One of our fellow snowbirds here at Peanut RV Park.
And a few other spooky Halloween monsters:
Now that we're finally parked for a few months I think I have too much free time...
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October 2011
October 31, 2011
October 29, 2011
Cost of Driving from BC to Southern Alabama
Details on the trip south so far:
Took us 9 overnight stops to get here - Tuesday, October 18th to Thursday, October 27th. 4 nights were spent at RV parks, 5 were spent boondocking:
- Oct 18th Coulee Playland - Electric City, Washington $18
- Oct 19th Coulee Playland - Electric City, Washington $18
- Oct 20th Stinkers fuel station - Caldwell, Idaho FREE
- Oct 21st Cabelas sports store - Salt Lake City, Utah FREE
- Oct 22nd OK RV Park - Moab, Utah $18 (Passport America park)
- Oct 23rd Santa Ana Casino - Albuquerque, New Mexico FREE
- Oct 24th rest stop off I-40 east - Chillicothe, Texas FREE
- Oct 25th Fernbrook RV Park - Longview, Texas $16.50 (PA park)
- Oct 26th rest stop off I-10 east - Breaux Bridge, Louisiana FREE
Total cost for RV parks over 9 nights = $72 (CAD)
We made 8 stops to refuel JohnnyDisco along the way, including the initial fuel-up in BC before we left. Gas ranged from $3.07 per gallon (in NW New Mexico) to $4.05 (Washinton state).
Total cost for gas, from BC to Alabama = $1710 (CAD)
We filled up our propane tank once = $27.50 (CAD)
Groceries, booze, RV supplies, electronics, gifts = $628 (CAD)
Gulf Coast RV park for November (full hook-ups, 50 amp) = $430 (CAD)
We're way under budget for RV parks (compared to last year) and on budget for gas and groceries.
In the next few days I'll write up a quick post about the RV park we chose, Peanut Park. That's not the real name - I call it that because Southern Alabama is peanut growing country and our park is surrounded by peanut crops. You probably already knew this but I had no idea that peanuts grew underground.
And folks down here boil peanuts in salt water and eat them as a snack. We bought some from a roadside stand a few days ago and they're pretty good.
We also picked up a pound of pink-eye purple hull peas (cost me $1) and made them with steaks last night. I chopped off the ends, put a little butter and salt on them and cooked them like string beans. The pods were too chewy to eat - apparently you're supposed to shell them first. Oops. But the peas were really good and we'll be getting more from the roadside farmer.
Messing up new recipes is one of my fave things about traveling somewhere new :)
Louisiana, Mississippi and the Alabama Tunnel
Hover your mouse over the pics for my lame descriptions of the action.
Our little RV family will be exploring the Gulf Coast for the next three months until JohnnyDisco can get in for repairs at the Tiffin Motorhome mothership, which is based in Alabama.
More pics of this area coming up over the next few weeks. And if y'all have any suggestions of things to do around these parts, please let us know :)
October 27, 2011
Fernbrook RV Park in Texas
If you ever find yourself looking for a Passport America RV park around Longview, Texas - Fernbrook RV is your spot. It's a couple miles south of the I-20, off exit #591.
We stayed at Fernbrook a few nights ago and paid $16.50 for a wide and roomy site with full hook-ups (30 amp). Other highlights:
- a free, speedy internet connection
- tons of local tv channels
- a kids playground at the front of the park
- a very clean little pool area at the back of the park
- an enclosed dog run and dog poop pick-up bags thru out the park
- super nice gals in the front office
- a propane fill-up guy right on-site
- concrete pads and grass at every site
- newly paved interior roads
It's a really nice RV spot for under $17 a night. I wish every PA park had these features.
We've made it down to the Gulf Coast and the next post will be pics of our cruise thru Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
October 26, 2011
Stuck In the Middle of Texas
Northern Texas, that is...
That's where we ended up last night after our generator went on strike.
