The first day of school was mostly getting acquainted with the other 24 ladies, about half of which had never driven before, just like me. I was so worried I would be be the only one who had NEVER driven! Next, we got an introduction to our motorhome by way of walking around it with our instructor pointing out what everything is for, inside and out. There is a whole lot to learn! Some of it I knew about, some of it I didn't. That evening, after dinner, we had mini remote control motorhome races! It was fun and helped everyone relax.
Another reason Kris wanted me to take ladies driving school is so that I could pass on to him the right way to do things that he might be doing wrong. Most, if not all, men are self taught and there are no classes offered for men here at the factory because men think they know everything already! Kris is not your typical man, he really wants to know the right way to do things. There were also some completely new RV owners in the class who had never driven an RV before and had purchased a Foretravel as their first RV. I think it's funny that their wives will know more than they do right off the bat!
The second day was spent all day in the classroom viewing slides and going through the book we were given. I was getting more nervous by the minute! The third day we would actually be getting behind the wheel and driving through four different obstacle courses with five ladies in each coach. I was so nervous I couldn't eat breakfast. We had the use of a new 36', 40', 42' and two 45' coaches and were assigned randomly to our instructors and coaches. OMG, I was assigned to a 45' coach! Ours is only 40'! I managed to be fourth in line to drive the course which helped a lot. Being able to watch the others first made it a lot easier. Our instructor, Jack, has a reputation for really challenging his students. And challenge me he did. After doing the slalom where you drive in and out of cones which were placed very close together, he had me back up through the same course! I was so relieved after I finished without running over a single cone! We also simulated backing into a campsite following the hand signals a spotter, driving up to a dump station and stopping at the proper area of the coach using mirrors and driving up to and backing up through a narrow gate. I was amazed at how well I did. I think it's because I do watch Kris very closely when he's driving.
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| The 45' coach I drove and it is for sale! |
I wasn't quite as nervous on the fourth day, which would be our last, and we would be driving the highway loop around Nacogdoches, IN TRAFFIC, each of us for about 45 minutes at speeds from 55mph to 70mph. I could not believe how relaxed and laid back Jack was but then he's been teaching this course for about 11 years and I don't think anyone has ever crashed, lol. Still, I didn't want to go first! I wanted the benefit of watching others before me. Four ladies drove the loop before lunch which left only me. I would drive after lunch and I was getting nervous again. I really think it helped having the benefit of watching the others first. It seemed like a really long drive when the others were at the wheel but when I got in the driver's seat, it all went by pretty fast! Thank goodness! My only mishap was barely tapping the curb with my rear tires driving out of the parking lot. They call that a "curb check"... I was super nervous the whole time but now I know I can do it if needed!
That evening at our graduation dinner, all the ladies stood up to receive their graduation certificates. All of the five instructors made everything so much fun and relaxing throughout, and all the ladies were smiling at the end of Ladies Driving School [unlike at the beginning]!
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| The history of Foretravel http://www.foretraveloftexas.com/ |
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