RV Rally in Perry, Georgia

You’d think we’d be getting tired of this by now! Our first FMCA RV Rally was in 2004 in Redmond, Oregon. We were working for Coach Connect then, and helping with the Wi-Fi hotspot. The first time we presented seminars other than Wi-Fi was in March 2006 in Pomona, CA. Since then, we’ve presented seminars at every FMCA national convention – 20 of them all totaled. Usually we offer 5-8 different topics. We are slowing down a little bit, now that we have a townhouse in Fort Lauderdale, we kind of like staying there. Our 2016 travel plans are all east of the Mississippi, totaling about 4-5,000 miles as opposed to 9 or 10,000/year for the last few years.

When we’re on our way to a rally, we think, “Maybe we won’t do this too much longer.”

Then we get there!

We set up our table to take registrations for our Smartphone Photography workshop, and people are waiting to sign up at 7am! We are full with 30 participants within a few hours. People come to visit and tell us how they’ve attended our seminars in the past and learned so much.

It was great to have Devon (Jim's son) to help out at our table.

Showing off their Blog Book - they learned from Geeks on Tour!

These guys stopped by to say how they watched our tutorial videos on how to do Blogging while they were together on a caravan to Alaska (using our videos on a USB Drive.) At the end of their trip, they all were able to get a beautiful, full-color book of their travels, complete with text and photos. AND, since they all watched the same videos - they didn't have to research, discuss, and argue about how to do it! It's a great blog! Check it out at AlaskaOdyssey.blogspot.com

People would just stop by to say, “Thank You!” That feels SO good! It's like a drug, and I admit I'm hooked. We won't stop our Rally-going any time soon.

Besides, even though we've been teaching seminars at these rallies for over 10 years, it's not the same topics! The stuff we are teaching now didn't exist 10 years ago! Never a dull moment. What a ride!
Here is the schedule of seminars we taught at this year's Perry, Georgia Rally:



Here are some pictures from the rally:

Our seminar called, OK Honey, Tell me where to go! - about GPS

Doing exercises during the hands-on Smartphone photography workshop.

Not sure which seminar this was.  

We ask the audience to flap their arms like birds so we can demonstrate taking slow motion video. Since they don't have much 'flapping' room, it looks more like they're bowing to us!!  I like it! :-)

Our site at the Rally, next to our buddy and RV Historian, Al Hesselbart's vintage bus.

Safari to Okeefenokee Swamp

We schedule ourselves for a couple of seminars at the Safari RV rally in Hoboken, Georgia (yes, there really is a Hoboken in Georgia). And then took advantage of their excursion to the Okeefenokee swamp.

In case you don't know about Safari RVs - they are known for their beautiful murals on the back of the RV. Here are a few that were parked at the rally,

 

 

We gave a couple seminars for the group, and also offered one-on-one help with Smartphones. Several people took us up on that, and I really enjoyed the teaching! People love their smartphones and they want to know how to use them better!

My favorite comment was from a woman who said her husband had to drag her, kicking and screaming, to the seminar on smartphones. She really didn't want to go. I think she considers her phone a necessary evil. But, she learned so much in the seminar - not only did she enjoy that, but she couldn't wait to sign up for a half-hour one-on-one and learn more!! YES! That's what it's all about.

When we heard the group had arranged a boat tour in the Okeefenokee Wilderness Area, we jumped at the chance to play tourist for half a day! It was a gorgeous day and we got lots of great pictures.

And, here's a little video that Jim made of the rally.

---

Further your computer education**Subscribe to the Free Geeks on Tour Newsletters**

Watch our Weekly Online Show on Learning Smartphones and Tablets!

What Does This Button Do?

A Visit to The Villages

If you've never heard of The Villages, then you haven't spent much time in Northern Florida. It is a planned community for seniors. With a current population of roughly 140,000, it is the world's largest retirement community. There are approximately 90 miles of golf cart trails. Some residents have even opted to not own a car since they can get to everywhere in their golf cart!

The truly amazing thing is the amount of activities available. We picked up one of their weekly newspapers "The Villages Recreation News" and I counted 610 clubs from A-Z, Acapella Singalong club to Zumba with Mark. There are 3 Town Squares that host music groups every night.There are classes ranging from Cupcake Decorating, to Archery, to Google Photos ... yep! You guessed it! We taught the Google Photos class.

You meet lots of people in the RVing lifestyle, and early on in our travels we met Barb and Gary Resnick thru the computer group within FMCA (Family Motor Coach Ass'n.) At the time they lived in Texas, and Barb learned Picasa from us and started a group for using Picasa at her Sun City Community there. They have since sold their motorhome and retired to The Villages in Florida. She is part of the Sunset Point Photo Club at The Villages and made all the arrangements for us to speak to her group about Google Photos. They had a nice turnout - nearly 100 - and we had a lot of interest in Google Photos.

Here's a little video of our visit - made with Google Photos! (https://youtu.be/IHSAXYXHJ7Y)

Further your computer education**Subscribe to the Free Geeks on Tour Newsletters**

Watch our Weekly Online Show on Learning Smartphones and Tablets!

What Does This Button Do?