RV Life on Wheels, Bowling Green KY - Arrival and Day One

I know it's been a while since I blogged....too much life, too few hours. I don't forsee that changing for a while as I prepare for the full-time lifestyle. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so I plan on using the day to start taking photos of things to sell on eBay....would much rather be riding but have to be practical. That said, wanted to post a bit about the RV Life on Wheels conference I attended on May 12th-15th.

I left the house Friday morning after a leisurely breakfast at McDonald's (I know, BIG surprise ). The weather turned out to be nice but with thunderstorms in the forecast by Saturday night (both in Bowling Green and at home), the car was definitely the way to go. By the time I hit Bowling Green I really wish I had been able to ride...absolutely perfect day for it and I passed a lot of motorcycles on the road.

I checked into my hotel and went off to find the college campus where the conference was being held. I got checked in, looked around a bit, bought my first book (2006 Traveler's Guide to the Firearm Laws of the 50 States). Headed off to find a seat for the opening ceremonies...before it started a lady from the Escapees Discussion Forum caught my eye - she turned out to be the one heading up the Graduating Class of 2006 (SKP members moving into the full-time lifestyle in 2006). After the session I met another lady from the RV America Women's RV Forum.

Joanie and I chatted while we waited for the shuttle bus that would take us to Camping World for our reception. Had a fun evening meeting and chatting with folks from all over, some with rigs, some without (we're known as the Wannabe's). Headed back to the hotel and spent time analyzing the courses to see which ones I wanted to attend.

There was a great mix of courses ranging from one I had previously attended at an Escapade (Fire Safety), to very technical sessions, to lifestyle discussions and more. For my first class on Saturday I opted to attend "Basic RV Maintenance - Not for Women Only" by Steve Savage, a Master Certified RV Technician based in Bristol TN and the founder of the Motorhome Review Online. This was a perfect course for me...helped me feel better about taking care of basic preventative maintenance (PM) on whatever rig I get. I know there are things I will never do, but now I know of many things that I can do and I know when to do them.

I followed that with an introduction on Satellite TV systems....unfortunately it covered many things I already knew, some I didn't care about, and little about areas that I needed to know more about. Fortunately the instructor, Mike Steffan, was more than willing to take on any questions and help me through to a better understanding.

After lunch, I headed to "Work Your Way Across the USA" given by Nick Russell. Nick is also and Escapee and we had chatted in that forum so I looked forward to meeting him and his wife, Terri. I already knew he had a great sense of humor - his 2 minute intro at the opening ceremony had everyone laughing. I learned a LOT in this session....there are a lot more ways to make money than just workamping as a campground host. Leaving the session I felt a lot better about my future finances.....at least there are alternatives out there.

The last session of the day was supposed to be "Solo Travelers' Connections" but due to an family emergency, the instructor was unable to make Bowling Green. Unfortunately there wasn't much else that I really wanted to take so I sat in on Mike Steffan's "Computer Troubleshooting". Learned a bit, passed along a bit, just generally enjoyed.

The day over, I opted to skip the 7pm general presentation on RVing history and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Day two coming.....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna