How to Get FREE eBooks (for Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc.)

We RV campers love our eReaders. Many of you have purchased my own ebooks, and for that I am grateful. Long Long Honeymoon – Living Large in a Small Tin Can has been ranked one of the top 20 books in Amazon’s Travelogues section. The book is doing well on Nook also. Of course the almost-but-not-quite-free price ($2.99) won’t dent anyone’s pocket too much. VIDEO: How to Get FREE eBooks A wise philosopher once said, “the only thing better than cheap beer is free beer.” So let’s talk about ways to get free beer — err, free books — for your ereader. Free ebooks are much easier to find than free beer. One of the simplest (if not the best) methods to find free books is to search your eReader store. But instead of searching for words, search for numbers: “0.00.” We illustrate this method in our video. The “0.00″ trick may not retrieve every free book in the catalog, but you’ll get a hearty supply of material from the likes of Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens. Put these books on your eReader and your IQ will automatically jump 10 points. The greatest authors of all time... FREE! There are also some free trashy romance novels (for those of you who are into that sort of thing – you know who you are). Note that these may actually drop your IQ, so if you’re reading NASCAR Hotties Part IV, it’s best to also download a copy of Great Expectations. Ironically,... Read more

Let’s Talk IPAD !

Here’s the third entry in our series about e-readers for RV’ers. It’s time to address the Godzilla of the e-reader world. Yes, we’re talking about Apple and its iPad tablet. If Amazon is King Kong, Apple is Godzilla. (In this analogy, Nook is Rodan; never underestimate Rodan.) While iPad isn’t a dedicated e-reader, many people use it as such. NOTE: Images are not to scale (we all know that Godzilla is much larger than King Kong). It wasn’t so long ago that ol’ Mister Black Turtleneck himself was standing on stage like some sort of Silicon Valley prophet, proudly holding his gleaming metal tablet aloft. The initial response was a collective, “Huh?” On that day Apple CEO Steve Jobs suffered a few snickers at the device’s name, which reminded some of a feminine hygiene product. A lot has happened since that fateful day in 2010 when Jobs unfurled the iPad to skepticism and derision. It turned out that Jobs was once again right. The iPad became the most popular consumer product since running water. People around the planet bought RVs just so they could more comfortably camp outside Apple stores while waiting to buy the latest model. Apple became more valuable than the Earth itself. You never know when NOOK might fly into the scene and crash Godzilla's party. As for Steve Jobs, in 2011 he moved on to that great product launch in the sky. I read the authorized Steve Jobs biography (on my Kindle – sorry, Steve), and learned... Read more

Let’s Talk NOOK !

Let’s Talk NOOK ! Recently I wrote an article about the Amazon Kindle (one appropriately if unimaginatively titled Let’s Talk KINDLE !). The crux of my essay was that e-readers are the best thing to hit RV’s since flush toilets. There are many e-readers available for your purchasing pleasure. One of the most popular rhymes with “book.” Why did I choose to focus on Kindle? Conspiracy theories abound. Am I biased? Have I loaded up our investment portfolio on AMZN? Or am I merely an Amazon fanboy who wears Jeff Bezos pajamas? Nah. While I may be a bit of an Amazon fanboy, I wrote about Kindle because Amazon is currently KING KONG of the e-reader world. Yes, if recent sales figures are to be believed, Amazon is now perched on a skyscraper high above E-Reader Metropolis with Fay Wray sitting on its lap. Or is that Jeff Bezos in a dress? Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a dress? This is wrong on many levels. Anyway, with Kindles selling faster than mouse ears at Disney World, it’s good to be King Kong. But if there’s a pesky swarm of biplanes on the horizon, it’s the Barnes & Noble NOOK. The author's book on his wife's NOOK. The Nook is a series of e-reader devices sold by everyone’s favorite brick-and-mortar bookstore behemoth. These range from inexpensive e-ink readers (Nook Simple Touch) to more robust tablets (Nook Color & Nook Tablet). You can buy Nooks online, in 90,000-square-foot bookstores, in shady back alleys,... Read more

Let’s Talk KINDLE !