We haven't been dry camping much since we first bought JohnnyDisco back in February 2010, although we have run the generator once a month for an hour, to keep it in shape. But we've never really put a heavy load on it (turned on a lot of electric powered things at once).
And when we hit Moab a few days ago, the stubborn thing wouldn't even start. We'd press the button to fire it up, the genny would choke out a few weak glub, glub glubs and then die out. So we tried boondocking without it when we were in Albuquerque, but after only one night of that nonsense we knew it had to be fixed ASAP. (Neither of us are mentally equipped to handle 5:30 am without coffee.)
Instead of staying in NW New Mexico, our little RV family packed up and hit the eastbound highway to Amarillo, Texas - home of the nearest Onan generator dealer on our route.
We didn't have an appointment and ended up dropping into the dealer early Monday afternoon.
Josh, the mechanic, took a quick peek at it and told us it wouldn't start cause we were only firing on one cylinder.
Good thing we're already heading to the Tiffin mothership in Alabama cause apparently the whole thing needs to be ripped out and repaired or replaced. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.
Josh from Cummins/Onan showed us how to start it until we could get it repaired. He was a super nice guy and refused to charge us for his time so My Fella slipped him $10 for lunch or a beer after work. If he was even old enough to buy beer. The guy had the knowledge of a seasoned forty year old, but looked about fifteen. Damn. Isn't that what old people say?
Question for anyone who has ever been to Texas: Is it always so windy in Amarillo? Gusty winds tossed JohnnyDisco around like a feather on the interstate and My big strong Fella had a major struggle staying on course. My Guy put up a good fight but the wind zapped us in the end when My Fella opened his driver side door and it was blown out of his hands. The door stabilizer strap ripped off at the screws and our aluminum coffee cup blew thru the cupholder and all the way down to the fenceline. Is this a seasonal thing or is Amarillo just a really windy place?
Edited later to add: Thanks Bev & Vic W for the info about the Texas wind. Have a wonderful winter in Lo de Marcos with the Pa and Ma Outlaw - and I hope you don't mind that I posted some of your email below...
"I saw on your blog about the wind in Texas. From our experience and that of our friends who winter in the Lower Rio Grande every winter, it is always windy in Texas. If you put out your awning, only do so when you are there to tend to it. Otherwise, you'll come from a nice excursion to find a torn awning. We hit strong winds on highway 20 last spring on our way to Fort Worth TX. Our mirrors lost most of their paint from being sandblasted by the wind!"
Moab to Albuquerque
Another bright and early morning on the highway, and Normie gets to ride dashboard shotgun... but he's still too sleepy to care.
Moab, Utah:
There weren't a lot of spots to dry camp in Moab, Utah (pronounced moe - ab) so we stayed at a Passport America park.
The Moab OK RV Park was just that; okay. The PA rate was $18 plus tax with full hook ups (30 amp) but the back spots, where we were tucked in, were really tight. We couldn't put out our big slide and it was one of those parks where you feel right on top of your neighbours. Best thing about it was the rugged red rock surrounding the area.
Moab, Utah has a population somewhere between 5000 and 6000 folks, but it seems like more with the tourist traffic. Mountain biking, atv-ing and dirt biking are very popular in the area and the entire town really caters to tourists. From what we saw, the town was mostly restaurants, bike and ATV rental spots, gift stores, souvenir shops, motels, RV parks and horse stables.
The lady (mid 30's) working in the RV office mentioned to me that a lot of wealthy folks buy summer homes in Moab which has driven up real estate prices and the cost of living in the area. When her small family moved there for work two years ago they couldn't afford to buy a house - and they still can't, even though hubby makes good money.
Moab reminds me of Banff, Alberta - the only difference being the red rocks surrounding the area instead of the Rocky Mountains.
The best thing about Utah was definitely the scenery. Actually the entire drive from Utah, through SW Colorado and into New Mexico was very cool.
