the Youngest Snowbird:

Three Month Check-Up

It's been just under three months since JohnnyDisco had work done at the Tiffin Mothership in Red Bay, Alabama. This post was delayed since I wanted to make sure everything that we had repaired was still working a few months later.

We dropped off our rig (a 2010 Allegro Open Road) on January 30th, 2012.

Pictured below is what I call 'Camp Tiffin' - a bare parking lot with full hook-ups for customers having warranty work done on their motorhome.

It's free to stay at Camp Tiffin if you've made an appointment, but if you just show up with your rig or you're having post-warranty work done, there is a nightly fee (between $10 and $20 bucks).    

Here's why JohnnyDisco was in for service: 

• large bubble forming on the roof over the fridge
• fridge would not defrost - interior light flickers
• generator needs to be looked at - from day one we couldn't put even half an electric load on it
• rear auto jacks take very long time to store (we need to auto store, auto level and then auto store AGAIN for the back jacks to store) 
• drivers side electric window will open but needs to be pulled up manually to shut it
• rear furnace will not ignite (the furnaces were wired backwards when we first bought JohnnyDisco)
• siliconing: around slides, windows, bathroom sink
• front door: seal on window has been coming off since we bought the unit; seal around door is loose; have to slam to close properly;  screen door was not hung straight;  screen door paint by latch is peeling
• main awning is twisting
• rivets coming loose on corners of slide outs 
• all the bin doors on the two front slides need to be looked at (some won't latch properly, some stick)
• passenger side windshield fluid hose is broken
• passenger side window separating (interior, bottom left)
• screws and seal not properly fixed under bunk slide
• paint peeling/rusting under slide bin doors (latch area)
• wall panels beside fridge loose (both sides)
• black water tank hands free (no fuss flush) is leaking into sewer bay

Keep in mind, we bought a brand new unit less than two years ago and 75% of these problems were discovered within the first few days/months of ownership. Quality control really dropped the ball the day our rig was born. 

As requested, we had left JohnnyDisco at the Tiffin Mothership for two weeks, returning to pick him up on Sat, Feb 11th - but the Tiffin service area was closed for the weekend so we waited 'til Monday to sign off on the paperwork. (Lots of folks complain about the service department being closed on the weekend, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. Everyone needs a day off.)

About 7am on Monday someone came by to let us know they had a few more things to finish on our coach and it was quickly brought into a service bay.

We met some really nice folks that day, including Carl, who did all the miscellaneous repairs like straightening our screen door, installing the new bedroom window, etc.

My Fella looks like a giant in this pic but Carl was just standing on a lower step

this is Bryan setting up a roof test to make sure there are no leaks in our new roof

The majority of Tiffin employees were friendly and efficient. And everything on our list was taken care of and now functions the way it should have when we first purchased JohnnyDisco.

Kudos to Stephanie Umfress (who got the entire ball rolling), our crew leader Torino, the lovely Carl (who was determined to make sure we were completely satisfied), Bryan the roof guy (great sense of humour), Peggy (who kept us in the loop), the furnace folks, the Blind Lady, the generator team and everyone else who worked on JohnnyDisco.

And a huge thank you to the Big Cheese, Bob Tiffin, for repairing every single thing at no cost to us.

He didn't even charge us for installing a new bedroom window. And there was actually nothing wrong with our old bedroom window; we just wanted one that opened so we could get more air flow circulating thru the back of the coach. We fully expected to pay full price for the new window and the installation, but we weren't charged a dime.

In our minds, this was a Tiffin customer service success story.

Our brand new coach was kind of a lemon (roof bubble, furnaces wired backwards, faulty generator, etc.) but My Fella and I are both impressed with the Tiffin service gang in Red Bay. We hated having to drive all the way to Alabama for the roof repair (big waste of time and money) but the Tiffin Mothership treated us well and fixed everything for free.

And we would look at buying a Tiffin product again in the future; but we probably won't limit our choices to Tiffin.

