President's Message

From the Not So Oval Office

Butch Jones

It is the middle of July and the east coast is mired in wet, damp, humidity. It seems that the monsoons have arrived and don’t know when to leave. Liz has been trying to finish a folding coffee table we purchased for the coach, trying is the optimal word. The stain will not dry in an air conditioned building and not even laying out in the sun with the temperature at 96 degrees. That is humid.

When you read this we will be ending our rally in Galax, Virginia. This promises to be interesting and a lot of fun. I just hope the campground name indicates that there will be cool breezes.

We will return to Rockahock in Lanexa, Virginia for our next rally. It will be August 23-25. We will have a short business meeting at that rally so I hope many of you can attend.

If you have not do so recently, it could be beneficial to check out the member benefits on the FMCA website. Just log on to FMCA.com, click on the Join FMCA dropdown at the top of the page and scroll down to Member Benefits. Click on it and click on All Benefits. There just might be something useful to you.

We have talked a lot about tires in the past, however, it is getting hot and more of use are hitting the road. Take time to check your tires before each trip and ensure the pressures are correct and the tires are in sound condition. Look for sidewall cracks and tread damage. Sometimes I think that RV tires should only have half the tread of other tires so we won’t feel bad when the sidewalls give up and there is still 9/32 or more tread left. One thing that you can do to help protect your tires is using tire covers when the vehicle will be stationary for a few days or longer. This will help protect them from the sun and keep the oils from leaching out thus drying them.

I hope to see as many as possible at the Cool Breeze Campground and Rockahock so stay safe and “Happy Motoring”.

Addition to President’s notes 7/22/2013:

I think that everyone had a great time at the Cool Breeze Campground and the manager Robert provided us with sites close to the meeting area and was very accommodating in every way.

I had no idea that there was so much to do in that area. There were some things that I thought I was going to get done on the coach, however, I was not at it long enough to do anything. I think that that says “Great Rally”.

Even with the showers the weather was almost perfect. If you like beef and/or pork you really should go the “Smoke on the Mountain” BBQ cook-offs. The food was good and the cooking teams were very personable and eager to talk about their specialties.

Now that we are back in “Rally” mode, Liz and I can’t wait for the next Dogwood Rally.

Rockahock Rally

Come join us at the Rockahock rally, August 23-25, for a fun filled weekend.  We will be camping at the Rockahock Campground, in Lanexa VA, which is located on the Chickahominy River between Williamsburg and Richmond.  The campground has full hookup sites and an enclosed pavilion for our group gatherings. Hosts for the event are Bill & Marion Cockrell and Mike & Marcy Vreeland.  

Campsite: Make your campsite reservation directly with Rockahock. Rates are $42.75 plus tax per night or $95 plus tax for a 3 night stay. Includes water, electric (30 and 50 amp) and sewer. Call Jody at 804-966-8362.  Mention that you are with Dogwood in order to receive the discounted rate. Check out Rockahock's website  Deadline for making reservation is August 5.

Rally fees for the weekend event are $10 per person.

Schedule 

Friday

6:00 pm- Dinner at Rose and Crown Tavern restaurant (see details below)

Saturday 

9:00am  -  Breakfast - Omelets (cheese and western), scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, coffee and juice

2:00pm  -  Corn hole tournament, prizes to be awarded to the winners

5:00pm  -  Happy hour

6:00pm  -  Dinner BBQ, coleslaw, baked beans.  Bring an appetizer or dessert to share.

Sunday

9:00am  -  Breakfast - Continental style, coffee and juice

Bring your own plates and eating utensils.  Coffee and juice provided at breakfast; bring your own beverage for other meals. 

Friday's dinner at Rose & Crown Tavern Restaurant 11861 New Kent Hwy. New Kent, VA 23124

The original building was built in 1860; it has nice décor and great food. We met with Chef Jim and came up with diverse choices for dinner. All meals come with choice of soup or salad, spoon bread (local favorite), 2 sides, dessert (a cobbler), and coffee, tea or soda.  

The price is $20 per person and does not include gratuity or pay as you go bar. We need to know what folks want by 8/12/13 since the chef order fresh food. Directions will be in your Welcome Bag.

The meal selections are as follows:

Cranberry Supreme Salad – Romaine lettuce or spinach with mandarin orange slices, sun-dried cranberries, feta cheese, and chopped pecans topped with grilled chicken breast and served with sweet onion dressing or another of your choice.

Meatloaf - very popular item

Fish and Chips - House breaded flounder or fresh fish of the day and served with fries and coleslaw.  Tartar sauce is optional.  This is a good portion of fish.

