In just under a week, I will be leaving for the NRA Law Enforcement Handgun & Shotgun Instructor Development School in Allentown, PA. I am really looking forward to it and to becoming a certified firearms instructor once again. It should be a fun class; the others I have taken in the past certainly were so. Besides being fun, it should also be quite informative since there must be new techniques being taught, or at least some I have forgotten, since I last took an instructors course - probably back in around 2000 or so. I hope so since the course is setting me back over $500 just for the cost of the NRA school. Add a good deal to that for my ammo, my gas and my food.
As for my upcoming stay, I'll be staying at a nice hotel sort of nearby to the school site. It is about a 12 mile drive from what I can tell, figure 20 minutes drive time at most, so I'll give myself a half hour or so to get there each day, a bit more on the first day to allow for the getting lost and still showing up early factors. The hotel consist of suites and the room promises to be a nice one from what I read up on it. It has a full kitchen with stove, microwave, dishwasher and full fridge. That kitchen will save me big bucks because I can cook in house. The room also has free wi-fi. In addition they offer a free breakfast. The hotel will also save me big bucks. My rate is FREE. Yep, as in nada, zilch, no charge - at least as far as cash goes. I am using almost all of my points with the hotel chain that owns the place and am getting a great rate at that. At another of this chain's hotels, if using points, I would have had to have at least another 25,000 points built up, prior to my stay, at a minimum. Some of this chain's hotels charge more than double the points I am using. If I had been paying cash, the room would have been $139 plus tax per day or just over $764 in total. I am getting a great deal. I hope it is a nice, well kept hotel.
I will almost be certain to visit Cabela's in Hamburg, PA. It is about 35 miles or so from my hotel, closer to where the class will be held. I may not have any money to buy anything there but I'll probably just go to window shop anyhow. I may also stop in Pennsylvania Dutch Country or at least take a drive through it. I don't know how much time I will have; the daily classes may be a bit longer than usual ones as the handgun and shotgun courses are combined into a single course. Hopefully though, I will have some time to enjoy the local area.
More on it once it commences.
All the best,
GB