For other Tiffin owners heading to Red Bay:

• dealing with the service manager is a complete waste of time; if you have legitimate concerns, go straight to Bob Tiffin - his direct phone line is (256) 356 0206
• if you have more than a few things that need to be repaired, make a list and have a copy on hand when you pull into the Tiffin parking lot
• there's a bit of old school mentality with some of the older male employees in the service department - in our case, I asked the generator repair guy a number of questions and he would answer them, but while looking and speaking only to My Fella ... after a few minutes of this annoying nonsense, I cut him off mid-sentence: "Excuse me - I AM THE OWNER OF THIS COACH and at the moment, I'm the one asking you the questions!" He looked like he'd just been slapped with a fish, but he did start speaking to me directly 
• if you need a propane fill-up after you leave the Tiffin Mothership, stop at L & L Gas - great folks there
• and if you have to wait at Camp Tiffin any extended amount of time, BYOB - Red Bay is in a dry county 
  

Love, Love, LOVE This Place

We may have found a permanent winter home in southern California.

Don't wanna get ahead of ourselves, but Rancho California in Aguanga has pretty much everything we want in an RV resort.

numerous pools and jacuzzis

tennis and pickleball courts scattered thru-out the resort

14 hole golf course (unlimited play for $150/month or $200 per couple)

stocked fishing lake

paved interior roads and a great variety of rental sites to choose from

and beautiful landscaping with tropical palm trees and dramatic foothills in the background

The plan is to return this fall to see exactly what the weather is like in this area between November and February. (I feel like a bit of a hypocrite after vowing we'd never spend any more time RVing in Cali... but this resort is definitely changing our minds about RV value in this state.)   

electric use update: as of this morning we've used 44 kilowatt hours of electricity, for a total of $9.24 (at 21 cents per kilowatt hour); at this rate, metered electric will cost $12/week or roughly $50/month 

Rancho California in Aguanga

We are now in Aguanga, California at a gorgeous RV resort we found online.

Rancho California is a huge (500+ sites) park where lot owners have beautifully landscaped their own sites and either use them or rent them to snowbirds. Some owners may rent privately, but we went thru Kim and Candace at Fairway Associates. I can't say enough good stuff about these two ladies. They were quick to respond to my emails and they tried to accommodate us in every way; that's more than I can say for many of the RV parks we've stayed at.

The rental rates at Rancho California are reasonable for what you actually get. We picked a private, landscaped lot with:

• a lake/fountain view and no one behind us
• a huge concrete pad
• a special built-in turf strip for the dogs to pee on
• wicker lounge furniture and a outdoor table/chairs
• a shade umbrella
• free tennis, pickleball, swimming  

This site is $600/month with full hookups BUT you have to pay for your own electric.  And at 21 cents per kilowatt, it's not cheap. We're new to the metered electricity thing so we decided to monitor it closely for a week and see what kind of power we consume.

It's not going to be much since:

• we never use hair blowdryers or our a/c units 
• my computer is always on the eco friendly screen
• during our stay we'll use the propane furnaces instead of space heaters
• we switched the fridge and hot water heater over to propane

We have used the coffeemaker and the microwave a handful of times, but so far, after two full days here we've only used 3 kilowatts.  Is that possible?  A whole 63 cents worth of power?  We thought we may be reading it wrong, but it's digital so it's not hard to figure out. I hope we're not missing something.

Anyway, this resort is perfect for us. It has a golf course (one month unlimited play for $150 or $200 for a couple), 6 tennis courts, 2 pickleball courts, 6 swimming pools, 5 jacuzzis and lots of safe space for my daily walks and our dog walks.

And if that's not enough, it was sunny and 25C today. And tomorrow. And the next day...

Special note to my cyberpal Mexi-Croft:  As requested, I am getting off my lazy butt and putting together a post about our Tiffin customer experience. Since first driving our unit off the lot, we've had so much bad luck with it that I was waiting to see if everything they said they fixed was still working after our trip west... and it IS!  Post coming up soon!

And one last thing: Thank You Rene` and Jeanette from the RV Voyageur Blog for not only walking around Yuma and getting contact info for RV sites, but also for recommending the Quechan Casino in Yuma.  We boon-docked there overnight and filled our grumbling, empty bellies with the buffett dinner - awesome after a long day on the road. Thanks again, you guys! 

51 Minutes from El Paso to Las Cruces

These are the final pics from Wednesdays travel day.

