Celebrating 100 Episodes of Community and Connection at Learn to RV & Don't forget to say hello at Hershey

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hey there, welcome back. Guess what today is? Today is the hundredth episode of Learn to RV the podcast. That is absolutely crazy to me for somebody that didn't even want to start a podcast. And the last few episodes have all been a lot of it different, so it's not really a surprise. But today we're gonna kind of take a short look back. I promise it's short, but we've all learned something together this year. Like we've all done something together. You felt like maybe you sat around a campfire with us. And this is the first episode where Frank and I have actually been side by side in an episode where he didn't get caught recording an episode that he wasn't supposed to record. But that was back to season one. But this stopped being a podcast this year that I made just for me. It became something that I started doing for everybody else and something we were building together. And the people behind the scenes are the ones sitting in the room today, the ones that have been the supportive husband behind the scenes, the team that we bumped into at Hershey last year that came on with RV roofing solutions and has been running our media over there. But behind the scenes, they've been helping it at learn to RV too in very big ways, big ways that we don't even talk about most of the time. So I'm not doing it alone today. I'm bringing back some voices with me. So there's Frank, Christina, everybody, Joel. Let's get going. All right. So if I had to pick one thing that's true on each and every episode, especially on 100, I still go back to love people where they're at no matter what. And that's, you know, a big reason why you guys are part of this. That's the whole thing. We never set out to be the biggest channel, the best channel, the best podcast. You know, I didn't even want to start a podcast, but it's been wild watching it actually work in real time with other creators, other RVers, other businesses leaning into this community. And I said it a couple days ago. We were just talking, Christina and I were, and we said, you know, instead of it being competitive, what if it was just community over competition instead of fighting each other for that space in this area? So lots of new faces have found their way to learn to RV this year. But let's talk about what learn to RV is to you guys.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Yeah, definitely. So community over competition, you said it, and we were, we've been talking about it a lot recently because it's something we love about the RV community. So being on the road for as long as we have, and you guys way longer than us, that's something we adore about this community is that everyone can sit around a campfire no matter who you are, no matter where you've come from, um, people with million-dollar rigs sitting next to people with a pop-up camper. Like it doesn't matter because this community is just so beautiful. And I think for me, and the reason like we have gotten involved with Learn to RV and with Jen and Frank on this mission is because we see that they have the same vision. Um, and Learn to RV is that place. It's that place for everybody to come together from every corner of the RV space to just be and to just collaborate, um, to teach, to learn, to educate, to love, to bring community. Um, and so for us, I think it has just been such a natural flow for who we are and what we've already loved about the community you guys have really brought to life. Um, and we excited to continue that.

SPEAKER_04 3:23

And I I think it's, you know, it's the connection piece. It's being the connectors. The the fact that LearnRV isn't the voice of one single person, it's the voice of many from different backgrounds, from different experience levels, all coming together to write what they know and what they're good at between the blog and then the podcast as well, telling the you know the thousands of people all about their experiences, and it's a great place to have that general voice rather than the individualized channels that maybe only connect with people who are dreamers or only people who have been doing this a long time. Seems to to really have a broad reach.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Yeah. Well, and you got drug into this whole thing. Like, you know, Ronda RV wasn't you at all. You know, voluntarily, you know, you got yeah, you got voluntold. And thankfully the Marine Corps has lots of voluntold positions. So, but like it's one of those things where you've been the support behind the scenes that people don't see, keeping the kids busy when we record. What do you think the hardest part has been for you?

SPEAKER_03 4:35

I think the hardest part for me is it really isn't a hard part, it's just make sure everything on the back side is up and operational and going well. My background and Jennifer's background, all the way back to um before we actually started dating years ago, she was in theater. I was in theater, but she was on the acting side where I was on the stage crew. So it's really the same thing. So she's still on the stage, and then I'm still preparing the sets and being the technical support in the background where she's going and screaming and going, Oh my gosh, I need to be up in five minutes and this is all falling apart. And I'm like, okay, take a step, walk away, put together, it's all set up now, and she'll come back and go, why did it have to go down to the last second? But you don't see that.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

