Category: Articles

Do you belong to a group of writers who meet regularly to encourage each other? Does the idea of retreating back to nature with your writing group get your creative juices flowing? Putting together a writers’ retreat in a beautiful natural setting may be easier than you think. These steps will help you plan and execute a back-to-nature RV camping retreat for you and your fellow writers.

Pick a Stimulating Setting:

To get your plan rolling, you’ll need to decide whether to set up your RV camping retreat nearby, or make the journey part of the retreat. For instance, if your writing group is located in Chicago, and you’d like to kick off an annual “Lake Michigan Writers’ Retreat,” you could research scenic campgrounds in lakeside villages within easy driving distance. If your group can retreat for more than a weekend, why not choose two or three quiet lakeside RV campgrounds and incorporate travel into your retreat plans?

No matter what state your group calls home, you can plan your retreat around seasonal occurrences like fall foliage or spring wildflowers. Pick a location where the beauty of nature is sure to inspire creative writing.

Create Your Retreat:

To create the perfect retreat, incorporate these ingredients:

o Agree on some ground rules to protect the “retreat” nature of the trip.

o Schedule time for writers to be out in nature by themselves to write and reflect.

o Plan easy meals that can be created in your convenient motorhome kitchen.

o Arrange when you’ll meet as a group each day to discuss what you’ve written.

o Plan to take some writing cues to help push past writer’s block!

o Leave time for individuals or groups to explore the area each day.

o Decide how much the “real world” (i.e., cell phones, wifi, etc.) will be allowed to encroach!

Plan and Then Enjoy!

If you’re in charge of planning, work with a local RV rental firm to arrange the perfect RV for your group. They can also help you project your fuel and rental costs. Today’s luxurious motorhomes offer comfortable seating, convenient appliances and lots of extras your group will appreciate.

Choose an RV that’s roomy enough to sleep your group easily. Something to consider-if you have both male and female group members, renting two smaller RVs instead of one large motorhome is a smart choice.

For maximum comfort, choose a campground with full hookups and decide if you’ll also need a location that offers amenities like a campground store and showers. Do some research on campground rules like “mandatory quiet times” so your group will have the best possible experience.

When you call prospective campgrounds, get firm campsite rental rates so you can add them to the retreat total. Add in food and supply costs, and divide by the number of retreat participants to find your cost per person. Once you’ve arrived at that number, and decided who’ll be driving the motorhome, you’re ready to retreat to the woods!

You’re going to be amazed what your group’s stay in the great outdoors brings to your writing. Sharing the cost makes it possible for everyone to enjoy the inspiration of nature without being extravagant. By choosing a location that’s sure to inspire, and treating your group to the comfort of a motorhome, your RV camping writers’ retreat could easily become a cherished annual event.

Source by Joe A Laing

Bonding with family and friends would mean having fun and these days having fun would normally mean being outside the comfort zone or going to a place that is cool and riding in a recreational vehicle. Years ago when our folks would say “let’s go camping” we would rush into our closet and grab a tent but nowadays going on a camp would mean riding in a recreational vehicle and heading somewhere. Thank goodness for the creation of RVs and camping would not mean staying in a tent that is so small and unsafe.

The stressful lifestyle that we have and the polluted environment that we are living, all of these makes us crave to go out on a trip to a place away from the stressful city and polluted community. This is one of the reasons why RVs are becoming so popular to many countries. RVs are also known as motorhomes and travel trailers by most folks. People like to travel in a recreational vehicle rather than taking the car, bus or train because it offers comfort and security just like a home does. Depending on the style and the owner’s decision, a motorhome can have amenities just like a home. It can have a cooking stove, oven, generator, refrigerator, bed, comfort room, furniture, cabinets, shower, television, computer, and yes even bath tub. This is also the big difference if you have an RV; you can cook your own meal, sleep in a comfortable bed, can take a bath anytime that you want and go anywhere that you want.

Another advantage of having an RV is that it can save you money. Believe it or not but yes RVs can actually help you save money. If you are the type of person who is constantly on the road or someone who loves the outdoors then you should get an RV. Not only will you be able to save hundreds of dollars annually from hotel bills and from dining out in a fancy restaurant but with RVs you do not have to worry where to spend the night if you are in an unfamiliar place.

If you do not have the money to buy a brand new recreational vehicle then buy a second-hand travel trailers. There are actually many used travel trailers that are in good running condition. Be diligent in choosing the best RVs and in the end you will get the best one. When shopping for used travel trailers it is best if you do a little research online about the company where you intend to buy. Know its reputation by joining forums and online discussion. Through here you will know if their vehicles are in top shape and if their price is reasonable.

