By Dale Edwards

Sept 1, 2011

We had ten rigs show up for our August campout at Santee Lakes in San Diego County, including new members John Seibert and his wife who recently bought a brand new “Class C” Tioga motorhome just so they could come camping with us. And they said they had a great time, even though the weather was a bit on the hot side. But the group campsite area had nice big sycamore trees that provided lots of shade, and a nice afternoon breeze came through to cool those who sat outside in the circle of chairs telling war stories.

Everyone arrived and got parked without much drama, except Boomer Smith who got a little confused by the three or four different people giving him conflicting backing directions. He almost clipped off a rear view mirror from my coach, which was across the road from his space, but his wife Kathy got his attention just in time. Bob and Donna Lash were a little late in getting there on Friday evening due to a painting project back at home, but they didn’t miss anything as dinner was on our own that night. Hank Fuquay had some anxious moments after he parked and found that his coach had no electric power inside, including no AC or even house battery lights. This had the makings of a camping nightmare, as it was over 100 degrees outside. But after some intensive searching for a tripped circuit breaker or GFI, he found that he or wife Sally had inadvertently tripped the convenience power cutoff switch near the front door which ensures that everything in the coach is off when you go day-tripping from the coach.

Then President Bob Martin provided a little humor Friday afternoon when his wallet unknowingly fell out of his pocket into his camp-chair as he left the social circle to go shopping for some motohome supplies. Someone saw it in his empty chair and we called his cellphone to inform him that he had no driver’s license with him and that we had distributed all his credit cards among ourselves. Typical of Bob, he said he wasn’t worried and had his cash in a money clip in different pocket and would call and cancel the cards.

All in all, everyone had a good time, and first time wagonmasters Gary and Arlene Leister did a good job, even though Arlene needlessly professed that nothing was her fault. She cooked up a delicious egg and cheese casserole for breakfast Saturday morning, complemented with link sausage and lots of fresh fruit and juice and coffee. Just to show off for us, Boomer somehow convinced Kathy to bring his breakfast portion to him while he was still in bed in his coach. We’re not sure what he did Friday night to warrant such attention. Saturday evening the Leisters provided us all with a nice beef stew dinner in the beautiful air-conditioned clubhouse complemented by a pot luck variety of salads and desserts from the rest of us. Even though we had a fire ring and lots of firewood available, no one thought that a campfire was appropriate after dinner, considering how we were trying so hard to stay cool in the warm weather.

So I’m not suggesting that you go out and buy yourself a brand new motorhome so that you can join us on our monthly outings like the Seiberts did, but that’s certainly an option. We do have a lot of fun, and encourage you to try the lifestyle sometime. So give our President, Bob Martin, a call at (714) 964-8503 for more information. Or if he is busy counting his credit cards, come join us at one of our 2^nd Tuesday monthly dinner meetings after calling VP Ron Kay at (562) 425-3759 for reservations a couple of days in advance.

By Dale Edwards

August 1, 2011

The weather was again beautiful for our Nomad campout at Pinezanita near Julian and nine rigs thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. Friday night the wagon-masters, Bob and Donna Lash, provided a wonderful lasagna dinner, complete with salad, rolls, and ice cream for everyone to enjoy. Afterwards most went out to view the full moon in the clear night air, but couldn’t stay awake long enough to actually see it.

On Saturday morning, we hooked up several extension cords to fry pans and grills around the wagon master’s rig and cooked up a great breakfast of scrambled eggs, French toast, and sausage to get the day started. After breakfast several couples went into town to sightsee and ultimately wound up going over and riding the funky little tourist mine train along with a huge group of motorcyclists that were visiting town. The train was so full that none of us got to sit together, and President Bob Martin and Sheriff Hank Fuquay seemed more interested in eyeballing the many classic Harleys in the parking lot than riding the mine train. The wives made it clear that the days of those kinds of toys are long past.

After the train ride, Susan Martin talked everyone into walking to a particular restaurant back in town that she had heard recommendations for. But when we got there Susan spent the time wandering around a gift shop next door and skipped lunch. Anyhow, she missed out as the lunch was very good, especially the apple pie. A final project for the weekend was for Bob Martin to go into town and buy some gunk that he and Hank used to stop a small oil leak on his motorhome that was discovered after he got to the campout. Apparently the temporary fix was successful as we understand that Bob made it home OK, but he isn’t looking forward to the bill from the professional repair shop.

In August we will be enjoying a new venue in San Diego County on the shores of Lake Santee, and in September we take our annual jaunt up to Flying Flags in Buellton followed by a return to Valencia Travel Village in October. So if you have access to an RV of any sort, you should plan to join us on one of these weekend adventures. Just call our President, Bob Martin, at (714) 964-8503 for more information. Or join us at one of our 2^nd Tuesday monthly dinner meetings after calling VP Ron Kay at (562) 425-3759 for reservations.

By Dale Edwards

Apr. 1, 2011

Our March campout at Tucalota Springs was well attended and the cool breeze and threatening rain did not dampen our spirits or ruin our fun. Boomer and Kathy Smith did a bang up job as wagonmasters, providing chili for dinner Friday night, with enough left over for people to take doggy bags back to their rigs. On Saturday morning they scrambled over a hundred eggs to go with lots of pancakes and link sausage, and then BBQd great New York Strip steaks for the Saturday evening potluck dinner. As always, the Nomads eat well.