But it does totally checks, Frank. That totally checks.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Well, but I think that going back to like the heart of why we do what we do is actually a ministry thing. We actually worked for a guy named Jim. And he'd walk in his room and say no second row. And so we'd all pull our chairs back. And so we both worked underneath Jim and that ministry down in Oceanside the years before Frank's retirement. And I think that impacted us in such a way that it prepared us for RV life because we don't want anybody to feel left out. We don't want there to be a second row. And if there is a second row and it's intentional, that's okay. Like if groups gather off of that big group, that's exactly what we're hoping for. But we want to be the facilitator. This week I called it the hub, the hub where people go to get their information about RV life. And I really believe that's where Learn to RV is going.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Yeah, I totally agree. I think I think the hub is such a good thing because it's not the goal, it has never been, as long as I've known Jennifer and really got the vision, it's never been to catch everybody and hold them tight. It's really to live with an open hand and say people come for a season and they find where they fit. They get what they need and then hopefully they give back at the same time and become people who really invest. And that's something that is so important to us because we've experienced both sides. We've experienced seasons where we needed to take and we've experienced seasons where we need to give. And all of those pieces in the RV community are so important because people do come and go. People are constantly changing and moving. Um, and again, not everyone's full-time, not everyone's part-time. There's so much diversity. And so, yeah, living with that open hand of like, we want people to come, have a place to be, have a place to land, get what they need, and then yeah, go out, build community, start your own circle, start start groups where people can really niche down and find their people on the road.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

That open hand policy is kind of one of those things, though, that, you know, it's both a blessing and a curse in some ways, because you know, you have to be willing to let go of the amazing people that you meet on the journey. And so you don't have to let go of them completely, but it does change and shift things somewhat. Looking back, I look back and I, you know, I do have a favorite for season two. My favorite episode is well, I have two probably. Probably the one we did about tanks. So the one about what was it called? Groundhogs, gophers, and paper mach. No, that's not it. Something like that, though, I think, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 7:48

That was it was something like that.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Geysers, groundhogs and paper mache. That was the one. And then that was such a fun episode. Um, and it was just tanks. Like, who knew you could have so much fun talking about your black tank?

SPEAKER_03 8:02

Like, I mean, really, you know, it's better to talk about it than to play in it.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Yeah. The first one we did out of the gate when Matt and Tasha were there, and we did the one about all the different festivals across the country, of which we've gone to none of this year, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 8:19

We've missed them all by days.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

That one was so fun to watch because I loved watching y'all like read the card and just die laughing. I think we even cut some of that in post-production, but I saw some of the clips where you guys like couldn't keep it together, reading some of these like absolutely insane festivals. Um, it just for me, it was like there's something for literally everybody out there. So, yeah, that was a fun kickoff to season two.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

It was. So this is wrapping season two because what people don't realize is that Joel and Christina are coming on in a much bigger capacity to learn to RV this year. So, do you want to tell everybody what they've been doing behind the scenes?

SPEAKER_03 9:00

I will try to. I I won't give it any justice because I'm gonna only skim them the mountain peaks, and they've they've they've been through it all from the tip of the mountain to the deep of the part of the valley.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Uh so they are just so you know, this is not rehearsed. The only person with notes is me. So he doesn't have any.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

This is off the cuff for him. So they are behind the scenes on a daily basis, from early morning phone calls to late night. Oh my gosh, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna fix this? From helping with the the SEO and blogs and getting everybody coordinated to some of the transitions and keeping everything moving forward. They they have uh become part of the integral backbone, which makes it. It's just it's it's a community structure, and it's the way it's based on for what learn to RV is, and it's a what they bring to the table is their experiences, knowing where their heart is, and it's it's about the what the commonality is, which everybody that gets into this lifestyle, if they're not into some form of adventure, I'm dumbfounded why they're they're here for it, but I'm sure that that's part of it. And that's what kind of brings everybody together for RVing in general. Um, is when this was all put together in the original days, it was about how are we going to support the full-time RVers, but as we continue to um expound, this isn't just full-time RVers, this is RVers from weekenders, part-timers, sometimers, maybe once every couple years because life is just so crazy. Joel and Christina have helped us along the way and are basically helping us propel into the new season.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

Well, and I think that and the fact that they're the voice behind the course. And so the course is launching at Hershey, and we're gonna get into Hershey, so I don't want to spoil too much yet. But the reality is, is the vision that they've brought to this team has been exponential. But they've also been through a lot of rocky transitions and they've stuck with us, and not everybody would do that, and we appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Yeah, we love you guys, and we love the vision that you have for this industry, not just not just this, like if learned RV didn't exist tomorrow, you would still have the same passion for the industry and for the people and for the, and that I think is what has drawn us to come alongside of you guys. And we love the brand, we love the idea. It really fulfills like something Joel and I have talked for years now, be creating a course like the Learn RV course, but launching it behind our brand, which we are inconsistent at best on our own stuff. Learned RV is an even better place for that. I feel like it can get seen and it can really fill a hole that so many people are looking for. Um, when we got on the road, we have made every stupid mistake you could imagine. Um, and we still do like there's there's no perfect days. And so yeah, so the course has fulfilled that for us. And Joel, you know, his background with editing and video, and I'm just there to tell him what to do. So direction.

SPEAKER_03 12:03

You're doing it wrong.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Are you sure it should be edited like that?

