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Tony Marrero

Published: February 6, 2008

New York Democrats went for Hillary Clinton on Super Tuesday, but Jim and Jean Canfield weren't among those who voted.

Call it a casualty of life on the road.

By Tuesday, the Canfields had already parked their 36-foot Fleetwood Bounder motor home just off a runway at the Hernando County Airport. They'd hoped to vote by absentee ballot but didn't make the deadline.

The Canfields, who live about 40 miles northwest of Albany in a small town called Perth, shed no tears over it, though.

By lunchtime Wednesday, the couple was relaxing in lawn chairs, sipping beer from cans. They learned of Tuesday's results by watching New York City television stations on their motor home's satellite feed.

They admitted they were still unsure about their choice, anyway.

"We don't want Hillary," Jean said. "And I don't know if I would have voted for Obama, either."

Talk of politics didn't rank high on the priority list for other RVers who'd rolled into the airport for the Family Motor Coach Association's 27th annual Southeast Area Rally of The Family Motor Coach Association, which began Wednesday and runs through Sunday.

"Come back at 4 p.m. tomorrow during happy hour," joked Dennis Treise of Pinellas Park when asked his thoughts on the presidential race so far.

"We're here to have a good time," said Raymond Gourre, a resident of Burlington, Vt. and a registered Independent.

Gourre, who devoted his career to the U.S. Army, did offer that he likely would go for Arizona Sen. John McCain come November because of his honorable military service.

"You've got to respect a guy like that," he said.

Gourre and his wife Gail are "full-timers" who use their daughter's home for a permanent address but spend the entire year in their 35-foot Georgie Boy Landau. In election years, they typically hit Burlington City Hall on their way out of Vermont to pick up absentee ballots.

There certainly wasn't a lack of similar potential interview subjects from throughout the country. By Wednesday, organizers estimate some 1,600 hundred RVs had lined up along two of the airport's runways, creating a temporary city of wheeled behemoths. License plates ranged from Oregon to New Hampshire.

The smell of diesel fuel wafted on a stiff breeze as many folks finished setting up their temporary homes. They unrolled canopies, put up picnic tables and lovingly washed down their 40-foot babies.

Some did what they could to make their space unique. One motor home owner stuck an upside-down plunger in the ground with a sign, "Redneck Birdfeeder."

Visitors moved about on all sorts of wheeled conveyance, from mountain bikes to motorized scooters.

They headed from one tent to another to catch seminars on the recreational vehicle-related, such as "The Ins and Outs of Weight Distribution and Sway Control," to the purely recreational. See: "Needle Weaving."

They browsed the wares of dozens of venders, including a Pontiac dealership that had parked a bright yellow Sky, the automaker's sporty new two-seater convertible, on one of the main drags. It had a disclaimer on the windshield, though: "Sorry, not flat-towable," meaning you'll need a trailer to pull it behind a motor home.

And the RVers fleshed out plans for the weekend's evening entertainment. A blurb about one quartet, playing Saturday night, advised concertgoers to "Sit back and enjoy the memories of your youth as The Legends of Doo Wop take you back!"

Despite high diesel fuel prices and a sluggish economy, attendance is up this year by a couple of hundred motor homes, according to Charlie Schrenkel, president of FMCA's Southeast Area and vice-president of the national association.

That's not surprising, said Schrenkel, who along with his wife Jean lives full-time in a 45-foot Bluebird. Schrenkel directs an army of some 700 volunteers to make the rally roll smoothly.

"There are some grumblings about gas (prices), but it's a lifestyle for them," Schrenkel said of fellow RVers. "Maybe it's a little release and escapism. I'm not Dr. Phil, but I talk to people and they said, 'Yeah, I'm coming.'"

Clarence Haggart of Swansboro, N.C. agreed.

Haggart, a former draftsmen for General Electric, and his wife Andrea have a permanent home but spend much of the year on the road in their 31-foot Allegro. This is their 10th Southeast Area Rally.

"You might whimper a bit when you fill it up, but you still do it," Haggart said. "As long as the pension checks keep coming in…"

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

If you go

WHAT: The 27th annual Southeast Area Rally of The Family Motor Coach Association.

WHERE: Hernando County Airport, 16110 Aviation Loop, Brooksville.

WHEN: Continues today through Sunday.

ADMISSION: Day passes are $6 per person; three-day passes are $10.

CONTACT: Charlie Schrenkel, 796-0154.

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