7:45 PM Monday December 27, 2004

When Phil and I first started talking about selling out when he retired and moving into a motorhome full time, one thing that bothered me about the whole idea was losing a 24/7 Internet connection. I had been online for about five years at that time and had become totally addicted to e-mail and researching my genealogy on the web. Evidently, I wasn't the only person who wanted to be mobile and stay connected because as time went by, several options started to come to the surface, one of which was a very expensive satellite system. We discussed and investigated them all including using library computers, and taking a laptop to the Internet Cafe's where you could plug in for a fee. Also, some RV parks started putting in phone lines to individual sites so if there was a "local" or toll free number available you could connect with a dialup connection. Then Wi-Fi came along and started to sound like the most viable option for us. It wasn't very expensive and had the added bonus of our being able to connect from the comfort of the RV if the park had invested in the system and put up a "wireless fidelity" transmitting tower. Some were free and some places charged a fee. During all this time, one of my favorite pastimes was surfing for personal websites being written by fulltime RVers as they traveled around the county. Most of them published about once a month whenever they could find a place to go online and download their journals and all complained about the hassle except for one fellow named George, www.vagabonders-supreme.net/ who became the leader of all bloggers (people who write web logs) on a website called, Hitchitch, www.hitchitch.com because he posted daily. I was fascinated with him and his ability to stay connected and my morning wasn't complete until I'd checked in with George to see the pictures he posted each day and read his travelogue as he puttered around the western half of the USA. He was doing exactly what I wanted to do when/if we became fulltimers. He wrote about his Data Storm satellite Internet connection and the idea that it might be possible for me was born. I started my research and over time, as more and more people connected much was written about this space age technology. It would be a VERY costly option but as time passed, the price started to come down and at last, Phil and I agreed that it was going to happen for us. Early on the morning of December 15, 2004 in Bakersfield, CA the dream became a reality. We had made arrangements to meet Bill and Janet Adams, a husband-wife team of Data Storm installers. Bill's reputation in the RV world is that he is the "best" and in just a few hours, he and Janet with flawless teamwork, worked their magic. In less than one day, Phil and I were presented with our own personal Data Storm two-way satellite receiver/transmitter aimed at the Southern sky allowing us to be online 24/7 on either or both computers. We've had a couple glitches to work out as Phil and I learn how to operate the system (and Bill is available by cell phone to walk us through it) but for the most part it has been totally painless. Even though Phil is less addicted than I am, we both love it!