Friday, December 22, 2006

Heading For Redmond, OR

Well, I've packed up all my good glasses, taken the pictures down from the shelf and straightened everything else up in readiness for our latest move. We have had a wonderful summer here as I have mentioned before but it is time to move on. The drafting job that Jim has been working at is in a new field for him and unfortunately those in charge were not willing to put in the time for Jim to learn all that he needed to which just added to the stress he was already feeling. As for me, since I haven't been working I am bored to death! So, off we go.

We will be staying in Redmond, OR near our sons, Jon and Ben and their families of course as well as my sister, Jerleen and her family. Having a couple of months to play with grandkids, etc. means that leaving will feel a little better since we will have had so much more time with them. Then it will be on to Flaming Gorge Lodge in Utah for the summer!

We are excited about this new location! Not only the location but we will be only 2 hours from our son Josh and his family as well as our youngest son Nicolas. This will be our "getting healthy" summer I think. Jim's desk job and my non-job (RV sitting) has not been kind to our physical being so we are looking forward to lots of biking, hiking and of course, lots of fishing.

At the lodge Jim will be working in the service station renting out the rafts, etc., as well as doing some work on the grounds. I will be in the lodge working the shops as well as hostessing in the restaurant. Once we arrive and see what is what, I will share with you the financial aspect of our summer. We will be paid for all hours worked, 40 hrs. per week each and of course our site is included. Should be a pretty good summer.

It's 3:30pm now, Jim should be here any moment and with snow coming to the pass this evening we need to get on the road soon so I'll sign off for now.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Enjoy your loved ones and please be safe.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Financial Info #1

2003 Summer in West Yellowstone:

40 hrs. p/wk @ $7p/hr for each of us. Full hook-up site was included. That income allowed us to pay the few monthly bills we had such as insurance and phone as well as the following-

$500 p/m to a terminally ill sister
$400 to pay vet bill for our sons dog
$400 p/m groceries
$200 p/m "extras" spent at Wal-mart
$200+ p/m on gas
$260 for quilts made by Nancy for my granddaughters

As well as various up-keep items on the motorhome, eating out a couple times a week, clothes and many misc. items I can't even remember.

If we were in our stationery house, we would have needed $3200 every month just to break even and that wasn't even having any fun! Before we went to fulltiming we were drafters making pretty decent money but barely making it. Now that we are fulltiming, the wages are far less but then so are the expenses. I have seen it written elsewhere and agree, if you have expensive habits when you are stationery you will also have expensive habits when fulltiming and of course the reverse is true also. We find that we fall somewhere in the middle, we spend less in some categories but more in others. Financially, though we now live job to job (we don't have another source of income) we are better off then when we were stationery.

Our First Job!

We moved into the motorhome in March of 2003, left our jobs the first of May (right after my gall bladder surgery!) and headed for West Yellowstone, MT and our first job working at the Best Western Weston Inn. I had originally sent out 26 resumes to jobs we found in Workamper News and received back two offers. We chose the BW because of the location, Yellowstone was a place we had always wanted to explore.

Mike and Heather Mathis were not only brand new owners of the hotel but also brand new to workampers so we were all "newbies" together. The other workamper couple was Sky and Nancy, long time residents of West Yellowstone but now fulltimers returning to the area. What a great summer it was!

Jim was the housekeeping supervisor and worked the breakfast set-up on Sky's days off while I worked the front desk and even the laundry for a couple of weeks. We worked the same 40 hr. p/wk shifts and had the same days off so we had lots of time to explore.

The rivers in Montana are gorgeous! Clear water, beautiful forests, glimpses of moose, bison or elk grazing in the meadows. We love it there. Just love it.

Work was interesting especially when learning new tasks. We rode our bikes, walked alot and took countless drives around the countryside. One of our favorite places was Virginia City, a living ghost town. Meaning that people still live there but most of the main street stores are closed and are kept exactly as they were when the doors closed for the last time decades ago. What a glimpse into the past! Even the bordello shacks and I mean shacks are still there.