We drove 461 kms from a rest stop just past Wickett, Texas to our RV park in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Here was our first peek at El Paso, Texas - population 650,000. 

there was lots of road construction in progress, like every other major city we've driven thru

the majority (85%) of the population of El Paso is hispanic

exit to the border crossing into Juarez, Mexico

from the interstate you can clearly see the border wall separating El Paso from Juarez

(every single time I see that wall I feel so lucky to be born in Canada, surrounded by opportunity - it's really all just luck of the draw, isn't it?)

Pictured below is housing on the Mexican side of the border; shanty style houses, huts and trailers, many of them missing windows and doors.  There are no vehicles in the pic and I honestly don't know if anyone lives there - but it looks very similar to the hillside housing at the Nogales, Mexico border.

The Juarez Mountains are in the background.     

The north end of El Paso is minutes away from the New Mexico state border.

lots of dairy farms along this stretch of I-10

entering our destination city of Las Cruces, New Mexico (population 97,000) - in the background you can see the Organ Mountain Range

It's day two of our rest stop in Las Cruces, and although we really like this part of the USA, JohnnyDisco will be back on the I-10 Friday morning, westbound for Tucson.

But before ending this post, I have to show you what My Fella picked up today at The Outlet Shoppes at El Paso.

When it comes to shoes, he's like the male version of Imelda Marcos.

And now my manly Fella is the proud new owner of the hot pink trimmed golf shoes, pictured above. The size 13 pink PUMA shoes retail for $110 US dollars, but he picked them up at the PUMA outlet store for $5 bucks. 

(this would be the perfect time for me to make a smart-alec comment about my guys shoe fetish - but as the owner of twelve identical khaki GAP miniskirts, I'm really in no position to judge)

Praying for Gas

Day three of our trip west started early yesterday morning:

• we left the rest stop at 8am
• panicked a bit after seeing we had less than a quarter tank of gas
• panicked more when we hit the road and drove straight into a headwind
• continued panicking when Garmin identified the next gas station as being 61 miles away
• felt incredibly relieved to finally make it to the Chevron on the hill
• where relief changed to outrageous disbelief that the thieving Chevron owners were charging $3.99/gallon... 65 cents more than anyone else on this stretch of the interstate 
• we grudgingly pumped $50 worth of fuel (about 12 gallons) and continued on to Van Horn, Texas where gas prices were back down to $3.35/gallon

After filling up the tank, we hopped back onto the I-10, westbound towards El Paso. 

wow, look who's awake for once...

apparently the time change made Shelbert tired again

but Normie is wide awake and ready to go

This part of Interstate 10 runs parallel to the US/Mexico border and El Paso is directly across from the Mexican city of Juarez. About 20 minutes before El Paso we saw the first border checkpoint in the area.

there were a few border agents parked along the roadside in case one of the eastbound vehicles tried to turn around before the checkpoint 

Shortly after the check point we hit the outskirts of El Paso, Texas.

My Fella and I are actually heading to the big outlet mall in El Paso this morning but I'll post the rest of our road pics later this afternoon.

Hasta la vista, babies!

Starstruck

My Fella and I are dropping JohnnyDisco off at the Tiffin Motorhome mothership in Red Bay this weekend... 

... but I have to share a little story with you first. And maybe you can decide if I'm a sucker or not  :)  

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I quit my full-time radio job at age 37 and have been living off stock dividends/interest since then. Investing started out as a hobby, but soon became our main source of income. And while this blog revolves around our RV travels, occasionally I toss out some stock talk or give updates on the portfolio.

One of our largest holdings is a company called Student Transportation - trading on the TSX and recently, the NASDAQ. It's a bus company, transporting kids to school in both Canada and the USA. I opened a large position in STB during the TSX sell-off in 2008, and have bought more since then on price dips.

STB is one of our largest stock holdings for several reasons:

• kids will always need a safe way to get to school
• STB management is good with guidance and transparency
• the monthly dividend has been consistent since the company IPO in 2004

This is not a recommendation to buy shares of Student Transportation. I am neither your financial advisor nor your mother; do your own due diligence and consult a fee-only advisor you trust ... and blah, blah, blah... 

That out of the way, Student Transportation is a solid company and a great moneymaker for us. Which is probably why I gush about it so much.

