Michael Vreeland (20733)
Virginia State Director

To my fellow Newmarians that either reside in Florida or travel to Florida for the winter, I congratulate us all for our good sense to come south. The winter weather up north has been brutal. My kids send me pics and as I look at them you can tell how cold it is – my computer screen starts to fog up a bit. I also follow a couple of groups that have posted several pics showing Newmars surrounded by snow. Ok, for the record, your Newmar will handle the snow and cold just fine, but I have to ask why would you want to? Guess it is a personal thing; some like the snow, some not so much.

As I travel around the RV parks where I stay, I do see a number of Newmars; I usually try to stop by and say howdy and everyone is more than happy to swap some lies. I also notice young families with kids at the parks. I love that – the kids are playing, drawing on the road with chalk, playing hide and seek, riding bikes – all the stuff we did as kids. Ironically, the parents are typically sitting under the patio awning swiping through their phone screens. When I see that I usually stop by and poke fun at them; at least the kids are out playing.

Now is the time to take a minute and think about how lucky we are that we can travel at will in a luxury RV, enjoying the sites and folks we meet. Not a bad way to spend retirement. I still wonder how I got as much stuff done around the house during the weekend while working a 40 – 60-hour work week before I retired. I am just as busy now as then, and I can’t keep up. I guess truth be told – so what. Do it tomorrow or wait till the Tampa Super Show or International Rally and get the Newmar Techs to do if for you. So, enjoy life, take a second and kick back.

Talking about the Tampa Super Show – I was there welcoming all Newmarian rally attendees as they made the turn into the fairgrounds. It went well and one request to all future attendees. As you approach the Newmar specific entrance point, (yes we have a private entrance) I am looking at your windshield for the Newmar placard you got when registering for the rally. Please tape it on your windshield so I can wave you right in; otherwise I have to slow you down and maybe stop you on the street to verify you are an attendee. We want to get you off the street to minimize any chance of an accident. Also do not cross the road to get into the rally. We had a couple that did, and they were lucky, no traffic. But what’s the hurry, you’re retired. Take your time and go around so you enter safely. We came in with full freshwater tank and empty black and grey tanks. We had 30 amp service and of course I was the first one to trip the breaker. I had left the electric heating element on the Oasis and as soon as the AC kicked in, shortly thereafter, I lost power; so, this is a lesson for all. I do not do boondocking or power only camping very often, and it amazes me that with all the amenities that each of our Newmar’s have, we can operate just fine on 30 amps with a bit of care.

After the Tampa Super Show, I was back into the snowbird shuffle – moving campgrounds every two weeks and making future reservations. And as luck would have it, my sat dish would not lock up to the satellites. After a lot of calling, I found a local company that comes to you to service your RV. They service the Orlando and surrounding area for general RV repairs, and they are a Direct TV service group. I had the dreaded “no power to lnb” error. The tech came out and sure enough the dish was “broke.” The problem could have been fixed by swapping out some cards, but they do not do that on five-year-old or older sat dishes. So, with my newly purchased extended warranty I was good to go. The tech said he was going to order a new one but – yeah, the dreaded but, followed by the reason we are all hearing a lot – supply chain issues have resulted in no available new sat dishes. But they are on order, so he ordered one for me. Eventually my luck had to change, and I can get satellite lockup if I try it several times. May take a day or two, but I have gotten it to lock up a couple times so far. Hopefully my luck will hold at least till the new satellite comes in.

I am happy to say a Virginia Wheels Rally is scheduled for May 12-16 at the American Heritage RV Park in Williamsburg, Virginia. This is a really nice park, and there is a lot to do in the area. So, if you have not registered for it yet, better do it now. I have already registered and will see you there. The registration is available through the NKK Website, and don’t forget to call American Heritage RV Park 757-566-3133 to reserve your site. Two weeks after this rally the 2022 Virginia State Rally will be held at Tall Pines Harbor in Temperanceville, Virginia (they call this area the eastern shore) from June 1-5. On Saturday night (June 4th) the 6th Annual Bluegrass Festival will be held at the park. Additionally, I am in discussions with a company that will be doing RV weighing as well as doing a Fire Safety lecture. There are other activities being considered like a boat tour of the local area and a tour of Wallops Island. That is a lot in a short amount of time, so we will see how things work out. So, register for this rally at the NKK Website, and do not forget to call Tall Pines Harbor RV Park 352-345-7379 to reserve your site. Remember that is a lot of fun packed into 3 weeks – so come have some fun with the Wheelers.

Safe travels to all and Happy RVing.

I can be reached at beagleRV@gmail.com or 540-809-9830