Mike and Heather were a joy to work for and Sky and Nancy were a hoot! Sky has a wicked sense of humor, believe me I know, and Nancy is a quilter extrodanaire! I bought several baby quilts from her for my grandkids, in fact I need to get another one from her! Sky is an excellent chef so being invited to their camp for dinner or a BBQ was a real treat. Most evenings we would gather at the table outside their fifth wheel to drink wine and swap stories until the cool night air drove us indoors. We really miss the comaraderie we had that summer.

We left there at the end of our assignment only to return again for the summer of 2004. That summer both Jim and I worked the front desk as well as Sky and Nancy. We didn't have the same shifts so it made time together a little harder but at least we had the same days off.

Since West Yellowstone is about 90 miles from a larger city (West is only 950 people) we went every two weeks to do our shopping. Never once did we mind the drive because traveling through the canyon to Bozeman, MT was breathtaking. Once we stopped along the highway because a moose was running across the meadow right towards us. She came up on the road right by the car, looked at us and just walked down the road. Another time, there was a forest fire burning right down to the edge of the two lane highway so we had a pilot car take us past it. How weird, you could have poured your water bottle on the fire!

We have many wonderful memories of our time there. Between the two summers all 5 of our kids and their families came to visit us, we saw the play, Deadwood Dick, at the Playmill Theatre in West which you must see if you are ever there, great fireworks, huge oldtime car shows, good friends, etc.


We have also spent a few months there during two different winters. Lots of snow, cold temps, stunning winter scenery. What a great place, if you look at our pictures you will see some of the scenery and family visits. In your travels, make sure you plan lots of time to see not only Yellowstone National Park but its surrounding territory also!

Mike and Heather have sold that hotel but just purchased another one near Mt. Rushmore so we look forward to working for them again in the future! Spending more time with them, their son Ryan and the new baby due this coming July will be a real pleasure.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Waking Up In Parking Lots

From May 2005 to March 2006 we worked for a company based in Tampa, Fl. We were required to pull a 20' work trailer and travel the country working at various shopping centers. There were about 50-60 items that we were to record and we were called commercial surveyors. Each of us had a golf cart to tool around the shopping center in performing our various duties. Some of the things I had to record was gathering meter numbers and matching them to the tenants (not an easy process), counting parking spaces, copying each and every sign on the property as well as several other things. Jim had to wire track the irrigation system and locate all the valves, wire track the parking lot lightpoles and many other things. Not a tough job and it paid on a per job basis so the money was pretty good. However, some of the locations we were at were......interesting to say the least!

Our first location was just outside of Tampa. Very commercial somewhat upscale area with lots of big name stores and there we were, parked in the parking lot. We had never been to Florida or even the east coast before so all of this was a new and exciting adventure for us. Jim called me on the radio to tell me that there was an alligator in the drainage ditch in front of the Lowes store! The next morning he went out to walk JoJo, our very sweet but not very bright dog, and thought he'd go see the alligator again. He didn't notice that JoJo had walked out on the grate over the ditch and when he did he called her back and she slipped and fell right in the ditch! He had to pull her up like a fish on the line before the alligator had her for breakfast!! I swear that any puddle there bigger than a plate has an alligator in it!

We went from Florida to Long Island, NY for our next assignment. The roads out to Long Island were so bad that our license plate on the motorhome sheared off never to be seen again. During our 1-1/2 month stay we had some great fun like driving out to the Hamptons just to sightsee, we were interviewd by a reporter for an article about working fulltimers and several other good experiences. However, on our way back to New Jersey, right at the toll booth on the bridge going into the Bronx our motorhome transmission gave up and there we sat. They have tow trucks that just cover that bridge so they towed the motorhome off the bridge to a "safe area". We had Progressive Insurance so they found a tow truck (it took 3 hours) big enough to tow our 33' motorhome with a 20' trailer on it plus the tow truck itself was about 25'long through the streets of the Bronx during rush hour traffic. It looked like some kind of bizarre train!! Very funny the looks we were getting. One week later we had a new tranny and off we went.

