recap: 4th PNW Bird retreat

[mbulriss]

Jo-Ski,

Great job on the rally and the report. Glad to see some other areas
of the country getting active with Rallies. Say listen, my wife and I
are hosting the December 2-4 Lone Star Birds Holiday Happening Rally
(the 19th official LSB Rally!) and I saw your comments about singing
The Rooster Song and we need to fill out the entertainment section of
the Rally, so do you think you guys can make it? 8^) We have great
food, gifts, food, holiday parade, etc. We have room for all attendees.

Mike Bulriss
83 PT40 "Stagecoach" - For Sale
91 PT40 "Texas Minivan"
San Antonio, TX



--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Jo-Ski" wrote:
>
> Hi, gang--
>
> Well, it's been a few weeks, but in the spirit of "better late than
never," Jo-Ski here offers this recap of the 4th PNW Bird retreat that
was held in Hoodsport, WA, Sept.30-Oct.3, 2005, along the beautiful
Hoodsport Canal. Some highlights:
> a.. A gathering of terrific people and Birds! This time around,
not only most of the WA state "regulars" were slated to attend, but
also folks traveling from as far away as southern California, Oregon,
Wisconsin, and BC, Canada. In the end, 11 out of 14 Birds who signed
up were able to actually make it (lamentably, 3 Birds had to
cancel--only because of last-minute technical problems or parts not
arriving on time--and, you folks not able to attend, please know that
we missed you!). It was great to see old Blue Bird friends from the
first 3 PNW retreats (a tradition started just this year by the hosts
of the first retreat, Dave and Judy B.), as well as to meet many new
Blue Bird friends this time around! We were pleased that a number of
people who found out about the retreat only some days in advance were
able to attend--the Rest-A-While RV Resort was great at accommodating
all our needs, including last-minute reservations. Anyhow, in
attendance were: Bob G. and Sandi E. ('84 FC31, WLII, WA), Steve and
Cathy A. ('79 FC 35 SB, Poulsbo WA), Jon and Kathy L. ('78
Wanderlodge, Bremerton WA), Stew S. and Jo-Ski ('83 FC 35 RB, Blaine,
WA), Allen & Marie P. ('88 PT40, Mission BC), Dick and Julie B. ('92
WLWB PT 40', Wisconsin), Eric P. and son Lon ('96 Wanderlodge,
full-time RVers), Rose Mary S. and 84-years-young mom Clara ('82 FC
33, Roseburg, Oregon), Bob and Arlene L. (84 PT36, Tacoma, WA), Dave
and Judy B. (1983 FC35SB BirdCage, Federal Way, WA), and Bob and
Terri W. ('76 FC 31, Vancouver, WA). We were sorry that last-minute
problems did not give us the pleasure of meeting Byron B. and Susan B.
('83 FC 35', Ocean Shores, WA), Tom M. ('95 PT 42, Poway, CA), and Tim
and Ginny W. ('83 PT 35, Pennsylvania/Gulf Islands, B.C.), but we sure
hope to see you folks at the next gathering.
>
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>
> b.. Our first lady coach drivers! Let's face it: even to many
guys, a Blue Bird at first seems like a daunting, formidable handful
of coach to handle on the road. At past PNW retreats, we
wives/significant others have confessed that, much as we'd like to
help out with the driving, we have not yet been actively involved with
actually driving our coaches (other than maybe practices in parking
lots, etc.), opting instead to go it in the passenger's seat (and
admitting to occasionally white-knuckling it along those back-roads,
when the passenger-side wheels seem perilously close to those narrow
shoulders with the bus-eating ditches!). Btw, I have also noted this
same kind of shyness about the driving-end-of-it on the part of many
gals among other, non-Blue Bird RVing friends. Well, that all changed
this time around--to paraphrase that 60's song, then "Along Comes
[Rose] Mary"! Anyway, from the time she confidently rolled into the
campground, there was no question that Rose Mary was in full command
of her rig and also has an admirable grasp of so many of the technical
details about these coaches. Later, I learned that Marie P. also
routinely commandeers their 40-foot rig. To both ladies, hats off to
you for being inspirations to/role-models for the rest of us
lady-Birders and for earning the respect of the guys, too!
>
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>
> c.. Friday evening pow-wow. By Friday evening, almost everyone had
arrived at the campground. With other "extra-curricular" events like
the area's "OysterFest" going on the same weekend, we decided to
pow-wow in our clubhouse and plan an easy-going schedule of Bird
activities. Was a nice chance to get the gang all in one place for
some get-acquainted chat. Bob G. also announced possible plans for a
PNW retreat at a lovely seaside campground in Tokeland, WA in spring,
2006. More on that from Bob as he compiles the details.
>
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>
> d.. Saturday morning coach tour. The coach tour was nothing but
spectacular, covering the whole span of Blue Bird design from the
years 1976-1996! Each time I go on one of these tours, I never cease
to be amazed at the extraordinary variety in color, floor plans, and
