Issue 30, SETTLING DOWN FOR 10 DAYS.

Diary published weekly since 2001

#1 Read this Diary on line at http://www.rvliving.net/forum

#2 Our western trip ‘pics’ are now posted under ‘Trip West’ on my Picasa Albums. Images include our memorable drives from South Dakota, to Kelowna, to Radium Hot Springs, to Calgary, through the Kooteney National Park, to Lethbridge, to Regina, to Sault St Marie PLUS more of the simply awesome Grandstand Show and Rodeo at the Calgary Stampede and of Explorer RV Club Rally – Thanks for your patience. (BEST TO VIEW AS A SLIDESHOW) at http://picasaweb.google.com/rv.lifetstyle.consultants
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Hi All: In a way, this relaxing week has been a double edge sword. It feels good to stop and unwind a bit – but on the other hand we miss the wonder of finding a new adventure around each bend. Oh well, we’ll be on our way again on the 6th to Traverse Bay RV Resort – www.traversebayrv.com Traverse City, Michigan to join John’s side of the family for a reunion type gathering. They have rented a huge cottage for a week – John and I will be nearby in a posh campground. With Katie, it is better we stay in the MH. That should be a good week to touch base with John’s side of the family.
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OUR WEEK IN REVIEW

What an amazing, awesome, picturesque, event filled trip we just finished. It is definitely up their in our top 10 adventures. Our Guardian Angels and the Good Lord were working overtime because the coach performed beautiful for the entire 6000-mile trip. Last Sunday afternoon we crossed the border at Sault Ste Marie, Michigan to take a short cut to London - the Diary went out from Sault. Michigan. Our return trip to Sarnia and then on to London was uneventful – more of a ‘go-gettum’ type drive than we had experienced during the past few weeks. We had another smooth border crossing into Canada, but that agent too scanned our passports – seems to be almost a routine when us RVers are crossing the border these days. Guess it helped that we had nothing on board that was purchased in the USA. Because we prefer to arrive at our park early in the day, we spent Monday night at the London Flying J – topped up with propane before enjoying a late night Pizza dinner. A quiet sleep followed. Our tasty breakfast before we set out the next morning was a perfect end to this fantastic journey. Cool

As soon as we settled into our campground near London, we left to pick up 6-weeks of mail and restock the fridge etc. Just routine ‘stuff’ that is a necessity after being away. Of course finding time to lunch at Kelsey’s for a decadent ½-chicken pizza/Caesar salad for me – a creative tasty mandarin salad for John provided a comfy welcome home. Simple distractions like this helped us to settle down after our awesome western adventure. Cool
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WINDING DOWN

We have stayed close to home this week, while I took time to post my pictures, clean up my computer files; add a few more ‘RVing Canada’ Blogs on www.rvtravel.com and eliminate several hundred email that have gathered in my inbox during times I could not deal with them. So this week’s blurb is shorter than normal to make up for all the long ones I sent the past 6 weeks. See I can be brief when I want to. Cool
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FINAL THOUGHTS ALSO INCLUDES A TIP

RV Parks everywhere are so busy mid summer. I strongly recommend that RVERS MAKE RESERVATIONS BEFORE THEY START OUT ON A TRIP. Both John and I spent an extensive search for a mid August weekend extension to the family visit in Traverse City. We had planned to be in the USA for a week and our park near the family gathering was only booked for 4-days. Well, you will not believe this - we found what looks like a colossal GEM halfway between Traverse City and Sarnia. They are even offering a very low special price for us Canadians. With our dollar being so strong these days, none of us RVers expect to be rewarded with special pricing. Next week’s Diary will be sent from that park and I’ll relay full details then. As my sister Nancy says, “Don’t drive any faster than your Guardian Angel can fly”. We need those Guardian Angels to enjoy our journeys remain safe. Travel safe P&J Cool Cool Cool

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TIPS/PROMOS ARE TOGETHER AGAIN THIS WEEK

Last week I relayed the value of NOT WAITING to become an RVer. If Fulltiming is a few years away many ‘experts’ recommend that ‘RV Wannabees’ should buy an affordable used unit (those without slides cost less) JUST TO GET OUT AND ENJOY THIS GREAT LIFESTYLE until your ‘D’ day arrives. It is such a wonderful way to meet other RVers and learn the facts as each local getaway unfolds. There is no better way to gain knowledge of what is what when the F/T world does finally roll around. During last weeks post I also stress that if you are new to RVing and you plan to buy a ‘pre-loved???’ unit, you should not put down your money until you have read the following ebook by Les Doll.

