FMCA Rally at the Big "E" in Massachusetts

Kind of like you'll find two major drugstore chains with locations in the same block, the major RV rallies seem to be scheduling themselves near each other. So, we end up with two big rallies right in a row. We were at Escapade in Vermont from July 22-30, then the FMCA rally started August 3. Although I appreciate not having to criss-cross the country and arrange our whole year according to the rallies, it would be nice to have a little more time between the two. We enjoy the rallies and have fun, but we are also working pretty hard. We're exhausted by the end of a rally. Even more so at the end of two rallies back-to-back. Luckily, the grounds here at the Eastern States Exposition, provide for staying parked after the rally at $20/night. The rally was over on Saturday - now it's Monday and we're still here. The Internet was good enough for us to do our "Button" show on Sunday. This was episode #90 on Sync'ing Contacts.

From Essex Junction, Vermont we came pretty much straight here. We needed to get some printing done, and because of a dynamite FMCA discount at Office Depot/Office Max - we always look for them. Using Google Maps, we found that there are none in West Springfield, so we looked afield and found an Office Max in Albany, NY that we could route thru. They had a big parking lot so we just stayed there for the night while we waited for our printing job to get done.

I wonder how often Office Max hear's this: Them, "I'm sorry sir, but we won't be able to complete your order until tomorrow. We can't do it while you wait."  Us, "That's OK, we'll wait. Our bed is in your parking lot!"

We had planned to stay at a campground west of the rally for the couple of nights before, but when we got there, we saw no Verizon signal (or any other) so we simply turned around and kept on driving. They were able to accommodate us early at the Expo grounds - yay! We're all set. Let the rally begin!

Here was our schedule for the FMCA rally:

There's nothing quite like an RV rally. You are at home ... in your motorhome. Here's Jim grilling our dinner.

But, your neighborhood was just thrown together for a few days and includes hundreds of other RVs. In this case, about 1,300 others. We're here to work, but "work" is just a short walk from our RV door. There are friends and frolick galore, and even live entertainment most every night.

Our work started at 7am on the first morning, when people came to register for our one fee-based workshop on smartphone photography. Many of these people, like Chuck - in front - we know well and see at many rallies all over the country.

I think we overextended ourselves a bit at this rally. It's only 4 days long, and we did 7 of our seminars, Jim also sat on a panel for the Fulltime RVer's seminar - AND - we had our fee-based workshop for 30 people with 2.5 hours of teaching on smartphone photography. The weather was gorgeous all week, but warm, and the seminar facilities had no air conditioning. I think there is an extra stress that comes from trying to speak to a group over the roar of industrial-size fans used to keep us cool. One night we were in bed and sound asleep by 8 o'clock.

When we weren't in seminar, we were at our table being "Smartphone Help Desk." We love that! It's so good to work with people on their personal devices and show them how to accomplish what they want. And, see so many different phones teaches us a lot too!

One Teaches, Two  Learn

The smiling blonde to Jim's left is Joyce. We're so glad to have her helping us at these rallies! She is also helping us with our website. Thanks Joyce!

This is what we mean by a "Hands-on" class. aka "Learn by Doing" We teach how to use your smartphone's camera functions, and also how to use Google Photos for Storing, Organizing, and Sharing all your photos.

This is the "Honey, Tell Me Where To Go" seminar about Google Maps, and other software for Trip Planning

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?

Geeks on Tour–Ten Years Teaching Technology to Travelers

Our first FMCA - 2004 - helping people in the Wi-Fi Hotspot (that's Jim in orange at right, and Frank Drew of Coach Connect, also in orange)

It was August 2004 - 10 years ago - that we worked our first FMCA convention, and it was in Redmond, Oregon too. We were working for Coach Connect at the time. Coach Connect was a company who installed Wi-Fi in RV parks. They sponsored the Wi-Fi hotspot for the rally and we were the support team.  Here's the blog post I wrote about it back then.

Shortly after that rally, we were teaching Wi-Fi at a Coach Connect park and decided to do a little session about managing digital photos, and making a Blog as well. A new career was born! And, that was before Picasa! Here's the blog post on that day.

Also 2004 - our very first Blogger class! (at Phoenix RV park in Salem, OR)

We credit FMCA with creating Geeks on Tour. When Coach Connect went out of business, we had no reason to go to the RV rallies, but FMCA wanted us to teach our seminars! The seminar coordinator then was Mary Ann Crowley and she made all the arrangements for us to present other topics besides Wi-Fi. We still wore our orange Coach Connect tshirts at the 2006 rally in Charlotte. But by the next one in Perry, GA March 2007, we were Geeks On Tour!

