Wow, I go away for one afternoon and the whole world changes! What’s up with that?
I had to get up earlier than usual for me yesterday morning, because I needed to be wide awake for a 9 a.m. conference call. I’ve found that folks tend to get offended or lose confidence in you if you snore during a business call.
The call took about an hour, and then I spent some time answering e-mails and checking some blog comments that were waiting for moderation. (To fight spam, all blog comments are held for review the first time somebody makes one. After that, the software recognizes their e-mail address and comments post immediately).
I also called my friend Greg White to ask his opinion on a couple of technical issues. No matter what questions I throw at him, from computers to digital cameras to synthetic transmission fluids, Greg always has the answers for me. Either he’s really smart, or he just makes stuff up off the top of his head and gets lucky a lot, I’m not sure which. Thanks for your input, Greg.
About the time I finished up with all that, Dave Damon showed up to borrow my Beanstalk ladder so he could fix something on his rig. Dave also reminded me that his wife, Jean, wants to give Terry and I massages while we’re here. I can hardly wait!
We left the Thousand Trails campground a little after noon, and drove around the area, dropping off bundles of sample copies of the Gypsy Journal at the local RV parks. We also stopped at the Camping World in Orlando to drop off a bundle of papers, but since we didn’t have a display rack for them, the manager said no. This is one of only two or three Camping World stores to say no in over twelve years. I understand their space limitations, but it’s a big store. We just don’t have the room to carry display racks with us, and we could never get back to refill them with every new issue with our travel schedule.
Interestingly enough, the nice folks at a very small RV parts store called Camping Connection, just a few miles east, were happy to have the papers, and found a place to display them. I guess if I need anything while we’re in the Orlando/Clermont area, I know who will get my business.
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Once we were done dropping off sample newspapers, we drove to the Bass Pro Shop in Orlando to do some browsing. I love Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop, because they are RV friendly, and most of their stores will let RVers park overnight, and because they have every kind of toy a grown up boy could want or need. Are you looking for a new shotgun, or a sleeping, bag, or a GPS, or a fishing rod? How about a pocket knife, a boat, or a tent? They’ve got it!
Most of the employees I have met at these stores are very professional, but I ran into one dunderhead at the Orlando store. We plan to spend a week or so in the Florida Keys, and I wanted to buy a rod and reel to do some fishing. I was looking for an inexpensive rig that would do the job without breaking the bank, because experienced fishermen have told me that if you use a cheap reel for fishing salt water, you can pretty much expect to throw it away at the end of the season.
An employee in the fishing department asked if he could help me, and I told him what I was looking for. He shrugged and said “ You got a rod, you got a reel, you got some line and a hook. They all do the same thing.” I was tempted to pick up a cheap $10 kid’s rod and reel, and then one of their most expensive units (some selling for over $1,000) and seek out the manager and ask him why there was a difference in price, since they “all do the same thing.” Instead, I just took my money and left.
After stopping for dinner at a good Chinese buffet, we arrived back at the Thousand Trails preserve a little before 7 p.m., to find the place much busier than it had been before we left. I think everybody left Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, and they all got here at the same time! When we left a few hours before, about a third of the RV sites in our loop were empty, including the ones next to and across from us. When we got home, those and just about every other site we passed in our loop was filled. I go away for one afternoon and the place fills up!
I guess the annual snowbird migration has begun. And it will only get busier over the next few weeks!
Thought For The Day – The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Camping Connection came out to our coach to install a new Winegard Road Trip satellite last week. They arrived on time (actually early) and had the satellite installed promptly. No surprises on the bill and the satellite works great. It’s good to be able to provide a good reference of an RV company – Camping Connection is worthy.
Good Morning Nick,
We also have used Camping Connection a number of times and find that they go out of their way to help you and they do an outstanding job. There is nothing that they cannot do or answer.
Another vote for camping Connection.
Maybe your new neighbors heard you were there and wanted to be near you….
Interesting post on the Orlando Bass Pro Nick. We were in there a few days ago and I was looking for a new spinning reel that I saw on their web site but not in the store. I approached a young male clerk in the fishing dept who was texting something on his cell phone and asked about the reel I wanted to buy. He never looked up, just said I think its over there on the next isle or else were sold out and kept on texting.
Maybe you could get your rod and reel at Camping Connection. By the way I’m lovin’ my new Droid X, but a vertical learning curve.
Nick, pick up a Tony The Tiger rod and reel. As a joke I picked up one for a fishing trip with some buddies and got lucky and caught the most fish on that trip. The teasing still goes on years later.
Bad move at Camping World. I stayed overnight at the CW in Valencia, CA. That free overnight only cost me $150.
I live in Orlando and used to go to Camping World for all of my RV work. No more. I have found Camping Connection, and they are incredible. Excellent technicians. Friendly management. Much, much better than Camping World in this part of Florida.