Archive for June, 2010

June is RV/Camping Month in Florida

Monday, June 7th, 2010
As an acknowledgement to the importance of RVing here in Florida, Governor Charlie Crist has signed a resolution initiated by the Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA) and the Florida Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (FlaARVC), declaring June Recreational Vehicle and Camping Month. The resolution notes some interesting facts about Rvs and RVers, among them:
  • 1 in 12 Americans owns a recreational vehicle
  • Florida ranks as the best and the most popular RV and camping destination in the U.S.
  • More than 5 million people camp in Florida each year
  • 20% of all auto visitors to Florida come in a recreational vehicle
  • Florida ranks 3rd in the number of RV shipments
  • There are 900-licensed recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds with more than 120,000 licensed sites in the state
Read the entire resolution at RVbusiness.com.
The RV has played an important part in our history, making it possible for tens of thousands of Americans to explore our great nation up close. To learn more about the fascinating history of the RV and its place in our history, we recommend the newly published book, The Dumb Things Sold Just Like That: A History of the RV Industry in America, by historian Al Hesselbart. The book, which is filled with photos of vintage RVs, traces the history of the industry and features biographies of eighteen of the RV industry’s most influential leaders. It’s a fun read and we recommend it. You can find it at www.amazon.com

Call 866-928-5693 to make reservations for the weekend of June 25 – 27th when we host our first Great American Backyard Camp Out. Find out all the great activities we’ve got planned for the weekend!

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Tropical Palms Celebrates the Great American Backyard Campout

Monday, June 7th, 2010
We’re going to celebrate RV and Camping month in Florida with our first annual Great American Backyard Campout. Of course, because this is Tropical Palms, most of our celebration will be happening poolside.

Days will be filled with crafts, games and entertainment for the kids, including a chance for them to blow up an inflatable waterslide and then use it – over and over again. Nights are meant for campfires, cooking hotdogs over an open flame and toasting S’mores, so all of these activities are part of our agenda.

What would a campout be without a campfire sing-a-long? Ours will happen at dusk, while we wait for it to get dark enough for the Dive-In movies we’ll be screening Friday and Saturday nights.

Plan to pitch your tent at Tropical and  reserve space now.

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Luke Lends a Hand in Haiti

Monday, June 7th, 2010
If you know Luke Fraser, you know he is a man of few words, but considerable action. So when you need something done, Luke’s the guy you ask. That’s why his dad, John Fraser, a minister in Ontario, Canada, asked Luke to come down and help out on a mission in Haiti where he was working to help the victims of the earthquake.

“Everywhere you go you see the devastation. There are thousands of blue tarps from UNICEF over the tents. It’s very different than when I was there two years ago before the earthquake,” Luke tells us.

“I worked as a laborer, helping to dig the foundation, mix cement and put up the walls for a new home for a family that had lost theirs,” Luke says in describing his work. It’s work he enjoys. “It’s just a feeling for me. I enjoy the labor. I enjoy the people. They don’t have anything, they’ve been through this incredible disaster, but they’re always smiling as though they don’t have a care in the world. It puts things in perspective. And of course, it’s good to spend time with my parents.”

Luke’s dad has been going to Haiti for the past eight years with groups of about fifty people, ages 19 to 80, from various churches in the Ontario area. They work at the Mission for Hope, a Christian mission founded in 1998 and operated by Brad and Vanessa Johnson. Since January 12, 2010, the day of the earthquake, the Mission has delivered over 6 million meals, treated over 4,000 patients, provided rescue and medical teams, and handed out more than 2,000 tents.

“Things there are a little different than they are here at Tropical. I was in a dorm with a dozen people and I don’t know how many mosquitoes, mice and rats. And things got a little smelly because we were doing labor around the clock with no laundry.” But even with all that, Luke found something that brought a smile to his face.

“Every morning I would take a tractor with water for cement from the Mission up to this mountainside village where we were building the house. And every morning there’d be a dozen or so kids waiting for me that wanted to ride the tractor up the hill. Managing to stay on became a game they loved to play and they carried on like it was one of the coolest things ever.”

We think one of the coolest things ever was the way Luke got out there and lent a helping hand.

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