Due To Popular Demand...another Blog???

Rut Row. We've created a monster!

Let us explain.

Josh and Maynii

Our last blog, titled "Living and Traveling on Minimum Wage", was a huge hit! We were definitely not expecting that kind of response. We received so many emails. The emails ranged from "let us take you to dinner" and "you must tell us more", to a little bit of "you're full of it" and "yer a couple of socialistic sex-crazed migrant workers". Huh?

Here's an example of how crazy this week has been. Our blog is a year old. Up until last week, we had about 900 visits over that year, mostly from friends and family following along. In the last week, since making our last blog entry, we've had nearly 1000 visits!

So....here is what we decided to do. We have created another blog: http://liveandtravelonminimumwage.blogspot.com/
This is where we will talk about how we live the lifestyle that we do. We'll share how we make money on the road. It's not all minimum wage....sometimes it even less than that :)
We want to keep this blog as our travel blog. Pictures, stories (sometimes embarrassing ones), where we are at and where we are going to. There will be a link on each blog to the other one.

Right now, we sit in Edenton, NC. It's been a little cold here, but we can handle it. We thought about heading south, but it's been cold down there also. And, it's hard to pass up the free facilities here. Many thanks to Craig's Mom and Dad, and their neighbors, Carolyn and Lloyd. Also many thanks to Josh for the wireless router. You rock!
We plan on seeing some local sites while we are here. We also have some minor repairs to make on the travel trailer and truck. Where to next? We're not sure. We have applications in places as far south as Florida, as far north as Ohio and a few local ones here.

Life is good. We are not in a hurry.

Here's something that Craig's Dad shared with us. In the year 2011, there are some unique dates: 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11 and 11/11/11. Also try this: take the last 2 digits from the year you were born and add those to the age you'll be in 2011. Those numbers will always total 111. Cya!

Live and Travel on Minimum Wage

We can already hear the responses to our title.....

"No way"!

"You've got to be kidding".

"Ha Ha...dream on".

But, if your response is.....

"How"?

Then read on. We are doing it. We are coming up to our one year anniversary of travel and leaving behind those stressful careers and horrendous commutes. We are living just about debt free. We've traveled through 17 states along our journey. Are we frugal? Absolutely! Do we get to see and do what we want, whenever we want to? Again, absolutely! Are we retired? Nope, not even close. We have about 15 years (or more) to go before retirement. There are many retirees out on the road, but we're also seeing quite a few "youngsters" out here too. Did we go out and buy a brand new RV? No way. Our 26' travel trailer is 10 years old, yet it is in wonderful shape. We pull it with our 2004 Dodge Durango.

The jobs that we take (when we want to) are mostly minimum wage. Some jobs pay a little more than that. Some include a campsite with all the amenities, electric, water, sewer, WiFi and maybe even cable TV. So we work for a few months, then take a few months off. We have seen so many places in such a short amount of time. And the journey has only just begun.

We've received so many emails asking us questions about our lifestyle. We've thought about writing a book, but we are just having too much fun traveling in our RV! Maybe we will write a book down the road...who knows. But what we'd like to do now is share with you two of the travel and RV resources that we have used to get us to this point in our lives. These resources are in e-book format. To write, or blog about these e-books would take a very long time. We will just include a quick summary concerning each particular resource.

First, and deservedly so, is a wonderful e-book written by Jason and Kelly Odom. This is the e-book that helped us "look outside the box". Here it is:
Vanabode™ - how to happily camp, travel and live forever on $20 a day

Next: Well, we are traveling in a RV. With no experience with one whatsoever, we did purchase a couple of books from RV expert Mark Polk. We are so glad that we did! Here is a list of several books/ DVDs:
RV Education 101

If you haven't traveled along with us and are new to this blog, then follow us from the beginning at: CraigNKarin.blogspot.com

There you can see how it all began, check out some great photos and read about some funny situations that we've found ourselves in.

We'd like to thank everyone that reads along. For those of you that would love to "get your wheels on the road", then come on! And if you truly want to know "how"......then check out those e-books.

A New Year

Happy New Year! We hope that all of you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. On that note, it is time for us to change the title of our blog to 2011. So let's begin where we left off.

Amazon.com is NOT for the weak or weary. The bottom line is.....we worked our arses off! Yes, that is just the simplest way to put it. 55 to 60 hours per week. Lots of mileage and exercise! But, in the end, we made it! We both agree that the pros at this job outweigh the cons. The cons were just the hours worked and the "colder than expected" weather that we had to deal with. The pros were....again the hours worked, the weather, the pay including bonus, the free site with full hook-ups, the free lunches, the wonderful people that we met, and the friendships that have been established. The hours worked actually helped us lose some weight and exercise some muscles. The bad weather taught us how to overcome some difficult situations when living in an RV amongst freezing temperatures. So anyone that may be thinking about working at Amazon.com seasonally, get yourself mentally and physically prepared. As for us, we do plan to return next year.

