New Alaska DVD!

Our newest DVD, “RVing Alaska: What to Expect, How to Prepare” is almost ready.

Last summer we traveled to Alaska with videographers John Holod and Jodie Ginter. Together, we created a dynamite DVD that does just what the title says … it shows you what to expect and how to prepare for this great trip.

Topics include:

What to Expect
Road Conditions and Driving Tips
Campgrounds
Fuel Stops
Repair Facilities
Grocery Stores
Restaurants

How to Prepare
Vehicle Preparation
Personal Preparation
Crossing the Border
Documents
Money

Alaska Ferry System
Making Reservations
Boarding the Ferry
Eating Accommodations
Sleeping Facilities


If you would like to be notified when this DVD is available for shipment contact us at kievabooks@rvknowhow.com put “Alaska DVD” on the subject line and provide your e-mail address.


To read our detailed Alaska log on this blog, press “end” on your computer keyboard, click on “Older Posts” and scroll to September 8, 2007.

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Greetings from Littleton, NC

We are camped in the driveway of our very good friends, Loren and Nancy Benedict. If you have attended our “Full-time and Extended RV Travel” seminar you have heard us encourage RV travelers to develop 365 friends with long driveways. Well, Loren and Nancy have a super-long driveway with 30-amp electric, water and sewer hookups.

Unfortunately, we are in a location that does not have any sort of cellular service. So that means we not only can not use our cellular phone but our new aircard is useless as well. Luckily, Loren and Nancy’s router is strong enough to act as a wi-fi hotspot for us. We can go on line from the comfort and convenience of our motorhome. And we use their phone once a day to call in for messages.

Loren and Nancy used to be fulltime RVers. They traveled and lived in a 40-foot motorcoach and pulled a small truck that doubled as transportation and a warehouse for the products (mostly flagpoles) they sold at home, farm, boat and RV shows. That’s how we met them. A few years ago they came in off the road, bought a fixer-upper on the shore of 30-mile-long Lake Gaston and made a small piece of heaven out of it. They traded the motorcoach for a 28-foot trailer and used their truck/warehouse to pull the trailer. Today, they continue to sell at shows but specialize in quality flagpoles, flagpole accessories and flags. Check out their website http://www.1800flagpole.com/

Tom and Margie Hildebrand live near Loren and Nancy. They also used to be fulltimers and show vendors. The six of us worked the North Carolina RV shows, and after hours we would terrorize the local restaurants.

A few years ago, Tom was diagnosed with lung cancer. The doctors said he had six months to live. Tom apparently has not decided when to start the six-month countdown. He has gone through the hell of chemo, radiation and surgery and still looks like he will be around for a long time to come. His attitude is “If you are going to cheat, cheat death”

Nancy made a huge lasagna and the six of us once again broke bread together.

Monday, we head for a repair shop in Winston-Salem, NC. Our motorhome engine has developed a small coolant leak and the cold-water connection on our water-heater also has a small leak. Both are small but located in places I can’t reach. Hopefully an RV service tech will be able to take us in on short notice (these things always happen on a holiday weekend).

Friday, we begin presenting seminars at the Charlotte RV Show.

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Greetings from Raleigh, NC - Our New Air card

We are presenting seminars at the Raleigh, North Carolina RV Show. The weather here in Raleigh is cool enough to discourage folks from going to the beach or working in the yard but nice enough to encourage them to attend the show. The show, which takes place at the North Carolina state Fairgrounds, is experiencing a large, enthusiastic attendance. Our motorhome is nestled among a stand of trees in one of the many full-hookup campsites on the fairgrounds. Our work commute is a brief walk to the seminar building.

Enroute here from Myrtle Beach we stopped and visited with our friends Mark and Dawn Polk. Mark and Dawn are both multi-talented individuals who have made a success out of producing RV educational videos, DVDs, books and e-books. They have worked hard and, more importantly, they have worked smart to make their products and website, http://www.rveducation101.com/ , a commercial success. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer couple.

The downside to camping at the fairgrounds and in the parking lots of other shows is that we don’t have convenient access to the internet. And our business has become dependent upon having a daily internet connection. So we decided to bite the bullet and make an attempt to join the 21st century… we purchased an aircard and signed up for service with Verizon. An aircard is a device that plugs into a laptop computer and provides a cellular connection to the internet. It doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we have a cellular signal, we can connect to the internet --- at least that is what the Verizon folks told me.

The aircard, a USB720 model, cost $59.00 but that was offset by a mail-in rebate of $59.00. The monthly service fee for unlimited access is $59.00 (more if you are not a Verizon cellular customer). Our aircard plugs into a USB port on our laptop when we want to go online. It sticks out about three inches but it can also be connected to the laptop with a three-foot long cable that came with the aircard.

Sitting here in the fairgrounds, in the middle of the city of Raleigh, the cellular signal is strong and the speed of our aircard internet access is comparable to the speed of our DSL connection at home. So far, so good. We’ll let you know how well the aircard performs as we travel around the country.

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