What? You want even MORE?

You’re not getting a resume. However, we will offer this bio of “the dude behind the blog.” It’ll have to do.

C.S. (Sean) Michael is a traveler, writer, and filmmaker. He has visited more than 30 different countries (including an early-90s teaching stint in the former Czechoslovakia) and 49 states. Over the years he has pursued a variety of unique experiences, from scooping ice cream in Yellowstone National Park, to directing films at Universal Studios, to drinking cognac in the former Soviet republic of Transdniestria. He attended law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (learning “just enough to be dangerous”) before leaving to help start one of the world’s first Internet content companies. In an odd twist of fate, he was once somehow named a “Small Business Innovator of the Year.” But he’s much more proud of hosting a party at the Playboy Mansion, sitting behind Dave Letterman’s desk, and meeting Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto. Recently, he hauled his Airstream travel trailer to Alaska and back. At the end of the day, he can often be found sipping a glass of wine, watching the sunset and plotting his next walkabout. He hopes that his books will help others in their own pursuit of happiness.

We were married May 20, 2007. Kristy left her job a couple of weeks later, and we departed on our Long Long Honeymoon.

Yep! Since Kristy was between jobs, and Sean could work from the RV, we decided to take a crazy long roadtrip. We started blogging our travels with articles and video. And the rest is history.

Easy! Because life should be a long long honeymoon. When you think about it, honeymoons are usually “once in a lifetime” trips filled with excitement, romance, and magic. Why limit that spirit to a week, when you can live it every day? We’re happily stuck in “the honeymoon phase.”

Why, thank you for asking! One easy way to to CLICK A LINK! You may want to check out Sean’s books on Amazon too. But probably the best way to support this website is to purchase items on Amazon using the links in the Long Long Honeymoon Supply Store. Just clicking these links (and ideally making a purchase!) is helpful to our site.

Watch this video (and visit the Long Long Honeymoon Supply Store to buy what you need)…

So far we have visited all 49 States in North America. We’ve also visited five Canadian provinces, Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon, Quebec, and Ontario. We don’t have some master checklist of states and places to visit; we tend to travel whenever to wherever strikes our fancy. With that said, we do plan to ultimately visit Hawaii (duh). We’ve also visited more than 30 countries, but are usually forced to tote backpacks instead of an Airstream.

Not really. We had tent camped together once before. We had also spent one weekend aboard a friend’s travel trailer, just to see if the RV thing might possibly work for us. We do recommend that if at all possible you try an RV before buying.
TV INTERVIEW: PART ONE

Not exactly. It’s true that many RV’ers live full time aboard their rig. We are not technically true “fulltimers” because we also maintain a brick-and-mortar home other than the RV. But when we do travel, we do so with gusto and are typically gone for weeks or months at a time. In that respect, we are “part-time fulltimers.”

In her former job, Kristy worked for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She was the Campaign Coordinator for the Alabama Gulf Coast Chapter of the “Pennies for Patients” program. Sean has always been an entrepreneur, and was working doing independent video production (writing and directing commercials and so forth). Now we work together on video and digital filmmaking projects. Got loads of money to spend on a commercial? Give Sean a call.

TV INTERVIEW: PART TWO

The videos and blog are Sean’s baby. He totes a camera everywhere. He usually writes, shoots, and edits the videos as a solo project with no crew. He started posting the videos on YouTube just for fun. Kristy has been very understanding and supportive.

Nah. The numbering system just helps Sean keep his editing files better organized. But you can really watch them any way you want.

Sean has battled a severe camera addiction. He already owns several high-definition video cameras, so sometimes Kristy has to hide the electronics catalogs. All video on Long Long Honeymoon has been shot in HD. Much of the material has been shot with Canon and Sony HDV cameras (Canon HV20, Sony HC3) but we now also have a 1080p Sony EX1, a Panasonic TM700, X920, and a couple of GoPros. Then there are the Nikon DSLRs and lenses. Oh yeah, and the Sony E-Mount system. And the Sony A7Rii. And did we mention the Fuji? In addition to single-handedly supporting the Japanese camera industry, Sean has other filmmaking tools like tripods, car mounts, wireless microphones, etc.

