On The Road Again.... (with apologies to Willie Nelson)

Last Friday I called a long time friend of mine, Todd G in Boston. He answered the phone singing Willie Nelson's classic "On The Road Again"; at least I think that's what he was singing. Listening to him for just a few seconds helped me understand why he is such an excellent VP... he has to be good at his job -- he has no singing talent to fall back on....

Seriously, it was great to hear his voice even if he did mangle one of Willie's classic tunes.

Still, Todd's song selection was right on the money to mark the beginning of our second RV trip/USA exploration/continued spending of the kid's inheritance. Our oldest son Christopher is getting married in Tulsa at the end of July and we decided to spend the next six weeks taking our time getting out to Oklahoma.

Our first RV trip lasted 2.5 months and took us through 10 states: Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.
We posted blogs everyday that we had Wi-Fi access, which was most of the time.

Wi-Fi access turned out to be a bit of a hassle with each campground using a different provider & equipment. Some campgrounds charge for access; it's free at others. Some do not have Wi-Fi at all. I'm sure some traditionalist campers think Wi-Fi access is antithesis of 'get away from it all camping'. However, when you travel for extended periods of time like MLA and I do, you need Wi-Fi access in order to take care of basic tasks: 1) e-mail to family, friends; 2) paying bills/taxes 3) ordering supplies 4) researching/locating campgrounds & attractions 5) Sharing pictures 6) Blogging etc. etc. etc. You get the idea.

This time we are equipped with a Verizon Air Card and a Cradlepoint wireless router -- as long as we can get a cell phone signal we are our own little hot spot. You can access the Internet anywhere inside/outside within ~50 feet of the RV -- even going down the road! This solution was a little expensive for us retired type folks so I knew I had to negotiate carefully with the boss (MLA).

I used the old "Shock & Substitute" technique: Substitute & gain approval on a reasonably priced second option while the boss/MLA is still in shock from the outrageously expensive first option...

I told her the 'Best Solution' was a satellite dish on the roof of the RV: $5000 for equipment/installation and $80/month. Expensive but it works anywhere, even the desert. Never mind there is no water or electricity in the desert -- we would still have Internet access with a satellite. Wow While MLA was reeling from satellite sticker shock I let on how we might be able to 'get by' with a cellular based solution for less than $400 and only $60 per month.

When she said yes I was quite proud of myself for having executed the "Shock and Substitute" technique perfectly. Yep - quite the skilled negotiator until I found out she knew all along there was a more reasonable option -- she was simply protecting my fragile male ego. Oh well.

In any case, after a great good-bye breakfast with our kids this morning, we left Maryland proudly broadcasting our own Wi-Fi signal for 50 feet in every direction. We traveled briefly through a portion of West Virginia before heading South on I-81 into Virginia. When we saw a sign for Luray Caverns we decided to explore the central portion of western Virginia. The Shenandoah Valley area hugs the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains with Skyline Drive running along the uppermost ridge of the mountains. It is a beautiful part of Virginia and we'll probably spend a few days here exploring.

Tomorrow we are headed to Shenandoah Caverns (we've both been to Luray Caverns years ago -- they don't change much...) and then to the Frontier Culture Museum.

On the road for you checking out the highs and the lows -- See Ya!