My wife has a Barnes & Noble Nook (also a fine e-reader), but I have a Kindle. Amazon makes Kindles in many different varieties that serve different needs and different budgets. Kindles have fixed storage capacities, but even the cheapest current model offers 2GB (enough to store about 1500 books!).

The author's own Kindle DX!

My own Kindle is the Mac Daddy DX version. It features a large 9.7-inch black & white (e-ink) screen that is not backlit. The “e-ink” screen makes it easy on the eyes in all sorts of lighting environments, even bright sunlight.

Overall I love my Kindle DX and its large display. But if there’s a drawback to my model, it’s that the DX is a bit bulky and heavy compared to the standard Kindles. It’s heavier in the hand. It’s also more expensive (thankfully, mine was a generous gift). I don’t think the DX sold particularly well, because Amazon isn’t really promoting it these days. The standard-sized Kindles are where the action is. Once you try one, it’s easy to see why.

A standard 6-inch Kindle.

My mother has two Kindles. One is the 6-inch size and the other (the new Fire model) is 7-inches – about the size of a traditional book. (For you ladies out there, Mom likes these sizes because they easily slip into her purse.) The standard e-ink Kindles are light as a feather and a joy to read. “Sometimes I forget I’m reading my Kindle,” Mom told me, “and I try to physically turn the book page!”

If you want larger text on a standard Kindle, it’s easy to adjust the font size to suit your eyesight. The entry level Kindle lacks a touchscreen, but it costs a mere $79. It weighs less than six ounces; if it was any lighter, it might blow away like paper! So it’s no wonder these amazing devices are selling like hotcakes.

The Kindle Fire tablet.

In addition to the 6-inch e-ink Kindle (a black & white unit that’s just like mine but more portable), Mom also has the new Kindle Fire. The Fire is a more robust tablet that’s comparable in performance to an iPad or Nook Tablet. Its backlit full-color touchscreen isn’t quite as eye-friendly for readers as e-ink, but it does a great job with Facebook, email, web surfing, playing videos, apps, and games like Angry Birds. There’s no camera or GPS, but if you want a reasonably priced tablet, the $199 Fire is the bargain of the year.

What about e-books? It’s my belief that e-readers should lead to a lower cost for books. We all should benefit by the permanent retirement of the “dead tree” delivery method. The end of paper-and-ink printing and distribution should mean better prices for everyone.

Along these lines, we’ve priced my e-book on RV camping (Long Long Honeymoon – Living Large in a Small Tin Can) cheaper than a cup of fancy coffee. For only $2.99, you get a whopping 80,000 word book on RV camping. Not a bad way to start the new year.

So that’s a quick look at the Amazon Kindle.

There are many e-readers available for your purchasing pleasure. One of the most popular rhymes with “book.” Why should I choose to focus on Kindle? Conspiracy theories abound. Am I biased? Have I loaded up our investment portfolio on AMZN? Or am I merely an Amazon fanboy who wears Jeff Bezos pajamas?

Nah. While I may be a bit of an Amazon fanboy, I started with Kindle because Amazon is currently KING KONG of the e-reader world. If recent sales figures are to be believed, Amazon is now perched on a skyscraper high above E-Reader Metropolis with Fay Wray sitting on its lap. Or is that Jeff Bezos in a dress?

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a dress? This is wrong on many levels.

With Kindles selling faster than mouse ears at Disney World, it’s good to be King Kong. But if there’s a pesky swarm of biplanes on the horizon, it’s the Barnes & Noble NOOK.

The author's book on his wife's NOOK.

The Nook is a series of e-reader devices sold by everyone’s favorite brick-and-mortar bookstore behemoth. These range from inexpensive e-ink readers (Nook Simple Touch) to more robust tablets (Nook Color & Nook Tablet). You can buy Nooks online, in 90,000-square-foot bookstores, in shady back alleys, and even in exotic specialty stores like Walmart.

After slugging it out with Amazon, Apple, and Sony for a couple of years, Barnes & Noble has carved out 25% of the e-reader market. I’m not sure whether that share grew or shrank this past retail quarter. But if a Nook tickles your fancy, current market share shouldn’t matter. Nooks are excellent devices and they have garnered a large and dedicated following. In fact, there’s a Nookite in my own family.

NOOK Simple Touch ($99)

About a year ago, my wife was choosing between Kindle and Nook. She chose NOOK. Why?

