I wish I had something new and exciting to write about in today’s blog, but right now I’m in my plow horse mode, just plugging away to get the new issue of the Gypsy Journal ready to go to the printer early next week.

This is the mundane part of our job, and while we enjoy the traveling, sightseeing, and adventures we have along the way, none of it matters if we don’t sit down and put it all together for the next issue. Our lives are pretty cool overall, especially compared to the rest of the working world, but into every working RVer’s world, a little rain must fall. Six times a year, this is our rain.

My plan for this week was to chain myself to my desk and get the job done. Of course, nothing ever goes exactly according to plan. When I fired up my computer yesterday morning, the display on my LCD monitor was an ugly shade of deep rose or pink. I spent an hour or so trying to adjust the color balance, and got it somewhat back to normal, but all day long it would suddenly switch from green to blue to red tints, and no matter how much I fiddled with the color balance, it would not stay at any one setting. I suspect the monitor is on its last legs.

I really can’t complain. I’ve had this Envision monitor for at least five years, maybe six, and it has been bounced along over many thousands of miles of highways and back roads, which it was never designed to do. I just hope it holds out long enough for me to get the new issue finished.

Several people have asked me why I don’t use a laptop computer, like most RVers do. While I have a very nice Dell laptop, I spend hours a day at my desk, and I just prefer the larger size keyboard and monitor of a desktop unit. And yes, I could plug an external keyboard and monitor into a laptop, but this is what works best for me.

I did take a break about midday, when Al Hesselbart from the RV Hall of Fame Museum stopped in to say hello, and asked  if I could give him a ride to a repair shop a few blocks away, where his car was waiting. It’s always good to see Al, and we look forward to spending  more time with him while we’re here.

Back at Elkhart Campground, I kept pounding away at the keyboard, with occasional breaks to readjust the display on my monitor, while Miss Terry made a WalMart run to stock up on things we needed. I hate shopping, so it’s always best if she goes by herself, and doesn’t have to deal with me breathing down the back of her neck while she shops.

A couple of times, folks who are here waiting for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally to start came by, but I was just too busy to visit, and asked them if we could get together after the paper was finished.

About 5:30 we got together with Greg and Jan White  and Al Hesselbart at a nearby Chinese buffet for dinner, and Al told us about his trip to China last winter to be the featured speaker at an RVing conference. The Chinese are just discovering the RV lifestyle, and Al said there are only about 30 campgrounds with RV hookups in the entire country! It was interesting hearing about his trip, which was a once in a lifetime experience.

Back at the campground, I went for a short walk, then came back and worked for a couple more hours, until it was time to stop and get the blog ready to post.

Like I said, just plugging away, and tomorrow will be more of the same.

Thought For The Day -The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have.

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As fulltime RVers, we get to see all kinds of wonderful things and all over the country, and we visit places most people can only dream of. But not every day is about playing tourist. Some days we just keep busy with life in general. Yesterday was such a busy day for us, even though we were not traveling or out sightseeing.

Terry’s parents, Pete and Bess Weber, were fulltimers for several years, and now that they have settled into a house in Apache Junction, they keep their motorhome on a leased lot at the Hon Dah RV Park, here in the White Mountains. Yesterday, they drove up to get their Pace Arrow ready for the summer, and we spent most of the day helping them with that chore.

After the water, electric and sewer connections were hooked up, and Pete had purged the water lines of the winter antifreeze, we got their car unloaded. Then Pete and I raked a winter’s worth of dried pine needles and debris from their patio and the rest of the lot. Meanwhile, Terry and her mom were inside putting things away in the cabinets and closets.

A winter storm had knocked over their tripod mounted TV dish, and before Pete hooked up his signal finder meter, we just pointed the dish in the general direction of where the neighbor’s dish was, and went inside to see if by any chance we had gotten lucky. Unbelievably, we were locked onto a good strong signal! Then Bess had to call Dish Network to reactivate their motorhome’s receiver, since it had been on hiatus all winter long. 

I’m sure glad we live in our Winnebago year around and don’t have to move in and back out every few months, because by the time we were finished, we were all tired!

After we caught our breath, the four of us went to Red Devil Pizza in Pinetop for an early dinner and some more visiting. Red Devil has absolutely the best pizza in the region, as well as great sandwiches and pasta. Terry and her mom had lasagna, I had an Italian sub sandwich, and Pete opted for the fish and chips, and it was all delicious.

After we parted ways at the restaurant, Terry and I stopped at my friend Jim Lewis’ book store, so I could have Jim adjust my back again.  It sure is great having a bone cruncher in the family!

Then we were off to my daughter Tiffany’s place in Show Low, where she had a package of mail waiting for us from our forwarding service. We got our mail and our grandkid fix, but didn’t stay long because it was close to their dinner time.

