live. work. dream.

Hola, housekeeeping … me name is Jaime. I am here to clean your rooom. Knock, knock. Hello?

OK, I didn’t clean the rooms. And the housekeepers at Riverbend all spoke perfect English. Nonetheless, my workamping job at the hot springs in Truth or Consequences gave me a good taste of resort management.

Good enough to now know that we could easily run some sort of lodging business, someday. And good enough to know that we would hire workampers to do the dirty work.

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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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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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So this is paradise, eh? Well, if your idea of paradise is parked in a crammed, dumpy RV “resort” for a whopping $40 a night, where you are so close to the next RV that you can’t roll out your awning, where you have snotty French Canadian neighbors that refuse to say hello or make eye contact, then Paradise RV Resort in Fort Lauderdale is for you!

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Did you ever wonder how campground hosts get jobs in places like Yellowstone, or along Lake Champlain? Chances are, they heard about it through the Workamper Association. They’ve been around for over 20 years, and their Workamper News is the best way to hear about adventurous job openings for everything from being an interpretive guide, to running trains for traveling carnivals!

Keep reading to see our movie with interviews from employers exhibiting at the 2008 Workamper conference we attended in Lakeland, FL.

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It’s a swampy night here in Vero, and we’ve spent the last few hours swatting away bugs while enjoying the last of the holiday season. This monumental year is coming to a close, and even after thousands of miles and too many towns to count, we are both nowhere closer to deciding where we want to live, or what we want to be when we grow up.

We have our favorite regions, but really, the only decision we’ve been able to make, is to decide not to decide. In essence, that is a decision of sorts, right?

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I just had to share this classic RVing video I found on YouTube. Ya gotta love the old school slide out (at 01:21) circa 1937! You can find this and other funny RV videos in our Road Trip Favorites video playlist.

How appropriate since it talks about RVers flocking to the “Land of the Palms” and we are currently sweltering in Florida. Note the date of this post!

As we chase the sun from North to South, we are living out an eternal summer. It’s wonderful being in Floriduh, where we have all the farm fresh produce we want, and the sun shines all day while the rest of the country is freezing their butts off. But life in Margaritaville makes it a little hard for us to get into that ol’ Christmas spirit. It seems so ridiculous to hear a country version of White Christmas on the radio, when it’s eighty one freekin’ degrees outside, humid as all hell, and we’re sipping Mojitos.

But last Saturday morning, bright and early at 8 AM, Santa came to visit us at Jetty Park. He wanted to make sure us fulltimers knew what time of year it really is.

After Santa’s visit, I got a little sad that we won’t be seeing our families in California this Christmas. But still, we’re glad to be escaping the annual consumer shopping orgy, and not doing much of anything on the 25th. Now, our New Year’s Eve plans are another story . . .

Jim and I have taken on our first Workamping gig at Safe Harbor Animal Farm in Maysville, North Carolina.

Workamping can be anything from being a campground host, to running an office at a KOA campground. Sometimes it pays, often it doesn’t, but it always includes free rent of a full hookup site and other perks, like free laundry. It’s a great way to stretch your budget.

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This will be the first Halloween in 41 years when I didn’t spend weeks preparing for a big party complete with decorations, props, costumes, and… oh yeah, birthday cake.

Having been born on All Saint’s Day – or Dia De Los Muertos to be precise – I have always enjoyed my birthdays in full costume. As I grew older, the parties I threw for myself got bigger and more elaborate. Last year, we made sure my 40th was the mother of all blowouts. It would be the last in our stick house, so we raised the roof and scared all the spirits away with the help of DJ Headcase and his special guest, none other than Buck Calhoun.

But enough about myself. I really wonder where we will be and what we will do this year without all our boxes of costumes and props we’ve collected and built over the years. Unlike a number of full-timers we’ve met, we did not bring our lawn ornaments along with us. I think it’s great, but ya gotta wonder where they keep all this stuff.

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