Showtime in Grand Rapids, MI

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Showtime in Grand Rapids, MI

For our few days back in Benson, AZ, the evenings with 30-degree temps helped prepare us for our trip to Michigan.

I played a round of golf that started with a frigid morning, and Linda & I got to play some pickleball. She did morning walks with a group, played cards, did crafts, played bingo (and won) and participated in many of the other activities while I worked on taxes.

We have to file estimated taxes, and the last 2018 estimate was due January 15, so we didn't have the luxury of waiting for all of our 1099s to come in to figure out our best guess as to what our tax liability for the year might be. Estimate too low, and we might have to pay penalties plus a balance due. We completed our financials for the year and just had to pick the numbers apart to come up with the best possible estimate.

So, I finished that up, and we drove to Phoenix Tuesday afternoon. When we signed on for the Grand Rapids RV Show, I was still thinking we were going to be wintering in Phoenix and went ahead and booked a flight. Oops. But it was a non-stop flight which we couldn't get out of Tucson, and we didn't want to pay the fees to change it.

Therefore, we made the two and half hour drive and stayed overnight through a Park, Sleep, & Fly deal in which the hotel would allow us to park our Jeep while we were gone and shuttle us to and from the airport for just slightly more than the cost of airport parking.

The cheap motel was surprisingly better than we expected, and we had a good night's sleep. We hopped on the 7:00 a.m. shuttle to the airport and were soon on our way to Michigan.

We arrived around 3:00 EST, and Derek from ShowSpan, the show promoter picked us up. We really like working with ShowSpan, so it's nice to not have a conflict with their show this year.

Whenever we come to Grand Rapids, they put us up in a downtown hotel that is connected to the DeVos Place convention center by skywalks. This year, we're in a hotel that is closer than in the past, the Amway Grand Plaza, which seems to be a nice upgrade. We have a great view of the Grand River below.

We had an early dinner in the hotel, and I got advice on where to get a cheap haircut. We forgot to have Linda buzz my hair back in Benson, and I was a bit too scraggly for the two TV interviews scheduled. So I took the free downtown bus - DASH - and knocked that out while Linda relaxed at the hotel.

After an early, uneventful evening, Andrew picked us up and took us to the local FOX station where we did a 9:30 a.m. interview with Leigh Ann Towne. This link probably won't be up long, but you can watch our interview here: FOX17 Morning Mix - Couple Gives Up "American Dream" For Life On The Road In An RV.

That was fun.

After we got back to the hotel, we made the 10-minute walk to DeVos Place to check out our seminar room. They've expanded the RV show since the last time we were here and they have more space and more RVs than before. Our room wasn't quite set up yet, but it was close and there is plenty of seating.

Now, we're just getting caught up on a few things waiting for the show to start at 3:00. Today's seminars are at 5:00 - Full-Time RVing Preparation & Overview & 7:00 Working & Volunteering For Free Campsites.

The full schedule is available here: Grand Rapids Camper, Travel & RV Show - Seminar Stage Headliners & Schedules.

John Holod from John Holod Productions will be sharing his videos in the hours before, after, and between our seminars.

Come out and see us if you are in the area!