Work | Live Work Dream | RVing Lifestyle Design Blog

Live Work Dream Expenses October 2007

September 14, 2015November 3, 2007 by Rene

A summary of our RV road trip budget living expenses for the month of October 2007

Wanna see something really scary?

September 22, 2020October 31, 2007 by Jim

Jim and Rene spend a quiet Halloween in a Virginia State Park campground compared to previous hallowed parties.

Where is my ubiquity?

October 30, 2007 by Jim

Considering everything we can do with all the connectivity and communications technology of today, what’s really amazing is what we cannot. What happened to the last mile? Granted, escape is a great benefit of getting away. But one cannot expect to get away indefinitely unless totally self sufficient. Especially, if working from home means traveling full time. And why not? There is so much to see.

In other words, we must work, from the road. The biggest challenge of which is being connected. All the time. The defacto work week for the typical commuter is two days off, in a row, if you’re lucky. For those of us who commute from one line of sight to our satelite to the next, being cut off unexpectedly is a daily threat.

Entire idyllic communities like Humboldt county live in constant fear of losing their connection to the world. And they have high capacity fiber to the region. Well, one strand at least. My string is invisible and can be cut by any number of branches, including one.

The DeFazios – A 67 Year Partnership

October 30, 2007October 29, 2007 by Rene

For over 10 years, Jim and I have lived and worked out of a home office. Our last place was a 100-year old Victorian in Eureka, CA, with two separate flats; one for home, one for work. We were like old timey shopkeepers, living above the business. Now we live and work out of our 200 sq. ft. trailer. People often asked us, “Don’t you guys drive each other nuts? How do you stand it?”

That was easy. The perks of never having to get a real job and doing a freeway commute every day, always outweighed the challenge of putting up with each other’s idiosyncrasies on a daily basis.

While in Troy, New York, we met another married business couple. Only they have a really, really long history together. And a special secret to getting along…

Batteries do go bad.

October 23, 2007 by Jim

I’ve been mulling over a draft for a post about our custom RV solar power system for months, ever since we left the prime solar energy country of the southwest. It has just been working so well for us that we haven’t really had to think about it much. Then our batteries crapped out on us.

For the past few months, we have spending about half of our nights in state and national park campgrounds, without hookups. And we have easily been able to go eight hours or more without using our Honda 2000i generator to charge the batteries. Or longer if we had good exposure to the sun.

Life as a Campground Owner; Never Underestimate the Entertainment Factor

October 12, 2007 by Rene

Come September, scenes like this put a wide smile on campground owner’s faces.

We have often considered buying a campground when this trip is over. So whenever we can find an owner who has time to chat about what it’s like to run one, we love to listen and hear about what it’s really like. When we arrived at one resort in Maine, it was a quiet weekday, and the owner was happy to share some advice about the realities of running a campground.

Blogging for Fun and Profit

May 10, 2012October 10, 2007 by Jim

RTC Logo Wearing my RTC Tech Beat column contributor hat for the Redwood Technology Consortium, I recently wrote this article about what we’re doing to monetize the various blogs we publish. It appeared this morning in the Eureka Times Standard.

There’s no place like home.

October 9, 2007 by Jim

Perhaps that’s a good thing. But perhaps the reason we like Vermont so much, is that it reminds us of the last place we called home. After spending ten years in Humboldt County, CA, we were ready for a change. But finding a small town near abundant natural beauty with an open minded population of young creative individuals has been a challenge. Until we visited the Green Mountain State, that is.

Chasing Down Biodiesel

October 30, 2007October 5, 2007 by Rene

When we picked out our Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck, one of our requirements was that it had to have a diesel engine, so that we could run biodiesel or straight veggie oil (SVO) in it. We wanted to offset our footprint by buying such a large vehicle. So we took a class on Making Your Own Biodiesel, learned the ins and outs of producing and buying it, and set off on this trip with the hope that we would find it in lots of places. Eventually, we’ll make our own, but for now, we have to rely on Biodiesel.org to tell us who’s selling it and where.

The Numbers: September 2007 Budget Figures

September 14, 2015October 4, 2007 by Rene

Ideas, tips and worksheet for creating a road trip budget forecast plan.

Our 15 Minutes of Fame: We’re Featured in RV Life Magazine!

October 3, 2007October 2, 2007 by Rene

RV Life Magazine features profile on young professionals of Live Work Dream and their RV road trip sabbatical.

Creatively Making Money with Digital Scrapbooking

October 1, 2007 by Rene

People often ask us if we miss our “stuff.” Well, the only thing I miss are my scrapbooking and card making supplies. I hated to put them in storage, and thought I’d have to say goodbye to my favorite creative outlet for a while.

But recently, I was introduced to Digital Scrapbooking, and fell in love with it. The digital way of preserving family memories is so much less expensive, more flexible — and saves a ton of space, because everything is done on my computer.

I’m enjoying it so much, that now I’m teaching others about it. Even people who don’t consider themselves “creative” are finding that they can design crafty “coffee table” style, archival quality photo books.

RVblogz.com Now Offers Free Travel Blogs!

December 2, 2007October 1, 2007 by Jim

I haven’t written any posts here in a while since I have been frantically developing the final touches for our latest online venture …

We are proud to announce that the long-awaited RVblogz.com is now online! With RVblogz.com you can get your own free travel blog to document your adventures and keep in touch with friends and family while on the road.

Be one of the first to take advantage of this new free service and join the growing community of RVbloggerz today!

Live Work and Play with Fido at Bark Harbor

October 1, 2007September 30, 2007 by Rene

With a wag of his tail, our dog Jerry always seems to bring us such good fortune. On Saturday, we took him to “Bark Harbor,” an upscale pet boutique in Bar Harbor’s downtown area. As we walked in, we noticed a flyer that advertised the business as being for sale, along with the building which has an upstairs apartment, and a separate home away from downtown. Woah!

We’ve often said that our next business would be some kind of dog-oriented operation, and the opportunity to start one was right in front of us, in one of the most beautiful locations we have been to yet.

A Milestone: Splashing in the Atlantic

February 5, 2020September 26, 2007 by Rene

Team Agreda and their Tripod dog Jerry reach the Atlantic Ocean in Acadia National Park, Maine. Driving over 7,000 miles towing their RV 5th wheel trailer, they have gone from the Pacific to the Atlantic.