Needless to say, I was completely stunned to see a blog comment this morning from Denis Gallagher, the BIG CHEESE of Student Transportation. On MY blog.

"Thank you for investing in our company for the past years. In your travels i'm sure you've experienced bumps along the road, weather, higher fuel costs etc. Well so have we and you know what, kids are still going to school. We have a great company that gives back to our shareholders. please visit our web site at www.ridesta.com and view some of our videos. I'm so glad I stumbled onto your blog. Its cool reading and a neat adventure. Continued good success on the road to excellence." 

Denis Gallagher, Founder, CEO Student Transportation, Inc

The comment was made on this blog post written almost a month ago. I'm totally blown away that the very accomplished founder/CEO of one of my best investments left a comment on my silly little blog.

Or was it really him?

Not being completely naive, it has occurred to me that one of my devious pals (looking straight at you here, Laurie) might have left the comment to get me riled up.  If that's the case, it worked.  I'm starstruck.  And gushing.

On the other hand, if it really was you Mr G, thank you for the comment.  And for doing such a bang-up job and getting kids to school safely.  And for making us so much money $$$ over the years. Continued success right backatcha and everyone at Student Transportation.

And please keep doing smart things with your company, so I can keep gushing.

*edited to add:  sorry if you were misled by the title of this post and thought I may have met Oprah or George Clooney or someone... but getting a blog comment from the Big Cheese of one of my fave companies is better than Oprah - trust me  :) 

Internet for RVers in the USA

Just read a post from my blog buddy Rene about using wireless internet while on the road.

Which reminded me that I never showed you what was in this box we had delivered to Coulee Playland RV Resort, our first stop after crossing from Canada into the USA.

We got this:

It's a wireless USB stick from a company called Millenicom. We went with these guys cause they had the best plan for us. Random stuff about our Millenicom service:

• the USB stick was $99 dollars
• the plan is $70/month for unlimited use, but you prepay one month in advance
• our plan uses Sprint - great coverage across the USA
• there is no contract and no taxes
• you turn your service off when you leave the USA and then turn it back on when you return the following winter, just don't lose your USB stick
• when you first purchase the USB stick, it has to be shipped to an American address - that's why we had it sent to our first US rv stop instead of our home address in BC
• had to call their billing folks once and the tech line once and both employees were efficient and friendly
• I can use the internet while My Fella is driving JohnnyDisco down the interstate  :)

Our internet plan isn't cheap but the convenience is worth it. So far we're totally satisfied with Millenicom, but I'll definitely let you know if that changes...

Deer Run RV Park

This might be my new fave RV park in Alabama.

Their website isn't much but I think that's one of the reasons I like this place; they under promise and over deliver, instead of the other way around.  

Since they don't have many pics on their website, here's another shot of the catch an release fishing pond.

See that teeny blue spot down there?  It's My Fella and his new fishing rod, trying to outsmart the fish.  The fish always win, honeybunny.

JohnnyDisco from across the pond.

Still can't believe this RV park is only $400/month, including all taxes. 

I also wanted to mention that the owners of the park live in a house at the entrance gate, which means 24 hour security.  And they're pretty neat people.

The hubby stopped by our RV yesterday, asking if we wanted to try some homemade apple pie moonshine. He doesn't make it, but he knows a guy who knows a guy  :)  

My Fella doesn't drink any kind of alcohol, and anything stronger than light beer or wine has me dancing on tables, so we declined the offer.  But I still thought that was pretty sweet.

True southern hospitality.

My Alabama Walmart Haircut

Yup, I just got a Walmart Special. 

15 minutes in the salon chair and my trim was finito.

Actually it was more than a trim. My hair hasn't seen professional scissors for almost three years and it was starting to become obvious. So I  stupidly  bravely told the scissors wielding stylist "I wanna start all over again with fresh hair. Can you get rid of the split ends and even it out?"

And she did.

Four inches later my hair is just below my shoulders and looks really healthy. It's a little shocking though. I haven't had hair this short since my age was represented by only one digit.

My Walmart Special was only $15; a 15 minute haircut for $15 dollars, or a dollar a minute. 

And now I can say I got my hair cut at an Alabama Walmart.  How many folks can say that?

We must be on a hair binge around here 'cause I just buzzed My Fella's hair too.