Not unlike James Bond, Sean carries around a little briefcase full of microphones. We use different ones depending on the situation. But the workhorse is a $1000 Sennheiser MKH416 shotgun mic. The MKH416 is an industry standard shotgun mic. We also use Countryman EMW lavalier mics, a Sennheiser wireless kit, an Audio Technic AT897 shotgun mic, a Shure SM58 handheld mic, and an Oktava MK012 condenser mic. If you are wanting a good cheap mic to go with your video camera, consider a Rode Videomic ($150) or a Sennheiser MKE400 ($200).

Sean uses Sony Vegas Pro to edit video on Long Long Honeymoon. Note that Sony also offers a consumer version of Vegas called Vegas Movie Studio; while we haven’t used it, we suspect it includes everything you need to get started. All of these video editing programs work in a similar fashion. The key is to find one with which you are comfortable. Sean likes the interface and professional features of Sony Vegas (although he hates Sony’s lack of telephone customer support). Sony Vegas Pro is expensive, but you can buy the consumer oriented Vegas Movie Studio for about $100.

The formula for getting sponsors is easy. It goes like this: (1) create compelling content (2) build an audience who enjoy said content (3) sell access to said audience to sponsors. See? The formula is easy. It’s executing the formula that’s the challenge. As the saying goes: if you build it, they will come. But you gotta build it. That’s the hard part. We’re not being facetious. If you look around at successful blogs and bloggers, they typically start out by blogging about their PASSION. They do it because they LOVE it. They do it daily. They are so passionate about their topic, they attract an audience of like-minded people. A little more info about #3: you can sell sponsorships by corresponding with corporate marketing departments. But you’ve gotta have something to sell, something more than an idea. You need truly compelling content that stands out from the pack. You probably need an audience, too — or at least a demonstrable likelihood of an audience. On LongLongHoneymoon.com, many of our sponsorships have come to us. We are sometimes approached by would-be sponsors because they appreciate our library of quality content. But note that we were blogging for a year before inking any sponsorship deals. One final comment about sponsorships: it’s a tough road. Don’t expect instant results and you won’t be disappointed. Do what you do because you love doing it. Nurture your website like a garden, and in time it may bear fruit. But don’t give up the day job, either.

This is just a matter of personal preference. Some people choose motorhomes to avoid the task of towing, but end up towing a car (often affectionately called a “toad”) behind the motorhome. Instead, we chose to tow our RV. There are advantages and disadvantages to all different types of RVs; that’s why they make ’em! You get to pick what works for you.

We like all different kinds of RVs, but we fell in love with Airstreams. We not only like the timeless style and design, we also like the camaraderie of Airstream owners. The trailers have a cult following, sort of like Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Plus, Sean liked the fact he got to buy a pickup truck to tow it.

We tow our Airstream with a Ford F250 diesel pickup truck. We nicknamed our truck “SEEMORE” in tribute to the Airstream slogan, “See More, Do More, Live More.” The truck has done a fine job. If you want to tow a heavy camper like a Classic Airstream, you should consider a diesel tow vehicle for the torque and fuel economy. Plus, Sean likes the noisy racket the thing makes.

Well, it isn’t free. But there are ways to cut costs, and it helps if you can work from the road. RVing is like everything else, there’s a wide range of options in all price ranges. We’ve seen everything from $2500 pop-up campers to $2 million buses. As far as our situation goes, we carry our work on the road with us. The Internet is a wonderful thing.

TV INTERVIEW: PART THREE

 It’s really tough to pick favorites, but here are a few: Key West (Florida), Glacier National Park (Montana), Whiteswan Lake (British Columbia), and the redwood forests of California. We enjoyed visiting Quebec and attempting to speak French. We also love Yellowstone National Park. But it’s a truly vast continent, and there is no “best” place to camp. Heck, we’ve had fun just parking overnight in Walmart parking lots.

Yes. This is not unusual among hardcore RV’ers. We’ve also stayed at Cracker Barrel, Flying J, Love’s, and other not-so-scenic commercial locales. It’s okay to do so once in a while.

 It’s been said that “if you’re bored, then you are a boring person.” In other words, wherever we find ourselves, there’s always something to do. The challenge is being self-motivated enough to do it.

We have pretty amiable personalities, and our nature is to get along. Do we sometimes have disagreements? Who doesn’t? But it’s actually pretty rare that someone’s feathers get ruffled. If anything, RV travel seems to promote camaraderie and compromise. Of course, on any trip (RV or otherwise) it helps to pack a sense of humor.

Not on your life!