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Beastmaster's Blog
 

just joined

Greetings from The Beastmaster. I just joined up and wanted to just say Hi. And introduce you to The Beast. A 1973 GMC 26ft motor coach that I am rebuilding from the ground up. So far the drive train from the radiator cap to the tail pipe has been replaced with new components and the rear suspension has been rebuilt and upgraded. So mileage is less than 3000 miles right now on a new engine, Olds 455 with TBI fuel injection, new transaxle as will as 3" headers and pipes. I stripped out the o
Beastmaster

Beastmaster

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Exploring the Coromandel Peninsula

The Coromandel Peninsula is a favorite holiday area for the Auckland area. It is just a couple of hours drive from Auckland to the southern end of the peninsula. There is hardly a straight road anywhere in the Coromandel. To the west lies the Hauraki Gulf and to the east is the Pacific Ocean. So this is similar in some ways to Florida but it is also dissimilar in many ways. Primary among these is that the Coromandel is mountainous and has some indications of volcanic activity in its many ho
tbutler

tbutler

1
SloMotion Adventures
 

Our Texas/Arizona Adventure 2014!

We stayed last night at Family Motor Coach headquarters campground in Cincinnati, Ohio. It had snowed. Did I say it had snowed? Snowed enough that I was concerned that I might not get out once I got in!!! It had not been plowed. Deep snow on top of ice. But we made it in and out okay. We made a side trip to Jungle Jim's International Market. The place was huge, and overwhelming. with more than 200,000 square feet of grocery shopping!! You could spend a day there, easily. And you don't want to g
C-677946

C-677946

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Sheep World

After our long drive from the Waipoua State Forest we pulled up for the night at Sheep World. We had seen this place on the way north, it is right on NZ Hwy 1. It looks for all the world like a real tourist trap but we were tired and it was late so there we’ll stay. The owner is a real character, elderly and quick with his mind. We had breakfast at their restaurant the next morning then stayed for the dog and sheep show at 11:00. We visited the many animals they had in pens and cages, every
tbutler

tbutler

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Waipoua State Forest

We left the park at Russell headed west to cross the island to the west coast. We wanted to spend some time hiking in the Waipoua State Forest, site of the largest Kauri trees in the world. Kauri trees are a source of gum and an important economic export from the islands until World War II. Much of the forest is gone but several very large Kauri trees can be seen in this forest. The road to Waipoua State Forest was quite serpentine, travel was slow and we encountered frequent one lane bridge
tbutler

tbutler

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Campskunk: The Interview

Ever wondered how Campskunk got his name? Or how it is possible for he and his wife and their cat to life full-time in a 20-foot camper van? Then click on the Campskunk interview below. It's the latest in our series of live chats via Google Hangouts. We chat for an extended period about full-timing, life on the road and how to manage grocery shopping, doctor and dentist appointments and bill paying without a permanent address. I also ask Campskunk why he chose a Roadtrek for his home. I’
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Roadtreking Blog
 

Live from the FMCA Roadtrek International Rally in Kissimmee, Fla.

As part of our blogging, we now have the ability to do live videos and interviews with folks of interest to the Roadtreking world. With that, we can answer questions, too. The videos are broadcast as live events on the Net, but also available for later playback on demand from You Tube. The first one I did was this week with my friends Jim and Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour fame. Many of you have met the Gulds as they’ve taught technoogy at various RV gatherings around the country. Today, while t
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Waitangi Treaty Grounds - Early New Zealand History

We left Orewa Beach Sunday morning headed north to Whangarei and beyond to Russell and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. After several days in the campervan we had a list of things we needed. Groceries were at the top of the list. Yes, despite our purchase on Friday we were in for another purchase of food. We located the Countdown Grocery and Louise went in to start shopping. I went to a housewares store, Briscoes. I thought it was going to be more like a Lowe’s than a Bed Bath and Beyond but I
tbutler

tbutler

1
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

New Zealand - Day 1, I learn to drive, again!

We left the rental agency with our campervan, our suitcases piled on the floor in the rear and a brand new left-side-of-the-road driver in the driver’s seat. Our first stop was to be a grocery store just a few blocks away but after negotiating several rotaries and getting totally turned around, it took us 30 minutes and a stop to get information from the brochures we had been given. We finally arrived at the Countdown Grocery which is a subsidiary of Woolworth’s, yep, the Woolworths we all rem
tbutler

tbutler

1
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Our New Home

Arriving in Auckland, New Zealand, our first stop is of course to pass through customs. We filled out the arrival card answering questions about the contents of our luggage, etc. Then we face the agents and answer questions about our answers. It is all pretty routine. Next, we need to find a way to get to the rental agency to pick up our campervan. We inquire at the airport information desk and are assured that a shuttle will arrive shortly to take us to the rental agency. Within about 15
tbutler

tbutler

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Upside Down and Backwards

We arrive in New Zealand at 6:30 a.m., two days after we left our house. Where did that day go? Crossing the date line erases a day. We are actually 19 hours ahead of Central Standard Time in the US. As I explained to our children, it means we are 5 hours behind their clock time so imagine moving the clock back five hours, and then turn the calendar ahead one day! Actually we are on the same day from midnight to 5:00 a.m. in the Central Time Zone. What about other time zones? Well, it is
tbutler

tbutler

1
Roadtreking Blog
 

Travels with the eTrek: A Photo Montage

Like a lot of RVers, I’ve been reviewing memories and photographs this winter. That’s what we do during the down time: Go back and look at our photos and thus get excited by the places we’ll be going once the weather arms up. If you’re like me, I bet you have a lot of photos of your RV. We take pictures of them in the places they take us. That got me thinking about pulling a bunch of them and putting them together in a slide show. So, here’s about 100 of them, taken all over North America ove
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