SPEAKER_00 12:06

No, just kidding. And having well, and she's also the voice of reason. Like, she's the person in my ear, you know, the Jiminy Cricket on my shoulder, if you will, who like when we went to three episodes a week, she went, Are you crazy? You know, um, it's not sustainable. And going into season three, the plan right now is to dial it back to one episode a week and then an occasional beyond the brand. The community spotlights will kind of get interwoven. And we may do some littler ones, shorter versions of it on YouTube, but some of those we may be recording at Hershey. So again, we're gonna get into Hershey, but just keep that in your back pocket. If you know a 10-minute interview is what you want, as long as it's not raining and we can pull it off, we will probably record some good stuff at Hershey. And Christina is the queen of collabs. So, what does that look like in terms of helping us get people in front of Learn to RV? Yeah. Which part are you talking about? How are we gonna collaborate with people with Learn to RV going forward into like this season with the podcast?

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Yes. So, sorry, I don't have notes. See, I was like, I don't want to say something wrong. We should boycott next time and get notes for us. So, collaborations. This is gonna be really cool. Something Jen and I have talked a lot about is Jen has so much vision, and they're we actually had to make her a trilla board with a card just for her own ideas because girlfriend has ideas for days.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

I have a lot for everybody. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

You have ideas, you're visionary, my friend. But so with that, we want to open up some time for you to be able to do that. And so collaborating in season three is gonna be really cool. There are so many people with amazing voices and stories that we think can help uh the podcast grow. And so having those people come in, do a couple of episodes throughout the season as guests, as co-hosts, as people to kind of fill in to just give another voice and to really encourage that community collaboration-driven vision that Learn to RV is. Um, and I think the podcast is such a great place for that. So we're gonna have a couple people who are gonna be consistent guests throughout the season. So I'm not gonna name any names, but uh people have three, four episodes throughout, uh kind of sprinkled in things that they're passionate about too, because I think that's gonna drive really interesting conversation.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

Well, and I think it's important to say at this point that if you're interested in being one of those people, come on as a guest first. If you're gonna be at Hershey's, stop by and see us. You know, the heart of each one of those is to tell people's stories. And I think that one of the things that I've been told consistently with the podcast is the goal is to find people that are genuine, have a heart for this industry, but they want to tell the story in a positive light because there's enough negativity out there without us getting into it, you know, on a podcast. It's just dumb. So agreed. Uh all right. So I want to jump into the writers who've shown up with for us over the last year because we have a lot of them, and we've had an ebb and flow of those two, just like anything. But I'm gonna brag on some of these people. So I am not a one-woman show. You may think that I am, but I'm not. And so behind the scenes, there's been other people. And, you know, sometimes they feel burnout because it's a lot to volunteer for something of the magnitude that we're building. I keep referring to it as the hub, but it really is just an ecosystem. So you have the podcast, you have the blogs, you have the website, you have a lot of moving parts at any given point. But there's a bunch of people that show up month after month writing for us and doing all sorts of things, uh, volunteering hours, um, designing stickers, uh, designing t-shirts. Steve and Ashley Gallagher have taken on our merch store, and I think we'll see a little bit more of them this season. And they're from Campfires and Motors. That's their tag on socials. And then, you know, we've got Dolores Snyder who's been on a few podcast episodes. She does keep an eye on the blogs for us and and a lot of the groups, the social groups that we run, because there's a bunch of those too.

SPEAKER_02 16:01

Of course.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

But Jennifer Sansford has come on and helped us with some stuff. You know, she writes blogs for us, and you'll see her out at Hershey. And she's actually building something called the RV Business Hub, which is kind of a cool place for businesses. One of the things we'll be working on getting on Learn to R V is a link to RV Business Hub. Monica and Jeff Grant from um Dean and Gertie Explore the World. So Dean and Gertie are the Roth stars, and Monica and Jeff are just their, you know.

SPEAKER_03 16:28

Their road crew.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

There you go. That's so cute. But they're gonna be out at Hershey. They're actually gonna be at the Passport America booth. But I'm hoping they'll pop in and say hi to us since we're all gonna be there at the same time. And there's so many others. I know I'm gonna miss somebody. But those articles and stuff behind the scenes, everybody does such a great job. We couldn't do what we do without each and every one of them. What do you think the best part about bringing on other writers is to that's the thing that's part of what makes Learned RV unique is because it's not just the same writers over and over.

