All we need to know, Should we stay or should we go?

All we need to know, Should we stay or should we go? We recived this e-mail last Friday; Chuck Jones to michael, Elk show details Feb 12 (3 days ago) Michael It has been given to me the obligation to inform you that; the company officers have made a decision to go in another direction relative to the entertainment at Elk Meadow. So; it is with reluctance that I must inform you that your contract has been cancelled. We wish you the best! Chuck Jones This is very bad for our up coming tour. Our contract with Elk Meadow Resort in Estes Park, CO was to be a dinner show. We were guaranteed a minimum of 2 shows a week with perks for the whole summer season. As a norm we have to book shows 1 year in advance. Now here we are 2.5 months out and we have lost our summer! The whole summer! Now we are down to "the bird in the hand" syndrome. We are working at an RV resort in CA. that pays the bills and we can stay here for as long as we want too. We can book shows in the area and here at the resort. So, Should we stay or should we go? I think about the fact that I (Michael) am 50 y/o now and I don't have a lot of time to get my name back out there. On the other hand it would be a full time job to book shows this late in the game and the shows would be what ever we could get. Its very frustrating. The road calls to me. I want to show Christi this great country in our bus. Time is going by so fast these days. I don't want to wake up one day and say, " I Should Have Done That!" Should we stay or should we go? I keep asking myself. Should we stay or should we go? All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Its " WOW " been a year!

Its " WOW " been a year!

A little over a year ago on new years eve/day I got the idea to hit the road and go on tour again. We have come along way since then. This time last year we were making arrangements to bring home Mrs. Jones. We have learned so much and we still have a lot to learn! Building a Bus Conversion in 90 days has its good points and bad points. Just to touch on this, the good thing was that we got to use the bus for touring right away without missing out any comforts of home, Like our large TV, king size bed, full size refer and lazy boy couch. The bad thing was/is that we are not set up that good for Boon docking, mostly the TV reception, inverter for power and we don't have high capacity holding tanks. Oh, and we happen to have the generator from hell, 120db's. OUCH! We moved out of our house into the bus and got on the road on June 1st, 2009. We have put 8,000 miles and explored the western united states. We have done a bunch of shows at FMCA rallies, fairs, clubs, theaters and RV resorts. We have meet some fantastic people from all over the world at the shows and on the http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php, Bus Boards. Christi and I are now in CA for the next 2.5 months, then were head off to CO for a 4 month stand in Estes Park.

If we had it all to do again, I don't know if I would change much. Christi probably would have cracked the whip a little more to get more done. All in all I think we did pretty good. It beats the crap out of the bus sitting in the yard rotting away and that knot in your gut when you look at it!

It has been a real adventure learning to drive this beast. Now when ever Christi hears a Detroit Diesel fire up, she start putting things away and securing the inside of Mrs. Jones!?! I think she turning into a Real Bus Nut!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Negative into a Positive (michael)

Negative into a Positive We arrived in Greeley, CO, we had a dark day (a day with no shows) so we wanted to be close to the next show and visit our dear friends Ann and Herb that live there. Greely RV Resort did the trick. I drove into the spot, hit the brake, perfect. Level? Check! Bay doors aligned for utilities? Check! Aligned to concrete slab? Close enough! We are good to go. I did the hook up ritual and removed the toad and Christi did her thing inside the bus. In record time we were ready to go to town. Christi handed me some stuff and out to the toad I went. About 30 secs. later it happened. Christi let out a blood curdling scream! She was on the ground and in pain. I rushed to her side and found that she had mis-judged the last step to the concrete slab and caught the edge of it and heard a crack in her foot and went down. OOPS, not close enough! Long story short, server sprain to her left foot. It appears that she tore the cartilage between her metatarsals. That means 4 to 6 weeks of hopping around. We are thankful it did not break a bone. So Christi was on her back and I had to figure out what was best for her and the show. We need to stay put for her foot to heal. We had called Loveland RV Resort a few days earlier and offered them a show, I found a voice mail from them saying they would love us in Loveland! I called back and booked a 2 show stand with them. Mr. and Mrs. Jones met us at the office. Chuck Jones is the manager for the park system, they have 5 or 6 parks. We checked in and I gave them a complimentary album and went to set up. We got settled in and I got called over to the Jone's house to talk about more shows in the other parks. After listening to the album Chuck stated that our show would be perfect for the lodge in Estes Park, CO in the summer season of 2010. We talked a little more and Chuck said we should go up and look at the resort. We did and it was beautiful! The Lodge, the park and the town was indeed "perfect" for our show. We got back and talked terms and Mr. Jones said we should get a final approval by October 1st. We did the 2 shows at the Loveland RV Resort with great reviews. Then we were off (40 miles) to Terry Bison Ranch for our next gig. I did some more calls in the greater Denver area so we could stay in one place. I received a call from Mr. Jones asking for a meeting. The owner of the resorts want to see us in person. We set it up for the following day. The meeting went well, then took an even better turn for us. They offered us an 8 show stand in their lodge in Estes Park, CO for the month of Aug. 2009. That's next month! When the gods offer you something to help, don't ask! Just take it and be grateful for it, and we did. We are very excited and can't wait to start setting up the new stage. I'll post some picks on the next post. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/