This year there were about 950 coaches in attendance. This is a far cry from the almost 6000 at Fairplex in 2003, and 2000 to 5000 in the other locations. No explanation really. Gary thinks it could be that people just really don't like to drive to LA. Too much traffic. The motor home industry took a big hit in the 2008 economic downturn, and it is now just beginning to recover, so this could be part of it.
We attended several seminars on various topics - Gary attended a Cummins diesel engine seminar, and we both attended a seminar sponsored by Fantasy RV Travel about an excursion to Churchill, Manitoba, to see the polar bear migration. This has long been on our list. The RV portion (your own RV) takes you as far as Thompson. Then the rest is on a train (I think) or maybe a bus. We could do this trip on our own, but I think a tour would be way easier and we wouldn't miss anything "must do".
I also attended a Fantasy seminar about RVing in New Zealand and Australia, and I REALLY want to do this one. It is very pricey, but would be a wonderful and memorable experience. Essentially they rent for you a 21 foot Class C motorhome which is small for the narrow roads you would be navigating. They start in Christ Church, NZ, tour the south island, and then ferry over to the north island. The experiences they provide sounds wonderful. Then you fly to Australia and rent another RV there, starting near the Great Barrier Reef and then finishing in Sydney. There is an Outback extension which is a must do. Sigh. So many things to do.......
We toured the many new motor homes that were brought in by the manufacturers and the dealers to show at the convention. Some very nice - we can't find one we like any better than ours. No, we are not going to buy a new motor home!
The other part of the convention is the vendor exhibits for after market products. This is always fun. We bought a new blind that attaches to our awning to drop down for more shade. We had a small one, but this new one gives better coverage.
Motor home parking lot at Fairplex
Visited the old trains museum on the Fairplex grounds. For the convention the local volunteers had fired up the diesel engine on a retired Union Pacific train engine. We were allowed to climb up to the cab. Very fun. I hadn't been in one with the engine running. You should hear the horn when standing below by the engine!!!
Other engines on exhibit
We went out to dinner three consecutive evenings to three separate tap rooms or brew pubs. One in La Verne, one in San Dimas, and one in Pomona. Getting to the dinner spot in Pomona, we passed right by the beautiful Pilgrim Congregational Church. It is about the same age as Plymouth Congregational in Minneapolis. Do any of my Plymouth Facebook friends know if this was Howard Conn's church when he was growing up, or was his church in Claremont? I think I used to know this but now don't remember.
We left LA on Sunday, spent an overnight at the beautiful RV park in Temecula at the Pechanga Resort Hotel and Casino, and now we are about 30 miles east of Temecula in an RV ownership park where we are renting a site for 4 nights. Beautiful and out where there aren't many people.
I snapped a photo of this beautiful live oak tree on the Pechanga grounds. It is an absolutely perfect shape. It is much larger than it appears in this photo.
