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.