Source by Greg Pierce

Tow truck services are getting popular these days. A lot of people have taken advantage of this service especially when they are in a situation that can certainly cause them inconvenience. Aside from the usual machine trouble and road accidents, here are five situations that will require you to take advantage of the services of a licensed tow truck service provider.

– When your stolen sports car has been found. Great news: Your stolen sports car has been found on some highway. Bad news: It's out of gas and you have to come get it yourself. You do not actually have to retrieve your stolen car on your own. Call a licensed tow truck operator that specializes in stolen vehicle recovery. This ensures that you get professional service that keeps your beloved sports car in good condition when it is delivered to your home.

– When you've locked your car and you can not find your keys. It happens to every driver: getting locked out of the car. Sometimes, a locksmith helps and sometimes, it's better to get cheap towing. Expert operators may have a variety of keys to help you get back inside your car.

– When your 4×4 can not get out of a sticky situation. Whether it's getting stuck in mud or you've driven into a ditch, you'll need the expertise and might of a tow truck service. Do not wait to figure things out and come up with a MacGyver-type solution to getting your 4×4 out. By calling a tow truck as soon as it happens, you'll get out of the sticky situation faster and without any stress.

– When you're moving and that includes moving your motorhome, too. Motorhomes or caravans are excellent for holidays on the road. But they can be a bother when you have to move from one suburb to another. No worries. Towing your motorhome or caravan could be simpler and cheaper than having a removals company do it.

– When the car just died. In some cases, when a car simply refuses to go, it means the battery's dead. Why did your car battery die? It could be one of three things: It's old and it has not been cleaned, you've got a bad alternator, or – the reported number one reason for dead batteries – you've left your headlights on for too long. Whatever the reasons are behind the "death" of your battery, you know you'll need to jumpstart it. And in order to guarantee that jumpstarting is done right, call a tow truck service. Learn more about truck towing services here .

Source by Jon Ryan Zimmerman

The attraction in Austria to us was undoubtedly the Salzgammergut area. We had friends who lived in Bad Ischl and hence we toured around the area. Bad Ischl was a cute town and had a lovely royal living quarters which had Baths that were well populated for summer. The river was not far off and the streets were cobbled with a lovely walk with many cafes along the riverside.

The Salzgammergut area is a beautiful area and known for the special salts in the water baths. So much so that Prince Ludwig and Queen had been successful in conceiving whilst on holidays there. This area like most of Europe has beautiful churches gold lined statues and their cemeteries are also cute with each tombstone having their own garden lined with colourful flowers. There was a small concentration camp nearby which we didn’t get time to visit however if like Dasch not far from Munich would probably well worth a see in Edensee.

Halstatt is an Austrian town situated on a beautiful beautiful lake. The area has also the oldest salt mine in the world with a steep train trip that my kids 7 and 6 years old truly enjoyed. It was only yesterday that they mentioned the grteat slides in this salt mine. A memento is a sample of the salt in a small plastic container. The kids loved the mummy of a man fossilised in salt. Nearby were lovely shops which sold,Woodcarving gifts very different from the ones in Oberammergau.

The lakes heading to Salzburg from Austria were lined with many motorhomes and caravans. We eagerly toured towards Salzburg and saw many German caravanners and motorhomers come over for the scorching summer weekend.

Something one should sample foodwise for lunch or a small snack is an Austrian dish called a Schwarzamarrin which is like little scones with cream and much strawberry jam around it eaten with skewers.

In Germany, the must do places we would recommend Oberammergau, Unterammergau and in an around Castle Neuchanstein. In Oberammergau there is a Christian play which is only acted out every 10 years due to a plague which almost killed the town. The price of the play includes a tour of the museum, churches, original church ground where the play started and open theatre is worth a visit. Oberammergau is also known for its woodcarving. One will be mesmerized at the nativity scenes, clocks and other trickets that are displayed by the many woodcarving shops there.

Source by Michael L Skinner

I had a friend the other day telling me how excited he was that he got a loan for his RV when he had been looking for a way to finance his motorhome in the spring of 2009. He had been researching and browsing the Internet and his local banks, lending institutions, and credit unions for some help with his loan. Unfortunately there was a big problem with the kind of financing he finally managed to get.

When I read the small print of his loan agreement I noticed that he was paying compound interest which is short for getting bent over a barrel – so to speak. For this article I would like to use the exact principal amount of his RV loan and calculate his interest over the term of his financing using both compounding and non-compounding interest rate formulas.