“I liked that I could check out e-books from our local library on Nook,” she told me, “and it was also easier to lend and borrow books from friends.”

Over the past year, Amazon has made strides by adding these features to Kindle, but her points were well taken. Nook was first to embrace book lending. Amazon arrived late to the party.

“Also,” she added, “I like that Barnes & Noble has real brick-and-mortar bookstores. If I bring my Nook into a store I can read any book for free. Sometimes they offer complementary coffees and that sort of thing to Nook owners.”

A national network of physical bookstores? Free hot beverages? The occasional slice of pumpkin pie? Amazon won’t be adding those benefits anytime soon. Advantage: Nook.

NOOK Tablet ($249)

Another feature of Nook that appeals to the geek in me is the micro SD card slot. The micro SD slot allows owners to easily expand the memory capacity of their Nooks. The only Kindle with such a slot was the first generation unit that Amazon no longer sells. All of the new Kindles have no memory expansion. (Sometimes I think Jeff Bezos graduated from The Steve Jobs School of Dumbing It Down.)

Along these lines, one exciting development in the world of NOOK was the Nook Color. While its full color backlit touchscreen is not as eye-friendly as e-ink screens, it is fantastic for displaying magazines and children’s books. But the real excitement? Nook Color could be “rooted” and converted into an Android tablet. Thousands of people bought and “rooted” Nook Color to Android so they could check Facebook, play Angry Birds, etc. In a way, these hacked Nook tablets paved the way for the Kindle Fire. Of course, now there’s also a fancy $249 Nook Tablet that offers a few spec sheet upgrades over the Kindle Fire.

The Nook Tablet is a premium color ereader. At $249, it’s half the price of the cheapest Apple iPad. It’s also $50 more than Kindle Fire. But it’s loaded with more memory than the Kindle Fire (1GB of RAM which makes it more speedy), allows for capacity expansion via the micro SD slot (only 1GB reserved for user content, but easily expandable up to 32GB), and an integrated microphone. The idea of the microphone is genius – it allows grandparents to narrate books for their grandchildren. Of course, the microphone also begs the question, “How many technology challenged grandparents will ever be able to figure out this feature?”

We could spend all day debating the technical pros and cons of “Nook versus Kindle,” but it strikes me as a “Ford versus Chevy” type of argument. Both camps have their loyal fans. Really, with the exception of the occasional tech failure, I’ve never heard an owner of either device regret their purchasing decision. At the end of the day, either a Nook or a Kindle will get you where you want to go.

You first need to decide exactly what you want to do. In other words, do you mainly want to read books? If so, a true “e ink” device with a black-and-white is what you want. Trust me, these black-and-white readers are fantastic for extended reading sessions. The screens are simply easy on the eyes.

If you want to do Facebook, browse the Web, and so forth, then your choices become more spendy and a little more complex. Or in the case of one option, spendy and simple…

It’s time to address the Godzilla of the e-reader world. Yes, we’re talking about Apple and its iPad tablet. If Amazon is King Kong, Apple is Godzilla. (In this analogy, Nook is Rodan; never underestimate Rodan.) While iPad isn’t a dedicated e-reader, many people use it as such.

NOTE: Images are not to scale (we all know that Godzilla is much larger than King Kong).

It wasn’t so long ago that ol’ Mister Black Turtleneck himself was standing on stage like some sort of Silicon Valley prophet, proudly holding his gleaming metal tablet aloft. The initial response was a collective, “Huh?” On that day Apple CEO Steve Jobs suffered a few snickers at the device’s name, which reminded some of a feminine hygiene product.

A lot has happened since that fateful day in 2010 when Jobs unfurled the iPad to skepticism and derision. It turned out that Jobs was once again right. The iPad became the most popular consumer product since running water. People around the planet bought RVs just so they could more comfortably camp outside Apple stores while waiting to buy the latest model. Apple became more valuable than the Earth itself.

You never know when NOOK might fly into the scene and crash Godzilla's party.

As for Steve Jobs, in 2011 he moved on to that great product launch in the sky. I read the authorized Steve Jobs biography (on my Kindle – sorry, Steve), and learned that he was almost as much a jerk as he was a genius. (I’m being generous by using the word “jerk” instead of a certain alternative.) Jobs had his own way of doing things. His approach worked wonders with technology, but not so great with people. One lesson we might draw from the Steve Jobs tale? Never rely solely on herbal teas and fresh fruit to cure pancreatic cancer.