SPEAKER_04 17:04

It's not some ghostwriter that's writing everything or Chat GPT. It's a real experience, real, uh not just full-time RVers, but people that just love being out in uh in the nature and being out in the community. Having those different voices that are going to speak not just to different people, but also speak of different experiences that are going to have been through slide issues or people who have gone out and and hiked the hikes that that we all dream of and visited the places that we all look forward to visiting one day. It's having those voices out there and people from all age groups that aren't just uh people who are full-timing and and you know who are young and and you know in their twenties going out and doing a lot of van life, you know, you you have people who are are experienced in life and and enjoy the outdoors because I think you know, in our being most of most of it is not just opening up your door to a new state, it's about opening up your door to a new experience every time. It's amazing. It's it's some of the articles you read that you just go, you know, I I will never be there. I I won't be in that mindset. You know, I'm I tend to be a little more analytical, so I'm gonna be, you know, like, oh I wonder how they cut in that that trail into this rock. Where somebody else is just like, wow, look at the trees, it's pretty beautiful. So, you know, it's just it's a good, it's good to have multiple voices.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

He actually does that. Actually, I love it. And I think that's the beauty of the articles, especially within the blog, that they do come from so many places. And you know, sometimes, you know, when we're in an event, I'll I'll invite somebody to just submit one. You know, you can do a one-off article for us if you just want to dip your toe in the water and say, hey, I've never been published, I want to do it this way. But a lot of brands will actually say, Hey, we'd love our marketing team to share. And I say to them, if you can share a story about, you know, your product, then yes, we'll totally run it. And we're not brand specific. Um, you might notice that we've done something with more than one similar brand. And that's because being the hub of all the things, for example, you might notice that we have a link up for full-time families, but we also have a link up for Gathering of Nomads and the Republic of Nomads. Those are all three family groups, but those three family groups reach a different community, and sometimes there's overlap. And so we want to just be honest about all of it, but we also have our own group in there. We just changed the name, and I'm not gonna get it right. It was Road Schooling Resources. Now I think we just did road schooling community and resources because we felt like I don't know, I messaged Christina one day and I said, you know, this name, it's a great name. There's nothing wrong with the name, but I feel like people aren't using it to connect. And she said, Yep. So we spent what two days trying to figure out what to call it.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

And then Frank swooped in and was like, here's what we name it. And we were like, that's so perfect. We were overanalyzed, and Frank was like, boom, got it. He's good for that. We we we we overthought it, and Frank was like, Stop overthinking it, do exactly what you said community and resources.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Boom. So there's almost 4,000 members in there where you could plan trips and get together and community groups, learn to RV, the friendly informative group, which has never had its name changed, was the group created by Doug, who is the original owner of the Learn to R V brand. And that's 15,000 members strong. Now it's a closed group, and it's a closed group to protect the people that are traveling so that when they travel, they can say, Hey, I'm at Zion National Park this week. What's the best hike? And so the swing. Thanks.

SPEAKER_03 20:57

It's on the other side.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

He did know.

SPEAKER_03 20:59

Okay. Angel's Landing is the best at Zion. You have to get the lottery, though. That's the unfortunate thing. So you have to really pre-plan that trip. And hopefully the weather coincides.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

So let's jump into Hershey because that is a big portion of what we're doing from this will drop this week, but it will be the last episode we do until we launch another one at Hershey. So season three will kick off at Hershey. Well, two days before Hershey starts, I guess it is. But this whole brand, like last year, I was so, so sick at Hershey. And so um, when we bumped into Christina and Joel, I had found out I had Vertigo. And it was my first time ever having Vertigo, and I couldn't see straight, literally. And so, you know, it I was chairbound.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Yes, just a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 21:49

You know, when we bumped into them, it was really unplanned. We didn't know you were gonna be there, not like that. And uh we sat down, we had a conversation about where RV Roofing Solutions was needing to go. In the digital marketplace. And that's how it all started, honestly. But this is the kind of thing you just can't script. Like I think it's just the kind of thing God brings together. And so that's where we're at with it. But this time, Joel and Christina are coming with us, not just for RV roofing solutions, but as Learn to RV. And so we have a whole lineup of like different creator stuff. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, which I didn't realize till yesterday.

SPEAKER_03 22:31

I've got something this day. And this day, I'm like, it's going to be nice, familiar. Let's meet at the car every morning. Yeah. And at every evening. I'll make sure that you're in the car before I leave.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

She'll have five of you if she walks by the booth.

SPEAKER_04 22:42

Spent a lot of time with RVers, but I didn't get to go look at it.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

Well, yeah, and and we're invited to go out and visit Lux, which is very exciting. Those RVs are so beautiful. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they're bringing out this show. And you know, the guys from they were our neighbors last year. They they have some really cool trucks.

SPEAKER_03 23:01

Custom body works.

SPEAKER_00 23:02

Custom body works. Custom body works has some heavy haulers that they actually like they legit make them so pretty.

