Day 5

This would be the first day that an FMCA convention tradition would begin each day of the remainder of the convention; beginning the day with complimentary donuts and hot coffee or hot chocolate. At this convention the donuts that were distributed were from Krispy Kreme. We also received a complimentary copy of a local news paper; the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. At past FMCA conventions the convention itself was newsworthy enough to be covered by a front page story.

A large supply of Krispy Kreme donuts

Copies of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin kept us in touch with the world

I went to the vendor service center and made an appointment to have my motorhome furnace serviced and to have the coach batteries tested. I also learned that the other two vendors I wanted to see had their operations located in and outlying area of the fairgrounds. This would require taking a ride on one tram and transferring to a second one that would take me to the far reaches of the Fairplex.

The route of the second tram took us through a tunnel that went beneath a busy street. As the tram came out into the sunshine we were in a parking lot that wasn't as densely populated with motorhomes as the one where our motorhome was located.

The way to get to the other side of a busy street

Some of the motorhomes in this distance camp area were somewhat unusual. There was one section that was made up of bus conversions that were made from vintage vehicles.

I found my way to the two vendors I wanted to visit, however, one had a very looooong line and the other needed information I didn't have with me. Oh well, back to the other side. I jumped on a tram and instead of going back the way we came, this tram took a route to the south end of the parking area. This took us through an industrial storage area just before arriving at the busy four-lane street. This time — instead of going under — there was a crossing guard who stopped traffic so the tram could cross the busy roadway.

This is one of several types of trams used to get around the Fairplex

Once back in the main part of the Fairplex I went to the venders display area to look around and to see if there was something there that I didn't know I needed. The usual collection of RV accessories and stuff was on display and for sale. This is always a favorite with a lot of convention attendees.

The vendors display area is always a popular place to browse for new goodies

Occasionally the vendors will sell their wares at a nice "show discount" or they will do installations of their products at no extra charge. At a previous convention I bought some awnings for the bedroom windows of our motorhome. I was told that normally there was a $70 installation charge; however, there would be no charge for installation at the show. I'm always happy to keep $70 in my pocket.

While in the vendors area I came across Flakey the Magic Clown. He had become a fixture at all of the FMCA conventions I've attended. He moves through the convention scene on an electric scooter entertaining kids of all ages along the way. He also has a magic show as part of the FMCA convention entertainment.

Flakey the Clown — at times — seems to be everywhere

Here is the place to learn to drive a dragster

After tiring of walking around the vendor area I hopped a tram to go back to our motorhome. As the tram found its way winding through the Fairplex I saw something that I thought was unusual. I saw Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School — you don't see a school like that everyday. However, when you think of it this was the perfect place for such an education facility. Located here at the Fairplex is the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) museum on one side of the fairgrounds. The NHRA Dragstrip can be found on the other side of the complex.

Back at our motorhome I looked up the numbers I needed to get service from a couple of vendors. With numbers in hand I jumped on a tram to get back to the service area on the far side of the Fairplex.

Once on the vendor service center side of the Fairplex the tram took a route that went by a row of vintage bus conversions. They looked as if some saw service as inter-city transportation while others appeared to be made from old cross-country cruisers. Some seemed to be conversions made on a shoestring budget and others looked to be very fine motorhomes indeed.

Old time buses seeing the good life as RVs in their later years

When I reached the first vendor parts van, I was told that the part wasn't in the local inventory and there wasn't enough time to get it to the Fairplex before the convention ended. With that I went down the row of vendor vans to get in line at the Roadmaster Towing Equipment parts and service van.

At first I was inclined to wish I didn't have to stand in a line, however, I found that it turned out to be very educational. I only had a handful of small parts I needed, but others in line needed major repair work to be done on their tow bars.

The Roadmaster service tech's seemed to do wonders with damaged tow bars. I learned \how the tow bars are assembled and how to keep mine in good condition. In front of me was a man holding a tow bar that I couldn't imagine it was repairable.

I told the man that it looked as if he backed up with his towed vehicle behind his motorhome. He responded that he wasn't backing up when the bar was badly bent out of shape. A few minutes later a man got in line behind me and said, "It looks like you backed up with that tow bar." The man said, "That is what everybody says, but that isn't what happened."

The man holding the mangled towing device told the story of how he was driving along on a back country road towing his Jeep. Suddenly an unmarked railroad crossing appeared not leaving enough time to slow down. He hit the uneven rail crossing at a pretty good speed with his Jeep flying into the air. When the Jeep became airborne the man looked in the rearview monitor to see the towed becoming visible very high just before the vehicle crashed to the road and bounced. After finding a place to pull over to the side of the road to inspect for damage, the guy went back to look at his Jeep. It appeared as if the Jeep was unscathed, but he could clearly see that the tow bar was mangled. He was able to tow his Jeep to a town where he bought a new tow bar.

By the time the owner of the twisted tow bar reached the service tech's I had seen several tow bars repaired to like-new condition. However, I couldn't imagine that the next was at all doable. Without hesitation, the Roadmaster tech used a power hacksaw to cut the twisted shafts off right up to the tubes. The remaining stubs were dropped out the back end of the tubes. With that, a pair of new rods were inserted into the tubes and in a short time the man had an almost new Roadmaster tow bar. He said that he figured he would keep the repaired tow bar as a spare.

When my turn came up it only took a few minutes for me to get what I needed to take care of my tow bar configuration. With that, it was back to the tram stop to catch a ride back to the middle of the Fairplex. On the way through the central area I walked past a truck driving simulator that was run by the California Highway Patrol. There always was a long line at this attraction.

This was a very popular attraction

When I arrived back in camp I saw that Tom had the generator drawer of his motorhome extended for the service tech. As usual, the FMCA convention is a great place to get anything on a motorhome serviced. I would learn later that Tom was pleased with the service his motorhome generator received.

A motorhome waiting for a service visit for the generator

Looking north, toward the mountains, I noticed that the heavy dark clouds that were there this morning were completely gone. I took advantage of the bright afternoon to take a series of photos to be used to assemble a pseudo-panoramic view of the camping area around our site.

Click on image to view a pseudo-panaramic version A nice scenic view after the clouds moved away

As in recent FMCA conventions, the evening entertainment was a bit early at 6:30 PM. After having an early dinner, Kay and I headed out to go to the evening event to see Debbie Reynolds. I was looking forward to this show because I've enjoyed Debbie's show a few years ago.

At previous FMCA conventions, the seating for the general membership was not the greatest and this convention would continue the tradition. Our small group was located high in the grandstand. Fortunately, video screens gave a closer view of the action and Debbie uses the video screens to show clips from her movie roles. I recognized the routines in Debbie's show as it was an abbreviated version of the show Kay and I saw the last weekend of 2001.

This is our view of Debbie from the high-altitude seating area

Debbie made several costume changes to show off part of her Mackie collection

There was one part of Debbie's routine that was new to us as it had to do with things she saw as she walked around the Fairplex during the afternoon. She made several funny comments about "Pork Butts." Debbie also made a few costume changes to show off part of her Bob Mackie collection.

After the show, the lines of people waiting for trams were very long. So, Kay and I walked back to our camp area. It was good to get "home" after a busy day.

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