YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT ALASKA CARAVANS

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Barry and Monique, “Just received our Trailer Life Magazine and thoroughly enjoyed reading your adventure in Alaska.  How about some advice.  How do you find a wagonmaster, will he provide caravan info, if not where would you look.  Would appreciate any info that you could supply. Thank you Carol” OUR RESPONSE: Carol, Thanks for your note. We went to Alaska with Adventure Caravans led by Ken and Carole Adams.  They did a great job of keeping members of the group informed and on schedule, with lagniappe (Cajun talk for extras), like inviting the mining train fiddler to Caravan Members Joined with Local Musicians entertain us at the campground with two fellow musicians.  When you browse for caravan companies on the Internet and read what different companies offer, for those you make contact, I would suggest asking questions about the personalities of the wagonmasters.  Some folks like a very structured tour; others, like us, want lots of opportunity to explore on our own at our own pace. Adventure Caravans, and probably most of the other companies, have a daily blog for each caravan written in turn by each of the members of the group.  You might ask for the URL for some of those to sample how things were going on the trip. We had almost-perfect weather for most of our 58 days, but take into account that outside forces cause changes and disappointments.  On our way up to Alaska we crossed paths... 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

ONE MORE CHANCE

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Did you post your favorites? We were absolutely inundated with replies to last week’s blog about your favorite places and where you want to go RVing. SO FAR (that’s a hint at what this article is all about) … SO FAR, Yellowstone National Park is the leading spot of responders’ favorite places.  The Canadian Maritime Provinces leads the pack in areas people want to visit (EDITOR’S NOTE:  It’s on our itinerary for 2013). Some of you may not have told us your Top 5 or what’s on your Wish List of spots you want to visit.  Please remember, this is not like sitting on Santa’s lap and telling him what you want to find under the tree next Sunday. What this has evolved into is an excellent quick list of where to point your rig in the years ahead.  It’s a good basis for planning.  For instance, lots of folks "Hay Stacks" Along the Oregon Coast listed the Oregon Coast as a favorite.  That is a good beginning point for researching if it’s a destination you might want to set on your GPS (EDITOR’S NOTE:  It’s among our favorites). Another benefit for well-traveled RVers: as I promulgated your responses and read many of them to Monique, it brought back fond memories.  What a magnificent week we spent at Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, a place we rarely think about.  Just reading the name was like returning to a beautiful, interesting spot. Canoes Built to the Voyageurs' Plans... Read more

Gourmet Italian Guest RV Cooking Show

Italian food has become standard fare here in America. It seems everywhere you visit you’ll find Olive Garden or even a Pizza Hut. But look a little harder and you’ll discover establishments serving delicious, authentic, makes-magic-in-your-mouth Italian with recipes passed down from generation to generation. That’s exactly what I found during my stay at Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton, CA. In fact, I was looking for a celebrity chef to film a show with me. Luckily for all of us, the resort’s manager, Dan Baumann, is a bona fide foodie and had just the man for me – Chef Giorgio Curti of the famous Santa Ynez eatery Trattoria Grappolo. Upon hearing the news I did what every fun-loving RV Cooking Show host would do – planned a party!! But instead of filming in Studio A (our Jayco 5-er) Dan graciously offered a big, beautiful park model cottage. Nice! In this episode – Gourmet Guests – you’ll enjoy the fruits of our labor. Chef Giorgio prepares 3 absolutely amazing dishes for us: a seafood pasta, grilled sliced beef with arugula and a burrata citronella salad. Amazing! And don’t shy away, they only sound fancy and complex. Chef Giorgio specializes in easy and elegant. He made these terrific dishes “rustic” in honor of our outdoor lifestyle. Served up with some fine Santa Barbara County wine – Mosby Dolcetto for one – it was a fabulous feast that you don’t want to miss out on. Sure enough,... Read more

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers This is Part I.  I’d like you to write Part II. “What’s your favorite place in your travels?”  How many times have we been asked that!  Our favorite place for RVing is North America.  I like to say our list of specific places is practically endless. In response to a letter we received last week from Nancy, I responded: Favorite places:  for me, everywhere.  For Monique, everywhere except crossing the Texas deserts and the Great Plains, but she realizes that it helps us appreciate other places.  There is nothing like western Canada and Alaska by RV, but in the contiguous states, so far we would say the Arkansas Ozarks; Idaho and Montana; Key West (military campground); Utah and the Northwest from Northern California upward.  I could go on and list another 10 or 20 favorites, but you’ll find out when you’re on the road.  We like changing scenery — the desert, the forests, the mountains, lakeside, riverside, oceanside.  Monique just interjected:  ”Tell them Bryce Canyon,”  ”The Great Lakes,” “What we like may not be what they like.” I’m now asking you to answer these two questions: 1) What are the favorite places you’ve been? and 2) Where are you going? In the comments section, just list up to five favorites from your travels and up to five places you want to visit. Please be brief.  Just list them … unless there’s something we should... Read more

RETURN TO THE PAST – PART 2 OF 2

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander*, the Never-Bored RVers This is the second of two articles about our trip to Death Valley earlier this month, the sequel to our excursion to China Ranch Date Farm.  Included at the end is my golf story about why I’m glad I four-putted the 18th hole. A Sea of Fellow Travelers -- No Mirage! PART 2, THE ENCAMPMENT – There are those who return each year to the Death Valley 49ers Encampment to don the outfits of the American West as it was back in the 1800s.  It’s a four-day variety show, complete with horse riders alongside buckboards pulled by mules, a “return to the days of yesteryear,” as we heard on the Lone Ranger radio and TV shows. Many come to the Encampment to commune with history, but everyone comes for the entertainment – top-notch singers and musicians who rank among America’s most notable western performers.  Some venture into the desert to escape the cold.  There’s no quiet like the quiet of the desert, and there’s no more beautiful landscape than the striated hills in every direction. Yet, I’ll bet the most compelling reason most drive hour after hour to return year after year is to socialize with friends they’ve camped alongside for years if not decades.  2011 was the 62nd year of the Encampment [http://www.deathvalley49ers.org]. Monique and I made the 600-mile round-trip for the second year in a row seeking adventure.  Like last year everyday held new vistas and opportunities for Western Singer... Read more

DATES AND DEATH VALLEY — PART I

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander*, the Never-Bored RVers This is a two-part blog, beginning with our off-the-beaten path near Tecopa, California, in Death Valley (a mere 85 miles west of Las Vegas) to the China Ranch Date Farm in an oasis among America’s most arid tract of land.  I’ll post Part 2 in a couple of days, describing our return to the Death Valley 49ers Encampment, and I conclude with a golf tale, which I call “Why I’m glad I four-putted the 18th green.” PART 1, THE DATE FARM – For those of you who have never experienced the nothingness of the vast Western deserts, trekking across broad sandy basins lined with jagged mountains holds more interest than you might realize.  Last year we drove and hiked through several unique scenic venues, including the beautiful Artists Palette trail, the Devil’s Golf Course and the lowest point in North America. This year, we pulled out a day early from among the long lines of RVs parked at Furnace Creek for the 49ers Encampment heading for the legendary China Ranch date farm.  It was harvest time, the perfect time to visit.  “What have we gotten Is this really a road? ourselves into?” we wondered as we left the blacktop side road and urged our trailer onto a winding dirt road cut through steep cliffs and serrated hills.  Despite sharp turns on the narrow road, it looked worse than it was. Before long the labyrinth wound past acres of palm trees all dressed in the apparel of ghosts, white-robed spirits... Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »