RV Home Yet?

RVNN.TV Interview replay

This is the interview Jaimie and Alice had with Courtney Wallin and Andy McCaskey of RVNN.TV. We're the first segment followed by RV news and other stories. We had fun. Hope you enjoy it too! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

CBS This Morning visits Quartzsite!

CBS This Morning is doing a segment on women RVers that will air this Tuesday, February 7 between 8 and 9. The Texas Ramblin' Roses chapter of RVing Women is the group they filmed. I'm the RV lifestyle expert they interviewed for the piece.

It's quite exciting to get a call from a CBS producer while out running errands! Elizabeth Bohnel had come across the books I wrote with writing partner Alice Zyetz- RV Traveling Tales: Women's Journeys on the Open Road and The Woman's Guide to Solo RVing. When she found out George and I would be in Quartzsite, she was even more excited because they wanted to get shots of RVs there too.

Hunter Bloch, cameraman, got in Sunday afternoon. Elizabeth was delayed by a cancelled flight but arrived after dark, after Hunter and I had driven around Quartzsite looking for RVs driving around. By that time of day most RVs have landed for the night so we didn't have much luck. He did get two groups at campfires.

The next morning, after getting shots of RVs on the move, they came out to where we were parked on the far edge of the Scadden Wash 14-day area where we had parked with the Boomer group of the Escapees. Lee Cowan, CBS National News correspondent who would interview me, was along too. He had arrived late on Sunday. He couldn't get to Quartzsite until then- he was interviewing Brad Pitt!

It was quite a procedure to set up the "set." Two cameras, mikes, screens were what I could see. We loaned our Honda 200X for power. We had to put it in Elizabeth's rental car to muffle the noise. Hunter said normally you wouldn't hear it but the desert is so quiet. We also had two people from BLM to oversee the operation since it was on pubic land.

 

 

Lee was so gracious. I can see why he is so successful at what he does. I felt immediately at ease with him. Looking up his bio later, he has traveled all over the world and been in some dangerous places on his job yet he was totally engrossed in women and RVing. Elizabeth was fun to work with too She is so enthusiastic and very good at what she does. Hunter, the cameraman, had more things packed in that truck than we could have imagined - very professional.

I once worked with a very demanding Japanese film crew. I ended up running all over Prescott for them only to have all the footage they shot end up on the cutting room floor. The CBS crew couldn't have been more different- very friendly, encouraging and grateful.

I hope you tune in! It will be fun to see what parts of the filming I saw ended up in the piece. If I find a more exact time, I'll post it on the home page of RVLifestyleExperts.com. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

New edition for ebook for women RVers released!

Women who want to travel in an RV can now read the definitive ebook for solo women RVers on their Kindle, Nook, or iPad device.

The ebook, The Woman’s Guide to Solo RVing, is now available in several formats including one  that can be downloaded to Kindle, Nook or iPad and other i-devices. Instructions for doing so are included with purchase. The Woman’s Guide to Solo RVing is also available for instant downloading for reading on a computer or on CD. A spiral-bound print edition is also available.

The Woman’s Guide to Solo RVing provides answers to ALL the questions asked by solo women, who are either planning to go on the road or who have already taken the plunge. From the basics of "Can I go it alone?" and "How do I deal with loneliness?" to the specifics of "How to drive alone" and "What I need to know about maintaining complicated RV systems?" authors Jaimie Hall Bruzenak and Alice Zyetz provide the information in easy-to-understand language. As they did in their popular book, RV Traveling Tales: Women's Journeys on the Open Road, and in Bruzenak's classic book on working on the road, Support Your RV Lifestyle, Bruzenak and Zyetz have incorporated the experiences of seasoned RVers, in this case solo women, into the book. Ten women are quoted in their own words, giving real-life advice on a range of topics critical to solo women travelers.

Available at RVLifestyleExperts.com and selected RV bookstores. See RVLifestyleExperts.com for affiliate sales opportunities.

Do you have lizard feet from RVing?

