Our First NOMADS Assignment - Eustis Florida

(Greenfield Indiana) While attending the Escapade Rally, we talked to the folks @ the NOMADS (click link) booth.  Our friends, Randy and Pam,  had recommended this organization to help give our retirement a purpose.  They have volunteered for several projects and had told us how much they enjoyed it.  This organization provides volunteer labor for United Methodist organizations.  Their mission statement is as follows:

NOMADS Mission Statement: 
Rebuilding lives, homes, and facilities with God’s love and our hands.

And in the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.  James 2:17 

NOMADS are people who:

- are looking for retirement with a purpose
- enjoy traveling in an RV
- want to share their Christian faith
- enjoy using their skills in service to others

We filled out an application on line, had a brief interview with a board member, and then  paid $25/person membership fee.  After confirmation, we then were able to check out all the projects listed on their website .  We will be in Florida this winter and signed up for a project is a little city named Eustis  (click link)@ the Hearts and Hands Ministry.  The project lasts for three weeks and involves general contracting, painting and landscaping.  This city (population 19,000) is  near Ocala, a great kayaking area.  We will have Friday-Sunday off each week for free time and sightseeing. 

We are very excited about this opportunity.  Check out our blog in mid February for all the details. 

In Loving Memory of Two Special Friends

In loving memory for two special friends

We recently lost two dear friends. Our hearts are sad and we are struggling with the loss. 

For the love of Sam

Sam was a special camping friend and a member of our Good Sam Chapter-Freedom Travelers.  He loved to camp in his motorhome with his wife and family. One of his favorite camping locations was Myrtle Beach

Family was so important to him.  His eyes would light up when he talked about his children and grandchildren.  His love for his wife, Carol, was so apparent.

He was so thrilled for us when we purchased our motorhome and oftentimes asked us about our full-timing plans. Luckily our camping club had a surprise party for him just a few weeks before he died.  It was a fun time and many members of our club have expressed how glad they were to have had this special time with him. 

He was diagnosed with lung cancer and had endured many treatments including chemo therapy and radiation.  He was very brave and did not complain.  His doctor seemed to be very encouraging and always gave him hope.  They seemed amazed by his ability to respond to the treatment.  He would laugh when I told him  his bald head was sexy.  We all knew his time was limited due to the cancer spreading to his bones, but his rapid decline was a surprise.  We will miss him very much.  

For the love of Sharon

Sharon was a colleague of mine from St. Vincent.  Many years ago she taught me how to be a nurse auditor. At the time I had several eye surgeries that made it impossible to work in the operating room.   Having to change careers was devastating to me at the time.  Sharon was so encouraging and taught me about a whole different aspect of nursing.    Over time, she became a close and dear friend.  We kept in touch and met often for dinner after I left St. Vincent. 

Sharon had such a strong faith and was such a gentle soul.  Several years ago she participated in a mission and mentoring program.  Her project was to provide a daily devotional to anyone who desired it.  Each day a lovely story with scripture would arrive in my email.  Luckily one of her co-workers has decided to continue it.  It is called  Sharon’s Prayer.  If you are interested in receiving this each day, please send me your email. 

Sharon had pulmonary fibrosis and was unable to recover from pneumonia.  She died very unexpectedly. 

Losing a friend is so difficult.  Our lives have been touched by them in such wonderful ways.  Godspeed! Our love and prayers go out to their families and loved ones.

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”  John 5:24 

Shopping Spree

A great benefit of a rally (except for your bank account) are the vendors who set up booths selling everything a RVer needs or desires.  Most of these items cannot be found at Camping World or local RV dealers.  We had made a list of items we wanted to check out while we were there.  Here are a few of our purchases

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  Magne Shades- these are windshield shades  attach by the use of magnets.  They help keep the coach cool and block out the sun rays that can fade your carpet and drapes. It is  very easy to put up and a ladder is not required.  Click on the link that demonstrates how easy they are to put up.  We also purchased shade covers for all our tires to protect from UV rays and hopefully extend their length of service,  We will post pictures later after they arrive.  They are made in North Carolina

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  Relax-r-recliner-It is a swivel wall hugging recliner manufactured by Lambright in the little town of Topeka.  The factory is right in the middle of Amish country and a lovely drive.  Our recliner is broken and this will fit in our "living room" much better.  We will pick this up in a few weeks.

