Member Spotlight

Dan and Pat Ryan
Perrysburg, Ohio

FMCA membership number:  F33700

We joined FMCA in:  1978

FMCA chapter memberships:  GMC Great Lakers, GMC Motorhomes International

Current motorhome:  a 1978 GMC Eleganza II, our first and only motorhome.

We decided to buy a motorhome because:
We wanted to take Pat’s parents in it to see this beautiful country we live in -- and we liked the looks of it.

Current or former occupation:
I (Dan) am a retired locomotive engineer for CSX Transportation.

Children, grandchildren:
We have a 3-year-old great, great niece that we are just crazy about.

The best thing about motorhoming is:
Having your home right with you when you attend a rally, sporting event, concert or whatever.

When we’re not motorhoming, we're:
Planning our next motorhoming event, tending to our club’s photo album, from 1976 to the present -- and now that I am into computers, putting these pictures on CD-ROM and creating slideshows. We are avid walkers -- three miles a day, and I work out at Cardiac Rehab three days a week.

Our all-time favorite motorhome trip was:
In 1980 we left the day after Thanksgiving for New Orleans. Then we headed to Big Bend National Park in west Texas, to Big Sur along the central California coast, and on to Las Vegas. We stayed just ahead of the winter weather until we got to Joplin, Mo., where we had to do a fast winterizing job when the temperature hit minus 8 degrees. We arrived home the day before Christmas Eve!

Our favorite motorhoming destination is:
The Canadian Rockies. It is just about a religious experience driving through all that beauty. You feel like a pissant walking in a cathedral.

One of our fondest motorhoming memories is:
Traveling all over the country with my late friend Clarence Buskirk, and helping him drive back motorhomes that he would buy, resell and sometimes remanufacture. We are indebted so much to this man for keeping the GMC Motorhome going, all these years.

Our “dream” motorhome trip would be:  Alaska!

One of our not-so-fond motorhoming experiences was:
Getting stuck with a front-wheel-drive vehicle.

The best thing about our motorhome is:
The ride. We often refer to our GMC Eleganza II as the sports car of motorhomes.

Something about motorhoming that we know now but that we didn’t know when we started is:
How you get to relying on your friends to keep these vehicles going. We are very lucky to have people who are willing to help, but to have these people know what they are doing is priceless.

If we could change one thing about our motorhome, it would be:
To drop that GM 8100 Vortec engine in it.

The best alteration/addition we’ve made to our motorhome is:
The transmission temperature gauge -- it will save your transmission while driving in the mountains, and show the effect when you gear down, both uphill and down.

Our favorite thing about FMCA is:
The people we have met.

A motorhoming tip we’d like to share with other motorhomers is:
Do the little maintenance things, like changing radiator hoses, fan belt and the like BEFORE you have a breakdown. It sure is silly to be sitting by the roadside for something that is not that expensive to replace.

Our hobbies/interests are:
Architecture. We carry a Frank Lloyd Wright directory in the coach, and we can often visit his works. We also carry a Central Catholic High School Directory, which lists everyone who ever went there. We’re also into big band jazz music: Count Basie, Herman, Stan Kenton and others. We are fortunate to have a really great band, the Toledo Jazz Orchestra, that features that kind of music in our area. We have a lot of friends who are old-car nuts and (before 9/11) often got to the air shows featuring the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels. We often make a rally out of the University of Michigan-Indiana University football games.

Favorite movie:  Top Gun

Favorite book:  Many Masks -- The Story of Frank Lloyd Wright by Brendan Gill

Favorite song:  Tenderly

Favorite singer:  June Christy

Favorite restaurant:  Mancy’s Steakhouse in Toledo, Ohio

When motorhomers visit our state or hometown, they should be sure to see:
The Toledo Museum of Art and the Center for Visual Arts, which is adjacent to the museum and was designed by Frank Gehry, renowned architect. The International Park along the Maumee River, which is really going all-out with fine restaurants, a River Walk, and the Art Tatum Jazz Heritage Festival. The Toledo Zoo, with its latest exhibit -- polar bears and wolves – is a nice place to visit. So is Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, with a unique blend of sand dunes, oak and pine trees and some flora that grow only in this area. Also, Maumee Bay State Park right on Lake Erie.

Our advice to new motorhomers is:
Join a chapter and get involved. When you commit to a rally, it is just the beginning of the enjoyment of it.

Behind our motorhome, we tow:
A 2001 Suzuki Vitara with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar using a U.S. Gear braking device and breakaway feature.

Our favorite activity to do inside the motorhome is:  Rest up.

Other FMCA members may contact us via e-mail at:  patandanryan@buckeye-express.com