Carlsbad Caverns & New Mexico

So, we finally left Texas heading west. This trip had been on our agenda since we first started thinking about doing this, so I am glad it's one of the goals we met. I say that because, I know there are lots of folks who love the desert, but we are finding out that we are really "Florida folks". I miss the green, humid August days (NOT!!). We're just not used to such flat land. Plus, the winds have been relentless. Anyway, we are happy that we got to visit the Caverns; they are really awesome.

We are going to Roswell, NM tomorrow to visit some aliens, then off to a really nice place in Las Cruses for a week.

We tried our best to get good pics in the cave; it's pretty dark but it's really an amazing sight to see. Click here to see our pics.

Take care everyone; it's really good when I hear back from you guys after reading the blog.

Kathy, Steve and of course, Elvis.

A Little Fun With Texas...

If you love Texas or live here, let me apologize in advance. I'm just having a little fun here OK?

We will wrap up our visit to Texas this Friday, March 6, 2009. To be honest - I'm glad. While we haven't seen anything but the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas, and the San Antonio/San Marcos area, there's just too much wind, too much dust and too many sand burrs around here. We need to get to a greener place.

I thought I'd share a few pictures with you!

This here is the famous Texas Pride BBQ, (San Antonio) place that was featured on Diners, Dive-ins and Drives. The Brisket was good, but I found a better place in Lockhart, TX! I would recommend a visit to either one of these places if you're in the area, but I'd eat at ANY BBQ place, so that really means noting I guess. hehee.

Now THIS place is the famous Black's BBQ located in Lockhart, TX and it's the oldest BBQ place in the whole state! I HAD to eat at this place, so one day while Kathy was sick and wanted me to get out of her face, I snuck away from San Marcos, drove 20 miles and ordered me some brisket and ribs. I was the BEST brisket AND ribs I ever had. I was SOOO happy! I even brought my darling wife some back to the RV to share with her. Good thing I bought a pound of meat too cause even Kathy loved it and she's not a big meat person like I am.

San Antonio and DDD....

DDD stands for Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives which is a show on FoodTV.com. I love the show and whenever we are close to a restaurant that has been featured on the show I try and get there! That's ONE reason I'm getting so fat :)

Today we went to Texas Pride BBQ where I pigged out on the best Brisket I've ever had. The rest of the experience was OK. Not great - just OK. It was worth the trip though :))) I'm such a HAPPY guy when I gets me beef!

Our time in San Antonio has come to an end and we head to San Marcos ( just 60 miles north) to once again try and sell some ads for a RV park site map. After San Marcos, we'll head towards Dallas to visit a friend and then onward west to eventually end up in CA!

Here are some pictures of San Antonio:

ameriplan dental plan : Is a great way to save money on your dental needs. Visit today.

Mexico and The RGV

Geesh! We've been in Texas for 2 weeks now and the freaking wind is RELENTLESS! How windy is it?

1. It's so windy I can't grill because the wind blows the flame out.
2. It's so windy that I had to pull in one of my slides last night because I thought the plastic rain cover over the slide was going to tear due to all the flopping around.
3. It's so windy that everyone around here has their clothes line ( I know - some people actually still dry their clothes outside...) tied down!
4. It's so windy that I have to SIT in my patio chair to keep it from blowing away.
5. It's so windy I can't even smell my own farts.

And last but not least: We have a 2'x2' fold-up metal table that we put in between our chairs to sit our drinks on. I put a rock on it the other day to keep it from blowing over. Kathy comes out of the RV, feels the wind, looks at the table and says, "You're going to need a bigger rock."

I don't care what people say, that right thar was FUNNY!
We are staying at Tropic Winds RV Resort in Harlingen, TX which is about 15 miles from the border town of Progreso Mexico. We went there today to buy prescription drugs! And liquor!  Wasn't worth the trip after we had to pay all the taxes to get back into the U.S.
Reminded me of my old Navy days and trips to Tijuana. Same stuff was there I think. Mexico is a little different today though. I could tell because there was about 10 guys from the Mexican army sitting around the border crossing with machine guns. Apparently there's a small drug problem in Mexico now days. HA!



