Get-A-Way Vehicles - Dania

For the most part, I'm a Get-A-Way from the big city kinda guy. One of my favorite outdoor super stores is the Bass Pro Shops/Outdoor World in Dania. Any given day, it's like walking into Disney but during Christmas, it's even more so. As soon as you pass through the entrance, there is a roaring fire place and stuffed deer in a setting that looks like the cabin in the mountains I always dream about. It's little wonder the real Santa chooses Bass Pro as his winter headquarters. I went to look at maybe getting a tent but something caught my eye. The annual Recreational Vehicle show.

The RV lifestyle has not really interested me but I do have some experience. I lived in a 5th Wheel for a short time while I was between houses. I helped completely restore a vintage motor coach, and I spent a week traveling in Alaska with some friends for the actual RV experience. Each one of those fine vehicles had their pluses and even longer list of minuses. As I get ever closer to my early retirement date and given my desire to make exploring a full time venture, I thought I would give a little look see and get an idea what modern life on the road is like.

Like anything at Bass Pro, the RV show was way over the top. There were about 100 vehicles from North Trail RV Center of every size imaginable except small. They started from a van with a bed and toilet for about $80,000.00 to a palace on wheels for $800K.

Remember the days of Formica counters and cheap linoleum floors? Forget about it!! Try tile throughout and granite counters. How about a full whirlpool tub or toy hauling garage in the back for your golf cart or Harley. The options were insane. The pop-out models looked twice as big on the inside as the outside. They must have been designed by Doctor Who. The one that really got me had a staircase leading to the bedroom. I spent hours checking every model. Multiple indoor flat screen TVs with an outdoor one as well does not seem very back to nature to me. Nearly half the models had a better kitchen than my house. Most had so much storage you would need a treasure map to find your stuff.

You can forget about navigating with paper maps or hand cranked awnings and leveling kits. Everything is a button now. I'm not sure how much classroom time and simulator training it takes before they let you solo but in my case, quite a bit. I'm sure the next models will be fully automatic including the driving and nuclear power plant.

I don't have the price of admission for most of the rolling mansions but there was this one, not super stylish, but not like RVs of Christmas past. All I would need is a little pension money for gas and to get paid for blogging (or beg) for food and it would be totally do-able.

663 Miles and it's Only Day One

Miami

South Florida is an exciting place to live, there is no doubt about that. I spend a lot of my free time looking for the less exciting things to do. A lot of stress can build up in a week and I find I decompress best with a little nature, a little art, some music, a show, a nice meal, or a weekend get-a-way. Sometimes, the best part of living in South Florida is watching it disappear in the rear-view mirror.

For those of you not familiar with the east coast of Florida, it's basically one continuous city from the Keys to West Palm Beach, and from the protected Florida Everglades right up to the waves crashing on the shore. There are a few natural spots along the way, the places I write about, but the rest is endless concrete and steel. A couple of times a year, I like to leave it all behind and recharge somewhere else. I don't normally take my blog along with me but since I want to take it all the way to Japan, I thought I would give blogging from the road a try.

Once you pass West Palm Beach, you realize what a flat, empty, long and boring state Florida really is. Perfect for a little mental recouping. You can drive hundreds of miles without a single car horn or police siren blaring. Once you reach Ocala, the road undulates a bit from the dead flat of South Florida.

North Florida Rest Stop

On this trip, I'm heading to Pensacola. Florida is shaped like a boomerang and I'm driving from the southeast tip to the northwest corner. You know you are truly in North Florida when the rest stops are nicer than the city parks back home. This being October, there is also a chill in the air. Something that happens very rarely in Miami.

The purpose of this trip is to see my daughter then head even more north for a little mountain air. And to see if I can drive and blog at the same time.

Sign Me Up!!

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

10,000 Free Round-Trip Tickets to Japan. That's the headline. Click the link for the details. I did about 17 times already. The catch is you need to blog about the trip or post about it on social media.

No Problem!!! I'm blogging about it right now!! I know, if you follow my blog you are saying to yourself "What is he thinking? He just writes about cheap fun in South Florida". True. That's how I manage to save money and travel the world. In the last several years, and in no particular order.... London, Paris, Norway, Iceland, Shetland, Faroe Islands,  Ireland, Scotland, Costa Rica, San Francisco, Yosemite, Alaska, Dallas, Asheville, Vancouver, and thousands of driving miles with visits to little towns all along the way. I like nature because I live surrounded by metropolitan areas but I have no fear of exploring the urban jungles of the world. 

My Blog has a regular, world wide following - Red Nomad Oz from Australia and TexaGermiNadian currently residing in Finland, as well as my friends and family and 10's of random hits from around the US and the world each day. But hey - that could shoot up with proper marketing. Say like winning Free Round-trip Tickets to Japan!!! Unlike many bloggers, I seek out the best things in life, the simple pleasures, the most fun for the buck, and love to blaze the trail for those that want to follow. 

In addition to this blog, I have a Facebook account and  a Flickr account. My go to travel camera is the Nikon D70. The camera is great but the photographer still has a bit to learn. The percentage of post-able photos goes up each trip so that's a plus. 

Let's talk about my next big travel adventure. I was planning to head to Italy on a 14 day tour this year but I have a daughter in college and in need of a car. That took financial precedence. Japan has certainly been on my bucket list. My parents went several years ago and came back with glowing reports. I can manage a trip/tour but add to that a flight half way around the world and Japan is just a little out of my reach. All things being made equal with once in a lifetime Free Round-trip Tickets - Japan suddenly goes right to the top of the travel list. 

I am a big fan of sushi and have been for decades. I can eat an entire meal with chop sticks from salad to the last grain of rice. I tend to go for the baby octopus, sea urchin, eel, and anything I've never tried before. Eating will not be a problem for me in Japan. Sake might be. I'll stick with the Kirin Ichiban and  Sapporo. My favorite meal at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is always the Bento Box lunch . The best sushi I've ever eaten was in Vancouver. Closer to the source I suppose. 

I think that covers my qualifications for a free ticket. So where do I sign up? Who do I need to call? Which of my fans can help me out here? Most important - Who wants to go with me?