It's hard to believe we have been in Athens Texas for 2 weeks. The time has gone by so fast.
We left Ahoy RV Resort in Foley, AL on Friday, October 22. We had a reservation at a Harvest Host (John Scneider's Place, think Dukes of Hazard) in Holden LA the first night but when we got there the gates were closed. We had to quickly search for another place to stay and ended up at a KOA in Lafayette, LA another 70 miles down the road.
Our 2nd day we drove to Shreveport and stayed at another KOA. This KOA was pretty nice and Echo enjoyed the huge dog park.
Don't forget your wife! 😂
The 3rd day we arrived at Texan RV Park and the Big Red School house. The park is fantastic, it has 3 ponds that Echo and I walk several times a day. He loves chasing the geese and ducks back in the water. The managers and owners are wonderful.
Let me tell you a little about the Big Red School House and the NRVTA. Co-Owner Terry Cooper is the heart and soul of this place. He does not hesitate to speak of faith and destiny and his zeal is contagious. Even a brief conversation with this man is inspirational. I remember when he was telling us a story one morning about a student and how he go so emotional. He believes if you help people that gesture will help you double fold. The mission for this school is his own personal mission. Mr. Cooper is Managing Director of the National RV Training Academy as well as its founder and original teacher. He is better known as the Texas RV Professor. Terry Cooper brings to the table his years of experience teaching RV Tech at Texas State Technical College in Waco and conducting mobile RV Tech courses throughout the country.
I also wouldn't do this school justice if I didn't mention the teaching staff. Todd Henson who is the main instructor for the fundamentals class (first week) has a unique way of teaching.
I didn't get to see this but the way Ernie explained it is that he brought it down to a level that made it understandable. Questions were required so it made you feel very comfortable asking them. Check out this video, I think it shows his style (I picked refrigerators because well I know them pretty well) make sure you watch the bloopers at the end, according to Ernie this is the way he was throughout the classes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcBkdAW18_Q
Monday morning was a little rough, we needed to be in class at 7:00am. That first week, I was allowed to attend a business portion that ran about 1-1/2 - 2 hours. The guys would get a break and at that time the partners would leave to go about their day.
Throughout the week Steve Anderson (Co-Owner) presented some great information for starting up a business. Steve has been an entrepreneur most of his life and since 2005, he has owned and operated Workamper News.
On Thursday they brought in Mark J. Kohler who is a CPA and Tax Attorney, super smart guy, very humorous and is passionate about helping small businesses.
Google him and listen to one of his YouTube videos or podcasts. This is a clip from his Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/markkohler/videos/414540753564113 . Mark had some great tips on how to set up a business (LLC, S-Corp) and ways to save money on taxes. He is so down to earth and personable, many times he had us laughing.
The Trifecta
I few things I learned during the week. Half of all working people hate their job (not dislike, hate) and, 1 out of 3 people have a side hustle. With a side hustle (small business) there are so many things you can write off like your cell phone, hmmm...and so many other things.
I also attended Lady E's (Co-Owner & Office Administrator and wife of Terry Cooper) cooking in the RV kitchen class that first Tuesday afternoon. We didn't cook anything but I learned a lot about how many watts each appliance uses and how using several affects the load on 30 or 50 amp service your rig has. We also talked about induction cooktops, I think we will be investing in one for our kitchen.
After the first week, Ernie is now a Certified Tech (check out the hat).
Ernie started his RV inspector class on Monday, November 1. His instructors Howard and Pam are very nice people.
On Thursday he did his first inspection on a 44' 5th wheel (towable). The owner, Dave is from Massachusetts, that is pretty cool. This Thursday, Ernie and Dave will inspect our coach (first week was a towable, second week is a rig that is drivable). He will take another exam on Saturday to become a NRVIA Certified RV Inspector.
Meanwhile, I have been working on projects, taking Echo on walks, reorganize a few cupboards and reading some business books.
I found these birch trees at Hobby Lobby half price. I have always said sometimes all the wood in our coach is too much so I put these on our bedroom sliding door panels.
Eric and Jessica (son and daughter-in-law) are going to Disney for their 20th Anniversary. She sent me a picture of some shirts and asked me if I could make these for them to wear while they are at Disney. I think they turned out pretty cool.
I designed this for our door. I am always looking for ways to add a personal touch on our coach.
I am currently working on a logo for Ernie's RV Inspection business. I think we are close but it needs a few tweaks. I am also working on another really cool project as well as a counted cross stitch that I made a goal of finishing this year. I will post pictures of these when I get them done.
We have also enjoyed many great sunsets. Check out the pictures as well as the last picture of a bunch of turtles sunning themselves on the structure in the middle of the big pond.
We also checked out Castle Oaks Winery and Athen's Brewing Co.
And, Echo continues to meet new friends.
