Alaska, RVing and Work

Atop Turnagain Pass taking a look at a glacier, which you can see in the background.

Exploring Alaska is so fantastic because it is truly a land of it's own. The vastness is hard to appreciate until you get on one of the Alaskan highways and venture along. The beauty of the landscape, the intense weather, the danger of the wildlife, the sheer size of the state and the amazing people make Alaska truly the epitome of The Last Frontier.

Recently I flew up to Anchorage, rented a car, visited clients and drove to Sterling on the Kenai Peninsula for a visit. My friend and client Ed and his lovely wife Heather opened their home to me for a couple of weeks for a visit. This is my second visit with them, as I went last summer as well. I spent a few days working with Ed on his marketing strategy in his dental office Moose River Dental and enjoyed a few jaunts with he and Heather out and around the peninsula.

Even though it rained the entire time, Heather, Ed and I had a great time at the Ninilchik Fair. Just FYI, pallet fires get VERY HOT!

Ed and Heather are avid motorcyclists. 

But this year I had my own transportation so I did some solo-searching, along with some soul searching.

I took a drive out to the city of Kenai, explored Soldotna and even did an overnighter in Seward. While I didn't care much for the little touristy area of Seward, I loved the ocean views, the fishermen on the shore, the wet weather and the spectacular views of the heavy clouds hugging the mountains everywhere I turned.

The Seward Highway leads into those mountains. 

On the beach in Seward. I slipped on those rocks and hurt my hip rather badly. I've not been able to ride my bike much since then. Only short jaunts for now, but it is getting better everyday.

I'm so grateful I bought these boots and my pink rain jacket. I would have been lost without them, as it rained everyday.

It seems everywhere you looked there were views as spectacular as this.

There were plenty of fish to catch here in Seward. You could see them jumping from the water if watched long enough. 

The highlight of Seward was The Nauti Otter Inn. Wow!

The unique style of this collection of cabins, trailers and Yurts was perfect for my eclectic taste! Everything about it was enjoyable. The main house has the shower, fully equipped kitchens (yes, 2 kitchens!), communal dining area and large, welcoming living room, complete with fireplace and WiFi. The community aspect was comforting for this weary traveler and the staff was so much fun to be around. It was not at all what I expected all wrapped up as a delightful surprise.

The little cabins were great, but I opted for the tiny red and white trailer for my overnight stay.

The interior was tight, but had a hilarious Pirate theme. 

The kitchen sink and the stove were not in working order, but provided additional counter space for my food.

The communal kitchen and dining area

The outdoor facilities included an outhouse, a sink and a shower.

If you've ever been to Alaska you'd know that the jokes about the mosquitos are not jokes at all. 

Each cabin was decorated with it's own nautical theme.

Unfortunately I was only in Seward for one night and then I had to rush all the way to Palmer for the Alaska State Fair to visit my newest client Sina of Crab Terror Island. I couldn't leave Alaska before I saw her booth at the fair and watched her in action! Sina creates unique clothing while building a community of like-minded, dynamic individuals. While Steve rebuilt her website I began coaching her business marketing. I'm loving the interaction with this bright and enthusiastic business owner.

Sina is absolutely amazing! Crab Terror Island will be growing in leaps and bounds over the next 12 months!

It's clients like Ed and Sina that seem to be why we love what we do for a living; Marketing, website development, and business coaching.

Which brings me to my current conundrum; this drastic life change Steve and I have had.

Frankly, Steve and I don't ride our motorcycles as much as we used to. We still love them and love riding, but living in the RV has changed our lives drastically. We seem to be working on our business Too Much Tina Marketing more than ever. We spend a great deal of time planning our next destination, which includes searching for RV parks with availability. We never anticipated that this task would be so incredibly time consuming. Then there's the loading, unloading, setting up, etc., at every park. The overnight stays in parking lots, the long drives in the truck and climbing over and around the bikes in the living area every night we are on the road. Something as simple as making a piece of toast becomes a major endeavor! Mia the Road Beagle has grown more needy and nervous, mostly because of her age. At 15 years old, she's starting to have some issues.

Who could leave this beautiful, sad face behind?

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE being on the road with Steve! I LOVE our life in the RV. It's very convenient and meets all of our needs. We love having Mia with us too. She makes our little family of three a "pack". Our home is cozy and comfortable, with great workspaces for the two of us. And this leads to us staying inside working more than ever, rarely exploring our surroundings. I keep telling myself I'm going to get outside more, but it's just not happening. It's too easy to get up in the morning and go straight to our computers.

We had custom, aluminum work stations installed at 99 West Trailers in Portland. The set up is so comfortable that we find it hard to tear ourselves away from home. 

Most of my Getaway Time is spent here in bed with my tablet and a hot drink.

For now, we'll be working more and exploring less, until something changes. I'm not sure what will happen, but I'm entirely open to seeing what the Universe has in store for us. So I guess now we are not the motorcycle vagabonds we once were. Now we are RVing vagabonds with motorcycles, living full time on the road.

And for some reason, it makes me a little sad.

We're on another Road Pickle! We hope to find great breweries, tacos, steak and biscuits with gravy, as well as some roadside oddities along the way. If you don't want to miss a thing, join us by subscribing to our vlog on YouTube. I PROMISE you'll see some cool stuff!

And don't forget about my book, Rude Biker Chick, Lessons From My Daddy. Click below for more information.