Money Stuff:
- including tonights casino stay, we've been on the road for 6 nights
- dry camped for 3 nights (at a truck stop, a sports store and a casino)
- spent $54 for RV parks the other 3 nights
Total spent on RV parking over 6 nights = $54 or $9/night (yay for boondocking and Passport America)
October 25, 2011
Utah to Texas
Over the past couple days we've traveled through:
- Salt Lake City
- Moab, Utah
- the southwest corner of Colorado
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Amarillo, Texas
Salt Lake City:
The population of Utah is 2.9 million, with close to half those folks (1.2 million) living in the Salt Lake area. And they all seemed to be driving the interstate on the day we went thru town.
The I-15 is five lanes each way, and it was jam packed with vehicles when we arrived in Salt Lake at 12:30pm, and then again when we left at 6 the next morning. There was road construction at every on/off ramp which didn't seem to slow down traffic too much, but the ramps (scattered with a squillion pylons) were difficult to navigate while driving a 36 foot rig plus a tow car.
And then we got stuck behind a freeway accident.
The kind of crash where it's clearly marked by numerous road signs that you have to merge right, yet most of the traffic shoots by you in the left hand lanes only to cut in front of cars at the front of the line. Normally I just find that marginally irritating but in an RV it's also really dangerous since so many of these jokers don't realize we can't stop on a dime just cause they wanna budge in without signalling. And the morons were doing the same thing to all the truckers in the line-up. I truly loathe narcissistic drivers who do this. Idiots.
Okay, calm down... just breathe. In with the good air, blah blah blah...
The bright side of our SLC visit was dry camping (which I've discovered I lovelovelove) in the parking lot of Cabelas (a huge fishing/hunting/camping outlet store) where My Fella picked out a new fishing rod for his birthday. We paid $40 (USD) for a rod that would have cost $80 (CAD) at a sporting goods store in BC.
We left Cabelas at 6 on Saturday morning heading south towards Moab, Utah (pronounced moe - ab, not mobe).
Here's some Utah scenery along the way... hover over the pics for my lame description.
Interstate driving in Utah may be a nightmare, but I gotta admit the rock formations are pretty awesome.
It's after 8 and I'm starting to yawn like Shelbert in the above pic, so I'll post more of our Utah/Colorado/New Mexico/Texas pics en la manana.
p.s. I'm waaaay behind on the blog since we've been boon docking so much but we're in Longview, Texas right now where it's still 23C at 8:30pm. There are a billion stars outside the windshield and the frogs are singing so loud My Fella can barely hear the tv.
I'd rather listen to the frogs :)
October 21, 2011
Electric City, Washington to Caldwell, Idaho
We dry camped last night for the very first time.
Loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Trip details first: JohnnyDisco crossed one time zone and three states yesterday, cruising from Electric City, Washington, through Oregon and stopping for the night at a Stinker Station in Caldwell, Idaho - our first boondocking experience.
We drove 636 kilometres (395 miles) which took 7.5 hours, although we were on the road for almost 9 hours. Since this wasn't a race we made frequent stops for water refills, pee breaks and to stretch out all 12 of our legs. 4 human legs, eight mutt legs.
Here's some pics along the way:
Unfortunately my camera battery died right about here.
Our little RV family is boondocking again tonight just outside Salt Lake City, but we'll be heading to an actual campground tomorrow for a few days.
We're very excited to explore more of the beautiful state of Utah. And to take showers :)
RV Stuff: We just found out that it's okay to run your generator while your motorhome is travelling down the highway. A few folks have mentioned they use the generator while driving, to run the a/c or cook in the convection oven, but that seemed like a bad idea. We researched it last night and apparently cranking on the genny to run the a/c while you're driving is fine. It even gives your generator a good workout. Who knew?
There's info about this here, and here, and here too. Oh, and there's a full article about it here.
October 19, 2011
This Dam Post
We have a long day of driving ahead of us tomorrow so we wanted to make today a 'relax' day. After tiring the mutts out with a walk, My Fella and I went to stock up on a few groceries.