SPEAKER_03 23:09

But they're pretty good the rolling chassis and then build the truck out of it.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

Yep. We'll have to stop by and see them. But then there's all the brands that we know that'll be at Hershey. So I hit Christina with this one a couple days ago. I said, hey, we're gonna build a a place where people can know where to go. And she came back with, Well, we shouldn't do steps, we should do something else. So you'll have to stop by the RV Riffing Solutions booth to see where to go and how many chocolate bars it will take you to get there.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

We don't have chocolate bars though. I was gonna say we won't hand out anything, but there's enough chocolate at this show. Um, because everyone seems to bring Hershey's chocolate, which I mean it checks, right? It makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 23:51

I'm just gonna straight out say it if you're listening to this episode and this is before Hershey and you're planning on going, make sure you do the actual scavenger hunt. Oh, yeah. Do the actual scavenger hunt because they give away full-size candy bars.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

The last two years, yeah, we've taken the kids to the scavenger hunt in the Hershey World's Largest RV show app. There'll be a blog up, they talks about it. Um, yes, but if you download the app, the last two years they've given full-size Hershey bars, Hershey chocolate bars. The kids were so excited. Um, I think they ate them and then they ran circles around the rest of the show to like burn off all that sugar, but worth it. It was super fun, and we got to go see some booths. There was actually a few places on the scavenger hunt that we hadn't been yet. So that thought that was kind of cool. They're encouraging you to get out, check out the show, go meet some vendors, go see some RVs, and then win some prizes. So that was fun.

SPEAKER_04 24:40

And it'll be very interesting to see the chocolate bars to get there, anyways.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Yeah, it's it's gonna be fun. So that's my hare-brained idea combined with Christina's brain. So between us, we're a whole like whole squirrel, a whole thing. You you poor guys, I'm just gonna say that out loud. But there's something bigger happening at Hershey, and so for the last few months, we we had a soft launch of Learn to RV the course, and we've had some big brands come on and do some recordings with us. Yep. Henderson's lineup came on and recorded a whole section of the course with us, which was awesome, and it's all about probably suspension, would be my guess. But there's so many more that are coming on that are saying, hey, I want to do a part in this. And so we're open to that. But Joel and Christina are kind of the voice behind that and the editing team that's putting it all together. And so the big launch launch of the course is actually officially at Hershey.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

Yes, the course will be fully available. And we actually have a couple specials going on that we're pretty excited about. Not only just like a little discount on the course, but also, can I say, Jennifer?

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Yeah. Well, I mean, is it still in presale too? Like if they order it right now, can they get the pre-sale price?

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Yes. Yeah, actually, technically, if you buy it in presale between now and September 15th, you do get the pre-sale price. So head on over. And some of the uh modules are actually already available. So you can start kind of knocking it out, checking it out, and then yeah, at the actual show, we'll have our full launch. It'll be all the modules will be fully available. And then something we keep saying, just reminding people, is the course is gonna grow over time. So that if something new comes up, if we, you know, have another collaborator, someone, another piece that we're like, oh, we should have put that in the course. Guess what we're gonna do? We're gonna put it in the course, and then you have full access to that for for life.

SPEAKER_04 26:36

And the difference between this and and a lot of courses, and I'm not to discount anybody else's, is the fact that we are working with brands. We are and not in a not in a financial benefit sense. We aren't taking on brands just because they give us something or anything like that or even if they haven't, you know, like gas stop who we worked with uh to receive some safety tips on propane and uh we knew their product and we wanted to work with them not because we wanted to be sponsored by them, but just because they're the the voice in the industry that knows the most about uh propane safety. And so we are working with brands that have the experience or the expertise in the industry so that we're not just uh coming off the cuff as experienced RVers, but as people who have had the actual uh expertise in the industry, who have have spent the time, done the research, had the experience long term in their specialty. And so I think I really think that makes this course unique, that we're not just putting it out as RVers, but it's it's real expertise from experts in the industry.

SPEAKER_00 27:51

Yeah, that makes it very different, but it's a very much a collaboration. And as a business owner in this industry, you know, we've seen it ebb and flow and change. We just want to be the place where you can find the education. So we've invited those brands to always be a part of the backside of things to answer questions. You don't just get them for the course, you get them for the long haul. And I think that that's important to note too. Yeah. You know, I mean, if you need RV roof advice, this guy right here, he's a wealth of knowledge. I know a lot too, but most people ask him first. He's so it is what it is.