We finished up on the 23rd of December, saying goodbye to friends and exchanging email addresses. The RV was packed and ready to go. We pulled out the next morning. Our destination was Edenton, North Carolina to spend the holidays with family. We stayed in Asheville, NC on Christmas Eve. We awoke Christmas morning to a bit of ice on the road. Craig was a little nervous, but we found some trucks spreading salt on the highway and followed them. That afternoon, about two hours from Edenton.....BOOM.....a flat tire on the Durango. Have you ever heard of someone that's "not a happy camper"? That was Craig's profile at that very moment. He began singing a sarcastic "Jingle Bells" that would give Cartman from South Park a run for his money. As he unloaded the rear of the Durango to access the spare tire, Karin calmly dodged the items as they flew through the air. Evetually the tire got changed...but wait....the pressure in the spare is too low. And here's a bonus: no air compressor. Sigh.

Now here is where we throw a "plug" in for a service that we have. It is emergency travel insurance that we have to cover both the Durango and camper. It is called Coach-Net. Craig called them (remember, this is Christmas Day). They had someone there within 40 minutes to pump up our tire! Oh happy day!!

So we arrived at Craig's parents house. Christmas lights and decorations galore. After a long journey, Christmas turned out to be beautiful.

We were planning to run to Virginia to pick up Craig's son Josh and his brother DJ the next day. Well, it starting snowing, and it didn't stop until the day after. So with 10 inches of snow, which this area hasn't seen for 30 years, we had to wait a few days to go and get them.

Craig finally did pick them up and it was a wonderful gathering. It is rather rural here in Edenton, but it seems like both Josh and DJ enjoyed the rest and relaxation. It was rather short-lived, as they went back to Virginia. Josh was on the way back to Iraq, with only a few months left there. And DJ, with guitar in hand, promised Grandpa to stop into a recruiting station to talk to the Coast Guard.

So what now? Well, now we are just looking for work. We'd like to go South, if possible. We just prefer to have things lined up before hitting the road. So we may stay in NC for a bit and see what comes up. It's a little cold here now. But now that we're a little more "seasoned" on the cold weather, it actually feels pretty comfy.

Living in our RV: The 8th month

Karin and I would like to start out by thanking everyone for following along on our journey. If you are new to our blog, or have missed some blog entries along the way, then you can find all of our blogs at craignkarin.blogspot.com.

We are currently working in Campbellsville, Kentucky at Amazon.com. We are here to help as Amazon.com gets busy with the holiday season shopping. The job is actually easy, yet the hardest part of it is being on your feet for 10 to 11 hours a day. We have just finished our first 60 hour week. We decided that we are here to work, and only have about 3 weeks to go. So let's get all the hours that we can.

Out of the 8 months that we've been on the road, we have worked during 5 of those months. When we leave Amazon.com around Christmas eve, we plan to head back to North Carolina to visit Craig's parents. After this, we are going to head south to warmer weather. There will be no hurry to find more work, hence the reason that we're putting in the maximum overtime here that Amazon.com allows.

It is a bit chilly here, which has taught us a few lessons about living in the RV during cold weather. On the first night that the temperature dropped below freezing, our water filter that is attached to the hose busted. We have since learned to leave the water dripping in a sink to prevent this from happening again. Craig filled one tank of propane, but forgot to fill the other one. Each tank lasts about a month in colder weather and only costs about $12.00 to fill. We woke up one morning to the cold reality that we had run out of propane. How would we get it filled while working? That's the great thing about our fellow Workampers. We take care of each other. Our neighbors, whom had the day off because they work the night shift, volunteered to run and fill our tanks. They also let us borrow an electric heater. Thank you again, Ken and Debbie!

The Workamping force that has invaded this small town of Campbellsville has had some interesting media written about them. Labeled as "migrant workers", "gypsies" and "nomads", newspapers in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky have written some interesting articles. There was even a small story that had our neighbors, Jimmy and Sheila, on the ABC evening news with Diane Sawyer. If you look at this video, you can even see a quick glimpse of our travel trailer, the smaller RV compared to some of the larger ones around us. I personally think that our RV is big. Karin has reminded me that most males truly believe that things are much bigger.....than they really are.