But before heading back to JohnnyDisco, we had to stop here:
The monstrous Grand Coulee Dam.
Swiped straight from Wikipedia: the Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River... built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942. It is the largest electric power-producing facility in the United States and one of the largest concrete structures in the world.
This building overlooks the resevoir which is called Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake - obviously named after FDR, who presided over the authorization and completion of the dam.
We couldn't get close to the Dam bust since the Dam area was restricted to employees, but from the pic above you can see it's about the size of a car. That's one huge head.
The Grand Coulee Dam is the 5th largest hydroelectric power station in the world, by capacity.
Here's the other side of the dam, where all the action is.
There is enough concrete in the Grand Coulee Dam to build a 60 foot wide highway (four inches thick) from Los Angeles to New York City. That's a 4 lane highway, 3000 miles long.
Couple more pics - here's the bridge over the Columbia River:
And a shot of JohnnyDisco at our campground, Coulee Playland Resort, on the edge of Banks Lake. As you can see it's pretty quiet at the RV park this time of year.
Banks Lake is in the middle of a pre-scheduled maintenance draw-down which occurs every 15 -ish years, so I have no pics of the lake. (A draw-down gives the governement or private owners a chance to make repairs/improvements to a lake.)
Even with the lake being so low, we're really happy with this RV resort and will stay here again when passing through the area. Outside of some road noise, the park is quiet, well treed and offers lots of room for the mutts to walk.
Current rates are posted on their website; after Oct 16th the cost is $18/night for full hook-ups (50 amp) with super fast, free wifi. And that wasn't with a camping membership discount - everyone gets that rate.
Small confession to make... My Fella and I have been making dam jokes all day. And every single time I typed the word dam while writing this, I said it out loud and giggled. What are we ... 5?
October 18, 2011
We're In the USA a Day Early
Tomorrow was supposed to be border crossing day, but after my 8am eyeball appointment we decided to see how far we could drive today. We drove through the Canada/USA border around 11:30am and just kept going.
The actual border crossing only took about 9 minutes. This year we crossed from Osoyoos, BC into Oroville, Washington. There were three lanes open, but only one vehicle was waiting to enter the USA.
A US agent did a quick walk through JohnnyDisco and glanced at our passports, but didn't bother looking at either our vehicle registration or dog papers.
They asked all the usual questions:
- where do you live
- where are you going
- for how long
- what do you do for a living
- have you ever been arrested/do you have a criminal record
- are you carrying any fruit, vegetables or plants
- are you carrying any alcohol, cigars or firearms
- do you have over $10,000 cash
- how much cash do you have on you (I was surprised to hear this question - can they ask this?)
They were both nice guys, but questioned us twice about carrying firearms or drugs. Honestly, does anyone ever answer that with a yes? "As a matter of fact sir, I did hide a batch of rifles and a snippet of cocaine under the floorboard. Is that a problem?"
Couple more pics from our drive today - this one was taken on the way to the USA border:
Funny sign just past the border crossing.
Here's a newly paved road heading towards Grand Coulee Dam in Washington.
And here was the happy little surprise waiting for us at the RV park when we checked in this afternoon.
Haven't opened it yet - I'll show you what it is in the next post.
Money info:
We were just under a quarter tank when we gassed up JohnnyDisco this morning in the Okanagan ($282 CAD). Haven't needed gas yet in Washington, but prices have ranged from $3.73 to $4.07 per gallon (USD).
Our RV park is $18/night and includes full hook-ups (50amp) plus very speedy wireless internet. Can't tell you which one it is til after we leave. You're probably not a stalker, but you just may be a bill collector looking for money :)
October 17, 2011
Our View For Only More Day
It's the last time we'll see this thru the windshield...
Some of our newly planted trees and a very naked Benin gazebo frame. Our skeletal gazebo looks ready for Halloween... spooky and scarrrrry!
Our little RV family is pretty much packed and ready to head south for the winter but we did finish a few last minute projects around the RV today; furniture renos that involved the skill saw and a power drill.