Back at the Elks lodge campground, Miss Terry cut my hair and trimmed my beard, because I was so shaggy that I was getting very close to violating the city’s leash law. I have reached that point in my life where, even though I have lost most of the hair on my head, by the time we get my ears and eyebrows mown, it takes just as long.

We had a quiet evening, catching up on some e-mail and watching TV before we called it a night and headed for bed.

Thought For The Day – Save the Earth, it’s the only planet with chocolate.

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No, that’s not a typo that I left in the headline to give my proofreading friends a migraine. It’s a word that I made up to describe living long term with your spouse or partner in the close confines of an RV. It is a situation that can be either heaven on earth, or pure hell, depending on the couple.

I always tell newbies and wannabe RVers that it’s one thing to love your significant other, but if you plan to live the RV lifestyle, you had better really like each other too! Because when you live in a 2,000 square foot house and start to get on each others’ nerves, or have a little spat, one of you can always retreat to the bedroom, garage, or workshop until you cool off. But if you live in a 300 square foot box on wheels, there is nowhere to go to escape!

Back when I was teaching for the Life on Wheels program, a couple sat though my The Reluctant RVer seminar, in which I explore the concerns that many new RVers have to deal with that are holding them back from totally embracing the RV lifestyle. One couple came up to me later and thanked me for talking them out of selling their home and becoming fulltime RVers. They said that they love to travel, but that they are always arguing and stepping on each others’ toes in hotel rooms because they each didn’t have their own space, and they had hoped that RVing would be the answer. They told me that my class convinced them that this would have probably ended in a divorce. Not everybody is cut out for the RV lifestyle, and I’m glad that they released it before they sold their home and invested all of their money in an RV.

The couple in this photograph, on the other hand, are a perfect example of a loving relationship that has only grown stronger through RVing. We have known Sal and Bonnie Bellomo for years, and they are delightful people who are totally in love with each other. Sal is her knight in shining armor, and Bonnie is, and always will be, his fair princess. It makes my heart warm every time I see them together.

So what does it take to have a successful relationship on the road? I think the same things that are required for any relationship, only more so.

Communication is probably first and foremost. A lot of guys are terrible about keeping things inside of them until they fester and blow up. I’ve been guilty of that myself more than once. If something is bothering you, or if you are not enjoying something, talk it out. Ladies, if he is a slob and you are tired of picking up for him, or if you need some help with the household chores, tell him so. Don’t just bite your tongue and let resentments build. I always tell Miss Terry that I can read books, magazines, and internet blogs, but I can’t read minds.  

Compromise is just as important. If one half of the couple wants to spend a few weeks sitting still, and the other one always wants to be on the go, something has to give. Agree to spend a few days sightseeing, and then block out some downtime for just relaxing around the RV park, reading, watching TV, or whatever it takes to recharge your physical and emotional batteries.         

You both have to be on the same page. Does the husband see RVing as an endless exploration of the back roads, seeing new places every day; while the wife envisioned a lifestyle where she could go and spend quality time with the kids and grandkids scattered around the country, staying in their driveway or in a nearby RV park for weeks at a time? Discuss before you start what you both expect this new lifestyle to be.

Treat every day like your first date. My dad told me once that a man should always treat his wife with the same respect and consideration that he did on their first date, and it was good advice. The little things mean a lot. My wife and I may have just had a terrible argument, and we might both be ready to poke each others’ eyes out, but you’ll never see her get into a car without me holding the door for her. Guys, compliment your wife when she makes you a nice dinner, and tell her how pretty she is. And ladies, it’s not a one way street. We need some positives strokes too. When you arrive at a campground at the end of a long day on the road, thank your husband for getting you both there safely. If you get hung up in heavy traffic, or have to thread your way through a narrow construction zone, compliment him on his driving skill once you’re in the clear.

In this RV lifestyle, you will have to depend on each other for everything. Even RVers have bad days from time to time. Our lives may seem like a permanent vacation, but the reality is that you might be a thousand miles from the nearest familiar face, you might be sick, tired, or discouraged about something. You may be feeling insecure, you may be homesick for the grandkids, or you may just have the blues. Having a loving, supportive partner can help you get through it and back to the sunny side of the street.

Of course, the flip side to that is that when the sun is shining, life is good, and you are excited about the day’s new adventures, it’s sure great to have your best friend by your side to share it with! 

Thought For The Day – It’s a great pity that things weren’t so arranged that an empty head, like an empty stomach, wouldn’t let its owner rest until he had put something in it.

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After our long day trip to Yuma on Thursday, we didn’t feel much like going anywhere yesterday, so we spent the day doing administrative tasks. I think the only time either of us went outside was when I carried the trash down to the dumpster.

Now that I had a better idea of the size and layout of the buildings available at the Yuma fairgrounds for our rally, I was able to update and refine the seminar schedule. I posted the updated schedule to the bottom of our rally web page, but there are still some gaps that I need to fill in as other seminars are confirmed. This is still a tentative schedule, and there will no doubt be changes as we get closer to the rally dates.