Steve Jobs at the original iPad product launch. Good times...

In some ways, the iPad represents Steve Jobs’s final genius move on the global computing chessboard. Apple created the tablet market. The iPad has flourished where others have struggled. If you are considering full featured tablets, there’s the iPad and there’s everyone else. Many other tech firms have tried to compete with iPad, and failed spectacularly. Yes, Apple has acted like Godzilla in this tablet space, and has reduced many tech rivals to smoldering ruins. (Hey, anyone want to buy some HP stock?)

My in laws have an iPad and they love it. In fact, I’ve never really heard from anyone who didn’t enjoy the iPad.

The author's father-in-law browsing vintage vehicles on his iPad.

Every iPad comes equipped with an Apple logo; we all know what these logos do to price. The cheapest wifi-only model costs $499. A fully loaded model will cost you $829 (plus a monthly 3G contract with AT&T or Verizon). Even with these prices, iPad benefits from the Apple halo effect. Many consumers happily pony up a few extra hundred dollars to get the Apple gadget, even though cheaper alternatives abound. This is a key reason why Steve Jobs died with 7 billion dollars in the bank.

Apple's iPad 2 ($499 and up) is the Rolls Royce of tablets.

What is an iPad? It’s a 9.7-inch touchscreen equipped with a robust CPU and Apple’s intuitive iOS operating system. It’s kind of like a jumbo iPhone, but without the phone. This is not intended as criticism; the iPad is perhaps the best Internet content consumption device ever created. If you have any familiarity with iPhone, you already know how to use an iPad. It’s brilliantly easy to use. Steve Jobs dubbed the iPad experience “magical,” and who are we to argue? This is the Rolls Royce of tablets. Yes it costs more, but you get a very smooth ride. It does everything quite well. (Everything except play Flash content; Steve Jobs didn’t like Flash, so neither does iPad.)

Like other tablets, iPad really isn’t focused on content creation. Most people don’t go to the Internet to edit HD video or write the next War and Peace. If you want to check email and Facebook, browse websites, and even play a few games, do you really need a physical keyboard and mouse? The iPad has proven that you do not.

The iPad’s large backlit LCD touchscreen does not offer an “E ink” reading experience. For those of us who enjoy reading novels (and labyrinthine Steve Jobs biographies), an iPad is less than optimal. The backlit screen simply strains and tires the eyes after a while. Black-and-white e-ink devices like Kindle and Nook can be read all day long without eye strain. Nevertheless, a lot of people are doing a lot of reading on the iPad. The iPad is wonderful for magazines and the Web, and fine for short bouts of book reading.

The 9.7-inch iPad screen is larger than most of the competing ereaders. The larger size is nice, though it comes at a cost of weight and bulk. If you’re kicking back on the sofa or easy chair and browsing the Web, the iPad is tough to beat. But unlike Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, the iPad isn’t purse ready. Sorry guys, but it probably won’t fit your murse either. It’s thin but it just isn’t as compact and lightweight as the less expensive competition. On the other hand, the build quality of the iPad is excellent. The iPad feels well crafted and solid in your hands.

What about apps? This is where iPad really shines. iPad benefits from Godzilla’s – I mean, Apple’s – massive network of third party developers who are churning out fresh apps on a daily basis. At last count the iPad boasted more than 250,000 separate apps (ranging from games like Angry Birds to social media like Facebook). There’s an app for just about every desire under the sun. And here’s a key point – you can install free Kindle and Nook apps for iPad. So if you want to buy books on Amazon / Barnes & Noble and read them on your iPad via the Kindle / Nook apps, feel free to do so.

At last app count, Android was catching up to Apple quickly via the Android market. But since Apple was the first on the scene with its iTunes apps market, it remains the gold standard.

If you’ve got the coin and want to indulge in a premium full featured tablet, it’s hard to find fault with the iPad. The main criticism these days concerns price, since there are lower cost alternatives available in the form of the Kindle Fire and Nook Color. Some Wall Street analysts have speculated that Apple will unfurl an “iPad Mini” to better compete with these tablets. But I would also state that if your primary goal is reading books (not magazines), the “e ink” screens offered by inexpensive Kindles and Nooks are better suited for this purpose.

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It’s always a bizarre sensation when we return to our brick-and-mortar home after a few months in the Airstream. In the vast world of cavernous recreational vehicles, our Airstream is pretty small. But there’s a strange transition that happens when you adjust to the full-time experience. You get used to it. After a couple weeks of full-timing, you quickly adjust to the new normal.

