Fall is upon us - lots of good travel weather left

Where has the summer gone?  I'm sure many of you are saying the same thing as today officially kicks off the fall season.

We think it is a great time to travel -- the crowds have gone and yet the weather is still favorable most everywhere.  Although we agree that the New England fall is unbeatable, the colors throughout the country have their own rich tapestry to offer.  If you can't get away for a long trip -- how about bringing back the "Sunday drive" and enjoy your own region of the country?

Happy travels.

Phil  and  Carol  White

National distribution has arrived

It seems like every month lately has brought more good news on the marekting of Live Your Road Trip Dream. As sales have progressed through our many channels (AAA, Camping World.com, Amazon, live appearances, RV Bookstore.com -- and more), we have been unable to penetrate the book chains in any organized way.  Special orders and spotty stocking has been the rule.

As of this month, all of that has changed.  We are pleased to announce that one of the best distributors in the business has agreed to represent us to the book chains and other large retailers.  Midpoint Trade Books is New York based and focuses their efforts in the areas that we cannot reach by ourselves.  A perfect fit.

As they present our book to the buyers of all the large chains, you should begin to see it stocked in Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-a-million, and other large retailers. 

This should be a significant move forward in our efforts to let everyone know about Live Your Road Trip Dream.

You've got a gem on your hands.  Good luck with it! 

Jennifer Brown, Reviewer

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Bookpleasures.com

We know that the word is getting out about living your dream.  I frequently stumble across people mentioning it on bulletin boards and chat rooms, and my favorite part, when people email us with their stories and ideas.  This month, I'm going to share a few snippets of those stories.

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Last month I asked you to send your favorite road trip song, and I didn't get any takers -- maybe no one sings along the road!

Joanna Sawyer did submit a road trip game though that is fun and really makes the miles zoom by.  It works best if there are several participants.

One person starts by picking an unusual road sign -- maybe "Jump-Off Joe Creek Rd next exit" -- we've all wondered how some of these places get their names.  Several sentences about this location begins the story, then the first person hands it off to the next, who adds a few more sentences and hands it off.  When a new sign appears that may weave the story in a different direction, that information is added.  It can be hilarious to hear the results, and you are at the next poddy stop before you know it!

Katrina has impacted RVers too

Although the tragic impacts are emblazoned upon us, the real story to be told is that of reaching out to help.  Within days of the devestation, Anne Pierson of Monroe, LA had begun corresponding with many of us in the RV Circle of Trust family (a loosely knit organization of RV-related businesses who help promote each other's services and act as a sounding board).

Anne is an RV Park owner, an author, a website owner (www.camphalfprice.com) and a real humanitarian.  Here is a portion of one of her emails to us.

At our park, it was a busy day.  We have about 80 families still with us.  Others have moved further south, as highways open up.  One couple just came in a few days ago, and they told me the most incredible saga.  They are from New Orleans, and they evacuated to Dallas for the storm.  They brought their pop up with them, but not to stay in, just to protect it from damage.  They were staying in a hotel there, and after it became apparent that the hurricane was very serious, and New Orleans began to fill with water, they realized that they were running low on money and couldn’t get an out-of-town check cashed.  They were worried about putting so much on credit cards, not knowing what the future held.  They asked the hotel manager if he would mind extending their stay, even though they couldn’t pay.  They explained that soon, help would be coming from FEMA or someone, and the hotel would be reimbursed.  They were told no.  The Labor Day weekend was approaching, and the hotel would not give up its peak rates for the holiday to accommodate them.  That’s when they packed up, moved into the pop up, and came to our park.  We hadn’t heard a word from them about needing anything until yesterday.  Our son was out on the park talking to one of our “old-timers,” who told him that the folks on site 4 had nothing and would not ask.  I had already mailed out the certificates we had that morning, so my husband just gave them $60, which was all the cash we had on hand.  We told them we would get together with them this morning to make further arrangements for help for them, and give them a little more cash to work with.   

I walked over to their camp site this morning, and wanted to cheer!  They have their windows painted with shoe polish, just like a tailgate party, and the windows say, “New Orleans evacuees – thanks Monroe – we love you!”  For those of you who don’t live in hurricane areas, this is a little tradition we have – everyone evacuating writes things on their car windows; like “Go away Katrina” or “take my shed, Katrina,” and fun, silly stuff, which makes it a bit of an adventure, and everyone honks at each other on the way north… it’s just a way of bonding, I guess, knowing who is one of the group fleeing the storm.  I could see by their graffiti that they had found a way to have a little fun, and I was so glad to see it.  Then, after talking with them for a while, I found out that the families on our park have gotten to know each other so well that they have identified “neighborhoods” on the park.  Those from Chalmette, those from Metairie, those from Kenner, etc.  They are doing the best they can to re-create the world that is gone, and were talking Saints football – proud winners this week – and arguing the plusses and minuses of the Saints NFL team playing at LSU this season for home games. 

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Isn't that a great story? 

Some things, like fall football, never change

Even a hurricane can't dampen that enthusiasm!

If you would like to help fellow RVers in the Gulf Coast region, please contact Anne at happycamping10@aol.com or call her at 866.677.6453 and she can tell you what they need most.  If you are traveling in the area and can help out for a few hours or days, Anne can sure put you to work somewhere!