Our first FMCA as Geeks on Tour was in Perry, GA March 2007. I think those are iron-on patches on our shirts.

When we were at the FMCA in Redmond in 2010 we set our attendance record for one seminar - I'm pretty sure it still stands as an FMCA record as well. The photo below shows the audience for our intro to Picasa seminar. There were over 700 people in the live audience, plus another 400 watching online! Here's the blog post on that!

What a crowd!

I doubt we’ll ever see that kind of crowd again, but we had good turnouts this year – 10 years later – at the same Deschutes County Fairground in Redmond, OR. We had 240 people in the Smartphone/Tablet seminar and we were told there were another 600 watching the live stream online. FMCA produced this Live Streaming event for people at home to watch - there were 6 of them total, 3 of which were Geeks on Tour!

If you're not an RVer and don't know about Rallies, here's an aerial photo showing the fairgrounds with 1,400 RVs!

The high-desert, volcanic region around Redmond is known for it's sunsets. Here's one I captured.

We like having our table next to the Rally’s WiFi hotspot and Computer Help Desk. The Help Desk is staffed by the Bits and Bytes chapter of FMCA and we offer our help whenever we can. I particularly enjoyed meeting Lena and hearing about her plans to hike the Camino in Spain. She had a lot of questions about how she could use her smartphone to best advantage while on the hike. In this photo we had just found, and installed, an App specific to the Camino Pilgrimage experience. She was excited. I think she attended at least 6 of our classes during the rest of the week! I sure hope we hear from her on her walk!

I showed Lena how to download some specific Camino apps.

Jim helped Lena and her husband in the hands-on Smartphone photography class.

For those of you who know TechnoRV’s Phil and Tracey May, you’ll understand why we were thrilled to have their daughter Ally as a roommate this week. Her parents could not make it to this rally, so she flew in to be part of the TechnoRV booth.  Since Ally literally grew up living in an RV, we knew she understood things like conserving water while we were parked in the fairgrounds with no water or sewer hookups. She didn't even ask about using the shower but trudged off to the locker rooms provided by the fairgrounds. She was also reunited with their dog, Murphy, during this visit. It was great seeing you Ally!

It was a busy, busy, week. Exhausting and Exhilarating. There were lots people who attended 4 or more of our seminars this week. We taught 10 classes during 3 days, and loved every minute. You can download any of our seminar handouts (for personal use only!) on our website's Seminar Handouts dropbox page.

1. Google Maps
2. Geeks On Tour: Technology For Travelers
3. Smartphone Photography – hands-on
4. Blogger: Every RVer Needs A Blog
5. Smartphones/Tablets For Travelers
6. Organizing Pictures with Picasa
7. Editing and Sharing Pictures with Picasa
8. Smartphone Photography: Hands-on
9. Cloud Computing
10. Geeks On Tour: Technology For Travelers

Just getting ready for our first seminar. Nice setup! Thanks FMCA.

Gotta get one picture of the two of us. Give us pitchforks and we have "Geek Gothic" ???

Some people told us that our seminars were the reason they came to the Rally! We welcomed 89 new and renewing members to Geeks on Tour during this week.

Since that first FMCA Convention for us in 2004, we've only missed one of their national conventions - the one in Perry, GA March 2005. You can see the list of all the FMCA conventions on their website. This one was our 17th. Next one will be in Pomona, CA March 2015. See you there?!

FMCA Rally, Perry Georgia

It started out rainy and cold ... I mean really cold.  I think I saw the temperature show below 40 one morning! Watch an Aerial Video of the fairgrounds where about 3,000 RVs were parked for this rally.

The first morning we had to be up and at our table at 7am!  That's when registration started for all rally sessions that required pre-registration and a fee.  We had 2 sessions: Hands on iPhone/iPad class, and Hands-on Android phone/tablet class.

Then, we had to gather our wits and be prepared to present 3 seminars back to back for the rest of the day.  Here's the schedule of our offerings at the rally.

The next morning we woke up to even colder and rainier weather, if that's possible.  Our first seminar was after lunch, so all three of us: Jim, Devon and me, hung out at our table for the morning.  We had lots of people who had attended our sessions the day before, come by to sign up for membership, or ask us questions.  Then we went off to teach Movie Maker.  That went really well.  I think the people that attended that one will go back to their computers and create true works of art!

