live. work. dream.

“The difference between whether you can make it happen or whether you can’t is not how many obstacles you have, it is how badly do you want to do something totally life-changing—totally for yourself.

We will give you the tools to change your dream into reality, but the implementation is yours to enjoy.”

— Phil and Carol White, authors of “Live Your Road Trip Dream”

And enjoy we have. When we first entertained the thought of taking a sabbatical, my search on the topic came up with Phil and Carol White’s book, “Live Your Road Trip Dream: Travel for a Year for the Cost of Staying Home”

I bought the book because I wanted to figure out how we could take some time off without going broke, and Road Trip Dream succeeded in helping us do just that. With the release of its second edition, the Whites’ book is as vital as ever when it comes to considering every critical aspect of how to plan, execute and live your own road trip dream. Don’t even think of embarking on a journey without reading and following the advice laid out by these two seasoned road trippers.

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Let’s get one thing straight. I’m well aware of the damage that WalMart inflicts on local economies. Jim and I come from a town whose citizens actually kept WalMart from setting up shop along our waterfront. What a great moment it was, when Eurekans came together to stand up for their small businesses.

Because we didn’t have big box stores in Eureka, I shopped at my neighbors’ businesses. Sure, prices were a little higher than at big city chain stores, but knowing that more of my dollar stayed in the community was worth the extra pennies. At the time, Jim and I had a good income stream coming in, and although I made plenty of frugal choices, we could easily afford to shop local.

But once we hit the road, we came out of our Humboldt County cocoon. In most small towns around America, big box stores like WalMart are the only shopping choice. From Yuba City California to Fort Stockton Texas, most cities have allowed chains to come in and kill off many of their independent businesses.

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This post has no photos. That’s because our Canon Powershot S70 went kerplooey over the weekend. By today’s technology standards, it was an antique at a whopping three years old. Imagine: my old Canon AE1 film camera was almost 30 years old when I sold it two years ago, and still working!

Replacing expensive gizmos is one of those aggravating expenses that can put a dent in your budget. We almost spent $200 to $500 on a new camera, until I remembered; we had over 100,000 points in our American Express Membership Rewards account: enough to get Canon’s latest top of the line point-and-shoot G9 camera (a $500 value bought with 78k points).

If you’re going to hit the road, join a rewards club like this one. Sure, there’s a yearly fee, but if you put all of your expenses on the card each month like we do, points add up fast and make up for it. When you cash in, American Express has a huge range of items (from airline tickets to gift cards) that can save your butt in an emergency.

My financial hero Dave Ramsey is totally against using any form of credit cards, but if you exercise self-control and pay the balance off each month, rewards-based credit cards are terrific.

We’re anxiously awaiting our G9’s arrival. In the meantime, we have no shortage of New Mexico photos to publish and blog about.

Our workamping gigs just keep getting better. We arrived at Riverbend Hot Springs resort in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico two weeks ago, to begin our new assignment that will carry us through mid-May. Like the other workamping arrangements we’ve taken on, we are here because we want to learn more about an industry that we think we want to get into someday.

We’ve always thought about running some kind of resort, something outdoorsy with low key accommodations, like yurts or fancy tents, so Riverbend is right up our alley. There’s only nine funky motel rooms, some RV spots, and a parking lot for dry camping. But you don’t come here for the accommodations, you come here for soaking. The place is lucky enough to be located on top of some riverside hot spring pools, so through the years, the owners have built some lovely outdoor hot spring pools with fantastic views of the surrounding desert.

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The end of March marked the end of the first quarter of 2008. Back in the old days of running the business, I used to measure all of our accomplishments and setbacks by the end of the quarter. It was a time to celebrate or drown our sorrows. But this time, for the first time in years I’d totally forgotten that the quarter had ended. It feels so good to measure time in other ways now.

Regardless, budgets still have to be adhered to, if we want to keep moving. Happily, once again we are under budget. Even with higher fuel and food costs, and Jerry’s incredible vet bills, we are still doing pretty good. I feel incredibly fortunate. Without much futher adoo, here’s our Live Work Dream Expense Report for March 2008.

We’ve seen many places in the U.S. where human habitats are completely at odds with the environment. In places like Florida, builders continue battling nature, despite all of the evidence that this is a bad idea. Living there is a constant struggle between the land, the animals, and the humans, and as a result, few things about the place feel natural. There is complete and total disharmony with the environment.

But here in the harsh lands of New Mexico, humans seem to do a better job of working with their surroundings. From the ancient style of adobe buildings that naturally insulate homes, to suburbanites doing xeriscape conversions, people seem to be more willing to work with nature.

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Everything happens for a reason. If we hadn’t have gone back to Los Angeles, we never would have learned that our beloved Jerry’s cancer has made another ugly appearance. You can’t tell by looking at him; he’s as playful and spry as ever. We only took him to the vet for a new heartworm medication, but left knowing we had to get him into oncology treatment, fast. So, we hightailed it back here to New Mexico, to visit a wonderful clinic in Santa Fe, the Veterinary Cancer Care clinic.

We always wanted to see Santa Fe, just not under these circumstances. The closest, most cost-effective RV lodging we found was at Cochiti Lake campground, about 30 minutes south. It’s an Army Corps of Engineers lake, and a bargain at $12 a night.

Our trip into the city was quick; just enough to see the vet, walk around the plaza, and get a good feeling about the place. This joke that a local told us, says it all:

Question: Why did the Santa Fe’an cross the road?
Answer: Because she was channeling a chicken.

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On our way to Santa Fe this week, we tried to “make good time” so we opted to take the interstate.

But as New Mexico’s breathtaking scenery began appearing, how could we be in a hurry? Despite our frantic timeline to get to Jerry’s oncology appointment, I wanted us to have some real fun before we dealt with the serious issue at hand. So we hit the back roads.

My Road Trip USA book has a section about Highway 53, The Ancient Way, which parallels Interstate 40 from eastern Arizona into New Mexico. This route takes you between the Pueblos of Zuni & Acoma, and was the path that Coronado took while searching for the Seven Cities of Gold. This road has been guiding traders, explorers and adventurers through the west for over a thousand years, and since we are explorers, I thought it only fitting that we hauled our rig down that two lane road too.

[Show as slideshow]

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Who says you can’t build real friendships online? Since hitting the road, Jim and I have been lucky enough to build friendships with some of our favorite Internet superstars, some of whom we’ve actually met in person. Finnegan was the first. Then came Heidi, Matt, Sara and Bella, Sami, The Big Dog, and now Rhodester and Coffeesister.

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In the past, whenever I visited L.A., I’d have a hard time adjusting to the frantic pace, smoggy air and traffic. As much as I like seeing my family, I hated how stressful the city made me. But my visit was different this time. Our sabbatical has changed my attitude toward visiting places that I find undesirable, which makes life a lot more enjoyable. As Jim likes to say, “it is what it is,” and I accept that can’t change that. So this time while visiting the region, I decided to try to see more of the positive things about L.A, and find beautiful things about it, like nature.

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