Amigos Advisor. Friendship First PREZ SEZ: WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS

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Vernon Hart
5 years ago
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I hope this finds you all well and having avoided this terrible flu that seems to be going around! Wash your hands!!! We are enjoying unseasonably warm weather in Sonora and no rain in the forecast.

1 February 2018 Editor: Jan Watson Amigos Advisor Friendship First PREZ SEZ: Hi Amigos! Here we are in the middle of February and I m wishing you a belated Happy New & probably a belated Happy Valentine s Day too. Let me be the first to wish you Happy St Patrick s Day! I hope this finds you all well and having avoided this terrible flu that seems to be going around! Wash your hands!!! We are enjoying unseasonably warm weather in Sonora and no rain in the forecast. 74 degrees in February is pretty hard to take. We had a fun Christmas Rally at River Run RV park & had new members Michael & Michelle Tuttle join us for their first Amigo rally. They fit right in, as Paulette had them in the kitchen the first night, peeling potatoes! The Boyd s and Ramondo s hosted a great rally and we want to thank them for the many years they have volunteered for this event. They announced their retirement and our thanks to Bob & Debbie Golk for stepping up to the plate and taking the reins for our 2018 Christmas Rally. Location and dates TBA. We had 16 coaches attend the Lake Havasu Balloon less rally in January. The Lake Havasu State Park was great with large campsites and great views of the Lake. Unfortunately, too much wind for much balloon activity. More on both rallies in the Rally Reports. The Golden State Trackers are having a rally in March at Pala Casino Spa & Resort March (Near Temecula) Paulette just sent out an with details. Sounds like a fun rally and the registration deadline is fast approaching! That s all for now! Hugs to all! Jan WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS We d like to extend a warm welcome our newest members Nanette Caldwell and Tom & Carol Pontolillo. They have attended several Amigo rallies and joined our ranks at the Christmas Rally. Nanette calls Yucaipa home when she s not travelling in her Class B Leisure Travel with her fury four legged friends! She is also a member of the Golden State Trackers. Tom & Carol call Helendale home and they travel in a 40 Forest River Berkshire. They are also members of Golden State Trackers and are hosting the March Tracker rally. Welcome ya ll!

2 Amigos Advisor Page 2 Best Wishes and a sad farewell to Bill & Sylvia Merritt It s with much sadness that I report that Bill & Sylvia Merritt have sold their motor home. Story goes that Bill was at a gas station and a young fellow was admiring Bill s coach and asked if it was for sale. Bill said No but the guy asked if he could see the inside. I guess one thing lead to another and Bill decided it was time to turn the keys over to someone a little younger. The buyers are real excited about getting the coach. Bill & Sylvia have been Amigos for a very long time and been very active for many years. They didn't own an Apollo but were introduced to Amigos by a friend who did and the rest is history! They were always ready to help in the kitchen. Bill was first in in the morning with his silver ice bucket to pour our champagne and were willing participants in our fun games. We wish you both the best and you WILL be missed! Please keep in touch! Rally reports: AMIGOS CHRISTMAS RALLY~ BAKERSFIELD RIVER RUN RV RESORT ~ DEC 3-7, 2017 Hosts: Roger & Paulette Boyd and Rich & Manni Ramando Fourteen coaches arrived safely at River Run RV Park for another fun Christmas rally. The early arrivals hustled over to the Club house to decorate and set up the kitchen so we d be set to go for our 4:30 Opening Rally Welcome which happened about 5:15. Roger and Paulette were busy in the kitchen fixing a lovely pork roast dinner with the assistance of our First Timer, new members Mike and Michelle Tuttle. Michelle made the mistake of asking What can we do? and she was handed a 10 pound bag of potatoes and instructed to Have at it! Attending members were: Abbotts, Boyds, Golks, Hiemstras, Merritts, Olivers, Ramondos, Tuttles, Watsons, Wells, Williams and guests, Nannette Caldwell, Richard & Gloria Hendershott & Rino & Carol Toussaint. While dinner was cooking we had our 1st game of Bean Bag Baseball which is really a great Ice Breaker as everyone gets involved & the cheering and jeering gets pretty intense. It was a pretty good game and the score was pretty close, but the end the Guys won. Dinner was delicious and it was great to see everyone and we enjoyed getting to know our guests and new members, Mike & Michelle! Monday morning found Paulette in the kitchen again. Bell s where scheduled for breakfast, but they were unable to attend, so Paul picked up the reins, as usual. Bill Merritt was on duty with silver ice bucket and plenty of cold champagne. Biscuits and gravy was on the menu with Paulette s delicious scrambled eggs. No one left hungry! The Bean Bag competition started after breakfast and we had the rest of the day free, until Game 2 of Baseball. This game was a record breaker. The Guys couldn t miss and the Gals couldn't hit. Every Guy got a hit and home runs with the bases loaded. The Gals didn't stand a chance. We loaded the bases and then scored no runs. The final was 43 to 13. That s were the record breaker comes in: the Guys haven t had that many runs in 4 rallies, let alone 1 game. With our tail between our legs, there was no Game 3. Way to go Guys! Congratulations! Monday night found the Ramondos in the kitchen with Dee & Tom Williams helping. Beef Burgundy Tips over mashed potatoes was delicious! Salad and veggies and dessert rounded out another great dinner.