While this may seem extreme to some, for others a five-month Airstreaming journey is just a warmup. Yes, there are those who travel for even longer periods of time in even smaller rigs. Enter Lani and Chris, a young couple who have traveled for a couple of years in a 23-footer.

This is another couple who decided to push the “work from home” concept to the extreme. Why wait for retirement to travel? If you can work from anywhere, then why not work from anywhere you want? When plotting the course of their telecommuting adventure, they chose between two seemingly dichotomous paths.

“I gave Lani two options,” Chris said. “We could either move to Argentina and experience life in South America, or we could move into an Airstream and see the United States. She chose the Airstream.”

That Argentina was an option validates what I’ve long suspected. The type of person who embraces full-time Airstream travel at a young age is often the same type of person who embraces international travel. It’s a mindset, a thirst for exploration and personal growth. That’s why Kristy and I have featured travel to Guatemala, El Salvador, Argentina, Jamaica, and Europe here on LongLongHoneymoon. Whether we’re camping or not, the motivating spirit is the same.

So, even though they had never spent a single night aboard an Airstream, Lani and Chris bought a 23-footer sight unseen. Next they bought a tow vehicle and tugged it to Florida. After establishing residency in the sunshine state for tax purposes, they ventured out into the country. Their path was not dissimilar to our own, as they took their Airstream west to places like Yellowstone, Banff, and the California redwoods.

Meanwhile, nature took its course when Lani discovered she was with child. At this news, many people might understandably pull the plug on the Airstream experiment. But Lani and Chris followed through, taking their Airstream to New Hampshire to have baby Emerson.

Has life aboard the Airstream always been an easy, blissful, joyous experience? Are you kidding? Any time you pursue an unconventional lifestyle that involves unique challenges, there are going to be some difficult times. A lot of people talk about tiny houses; these guys have been really doing it. Airstreams take the tiny house concept to the limit. At times Kristy and I have space issues with our 25-footer; I can only imagine what it would be like to add a newborn baby into the equation.

In her entertaining blog AluminumBliss.com, Lani has written with honesty and humor about the good days and the not-so-good days. At one juncture after having the baby, Lani wrote, “the Airstream life wasn’t working for me. I needed more than 160 square feet.” This reaction, it must be pointed out, is completely rational.

When I asked Chris and Lani to talk about the impact of Airstream travel upon their relationship, they just looked at me and laughed. Fair enough.

So there have been ups and downs. That’s to be expected. Life aboard an Airstream, just like life while traveling anywhere, remains life. When we seek out new experiences and turn our crazy dreams into reality, we can’t expect perfection. There will always be peaks and valleys. Hopefully the upside more than compensates for the downside. Hopefully we emerge from the experience a little wiser and a lot more satisfied.

A couple of years have passed since Chris and Lani departed on their Airstreaming journey. It’s possible that soon they will turn the page and begin a new chapter of their lives. Yes, they probably won’t live the rest of their lives inside a tin can. Guess what? We won’t either.

But they will move forward into the future with the knowledge that they did it. They turned a crazy idea into a viable lifestyle. They persevered and somehow made it work – for years. If they decide to park the Airstream and move on to the next adventure, they can do so with satisfaction. It’s far better to try and know, than to go through life wondering.

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If you walk into any electronics store, you’ll find HDMI cables are expensive, with some selling for $50 or more. Quite frankly, these high-priced HDMI cables are a RIP-OFF.

Do NOT Use HDMI Cables as Mental Floss.

Don’t get suckered into overpaying for an HDMI cable. Digital signals consist of ones and zeros – there’s no discernible difference in signal quality between a $50 cable and a $5 cable. It either works or it doesn’t.

HDMI cables deliver pure digital goodness, but that doesn’t mean they should be expensive. You can buy a nice HDMI cable for less than $5.

If you check out the reputable site Monoprice.com, you can pick up a nice 6-foot cable for $3.56.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240

Still too pricey for you? Here’s one on Amazon for $0.70. That’s SEVENTY PENNIES (plus shipping).

