My Birthday Week…Feeling Good…New Adventures!

We landed in Charleston, West Virginia at the Courtyard only to find out they just started a total remodel on the first floor where the hot tub was located so it was not available for our use. Are you kidding me? It takes extra time and money to look for hotels with hot tubs and now too many of them aren’t available lately. To make matters worse, the room was cramped, probably the smallest ever, the TV was small, the bed was soft and spongy, no breakfast but no coffee either, the shower was nice, the customer service was excellent!

Just a short drive to Lewisburg, West Virginia where we chose Fairfield Inn & Suites because they had a hot tub and finally a working one that we soaked in for hours. The room was spacious with all the amenities, a huge TV, and a comfortable bed, it would have been wonderful if the chair was more agreeable, but everything else was good, including great customer service.

So far we have skirted the storms and rain for the most part and have had some gorgeous drives through the hills towards Virginia. The only difference today was the wind, whipping us around like a rag doll so we got off the interstate and took the roads less traveled.

Our destination for the next week is at the SpringHill Inn & Suites in Woodbridge, Virginia. A spacious room with a separate sitting room area, a walk-in shower, a comfortable bed and all the other needed amenities including great customer service.

We are just a town over from where the warehouse is for True Honey Teas where we will see the behind the scenes of the company we’re now working. We have a weekly event scheduled until mid December in the East and Midwest, just hopefully we don’t encounter too much of that white stuff until we head Southwest as soon as possible in December.

 

What an adventure it was taking back the Penske truck, oh my! Not knowing the area, we were instructed to drop it off at the location in Fort Belvoir that was just under 8 miles, well they didn’t tell us it was on a Army Facility where you had to go through a rigid vehicle and person inspection. Apparently, we found out if your license doesn’t have a certain endorsement you are not allowed onto the base. Well, Jerry went first in the Penske truck explaining we were just returning it…gave them his license they took it to the building and about 15 minutes later, he passed. Then it was my turn, first we just picked up the company truck so I didn’t get any of the paperwork…my fault. But then they passed my license around from one police officer to the next as if I were a criminal or something, until it finally landed in a female police officer’s hands. We were detained now for almost an hour and it looked as if I was going to be asked to exit the vehicle, when she gave Jerry the bad news, he could drive to the location but I would have to wait out here. It was almost a mile in, so we opted to both turn around and find another Penske location, which we did about 7 miles further. But, when we arrived at that location, mind you we are in the DC area where traffic is normally high, and he told us his internet was down and could not check us in, so he sent us another 8 miles to yet another location where we were able to drop it off…FINALLY! Our lives are definitely never boring!

 

We worked in the warehouse filling bags and packing boxes of merchandise, not hard work but repetitious. The aroma of every tea was magnificent, we might just become avid tea drinkers, hot and cold. 

They bought a new van for us to take on this route and then back to get our motorhome and then land in Arizona for the winter where someone from the warehouse will fly in to get it. It’s a nice van with all the bells and whistles, and enough room for our store setup, merchandise and our personal stuff without being cramped at all. This is going to be a fun ride.

We didn’t do much different for my birthday, we both have a little jet lag and just getting our bodies back into working order. The work is exactly what we’ve been looking for years and to top it off it’s working with great people too! Thank you for all of our friends who sent birthday wishes to me, I really appreciate you all!

IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY BUT FOLLOW YOUR GUT, YOUR HEART KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE!

BOA Week Six…The End…Done…We Gone!

We only had a little over 500 miles to our next event but only 3 days to do it since this week it’s 3 full days of event work. We decided to split it in half and stay 2 days in Clarksville, Tennessee at Hilton Garden because it was the only hotel with a hot tub near where we had to take care of company errands. It was a nice suite with plenty of room, huge televisions and comfortable seating and bed. Photos showed a walk-in shower and we also requested it, but when we got to our room it had a bathtub and shower. We were too tired to go back and change our rooms so we just made it work. Also, unfortunately the jets were not fully working in the hot tub but it was hot and did the trick for our weary bodies.

Arriving in Saint Louis for our first huge event, we were weary to say the least. Our bodies were battered and from what we could see with very little communication from our so called leaders that this was going to be a grueling grind. As our disappointment in PepWear grew we chose not to hurt our bodies any longer for a company that didn’t have our backs all season. The disrespect for our safety was so apparent and every time we spoke up about the quality of helpers they were sending us, they called and reprimanded us every time. We had some scary times with the quality of the helpers and instead of looking in different arenas, they stuck with the cesspool they had been using and then they began joking about it. We had a few that came to one event in gangster wear and when I commented about it in our chat area, they said, “Gangsters can sell too.” If that’s how they want the company represented, then we want no part of it. There are just a few people left from when we first started and it’s apparent they are going in a direction that we are not willing to go. They broke us and we have nothing left to give to them, but we refuse to allow them to break our spirits. We are gone!

We are now heading to our new adventure with people who care about our well beings, work we love with great pay and not hurting our bodies. Life always has a way of working out if you just follow your hearts. We gave them our all, and we’ve learned that it is too much to give to somebody who refuses to keep our safety, our well beings, and our concerns as a priority.