As you can see, it's a lot of fun in Mexico now!  Not.
We did get a good buy on 2 bottles of Crown Royal though. That's our favorite refreshment you know.
Anyway, here's some more pics...

Winter Texans We Are :)

Well, we've been in Texas for a little over a week now. We're currently in Port Aransas, TX at Marina Beach RV Resort trying to get our 1st RV site map job done. It ain't looking good here either. We really thought that because of all the tourist activity here we would have no trouble selling ad space for $350 a YEAR to businesses in this town. Wrong. No one has any money. This place was hit a little by Hurricane Ike several months ago and that doesn't help anything. But the fact is - it's the economy. Businesses all over America are hurting. I would guess that about 25% of the stores, restaurants, etc. around here have a "For Sale" sign on the door.


It's just sad. I hate to see this everywhere we go. I really feel bad for business owners now. They are scrambling to try and just get the bills paid. Ameriplan

Port Aransas is a little beach town on an island just north of Corpus Christi. There are about 40 restaurants, dozens of small hotels and about 5 large RV parks. That means there are 1000's of RV's here and they are referred to as "Winter Texans." It seems that half of them are from Canada too! They come down here for 6 months and then head back home in the spring. Gotta keep that health insurance active eh?

Kathy & I are scrambling to find businesses willing to pop a couple of hundred bucks to advertise in the RV map we're working on. It's tough. In 2 days we have done 39 presentations or "drop-offs" to 39 different businesses in the area and only made one sale. We need about 15 more in the next few days or we're not going to be able to get the map done for this RV park either.

We've heard everything:

1. I don't advertise - get OUT!
   
2. I'd like to, but I don't have the money
3. The business owner is out of town for 2 weeks
4. This is a franchise business ( like Subways and even the local liquor store!) so you'll have to call the corporate office. "OK, do have a number?" NO! Go away!
5. I MAY be interested, come back in 3 days. You go back in 3 days and the decision maker is no where to be found. So much for appointments!
   

Sigh. This job is "not so much fun."

My thoughts (Kathy here) I fully agree with everything Steve said. I think I was really made to be retired. In fact, I'm sure of it. I'm also looking into doing some writing for a website. You write articles and get paid when they put them online. It would be something to do and I could get to tell people everything I know! Which is everything.........I KNOW IT ALL, just ask my husband!!!!

In any case, we are going to finish our commitments and then head to New Mexico, then Arizona and California. It should be an interesting year.

Lastly, HOW ABOUT THOSE STEELERS, huh???????

I Love My Job, I Love My Job, I Love My Job.......

Wow, am I glad it's Sunday already! We worked 2 entire days.............in a row!! I just forgot how really really fun sales is. NOT!!!!

It's really not that bad. Steve and I have hit almost 40 vendors, and have about 8 be backs for Monday and Tuesday. We have to figure out the system. Friday and Saturday are not good days to catch up with owners or managers. But, we think this will work.

We walked and walked, which was good. We'll park at one end of a shopping center and walk all the way around, hitting up everyone who is a potential advertiser. Lot of businesses are in a hurt. But, we think we can make this work. Steve wants me to "dig back into my mind" to remember all my Beazer Sales Training. My answer is, dig into what brain?

Other than all that, we are happy to be back on the road. We are especially looking forward to the Gulf Coast in southern Texas. We have 2 jobs on the way there, and then we are going to look for a nice place to stay and take a week off to explore that area. It seems like a great place to winter and the rates are about half of what they are in Florida. Gotta have an exit clause in case this job doesn't work out. Now that Steve knows I CAN work, no telling what he'll come up with next.

All for now. I hope everyone is out of the cold by now. It's been in the 30°'s at night even here in Tampa!

Everyone take care, God Bless, and most importantly of all:

'"GO STEELERS"!!!!!!

We Have a Job!

Kathy and I got a job. Yep, I know... you thought we were retired. We are... kinda. But there's nothing wrong with trying to make money on the road right? Right!