February 2018 Page 3 After dinner 5 couples were picked to play the Oldie Wed game, take off on the TV version of the Newlywed game.

You know how the games goes, so all I can tell you is we had a lot of laughs and Jim & Carol Abbott won! Married 61 years!

The was no Game 3 in baseball, so we had the rest of the day to play.

3 February 2018 Page 3 After dinner 5 couples were picked to play the Oldie Wed game, take off on the TV version of the Newlywed game. Jim & Carol Abbott, Bob & Debbie Golk, Ralph & Susie Hiemstra, Bill & Sylvia Merritt & Richard & Judy Oliver were the contestants. Roger Boyd was the Moderator. You know how the games goes, so all I can tell you is we had a lot of laughs and Jim & Carol Abbott won! Married 61 years! Tuesday found Bob & Debbie Golk in the kitchen whipping up breakfast burritos and boy were they good. Bill Merritt was on champagne duty again was kept pretty busy! The was no Game 3 in baseball, so we had the rest of the day to play. We gathered for happy hour and did some Bean Bag playoffs while the Abbotts and Olivers prepared lasagna, salad & garlic bread for dinner. After dinner we burned a few calories by playing the Ping Pong Bounce Game. We broke into teams of 5 people on a team and the team with the most balls in the bowls was victorious! Jim & Carol Abbott won the Oldie Wed Game. Married for 61 years, if There are 2, 8 tables set up end to end. Standing at one end, you have to bounce the ball on the table and into any of the 4 bowls at the other end of the table. The exercise is for the people at the end of the table trying to catch the balls that don t go into the awaiting bowls. You have 1 minute to toss as many balls as you can. Wednesday found the Hiemstras & helpers making Stuffed French Toast. Sour dough bread filled with cream cheese and dipped in egg batter. Oh, yum! Fruit cocktail and bacon accompanied the French Toast. Champagne was also involved. The Alcohol Team winners are from L to R: Judy Oliver, Mike & Michelle We had a short business meeting after breakfast and discussed future Tuttle & Susie & Ralph Hiemstra. rallies, primarily our Christmas rally in Boyd s & Ramondos have hosted this rally for many years and announced that someone else needed to volunteer. After a brief discussion, Bob & Debbie Golk volunteered to host the 2018 Christmas Rally. Location and date TBA. A few more Bean Bag games were played to work our way to the finals. We had the afternoon to goof off and gathered for Attitude Adjustment and the Finals. A tough game between challengers Bruce Watson & Paulette Boyd vs Roger Boyd & Michelle Tuttle. It was neck and neck for much of the game as each team would cancel the other teams points. In the end, Roger and Michelle were victorious! My turn in the kitchen for our final dinner and we served spiral cut ham, potatoes au gratin, peas, Cole slaw and cake and ice cream to celebrate Bruce s 85th birthday! After the kitchen was cleaned up we gathered round for our White Elephant gift exchange which is always a hoot. Lots of stealing each others gifts and I m sure we ll see many of then return for our next White Elephant gift exchange! After the last gift was opened, we started to clean up the Club House so folks could make an early departure on Thursday. Thanks to the Boyds and Ramondos for hosting another fun rally & to all who attended and helped with cooking duties. Bean Bag Champs Roger Boyd & Michelle Tuttle

Amigos Advisor Page 4 Lake Havasu AZ ~ Balloon Festival ~ Jan 17-22, 2018 Fourteen coaches made reservations in January 2017 for this event in January 2018 and I was blown away that we all made it

Sunsets are spectacular! We all arrived on Wednesday, Jan 17, ahead of the scheduled balloon activities & gathered at Fred & Joann Wells lovely lakeside campsite for Happy Hour & Hellos.