I can see that thought bubble rising over your head ... "Huh? They waited til THE DAY BEFORE THEY LEAVE to start chopping up the furniture?" We sure did.
My Fella is a bit of a procrastinator so when I want something done, I spring it on him at the last minute. Which means he has a built-in deadline. He works very well under pressure so this is a good system for both of us.
As usual he came thru again today. After I shared my plans he got busy cutting down the legs on a former bar stool so it could be used at a regular height table or desk. He also attached hooks to a side wall to keep our free standing counter steady while we're traveling. AND he chopped the bottom shelf off our serving cart and reattached the locking rolly feet so we could use it as a stable coffee table in JohnnyDisco.
My Fella did an awesome job. But now JohnnyDisco is packed and ready to hit the highway.
And so are these two little goobers...
Only one more sleep!
October 15, 2011
HARTZ UltraGuard Flea & Tick Drops
Yeah, yeah - I know... boring title. But here's a scary warning we read earlier this afternoon:
Hartz flea and tick products are dangerous and have caused injury and the deaths of thousands of animals. Please do not make your pet a victim by using them.
For more information check out www.hartzvictims.org.
We applied a tube of Ultraguard Flea & Tick Drops to each of our muttz this afternoon, but quickly washed it all off after reading online reviews about the product.
This whole thing is kind of a gray area. After poring over pages and pages of sad stories, I definitely feel for the grieving/shocked/angry pet owners. And moreso for their pets. These products are obviously toxic to some animals. Yet the skeptical side of me suspects some folks didn't follow directions or may have applied incorrect dosages.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But we love our two fuzzy monsters way too much to take a chance on a product like this. So we washed off the flea treatment and threw the other unopened package in the garbage.
Happily, both Norm and The Bert seem fine.
Although we're still keeping our eyeballs peeled for strange behaviour, lethargy, shakes, etc.
Update: There are also a lot of complaints about Hartz products on this Consumer Affairs website.
Three More Sleeps 'til We Hit the Road
Not much left to do around the RV before we head south for the winter:
- went through all my books, rooting out those I'll leave at RV parks along the way
- cleaned out the fresh groceries, leaving enough food to last 'til we get to the USA
- sorted the dog toys, tossing out slobbery ones that have been chewed to death
- bought our travel medical insurance; $527 for two adults, 182 days outside Canada
- picked up the mail for the last time this year
- dug out our small stash of American cash
- alerted the credit card companies that we'll be traveling for six months
- My Fella took in the car for a last minute tire repair
- we stored a few outdoor items at the neighbours since we don't have a shed
- packed up our small Weber BBQ/outdoor table/camping chairs
- burlaped the cedars on the other two lots we landscaped
- said our goodbyes to our fave neighbours
- asked the deer to guard the newly planted trees while we're gone - we'll see how that goes... :)
I have a doc appointment early Tuesday morning, then we'll be crossing the USA border sometime on Wednesday.
Message to the cheap beer and groceries in the USA: Look out, we're coming to get you !!
October 11, 2011
We Lost $30,660 This Morning
Sort of.
Last Friday morning I sold out our entire position in Daylight Energy.
I had been trading in and out of that company for several months and though we made a few small gains here and there, it really wasn't going anywhere. And there are some stocks I just don't like holding going into a long weekend. Daylight was one them.
Yesterday China Petrochemical (Sinopec) announced they were buying Daylight Energy for $2.2 billion (CAD). Shares of the stock doubled this morning, hitting a high of $9.72.
Daylight is currently trading at $9.66 and my average price per share was $4.55. Had I held on 'til this morning, my gain would have been $5.11 per share x 6000 shares = $30,660.
That's probably not the worst trade I've ever made but I can't lie - it still makes me a bit nauseous thinking about it. Thirty thousand bucks would cover our living expenses for a year. And it would've bought a lot of Tillamook cheese.