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Resolution-Cable-DVI-Gear/dp/B0002L5R78/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1204150160&sr=8-1

Repeat: EXPENSIVE HDMI CABLES ARE A RIP-OFF.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming…

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Okay, things are pretty bad. But they’re not that bad. Recent economic activity resembles a dead dog on a freeway during rush hour, but people are still living their First World lives. It’s only a matter of time before Apple announces the next iPhone. Tell me – how bad can it really be when people are willing to CAMP OUT for a freakin’ phone? In other parts of the world, people are fighting for survival. Here people are fighting for the latest version of Angry Birds. But I digress.

Any way you slice it, the economy stinks – so why not share some money-saving ideas? I’ve always been a big believer in FRUGALITY. Whatever your net worth may be, it will be EVEN GREATER if you know how to use it wisely. Once, as a bearded, smelly twenty-something, I toured several European countries like Austria, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. It cost me about $30. Granted, I came home with a few extra fleas, but I learned how to stretch out a few measly dollars for days at a time.

Sometimes I joke about being a cheapskate. But it’s really not about being “cheap” per se; it’s about being SMART. There’s a word for people who are frivolous with their money. That word is “stupid.”

Let’s start by examining CLUBS. I’m not talking about sipping an Arnold Palmer down at the golf course while wifey takes tennis lessons from the buff young stud. I’m talking about those vast marketing organizations we join that promise to somehow save us money.

First up: COSTCO. Is Costco a “club?” In a sense, yes Costco is a club. You pay an annual membership fee in exchange for a variety of benefits.

I’m a Costco FANATIC. (Full disclosure: I own Costco stock – and even in the current climate, it’s doing okay!) Quality products, great prices, and free food samples – what more do you need? We buy anything and everything at Costco. Costco buyers negotiate excellent prices up front, and then they pass those prices along to members. It’s said that Costco will NEVER mark up an item more than 14% above its own price. Joining Costco, if you have the opportunity, is a no brainer. One big ticket purchase like a TV and your annual membership fee is covered.

What about GOOD SAM CLUB? It all depends. Do you intend to do a LOT of camping in privately owned full hookup campgrounds? If so, it makes sense to join Good Sam Club. We’ve had some good experiences (albeit not our best experiences) at those parks. When we are doing a lot of travel, our Good Sam membership just about covers itself.

Note that some (not all) campgrounds will honor AAA membership discounts as well as Good Sam Club. So if you are a AAA member, you reap some of these discount rewards too.

What about PUBLIC LIBRARIES? These aren’t technically “clubs,” but you pay your membership fees in taxes whether you use them or not. So you might as well use them. These days, a well run library is a source for all sorts of media. In addition to books, you can get movies, music, and Internet – it’s a media moocher’s paradise. Is that what Ben Franklin had in mind?

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The park service issued this description of the attack: “At approximately 11:00 a.m., at a point about a mile and a half from the trailhead, the couple walked out of a forested area into an open meadow. It appears that the couple spotted a bear approximately 100 yards away and then began walking away from the bear. When they turned around to look, they reportedly saw the female grizzly running down the trail at them. The couple began running, but the bear caught up with them, attacking the husband. The bear then went over to the wife, who had fallen to the ground nearby. The bear bit her daypack, lifting her from the ground and then dropping her. She remained still and the bear left the area.”

Other hikers heard the woman’s screams and called rangers to the scene. But it was too late. Tragically, the husband was mauled to death.

The park has closed hiking trails near the mauling, but the bear will not be hunted or captured. This is because she was acting naturally in defense of her cubs. It was a textbook example of what happens when a mama grizzly is startled.

Although this was the first fatal mauling INSIDE the Park in 25 years, it’s the third mauling in the area in just a year. In fact, a man was mauled to death at a campground just outside Yellowstone last year. Bear activity in Yellowstone is on the rise.

Yellowstone is my favorite park. What I really love about the park is the very thing that makes it dangerous: the abundance of wildlife. It’s awe inspiring to witness wild bison, moose, elk, wolf, and yes, bear roaming their native habitat. Bears will always roam Yellowstone. There will always be occasional human-bear interactions.

So, while you’ve no doubt heard this advice before, you might as well hear it again… A few bear safety tips:
Make noise – wearing “bear bells” is one option, but not a very effective one. BEAR BELLS ALONE DO NOT ENSURE YOUR SAFETY! You should talk to your hiking companions. If bears hear your voice, they will likely try to avoid you. Feel free to shout. When my wife and I hike in the backcountry, we occasionally shout, “Hey bear! Hey bear!”