decor that characterize these coaches! Blue Bird certainly has never
taken a cookie-cutter approach to producing these rigs!
>
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>
> e.. "On-site consultation" and repairs. Aside from just enjoying
each other's company, what else is a Blue Bird gathering about than
great enthusiasm about the coaches and also Blue Birders helping other
Blue Birders? The weekend included a lot of good Bird-talk and
info-swapping. Then it was discovered that on the drive up, Rose
Mary's coach had lost functionality on the windshield-wiper for the
driver's side (and, it was already a pretty rainy weekend). I think at
one point after she arrived, Rose Mary noticed smoke coming out of the
dashboard, which prompted Stew, Bob G., and Alan to immediately form a
mini-posse to take care of the problem. They were able to replace the
driver's-side wiper with the still-functioning passenger-side wiper.
Rose Mary later reported that she and her mom made it home safely with
the replacement wiper workin' just fine! Well done, guys!
>
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>
> f.. Saturday afternoon oyster barbecue. For groups of 10 or more
rigs, the campground kindly hosts a complimentary oyster barbecue,
with oysters from its privately-held and -managed oysterbeds (the beds
are just several yards in front of where you camp along the canal).
So, on Saturday afternoon, the campground owner and his wife
personally grilled up no less than 10 dozen oysters for the gang!
Arlene L. also offered up her killer-oyster sauce to accompany the
delicacies. Though yours truly is not an oyster-eater, I'm told it was
darned good-eatin' all around! Bon appetit!
>
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>
> g.. Saturday evening pot-luck and 'round-the-campfire
get-together. Probably like a lot of other regional Blue Bird
gatherings, it's become a tradition for the PNW Birders to hold a
Saturday evening potluck. This one proved to be a tasty, delightful
smorgasborg of dinner delights and desserts! We re-arranged the
clubhouse so that all 21 of us were seated at one big, family-style
table, and it was just lots of laughter and good cheer from there! The
commemorative sovenir/remembrance for the retreat was given out--a
little stuffed Blue Bird mascot for each coach with the authentic Blue
Bird tag. Also, thanks to Randy Dupree for sending along brochures and
sample jars of his holding tank cleaning product for everyone as an
extra give-away (note: by the time Stew and I left for the retreat,
only a smaller box with the brochures and 2 jars of product had
arrived, so not knowing about the rest of the jars, we made some extra
fun by raffling off the 2 jars at the pot-luck; of course, when we got
home, there was a big box on our doorstep with the rest of the jars,
which we'll distribute at the next get-together). After dinner, most
of the gang hung out under the stars and a few raindrops around a nice
big campfire marshalled by Bob G. Again, a lot of good Bird-talk,
storytelling, laughter. Someone mentioned campfire songs, so yours
truly offered up a version of the infamously silly "The Rooster Song."
>
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>
> h.. Sunday activities. Pretty quiet day. We saluted the departing
7 Birds as they nobly rolled out to head for home--a little more than
half of the group left on Sunday. Some of us who remained wandered
over to the OysterFest for awhile, but actually found it was more fun
to be back at Bird camp. Later in the afternoon, a group of 5 die-hard
oyster-lovers managed to polish off another 6 dozen barbecued oysters
from the campground's pristeen oysterbeds, along with more generous
dollups of Arlene L.'s killer-oyster sauce! Still later, newcomers
Bob and Terri W., who have got a lot of terrific, creative ideas and
entrepreneurial experience, shared some of their latest educational
product ideas with the group, and we had a kind of impromptu,
mini-focus group/brainstorm session for promoting these ideas. Was
fun, and we wish Bob and Terri well and much success!
>
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>
> i.. Monday farewells. The last 4 Birds pulled out of the
campground and headed in all directions of the compass. . .always a
wistful moment to see another retreat come to a close!
> And, that was it. From what I understand, everyone enjoyed
themselves, and the newcomer folks said they'd want to attend another
such retreat, so that was good to hear, too! All in all, a fine
gathering of wonderful, diverse folks and fine-feathered Birds! Again,
was really great to see old Blue Bird friends and make quite a few new
ones! All the PNW Birders look forward to welcoming ever more Blue
Birders at future retreats in our lovely area of the country!
>
> Will post a few photos of the Bird line-up shortly.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jo-Ski and Stew
> "The Bird Abides"
> '83-FC 35 RB
> Blaine, WA
>
>
>
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