Les’s guide ‘WHAT EVERYBODY SHOULD KNOWABOUT BUYING A USED RV’ simply overflows with what to look for. This working RV Tech knows how to spot potential pit-falls such as water leaks, delamination of the coach skin, hidden damage, electrical problems and so much more. His valuable ebook will save you from making a very bad purchase. All this for only $27.00 – Instant Download to your computer. Go to http://rvliving.pac113.hop.clickbank.net for details.

I repeated this info for another reason. Good friends Norm and Linda Payne sent out a notice that their already jam-packed website had been updated. Their interesting travels of the Great River Road covers a 5-part series. However I am also mentioning www.seeya-downtheroad.com for another reason. One of Norm’s informative short stories at www.seeya-downtheroad.com/ShortStories/DoItNow.html - entitled ‘Do it now!!!’ is a very sad ‘must-read’. It reinforces the reasons why waiting to follow your dreams may not be the best choice for anyone. I could also add personal story hardships that future F/Ters faced that waited to long but for now this story says it all.
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MEMBERSHIP PARKS ADD A TOUCH OF FREEDOM TO YOUR TRAVELS.

As gas/fuel and camping cost rise, we RVers who move around have to find ways to stretch our dollars. One option is to buy into Membership Parks. These parks are not located at every location, but with a little planning, many nights can be at these low-cost utopias. Although some are better than others on our trip west we stayed at several of the most beautiful posh parks in the Membership systems.

RVers can buy into these systems for many thousand or they can purchase a resale membership like we did for a few hundred. Send me an email and I’ll be happy to forward detailed info on our inexpensive package. It covers COAST TO COAST (C2C) AND RESORTS PARK INTERNATIONAL (RPI) PLUS. (The ‘Plus’ includes a complimentary membership to RPI’s 50% Discount Camping Club called ‘Enjoy America’). These are two of the most popular membership park systems that offer deep overnight discounts – there are others! To use C2C and RPI, members also pay a small annual fee to each club. But then camping fees are only $8.00 US$ p/n ($10-$11.00 Cdn) – members can stay a week, twice p/yr at each park.

John and I bought into Shiloh RV Park, Monroe, LA a year ago. Park price was low with first year dues at $69.00 – $99.00 in future years. Our total first year of BASIC-only membership was $514.00. However we can also walk away from this plan at any time for a small fee – no long-term contracts. SEND ME AN EMAIL FOR MORE DETAILS.
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NEWBIE CLUB PROMOS.

Last week I mentioned that during July ALL OF THE NEWBIE CLUB’S INFORMATIVE AND EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATIONS ON ‘HOW TO DEAL WITH UNDERSTANDING YOUR COMPUTER are on a ‘2 FOR 1’ sale that lasts ‘on or before the end of July.

If you buy one NEWBIE CLUB BRANDED product, you then email the order receipt to the Newbie Club ‘Team Support’ at 241@newbieclub.com with '241 Claim' in the Subject, along with the request for your second choice - your FREE product of equal or less value. Be Specific! State whether you need Win 98 or XP version where applicable. Because of the heavy demand, please allow 72 hours for our Support Team to manually process your request.

LAST WEEK, I gave you the wrong link last week. If you have already ordered the sale product it most likely went through to my affiliate, but if not and you want to take a look at ALL the products offered please use this link http://www.newbieclub.com/?rvliving – I understand that maybe a few more products also show up at this link rather than the one I gave last week. REMEMBER THE SALE ENDS ON, OR BEFORE THE 31ST JULY – if sales go through the roof?