Stay in a group. Your odds of survival increase in a group. Bears are less likely to attack groups of three or more people.
Carry pepper spray. This “bear spray” stuff isn’t cheap ($50 a can?!) but it has been proven to work. When you carry it, you need to be ready to use it.

Keep food away from campsites. Store food and other potential bear attractants inside your RV, preferably inside sealed plastic containers.

If you do see a grizzly bear, walk away slowly or play dead, but avoid fast moves. In the Yellowstone fatality, the husband reportedly told his wife to run. While this reaction is understandable, running is the WORST response to seeing a grizzly bear. It often provokes the predatory instinct in the bear to chase its prey. Grizzlies are always faster than humans, so this chase has a predictable end. In fairness to the hikers in the Yellowstone attack, it seems the provoked bear was already running towards them before they chose to run. But there is no point in running. YOU CANNOT RUN FASTER THAN A BEAR.

What about guns? Yes, you can carry a gun with you into the park. However, the NPS advises that firearms should not be considered a “wildlife protection strategy.” Pepper spray has been proven to work (and it’s a helluva lot easier to carry on a hike than a shotgun). But if you want to carry a firearm, you are free to do so.

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There’s nothing lighthearted or fun about severe weather and tornadoes. Those of us who camp are especially vulnerable to twisters. If you plan to do any serious RV camping, sooner or later you will confront this issue. The last time I checked, no RV comes equipped with a basement.

It can happen just about anywhere. One of our most frightening nights of severe weather in our Airstream occurred in Michigan, about a thousand miles north of our Alabama home.

There are a couple of key points to remember with regard to tornado safety.

First, get a weather radio. Ours cost forty bucks, but you can find them for as cheap as $10! ANY weather radio is better than no weather radio. A weather radio will help alert you to any severe weather or natural disaster threats that may exist in your region. It’s not only tornadoes that we’re concerned about. Last year, for example, flash floods killed several campers in Arkansas. In other parts of the country, you may be vulnerable to wildfires. Heck, weather radios even cover man-made threats (riots and so forth).

Second, have an emergency escape plan. When you receive the severe weather alert, you may need to move to a SAFE PLACE. So it’s a good idea to have some knowledge of your community’s (and/or your campground’s) safest nearby shelter. Some places have designated tornado shelters. Others have solid brick buildings (for example, laundrymats) that are at least preferable to campers. Ask the campground staff for recommendations.

If tornadoes are the local threat, consider finding an underground shelter. The recent tornadoes in Alabama have underscored this point: your survival may depend on being in an underground bunker. While this is often not possible, it should be your goal. These huge tornadoes will scrape entire brick houses off the planet; your only hope may be underground or in a fortified storm shelter.

If you want to help the state of Alabama recover from the devastating tornadoes of April 2011, consider making a donation to the American Red Cross — Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 (http://www.redcross.org/)

Goods are also being accepted. Check out Toomer’s for Tuscaloosa (a private effort of citizens helping citizens) on Facebook.

I realize that we all are accosted by requests from charities on a daily basis. With that said, the April 2011 tornado catastrophe is a unique situation, a natural disaster on a massive scale that must be seen to be believed. The state saw a record 362 tornadoes in ONE DAY. Many people have had every material possession taken away. Others have tragically lost friends and family members. Over 250 people lost their lives in Alabama alone. The scope of the damage can hardly be overstated, and recovery is going to be a long haul.

Special thanks to the gang at Cullman Life (CullmanLife.com) for providing video footage of the Cullman tornado.

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Aristocrat Mainliner & a Tin Can Tourist from Sean Michael on Vimeo.

Since this was a vintage show, each car predated the year 1976. There was a nice variety of cars on hand, ranging from an immaculate 1949 MG roadster to a 1960 Corvette to a pair of beautiful 1950s VW Beetles. There were several vintage pickup trucks that looked as if they just rolled off the showroom floor. Amongst all of the shiny mechanical gear, there was one standout vehicle. Yes, we spied a lovely vintage CAMPER resting alongside all of the cars and trucks.

Naturally, my curiosity was piqued. Who brings a camper to a car show? I had to find out. It turns out that Alex, the owner of the 1965 Aristocrat Mainliner, is a kindred spirit in more ways than one. She graciously hosted an open house of sorts, answering questions about her camper. A member of the Tin Can Tourists vintage camping club, she brought the camper to the car show just for fun.

