Member Spotlight

Jess and Connie Holmes
Henderson, Nevada

Our FMCA membership number is:  F277416

We joined FMCA in: 2000

Our current motorhome is:  a 2000 Tiffin Zephyr. We also have owned a 1998 Fleetwood American Tradition.

We decided to buy a motorhome because:  We wanted the freedom to travel without the hassles of flying.

Current or occupation:  Jess – architect. Connie -- retired, property management.

Children, grandchildren:  One son: David Thomas; one daughter: Susan Kay. Three grandchildren: Bradley Thomas Holmes, Grace Lee Holmes and Sarah Lou Smail.

The best thing about motorhoming is: freedom.

When we're not motorhoming, we're: I’m (Jess) working, not totally retired yet. And Connie’s looking after me.

If we could meet anyone from history, we’d like to meet:
I suppose if we could meet anyone from history, we’d like to meet Jesus. Then again, maybe we will someday.

Our all-time favorite motorhome trip was:
We haven’t been doing this very long, so I guess our favorite trip would be our longest, to date, and that was to the 2002 Indy 500 in Indianapolis.

Our other favorite motorhoming destinations are:
Quartzsite and Lake Havasu, Arizona, in the wintertime are always fun.

One of our fondest motorhoming memories is:
Our very first trip to Lake Havasu. We caravanned with another couple who broke us in to RVing. It’s special to us, because the husband of the other couple passed away nine months ago due to a stroke.

Our "dream" motorhome trip would be:
Probably to see the Canadian Rockies, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore.

Our worst motorhoming experience was:
Being stranded in Flagstaff, Arizona, on our very first “solo” trip. We were on our way to my wife’s family reunion, when we overheated and blew the sight glass from our coolant reservoir. We were towed 35 miles into Flagstaff and spent three long days at a truck repair company. They didn’t want to work on motorhomes and certainly let us know about it. They refused to even look at our coach until the second day. They then discovered that both of our engine thermostats had stuck and, therefore, they needed to order two new ones from Phoenix. The new thermostats were to arrive sometime that night (naturally, they had to be shipped 250 miles by truck) and they would install them first thing the next morning. The next morning came, and when no one came to the coach to install them, I went to the office to check on their status. I was told that, yes, they had arrived sometime in the middle of the night, but, alas, the night manager had run over them with a forklift. They showed me the box and the thermostats … they were all flat as a pancake! So, they were calling Phoenix to ship two more! Finally, sometime about 4 p.m. that day, a mechanic installed them. They charged us $1.50 (the insurance paid the rest) and we were on our way … back home. We had missed the reunion and were tired, dirty and disgusted. Only by the grace of God has my wife forgiven me for making her miss that reunion. But we’ve been to two more since then and we’ve marked it up to Murphy’s Law. I’m sure there will be other times, but we’ll always remember that one!

The best thing about our motorhome is:
The comfort of travel, the joy of camping, but the pleasure of doing it with all the “goodies”: your good bed, bath, kitchen, entertainment equipment. We especially like our “outdoor kitchen,” consisting of a two-burner LP-gas stove, an LP-gas flat grill, and an LP-gas charcoal grille. It’s just … fun!

One of our favorite features of our motorhome is:
A built-in outdoor entertainment center.

Something about motorhoming that we know now but didn't know when we started is:
We didn’t know anything when we started, so everything has been a first. Probably the one thing that worried us most was learning how to dump the holding tanks without creating a hazardous waste site!

If we could change one thing about our motorhome, it would be:
The bus-style entry door. We don’t like the door location for several reasons: 1) too much wind noise; 2) one must walk through the entire length of the coach when stocking; 3) embarking and disembarking at fuel stops -- particularly when concrete aprons are oily with diesel fuel; and 4) my wife has to leave her passenger seat each time I need to disembark. That’s very annoying to her. A mid-entry door would be much more convenient and, I’m sure more quiet on the road.

The best alteration/addition we've made to our motorhome is:
The additional weather stripping at the bus-entry door.

Our favorite thing about FMCA is:
The monthly magazine. It’s very informative and keeps us up-to-date on issues, previews and products.

If we could appear as a contestant on any TV game show, we’d choose:
The $64,000 Question. The reason? The chances of winning were almost 100 percent because they gave the contestants the answers before the show started! Pretty much guaranteed!

A motorhoming tip we'd like to share with other motorhomers is:
Keep the legs of your trip short … start early, quit early. Never drive at night (every road fatality we’ve seen was caused by driver fatigue, running into unseen fog-banks, etc.). Be at your chosen overnight campsite by mid-afternoon, at the latest.

Our hobbies are:
Golf, period. End of discussion.

Our favorite way to exercise is:  Golf, swimming (mine), water aerobics (Connie’s).

Favorite movie:  Any John Wayne movie.

Favorite book:  Any Tom Clancy novel.

Favorite song:  America the Beautiful by Ray Charles

Favorite restaurant:  La Placita Restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Favorite store(s): Sam’s Club, Home Depot, Ace Hardware Store in Panguitch, Utah

Favorite campground: Terrible Herbst Lakeside RV Resort in Pahrump, Nevada

When motorhomers visit our state or hometown, they should be sure to see:
Boulder Dam and Lake Mead in the immediate area. The Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks in nearby Utah.

Items always in our motorhome refrigerator while traveling include:
You’ll probably find diet Cokes and 7-Up.

Our advice to new motorhomers is:
Do not drive long distances at any one time. Schedule your time, retire early and never stretch your attentiveness while driving. No matter what you might think, you must always drive your coach; never let it drive you. Besides, retiring to a campsite early in the day allows you to truly enjoy whatever environment in which you might be surrounded.

Behind our motorhome, we tow:
Our “toad” is a 2000 Honda CR-V and our tow bar is a Falcon 5250 by Roadmaster.

Our favorite activity to do inside the motorhome is:
None of your business. No, actually, it’s probably reading, relaxing, taking naps … all those good things. Also, watching the local news on TV allows us to sample what’s happening in areas and cities previously unknown to us.

Pets we travel with, or don’t travel with, are:
We have a 14-year-old cat that hates to travel, and she’s too old to train otherwise. But we admire and enjoy other peoples’ pets when we’re camped.

Other motorhomers may contact us via e-mail at:  jescon@lvcm.com

Other comments:  Thanks for the opportunity to participate in Meet a Member. We love the new experience of motorhoming and wonder why we didn’t experience it sooner. We’ve met some marvelous people, seen things we would never have seen otherwise, and gleefully anticipate each new adventure!