Although the idea started with full-time RVers, anyone with an interest in camping and travel is welcome to join the latest Alumni Interest Group: Nittany Lions on Wheels.
“This is a chance for alumni to help Penn State achieve another first,” said David “Duff” Chambers ’65, the group’s founder.
Chambers was surprised when a Google search for “RV clubs and colleges and universities” turned up nothing. So last fall, during one of their Friday night campfires before a home football game, Chambers asked those attending if they’d like to support Penn State in another first. That was the start of Nittany Lions on Wheels, which has 52 members already. “There’s no limit to how big we can grow,” Chambers said.
The group’s first activity was “circling the wagons” at last year’s Alamo Bowl. Chambers foresees similar trips in the future—both to regular-season away games and, of course, bowl games.
“Wisconsin and Purdue are away games that are possibilities for this fall,” he said. “Through the group, we hope to negotiate block rate discounts at campgrounds.”
Chambers, his wife Bobbi (Barbara Towne Chambers ’67), and their Australian shepherd, “Willie,” have been full-time RVers since retiring more than three years ago. Home is now a 40-foot Itasca Horizon, the sixth motor home they’ve owned since they first took their kids on a cross-country trip in 1984.
Their travels are typically governed by the seasons. They spend the fall in Centre County at the closest campground to Beaver Stadium. They like Arizona in the winter and spent three months of 2006 in Alaska. They’ve also spent time on the Gulf Coast helping to rebuild houses damaged by hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
Whether it’s helping other people or enjoying the natural beauty of the United States, Chambers said they prefer to spend a minimum of one month in a place to really experience it. “We’re not fast movers,” he joked.
For more information on Nittany Lions on Wheels or to sign up, contact Chambers at stoneserenity@aol.com.
The Penn State Alumni Association is currently home to 39 Alumni Interest Groups, organized around common Penn State or professional interests from the Glee Club to rugby. More information on all Alumni Interest Groups can be found at http://www.alumni.psu.edu/groups/aig/default.asp.