SPEAKER_01 28:26

Yeah, he is. He's got a whole uh module in there.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Yep. So the other thing that I'm really excited to talk about is I think, and my fingers are crossed, but I think my journal will be ready by a week before we launch at Hershey. Um, I'm putting the finishing touches on it and getting it uploaded and hoping to have a copy in my hands to test and make sure everything's okay. But where your wheels take you is a journal that I wish I'd had that takes you kind of from your launch to your finish or your launch to your next year, or maybe you started, you just start about 10 pages in and you're good too. But it takes you on a journey, and it's a journey that's not mine to tell, it's yours. And so, much like the podcast, it becomes a place for you to fill in those blanks, figure out which laundromat you loved, which ones you hated, where the big machines are. Why to buy a washer and dryer? I mean, like that's just one a couple pages in the whole thing. It's about how you feel about being on the road a year after you got on the road, about a bad day, like when one of the kids had a meltdown, or your husband decided to storm off because he was not happy about the camper not leveling. Whatever that looked like for you, you're gonna write in those notes and then you're gonna be able to come back and revisit them. And so the idea is that you write in this thing. It will be available digitally, but it's gonna be much better if you get the printed version.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Right. And the thing that I think is really cool about it is unless you are a journaler, right? Somebody who's really good at like bullet journaling, you're like obsessed. Like I have a problem and I love journals, but sometimes you don't know what to write. You don't know where to go. So you need the promptings. And so the really cool thing about this journal is it has some cool prompts in it, but it also has lots of space to customize and to be open. So it's kind of that great in-between for people who are seasoned journalers and people who kind of need help with that prompting to remember the adventure and to be able to take that as like a memento and really explore it as as they want to look back and remember it.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

Well, and it's got some technical stuff in it too. It's got some checklists, it's got some RV roof advice, you know, but there's there's lots of stuff inside there that is more technical too. So you could do it as a couple if you wanted to. And there's actually a whole section about being a couple on the road and how to navigate, living in 350 square feet or less, because most of this us when we're full-time, that's what we're doing. But even if you're part-time on the road, spending six weeks alone with your spouse in a space that's you know no bigger than your kitchen at your house can be challenging, isn't always.

SPEAKER_02 31:06

Exciting. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:08

I thought he said anxiety. I I love it because it's like I was like, she didn't karate chop him, so we were safe.

SPEAKER_04 31:15

You can remember the anxious times too. I you know, yeah. I mean it's a memory you have in your in your head for a lifetime, but being able to revisit the specifics of it after journaling about fun you had somewhere is so important to be to get that piece of your memory that you would have otherwise forgotten. And so I love having the the prompt I'm an awful journal per journaler. I I don't do good. I end up writing a book instead of an actual bullet point.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

So last journal we started, we did a big road trip, 25 states in 2025, and we had all the kids. I got I bought everybody a journal, so we were all gonna go through and journal. And about a couple months into the things, Joel was like, I'm just gonna use yours. Is that okay? So you could do that with this one and not his, like we don't each have our own.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

Um, so you actually could do that with this one. I've actually like in the road schooling section, I said it's for road schooling or being a lifelong learner. So you don't have to be a kid to do that section, but there's pages like if you're a doodler, you could draw in that section. Like there's tons of things that you can do in the journal that you could do together, but separately. And that's kind of the whole design of it. I went back and I thought about what would I have wanted to know? So it started out. I remember telling Christina for the first time about the journal, and it was 27 pages, and she was like, Oh, that's a nice length. And then I think a couple weeks later I said it's 279 pages. And she said, What?

SPEAKER_01 32:46

I was like, that's not a free printable, Jennifer. That's a book.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

She's like, So you know Volume One for those of like I'm a big thinker, so this is a big thinking book for sure. So take it one bite at a time. Uh and it may not all be for you right now. There is a whole section on it on faith, and you get some of my stories from the road inside of it and where we went and how we got there, but also the silver lining that sometimes it's hard to see during the journey that you can look back on and see a couple weeks or months later.

SPEAKER_04 33:18

When I you've written a lot of blogs, and so you're you're pretty well versed in um being able to communicate your thoughts in a thought-out process way, which I think is gonna really help this journal for others who who don't have that same thought process, but still has the the margins and the space for people to really use their own style. Is there I I gotta know, is there a place that you guys have traveled to that Frank, you can be a part of this too, that had you not written it down, you don't think you would have remembered the full experience?

SPEAKER_03 33:58

Well, I don't journal, so I I would assume that I've already forgotten about it. I'd tell you, but I already forgot.

SPEAKER_04 34:03

Is that kind of what you're saying?

SPEAKER_03 34:06

There are some uh some things that I would say that are more remarkable than others. I think uh like going all the way back to when we first launched, the premise behind the way I launched us was to prepare Jennifer for the harder times when we were boondocking or at national parks and things like that. Like when we first launched back in 2013, uh July 4th weekend, we literally went and dry camped where you could see full hookups within 30 feet from where we were. We were dry camping to the T.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

I think in the journal I said I was ready to kill you.