Judy and I missed the pre-party Thursday night where Susan Martin fed the early arrivals some corned beef and cabbage in celebration of St. Paddies Day. It must have been a good party because I hear Boomer came out of his coach and really messed up his knees when he tripped over a landscape log and fell flat. But he proudly points out that he didn’t spill a single drop out of his wineglass. As they say, “with wine your fine”.

Each night we had a nice fire in the outdoor fire ring in front of our rigs, but we had to huddle close because the cool breeze really cut through the jackets. We also lit a fire Saturday morning after breakfast, but some brief light sprinkles dowsed that idea and everyone scattered. Several couples went off to sample the fermented grapes and gift shops, but most of us reconvened at the fire when it was time for hors d’oeuvres at noon. Besides cheese and crackers, we nibbled on Mike Black’s famous guacamole, lots of deviled eggs provide by Susan Martin, plus pickled herring donated by our resident Swede, Hans Lindquist.

Besides Boomer’s skinned knees, no one really did anything dumb this trip. “Lil” John Ludwig did take the precaution of having a bouquet of flowers delivered to Elaine about noon on Saturday to show that he remembered their 35^th wedding anniversary. Friday afternoon Gary McJilton found out that his DirecTV receiver wasn’t locking on to the satellite and the March Madness game-time was fast approaching. So our tech guys pitched in and found a bad crimp connector on the cable from the rooftop dish and got him back in business in plenty of time.

In all, we had 15 rigs at the campout, including one guest rig belonging to Kathy Smith’s sister, Jane Wilson and her husband, Willard. Gary McJilton’s sister, Denise, came with him and enjoyed her first “camping” experience Nomad style. New members Paul and Annie Simonoff were the last to arrive Friday afternoon, and were not at all bothered by the resulting harassment. We also had drop-in visits from Nancy and Mary Lorenzen who were staying in their second home nearby, and from Chuck Hughes and Ann Anderson who came for Saturday dinner after working a Hiram Award ceremony at the Shrine Center.

So as usual, we all had a really good time, and invite you to learn more about the El Bekal Nomads Club. Our monthly dinner meetings are held on the 2^nd Tuesday of each month at the Coco’s in Huntington Beach just off the 405 near the Westminster Mall. Just give a call to our Vice President, Ron Kay at (562) 425-3759 to let him know we’ll have a guest or two. And if you have an RV you can borrow, come to one of our campouts, just call in advance to our President, Bob Martin at (714) 964-8503, and let him put you in contact with the appropriate wagonmaster.

By Dale Edwards

Feb. 1, 2011

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We had a great time during our January Nomad campout, which was held at the beautiful Chula Vista RV Resort and Marina on the southern end of San Diego Bay. We had 10 rigs in attendance, including relatively new members Hans and Pricilla Linquest from Hemet. President Bob Martin arrived during daylight hours and, surprisingly, provided no entertainment to the rest of us while setting up. Following cocktail hour, we all walked over to the Galley Restaurant in the marina complex for dinner where most of us feasted on huge portions of great fish and chips, much of which came back to the rigs in “doggie” boxes. The short walk back was a great way to let our stomachs settle in, and the clear skies and new rope lighting along the docks reflecting on the water made a pretty backdrop scene.

Saturday morning started early for Judy and I as wagon masters because the clock timer for starting the coffee pot was not considered a reliable method in view of the risk of a Nomad rebellion if the coffee wasn’t ready at the designated morning hour. Most of the Nomads drifted in between 8:30 and 9:30 AM for their fill of scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and fresh pancakes plus coffee and orange juice. But a few decided to sleep in and skip breakfast, which caused Hank Fuquay to get creative and hand deliver a breakfast plate to Kathy Smith, just to harass Boomer. That got him up. After breakfast it was a bright clear day so several couples took a drive out to Point Loma or other attractions to see the sights before coming back to take a nap or read a book before the afternoon blue grass entertainment started. The park frequently provides weekend entertainment and this week they had the “Kid Fiddlers”, which is a mother and her five kids from age 9 to 22 that do a great job of singing, dancing, and playing many blue grass instruments on a full time basis all over the country.

The afternoon also provided a few minutes to diagnose some non-critical issues that a couple of our members were having. It seems Norm Smith was unable to get his satellite TV to work, and the symptoms were a bit confusing with voltage readings on the distribution amplifier being negative and double anything reasonable. We found a blown fuse in a weird non-related circuit and when it was replaced the TV problem was solved. Slightly more serious, Boomer Smith’s coach had no propane coming out of the tank so there was no working stove or furnace which was hampering Kathy’s ability to cook her pot luck dish. It seems that somehow the propane leak detector in the kitchen area had gotten turned off, which in turn shut off the propane solenoid safety valve, as it should. Problems solved.

Saturday’s cocktail hour was held in front of the rigs and started a bit earlier than scheduled, but no one complained. The skies were clear with a mild cool breeze, which soon caused most of us to switch to long pants and light jackets. Around 6 PM we moved inside the nearby club room for our famous pot luck dinner which included baked ham, meatballs, and chicken enchiladas, with lots of chocolate and cherry cobbler ala-mode for desert. It’s no secret we eat well and have fun on our weekend outings. If you’d like to learn more about our club, we encourage you to join us at one of our dinner meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Coco’s in Huntington Beach just off the 405 near the Westminster Mall. Just give a call to our Vice President, Ron Kay at (562) 425-3759 to let him know we’ll have a guest or two. If you just want some general information, give our President, Bob Martin, a call at (714) 964-8503.