What's New With Us: On The Road Again!
Brief Article: RV Show Vendors
Vicki's Recipe: Ground Beef Quesadillas
RVing Tip: Heating The RV
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Greetings from the Sacramento RV Show.
We are on the road again! We have been home-bound since the
4th of July and it feels great to be in our motorhome. We have been presenting seminars at the four-day Spring and Fall Sacramento RV Shows for over ten years now. Sacramento is 425 miles north of our home in Huntington Beach. That amounts to about an eight hour driving day. We leave our house at 5:00 am in order to get through Los Angeles before the morning rush-hour traffic grinds to a crawl. Coming home we will leave Sacramento at 5:00 am so we can get through Los Angeles before the afternoon rush-hour traffic begins. I don't understand why they call it "rush-hour" because it is anything but.The Sacramento RV Show allows us to park in a parking lot adjacent to the show. Nice parking lot - it has 30-amp electric, water and sewer hookups lined up against a fence. Easy commute to work - our seminar building is literally steps away from our motorhome.
Our daughter, Kim, her husband, Tom, and our grand-daughter, Amanda, live just outside of Sacramento so we make a point of visiting with them while we are here.
This Sacramento show ends on September 28th. On October 10th we will begin presenting seminars at the ten-day California RV Show at the Fair-Plex in Pomona, California. This show is one of the three largest RV shows in the nation. Over a thousand RVs on display and a huge tent full of booth vendors. My favorite part of an RV show is looking at all the interesting RV related gadgets and gear on display in the vendor section of the show. Every now and then I find myself buying something I didn't know I needed.
If you are planning on attending the California RV Show check out their website http://www.carvshow.com/ to receive directions and a $2.00 discount coupon.
And, you might want to read our article on "How to Enjoy an RV Show"
See you at the show!
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RV Show Vendors
Dear Joe and Vicki: My husband and I recently attended an RV show being held at a county fairground. We noticed a number of RVs that appeared to be camped in one section of the parking lot. Who were these people?
Vicki: The RVs you saw may have belonged to members of an RV club. RV show promoters
frequently encourage RV clubs to attend their show and camp in the parking lot. Show promoters recognize that present RV owners are more likely to buy an RV than a non-RVer. The clubs make the most of what may be a free or low-cost camping opportunity to conduct a fun-filled rally. During the next show, walk over, introduce yourselves, find out who they are and what they are doing. You may be invited to join them.
Joe: The RVs may also have belonged to some of the show’s exhibitors and vendors. A good number of the folks who set up a display or sales booth at an RV show are RVers. They are among the thousands of RVers who have found a way to make money on the road.
Typically, the vendors arrive the day before the show opens. Their display materials and/or sales merchandise will be unloaded from a travel trailer’s tow vehicle, an equipment trailer being pulled by a motorhome or, in some cases, the storage bays of a motorhome. The balance of the day is spent setting up their booth or display. The vendors live in their RVs right there at the RV show.
The vendors hope to make enough money during the show to cover their travel and living expenses, pay for the rent on their booth space, recoup their investment in merchandise and, with a little luck, make a profit.
They know their fortunes depend upon the professional skills of the show promoter, the mood of the crowd, the whim of the weather and their own ability to attract and convince customers to buy.
While a few vendors are casual sellers of merchandise, most are serious business people. They know which shows and promoters are likely to bring them the greatest return on their investment. Many work a circuit of shows and rallies that keep their down-time to a minimum. And don’t be surprised to see a vendor pass your credit card through a card reader connected to a cellular phone. This is the twentieth century and they are very much a part of it.
At the end of the last day of the show the vendors break down their displays and store them in their vehicles. Some may even head down the road that evening. They have another show ahead of them.
Talk to a show vendor during a quiet moment. He may give you some insight into his lifestyle. You might even find yourself the owner of a gadget you never knew you needed.
Enjoy The Journey!
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Going to Alaska next year? Read the article "Alaska! The Ultimate RV Adventure" and check out our DVD "RVing Alaska: What to Expect, How to Prepare" and our E-book "RVing Alaska, Insights and Observations" View our Alaska Journey Blogs - September 5 and 8, 2007.
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Vicki's Favorite Recipes (from My RV Kitchen and Favorite Recipes)
Ground Beef Quesadillas
This is a recipe that I have had fun experimenting with. The quesadillas can be made without any meat at all or with chicken or fish in place of the ground beef.
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 to 1/2 cup salsa (mild, medium or hot)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil
8 flour tortillas (I use "soft taco" size)
Diced green jalapeno chiles, to taste
2 cups grated Mexican blend cheese
Additional salsa to add at table
Sour cream and guacamole to add at table
1. Crumble and brown the ground beef. Add salsa and salt. Cook until meat is thoroughly cooked.
2. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a skillet. Place 1 tortilla in the hot skillet; cover with browned beef, jalapeno chiles and about 1/2 cup grated cheese. Top with another tortilla.
3. Cook, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese is melted. Repeat with the other tortillas.
4. Cut each quesadilla in half and serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side.
Makes 4 servings.
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RVing Tip
Once your RV's furnace has warmed the interior of your RV, switch over to a portable electric heater. The electric heater will maintain a comfortable temperature for a considerable amount of time.
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Next Issue October 15: Dinosaur RV Revisited
Return to RV Know How
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