Day 6

The day began early with a stop at the donut and hot drink tent to get the goodies and a complimentary copy of the local newspaper. Nearby, the sounds of the Frustrated Maestros could be heard performing golden-oldies music. This group of musicians performed a couple of hours during the mornings of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

These people provided entertainment every morning

While reading the paper, an old pickup truck moved in close to the donut zone. I had to get a closer look at the old workhorse. It turned out to be a 1922 Dodge Bro's., 1 ½ ton pickup. A sign in front of the vehicle listed revolutionary features such as a 12 volt electrical system, a combination starter/alternator and pneumatic tires.

A 1922 Dodge — A neat old pickup truck

Click on image below to see truck specifications In some ways this is a simple interior

After finishing a donut and a cup of hot chocolate, I headed over to watch a couple of the guys in our group working out in a morning exercise class. I've always said that hard workouts don't bother me; I can watch them for hours, especially after eating a tasty donut. By the time the class ended, it was time for the vendor booths to open.

This is the type of tram used inside the fairgrounds

I headed to the vendor area and saw a scene that looked a bit humorous. A man was winding his way through the crowd of people while riding a Segway personal transportation device. He would not step down from his mobile platform. He would wiggle into a booth and have a person there hand items up to him to view.

When I last saw the guy, it looked as if he had met his match. He had moved into a booth where a young woman was sitting on a big inflated ball. She wouldn't get up and he would get down. The two of them performed a stretching ballet for a few minutes before the man moved his Segway machine on down the line of vendor booths. As the man moved into the crowd where the Segway was no longer visible, from my viewpoint, it appeared as if the guy was floating through the crowd.

I never saw this guy get down from his mobile platform

After walking around most of the vendor area, I wanted to find a place to sit down. It also was time to find a place to eat lunch. I remembered a food vendor that was selling a product that I have come to enjoy since I first had it in Quartzsite, Arizona — a barbecued turkey leg. I bought a big leg and found a place to sit down. The turkey leg operation was right next to the "Pork Butts" place. This gave me a chance to take a load off my feet and to feed a case of the "hungries".

A grilled turkey leg has become a favorite treat at these shows

After lunch I went to a place near the center of the fairgrounds to view the Fairplex Garden Railroad setup that I've always passed by during a previous visit to Pomona. This is the largest and most detailed train layout I've seen and it is outdoors. I feel that the attention to detail in the scenes is astonishing.

The layout is divided into various types of geography and structure types. There are what appear to be a desert, a forested area, a lake and an ocean scene. Then scenes show small-town America as well as the countryside with a small farm. There are bridge structures that range from common railroad trestles to a very detailed suspension bridge.

Click on image below to see a view of a suspension bridge The detail of this train layout is very good

The scenes include little figures of people that look very real as if they are being viewed from a low flying aircraft. With the model being in the outdoors, the real world sometimes forces itself on the small world of the model railroad. In one such case, children are sitting on a dock overlooking a body of water. In the water were leaves from a nearby tree; the leaves being very big compared to the small figures of children.

Two giant leaves enter the scene

After leaving the model railroad I found my way back to our motorhome to take it easy until time for the evening entertainment. The featured entertainer was Bobby Vinton a singer from the 1960s, in other words, the music was of the golden-oldie style of music.

Our small group of FMCA travelers found its way to the usual seating area in the "Nose bleed" section of the grandstand. There was a bit of a wait as the sun went down and the sky darkened, then the show began. It was good that we had big video screens to allow us to get a better view of the performers.

The audience enjoyed an energetic performance by Bobby Vinton

Mister Vinton put on an energetic show with a lot of familiar songs — most of which I could still remember the words. I felt that the only downside to the performance was the fact that Vinton spent too much time bragging about his past achievements, many of which took place almost a half century in the past. I was more interested in hearing old favorite songs from Vinton's younger years.

Many of the performers we've seen at FMCA conventions will come out into the audience and sing a few selections. This was what mister Vinton did, however, I didn't expect him to come very far out into the grandstand. He asked if there was a couple in the audience who were celebrating their wedding anniversary on this day. Only one couple responded and when asked how long they had been married the response was 20+ years.

These two people were seated a few rows behind our group and I expected that Vinton would sing a serenade from his location close to the stage. It was surprising to see this guy climb up the long flight of steps that led to the location of the anniversary couple. While catching his breath, Vinton talked about the importance of the day for the anniversary couple. Once his words came without gasps, Vinton sang a love song to the special couple.

Vinton sings to a couple for their wedding anniversary

Vinton was perspiring profusely as he turned to find his way down to the stage. I will say that for his age Vinton really went all out to get up above our location. I think I would need to stop on the way up and down a cold drink before continuing. All in all I enjoyed the concert that took us back in time to when Kay and I were busy raising our son. The music brought back a lot of good memories.

Once again, after the concert was over, Kay and I walked back to our motorhome. It was a nice night to take a stroll through the Fairplex. This was our last night in Pomona and the entertainment was a nice way to top of the convention.

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