[gps-talkusers] announcing WayFun 2006

Sendero GPS and BrailleNote hands-on workshop
Napa/San Francisco
WayFun 2006, August 4-7
 
See a description of the GPS adventure after this schedule. In addition to 
hands-on training with the GPS, we hope to hold a session on BrailleNote 
accessories and connectivity. Many of the lessons covered in the new 
Dewitt/Sendero courseware will be used to guide the training. See the contents 
from this courseware at the end of this document.
 
Note: The final details and program are still evolving but you can count on 
these dates.
 
Friday, August 4:
 
Arrive at Enchanted Hills Camp between 3 and 6PM.

Evening GPS hike, 7-9 PM.
 
Saturday, August 5:
 
Breakfast, 8 AM

Geocache event to practice GPS routes and getting warmer method, 9:30 to 11:30 

Noon Lunch

Manual route recording and following, 1:30 to 5 PM, 

Dinner 6 PM.

GPS trail hike or BrailleNote accessories session, 7-9 PM 

Sunday, August 6:

Sunrise GPS hike, optional, 6:30 AM

Breakfast, 8:00 AM

Depart Enchanted Hills by vehicle to explore Napa and Calistoga, 9 AM

Tour of Guide Dogs, San Rafael, 3:30 to 5:00 PM

Check into the San Francisco Parc 55, Sunday, 6 PM, One night.

Small group excursions to Dinner, 7 PM. These groups will have spent some time 
while traveling to the hotel researching restaurant options and making 
reservations. They will then walk to the restaurant from the hotel and back 
after dinner.

Monday, August 7:
 
Training in city navigation, 8 AM to 5 PM.
We will first meet to consider potential destinations for the day and to break 
up into small groups. Lunch will probably be within each of these groups and we 
will meet later in the day to debrief and to wrap up.

Those from out of town may wish to stay a second night at the hotel. It is 
possible additional exploration can be planned for Tuesday if there is 
sufficient interest. We are looking into the possibility of a Jose Can You See 
Blind Guided Walking Tour of San Francisco by Jerry Kuns.
 
Enchanted Hills Accommodations:
 
There are two types of rooms at Enchanted Hills:
The Lodge rooms have 2 or 4 twin beds with one bathroom for women and one for 
men. This is probably the best choice for a couple.
 
The Lakeside cabins have 2 adjoining rooms sharing one bathroom. Each room has 
two twin beds.
 
Enchanted Hills Prices include up to 2 nights and 5 meals.
 
A shared lodge room or cabin is $100 per person.
 
A private lodge room for one is $150 space permitting.
 
A private cabin for 2 is $250, space permitting.
 
There are 5 cabins and 8 lodge rooms.
Alternatively, one could choose nearby B&B or hotel accommodations if one wants 
more privacy and comfort. You would of course have to provide your own 
transportation in this situation. We will subsequently offer some suggestions. 
 
San Francisco accommodations:
Marriott Renaissance Parc 55 hotel, 55 Cyril Magnin Street, near Market and the 
Powell Street BART station. $130 per night for a standard room. This is about 
half the going rate at this 4-5* hotel in an excellent location.
 
Transportation:
 
Vans or a bus will pick up participants Friday afternoon, 3 PM, at Richmond 
BART/Amtrak. Indicate if you wish to join this group. 
 
For those who wish to drive to camp on their own, the trip is about 1.5 hours 
from San Francisco or Sacramento. Evans Transport Service can be engaged for a 
ride from the San Francisco Airport to Napa, 1-707-255-1559, $29 one-way per 
person. 
 
Transportation from camp to Napa and then to San Francisco will be in group 
vans.
 
Approximate cost for ground transportation, $60 per person. 
 
Transportation to Napa is the responsibility of each participant.
 
Training and equipment:
 
Participants are expected to have their own BrailleNote or VoiceNote and GPS. A 
limited number of loaner units may be available upon request. Those who do not 
have a unit will be teamed up with an advanced user who does.
 
