Yesterday was my last day working at BestBuy. I was a seasonal employee, working in the computer department.

I enjoyed working there. Most of my fellow employees were under 30 years old, and I had initial concerns that it would be like a big High School. However, they turned out to be very professional and seemed to accept me without concern about my “advanced” age.

Ann & I were offered positions at the Lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. Ann will be working in the post office and I will be at the front desk.

We thought long and hard before accepting. We will be away from home for a long time (May – October), with the two of us (plus two cats) in a small trailer, several hours away from the nearest grocery store. The pay is minimal, but so are expenses ($6.50 a day for our camp site, which includes full hookups, propane and free washers and dryers).

Meanwhile, we are preparing for our Mardi Gras / Texas trip. We leave Feb 2nd…..

Dave

Cocooning

It’s cold and gray out, and noone want’s to get out of bed. Sleep cycles are disrupted, causing us to wake up at 4 AM and go to bed at 9 PM.

We need the sun! We know it won’t be real warm when we head south, but it HAS to be better than this…

Got word back today that the Argosy needs new brake drums on all four wheels, as well as new magnets. There goes $1000…

Interviews

We had our interviews for the North Rim jobs yesterday. They were done via web cam, which was kind of strange. I really don’t think it helped at all, except that the HR guy interviewing us could make sure we didn’t look like freaks.

We should hear from them in 2-3 weeks.

Plans

Meanwhile, our itinerary for Mardi Gras and beyond is starting to take shape. We are really trying to avoid long haul days, so the trip looks like this so far:

Day 1 – Drive to the Mammoth Cave area of Kentucky. If the weather isn’t too cold then we will stay at the National Park (no electricity at the sites). If the weather is cold, then there is a KOA nearby with decent rates.

Day 2 – Drive to Birmingham Alabama. We will most likely Wal Mart it there.

Days 3-5 will be at the Mystic Springs Harbor Airstream Park. This is an Airstream-only RV park that is owned & run by the Pensacola, FL unit of the WBCCI. Here we will (hopefully) wash the trailer, which is filthy from sitting in the driveway all Fall & Winter, make any needed repairs (always a  necessity in a Vintage trailer), and stock up on supplies. We will also be touring the Pensacola area.

Day 6 – Walmarting it in Bilouxi, MS, or possibly staying at a Casino.

Day 7 – Arrive at the Mardi Gras Rally!

Brakes

While taking the trailer to Jackson Center today, for an insurance estimate on some body damage suffered when I ran over a retread, the brakes locked up on one of the trailer wheels afterI exited the freeway. Backing up fixed the problem, but I plan on having them looked at before we leave.

There is a place in town called Haskin’s Hitching Post that works on commercial trailers. Their work is good and their prices are reasonable. Hopefully I can get  the trailer looked at before we leave. I really don’t want to have to work on the brakes in the snow in my driveway…

It looks like Ann and I are going to be working at the National Park Lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon this Summer.

Details are sketchy at this point, but we are planning on it happening.

We plan to start off this grand adventure with a trip to Mardi Gras and Texas, starting the end of January, 2010.

I will post more news as it develops!

Dave