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May, 2007

It’s been a busy winter for RVTV while we continue shooting season 4. After leaving south Florida we headed to Navarre – on the forgotten coast in the panhandle of Florida. This little slice of heaven is a great find. We visited the Navarre Beach Campground located on highway 98 between Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola. This quaint campground is a laid back little community with it’s own beach and fishing pier. While there Mardi Gras was celebrated in fine style with a parade and party. We also met up with the Allstar Roadtrip Families in Navarre. These are two young couples traveling on the road for two years in the Newmar Mid-engine Class A. These families are the new generation of RVers and we hope their story encourages more young families to hit the road. Navarre is a great location and one you should put on your must-do list.

Our next stop was a very special one…New Orleans. We decided this season we were going to dedicate one entire episode to this special city. Now is the time to fall in love with New Orleans all over again. These folks have been through extraordinary hardship, but soul is waterproof and our visit proved to us that this is true. We stayed at the wonderful The French Quarter RV Resort. Located just blocks from the French Quarter. This facility offers first class amenities, concierge service, saltwater pool, 24 hour security and hospitality. The most celebrated and historic core of the city – including the Faubourg Marigny, French Quarter, Central Business District, Warehouse and Arts District, Magazine Street, Garden District, Audubon Park and Zoo and St. Charles Avenue – not only remains intact, both physically and spiritually, but is thriving. The cultural riches, sensual indulgences and unparalleled service that define the New Orleans experience continue to flourish, as they have for centuries. They are open, fully prepared and eager to welcome visitors again. The food…well you just can’t have a bad meal. We visited with Blaine Kern, Mr. Mardi Gras, at Mardi Gras World. He is a real character with charm and pizzazz. We also visited with local renowned chefs, artisans and native Orleanians who all had the same message…come back…we are open for business….forever New Orleans. Be sure to watch for this very special episode.

We reluctantly left New Orleans and headed west. We had planned to take a couple of weeks off and decided Galveston would be a lovely place for a little R&R. After exploring the island for a few days we knew we were not going to have our R&R…it was too great a location not to film, so off to work we went. There are two good RV parks to stay in while on Galveston Island. The first is the Galveston Island State Park. The park is right on the beach and you can walk the incredibly un-crowded beaches for miles and miles, shelling, looking for sharks teeth and just enjoying the gulf waters. The park offers electric and water but no sewer, however there are dump sites at each section of the park. There is a two week maximum stay during season. They also offer trails and outlooks for birding and a nature center. The second RV option is a county owned park, Dellarana. This is a smaller park offering full hookups and more amenities. Again, you can walk for miles on the beaches. If you visit Galveston, you will not be bored. Galveston offers 32 miles of relaxing beaches, superb restaurants, marvelous downtown shopping, art galleries, and one of the largest and most well-preserved concentrations of Victorian architecture in the country. You also do not want to miss Moody Gardens with the pyramid aquarium and rain forest…another must see.

Searching for a little warmer weather we made our way to the South Padre Island KOA. This park is THE place to stay while visiting South Padre Island. Located on a slim finger of land surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and Laguna Madre Bay, the South Padre Island KOA naturally offers all kind of water adventures. Enjoy deep-sea or bay fishing with Osprey Fishing Trips, boating (KOA has its own boat launch), dolphin spotting and shelling. Swim in KOA's 25-meter pool, the bay or Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark directly across the street. There's plenty to do on land, too, thanks to the campground's fitness center, recreation room and on-site FishBones Pier and Grill. RV sites include free wireless Internet service and expanded cable. You should also visit historic Port Isabel located just across the causeway. Pelican watching and fresh seafood top off your trip to South Padre.

We then headed north to Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Outdoor Resorts. If you want true luxury this is a good choice while in the area. Located only three miles from the strip this resort is an urban oasis. While this is an Class A only ownership park, renters are welcome and sites are plentiful. As everyone knows, Vegas is about the food, the entertainment and the gambling. But for a quiet elegant side to your visit, try this resort.

We are headed back home after 6 months on the road and have finished filming season 4, a season we feel will be the most informative and interesting ever. Be sure to check back in for show times and schedules and new features on our site. As Rob says, “Travel Safe and Have Fun”

RVTV Goes Green

Why do we RV? We want to see the country, experience the people and of course enjoy all that Mother Nature has to offer. From crystal springs to the red rocks or the Petrified Forest to glowing white sands…we want to savor the natural beauty of this country.

Unfortunately, those natural resources are being depleted at an astounding rate. Global warming and pollution are on the rise and the sad fact is that we as RVers are contributing to the problem. We create trash, we don’t recycle at most campgrounds, and generally do not make an effort to live green. But we think it is time for the RV Nation to take some steps that will positively affect not only the environment but future generations as well. At RVTV we have decided to lead the charge with some small changes that can make a big difference if we all make the effort. The first thing we did was purchase three large mesh bags to do our shopping which cost $2.00 each at a flea market. We take the bags with us when doing our shopping and use them instead of the plastic bags provided by the grocery store or retailer. About 2.5 billion plastic shopping bags are used every year. That’s about 2,500 bags used per family per year. Plastic bags are made from oil, a finite resource. By using reusable bags we help to conserve earth’s resources. Also, you don’t have to worry about what to do with all those bags in the rig. Speaking of plastic bags, our favorite store is Whole Foods Market. Not only because they sell the highest quality natural and organic products, we appreciate that they practice what they preach. If you get a plastic bag from Whole Foods it is recycling in action. Their bags are made with 100% post industrial waste and they will pay you 5 cents for every bag, even from another store, that you reuse on your next shopping trip. We also enjoy the fact that they have a large selection of recycled paper towels and toilet paper. If we recycled all of the newspapers printed in the U.S. on a typical Sunday, we would save 550,000 trees – or about 26 million trees per year. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 1,000 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water. Recycling paper uses 60% less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin timber. One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year. At Whole Foods we particularly like the house brand 365 Everyday Value. The products are made from 100% recycled paper and being the Whole Foods house brand, it makes it easier on the wallet to live green. In fact, all the 365 products are worth trying. (Whole foods paid us nothing to say this!).

Another step we have taken is to start using the new generation of rechargeable batteries. These batteries are much more reliable than the older versions and if you are like us, we go through a lot of batteries. With a little diligence (remembering to always have some charged) we are no longer throwing batteries into the overflowing landfills.

One of the easiest ways to be aid the environment is to recycle. It is a shame that so few parks offer recycling. At home, we recycle everything and it feels wrong to throw out those water bottles, glass and paper while RVing. If we are on a short trip and recycling is not available we will use a rubber bin and save it until we get home. It can be a bulky and messy project and sometimes impractical, but we do try. I think RVers are a large and vibrant segment of the population and we should start to insist that campground and resort owners make a concerted effort to offer recycling. At the very least they should offer information on where in the area you could take your recycling if it is not available on site. Unless we start to speak up that recycling stations are important to us as RVers, things will not change. Make some noise for the environment.

RVs will always run on fuel, but perhaps a hybrid or renewable ethanol products could be mainstreamed into the industry. RV’s will never be 100% environmentally friendly, but we as RVers can make a difference. Whatever you take into an area – take out with you. Recycle, reuse and think green. As we discover more ways to live green in your RV, we will share them with you. We all love being out in this glorious world so let’s make an effort to make sure it is here and healthy for the next generation.