally; handled like the Labour Day rally last year at the Cowichan Bay Pier....we will have the barn and camping spots. All meals done by attendees; we can eat and socialize in the barn and outside. We will not be able to put on this rally unless we have a minimum of 25 coaches because of the cost of the facility. At this time the Provincial restriction on outdoor gatherings is still limited to 10 people.

 

June or July rally was to be at Southern Vancouver Island Ranger Facility.  They have cancelled all events for the 2021 summer season; even their own events.   ANY SUGGESTIONS???????

 

September 3 – 6, 2021 Labour Day at Cowichan Bay Pier  This rally is still scheduled.

 

If any of you have suggestions for rallies or “get togethers”, please let me know.

 

Below, please read the news from Northwest Area Vice President Don Schleuse regarding a temporary reduction in your FMCA dues.

 

Stay safe!

 

Andy

 

President

Vancouver Islanders- FMCA