Greetings all, my name is Rodney Hartsell and as of this post I just celebrated my 40th birthday. I have always had a very adventuresome spirit and am very excited about our road trip to Alaska. I'll tell you a little about some of my adventures so far.
In 2001 I decided to move out west and tent camped my way from Florida to California, it was a three week adventure. I moved to Phoenix for a year and while there purchased a 31' 1976 Airstream Sovereign, renovated it in my friend Harry's driveway and in the summer of 2002 hit the road.
I had a summer job lined up in Glacier National Park in Montana. After a short six weeks at Glacier I decided to move once again, the area was amazing but the company managing the lodge was less than to be desired. I headed further west to Seattle. After a couple of weeks living in Wal-Mart and Camping World parking lots I finally had a good lead on a job in Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula. The interview went well at Lake Crescent Lodge and I was hired on as a server and bartender for the remainder of the summer.
In September of 02' I headed back to Phoenix for the winter as I had a job lined up at the Arizona Biltmore for the winter. In the spring of 2003 I went back to Lake Crescent for another summer of hiking, camping and of course work. For the fall and winter of 03' I worked in Las Vegas at the Santa Fe Station casino's steak house. I had met an amazing couple while staying in the Camping World parking lot in the summer of 02' and we became good friends, Ely & Dafna. The fine couple moved from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Vegas that winter. They bought a beautiful home on the north west side of the "bowl" with full RV hookups on site. It was a fun winter of gambling and hiking in Sin City!
In the spring of 2004 I left Vegas and moved to Palm Bay FL, bought a house and sold the Airstream to a contractor that was going to help with the Hurricane Katrina clean up in New Orleans. I waved goodbye to the Airstream and thanked her for 3 good years of traveling.
In the Winter of 2005 Eric, my manager from Lake Crescent Lodge in WA, called and offered me a job at Caneel Bay on St John in the USVI. I was ready for another adventure so I packed up and once again hit the proverbial road, this time in a plane. While on St John I bought a 32' Columbia Sloop sail boat named Isabel and explored the nearby islands. It was a lot of fun to take her out on the weekends and sail to Jost Van Dyke, Tortola and Norman Island, better knows as Treasure Island.
I moved back to Orlando in the summer of 2007 and have been pretty stationary since then, with little camping trips here and there. I cant wait to travel from Orlando to Alaska with John and see so many new and amazing places with him, he has no idea what he's in for ;)
-Rodney
In 2001 I decided to move out west and tent camped my way from Florida to California, it was a three week adventure. I moved to Phoenix for a year and while there purchased a 31' 1976 Airstream Sovereign, renovated it in my friend Harry's driveway and in the summer of 2002 hit the road.
I had a summer job lined up in Glacier National Park in Montana. After a short six weeks at Glacier I decided to move once again, the area was amazing but the company managing the lodge was less than to be desired. I headed further west to Seattle. After a couple of weeks living in Wal-Mart and Camping World parking lots I finally had a good lead on a job in Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula. The interview went well at Lake Crescent Lodge and I was hired on as a server and bartender for the remainder of the summer.
In September of 02' I headed back to Phoenix for the winter as I had a job lined up at the Arizona Biltmore for the winter. In the spring of 2003 I went back to Lake Crescent for another summer of hiking, camping and of course work. For the fall and winter of 03' I worked in Las Vegas at the Santa Fe Station casino's steak house. I had met an amazing couple while staying in the Camping World parking lot in the summer of 02' and we became good friends, Ely & Dafna. The fine couple moved from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Vegas that winter. They bought a beautiful home on the north west side of the "bowl" with full RV hookups on site. It was a fun winter of gambling and hiking in Sin City!
In the spring of 2004 I left Vegas and moved to Palm Bay FL, bought a house and sold the Airstream to a contractor that was going to help with the Hurricane Katrina clean up in New Orleans. I waved goodbye to the Airstream and thanked her for 3 good years of traveling.
In the Winter of 2005 Eric, my manager from Lake Crescent Lodge in WA, called and offered me a job at Caneel Bay on St John in the USVI. I was ready for another adventure so I packed up and once again hit the proverbial road, this time in a plane. While on St John I bought a 32' Columbia Sloop sail boat named Isabel and explored the nearby islands. It was a lot of fun to take her out on the weekends and sail to Jost Van Dyke, Tortola and Norman Island, better knows as Treasure Island.
I moved back to Orlando in the summer of 2007 and have been pretty stationary since then, with little camping trips here and there. I cant wait to travel from Orlando to Alaska with John and see so many new and amazing places with him, he has no idea what he's in for ;)
-Rodney
Post a Comment