We did several assignments in New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania (where we saw our first fireflies and an old time, small town type 4th of July) and finally in North Carolina. From there we had to make a fast trip across country to Medford, OR to meet a deadline and do a few jobs there. Then on to the Sacramento area just in time for the above average rain they were having there. One memorable location was in a not very nice part of Sacramento. We set up our rigs in the corner of the parking lot and about an hour later saw two armed security guards creeping along the side of the motorhome. They didn't know who we were and as it turns out that corner of the lot where we parked is notorious for drug dealing! Once they found out we were legitimate they suggested that we move to the center of the parking lot under the lights and even recomended that we get a gun! Which we did not!! During our stay there we had to call the security guys because someone was smoking a crack pipe!

We went a little further south of that location and worked in a beautiful shopping center but were warned by the police that it was also a high crime area! Happily, nothing sinister happened there.

The reason we left that job was because we grew tired of waking up in parking lots to the sound of the lot sweepers and trash trucks! We had a company credit card for gas and food since most of the time we were forced to eat out which I know sounds great and it was for awhile but 20 extra pounds later it no longer sounded like a good thing.

We didn't get to see as much of the areas we were in as we would have liked because we were so busy and had deadlines to meet but we did have some fun. Jim was able to go out on the group charter fishing boats three times, we saw Plymouth Rock, drove out to the end of Cape Cod, etc. Someday we hope to go back to some of the areas just to sightsee.

We left that job in March of 2006, drove back to Tampa to give back the work trailer and then came back to Montana for our next job.

Friday, December 8, 2006

How Not To Start Fulltiming!

This is going to be kind of a readers digest version of the last 4 years to catch you up to where we are now. I want to tell you how we got started fulltiming without the "safety net" that some others are fortunate enough to have.

First the Idea
We have always wanted to travel in some kind of an RV. Jim wanted to fish in all the places he had seen on the weekend fishing shows. I was showing Akitas at the time and thought that attending dog shows in each state while Jim was fishing would be heaven on earth! The only problem was that we didn't have the money for an RV and didn't know of anyway to fulltime other than camphosting which we thought only gave you a free campsite. Our dream was always just that, a dream with no chance of reality or so we thought.

On a late spring day, we were driving around the Colorado Rockies with our oldest son Jon and his wife Cari, when we started talking (yet again) about our dream of traveling someday when we had the money. Right in the middle of my sentence Jon blurted out, "Mom, I don't mean to be rude, but you're never going to have that kind of money so if you really want to do it, then find another way!". Ok. I'm always up for a challenge! So I started looking for information.

I searched the internet for information on traveling in an RV and discovered the word "Fulltiming". Searching that word was how we found Escapees. That was a gold letter day! I joined the discussion forum and read every single entry. I was up that first night until 3am. I'd drag Jim into our home office and read him entry after entry and true to form he kept saying that there was no way we could do this unless I figured out a plan that I could prove would work. By the way, he said we'd never make it to Hawaii either and so far, we've been twice, but that's another story!

Through Escapees I discovered Workamper News, now I was on a roll. Thank you everyone, you answered all my questions and then some which convinced me that we could do this.

Then The Plan
Jim always says no unless there is a plan that I can prove to him will work so that's what I had to figure out. It was just after 9/11 so contracts for drafting were way down so Jim and I were working at other types of jobs. I was at Lowes and he was working at Dillards selling shoes. I showed him the costs of living in our rental at $1200p/m plus all the other costs of living in a home versus moving into a hotel. With the savings from just that, plus both of us getting second jobs and saving I thought that we could move into an RV. He was willing to try but not entirely convinced.

First we had to get rid of alot of stuff, you know the kind I'm talking of, the boxes in the basement full of things we can't do without but don't remember. That kind. What was so hard for Jim was having to empty the double garage which was so full of tools and fishing things there wasn't any room for a car!

We both sorted through our respective areas deciding what to keep, what went to the kids, what went into the garage sale and what to throw away. My daughter-in-laws came over and picked out what they wanted then we divided up the family photos which the boys would not help with, they said it was like I was dead but still here and it "creeped" them out. The sentimental things that I could not part with were divided into 3 small boxes taped up well and labeled. I asked each son to carry one box with them wherever they went until I got rid of it or died. They agreed.