While I was busy with that, Miss Terry was doing some paperwork, logging in rally reservations, and recording some receipts for expenditures we made recently. When people learn that we are fulltime RVers and that we make our living by writing about our travels, they say that it must be fun having a job that is a permanent vacation. Yes indeed, it is a lot of fun. But it’s not all touring interesting places and sightseeing. There are a lot of days just like yesterday, when we’re sitting at our desks working at mundane tasks. But I still wouldn’t trade it for any other job in the world!

It was just as well, because even though the storm clouds had moved on, yesterday was pretty chilly, and we weren’t too interested in being outside anyway. We hope it eventually warms up enough that we can do some geocaching, or maybe even get our kayaks into the water.

Yes, there is a lot of water in Arizona, from small lakes like Lake Patagonia and White Mountain Lake, scattered all around the state, to some huge impoundments like 22 mile long Roosevelt Lake, northeast of Phoenix; or Lake Mead, which stretches for over 110 miles along the Colorado River, in the northwestern corner of the state.

Lately I have been looking at digital camcorders. I don’t need anything professional, but I’d like to experiment with putting some small videos on the blog from time to time. I’ve owned a couple of older style camcorders years ago, but the technology has changed a lot since then. I’ve been doing a little bit of research, and realized that I have a lot to learn, with so many choices and options on the market these days. I’d appreciate feedback from any of you who have camcorders as to what features you like and don’t like about yours.

I have to brag just a bit. A few months ago I collaborated with Christine Pinheiro on a new book titled The Step By Step Guide to Self-Publishing for Profit. Actually, Christine did all of the work, I just gave her some input, and she was kind enough to share credit for the book with me. Our book has won the Allbooks Review Editor’s Choice Award for 2010 in the writing category. I’ve never had one of my books win an award before!

Bad Nick didn’t want to go outside yesterday either, so he stayed in too, and posted a new Bad Nick Blog titled They Should Have Aimed Higher. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?

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For the last couple of weeks we have been spending a lot of time with friends from Florida to Alabama, and we have had a wonderful time with them. We love being with our family and friends whenever we can, but from time to time, we need an “us” day, and yesterday was the day.

An “us” day is a day we spend together doing anything from working to sightseeing, all by ourselves. A day to enjoy each others’ company, and to remember why we are best friends as well as husband and wife.

We seldom get to bed before 1 or 2 a.m., which means that we don’t usually wake up until about 9 a.m., and are seldom ready to greet the world before 10. Yesterday morning we lay in bed snuggling and talking, making silly jokes, and planning our day. About 10 a.m. somebody knocked on the door, but we were not dressed yet and ignored it. An unspoken rule among RVers is that if the curtains are pulled over the windshield and door, it means do not disturb. We don’t feel rude about not going to the door if we haven’t opened the curtains yet, though we occasionally offend someone by not doing so.

Once we were dressed, Miss Terry made a delicious brunch of French Toast, and we spent an hour or two checking e-mail, our favorite blogs, and reading the news online. We have come to rely on blogs, and in my case Facebook, to keep track of what our RVing friends are up to, wherever they are traveling around the country.

About 1 p.m. we drove down to Gulf Shores, where we stopped at several RV parks there, and in Foley, dropping off sample bundles of the Gypsy Journal. Ever since we started publishing the Gypsy Journal, leaving sample papers has been an important part of our marketing plan. Besides the papers we drop off wherever we are traveling, many of our readers will take a bundle or two from us and distribute them where they are going. It’s like the ripple effect when you drop a pebble into a pool of water, giving us a much greater reach than we could achieve ourselves.

While we were out, we spotted a store called Old Time Pottery that a couple of people have recommended to us. It’s a large place, carrying everything from kitchenware to linens to, of course, pottery. Miss Terry found two or three items she has been looking for, and since one of them was a pan to make me a sheet cake in, I didn’t complain too much about having to spend time shopping in such a “girly” store.

After a quick stop at a Winn-Dixie grocery store for a couple of things, we made it back to Rainbow Plantation just in time for the 4 p.m. social hour. After chatting with some folks there for a while, we went back to the motorhome, checked e-mail again, and then about 6 p.m. we went back out for dinner, at a little place called the Shrimp Basket, in Foley.

We discovered this restaurant on an earlier trip to this area several years ago, and were delighted to find that the food is just as good. In fact, this was our second visit in six days! I had the blackened fish and shrimp combo, while Miss Terry had the crawfish platter, which had both fried crawfish tails and crawfish etoufee over rice. It was all delicious!

It had turned really cold while we were in the restaurant, and as soon as Terry started the engine on our van, I flipped the heater to high. Back at our motorhome, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing with TV and the internet, before it was time to go back to bed and snuggle. The perfect ending to a perfect “us” day!

Thought For The Day – If you are not sure where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.

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