The training fee for beginner users is $250. 
The fee for advanced users who agree to mentor a beginner user is $75.
The fee for a sighted companion is $75
 
Payment:
 
The training, Enchanted Hills and transportation fees will be paid to Sendero. 
The San Francisco night will be paid by the individual to the hotel although 
the booking will be managed by Sendero.
 
Meals in San Francisco and Saturday night in Napa are the responsibility of the 
participant.
 
A deposit of one half will be due to confirm the reservation with the balance 
due to Sendero30 days prior to the event. Or, if the Department of 
Rehabilitation is paying, a purchase order will reserve the client?s slot.
 
We cannot guarantee private lodge rooms or cabins until July 4.
 
Estimated cost per person including meals, $435 to $610
3 nights accommodation, $230
Transportation, $60
Participant fee, $75 to $250
Two additional lunches, one dinner, one breakfast, $70
 
Application process:
 
Potential participants should fill out an application and return it to Sendero 
as soon as possible. . The event committee will evaluate applications based on 
but not limited to the following criteria:
 
Does the participant seem to have independent travel skills?
 
Does the participant seem to be in good physical health and able to handle 
several miles of walking each day?
 
Is the participant flexible, amiable and compatible in a group situation?
 
GPS Adventure, Treasure Hunt, GeoCaching
Event Description
 
Sendero Group has organized numerous ?GPS events, the most notable of which are 
Way Fun 2003 in the California Gold Country, 2004 in Ireland and Scotland and 
2005 in Portland and Bar Harbor Maine. 
 
The goal of these events is for blind people to stretch their travel limits by 
exploring interesting environments using all his or her orientation and 
mobility techniques including BrailleNote GPS and to have fun in the process. 
Independent travel is enhanced by accessible location information. The blind 
participants test their skills and expand their capabilities by looking for 
local tourist sites and points of interest they have been challenged to find. 
In the process, the blind travelers get lost and experience the power of being 
able to get ?unlost? using the accessible GPS. Read the SenderoGroup.com travel 
Blog to learn details about previous trips and triumphs.
 
Instead of vision, we use a number of tools and techniques to explore including 
two-way radios and BrailleNote GPS. If a participant doesn?t have his or her 
own GPS, he or she will be teamed up with an experienced user who does. The 
radios are used to keep the teams in touch in case someone finds a particularly 
interesting point during the day and wants to share the location with others.
 
Applicants to the Way Fun adventure must have good travel skills, be easy to 
get along with and motivated to learn from the experience. On previous trips, 
we have seen a wide range of travel abilities. The participant must at least be 
able to travel safely without relying completely upon other group members. 
Because the group sets the bar high, we have found that everyone exceeds his or 
her expectations. We encourage, inspire and learn from each other. We have fun 
and discover lots about ourselves and about new technology in the process.
 
Note: A sighted friend or spouse may join some blind participants; however, 
these sighted participants are not along as ?guides.? They come for the 
adventure. Typically, 4 out of 5 participants are blind. At the same time, we 
all lend a hand to each other, blind or sighted, as you would expect in a 
close-knit group spending several days together.
 
For more information, email <mailto:GPS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>GPS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
or call 1-888-757-6810
 


Welcome to Teaching and Learning the Sendero GPS!

[]

 

How to Use This Training Guide. 1
Lesson 1: An Introductory Physical Walk. 7
Lesson 2: An Introductory Virtual Walk. 25
Lesson 3: Creating & Following Automatic Pedestrian Routes from an Address to a 
Point of Interest 45
Lesson 4: More on Look-Around Mode and the Multiple Repeat Feature. 73
Lesson 5: Creating and Walking Manual Pedestrian Routes. 87
Lesson 6:  Getting Started with Vehicle Routes. 103
Lesson 7:  Introductory Drive Using Basic GPS Commands. 115
Lesson 8:  Creating an Automatic Vehicle Route. 149
Lesson 9:  Creating a Manual Vehicle Route. 175
Lesson 10:  Setting and Using Addresses. 189
Lesson 11:  Using the Virtual Mode. 203

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