4 Amigos Advisor Page 4 Lake Havasu AZ ~ Balloon Festival ~ Jan 17-22, 2018 Fourteen coaches made reservations in January 2017 for this event in January 2018 and I was blown away that we all made it and 2 more joined our ranks. The Lake Havasu State Park is beautiful! If you haven t stayed there, put it on your To Do list. It is clean, has spacious sites and gorgeous views of the Lake. Sunsets are spectacular! We all arrived on Wednesday, Jan 17, ahead of the scheduled balloon activities & gathered at Fred & Joann Wells lovely lakeside campsite for Happy Hour & Hellos. Don & Marian Lay, former Amigos, & residents of Lake Havasu own the local Golden Corral Restaurant. They graciously invited us to have dinner in their Back Room so we had a place to meet out of the wind and enjoy each others company. Along with Don & Marian, Bob & Maryann Stephens joined us for a delightful get together. If anyone left hungry it was their own fault. Thanks for your hospitality! This wasn t a structured rally as we didn t have a club house so we just sort of winged it. The campsites were large and we took over a good portion of the park. Thursday morning was pretty windy, so most of us just stayed in bed as we knew there wouldn't be any balloon activity. Goofed off during the day but decided we would all go to the Golden Horseshoe Steakhouse for dinner. Going in a group of 10 or more is not a good idea. The food was good, but with a large group, most of the food was cold by the time it was served. Lesson learned! The good news is that as Mel & Sharon Berry were leaving the park Sharon took an awesome picture of the Night Glow. The balloons were all inflated, tethered and lit their burners at the same time. Makes for an incredible sight. Friday morning a bunch of the gals headed toward the launch site about 7:15. The balloons were starting to inflate in a static formation but it was again too windy for an ascension. The walk did us good! Paulette hustled back to her coach as she was fixing breakfast for the whole gang. Biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs, fruit and pastries were served in the campground and we all enjoyed a chilly brunch. Champagne was involved to keep us warm. Brisk but beautiful. Thanks Paulette, Roger and helpers for a delightful meal. After breakfast we formed teams and started a Bean Bag Competition. Bruce and I picked up Ruth Hewitt and brought her to the campground to spend the afternoon visiting with everyone. Friday was the warmest day and we enjoyed the sunshine. Ruth was the one who did all the work to charter our Chapter in Was great to see her and at 90, she looks great! That evening everyone did their own thing for dinner. The wind blew all night long, again, so we knew there wouldn t be any balloon activity. Wind was pretty strong, & it was very chilly. Lee Tinsley & son, Rusty, had just closed escrow on a home they purchased in L H C so many of us went over to see their new digs. Lovely home with a nice view of the lake. We all decided to head over to the Elks for dinner that night, and left early to commandeer several tables. The place was packed but the food was delicious. Bruce and I had one of the best prime rib dinners that we can remember. By Sunday things started to wind down as conditions were still pretty breezy. Roger & Paulette picked up Ruth and went to Shagrues for brunch. Many of us joined them and enjoyed the view of the lake and great Bloody Marys. Sharon Berry s photo. Ruth enjoying a Bloody Mary!

Page 5 February 2018 Sunday was probably the windiest day of the week and we still had the Bean Bag Finals. It was nice and sunny but the wind was brutal.

We gathered at Fred & Joan Wells lakeside campsite again, as the provided the best wind block & as it was we had to nail everything down.

If you know Betty, you know she is very competitive and wanted to play in spite of the 25 mile an hour winds.

Someone took a picture, but I don t have a clue who it was. After we finished eating, & saying our good-byes we headed back to our coaches.