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  RV cleaning products-I attended a great class on how to clean your RV from top to bottom.  I purchased a long swivel pole  easily clean the RV without using a ladder.  There are different micro fiber pads you use.  We also purchased a product called The Solution  cleans and protects your RV between waxes.  It is an amazing water-less product.

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  RV Professor Videos-Terry Cooper was a presenter at the Rally. He is one of the instructor for Workamper University.  We purchased four videos demonstrating how to maintain your AC, refrigerator, furnace,  and water heater.  John said his class was very informative and he found his instructions very easy to follow. 

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  Travel Guides- Mike and Teri Church-after attending their travelogues we purchased several of their guides.  I really like the way the books are laid out and they are designed for RVers.   

It was fun checking out all the vendor booths.  There was a lot of variety and not very much duplication.

Retirement Training

We have spend the past few days at the Escapade Rally attending a wide variety of classes.  Some of them have been a group of classes called a Boot Camp.  It is described as a way to   build your skills and enhance your knowledge by teaching you what you need to know about RV operation, safety, and maintenance. RVers’ Boot Camp touches on all aspects of RVing from hitch-up tips and techniques to RV systems, driving skills, weight and tire safety, fire and life safety, and more.  

We have benefited from all of classes.  In the past,  we have attended rally's that discussed the full time lifestyle such as the RV-Dreams Rally, Life on Wheels, and FMCA International Rally.  We also spent a great deal of time investigating all the different type of RV's  Now it was time to find out more about maintaining and caring for our home on wheels.  We split up some of the time to obtain as much knowledge as possible. There were four sessions each day with a wide variety of choices. 

Here are a few of our favorite:  

• Driving that RV-presented by Dennis Hill (this is the company that gave John his driving lessons)  It was classroom instruction about basic techniques and method of driving different RV's and driving conditions.  It was fun and Dennis has a great sense of humor
• Basic RV Systems presented by Mark Nemeth-this was a well presented class (our favorite) that talked about all your RV systems.  He demonstrated some great gadgets to make your life a lot easier and safer.  
• Honey! Let's clean the RV, presented by a micro fiber company (Almost Heaven) that gave the best tips and tricks for cleaning your coach outside and inside-from top to bottom.   I loved this class and really appreciated all the recipes for natural cleansers.  
• Boondocking Panel Discussion-presented by several couples that have tried this type of camping (non hook ups).  It was very informative and they really seemed to enjoy this type of camping.

At another rally we also attended an excellent class on Fire Safety with Mike McCoy that even has some hands on with fire extinguishers.  In addition, we had already taken Weight and Tire Safety.  We would recommend these classes for all full tiners.  

In the evening we enjoyed a travelogue given by a couple who write RV travel books (Mike &Terri Church).  They gave an excellent presentation on campgrounds and itiineraiers for the South West and Pacific Northwest.  

The Red Cross offered a CPR certification coarse. For a nominal cost you could attend a five hour class ,  John had never taken this class before but found it to be very easy.  There were about 68 people in attendance.  Every couple of years the Red Cross changes some of their guidelines, so even if you have taken it before it is good to have a refresher.  They also demonstrated how to do the Heimlich Maneuver for someone that is chocking. In fact, at the Rally someone was saved by this life saving measure.  

We also checked out some the Birds of a Feather Chapters (BOF's)   They are Escapee chapters that bring together folks with a common interest.  There is everything from  baby boomer BOF's to any type of craft.  We will probably join the Boondocking chapter. 
 

One of our goals was to find out more about an organizations called NOMADS (Nomads on a mission of divine service).  They had a booth here that was staffed by many volunteers.  Their website states their purpose is to  do new construction, remodeling, and repairs for churches, children’s homes, camps, colleges, outreach missions and disaster recovery. Team members do maintenance, cleaning, organizing, painting, electrical, drywall, sewing, flooring. With God’s help, NOMADS pretty much do it all. 

Our friends Randy and Pam Warner, had recommended that we join.  They told us that it gave them a purpose and they had really enjoyed the projects that they had been involved. with this year. The projects on average last for three weeks and your RV site is provided by the faciilty you are working with at the time.  There are hundreds of projects to choose from and on average you work 6 hours a day and have Friday- Sunday off.  We wer very impressed with what the volunteers told us about their experiences and decided to join.  We hope to sign up for a project in Florida this winter.   

This has probably been my longest post.  We have had such a good time and there  was so much to do.  Thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions about the Rally or NOMADS send us an email. 