She has owned the camper for about three years, she said. It is in pristine original condition, and for a camper that’s almost FIFTY years old this is no small feat. She bought the camper via eBay from its owners in Salt Lake City; I suspect that dry Utah desert air (along with decades of conscientious ownership) had something to do with preserving the Aristocrat over the years.

If I had to choose one word to describe Alex’s vintage camper, it would be “original.” For the most part, the camper is obviously in its original form. Alex explained that she carefully sought an unmolested example of the brand. In those places where her camper required some restoration and upgrading (for example, the curtains) she made careful period-appropriate selections.

The interior displays a decorator’s touch, with a variety of playful art. One painting celebrates “Hoppy,” the nickname Alex chose for her Aristocrat camper. “That’s the nickname,” Alex explained, “because she just hops along as we travel down the highway.”

Note that Alex’s camper is not a museum piece or a garage queen. She enjoys the Aristocrat in the manner originally intended: CAMPING! She has taken it to Tin Can Tourist rallies. “Hoppy” is a means of exploring the region, meeting people, and getting more out of life.

After speaking with Alex for a bit, we discovered that we share several common interests. In addition to enthusiasm for vintage vehicles and camping, we both are passionate about video. (Making quality video is kind of like making blood sausage, but a few of us sickos actually enjoy the process.) Alex has done a lot of work with television, while Kristy and I have had a few brief interludes with HGTV and the Travel Channel.

“I wasn’t sure about bringing this camper to a vintage car show,” Alex said, “but you never know who you’re going to meet.”

Indeed. That’s the spirit that makes events like vintage car shows and camping rallies tick. It all goes back to that phrase adopted by the Porsche Club: IT’S THE PEOPLE.

Sure, Kristy and I are Airstream enthusiasts. We’re also RV enthusiasts, vintage camping enthusiasts, car enthusiasts, and motorcycle enthusiasts. It’s more about mindset than it is the product or lifestyle in question. We’re enthusiasts of cool people and the fun activities they pursue.

From the guy who lovingly restored his workhorse 1970 Chevy pickup truck (winning the “best paint” award in the process) to Alex and her fantastic 1965 Aristocrat Mainliner – it’s always rewarding to meet kindred spirits.

Special thanks to Alex Alexander for sharing “Hoppy” with the rest of us.

Selling books out of the trunk of a car - LITERALLY!

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Thus, one of the dilemmas of full-time RV travel: how to handle the daily influx of paper documents demanding our money?

Those of us who forego a fixed brick-and-mortar address entirely (and truly live full-time board the RV) encounter a certain set of issues. The upshot is that you’ve gotta pick a fixed address SOMEWHERE. Many full-time RV travelers obtain a P.O. Box in South Dakota (to take advantage of that state’s relatively generous laws regarding residency, taxes, and so forth).

Those of us who maintain our brick-and-mortar address while traveling face different issues. After a lengthy camping sojourn, we risk returning home to a mountain of envelopes. While we’re chasing moose in Montana, all of that mail is piling up back home.

A helpful YouTube comment (thanks MarthaNYC!) alerted me to the UPS option. Just about every substantial town in America (give or take a few towns) has a UPS Store. These are privately run franchises that are affiliated with a pretty fantastic shipping company: United Parcel Service. You can tackle all sorts of tasks at a UPS store, from shipping to general office jobs like copying and faxing. But what’s of special interest to RV travelers is the ability to RECEIVE mail. Yes, you can rent your own mailbox at your local UPS Store.

There are several benefits to choosing a mailbox at UPS vis-a-vis a post office. These are discussed in the video.

Some others are detailed in the following brochure. I scanned this image for you to peruse.

Click the image to see the full brochure detailing benefits of UPS Store mailboxes, courtesy of The UPS Store.

What I like best is the personal service aspect. With a UPS Store, I would proceed with a feeling of confidence that phone calls would be answered by actual human beings who would care about my satisfaction. That’s worth a lot.

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I’ll always remember the first time I read Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. I was a summer kitchen employee at Yellowstone National Park. In those days I was employed by Hamilton Stores, an organization staffed mostly by retirees. The retirees liked to take long lunch breaks (we’re talking 3-hour siestas from 11 until 2) so I often found myself with a few hours to kill in the middle of the day. My companion was Hemingway. I loved that book, and will always pair it with the experience of being in Yellowstone at that time.

Sean's new eBook: THE LOST SPYDER.