 

We chose to get out of Saint Louis as soon as possible since it felt as if we were in a fog, a very bad dream. We had to get transportation to our new adventures and the only thing we could find was a 12’ Penske truck. It’s amazing how hard certain things have become due to the craziness of the world right now, but renting any sort of transportation is ridiculous, but luckily we found something.

 

We left the Casino Queen Hotel, where we have stayed several times. This time we were in an ADA room which was nice for our weary bodies, but the pipes made an awful groaning noise every time we flushed. The room was spacious, a comfortable chair and the bed was nice. Customer service was excellent, the front desk had smiles and were very accommodating.

Our first day of travels to our new adventure took us to Evansville, Indiana at the Hilton Garden Inn. We needed a hot tub and a pool and we got both and spent hours soaking. Comfortable bed, spacious room, a big television and all the amenities we needed and great customer service.

Livingston, Kentucky was our next days stop at LaQuinta. Photos showed a hot tub, but we were informed that it had been removed several years ago and some third party reservations still kept the old photos…UGH! The room was spacious with all the amenities with a very small parking lot.

Our bodies are slowly healing and we keep promising ourselves that we will never allow ourselves to be used and abused by anyone ever again. For many years it was our favorite place to work, we took pride in ourselves that we could accomplish the, at times ridiculous goals they set for us and many times we knocked them out of the park. We also began to realize just how much we wore our rose colored glasses throughout those years.

 

When we first started with them, the Popup stores were smaller and much more manageable without helpers because even back then they drained the same cesspools for helpers. As the years went on, the store became so elaborate that we needed helpers, but we hardly ever got them and if we did, the quality was so poor. 

 

We only had one raise in all our years and that was by us begging and pleading for it. Then this year our eyes opened wide and from the start we seen it would be a struggle and it was the hardest ever. Our first show we were given even more responsibilities thrusted on us without them even telling us. We ended up with 1 helper, when 6 or more is usually how many we should have. It was a nightmare, we had to unload and setup the entire store and then work the register and floor by ourselves and we more than doubled our goal. We both hurt ourselves badly and with no time to heal since every week it looked the same with absolutely no assistance from the office. In fact all we got was static from them that they were all doing the best they could, all awhile we continued having to work these events with little or no helpers and we were already wounded. But then as I do, I began speaking up in our chat area and instead of support they called and reprimanded us about how we were sharing our feelings and again were told that they were all doing the best they could. But in reality, they continued doing the same thing but expecting different results, the definition of insanity.

 

We have moved on and found what we believe is the answer to our prayers as far as work goes. We will continue staying in hotels in the east until mid December when our route for the new company will then end, and we will head west to get Maggie, buy our new motorhome and tow vehicle and hang out in Arizona for the winter and doing more work with the new company.

BOA Week Five…Half Way Through & We’re Done

We drove sleep deprived on Sunday, but we left out of the DC area in a blaze and we are feeling good! We drove a few hundred miles to Morgantown, West Virginia and stayed two days at Springhill Suites by Marriott. Roomy, comfortable bed, separate living area, a bar sink which is always a great plus to wash all our cups, plates and glasses we carry with us. We enjoyed the hot tub, but the heating element was not working properly so it was lukewarm.

Our bodies are wrecked and we’re not sure how much longer we can handle erecting this elaborate Popup Store and run it without any helpers. My shoulder is just about unusable and Jerry’s back is going out as well. We’re tired of hearing excuses from the office that they are trying or it’s the same everywhere, but looking back on all our notes we have always had helper issues with us doing most of the work and each year the setup got more and more elaborate without enough helpers or money to justify it all. We’ve been offered another job with another company that is exactly what we’ve been looking for and they could use us right now, but will also wait until November for us. We wish we were the type of people who could just walk away and not look back, but we will hang on for as long as we are able.

 

We drove about 250 miles through the hills of Virginia to our next destination of Wytheville, Virginia where we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. It was an accessible room that was very spacious, with a walk in shower, a comfortable bed and a jacuzzi all to ourselves…we soaked for hours.

About the same miles again to Knoxville, Tennessee at the Drury Inn. Our first time at this chain and we will definitely try them again. Really nice hot tub and indoor/outdoor pool that we enjoyed for hours. The bed was way too soft for us and the corner room we had was a strange setup, but a great walk-in shower. They had a great breakfast, plus 3 drinks and appetizers for happy hour.

Our last day on this leg of our journey took us through some strange roads not usually where we like to drive this truck and trailer…

But we made it to Hampton Inn in Jacksonville, Alabama where we were doing our event at the university. The hotel was nice, customer service was exceptional, parking was abundant, the room was a little cramped but the walk-in shower was excellent.

As for our event, well it was another nightmare, it really is time to put this all behind us and find some fun work where we can make some money. Our shipment got messed up by the office and we paid for it by shlepping extra boxes around and not receiving the rest of our shipment until late Friday night when we had to get up at 4am to setup our store…THIS HAS NOT BEEN FUN! Hardly enough helpers again but we beat our goal by an enormous amount so the bonus helps the aches and pains but not enough to continue hurting our already hurt bodies.

Oh, and we had weather to deal with during our setup, but then the rest of the day was gorgeous!