One of the hottest gifts this holiday season has been the Amazon Kindle. For those of us who like to travel, e-readers like the Kindle are a revolution. Now we can carry an entire library’s worth of books in one easily portable package. No more cramming books into every corner of the RV! Quite simply, e-readers deliver an enjoyable reading experience combined with a compact, lightweight package. My wife has a Barnes & Noble Nook (also a fine e-reader), but I have a Kindle. Amazon makes Kindles in many different varieties that serve different needs and different budgets. Kindles have fixed storage capacities, but even the cheapest current model offers 2GB (enough to store about 1500 books!). The author's own Kindle DX! My own Kindle is the Mac Daddy DX version. It features a large 9.7-inch black & white (e-ink) screen that is not backlit. The “e-ink” screen makes it easy on the eyes in all sorts of lighting environments, even bright sunlight. Overall I love my Kindle DX and its large display. But if there’s a drawback to my model, it’s that the DX is a bit bulky and heavy compared to the standard Kindles. It’s heavier in the hand. It’s also more expensive (thankfully, mine was a generous gift). I don’t think the DX sold particularly well, because Amazon isn’t really promoting it these days. The standard-sized Kindles are where the action is. Once you try one, it’s easy to see why. A standard 6-inch Kindle. My mother... Read more

VIDEO: the Queen Mary 2 in ROUGH SEAS!

On LonglongHoneymoon.com I have drawn an analogy between boats and RVs. Boats and RVs have a lot in common. Fiberglass, galleys, and water tanks come to mind. Many avid RV travelers are retired. Same goes for boats. But there’s one key difference: manufacturers don’t build gigantic RVs (“cruise RVs”?) that simultaneously accommodate thousands of people. I think we can all agree that this is for the best. Imagine the potholes 1200-foot long motorhomes would inflict upon our already Swiss Cheese roads. Parking would also be an issue. With with boats it’s a little different. They do build huge ships to accommodate thousands of people, and it all works pretty well. Here’s a short video I shot on one such boat last week. It’s also our Christmas card to the world. Yes, last week Kristy and I completed a transatlantic crossing (from Southampton, England to New York) aboard RMS Queen Mary 2. Those of you with a fondness for the golden age of ocean liners will appreciate this ship. The QM2 offers a travel experience that harkens to the past. Our seven night crossing included four nights of formal dining and events (coat & tie for gentlemen, nice dresses for the ladies). The trip also included a route that passed within 80 nautical miles of the RMS Titanic, and a couple of storms cranking out 30-foot swells and winds at gale force 10. Although this video isn’t the most technically RV-centric in the world, it is about travel, and I thought you... Read more

New RV Camping Book on Amazon Kindle – Only $2.99!

A few years ago, I did something that previously I never imagined myself doing. And I’m not talking about getting married (although that development was quite surprising as well). I bought an RV. Specifically, my wife and I bought a 25-foot Airstream travel trailer. It was her idea. I never saw myself owning an RV, mainly because I am 6′ 2” and fear hitting my head on low ceilings. Not having grown up with RV camping, I didn’t “get it.” But then one day, we got our Airstream. Then we got hitched. Then I got it. Boy, did I ever… We started an ongoing adventure of sorts. We blogged the fun in a website called “Long Long Honeymoon,” donned pith helmets, wrote pithy articles, and shot three trillion videos. So far we’ve hauled our rig throughout the lower 48 states. Alaska? We’re still making plans for Alaska. At the moment, we’re waiting for diesel prices to stop resembling one of those national debt clocks. As for Hawaii? We’ll see it someday too, though we’ve no intention of testing the seaworthiness of our “land yacht.” We’ll likely book a flight – anything with a lei greeting will be fine. But before we move forward, we must look back. Yes boys and girls, it’s time for a book! An ebook, that is. I hope you enjoy it. “Long Long Honeymoon – Living Large in a Small Tin Can” is now available on the AMAZON KINDLE platform for the rock bottom price of $2.99! Check it out now – before... Read more

VIDEO: Just in time for Halloween – DEVIL’S TOWER!

Devil’s Tower is a national monument located in the northeastern corner of Wyoming. It’s one of those road trip icons of the all-natural variety. If you are driving into the state from South Dakota (say, from visits to Wall Drug and Mt. Rushmore) it beckons. It’s located about a half hour off the main interstate highway. It merits the detour. If you have ever watched Steven Speilberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you probably recognize Devil’s Tower. In the movie it served as a meeting place for aliens. It was a brilliant choice of location, because there’s something truly otherworldly about this place. It’s a mountain of rock that looks like no mountain you’ve ever seen… For the rest of this article, check out our website: LongLongHoneymoon.com Also, now you can BUY SEAN’S BOOK ABOUT RV CAMPING ON KINDLE FOR ONLY $2.99! NOW ON KINDLE!  Read More →

VIDEO: Having a BABY… in an RV!