SPEAKER_03 34:43

Yeah, she was she was very happy, very happy. She was like, this is great. I'm gonna be a single mom and you're gonna be dead because I'm gonna kill you.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

I was like no, no, that's not what happened though. And I tell the story in the journal. No, so so it would be several weeks later where I actually got to a place where I appreciated that. So we went to two parks. We went to King's Canyon near Sequoia, and we went to 6,500 feet in Yosemite. And that was back when Yosemite had a section where like it wasn't it wasn't full hookups, it wasn't any hookups, but you also didn't have to reserve it. So it was first come, first serve. And so we got in there and we spent what 10 days there. Yep. But I knew how to run the generator, I knew how to wash the dishes, I knew how to conserve the water, I knew how to do all the things because of those first 10 days in oceanside that I was ready to kill them for. But looking back, it was a different experience. And so I talk about that on different pages in the journal, but it takes you through both sides of that.

SPEAKER_03 35:43

I mean, it I think it's things of that nature that uh that really open you up to how would you do things different? I mean, it some people have uh bad habits or bad hobbies. I think mine is now with all the safety features and uh visual checks that I do, I think I've pretty much, unless it's a mechanical failure, I'm pretty much got the brakes and slowing down, going down mountain passes to a T. That being said, our first year on the road, we lost our brakes um leaving Yosemite. But now that we use TPMS and all these other safety features, we're a little bit more prepared for it. So, but it was situations like that where you're like, am I gonna need to remember every minute detail? No, but I do. And so it's situations like that where I can um tell people why I do the things I do now to help prevent that.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

So does that mean you're coming on the podcast more this season?

SPEAKER_02 36:41

We'll have to see. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:44

First, maybe there'll be some short that's the thing though.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

Learn to RV isn't just a brand pretending to RV, it's actual RVers in the space, whether they're full-time or part-time. Anybody that's working with us is an RVer of some capacity. And even if it's just a couple times a year, they're still RV owners. I think that's important to note. And even the companies that we're working with, a lot of them have people that RV. So for example, we work with Family RV Association a lot. But Sherry Light, we were driving through Cincinnati the other day, and she's the events coordinator for FRVA. And so Frank reached out to her and says, Hey, Sherry, we're coming through for two nights. Are you there? And she said, No, I'm in your Yellowstone Yellowstone. Yellowstone camping. So, like, even the people that we communicate with in a lot of these clubs and groups, they're our viewers themselves. So that's kind of cool, honestly, when you think about it. All right, Hershey, what are your top five tips for Hershey, Joel? Good shoe.

SPEAKER_04 37:46

Comfy shoes is always the first one. Um, you're going to do a lot of walking. Prepare water. There's always long lines at all the at all of the vendors uh that sell water. And the Hershey, the food vendors are the same food food vendors for the Hershey Park, the theme park. And so they charge theme park prices for food. So yeah, bring water, sealed water bottles. Definitely a good secondary uh tip there. Check it out, grab the app. Um the app works better than the website, in my opinion, for being able to navigate what's going on at the show, where vendors are, because you can bookmark spaces and things like that. So definitely using the app so you can bookmark vendors that you want to go see, like RV roofing solutions, for instance. Uh also just looking at what's there where there are sometimes multiple RV brands in different places. So you might find Forest River, their Arctic Wolf or whatever brand might be in two or three different uh booths. So keeping an eye on that if you're if you have a track on what you want to look at and enjoy it. It is a lot of fun. I'm I mean, yes, we're full-time RVers. And yes, we enjoy the RV space, but we have met amazing vendors and and talking to them and just got to know vendors as friends because it wasn't about just trying to buy something, it was taking our time and just finding out their heart for what the product is that they're that they're trying to promote at the event. Um because they aren't trying to sell it, they're just trying to promote it, they're just trying to let people know what they're the the reason for it uh to be there. And so taking the time, um, it's really hard to do that sometimes on the weekend, but during the week, go during the week if you can when it's a little slower and go early.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

Well, and they said that there's some people that have been scammed for bad tickets. Make sure you're buying your tickets through the Hershey website, actually, on the website. So it saves you time at the front to you know skip the line and go right through. But at the same time, you also know you're getting real tickets. So that's a big deal this year. Their new thing, and so the the girls there are doing a great job. They've come up with this idea called Campfire Conversations, and so we're actually a part of Campfire Conversations three times during the week. So we're actually there at Creator 101. So how to be a creator. And I don't know, I think it's how to document your travel, and I'm the one supposed to be at that one, but I think Christina needs to be with me today. And then Thursday, they're they're gonna take the reins and they're gonna go over and talk uh about working on the road. And so from one to RV. And so that one's gonna be a fun episode. They're all episodes in my head now, and then Friday, again, there's another one at two o'clock, and these are all from two to three every day, is all of our slots, but Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, how to overcome bumps in the road. Maybe you should go to that one to try to. And then, of course, there's the meet and greet, which I'm hoping Joel and Christina, and you know, at least myself will be at. And so that is uh with uh Michelle and Brian with Cruising with the Coleman. So we have a shared space for that one. But then we're gonna invite some of the people that we work with to come to that one as well. So if they write for us, if they've produced YouTube content for us, whatever that collaboration has looked like, even if we've just collaborated together on like something like Instagram, you're welcome to come join Saturday afternoon from 12:30 to 1.30. I was so shocked to get that spot.