The RV Daily Report had an intriguing article: "Avoid lizard feet- they're a common problem for RVers." Lizard feet? According to Judy Jackson of the Edmonton Journal, her feet were like leather on the bottom from going barefoot and wearing flip flops so much of the time. This can cause your feet to get dry, cracked with possibly bleeding, calluses, and blisters from getting dusty, dirty and dry, getting wet, drying, getting wet again, and losing natural moisturizing oils.

How about you? Do you have "lizard feet?" Many RVers take off their shoes when they enter their RV to keep it cleaner. For a short trip to the pool, office or laundromat, sandals, flip flops or clogs are certainly easier. Though I rarely wore shoes as a kid growing up, now I don't do too well on dirt and rocks. My feet, though, probably tend towards lizard.

So what's a gal to do? (or a guy?) According to the article - moisturize. Choose a foot cream or lotion that has a high percentage of urea. Other oils are good too. Putting a lotion or oil on before bedtime and then wearing white cotton socks at night will help your feet absorb the oil and keep them soft. After soaking her feet for an hour and one-half, the pedicurist then got out the razor. Oh my! For the rest of the gruesome story, see the article at the Edmonton Journal. I think I'll keep my lizard feet, though perhaps soak them once in a while. How about you?! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

More solo women RVers than solo men

Driving your RV

Many women with partners admit their partner does all or most of the driving. When the woman does drive, it is often on the highway or the partner is giving detailed instructions on what to do, never allowing the woman to develop her own judgment, skill and confidence.

Many women hesitate to continue (or start) RVing as a solo because they worry about whether they'll be able to handle their RV confidently in tight situations. Learning what to do before the situation arises is far better than when confronted with it. Getting comfortable with getting into RV spaces and hooking up a tow vehicle or toad before having to do it is a big help.

In our round table discussion at our seminar on RVing from the Woman's Perspective, women shared three places where women - both solo and those traveling with a partner - can get behind-the-wheel instruction on driving their RV. Any RV driver would benefit from this course; even seasoned drivers learn something new.

• RV Driving School: Dick Reid’s driving school, now owned by Dennis and Carol Hill. 
• Des Moines Community College continuing education. Mike is the contact.  
• RVing Women offers driving classes in Drummond, OK. 
  

A driving course can be the solution. Check the Web sites listed for information on when and where you can enroll. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Photo: Our friend Becky driving her truck and 5th wheel. (George Bruzenak)

Women - on living 24/7 in an RV with a spouse

At the Western Gypsy Gathering a week ago in Casa Grande, Alice and I led a seminar and round table discussion on RVing from the Woman's Perspective. Though we had a mixture of married and solo women RVers, a big topic of discussion was having some alone time or "space." Here were a few ideas shared:

1. Don't bottle frustration in: You must express yourself, talk, get things out in the open.
2. Communicate: Tell your partner, “I need alone time.” It is not your responsibility if his feelings are hurt.
3. Develop a signal: I need a “Kay” day (after Kay Peterson’s “Living in a Sardine Can” talks at Escapades). This is an effective, nonthreatening signal that you need alone time.
4. Pack a lunch: Pack your partner a lunch. The number of sandwiches indicates how long he should be gone!
5. Clarify expectations: Make sure he knows he needs to find a way to entertain himself at times.
6. RV layout: If you are choosing an RV, make sure there are separate spaces so you aren't sitting next to each other all the time. Slideouts make a difference.
7. Marriage savers: Headphones for TV or radio allow one spouse to enjoy quiet while the other is entertained. It also helps create two spaces in the RV.

It can be a real challenge going from being apart much of the day working different jobs to being in the same space 24 hours a day. On top of that, the amount of space is a fraction of what a house or apartment is. An RV has a couple of hundred square feet as opposed to usually more than one or two thousand square feet in a typical house.

Shopping, hiking and "I need a Jaimie day" have all worked for me. Anyone like to share what works for them? Any men who have trouble getting alone time? Jaimie Hall Bruzenak