For most of my adult career, I have been classified as “writer.” Even when designing websites or short films, the ultimate job description is to write. And so I have finally tackled the Mount Everest of writing tasks, and produced my first novel. It’s called “The Lost Spyder,” and is available now on Amazon KINDLE and Barnes & Noble NOOK. It’s priced to sell — only $4.99!

This story is mainstream contemporary fiction, and has nothing to do with camping (although a silver trailer does briefly appear in the first chapter). Instead, it was inspired by the world of exotic car collection. A few years ago, long before our Airstream was a twinkle in my eye, I was addicted to all things automotive. Yes, I am a recovering car addict. I started this book as a way to explore that passion in creative form.

If you read the book, you will learn a little more about our hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Believe it or not, Birmingham is now home to one of the world’s premier race courses and is one of the global hotbeds of Porsche activity. The Porsche factory even operates its own racing school in Birmingham. So these real world developments provide an authentic backdrop for a fictional story.

If I had to choose a genre for the book, it’s a “mystery” with elements of “thriller” and “suspense.” Yes, there is a private investigator. There are also generous amounts of humor and action. Probably because I love to travel, there are a few different exotic (and not-so-exotic) locations. The book is 100% fiction, but it’s grounded by some genuine locales and historical events.

I actually wrote the first draft of this book in 2003. Not unlike the mythical car at the heart of the story, I stashed my manuscript away for several years. Oddly, I think it aged well. The advent of new e-reader technologies like Kindle and Nook have motivated me to break the novel out of long term storage and share it with the world. Special credit must go to my mother (a retired English teacher) who insisted that I do so. “You need to publish that book,” she told me again and again. So I have finally heeded my mother’s advice.

Of course, now she’s saying, “This book would make a great movie. You need to make that happen.”

But first things first… let’s focus on books. The introductory price is only $4.99! If you are looking for a fun book to download to your new e-reader, this one’s for you.

To learn more about my novel, head on over to LostSpyder.com – or just check it out on AMAZON KINDLE and B&N NOOK.

(Coming soon on other platforms. Note that if you have an iPad, you can easily read the book by using either the free Kindle or Nook apps.)

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Here’s an unlikely “less is more” tale that’s somewhat documented in our Christmas card video.

Best $10 we spent this year? Our Christmas tree, a real one that was among the neglected leftovers on the lot.

Just a few days ago, we were going through the season as usual, but for whatever reason had not put up a tree.

In years past, we’ve gotten some pretty large trees into our house. That history was part of the problem.

Large trees are quite lovely, but they are a bear to purchase, move, and decorate. It’s an intimidating task that wipes out much of your day. We’ve still got deep scratches on our back door from the gigantic tree we wrestled into the house a few years ago.

So this year we had been negligent on the tree trimming front. We were playing Christmas carols and putting up other decorations in our house. But NO tree! Sure, we were enjoying the season, but it felt like something was missing.

One morning it dawned on me: less is more! Our Christmas tree doesn’t need to be a redwood. My favorite Christmas cartoon is the classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in which our befuddled hero takes home a neglected little tree and shows it some love. Why couldn’t we do the same?

And so we did. Since we were late to go Christmas tree shopping, almost all of the trees were gone. Our chosen $10 tree was literally among the final two trees on the lot. It’s a size I would deem “comfy” – it meets the Goldilocks criteria of being not too large, and not too small. It’s just right.

Getting it home was a breeze! I was able to lift the tree by myself and set it in the bed of our truck. I carried it inside the house by myself too. (A few years ago, just lifting our gargantuan tree was a two-man job.)

Since our tree is on the small side, we found a nice place for it in a highly visible part of our living room. A larger tree wouldn’t fit into this spot.

Once we got the tree positioned inside, we had a wonderful time sipping egg nog and decorating. Of course Kristy takes the lead on the tree trimming, while I spearhead the egg nog effort. (Seasoned with a healthy dash of Maker’s Mark and nutmeg.)

Decorating the tree required no ladders or other gymnastics. It was a cinch. It was especially a cinch for me, since I mainly just watched Kristy work her magic with twinkling lights and golden ornaments.

In the days since we brought home our little “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree,” we’ve gotten an ENORMOUS amount of enjoyment from it. Not only is the tree pretty to view, it’s served as a daily reminder of the season, and made our home feel more complete.

Our smallish tree brought us a great deal of fun and satisfaction, never once feeling like a chore. Just another example of “less is more” in action.

From our family to yours…

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

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