SPEAKER_03 41:33

It's a good spot. It's right before, right before the nap time.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

It's literally the big biggest day of the show, and we have a spot at it. And so it's kind of crazy, you know. Learn to RV is growing, but it can't do it without you. Uh, can't do it without each and every one of us. But we need you. Like ultimately, that's that's the thing. Without you, learn to RV is just another creator. And I want this to be what we built together. And Christina and Joel know that about me. And you know, that tends to bite me in the butt more times than it doesn't, because I genuinely want people that want to grow with us.

SPEAKER_04 42:10

Absolutely. And that's what that's definitely something that we see the the desire to again, it's not learned RV, isn't just a singular creator. It's not, you know, if anything, you're a facilitator, Jennifer. Your your goal is to make sure that people have a voice and have a platform to be able to share their individualized voice, even if it's not, you know, always the exact voice that you have.

SPEAKER_00 42:42

Absolutely. I think that's very important to say is I think that it's important to talk about the diversity that I really want to bring to the RV community. I don't want it to be just me. I want it to be everybody. I mean literally everybody. So I don't care how you travel, I don't care if you travel in a pop-up. I don't, you know, I think that was one of the things that our first years on the road, we started out in a 30-foot toy hauler. It was a travel trailer, so it was more like a 27-foot box with six kids and no slides.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 43:12

Yeah, it was nuts.

SPEAKER_03 43:14

And can sardines.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

Can sardines. And so the only way you got to do anything was to go outside in rainy days, just we would all pile in the bedroom, which was nothing more than a closet. And we'd watch a movie together, you know, and so there was no place to set up our own. I mean, everybody had their own bed, but other than that, nobody really had their own spaces in that. And we traveled like that for three years, but we were not shunned by the people we met, even if they were in a class A or even if they were in a fifth wheel. And so we made some great friends on the road, and we were all so different. So the diversity in this community is so important to me. And I don't want anybody to feel like they don't belong. I want everybody to have a place to go. And I want learned RV to at least if We're not that place to help you find it.

SPEAKER_02 44:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:02

And it's and it's a lot of people who, you know, again, it's it's not just full timers. It's not a place for just full timers. In fact, it's mostly a place for people who want to RV, who want to, you know, the the people who are out RVing right now full time, most of a a lot of them, and I wouldn't say most, but a lot of them, you know, have had the bumps and scrapes to get through knowing what to do. And people that are going out two, three, four times a year with their camper that you know live in a sticks and bricks house and you know are just who who spend their weekdays dreaming of the time that they can take their R V back out again. Um those are the ones that I think really benefit the most from the Learned R V platform because it it is an opportunity to dream and see see the opportunities out there, see what what it can be just down the road. You know, I think the the statistics something like, you know, most people don't go more than a hundred miles from their house even with their RV. And our goal is to make make it so that someone goes, yeah, I'm gonna take an extra day and I'm gonna go 200 miles or I'm gonna go 500 miles and really see what this great United States has to offer and see what the world has to offer.

SPEAKER_00 45:24

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yep. So we're here's where we're headed. More community, more collaborations, more brands that actually get what we're building. And coming soon, there's a whole new season for the podcast. And so we've got some fun lineup already, ready to go. We've got Halloween, learn to RV style again, but different co-hosts for that episode. We've got who else do I have already? We've got we've got Santa coming on, and this is so funny because the other day, as I was preparing for just the interview with him initially, I was so giddy. And you know, Christina sent me a meme and she said, Do you feel like this? And it was Like we're gonna learn from people that have some things they have to overcome to travel. And so I've got some guests coming on that talk about what it's like to travel with MS. And there's some technical episodes coming. And if you have an idea, we want to hear it. Like, you know, there's nothing too outlandish for us as long as it's fairly on the up and up. But we're a hundred episodes in, and here we go. Yeah, I'm more excited about what's next than I have been in a long time. It's been an interesting season, but thanks for being here for every single one of them, or for just coming on wherever you did and joining the ride. Keep the wheels turning, and we'll see you next time and next season on Learn to RB the podcast. Don't forget, like, follow, subscribe. I always forget to say that. And if you have questions, go to learn to rbthepodcast.com. That'll get you everywhere you need to go. If you want to come on as a guest, that's also the place to apply. Did I miss anything?

SPEAKER_03 47:10

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_00 47:12

See you next season.

SPEAKER_02 47:14

Remember.