When Kristy and I travel in our Airstream, we become “part-time full-timers.” In other words, we are full-time Airstream travelers for an extended period of time. But (so far, anyway) we always return to the comfort of a house sans wheels. Our longest stretch full-timing in our 25-foot long tin can is five months. It’s always a bizarre sensation when we return to our brick-and-mortar home after a few months in the Airstream. In the vast world of cavernous recreational vehicles, our Airstream is pretty small. But there’s a strange transition that happens when you adjust to the full-time experience. You get used to it. After a couple weeks of full-timing, you quickly adjust to the new normal. While this may seem extreme to some, for others a five-month Airstreaming journey is just a warmup. Yes, there are those who travel for even longer periods of time in even smaller rigs. Enter Lani and Chris, a young couple who have traveled for a couple of years in a 23-footer. This is another couple who decided to push the “work from home” concept to the extreme. Why wait for retirement to travel? If you can work from anywhere, then why not work from anywhere you want? When plotting the course of their telecommuting adventure, they chose between two seemingly dichotomous paths. “I gave Lani two options,” Chris said. “We could either move to Argentina and experience life in South America, or we could move into an Airstream and see the United States. She chose… For the... Read more

Grizzly Bear Kills Man in Yellowstone

For more from the “Best RV/Caravan Blog 2011,” please visit our award-winning website: LongLongHoneymoon.com Yesterday a couple of hikers experienced a “worst case scenario” bear encounter. After embarking on a hike near Yellowstone’s Canyon Village (where as a college student I chopped veggies in the employee kitchen) they surprised a mama grizzly bear and her cubs. The bear defended her cubs, attacking the husband and wife. The park service issued this description of the attack: “At approximately 11:00 a.m., at a point about a mile and a half from the trailhead, the couple walked out of a forested area into an open meadow. It appears that the couple spotted a bear approximately 100 yards away and then began walking away from the bear. When they turned around to look, they reportedly saw the female grizzly running down the trail at them. The couple began running, but the bear caught up with them, attacking the husband. The bear then went over to the wife, who had fallen to the ground nearby. The bear bit her daypack, lifting her from the ground and then dropping her. She remained still and the bear left the area.” Other hikers heard the woman’s screams and called rangers to the scene. But it was too late. Tragically, the husband was mauled to death. The park has closed hiking trails near the mauling, but the bear will not be hunted or captured. This is because she was acting naturally in defense of her cubs. It was a textbook... Read more

VIDEO: Tornadoes? Floods? You need a WEATHER RADIO!

Severe weather and camping go together like ice cream and motor oil. Okay, that’s a pretty horrible analogy, but I’m trying to emphasize that RVs and emergency weather are not a good combination. It’s obvious but it bears repeating. After a while, we tend to treat our “homes on wheels” as homes, and technically they are homes – but that doesn’t make them safe. I have yet to encounter an RV with a basement. We’ve experienced a few harrowing storms while camping in our Airstream. Sure, a little rain is nice. Even a powerful rainstorm with heavy rain can be pleasant. But a windstorm? That’s a different ball of wax. Suppose a tree gets blown into your RV? (Check out our video for the likely result.) What about floods? It may sound bizarre, but many campers have encountered flash flooding. As you might imagine, RVs don’t fare too well when pitted against torrential waves of water. I have somewhat fond memories of the lightning storm we experienced on the Gulf coast of Florida, when a gust of wind snapped our ceiling fan cover COMPLETELY OFF the camper in a torrential downpour. We taped a plastic bowl to the ceiling to keep our interior dry. I have much LESS fond memories of the storm we survived in Michigan. The two words no camper ever wants to hear: tornado warning. For the remainder of this article, and ANOTHER VIDEO that shows this radio in action, check out our website: LongLongHoneymoon.com. Also, now you can BUY SEAN’S BOOK ABOUT RV CAMPING ON KINDLE... Read more

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