5 Page 5 February 2018 Sunday was probably the windiest day of the week and we still had the Bean Bag Finals. It was nice and sunny but the wind was brutal. We had decided to pass on dinner and do Hearty Hors d oeuvres while we had the playoffs. We gathered at Fred & Joan Wells lakeside campsite again, as the provided the best wind block & as it was we had to nail everything down. The playoffs were between Bob Golk & Jan Watson vs Manni Ramondo & Betty Vincent. This was an Amigo first to have 2 gals on one team, but that s just how the teams worked out. If you know Betty, you know she is very competitive and wanted to play in spite of the 25 mile an hour winds. Well, I sure didn t hold up my end of the team as Bob got all 6 of our points to Manni & Betty s 21. Game over! The Champs were Manni & Betty and I m sorry to say, I don t have a picture to share. Someone took a picture, but I don t have a clue who it was. After we finished eating, & saying our good-byes we headed back to our coaches. It was a fun rally, but this is the 2nd year we haven t seen any balloon activity, so we decided to pass on next years event. Attendees were: Jim & Carol, Abbott, Ken & Genevieve Bell, Mel & Sharon Berry, Roger & Paulette Boyd, Corb & Jeri Brown, Bob & Debbie Golk, Gary & Lynn Lamb, Richard & Judy Oliver, Rich & Manni Ramondo, Lee & Rusty Tinsley, Tony & Betty Vincent, Bruce & Jan Watson, Fred & Joann Wells, Tom & Dee Williams Buck & Pat Youngblood. Tom & Carol Pontolillo joined us but stayed at another campground. Great group! Fun time! Early risers from L to R: Jan Watson, Lynn Lamb, Paulette Boyd with Tripper, Genevieve Bell, Manni Ramondo with Fred or Fritz and Jeri Browne with Fred or Fritz. Beach at sunset. Post Riverside Casino, Laughlin, NV Monday morning everyone went there separate ways, while Roger & Paulette went to get some parts installed in their coach. Bells, Ramondos and Watsons all headed north to Laughlin. Boyds caught up with us as we were just getting on to I-40. We lunched one day in Oatman, did some casino dining, saw a show starring Doug Kershaw and got in a couple of marble games. Was windy most of the time we were there, but had a good time anyway. $ for a week, full hook-ups, free shuttle, what s not to like? Oatman Hotel. Those are $1 bills on the walls. Burro had a sign on his head. Don t feed me. I m a baby!

By joining forces we are not Them & Us but WE. So, Amigos, I encourage you to go to GSTracker.org and download their membership form and become a member.

6 Page 6 Amigos & Golden State Trackers Many of the Golden State Trackers members have joined Amigos & have been attending our rallies! I d like to thank them for their support and reciprocate supporting their membership by attending their rallies and becoming members of their Chapter. Together we just make more friends and memories! By joining forces we are not Them & Us but WE. So, Amigos, I encourage you to go to GSTracker.org and download their membership form and become a member Amigos & G S Trackers Agenda March April May June Pala RV Resort ~ Just below Temecula ~ See Paulette s recent . Dead line is SOON! Boulder Creek RV Resort in Lone Pine ~ Hosts~ Fred & Joanne Wells Cow Mother Lode Fairgrounds, Sonora, CA ~ Hosts ~ Bruce & Jan Watson Pismo RV Resort in Oceano ~ Hosts~ Bob & Debbie Golk (they re looking for help!) September River Run RV Park, Bakersfield Hosts~ Bob & Debbie Golk (GST Business Rally) October Open November Cava Robles in Paso Robles...tentative...need feed back ASAP to propertytw@pacbell.net December 2-6 Bakersfield RV Park ~ Hosted by Amigos, Bob & Debbie Golk...could use a co host. Be well, stay healthy & safe travels! Happy St. Patrick s Day!

Amigos Advisor. Sending Get Well Wishes! PREZ SEZ: Editor: Jan Watson. Bottom Line:

Amigos Advisor. Sending Get Well Wishes! PREZ SEZ: Editor: Jan Watson. Bottom Line: Bottom Line: Editor: Jan Watson PREZ SEZ: Amigos Advisor Hi Amigos! Hope this finds you enjoying summer and in good health! Can t believe it is the end of June already. Our Sonora, Flicker Hollow @ the