Smothered Pork Chops – Chef Jim’s specialty, not on the menu but he added it for us.

Bangers and Mash – Traditional British bangers (mild sausage) served over sautéed cabbage with red peppers, onions, mashed potatoes topped with house gravy and garnished with a roasted tomato and dollop of sour cream on the side.  

Rally Attendees (as of 8/5):  Vreeland, Cockrell, Allen, Buelow, Chinery, Cummings, Dyke, Jones, Guttridge, Reid, Schoolar, Sholes, Tilman.



Registration Form for Dogwood Rally 

at Rockahock August 23-25

Names ______________________________________________

____  Number of people attending ($10 per person)

____  Number of people attending Friday dinner at restaurant ($20 per person)

_______________  Amount Enclosed

List dinner selection for each person attending Friday dinner at restaurant

Send check, payable to Marcy Vreeland at 4 Abington Court, Fredericksburg, VA, 22406 by August 5.

Please let Marcy (BeagleRV@gmail.com) know whether your would like to bring an appetizer or dessert for Saturday night.

Highlights from the Galax Rally

By Dennis Reid

From all indications, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves at the Galax, VA rally this past weekend.

The facilities at the Cool Breeze Campground were excellent and ideal for our type of rally.  With only short drives to major venues we were able to enjoy a wide variety of interest.

The hosts (Sohles and Reids) took advantage of arriving early and were able to to attend  activities in the area.  A jam session occurs every Wednesday night in the town of Independence, VA.  Also, on Thursday night a jam session occurs at the civic center in Fries, VA.  The hosts were able to attend both jams.  I have posted a few pictures of the events including a Youtube clip of Sue Sohles and her new found (click here) . 

With the Smoke on the Mountain event, the Rex Theater and the Blue Ridge Parkway perfomances  it was very busy weekend.  Click here for a Youtube video.

The feedback that I have gotten so far, leaves me to believe most members would like to return.  It's a shame that our Alaska caravan missed this one but it looks like they're having a great time anyway.

Click here to view pictures from the rally.

8/1/2013 - Click here for another Youtube video from Dennis.

Save the Date

Save the date for the following Dogwood rallies.  More information will be available closer to the event.  The detailed rally schedule can be accessed from the Reference Documents section on the right of the screen.

September 13-15   Myrtle Beach
September 27-29   VIR for Heacock Classic Gold Cup
October 9-13   GEAR in York PA
November 1-2   Urbanna Oyster Festival
December 6-8   Williamsburg

Secretary's Minutes

MINUTES - DOGWOOD CHAPTER FMCA 

July 20, 2013 at Cool Breeze Campground, Galax, Virginia 

Members present discussed happenings in Galax for the remainder of the weekend – in particular the BBQ cook-off contest to be held in downtown Galax that day. 

New members, Buck and Linda Buchanan were introduced and welcomed. 

Rally Master, Dennis Reid, talked about our next rally at Rock a Hock and said we still need hosts for Myrtle Beach. 

Connie Tilman discussed she will be hosting something at Gear and asked for opinions/feedback.  Options:  happy hour at one coach; go out to dinner and/or lunch as a group; go to Turkey Hill Ice Cream for a tour.  The unanimous vote was to have a happy hour at Connie’s coach AND do the Turkey Hill Ice Cream tour. 

Jim Buelow asked how we felt about another rally at Fort Monroe (possibly spring 2014).  He and Susan have briefly discussed a rally with the new campground management there.  The campground is small, some 20 something sites and they offered to give us the entire campground.  Some folks would rather park at the seawall as before.  There are so many new entities now within the Fort, Jim to clarify what we can do, etc. and get back to the membership.  Those in attendance voted to do another rally there. 

Treasurer Pat Allen was traveling somewhere in Washington state and when contacted said we “have somewhere around $3,000 in the treasury.” She will provide exact report at our next meeting. 

Carolyn Duff talked about the newsletter and asked for everyone to send her news, photos, etc. 

There being no old or new business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned. 

Liz Jones 

Secretary

Membership updates

Welcome to new members Buck & Linda Buchanan who joined Dogwood at the Galax rally.

Dogwood currently has 45 member coaches.

Five Dogwood coaches continue their travels through Alaska.  The guys were enjoying salmon fishing on their last update.   To follow their travels, click here to link to the Bonewitz's blog.  We wish everyone a safe, enjoyable trip.  

Welcome to Dogwood's newest 4 legged members:  Gillette Greenwood, Reba Buchanan

Former Dogwood member Elizabeth DeMonte wrote that "Nick wasn't really happy with his 73 GMC so he thought he would add to the fleet and get a 74 GMC.  He is having fun fixing and playing."