We had two garage sales in July and Jim cut his tools and fishing stuff in half four different times. He was traumatized! Once all was said and done, what was left went into storage and we moved into a nearby Super8. Mind you, at that point we didn't have an RV in sight since we didn't have any money!

Jon found a 26' Winnebago for sale for $3000 and the sellers agreed to take payments. I have to tell you about these people because we found them to be very...interesting. They were a very large, happy biker couple. Bikers are fine, but these two looked and talked like they were right out of an old biker movie. They were friendly and very nice with two teenagers plus an Irish Setter that road in the sidecar. They had let the teens put any stickers they wanted on the back of the Winnie and let me tell you, how they kept from getting shot because of some of those stickers I don't know! Everything in it was going to have to be replaced. Remember, at this time we had no idea what it took to fulltime or what to expect. The Winnie had bunks and we thought it wouldn't be an issue to fold out the bed at night. Crazy! what were we thinking!! Anyway, whenever we went over to make a payment they would pour coffee and talk about fights they had had where the wife had shot the husband because he wouldn't listen to her. I'm not kidding, they laughed about it. I won't take any more space here telling you some of the other things they talked about, I just knew I needed to double my payments!

Anyway, while living at the hotel Jim and I each got a second job working at a Christmas kiosk in the mall so now we were both working everyday at two jobs. Tiring, yes, but it was the plan and we were working the plan.

We arrived at the bikers house one evening in January '03 to make the final payment. Yea! We got our keys, went out to the mh, started it up...and it didn't move, not one inch. The transmission was shot. Great. To their credit, the sellers said they would put a rebuilt tranny in it, so back to the hotel we went. By the end of February the tranny was still not in for a variety of reasons. We had a deadline of March to be out of the hotel before summer rates started so we needed the mh. Jim finally quit his job at Dillards to help put in the tranny and managed to get it done in just 3 days. He started it up and it drove 6 feet and died. The carburater was no good and the sellers were not willing to replace it. Jim called a mobile mechanic and started to work.

While Jim worked on the Winnie, my daughter-in-law Cari and I went to a nearby RV dealership "just to look". I found a 33' 1985 Champion motorhome parked right in front of the office that had just been detailed and looked beautiful. Remember when I said that Jim always says no? Well, when I told him I was going to go look he told me not to waste my time since we didn't have enough money and knowone would sells us anything. Ok, so on with my story.

The Champion was $11000 (which we did not have), they would not take payments but they would take the Winnie in trade. They even gave me $4000 in trade (we only paid $3000) sight unseen. I went into great detail about the condition of it though because I didnt' want to take a chance the deal would go bad. We signed the papers and off Cari and I went to tell Jim what I had just bought. Oh, the motorhome wouldn't start when we turned the key but the sales agent said they would fix it and since it was so pretty (especially in comparison to the Winnie) I bought it anyway. When I told Jim he almost had a stroke! We went right back to the dealer so he could see it and he agreed that it looked great but kept asking how we were going to pay for it. I didn't know. On the drive home while the three of us were discussing it the phone rang. Jim answered and after listening for a minute he pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the car. It was his brother in Washington state who had called to tell Jim that he was sending him $9000 from his fathers estate (who had passed away the previous year). His brother had not told anyone that he was working on it because it was something to do with a house that was sold and he wasn't sure it would work out. Now we had the money thanks to Jims' Dad.

In March we picked up the Champion and moved into it. We started our first workamping job at the Best Western Weston Inn in West Yellowstone, MT on May 21, 2003. We have been back there to work the Weston 3 times until it was sold early this year.

Was This The Best Way?
No, probably not but it was the only way for us to start living our dream. I'm sure some of my family would rather I didn't share so much detail but it was the only way I could prove that if you want something badly enough there is a way. Maybe not the best way but a way nevertheless. As I tell my kids; Make a plan and work your plan, if things change make a new plan and work that one. Just make one!

As for Jim, he thinks it was all his idea...ahh, husbands! But I'm always up for a challenge and afterall, he's worth it.

Today
We are now in Reedsport Oregon where Jim is doing drafting in a new field, boat building. I will continue from this point on but will probably go back in time again to tell you about a job that we did in 2005 which was quite a challenge also.

Thanks for listening, Travel safe!