The first thing we should calculate is the better option using a non-compounding interest rate on this particular RV loan. The principal of the loan after his down payment was $ 55,000 approx. The like loan was for 20 years, the APR (interest rate) was 7.2%, and was was going to be paying every 30 days or once a month if you prefer. So let's do the calculation for this loan using this data;

Principal amount = $ 55,000

Length of loan = 20 years

APR = 7.2%

Payments at the beginning of each month

————————————————– ———-

RV Loan Calculation Results Non-compounding

Total Amount to be paid: $ 94,762.89

Total amount of interest $ 39,762.89

Payments: $ 389.44

So you can see above the total amount to be paid over the 20-year term of this loan on his RV would be just under $ 95,000 with the total interest being just under $ 40,000 and his payments just under $ 400 every month once a month. The key number here is the total amount of interest for $ 39,762.89.

Now let us use a completely different calculation using a compound interest rate with is exactly the same lending parameters as the first example using a non-compounding formula. Keep in mind that we will be using the typical compounding rate table as below;

Interest Rate Compounding at;

1 = .08

2 = .17

3 = .25

4 = .33

5 = .42

6 = .50

7 = .58

8 = .67

9 = .75

10 = .83

11 = .92

Principal amount = $ 55,000

Length of loan = 20 years

APR = 7.2%

Payments at the beginning of each month

————————————————– ———-

Total Monies to be paid over 20 years = $ 220,931.88

Total Interest to be paid over 20 years = $ 165,931.88

Notice the drastic difference between the total amount paid in the total interest paid using the different formulas. With a non-compounding loan he is only spending $ 40,000 in interest over the 20 years, while he is paying over $ 165,000 in interest using a typical compound interest rate. This is four times as much interest. This is typical if you are buying a house or property with a long-term mortgage of 25 years or 30 years, but certainly not something you should be doing with the vehicle (or a RV loan as in this example).

So be sure to follow through with your due diligence and read all the fine print in the lending agreement. Usually when you buy most vehicles you will not be asked to be involved with compound interest rate like this one, but sometimes if you signed onto a long-term loan of 20 to 30 years for a motorhome the lending institution may try to use a compounding interest rate because your RV is now considered your home. You need to watch out for this tricky little maneuver.

If for some reason you have signed onto your motorhome loan using a compound in interest rate, you must see if there is a penalty applied to pay off your loan in a lump sum and go to a different bank, borrow what you need, and start over with a non-compounding interest rate.

Source by Brent Truitt

Owners of motor homes love to travel and see new places – a life of adventure hitting the road less traveled.

They love meeting new people and trying new foods at the places they visit along the way. Sometimes though, there's nothing like a good home cooked meal which is exactly what you can have when you take to the road in a motorhome with your quarter acre pot!

A sense of adventure, the freedom to travel and still getting a home cooked meal is pretty hard to beat.

Motorhome adventurers' love the quarter acre pot because it allows them to do just that! Pack up their beloveds in the motorhome and hit the road with the knowledge that a home cooked meal is quietly bubbling away for when they arrive at their destination – this makes the destination even more exciting!

The quarter acre pot allows a motorhome enthusiast to prepare a meal before they leave home and let it cook slowly and gently as they drive down the road, so that when they arrive at their destination, supper is ready to eat and they can just relax after a long journey on the road.

No need to worry about disconnecting the car and traveling into a nearby unknown town to find dinner. It's right there and ready to enjoy. Get the TV set up and tuned in, then just sit back, eat and relax. Plenty of time to venture into town tomorrow!

Do you know why motorhome adventurers' love the quarter acre pot so much? Because they can retain their sense of adventure and exciting life of travel but still have all the comforts of home too!

If a family member or friend shows up unexpectedly, they'll be able to partake in one of your famous home cooked meals served from your quarter acre pot.

Imagine the surprise on their faces when you proudly serve them a delicious meal just like one you would serve back home. They will see right away why you love your motorhome way of life!

If they get up in the morning and decide to leave the camper-van parked, get in the shuttle vehicle to cruise around, they can put a meal together in the slow cooking pot and have a warm lunch or dinner ready and waiting for them when they get back.

You can tire very quickly eating out all the time at high priced restaurants or junky takeaways.

No need to heat up and eat those awful TV dinners either.

With the quarter acre pot, even those adventurous folks that live and travel in their motor homes, can have healthy home cooked meals every night.

Source by Midge Hand