Let me know if you'd like to use that noggin for advertising  :)

Another Day, Another RV Park

We switched RV parks yesterday.

After staying a full week at an overpriced park in Ozark, we moved further north to a resort roughly an hour away from the Alabama capital of Montgomery.

The new park is really spread out, with tons of space. Here was the view from my little office window at 7 this morning. 

that body of water just down the hill from JohnnyDisco is a catch and release fishing pond

Our new park is $400/month (including taxes) and features:

• full hook-ups, 50 amp service
• free wireless
• tons of cable channels
• lots of room between rv sites
• great walking areas for me and the mutts
• two fishing ponds for My Fella

And groceries and other necessities (like beer and peanuts  :)  are only 5 minutes away by car. We're excited to explore this part of 'Bama and make some day trips into Montgomery.  And at the end of January we head to the Tiffin Mothership in Red Bay.

* If you're keeping score at home, our weather has been pretty decent for the first week of January. Yesterday was sunny and 17C, with similar highs forecast for the next few days.

New Year, New Investment Goals

Actually the goals are the same, just bigger.

But it won't be hard to improve on my 2011 portfolio performance, which was very average. 

Our annual dividend income stayed around the $51,000 mark (tax free) which was on target. My non-registered cap gains were on track to hit $61,000 but this one was a huge fail. Mid-year I took a $32,000 loss on stupid stupid stupid Yellow Media and BioExx.

Hmm. I take that back.

Yellow Media is not stupid, stupid, stupid. I am stupid, stupid, stupid for being naive and believing the constant Yellow management assurances that the company and the dividend were 'just fine'. Clearly I need to read Investing for Dummies. Also Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire for Dummies.

Our total cap gains for the year ended up at $28,560. Some investors try to minimize capital gains but we always shoot for the stars. They are a big deal in our portfolio since we earn very little employment income and hang out in a really low tax bracket.

Hoping to find some bargains in the new year I wanted some cash available, so...  I dumped Chorus Aviation for a small loss, sold Canexus for a small gain and sold our entire position of Just Energy for a really good cap gain, plus several months of dividends. I'll buy back into Just Energy in early 2012, when the price is right.

Yesterday was the final day of TSX trading for settlement in 2011 and here's where our non-registered account sits:

• biggest position is CASH, followed by
• Student Transportation
• Data Group Income Fund
• Alaris Royalty Corp.
• Inter Pipeline
• Avenex
• Pembina Pipeline
• BTB Reit

Back down to only 7 companies in the portfolio, with lots of cash on hand. I have no idea what will happen in the new year, but we've got a mitt full of loonies ready to go.

Goals for 2012:

• $55,000 dividend income
• $65,000 cap gains from non registered account

And world peace.

Or maybe we'll just adopt another rescue pup.

Feliz Navidad. And to all, a good night.

We Don't Have a Christmas Tree

Our little RV family has a Flamingo Tree instead.  

It's really just a regular 2 foot Xmas tree, adorned with flamingo patio lights. Tropical, yet festive. 

My Fella and I don't spend a lot of cash at Christmas time, but we do buy each other a few small (practical) things. Over the past couple weeks, I've bought/wrapped most of My Fella's gifts so the Flamingo Tree is starting to look kinda lopsided.

His stuff is wrapped in blue paper and my presents are wearing green.

My guy is frustrated cause I'm really hard to shop for.

We're exactly one month away from Christmas and his list has six 'wants' while mine only has two. It's not that I'm all sweet and selfless; I just hate clutter and don't have much use for material things. But today I added something new to my list - a good quality MP3 player.

Every day I head out for a 5 to 7 km hike to burn enough calories so I can drink beer and eat peanuts  :)   Up til now I've been using My Fella's old MP3 player, which is on its last legs. So today we braved the Black Friday crowds, scouting out good deals on electronics.

Before heading out, we decided that if folks were lined up out the door or the parking lots were jam packed, we'd turn around and come straight home. But I can tell you firsthand, southern Alabama shoppers don't seem to embrace the Black Friday craze like the rest of the USA.

Not sure if it's a result of America's economic problems, the devastating Gulf coast hurricanes or last years BP oil spill (which is still causing financial hardship for folks around here) but at 11am on Black Friday, the local Best Buy was busy, but not packed.