We leave Jacksonville on Jan. 11th and go to Tampa, Fl for 2 weeks, then Pensacola, FL for 2 weeks and then we have 7 days to get to San Antonio, TX where we'll work for at least 2 weeks as well.

We've spent the last 8 months learning about HOW to RV and after thinking about what we had done ( or more appropriately NOT really doing anything) we decided that it was time for us to have a purpose while we are on the road. :) Paychecks are always good!

Those that know me know that I'm always looking for a way to make a buck or two. Most of my "efforts" have been fruitless - like selling picnic table maps in RV parks( http://www.tabletopmaps.com/ ).

UPDATE: THIS JOB TURNED OUT TO BE A BUST.  WE GAVE UP IN ABOUT 6 WEEKS.


In looking for another way to make a few bucks, I Googled "affiliate programs for RV'ers" and found a company that sells site maps for RV parks. What they do is sell (or rather GIVE AWAY FOR FREE) RV site maps to RV Parks across the country. A site map would look like this: http://www.pecanparkrvresort.com/rates.aspx and it's printed on 100 lb full color paper. Every camper that arrives is handed a site map so they can find their parking spot. Thousands of eyes see these site maps every year.


Around the edge of the site map there are advertising spots. Local businesses, i.e. restaurants, dog groomers, real estate agents, pizza parlors, doctors, RV repair guys, auto repair shops, etc. can buy a small 2"x2" ad for $345 ( or up to a 4"x8" ad $1,100) and EVERY camper will see their ad on the site map for the next year for whatever RV Park we are providing a site map to.


For a business, $345 for a years worth of advertising that 6,000 to 10,000 eyes will see is cheap.


Here's how it works:

1. We call a RV park and ask them if they'd like a years supply of high quality, full color site maps for FREE. Yes, we provide the maps to the park for free. If they say, "yes" then we get a free place to park for TWO weeks.


2. During the two week period we are in the park, it's our job to sell a minimum amount of ad space to local businesses. The minimum amount isn't that much so we don't think that we'll have a problem meeting our goal. Even if we don't sell what we need to sell, we still get to stay for free at the park.


3. We also get a commission on the ad space we sell. The least amount we would make is $545, and the most we could make would be around $3,500 per RV park - if we sold every ad spot.

We get a free place to park AND we can make a little money. Nice huh? We think so anyway! PLUS every expense for my RV is now a tax right-off. Everything! Sweet.
Because we are now employed, our itinerary has changed a little. We were going to leave Jacksonville on 2-15, but now are planning on leaving in 2-1. We'll head west along I-10 to Texas where there are a butt load of RV parks (for all the snowbirds in winter like FL) and spend as much time in TX, AZ and NM area as we can until it gets too hot to be there. Anything above 90° is too freaking hot in a RV.  In the summer, around June, we'll work our way to CA to visit my sister and Dad and up the coast of CA . We haven't made plans past that. I do want to get to Oregon to visit my brother Tim this summer though!

I'm Thankful...

Thanksgiving Day, 2008. A time to be with family and a time to be thankful.

I'm thankful.

I'm thankful for my wife, Kathy. We only met 7 years ago and we both carried a lot of baggage from previous, uh, experiences like ex-wives and ex-husbands. Together, starting from scratch, we created a comfortable life for ourselves. Now we live in a really nice RV, travel the country exploring places and seeing things that most people never have the chance to see or do. "Living the dream" as some people would say.

I'm thankful for our kids. Like most kids in their 20's, they're still "finding themselves" but all in all, they're GREAT kids. Justin is in great health, and Nicole, who has crones, has THAT under control, so life is good for them too. They just don't know it yet. HA!

I'm thankful for OUR health too. Getting old DOES suck, but we're not too bad off. We both can still get around well.

I'm thankful for the life I've lived so far. I can stand before my God anytime and still have my honor intact. Hopefully, He'll give me (us) a few more years in this world.

I'm just a thankful guy today. A very lucky, thankful guy!