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| OHCC LIVING | AUGUST 2022 | 33 Village Vets Our Village Vets meeting was on Thurs., July 28 at 3 pm in Abravanel Hall. Our guest speaker was Amy Forsythe, a TV reporter, former Marine, Marine Combat Correspondent and Public Information Officer. Amy authored the book, Heroes Live Here all Camp Pendleton, discussing the heroic Marine involvement in combat operations. We are still working on an off site for our members, and currently working out the details and logistics of the trip. Due to the situation in Europe, it has been somewhat difficult to get a commitment from the military organization we have worked with in the past. Discounts offered to Veterans all year long: Sea World San Diego: Active Duty, Reservists and Veterans are offered complimentary one day admission and up to three direct dependents. AT&T offers military and Veteran families a 25 percent discount off their wireless plan. Big Lots has announced they will offer a year-round 10 percent discount for active duty and Veterans who are part of their Big Rewards program. Dell offers an additional 10 percent off personal computers and electronics on their website by emailing militarydiscount@dell.com. Hometown Buffet and Old Country Buffet offer a 15 percent discount to all military personnel in uniform or with a valid ID. They also offer Military Monday with a special discount for active duty, reserve, and Veterans plus up to 3 family members for dine-in orders. Home Depot offers a 10 percent discount in the store all year long. L.L. Bean offers 10 percent off for active duty, Veteran, and reservist personnel of the U.S. Armed Forces. Verification of service is completed on their website. Lowe's offers a 10 percent discount in-store. You can link your military service to your Lowe's card. LuLulemon offers 25 percent discount off in-store purchases to military members and military spouses. *This will be changing to 15 percent, date TBD. Michaels offers 15 percent discount on all purchases year round. Confirm military service through ID.me when setting up the Michaels account. Microsoft offers up to 10 percent off select products to active, former, and retired military personnel and their families. Outback Steakhouse offers a Heroes discount of 10 percent off for Veterans and active duty off their dining check. Pottery Barn offers 15 percent discount to military and Veterans and their families for in-store purchases. Check your local store to see if this offer can be utilized for curb side pick-up as well. T-Mobile offers hefty discounts on its wireless plans to active duty and Veteran families. Verizon also offers a discount on wireless plans which is dependent on plan type and the number of lines. Before you head out to enjoy these discounts, make sure you have your Military ID card, DD214, or other proof of service as required and check the location of the place you will visit to determine if they are participating. With summer upon us, our members have begun to hit the road, fanning out in many directions to explore our great country, visit friends and family and seek a new adventure. We have a few taking the long trek up thru Canada to Alaska, which lasts most of the summer. Due to COVID cross-border travel restrictions, it has not been feasible to make this trip over the last couple of years. Due to the length and complexity of the route, these trips are frequently done through a commercial RV tour company. The tour company arranges the campsites and facilitates visiting glaciers, ice fields, Denali National Park and major points of interest, along with wildlife viewing and sled-dog experiences. They also arrange transportation by bus or rail or boat to difficult-to-reach attractions. This allows the RVers to explore comfortably, while the RV says safely in the campground. Here at OHCC, members of our RV club also put together long and complicated RV trips, such as the recently completed Grand Canyon - Antelope Canyon trip. A Wagon master group of eight worked on it well over a year. Campground reservations for a large RV group normally must be made 12 months in advance. Finding nearby hotels for WOWs can be problematic, too. Each trip can involve several different campgrounds and lining up the dates, availability and the route can be quite a challenge. "How long do we stay at each park and what do we do while we are there?" Finding interesting restaurants or perhaps campground caterers, points-of-interest to visit, organizing happy hours, group meals and games to play along the way take some effort. Interest lists are created to see who wants to go. Deposits are collected from members, contracts are committed to and signed with vendors. A spreadsheet of revenues / costs and another for each member's contact info, RV size and type, and pet and tow car information are generated. And so, it begins. Dealing with the inevitable glitches along the way, recapping the trip for the club and finalizing the financials all must be done. Our hats are off to those who volunteer to make these trips memorable for all! The next meeting is scheduled in Abravanel Hall on Sept. 27 at 6:30 pm for Social Time and 7 pm for the business meeting. The Social Committee is planning "A Day at the Races" at the Del Mar Racetrack on Aug. 18. RV Club

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