Things every RV'er should belong too.
There are three organizations you want to become a member of if you vacation in an RV. Two offer significant discounts on RV camping spots those are the Elks lodges and Passport America. both offer RV camping spots at an unbeatable price. The third one is Family Motor Coach Association which offers a lot of benefits. I highly recommend that you attend one of their regional rallies where you can learn a lot from the seminars presented and vendors discounts provided to attendees. They also publish a monthly magazine has helpful articles.
Elks Lodges
Elks Lodges https://www.elks.org/lodges/ There are three organizations you want to become a member of if you vacation in an RV. Two offer significant discounts on RV camping spots and they are the Elks Club and Passport America. The discounts are unbeatable. The third one is Family Motor Coach Association which offers a lot of benefits. I highly recommend that you attend one of their regional rallies where you can learn a lot from the seminars presented and vendors discounts provided to attendees.
Passport America
Passport America https://www.passportamerica.com The best discount camping & RV park club in America. They provide a 50% discount on the normal camping fee when camping at one of the 1,200 plus member sites. There are sometimes restrictions on the when the discounts can be used but it only takes using it for two nights a year and you have paid for the yearly membership. I do recommend purchasing one of the multi-year discounts. You may even want to purchase the lifetime membership.
FMAC
Family Motor Coach Association https://www.fmca.com/ This association provides a number of benefits to RV’ers. Some of which are a the monthly “Family RVing” magazine, technical support, emergency medical evacuation, RV insurance, camping fee discounts, etc..
Vacation Planning tools that will make your planning easier
The First Step is to deside some vacation basics:
- How much time to I have for this vacation?
- I just want to relax, kick back and get away from it all?
- List specific activities like fishing, hiking, water sports, etc. you want to include?
- How much of the vacation planning are you willing to do yourself?
- Who is the vacation designed for, adults, your children, or both?
- What is the budget? Can you afford to do what you want to do?
Want some ideas one where to go?
Do not forget to check the weather:
- Check what the weather is going to be where you are going to vacation.
- Dress for weather pattern at the location you are going to vacation at.
- Do not bring a lot of cloths with you it is just extra baggage you have to handle.
- You will not be meeting the same people every day unless you are on a cruise or packaged tour. They will not remember what you were wearing anyway.
Odds and Ends that will help you plan:
- Take Mosquito repellent. DEET-based products normally work the best. If it is not working, check with what the locals use. We forgot this step a couple of times and had to cut our stay shorter than we wanted.
- I founded this site different and interesting tour model Tours By Foot. Check it out. I think it has lots of possibilities
Roadside America identifies interesting “Short Stop” locations along your route between vacation destinations.
Cruise Information
- Cabin selection - Cruise ships are not normally close enough to land to see anything except when coming into a port. I recommend picking your accommodations location based on shipboard convenience. Food and entertainment is mostly forward and amidships. I have purchased balcony accommodations and only recommend them if you really want to sit out and look at mostly water. They are nice to have but may not worth the extra cost depending on your vacation budget.
- Information on Cruise ships - Easy way to look at cruise ship cabins is to go to Compare That Cruise and select 'Cabin guru' on their menu. 'Compare That Cruise' is a price comparison site but it does have lots of great information that is why I recommend you take a look.
- You want tips on how to select cabins look at Cruise Critic.
- Finally there is Cruise State Room where you can select a ship and see the cabin layout and read information about each cabin type.
- Excursions - Most of these you can arrange directly from a vendor at considerable cost savings. For example, in Ketchikan Alaska, we were able to combine three excursions into a one 6-hour excursion all at a relaxing pace. I found I could rent a car pick it up and drop it off at the dock.
If it is worth a vaction, it is worth recording it so you can revisit your good times.
- Camera Tip: Unless you consider your camera a throwaway, make sure your camera can have a UV filter attached to the lens. Some cameras will have a paste on UV filter available, others require an adapter, while some have threads on the lens. The reason is UV filters protects your lens.
- B&H photography is a great place to get specific information on cameras. If you have questions call or chat with them. They actually know something about what they sell. Their prices are close to those on AMAZON.
Photographic Equipment
- Cameras - Three basic types of cameras.
- If you are going to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation, get a camera that has optical zoom capability. The Lens and size of the image sensor determines the quality of your pictures. Compared to a professional grade camera a Bridge camera censor is typically 25% smaller, a Compact camera censor is about 60% smaller and your iPhone censor is about 85% smaller. If you only take snapshots in sunlight and do not print 8 by10 pictures then smart phones are ok.
- Bridge Cameras – Take adequate photographs for serious armature photographers. They do not have interchangeable lens and they have building flash. These types of cameras allow you considerable control over when taking photographs.
- Compact Cameras – commonly known as a point-and-shoot camera. They usually come with standard, automatic settings. Some have limited optical zoom features.
- Smart phone camera. None of the smart phone cameras have optical zoom capability.
- Good sources for camera and photography information:
- Good reviews and information Imaging Resource.
- Good info why I recommend a bridge camera MWest Photography Lesson 1 .
- You can purchase M West Photogaphy's complete course, which I recommend for those that want to learn how to take great pictures, here Photography Training.
