Four months on the road. We've been so busy, I totally forgot our 4 month anniversary! We left Fort Lauderdale on April 16, 2004. On August 16 we were here in Redmond, Oregon. Here's the approximate route we followed. For more detail, go to the weblog cover page at www.jimandchris.com It's hard to believe that it's only been 4 months. When each day is new and different it feels more like a month worth of regular days. We have NO regrets for our decision. We LOVE this rootless lifestyle. We are hoping to do this for 10 years or so. But, if we had to stop tomorrow, we would say "That was WONDERFUL!" Four month Stats: Total Days: 122 Total Miles: 6600 (average = 54/day) Total gas cost: $1,584 (.24/mile) Total campsite rent: $1029 (average 8.50/day - includes lots of free places) Total RV maintenance costs: $1,013

Too much fun! This time I missed a day of posting, not because it was a boring day with nothing to say, but because we were all just having too much fun. Hardly had a minute to sit at the computer. Just walking around this place is pretty interesting. Here's the 'neighborhood': And, I love seeing RVers maps of where they've been. This one seems to think that the edges of the continent are the most interesting. I think I agree. But, wait, they've missed Montana and Idaho - those are pretty spectacular. I'd love to meet these people! Then it was back to 'work'. Here are Frank and Jim at the computer help desk, helping people use the Wi-Fi hotspot. I helped some too. But I had to get back to the motorhome to do some computer work and to wait for a special visitor! Hey! It's George and Mr. Trek! I've been following George by reading his Blog, Vagabonders Supreme . I don't remember who it was that told me about his blog, but I started reading it early in 2003 when we were just beginning to form our plans to go on the road. George travels alone and he normally stays on public lands without any formal campsite or hookups. He 'boondocks' and he finds some gorgeous spots. If you've ever wondered if that is something you could do, be sure to check out his website - he's an inspiration. He also has a Datastorm, like we do, so he can post any time he wants to wherever he is. This is the second time our paths have crossed and it' s a treat. He gives me some tips on blogging too - like the new 'Site Meter' you see at the left. Click on that little rainbow colored cube and you'll see how many people are reading this blog. Of course, the number is probably abnormally high right now because George put a link to us on his website. Then, the Coach Connect gang went out for dinner. There are also the folks from Palm Creek resort who are part of the group. They are one of the bigger parks with Coach Connect Wi-Fi installed and they help promote the concept. Jim and I hope to spend some time at Palm Creek in Arizona this winter. Here are Mike, Ashton, Lorna and Mike at their booth. Such a nice looking group doncha think? Here's what we looked like later that night at Bronco Billy's in the little town of Sisters, just west of here. So, whaddaya think? Too much fun? .. .. Naaahh! There's no such thing as too much fun!

FMCA Convention FMCA stands for Family Motor Coach Association and LOTS of RVers belong. The only restriction is that your RV be a motorhome (self-propelled, not towed like a 5th wheel or a camper trailer). I heard there are 4,000 motorhomes here on the fairgrounds in Redmond. Here is one typical row of motorhomes: Every morning we get a newspaper delivered to our door! The Bulletin had a couple nice articles about the event. Check it out here. The organization to pull off something like this must be amazing. 4,000 coaches living here for 4 days. There are volunteers everywhere. It appears like everything is going quite smoothly. Everyone 'lives' in a neighborhood, on a street. We are in Lot 4, 1st Street. Then there is Lot T. Jim made me add the 'DA'. :-) The very first thing on Monday morning was the Coach Connect's 'Get Away, Stay Connected' seminar. Check out this crowd. Y'think people are interested in Wi-Fi? The guy in the orange shirt giving the seminar is Frank Drew, one of the owners. Jim and I might be giving the next one on Thursday. And here's the 'Computer Help Desk' area where people are standing in line to either use one of the computers provided, plug their laptop into a phone line OR connect their laptop via Wi-Fi to the Internet.

Greetings from Redmond Oregon Pretty drive yesterday. First we left the fog behind and traveled thru the lush forests of the coastal range. Then it was into the Wilamette valley full of wheatfields, hot and dry. We saw lots of little 'dust devils'. I wonder if they ever get real tornadoes here? Then it was back uphill into forests and mountains of the Cascades. A real national forest playground. Until we got to the burned out stuff that is. This looks like it was pretty recent. We traveled over a pass at about 4200 feet, then back down into Redmond. Redmond is still about 3000 feet - so it gets cool at night. That's a good thing because it was great temperature for sleeping. We don't have electricity hookup here and it would be nasty to have to run the generator all night for air conditioning. Here we are meeting up with our Coach Connect Cohorts. That's Jamison on the left with his macintosh computer! And, Frank on the right. Here's the view from our parking spot with the 3 sisters (I think) mountains in the background.

Stow and Go I started to write in the blog a couple times yesterday - but found I had nothing to say! I thought about going in to detail on the computer stuff that I'm doing and the Wi-Fi stuff that Jim is doing. But, I decided to spare you and just post a picture. We did take a break and soak in the jacuzzi for a little bit. We knew we were going to be leaving today and wanted to take advantage of having the jacuzzi. It's hot and good! We also took care of regular stuff like doing laundry and grocery shopping. Our next destination is Redmond, Oregon where we will be working with Coach Connect at the FMCA rally. We're not going to have a regular campsite there - no electrical hookups or water, so we want to be sure we've done all we can to be self-contained and ready. We've been at this park (Pacific Shores) for about 10 days. It was nice getting to meet the people who work here. Interesting folks in RV parks. Like Cat. She's the one responsible for these beautiful flowers. She's been 'workamping' for 8 years. She used to be a professional photographer in Florida and she decided she wanted to see the country, so she goes from park to park making them look beautiful. Time to stow and go. Later