Saturday afternoon busy as opposed to line-ups outside the front door busy.

And the legendary Black Friday sales weren't really much of a deal - at Best Buy or any of the stores we wandered into. But we did find a good quality MP3 player on sale for $30, down from $50.

So now I have 3 presents under the Flamingo Tree. 

And I'm happy to say that my first (and probably last) Black Friday shopping experience was pretty tame compared to these crazy consumers.

Hamilton-Beach Slow Cooker for $26

After five years, we finally gave up on our old slow cooker.

Food had bubbled over the sides and baked into it, making the inside impossible to clean, even with steel wool. 

My Fella scrubbed out the pot and lid (both in great condition) and we donated them to charity. It's still a good pot for casseroles, but too heavy for us to haul around in JohnnyDisco.

Here's the new slow cooker we found at The Kitchen Collection in the Foley Tanger Outlet Mall: a Hamilton-Beach 6 quart 'Stay Or Go' - $24 USD, $26 with taxes.

We put it to work right away making a roast and I was surprised at how much roomier a 6 quart pot was compared to our old 4 quart one. The 2 extra quarts mean double the amount of veggies. 

The roast cooked very evenly and I love that the new pot is low and wide, compared to our former slow cooker that was tall and skinny.  

And it's called a Stay or Go 'cause it has this nifty safety feature - small metal clips on the sides of the pot that you can close if you wanna roast something, then pack it up and haul it around the block to a friends house.

2 enthusiastic Paws Up for the Stay or Go slow cooker.

Outside of food and a few items of clothing, we haven't bought much since we've been in Alabama, although consumer goods here (like most of the USA) are priced much cheaper than Canada. This cooker in BC would be about $40, plus tax.

On the downside, light or reduced fat foods are very hard to find in Southern Alabama.You really have to hunt for low fat Pringles, lite cheese, etc.

I basically had to knock someone over yesterday to get that last can of low fat sour cream Pringles. Good thing the kid was so short or he would've taken me down.  And it was super immature of him to kick me in the shins.

Quick Peek at November Stock Stuff

Current holdings as of November 2/2011:

• Alaris Royalty Corp
• Student Transportation
• Data Group Income Fund
• Just Energy
• Inter Pipeline 
• AvenEx
• Chorus Aviation
• Pembina Pipeline
• BTB REIT
• Cash

On October 28th, I sold out of Superior Plus (2700 shares for $7.30) with a gut feeling that there was a yield cut coming. And after market close tonight, SPB announced a 50% cut in the dividend effective immediately.  Glad I got out early - there could be a rush to sell in the morning.

With the proceeds we bought more Just Energy, who should be announcing their November dividend payment tomorrow. They usually send out the release on the third of every month, and recent guidance indicates they are keeping the payout the same into the new year.

Alaris Royalty reported today and the numbers look good.  I started buying this one in 2009 around $6 and it has been one of our most consistent performers, along with Student Transportation. 

Our dividend income has finally hit $51,000 per year, tax free. We were actually on track to hit that figure back in May but then I messed things up by getting greedy with Yellow Media. That was a hard, expensive lesson that I won't be forgetting soon.

Anyway $30,000 of that $51,000 covers our annual living expenses and the rest is added to my cap gains (from trading) and reinvested back into the portfolio.

Stock investing isn't for everyone, but if you have the time and patience to read/research individual company info, it can pay off. And it's a great forced savings plan since you have to get the start up cash from somewhere. Better than spending it all the mall.

Usual disclaimer stuff:  I'm not your mother or your investment advisor.  Don't buy into any company I talk about on this very non-professional blog unless you've done your own dd and see value in the purchase, and blah, blah blah...  

Our Alabama RV Park

From the main highway:

• turn left on the country road just past Camping World
• take a right at the Southern Baptist church
• then make your first left after the peanut factory

Those are the unofficial directions to get to our RV park here in southern Alabama, and one of the main reasons we chose this place. It's pretty much out in the boonies.

Our immediate surroundings include peanut crops, cotton fields, Alabama forest and small acreages with cows, roosters and baa-ing sheep;  yet we're only 11 miles from Walmart, 15 miles to the Outlet stores and a half hour away from the Gulf Coast.