Then we had the first of the hands-on sessions.  iPhone and iPad Tips for Travelers.  We had about 16 people in that one and we paired them up and made them buddy up and do things like take pictures of each other and email them.  Then take a video and watch it.  We taught them how to turn their phones into hotspots and share the Internet connection with their computers and tablets.  And, last but not least, we taught them how to use Google Maps (or Apple maps) - the most indespensible smartphone app for Travelers.

We were SOO busy we barely got to catch our breath, let alone visit with all sorts of friends that are here to attend the rally.  We did have dinner with our good friends Phil and Tracey of TechnoRV the night before everything started.  And, we got in a little get-together made possible by the new social network for RVers called RVillage.com. 

Other than that, it was all work, work, work.  We were so glad to have Devon here with us - while we were presenting seminars, he could be at the table for people who wanted to sign up for membership.  All totaled, we welcomed 78 new or renewing members to Geeks on Tour!  I did snap a few pictures, and here they are in a collage - prepared in Picasa, of course!

Now to rest for a few days ... then we'll head back south where it's warm!  We'll be spending most of April in Florida.

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

FMCA Rally in Gillette, Wyoming

FMCA is the Family MotorCoach Association.  We’ve been giving seminars at their rallies since 2005.  We plan our travels around the national rallies, which is why we’re in Wyoming this summer.

It was perfectly gorgeous weather for the majority of the week, BUT, it just takes one nasty thunderstorm on the last day to leave an impression!  The ground was wet and lots of RVs got stuck on the departure day.  I think these guys with jeeps and winches actually enjoyed getting to put their vehicles to the test.  They did successfully get this big RV out of its rut, and it drove away to raucous applause!

During the week, we presented 8 seminars:

• Technology For Travelers
• Movie Maker
• Every RVer Needs A Blog
• Smartphone Overview
• Smartphone Photography Workshop
• Picasa & Picasa Web Albums
• Google Maps
• Destinations

The smartphone topic was the most popular.  Standing room only.  We needed to take a panorama shot to get them all in!

Picasa was still pretty popular as well.

We were in a different room for almost every seminar, so we had to get good at carrying all our stuff around.  Here’s Jim getting ready to go to work.

And, Thank You Connie Bradish! for helping us out with people coming to our table to become Geeks on Tour members. We weren’t there very often.  that means it’s partly Connie’s efforts that allow us to welcome 93 new and renewing members to Geeks on Tour this week!

As soon as the ground dried out a bit, we pulled out and hit the road, on our way back east to Rapid City and the Safari Rally.

FMCA Indianapolis

We've been attending, and working, at the FMCA conventions once or twice every year since 2005.  It's always a pleasure, and it's always different.

This year, in Indianapolis, it's a new venue.  There was a little confusion as to parking, but we ended up in a wonderful spot.

Motorhomes arriving at the Family Motor Coach Ass'n convention

Our parking spot

The neighborhood

Except for rain the first morning, we've had gorgeous weather.  We were booked for 2 and 3 seminars each day.  We knew it was going to be a busy week.

Facebook Seminar

We had good crowds for all our seminars.  It's always interesting to see which one will be the most popular. For several years, our Picasa classes were clearly the most popular, but last year, Facebook won, and now, our Smartphone class had the biggest audience.  I don't know exact numbers, but I think Smartphones had about 400 people in the audience, and another 3-400 watching remotely on the webcast.  These live webcasts are free for anyone.  We didn't realize this was happening, so didn't let our readers know.  I'm hoping they are recorded and will be available for viewing later, but we don't have any information on that yet.

All our seminars this week are being filmed and presented live over the Web.

Jim is able to project his actions on a smartphone by connecting the iPad to the projector and aiming the iPad's camera at the smartphone.

We also had a hands-on smartphone workshop.

So many people are telling us about what they've learned from us ... it warms our hearts.  That's what it's all about.  We especially like it when people show us something they've done because of what we've taught them.  Today we got a link to a youtube video that would have knocked me off my chair, IF I had been sitting down!  (Haven't done much of that in a few days!)  We taught our Photo Story 3 class from 11:30 to 12:45 - it was webcast.  At about 3 o'clock, we got an email from Vicki Wassenhove from Quad Cities.  She wrote:
"I watched, I listened, I learned...  "  
She had apparently watched the seminar on the live Webcast.  During the webcast she took several screenshots of us presenting the seminar.  Then she used what she learned about Photo Story to put together this little movie:


How Cool is that?!  We get to see a little of what the Webcast looked like, and she shows us that she learned how to make a photo story by watching the webinar.  All done and uploaded to youtube, within a couple hours!

