Sunburst Resort, Milton Florida

Current Location: Lake Como Resort

Mileage: 383 Total: 679
Today’s Total Expenses: $115.20

Transportation: $95.16
Accommodation: $17.04
Food: $3.00
Entertainment: $0.00

Camping Aches and Pains

I’ve only camped a couple of times in my life and Vicky hasn’t camped since she was a kid. Our first night under canvas was not the most comfortable. Once we rearrange the mattress as Vicky explained yesterday I was able to get to sleep but I sure needed my Ibuprofen this morning.

Lake Como Resort

Lake Como resort is a permanent or winter home to about 500 people and there are some pretty spectacular mobile homes and RV’s parked on the grounds.

By the time we had our oatmeal and coffee, struck the camp, and completed a conducted tour of the grounds, we were late getting on the road. It was past 10am before we got on the road so it was good we did not have plans to go a long way.

Today’s Goal

We have driven across the US and Canada several times but always using the Interstates and have never had the chance to really enjoy the trip. We want to slow down this time and only travel in daylight. Also the Magellan GPS system allows us to explore some of the smaller highways that we would not have attempted if all we had was a map. We have decided to name the female voice of the GPS system, “Madge”. Not very imaginative but it works.

Today’s goal is the Sunburst resort in Milton, Florida which is almost to the Alabama border. That’s just over 400 miles so if we were not going to face putting up the tent in the dark we needed to get cracking.

Vicky had made some beef and cheese wraps so we didn’t have to stop for lunch. It also helps to keep the cost down and it is much more nutritious than stopping at some greasy fast food joint.

Good Job Madge

“Madge” (Magellan GPS) directed us flawlessly without using an Interstate highway but it was a good job we are traveling west and are able to take advantage of the extra hour you get when crossing time zones. By the time we got to the Sunburst resort the sun was setting and we still had to set up the tent and the Jetboil.

This time putting up the Sportz SUV tent was easy and only took about ten minutes. The Jetboil however was not behaving like it did yesterday. I thought at first we may have already gone through a whole can of fuel but connecting a new can did not improve things. It was still working but not anywhere near as efficiently as it did yesterday. I think the fuel line is clogged but I will have to wait for daylight to check it out.

When we checked in to Lake Como yesterday we were unpleasantly surprised to learn that we (me) had not fully read the fine print. We ended up paying $18 each for ground fees and $12 for camping for a total of $50. And that’s after our AANR membership discount.

Sunburst Resort

The Sunburst resort on the other hand just charged a single $16 ground fee and the camp site was free. With tax we paid a total of $17.04. That certainly helps to keep our daily average expenses down.

Our New MacBook Pro

One thing I had not allowed for was how long it takes to configure your computer the way you like it. We have a couple of Mac desktops at home with all the websites we check and their passwords stored in Firefox. Everything gets backed up each hour to the Apple Time Capsule and I could have brought that with us to make a mirror copy of our systems. I didn’t because the new laptop we chose for the trip – a 13″ Powerbook – does not have a hard drive big enough to hold a copy of the almost maxed out home system.

Consequently I’m turning the car air blue quite frequently as I realize there is yet another resource I don’t have readily available. Truthfully I also thought blogging along the road would be much easier but by the time we reach our destination I’m not much in the mood to edit video, register software and download updates. This will get much easier when we get somewhere we can spend some time.

We are planning a couple of days in San Antonio soon so maybe we can get caught up then. It’s easy enough to write while Vicky is driving – like now – but you, our readers, don’t get to read it until it is polished and uploaded.

We are doing the $100/day challenge to prove that even baby boomers with limited resources can travel the world and enjoy retirement to the full. We would really like to hear from you with questions and suggestions. We will respond, although that will be subject to getting a decent Internet connection.

Retirement income statistics

You can easily do a Google search on retirement income statistics to compile your own depressing list but for starters did you know that for most US states less than 20% of the population have any retirement income and from 5 – 15% of persons aged 65 and over live below the poverty level (Source StateMaster.com). According to all the stats I can find most of us baby boomers have not done a real good job of preparing ourselves financially for retirement.

What happened to the dreams?

Maybe you had a pension fund that some greedy #@^&$# financial advisor screwed you out of or your retirement funds were tied up in your house that’s now worth half what it was last year. Or it could be you were just working as hard as you could all your life putting a roof over your family’s head, food on the table and clothes on their backs that there was never enough left over to save for your retirement.

How Can I Start an Online Business?

Whatever the reason there is a good chance that, for most of us, you won’t have enough money to get you above the government pension poverty line. Many of us are turning to the Internet in hopes of finding a way to make the money we never did in our regular jobs. Do a quick Google search for “Affiliate Marketing”, or “How to make money on line” and you be amazed at how many people can make $34,277 their first month after buying the advertised $97 dvd.

I hate to be the one to tell you but this doesn’t happen. Most of the people selling you these courses are just as broke as you are. This is not to say you can’t make money online – you absolutely can – but most people will never earn back the $97 they paid for the course and you sure as hell won’t do it in a month.

Is It Hopeless?

With hard work, perseverance and a little luck in six months to a year you might be making a living wage. A couple more years and maybe you can afford that house on the beach you’ve dreamed about. You can make buckets of money on the Internet but you have to learn a lot about how to do it and just as importantly what not to do.

Here at Geezer Guides we have picked a few themes that we hope our baby boomer readers will be interested in. The most import factor in enjoying our retirement is having enough money to do the things that make us happy. Call it “Making Money Online”, or “Affiliate Marketing” or even “How To Retire Early” whatever the title in this series we plan to take you step by step through the various opportunities and show you how they all work and what you need to look out for.

How Do I Get Started?

Pick something that you can get your feet wet in. Something that, if it doesn’t work out for you, you won’t get hurt. And if it does work out you can actually start making money with your own Internet business.

I know about just such a program and I’ll tell you all about it in my next article.