February 3, 2011 by Rae

Global TV, Vancouver Sun Article and First Day at the Show

Brief post tonight, I’m feeling exanimate, what with the 1.25 hour drive to Burnaby today for my TV interview with Global, in addition to the eleven hour day at the show. I haven’t seen the interview, but I had about 100 people go by today to tell me that they saw me on TV this morning and that I was professional, poised, and articulate, so I’m assuming it went well and that I didn’t embarrass myself too badly. 🙂

There are two articles about me online. One is by Mike Lloyd at News 1130. We taped an interview earlier this week and he pieced it together into a 30 second spot. Haven’t heard it, but his article makes me think it was a great piece. Check it out: A woman’s love of the road with her RV.

The Vancouver Sun article blew me away. I got nearly a quarter page in the ‘A’ section with a full colour picture of myself with the rig. Check out the online version: Moving from unhappy hoarder to queen of the road.

The show went well. The first talk was okay; it felt like a tough audience. The seats were almost packed for the second and I got my second wind as I got into my topic. I came away feeling that I’d really nailed it and hit my stride.

The people I met today were from all walks of life and all ages. Some bought my ebook, others just wanted to chat, but it was wonderful to know that my story has touched so many people in so many different ways.

One of Will’s friends came by to chat at some point and grab some pictures for him, so I can show off a bit of what I was doing today! Thank you to Ron for sending me the pics!

Here I am at my booth talking with Colleen at JRFM setting up an interview that I did right after my first seminar. She was the first to ask me on record why my rig is called Miranda, because she got a kick out of the story when I answered it before the interview.

And here I am on stage near the end of my first talk. Not a bad turnout!

Two seminars down, five more to go. And one final radio interview tomorrow. I’m off to catch some much needed Zs!

February 2, 2011 by Rae

I Hope I’m Ready…

My agreement with the RV show was originally that I would speak twice a day for a set fee. When I mentioned that I had an ebook to promote they somehow worked some magic and offered me a booth in a prime location for a slight reduction in my fee (much less than what a booth would have cost me as an exhibitor). So, I’ve had to scramble around to come up with some half decent promotional material with which to decorate the space in which I will be living for 40 hours over the next four days! I know I’m going to look super amateurish compared to everyone else, so I decided to keep things as simple as possible.

I had three 18″ x 24″ glossy b&w posters made up to hang at the back of my booth. One has the detailed summary of the ebook, the second the author bios, and the last the reviews; essentially the same information provided on the Full-Time RVing in Canada website.

To this, I’m adding a printed and bound copy of the ebook for people to flip through, my personal business card, and a card offering a discount on the book for those who don’t want to buy the CDs I’m selling on site. I’m offering a 25% discount on the ebook if you enter EARLYBIRD at the checkout. This code is only good until Sunday evening! The CDs have the book in PDF format and are on sale for a the low price of $20 at the show. If you’ve been thinking about buying Full-Time RVing in Canada, this is the time to do it!

I also made sure to get a float and receipt book. There’s so much to think about; my head is about to explode! At least, it’s keeping my mind off The Talk. Then again, I’m not that worried about that part of the weekend, except for learning to use the AV equipment I’ll be provided and hoping that it’s all compatible with my Mac. I got over my fear of public speaking in high school and I did theatre for many years, so I’m reasonably confident that I won’t embarrass myself. 🙂

I was able to bring a box of supplies to my booth, but it wasn’t ready yet. The show manager told me that she’d set up my table and chair for me, but to arrive ASAP in the morning to finish setting up. The show opens at 10 tomorrow, but I doubt I’ll be back from my TV interview by then, so I’ll need to go straight from my car to the show and finish up my display. It’s going to be a big day! I decided to be unusually realistic about how much personal stuff I’ll be able and willing to do over the weekend, so I stocked up on frozen dinners for the evening and snacks for the day.

Also, I’m settled in my spot with 15A power, but was told that I need to be out of here at precisely 5PM on Sunday since I’m blocking the garage door and they need to get the RVs out! I’m welcome to go back to overflow, so I may decide to just get up early Sunday and move out before the show even opens so I can go home and crash after!

Well, I need to be on the road for no later than 6:30 tomorrow (dang GVR traffic!) and I need to prepare my clothes and do a final run through of The Talk. Catch me on Twitter this weekend; I doubt I’ll have much time, or energy to blog!

January 6, 2011 by Rae

Appearance at 2011 Early Bird RV Show in Abbotsford

And now for the big reveal of my OTHER secret project, one that has been in the works since early last summer.