Location matters and we didn't want to be parked in a city.

Everyone has different requirements for the RV resort they choose, especially for longer stays. We need:

• large, treed sites that offer privacy
• max monthly pad fee of $650 (water/power/sewer)
• quiet neighbours, preferably 55+
• solid internet connection
• grass for the mutts to play on or a good walking path nearby 

Other things we'd like but don't really need:

• concrete pad
• cheap, clean laundry facilities
• 50 amp service, but we're totally happy with 30 amp
• recycling on site
• tennis or basketball court nearby
• free cable
• no permanent residents with messy yards

We got lucky last winter, finding Justin's Diamond J RV park just outside Tucson, Arizona. And this year we're equally happy to have stumbled across Peanut Park (we've nicknamed it that since the park is surrounded by peanut crops).

There are lots of shade trees here at Peanut Park and tons of space between each RV site. 

And the price is right:  $430/month, including tax.  Actually, the charge went thru on my credit card on an up day for the loonie, so the price ended up being only $418 for the month.

We've been here less than a week, but so far so good.  

Interesting observation:  Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi don't see a lot of Canadian tourists. The other RV-ers we've run into are mostly Americans from northern parts of the US. The Canadian snowbirds seem to prefer Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and of course, Mexico.

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   :)

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)

 

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   :) 

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.

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".   :) 

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.

This Just In from the Vancouver Sun

BC Voters Opt to Scrap HST

Benen Gazebo from Walmart

It took about 5 hours (ish) to put together our new gazebo.

My Fella started laying out the pieces (all 7 billion of them) at 9am.  Around 10:30 I joined him outside to lend a hand 'cause putting this monster up really was a two person task.  He did a great job making sense of all the pieces and directing the whole operation (a.k.a  bossing me around  :)

As a sidenote, following the directions was crucial to putting this gazebo together. Some of the written steps seemed completely illogical, but after the gazebo was finally constructed, we understood why it was important to follow the instructions to the letter.  It wasn't rocket science. But darn close.

Our new gazebo looks super spiffy and offers privacy, shade and protection from flying golf balls.

The Benen gazebo was $300 on sale at Walmart.  There were a few other choices available at a cheaper price but this one looked like it offered the best quality. We're hoping we get 10 years out of it, at a cost of $30 per year.

That being said, if it starts falling apart you'll be the first to know.

$$$ Ten Most Vulnerable American Cities $$$

Whenever we travel, My Fella and I look at real estate prices.

Especially if we like the area.  

Come to think of it, we're usually curious even if we don't like the area. That's why I found this 24/7 Wall Street article so interesting:  Ten Housing Markets That Will Collapse This Year.

The US cities with the biggest potential price drops are:

• Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Bethesda, Maryland
• Salinas, California
• El Centro, California
• Miami, Florida
• Merced, California
• Detroit, Michigan
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Riverside-San Bernardino, California 
• Naples, Florida

I can't verify the accuracy of the research, but if you're considering an American house purchase in any of the above areas, it's a worthwhile read.

Random Stock Stuff

When markets took yet another swan dive yesterday, I was fine.  

It's days like today that are tough.  If we had more cash, I would've topped up all our current positions yesterday and bought into three new companies I've been watching.  And of course today they all popped, with a couple of the names up more than 20%.  One of those companies is Data Group Income Fund, who released second quarter earnings this morning.

The numbers were pretty good and the conference call starts in 3 minutes.  I've been waiting for this one all quarter so I'm pumped.  Why yes, I am a geek.

Disclosure:  This post should not be interpreted as investment advice as I am NOT a registered investment advisor or financial planner.  Get off yer butt and do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision  :)

And anyway, do you really want investment advice from someone who looks like this before her morning coffee?

Update at 8:30am pst:  Just got off the Data Group conference call.  Very impressed.  Second quarter numbers are solid and guidance was excellent re: upcoming conversion and stability of the distribution.  

After my recent fiascos with Yellow Media and Bio-Exx, I have grown very skeptical of the crap that many CEO's/CFO's spew to their retail investors.  That being said, both officers of Data Group (Michael Suksi and Paul O'Shea) were very forthcoming - I got the info necessary to be confident about holding this name in our portfolio. Again, do your own dd.