On the bright side, Alaris Royalty Corp (our largest holding) announced a 12% dividend increase this morning. Which is kinda like getting a pay raise for doing absolutely nothing. This company has been an excellent investment, with three div hikes over the past 18 months, in a crappy economy.
Still...that $30 grand profit from Daylight would have been nice ... :(
Totally off topic - only 8 more sleeps til we head south for the winter.
October 09, 2011
The Markets Have Been Humbling
Haven't blogged much about investing lately 'cause at the moment, the markets are kicking my butt. And who wants to admit that?
Our portfolio hit an all time high back in April, but six months later it's down 23%.
Our dividend income has hung in there (roughly $50,000/year tax free) but we lost a fair bit of capital. Hard pill to swallow since I'm a very bad loser. Not in a John McEnroe throw your tennis racket and whine like a five year old kinda way ...but I do really beat myself up over mistakes. Like most INTJ personality types I am by far my own worst critic.
We'll probably regain that capital by years end, but let's face it - losing sucks.
Our current holdings still include names I first bought back in the 2008 sell-off:
- Alaris Royalty
- Student Transportation
- Pembina Pipeline
- Inter Pipeline
- Avenex Energy (formerly Avenir Income Fund)
And some higher yielding names I regularly trade:
- Just Energy
- Data Group Income Fund
- Chorus Aviation
- BTB Reit
- Superior Plus
Just Energy sent out a press release last week, reassuring investors that the monthly dividend is safe. I really like this management team and will be adding to our holdings as we get more cash.
Data Group has stated that while they are converting to a corporation before years end, they've already cut their distribution to a payout ratio they're comfy with and have no intention of further cuts. During the Q2 conference call, CEO Michael Suksi said:
"...regarding our unitholder distribution policy going forward. Obviously investors want to understand our intention and our ability to sustain our distribution... During our annual general meeting last May our unitholders voted to approve our plan to convert the Fund to a corporation at the end of 2011. And this upcoming conversion may be creating some confusion regarding how it will impact our distributions. So I want to clarify this point.
We already reduced our distributions in January of 2011, and that was as a result of our becoming taxable at the beginning of 2011. Also it was a result of our anticipated financial performance and our intent to invest in our strategic plan. Therefore since we have already done that in January of 2011, we do not expect the conversion to a corporation at the end of 2011 to have any further impact on our distribution policy. Our intention is to maintain our annual distributions at the current level of .65 per unit as long as our financial performance continues to justify it as it has in the first half of 2011."
Data Group is a printing company with steady clients (banks, fed government, etc.) and they're expanding into digital services as well. Guess we'll find out more when third quarter earnings are released November 15th.
Chorus Aviation - man, I just don't know about this one. I've never liked the air industry, but this company has more positives than negatives. Scotia Capital recently upgraded the stock to an outperform with a target price of $5.50. They called it 'the best risk-return on their list'. And TD and RBC both have a 12 month target price of $6. Course the analysts could be way off base, as they were with YLO, BXI, ARF, etc. etc.
BTB Reit is a teeny weeny real estate investment trust and we only hold a teeny weeny position. I'd be surprised if they cut the distribution, but if they did we wouldn't even notice it in our passive income. I like this name more everyday and will probably buy more on dips.
Superior Plus is our riskiest holding. The share price has dropped so much that the yield is stupidly high. I took a small loss on this one a couple months ago and recently bought in again at $7. The company is heading into its busy season, but if our economy stays sour and revenue drops, I'm sure they'll reduce the dividend. If they cut by a third it would be $0.80/share; still a huge 11% yield at current prices. Guess we'll find out more when third quarter earnings come out November 2.
We're fully invested but with the overall market drop last quarter, some of the stocks we own are paying out ridiculously high yields. I call them Fairy Tale yields.
Hope they have a happy ending.
Then again, as economist David Rosenberg (from Gluskin Sheff) says "hope is not an investment strategy". :)
October 07, 2011
The Deer Have No Fear
Glad I planted so much deer food on our RV lot.
