Last Day At The Kiosk

Port Charlotte (62 degrees, sunny skies)

Santa's Helpers (me, John, Bev, and JC)

 

We are now finished working  at the kiosk selling sport memorabilia for Slippermania.  Woo Hoo!  Except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day we’ve worked 58 days in a row.  We are exhausted but grateful to have fulfilled our financial goals.  We were able to pay off the cost of the new tires for the motorcoach and a new Corian sink in the kitchen that had cracked.  Plus, we have some extra cash to play the rest of the winter in Florida.

 

 

 

Our friends Bev and JC arrived earlier than scheduled to help out.  We had to suddenly fire our extra help.  Our friends changed their plans and came to the rescue.  Now that’s a good friend.  The hours at the mall during the week prior to Christmas were long and intense.  We traded off working four on and four off to keep our sanity.  Let’s just say the girls (Bev and me) rock when it comes to sales. 

 

 

Our daughter, Jen, also flew in to spend Christmas with us.  She did a great job helping us out too.  Thanks so much!  We are very grateful. 

 

Victor and Ruth

 

 

 

Ruth and her sunglasses

We said good bye to some of our mall friends. Victor worked for us several times and did a great job.  His sister, Ruth, manages a sun glass booth and was fun to talk to each day.  She works long hours each and every day. 

 

We are now considering whether to return next season and work again.  Our sales were very good and the owner said he’d like for us to come back. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pros: 

• Good pay due to the long mall hours.  You are paid for every hour worked regardless of sales
• Happy customers – they love the items we sell and the prices are reasonable. 
• Quality product
• Simple fax machine, cash register, and credit card machine to learn how to use
• No micro management by the owner. His staff delivers the product daily and lets you run it your own way
• You can hire extra staff if you want but this comes out of your pay
• Nice working conditions

 

Cons:

• Long, long, hours.  You have to be open during all mall hours.  During December this can be from 7am to 11pm.  Black Friday lasted 22 hours. 
• Finding good help is difficult . We hired four people and only one worked out.
• The last week prior to Christmas is just crazy.  Customers can be unhappy when you run out of merchandise for their team. 
• No day off
• No site for your RV is provided

We'd love to find another couple to share the hours with next winter.  We could then have a day or two off each week and splitting the pay would still be worth it.  If you are interested is sharing this with us please send us an email.  This is one of the busiest locations and next year the product line is expanding which will allow us to be paid more. 

 

 

Celebrating Our Second Anniversary As Full Timers

 

Port Charlotte, FL (78 degrees, sunny with clear skies)

Today we celebrate our second anniversary as full timers. It's humbling to look back over the past two years and review some of the amazing things we have seen and done. We are very blessed and continue to enjoy this lifestyle. Although this may not be for everyone, it is perfect for us. 

 

We started our second year in White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, New Mexico and are currently in Port Charlotte, Florida.  Here is a map of our different stops along the way.   

This year we have

• Traveled 7076 miles in the motorhome
• Explored many more miles in the jeep
• Spent at least one night in 15 States
• Managed a sport memorabilia kiosk in Port Charlotte, Florida
• Worked for a KOA in Watkins Glen, New York
• Volunteered at White Sands National Monument
• Participated in one NOMADS project in Tucson Arizona
• Attended two rally’s (FMCA Indio, CA & Gypsy Journal Rally Yuma, AZ)
• Marveled at many beautiful waterfalls, sunsets, sunrises, and star filled skies
• Paddled several rivers and lakes in our kayak
  
• Took the motorcoach and jeep on a ferry ride
  
• Made many new friends
  
• Treasured several visits from family and friends
  
• Plus so much more.  Here are a few of the highlights

White Sands National Monument was a magical place.  We even had the whole place to ourselves with several volunteers when the main road closed due to a snow storm. 

 

The deserts in Arizona and California were so beautiful and we were awed by the spectacular sunsets. 

 

 

 

We had a lot of fun locating creasted cactus, a unusual and rare phenomenon which some cactus form.

One morning we woke up to a sudden snowfall in Sedona Arizona.  The 17 inch snowfall dusted the spectacular red rocks and for a few hours before it melted we experienced a very rare event. One photographer next to me said “it’s moments like this when you really know there is a God”. 

 

 

Before

After



We spent five months workamping at Watkins Glen KOA in New York.  The Finger Lakes are very pretty and the extended stay allowed us a chance to really experience New York.  We saw lots of waterfalls

The very small….

To the humongous Niagara Falls

Touring some wineries in the Finger Lakes was very interesting.  I learned a lot about wine from the wine tastings over the summer and have a new appreciation. 







A visit to NYC was a highlight and we especially enjoyed being able to see John’s sister, Martha, perform a lovely concert. 

 

We enjoyed moose hunting and celebrating Martha’s birthday in Vermont.  The cousins were all together and it was so much fun.  

 

 

 

On our way to Florida we even took the motorcoach and our jeep on two ferry rides to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  

 

 

 

A new roof was put on our motorhome in Indiana and we added a comfy new sofa bed.  Plus in Delaware the motorhome got six new shoes (tires). My brother helped us also improve our sound system for the TV and we installed a new radio.  The IPOD capability sure has been fun to use as we travel down the road. 

 

 

We are now in Florida and and will soon be starting a  fun filled trip with our friends JC and Bev for three months all around Florida. Life is good.   We remain very grateful that we can travel and enjoy this lifestyle.  It’s been another great trip around the sun.