I have been invited to talk about full-time RV life in Canada at the 2011 Early Bird RV Show at Tradex in Abbotsford, BC.

The show will be on from Thursday the 3rd to Sunday the 6th inclusively. I will be speaking twice a day over the four days.

I attended the Early Bird RV Show in 2009 and can attest that it is a fun place to spend a weekend. There are tons of RVs to see, new products to try out, and loads of interesting seminars. The show is a non-profit organization, so all proceeds are donated to charity. Come check it out if you’re in the neighbourhood.

September 22, 2010 by Rae

The Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway is considered to be one of, if not the most, beautiful drives in the world. National Geographic considers it one of the drives of a lifetime. I did my homework on this road! I researched grades, RV-worthiness, facilities, etc. and knew exactly what I was getting into as I headed south from Jasper towards Banff.

Except for one section after the Columbia Icefield, there are no major grades on the parkway, just a lot of small steep sections that could fool you into complacency and wear down your brakes. One of the things I quickly established was that I would not be able to stop as much as I would have liked for two reasons:

1) many rest stops and attractions were close-ended and too small to turn around with a toad;
2) they were at the bottom of hills and would require too much brake jamming to stop at.

I stopped whenever I felt I could safely do so and took long breaks to give both the brakes and the engine a chance for a rest, too.

The parkway starts off lined with trees and rimmed with jagged snowy peaks and then gradually climbs up to the Columbia Icefield where you can see the Athabasca glacier. I stopped at the centre there to see the exhibits, but was not tempted by a pricey trip up the glacier.

The Icefield is located about halfway and the day had been going so, so well. I could have driven up the glacier to a view point, but decided the grade was too steep and that if I made it up, I probably wouldn’t make it down. I was playing it safe.

So, I finally let myself relax and that was that. I’m not sure if I did something wrong going down that big grade, but I got my fill of mountain passes for a lifetime.

My picture gallery ends just after the Icefield. My mind was not on photography after that. 🙁

This plaque about David Thompson is significant to me. It says that he died at Longueuil, which is practically my hometown. I did not know this. It just goes to show how French Canada goes out of its way to squash down the English side of Canadian history.

look at where those clouds are!

perfect place to stop for lunch!

I love how these folks were sitting on their chairs, enjoying their picnic!

approaching Columbia Ice Fields

Athabasca Glacier

I don’t think I’ve seen one of these in two years!

Do you want to know… where are the toilets. Seriously. Personally, that wasn’t my first question upon arriving at the Ice Fields Centre!

staircase up to the Ice Fields Centre

with a camera zoom like that, who needs binoculars?

the glacier recedes annually a distance that is roughly equal to the width of a post card!

this memo states that the exhibits haven’t been updated since 1996, but they are working on updates

this double-sided sign used to stand a the border between Banff & Jasper national parks

I made a note of this plaque because of the ‘water-melon snow algae’, which I saw a lot of on the Chilkoot

old Bombardier snow machine that took tourists up the glacier

a perfect example of why people have silly stereotypes about Canada

I almost missed this nice little addition to the display, seen from the floor above the information centre

this plaque reads that the edge of the glacier was right there in 1843. I’m guesstimating, but it looked to me like the glacier receded at least 1km since then

hardy glacial plants

one last attempt to capture the majesty I now had to flee…

September 18, 2010 by Rae

Slowing Down

It was a slow, easy drive to Liard Hot Springs last night. I decided to be a tad cheeky, what with a full hookup park next door and dry camping spots available for the exorbitant cost of $21 at the provincial park, and just spend the night in the parking lot across from the park entrance.

Beta Pool was closed because of bear activity, so I had to hang out with a million other people in alpha pool. It wasn’t the most relaxing hot spring experience of my life, so I didn’t soak for long.

It was nice to get back to the rig, shower, and then hunker down for the night. I made a nice dinner, watched a movie, and read.

This morning, nothing short of a natural disaster could have gotten me moving at a speed faster than a crawl. It was the first time in months that I was able to just lie in bed with the cats, read, and know that I had nothing and no one waiting for me. I lingered over coffee and breakfast, then set off around 10:30.

The drive from Liard to Fort Nelson is very technical; lots of tight turns and 7 to 8% grades. It was my first time doing it in that direction and I had a lot of fun. I saw more buffalo and caribou today than in all the sightings I’ve had in my life combined.

I’m going to get some work done, gas up, then head to a turnout I stayed at in the spring of ’09. Tomorrow, I’ll move on to Fort St John or Dawson Creek and then the adventure will begin!