Pre Rally Sightseeing

It is understandable why this is such a great place for a RV focused rally.   There are factory tours of many of the RV manufacturers, numerous companies that make and sell RV furniture, and others that can renovate your RV.  We are very interested in taking our our carpet and installing some type of laminate or tile.  There are several companies that we are planning on checking out while we are here.  

Our day started off with this beautiful sunrise.

Today we went to Shipshewana for some sightseeing and shopping.  This Amish community has many cheese and craft shops to visit, plus some excellent restaurants.  We stopped at an excellent cheese shop and came out with some great snacks to share later.  John could be found tasting all the free samples with a big smile on his face.  

We saw many lovely Amish farms and horse and buggies.  These buggies were parked at a Menard's store right along side the motor homes that were boon-docking prior to the rally. 

We had an excellent lunch at the Blue Gate Restaurant and drove out to a furniture manufacturer to look at reclining chairs.  Unfortunately, it was closed but we saw this lovely Amish farm complete with telephone booth (for business use only) along the way.

We then drove to the RV MH Hall of Fame to visit an amazing collection of old and new RV's,  It is dedicated per their website tot he following-" preserving history and honoroing the pioneers and individulas who have made a significant contribution to the RV and manufacturing industry.  

Our friend Carol and John

There is an amazing collection of old and new RV's that are very well displayed.  Here are are a few pictures of our favorites.  We would highly recommend this museum. Cost is $6/per adult and  $4 senior discount. 

Tent camper

My favorite, spacious and full of light

KOA Kampers

 It was a great start to what John calls our "retirement training".

Escapade 2010-Goshen Indiana

We have arrived at the Fairgrounds in Goshen Indiana for the Escapee Rally.  We are so excited and arrived a couple of days early.  The rally starts on Sunday and it will  last for five days.  We plan on attending their Boot Camp classes and also will take  a CPR certification class.  What fun it was to realize that we did not have to pack.  Nor, did we have to worry that something would be forgotten.  Have RV...can travel.

The fairgrounds are very nice and everything is very clean and tidy.  We brought our bikes to make it easier to get to all the classes, vendors, and entertainment. Our friend, Carol, met us here and we came into the fairgrounds together  It was so good to see her.  She has been full timing for some time now and really is enjoying the life style.  She attended the Gypsy Journal Rally a couple of weeks ago and stayed in the area to have some RV work done. 

We have an excellent  site and the parking crew did a great job getting everyone in today.  Our site has electricity and water and is more spacious than we had imagined.  We will be able to put out our awning and we have a "front yard"  looking over the east side.  We were very lucky to get such a nice site. 

Entering the fairgrounds

Our camping site

Earlier in the week John and our friend Al worked on the diesel engine.  It had ran a little rough last week and they thought it might be good to change the fuel filter. At the same time they noticed that the air filter really needed to be changed.  It was huge and appeared to be very dirty!  We noticed such a difference driving up today and our fuel consumption was much less than our trip last week.  Thanks again Al for helping us. 

RV Driving School

We left our campground and headed north to Goshen Indiana for a couple of days.  Arrangements had been made to have John take a four hour RV driving class.  Several of our friends had taken this one -on -one driving instruction and had recommended this school to us.   Our instructor with the RV Driving School Lenny Orr, was attending the Gypsy Journal Rally and agreed to meet with us.  On Thursday morning he meet us at an abandoned K- Mart parking lot.  The class room was our coach and for four hours Lenny put John through the paces.

Lenny placed orange cones all over the parking lot and had John do all kinds of turns.-driving forward and backwards  He showed us how to check our braking system and worked with John on how to better utilize his mirrors. The most challenging maneuvers included backing the coach up in a zig-zag pattern. I was amazed how well John did and I think the instructor was too. 

We also traveled through Goshen making lots of right had turns and go onto the freeway for some additional instruction about merging, going down step grades etc.

I appreciated learning how to  make better signals for John to follow.  This will be very helpful when I'm helping guide him into a campground site.  It certainly was worth our time and was a good value.  Lenny is very knowledgeable and a great instructor. 

We especially appreciated the information about how to utilize the exhaust brakes and how to make sharp turns.  Our instructor has been a full timer for many years and had some great advice about this lifestyle and told us a lot about Escapees and birds of a feather chapters. 

Here is a picture of Lenny and John after the class.  He will also be at the Escapade Rally next week.  We are really looking forward to attending.