Here are the links that will take you to the articles that are mentioned above.

The Louisville Courier-Journal article is here:
Courier-Journal

The Lexington Herald-Leader article is here:
Herald-Leader

The ABC World News with Diane Sawyer article/video is here:
ABC News

AND... Karin sent a Letter to the Editor concerning the Louisviller Courier-Journal article. See this here:
Letter to the Editor

Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

On Saturday, October 30th, 2011, a rally was held at the National Mall in Washington D.C. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert led the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear". Who are these guys? They are comedians. Yes, they both have their own shows on the cable network Comedy Central. Jon Stewart represents the somewhat liberal idea that it's time to restore some sanity, both in the political process in Washington and also throughout the country. Stephen Colbert satirically represents the ultra conservative, living in fear of everything that's going wrong.

There was a great amount of entertainment and humor throughout the 3 hour rally. When Comedy Central applied for the permit, they estimated that 60,000 people would show up. Over 150,000 showed up on Saturday, although Jon Stewart thought that he had counted up to nearly 5 million. When they attempted to conduct a roll call, they got up to number six and quit.

Was this a true political rally? Yes and no. The entertainment was enjoyable and funny, although there was an underlying meaning to many of the skits that occurred on stage. Stewart brought out Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) to sing his hit from the 70's "Peace Train". Colbert countered by bringing out Ozzy Osbourne to sing his hit "Crazy Train". Do you get it yet? Be sane on the peace train or be fearful on the crazy train. So Jon and Stephen decided to compromise on the song "Love Train" by The O'Jays. Stephen resisted at first, until Jon reminded him that in love, there is also a fear of heartbreak and sexually transmitted diseases.

Near the end, John Stewart summarized the rally. "We are in bad times, not end of times". Well said Jon. He went on to tell us that no matter how we think or how we live, we all seem to get along and get the job done. As he was explaining this, he showed a video of a row of ten or so toll booths. Once the drivers paid their toll, they were then merged down to 6 or so lanes, then to 4 lanes and ultimately into 2 lanes which eased into the tunnel. It was his example of how we do work together. He did take a shot at the politicians in the Capitol that have no clue how to get through that tunnel when it comes to running this country.

Stewart also said this. "If we amplify everything, then we hear nothing".

So true.

Earlier in the rally, Colbert showed how he has come to fear so much in the world today. He showed a video clip that included Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Newt Gingrich, Wolf Blitzer and several others. Stewart responded by showing Colbert a TV remote control that he had brought to the rally from his hotel room, trying to point out that you can turn off the TV at anytime. But Colbert ran another video clip that showed various news agencies reporting on how the number one dirtiest and possibly deadliest thing in a hotel room is the TV remote control.

Remember people, this was comedy. But even in comedy, sometimes a point can be made.

Fear is a good thing. If a bear attacks me and I have no fear, then I will be eaten. What if I am passing a car on a two lane road and I see that I cannot make it without having a head-on collision with oncoming traffic? Would I do it anyway if I had no fear? Or would common sense tell me to avoid an accident? Hmmm...maybe fear and common sense go hand in hand.

Sometimes fear can be exploited. I personally believe that it's done on a daily basis. I've listened to various shows and hosts that are currently on TV and radio. Some make accusations of hate, racism, bigotry and other sensitive issues. Some actually promote those issues. I'm not going to name or bash anyone in particular, because they all have one thing in common. RATINGS. If you don't watch or listen to them ,then they will go away. So what is they best way to attract people? FEAR. Let's scare them a bit and they will come back for more. Do you truly live in a state of fear? Well Jon Stewart has an answer for that. Push the power button on you TV remote. Switch your radio to an FM station and listen to some tunes.

What a simple solution.

Amazon.com

Here we are in a small town named Campbellsville, Kentucky. We arrived as the fall colors were nearly in full bloom. We come in peace, yet we do not come alone. There are nearly four hundred couples that have also made the trek to Campbellsville. We have not come here for a vacation. We did not go off the beaten path to meet new people. We did not have a psychic experience that told us all to drive to Campbellsville. We are all here for one reason.

To work.

For Amazon.com.

Yes, the United Workampers of America have arrived in Campbellsville to help Amazon.com make it through the peak holiday season. Amazon.com has 3 major distribution centers throughout the country located in Nevada, Kansas and here. Why did we choose Kentucky? Well it was truly a process of elimination. In Nevada, Craig would lose all of his money. And have you ever wondered how it would feel to experience a black hole in outer space? Just take a drive through Kansas sometime.