The Best Laid Plans

On Friday, January 24, 2014, just five days before our scheduled departure for New Zealand, we stopped on our way into the park to pick our mail. In the mail was a summons for jury duty for me, Tom. Oh, Great! I read the information carefully. The report date was scheduled for after our departure. There was an information sheet to be completed and returned within 5 days. It was possible to submit the information by computer, so I logged on and filled out the required information. At the
tbutler

tbutler

1
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Turning Plans Into Reality

Preparations for the trip took much of my time in the months leading up to our departure. We had passports but needed international driver’s licenses to be able to rent and drive cars and campervans. The international driver’s license is actually just a translation of the provisions of our US driver’s license into four languages and converting weight and vehicle restrictions into metric units so that someone in a foreign country can assess our driving qualifications and understand what our li
tbutler

tbutler

1
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

An Idea Takes Shape

In 2012 Louise and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We couldn't decide what to do or where to go for the celebration. Living in south Texas now, we didn't want to travel north in December so we decided to postpone the celebration for a special trip of some kind. We received an advertisement for a cruise from a company we had cruised with once before. This was a really exotic cruise, perfect for an anniversary celebration. Two weeks cruising the Fiji Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledo
tbutler

tbutler

1
The (mis)ADVENTURES of PopNDelly
 

We picked the wrong Winter to live in our RV!

We picked the wrong Winter to live in our RV!!! Yep, I am conceding that this Winter has been a little too much for this newbie. I am sitting here watching a squirrel try to maneuver a tree - he slid down the ice like a sliding board! 30 inches of snow - no big deal. I (Delly) love snow - as do Pop and Elly May. 18 below wind chills - staying warm with 400 gallons of propane connected to the coach. ICE STORM --- no electricity or water to hook up -- doing just fine as long as we can get fuel
popndelly

popndelly

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The (mis)ADVENTURES of PopNDelly
 

DANGER! DANGER! Watch out for those Slides!

Danger! Danger! Watch out for the slides! On the first morning of our RV adventure, Pop went outside to walk to our office - another perk to our simplified living. We were given an office on the mountain where we live - complete with internet connections and space for Pop's books. The sun was shining, it was a perfect Fall morning. I (Delly) was organizing things in the cabinets since we had just moved in the night before. Clump, clump, clump, down the steps. Crunch, crunch, crunc
popndelly

popndelly

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The (mis)ADVENTURES of PopNDelly
 

Almost Full Time RV Living

Almost Full Time RV Living We are now completing our 4th month of living in our 2014 Winnebago Sightseer 33C. In the winter. In Maryland. During a record cold winter. With 30 inches of snow so far....... Yep, most people think we are either completely crazy or having a really wild mid-life crisis. If this is mid-life, then we have many more years for the adventure! The saga began nearly 20 years ago with a desire to simplify our lives. Then, four years ago we were bored and decided to
popndelly

popndelly

0
Roadtreking Blog
 

Stolen Roadtrek Recovered: The Victim’s Story

Dennis George couldn’t believe his eyes. It was the morning of Tuesday Jan. 28, and he was staying at a Hampton Inn in Lakeland, FL He looked out his hotel room window and saw an empty parking spot where he had parked the brand new Roadtrek CS Adventurous the night before. “I thought maybe the hotel had towed it for some reason,” he said. “So I ran down to the desk and asked them. The clerk said no. Then one of their workers came in and said there was all sorts of broken glass out on the asph
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

2
Travels with the FMCA Prez
 

Gloria's Confession

Sorry it has taken so long to put another entry on this blog. I must confess that I (Gloria) have been writing Charlie's blog and will continue to write it. As you know, I am traveling with the "Prez." We left home on December 26 and went to Kennedale, Texas, to visit with Sheri Brewer and Gene Miller. We spent New Year's with them along with Rod and Ethel Sartwell who were also at Sheri's house. On January 2 we left Kennedale in Sheri's coach along with Sheri headed for Indio, Calif., and
AmerEagle07

AmerEagle07

1
Roadtreking Blog
 

What Offseason?

We just came back from our latest trip, a 1,000 mile journey that took us to northeastern Pennsylvania and back. We had spent exactly one day at our Michigan home before leaving for that trip, returning from a 2,000 mile journey up to the north shore of Lake Superior the week before. We leave in about 10 days for Mississippi, the Gulf Coast and Florida. In fact, since the so-called RV season ended in October, we’re averaging two long trips a month. That’s about what we do during the summer.
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

0
GrampaDennis' Blog
 

Visited the MH in its winter storage

Today, Grandma and I visited our "Cottage on Wheels" in its winter storage, inside a warehouse of a former lumber yard. Due to some health issues now being evaluated, we have decided to forego our previously planned winter trip to Florida. Therefore, the MH will stay in storage until April sometime. When I parked it, on Nov 16, I used the "battery disconnect" switches, but did not physically disconnect the batteries. I was pleased to find that I had ample battery power today. The engine sta
GrampaDennis

GrampaDennis

3
Roadtreking Blog
 

RVing to Gobbler’s Knob for Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney

Okay. Do not panic. So the groundhog saw his shadow here atop Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. The rodent, if you check the history books, has been right just 39 percent of the time since this little community in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains . But that didn’t stop tens of thousands of people from all across the U.S. from traveling here, many in RVs, like us. While the campgrounds are closed, the local Walmart welcomed them. For us in our Roadtrek eTrek Class B, wherever we stopped
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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