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

FMCA–one more rally down, 2 to go

What a great week!  And, we are about as exhausted as you can get.
We taught 3 seminars on Wednesday, 2 on Thursday plus our 2 hour hands on Photo Editing workshop, 2 on Friday plus another hands-on workshop, and finished with 2 on Saturday.  We were afraid that a lot of people would be leaving Saturday, but those two seminars were still full!  Photo Story 3 and Using Google Earth.  People *really* like Google Earth.  We heard a lot of people exclaiming that they ‘had no idea it could do all of that!’ 

Google Earth - our last seminar. Given to standing room only!

We gained about 40 new members to our Geeks on Tour Learning Website.  We call that a very successful week, but probably the best part is all the people who renewed their annual membership!  That tells us that they feel they’ve gotten value from their membership – enough so that they want to pay us more!  And that’s a *very* good thing, as we have a lot more fuel to buy to get us to our next two rallies, and make the payments on our new RV!

Jim showing off his new toy (iPad) to the boys!

We also gave two hands-on classes at this rally.  Photo Editing with Picasa.  I thought they went *really* well.  Hands-on is really the way to learn.  The tough part is finding enough time for hands-on classes.  This Photo Editing class was the brainchild of the seminar coordinator for FMCA – Chris Lusk – and it was brilliant.  We weren’t teaching all about Picasa … just the photo editing part.  I hand-picked some sample photos and each student got a thumb drive with those photos.  We went thru each photo, and used the editing commands that made that photo look better.  Reall hands on training, and it actually worked in a 2 hour format … although 3 hours would have been better!

Picasa Photo Editing Workshop at FMCA in Madison, WI

Hands-on time in our Picasa Workshop

Our most popular seminar this time was Facebook – over 400 in attendance – it even surpassed Picasa.  It’s so interesting to watch this over the years.  We started out at FMCA *only* teaching Internet on the Road, and even after we added other topics, that was still by far the most popular.  Now, our Internet on the Road seminar is the least attended.  Such is technology – most people just buy an aircard from Verizon and they’re done with it.
Besides teaching our seminars, the only other activity I did was to be available at our information table.  Jim snuck out to watch one other seminar … the GPS navigation with the new Rand McNally TripMaker RVND 5510.  He came back acting pretty excited.  Maybe I’ll get him to write a post about it.
One night we took advantage of being members of the Gulfstream RV chapter and attended their steak dinner.  So nice not to have to cook!

Gulfstream Chapter Steak Dinner

The rally ended Saturday.  Sunday we spent the afternoon with Phil and Tracey of TechnoRV.  Beer tasting after a rally seems to be developing into a tradition with us!  And there was definitely good beer available in and around Madison, Wisconsin!  Maybe the best part was a visit to the National Mustard Museum!

Jim and Chris, Phil and Tracey at the Mustard Museum. Good Stuff!!

And, we’re having fun talking about our planned Techno-Geek Learning Rally!

Next up is the Escapade 'Camp Reboot' in Gillette, Wyoming.  And, our last rally of the season is the Gypsy Journal Rally in Ohio.

Odie's ready to go!

Travels to Madison

Our goal was to get to Madison, Wisconsin for the FMCA convention.  I'm happy to say that we made it!  I can't say that the roads made it easy though.  On the map it looks good.  A nice American super highway - I90 - almost all the way thru Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, then Wisconsin.  But it wasn't so nice.  Here's a particularly un-nice stretch:

 Now, we've traveled here before, so we didn't expect much.  We knew that Chicago can be really tough, but we were there on a Sunday so we thought traffic would be light enough to take the direct route right thru the city.

Not!

It took over an hour to get thru downtown.  Then it started pouring rain.  Sunday was a tough travel day for me ... and I wasn't even driving!  But we finally made it, and we have a really nice site at the Lake Farm Park just a couple miles down the road from the convention.

We watched the cranes fly overhead this morning.

And took a walk down the path that is mowed thru the fields and woods.

Then came a steady stream of visitors - other folks who we see every time we're at an FMCA convention.  They're calling this convention a 'Family Reunion' and, yep, that's what it feels like!  Even Odie  had visitors.

And, we're just so happy to show off our new home to everyone.  We can be so much more social when we have places for people to sit!

Ok, now it's time to get some work done in preparation for the Rally!

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