Yes, I'm being sarcastic.
Everytime I peek out the RV windows, I spot neighbourhood deer munching our newly planted trees. Guess that's one of the downsides of living out here in the BC wilderness.
The genius that said aspen trees are deer resistant was obviously talking about urban deer, cause our rural deer love baby aspen leaves.
They also enjoy autumn blaze maples.
But their fave snack seems to be the sweet gum trees.
My complaints aren't really serious. In fact when we see the deer out there, we don't bother chasing them away. They were here first.
I just hope they don't start telling all their friends about our tree buffet ...
12 more sleeps til we hit the highway :)
October 05, 2011
October 03, 2011
Just Energy Reassures Investors
Stock investors are riding a crazy rollercoaster at the moment.
And days like today certainly test our risk tolerance.
But one of my picks, Just Energy (JE.to) impressed the heck out of me this afternoon, after voluntarily sending out a press release to reassure retail investors about its monthly dividend - which is currently yielding over 12% after a recent drop in share price:
"Given that the Company believes it will meet or exceed all its financial growth targets for the year and the closing expected today of the recently announced immediately accretive Fulcrum acquisition, Just Energy sees no reason why it would consider reducing its dividend which is covered by current cashflows. The Just Energy Board has not considered a reduction in the dividend and no discussion of any future reduction is planned.
Management is not aware of anything affecting its business that would justify Just Energy's recent price decline. The Company had strong operating results during the 2008-2009 recession and benefits from difficult labour markets when identifying and training new independent sales contractors. While sustained low gas and electricity prices make new sales and renewals more difficult than at times of commodity price volatility, these conditions have been in place for more than three years and Just Energy has had record new customer additions over this period."
To the execs at Just Energy, specifically Rebecca MacDonald: THANK YOU for giving a hoot about the little guys - and gals. I realize things could change in a heartbeat if our economy gets whacked again, but I appreciate the thought that went into this. There are numerous companies on the TSX that could learn a thing or two from you folks.
Okay, rant over.
October 02, 2011
Hey Walmart, Can I Park Here?
Our little RV family heads south in 18 sleeps.
We've been doing lots of internet research, gearing up for this winter's adventure, and tonight My Fella stumbled on this lovely little website that identifies every Walmart in North America that allows overnight parking.
I cringe when I hear about RVers abusing the priviledge and setting up camp at Wallys for two or three nights in a row. Or extending slideouts and lounging in lawnchairs, really making themselves at home...
Although we've been full-time RVing for close to two years, we've never spent the night anywhere other than a paid campground or RV resort. But this year we're up for a little boondocking and free camping. And since we'll have our snazzy new mobile wireless internet access, we've decided to overnight at the odd Walmart that allows RVs.
My Fella and I are frequent Walmart shoppers, especially on the road, so a few overnight stops along the way will be convenient and will save us some cash.
Note to our fellow RVers: If you've stayed at a Walmart recently, feel free to add your comments to the above website, and share info on the RV friendly Walmarts you know about. As well as the ones you've been asked to leave.
*Another great website to check out is CasinoCamper.com - it's an easy to use site that lists the majority of RV friendly casinos throughout the US.
Anxious To Get Going
Now that we're all packed and sorted out, we just wanna get on the road.
Does every RVer feel this way?
The inside and outside storage bins here in JohnnyDisco have been cleaned out and organized. Our summer stuff (planting supplies, fishing gear, gazebo, extra tools, etc.) have all been packed away. The final trees and shrubs we bought for this RV lot are in the ground and mulched for winter.
We pick up our travel medical insurance this week and will also be ordering a Millenicom wireless USB stick for mobile internet in the USA. The mutts shots are up to date, our mail is being forwarded to different RV stops along the way and I finally received my passport.
My Fella has just one more week of work left at his summer golf gig and then we leave the following week. But I'm ready to go now.
No doubt the cool, rainy weather has something to do with it. We wanna hit the road
