News: California

Fresno Floaters
Local Chapter
By Glen and Virginia Duysen

The May 13 – 16 meeting of the Fresno Floaters was a whirlwind of events and activities. Ten rigs met at the Marble Quarry RV Park in the '49er gold rush town of Columbia, which was the State Capitol of California for a short time many years ago.

Wagonmasters Bob Gracia and Pamela Sharp kept us hopping on Friday with a trip to the Ironstone Vineyards and Winery in another gold rush town of Murphys – a beautiful location with a three-story building containing a museum, winetasting facilities, dining room with a large pipe organ, and a deli where the Floaters chowed down at lunchtime. The afternoon was spent touring the grounds which contained acres of beautiful spring flowers, of which we all wished we had a "green thumb" to match those of the Ironstone gardeners.

Hurrying back from Murphys, we had just enough time to go out for dinner and then to the Fallon House Theater in Columbia for the premier professional play of the Tammy Wynette story, "Stand By Your Man" – a great musical with a talented cast. After a full day of events, the Floaters were ready to head back to their RVs for the night.

Saturday slowed slightly as the Floaters visited Columbia State Park and the many shops and displays located in the buildings built during the gold rush days. Some took advantage of the stagecoach ride, fresh steamed corn on the cob and, as usual for the Floaters, a visit to the ice cream store.

This great weekend was enjoyed by all with many thanks to the wagonmasters.

Lee Ann Bybees 661-836-1237

Mission Bell Travelers
Local Chapter
By Ron Jackson

Attending the May campout at Silent Valley were Rick and Lynda Dryer, Pat and Shirleen Doyle, Ron and Doris Jackson, Dave and Chris Law, Duane and Pat Lloyd, Bill and Andrea Plano, Bob Olson/Char Rogers, Lynne and Jim Rupert, and Fred Zaitz.

After a day of drizzle and low clouds, we were blessed with great weather. Shorts and T-shirts were the dress of the day with daytime temps reaching mid 70s.

The theme was Cinco de Mayo and the dress, food, and drinks were appropriate. Wagonmasters Law and Rupert created these huge smiles with an outstanding campout and a few well-placed Margaritas.

Tuesday started off with wine- and cheese tasting, followed by a BYO meat barbecue. Wednesday was the Cinco de Mayo dinner with enchiladas, a green chile egg casserole, tasty Mexican rice, and the ever present and effective frijoles. Outstanding!

The games were very popular and interspiced in between the activities was a poker run. You had to attend certain games and activities to draw five cards and try to get the winning hand to be played at the Friday continental breakfast showdown.

Ladder golf was hotly contested and eventually won by Fred and Duane. Doris was the winner of the washer toss, defeating Bill Plano in the final.

Beanbag baseball featured the gents against the gals. The gents pulled it out in the final inning with a flurry of hits and runs after trailing most of the game.

The poker run was stiff competition. Talk about wild hands – Ron won with four sevens, Char was second with a spade flush, and Doris third with an ace – five straight.

Silent Valley is a very nice facility and was a perfect place for the campout. We ventured to nearby Idyllwild one day for a little shopping and fine dining. A cute and picturesque little village with an Alpine flair in the pines.

Winnebago-Itasca Travelers