THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 9, 1995 TAG: 9506090765
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY REBECCA A. MYERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 159 lines
WITH A PUSH of a button, Cam McGary can expand the living room and kitchen area of her motor home by 3 feet.
The ``slide-out,'' as it is called, even talks to her as it is moving: ``Lock-arms must be released, and all seats, chairs and other furniture clear of slide-out area.''
It may sound like a scene out of a Jetsons cartoon, but the slide-out is actually the latest option available to recreational vehicle owners.
``When it comes in, it's just the size of a regular motor home,'' said Cam McGary, a retired schoolteacher from Indiana, Pa.
This is the third motor home for McGary and her husband, Carl, who have been motor-coaching for about 15 years.
``Our first one was a little Winnebago,'' she said. ``In that one, you had your commode and your shower all together, so you could sit on the commode and take a shower at the same time.''
In their newest ``home-away-from-home,'' decorated in a Southwestern motif, the McGarys have a full-size bathroom, albeit small, as well as a washer and dryer, ice maker, two televisions, a queen-size bed and an incredible amount of storage space.
With a few brackets attached to a round piece of wood, the McGarys' steering wheel was converted into a small table, draped with a brightly colored sunflower tablecloth.
``It just kind of makes the steering wheel a little more decorative, like a home,'' said Cam McGary.
On May 31, the couple arrived in Portsmouth with 11 other coaches from western Pennsylvania for a rally hosted by the Eastern Area Chapter of the Family Motor Coach Association.
The group was part of a contingent of 74 units, primarily from the East Coast, who spent the weekend at the Portsmouth Seawall Festival. The one who came the farthest - a woman who drove alone - arrived from Massachusetts.
``The two things that bring us together are, No. 1, a love of people,'' said Carl McGary, ``and, No. 2, we all have a common interest even though we come from all different walks of life.''
According to the Pennsylvania resident, RV-ers are by far some of the friendliest people in the world.
``We can start a conversation with them and right away we can engage them,'' he said. ``Try that in a motel sometime, and they'll look at you like you're out of your mind. That's not true of these folks.''
RV enthusiasts run the gamut from retired Navy admirals to shipyard machinists, said Carl McGary, who works for the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
``It crosses all boundaries,'' he said. ``It really breaks down the barriers.''
The group stayed in a grassy lot in PortCentre on First Street, between Wythe and Randolph streets. The city provided a dumping and water station, as well as trash receptacles on site. The $5 fee per night included 24-hour security, though no electric, water or sewer hookups were available.
The motor homes at this rally ranged in price from $20,000 to upward of $200,000, with the average being $92,000. The largest ones arriving in Portsmouth were 40 feet long, though some RVs can be as long as 45 feet and 102 inches wide. Most are diesel driven and average about 10 miles to the gallon.
The majority of those in the group here were retired and have enjoyed camping all their lives.
``We've done this on and off since our children were born,'' said Patricia Cuthriell of Deep Creek, who organized the rally with a couple from Tappahannock.
``We camped when our children were young, quit when they got to a certain age, then got back to it when they left home . . .
``I don't care where they come from, camping people are always nice. They really are. If you like to do this, you're a certain kind of person anyway.''
The Tappahannock couple who co-hosted the rally, Cindy and Don Lamont, both in their 40s, decided to pursue their dream a little sooner.
``It was something that we always wanted to do because we were in the military and traveled a lot, and we were going to put it off until we retired,'' said Cindy Lamont.
``But then a friend of my husband's died of a heart attack three years ago at the age of 46. Don came home and said, `Get your pocketbook. We're hitting the road. We're going to go and buy that motor home now. We're not going to wait until we retire.' ''
Above everything else, the Lamonts treasure the camaraderie shared among RV-ers.
``We're all friends. You don't meet a motor-homer that you don't become a friend of,'' said Cindy Lamont. ``That's why we get into it - because of the fellowship.''
Ask any RV enthusiast if owning a motor home saves on travel expenses, and he'll laugh you right out of the park.
``Not really,'' said Horton Lain, a retired Navy captain from Berlin, Md. ``If you're going to go and travel, like a lot of us do, it'll save you some money. But if you're working and just use it one weekend a month or a couple weeks a year, it's a fun way to go, but it doesn't save you money because you have to own that asset all year.''
Though most motor homes are equipped with all the conveniences of a modern kitchen, most RV-ers prefer to eat out.
``I have a refrigerator, stove and everything in my motor home, but when we travel, very seldom do we cook,'' said Charlotte Harte of Siesta Gardens.
Most of the RV-ers who came to the Seawall Festival had been to numerous festivals, pig pickings and wine tastings before coming to Portsmouth.
``But this is the only one that's been supported by the city,'' said Don Lamont of Tappahannock, a pilot with Reynolds Metals Co.
``The City of Portsmouth has really gone out of their way. They've been wonderful.''
The Lamonts and the Cuthriells starting working on the rally about a year ago with Jim Resolute and Voncile Gilbreath of the Portsmouth Convention and Visitors Bureau. Last year was the first year for the RV Park, an idea proposed by City Councilman Cameron Pitts.
``Last year the City of Portsmouth provided 30 sites, and after the festival was over, Councilman Pitts asked what they could do to make it better this year,'' said Don Lamont.
``The city negotiated with the Cuthriells about how to get a large number of motor homes here. And everything that we said would be good to have to facilitate a large rally, the city provided.''
During their visit, the guests were asked to fill out a 20-question survey about to their stay. They were asked to ``critique'' the park and to make recommendations for improvements.
Some of the suggestions included providing electrical hook-ups, which the RV-ers said they'd be willing to pay for, and providing a shuttle to the waterfront area.
``One thing that they didn't have that they should have had was a trolley to take the handicapped around so there's not so much walking,'' said one of the campers from Virginia Beach. At least seven coaches had one disabled person on board, she said.
The city received high marks on its security and the convenient location of the park. About 97 percent said they would recommend the park to fellow RV-ers.
``I'm tempted to come back in October for the Ghost Walk tour that our guide on the trolley told us about,'' said Dolly Lain, wife of the retired Navy captain, Horton Lain, from Berlin, Md.
About half of the 150 RV-ers spent between $200 and $300 during the three-day festival and all said Portsmouth would be a good location for future RV rallies.
``We were real pleased with the responses,'' said Voncile Gilbreath of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. ``I definitely think it's something that's going to happen again in 1996.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MARK MITCHELL
[Color cover photo]
[Jim Caldwell, of Olney, Md., adjusts the satellite dish on his RV
at the park set up for the Portsmouth Seawall Festival.]
George Schremp, from Fairfax, relaxes in the bus-style RV during the
festival weekend. The motor homes at this rally ranged in price
from $20,000 to upward of $200,000, with the average being $92,000.
Jim and Darlene Caldwell, from Olney, Md., rig their RV at the
Portsmouth campground. They came to attend the Seawall Festival and
an RV rally sponsored by the Eastern Area Chapter of the Family
Motor Coach Association.
The city received high marks for the convenient location of the RV
parking area. For $5 per night, Portsmouth provided security, trash
receptacles and a dumping and water station.
by CNB