Why did we decide to come and work for Amazon.com? That's easy. The money and the perks. We make $10 to $10.50 per hour. We all receive a free RV campsite for the duration of our stay. There is a bonus of $500 per person if we complete the contract. Four day work weeks until the peak season hits, then the overtime kicks in. We also get discounts when we order merchandise. It's actually a nice deal to cover the ten or so weeks that lead up to Christmas.

Many fulltiming RVer's are here. Unlike us, most are retired. They come to keep busy and supplement their retirement income. There are a few of us that just decided to get out of the grind and off of the grid. But we are not retired, so we do need the income. Most seasonal jobs just do not pay much more than minimum wage. Amazon.com has offered us a great way to make a quick buck.

Just remember this: a "quick" buck is not always an "easy" buck. This job is easier for some and harder for others. It just depends on what type of shape you're in. Ten hour days are nothing to sneeze at. Yes, you are on your feet all day. Yes, you do get a thirty minute lunch break. And you also get a fifteen minute break in the morning and in the afternoon. You lift things and sometimes they are heavy. There is a lot of walking. There are many flights of stairs! Sorry, no elevators. Comfy shoes are a must. Craig wears tennis shoes while Karin feels comfortable in her hiking boots. A little exercise helps too. When we arrive to work, we begin the day with some great stretches to limber us up. We do the same stretches right after lunch.

So far it's been a wonderful experience. But hey, we're only two weeks into this. We've only been doing five hour days. Our full days start next week. Let's see if we're singing the same tune then :)

It's Been Awhile

Smokey Mountains

Appalachian Trailhead

From the Appalachian Trail

Chesapeake Bay

Atlantic City

Wow! It's been awhile since we posted here in our blog. Sorry to keep everyone hanging. So much has happened since our last entry. We will begin with where we left off.

We said our goodbyes at Mountain Lake Campground. We met alot of friends that we'll keep in touch with. Our fellow workampers threw us a little party a few nights before we departed. The area that we were living in was nearly empty, so we broke a couple of rules, cranked up some music and actually danced around in the wilderness.

We left West Virginia and headed to North Carolina to see Craig's parents. We did stop for a night in Charlottesville, Virginia. We went into town and the traffic was...hmmm...scary. Our first thoughts were "take us back to the wilderness"! We had not dealt with traffic for a few months, so it took a little getting used to.

When we arrived in North Carolina, we were able to setup our camper next door to the parents. Their neighbor has a field with water and sewer connections. We ran electricity from the parents house and were good to go. Unfortunately when we arrived, Craig had come down with a bug. It was a nasty one too. His parents were on the receiving end of it, which made us feel terrible. But everyone is better now.

While in North Carolina, we took off for a few days and headed up the coast to Atlantic City. We crossed the Chesapeake Bay on the bay bridge tunnel. Then we crossed the Delaware Bay on the Cape May - Lewes ferry. It was a beautiful trip! Craig got to play in a poker tournament while we were there. We strolled along the beach and the boardwalk. Atlantic City is nice along the boardwalk, but looks pretty rough when you go a block or two inland.

We headed back to North Carolina and stuck around for about 3 weeks. Craig's parents are doing well. It was wonderful to visit with them. It did rain quite a bit the last few days we were there. Other than that, it was a great stay!

Our next job is in Campbellsville, Kentucky with Amazon.com. We were supposed to start the 3rd of October, but Amazon.com called us and pushed it back to the 17th. So we started our journey to Kentucky. We stopped in Asheville, NC for a couple of nights. Very nice! This is the retirement capital of the USA. How could we tell? Well, there were a couple of obvious signs. Everyone drove around with their blinker on. Also, on the on-ramp to the highway (aka the acceleration ramp), people would come to a complete stop. And once you got on the highway, everyone was in the left lane going 40 mph.

Next stop was Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Home of Dolly Parton and Dollywood! Well, it's a bit "touristy" there, for lack of a better term. We did venture into Smokey Mountain National Park. Beautiful. The leaves were just starting to turn. We found the infamous Appalachian Trail. This trail is over 2000 miles long, stretching from Georgia to Maine. We hiked four miles of the trail. It was a tough hike! Nearly a 1000 feet elevation gain. We had a wonderful day and took some great pictures.

So now here we sit in Campbellsville, Kentucky. We start at Amazon.com on Monday. The campsites here are a bit tight. But we've already met some nice people here.

There's a social hour everyday at a neighbors camper. We asked someone what their plans are after leaving here. We loved their response. "Everything's in pencil. We can erase and change whatever we want, whenever we want". Most of the fulltimers here have been on the road for many years. They all seem to love the lifestyle.