We arrived at Mill Creek Campground Monday around 2pm to find our mini-reunion group had just pulled in as well. Mill Creek is a wonderful Corp of Engineers park on Table Rock Lake near Branson, MO. We had planned this trip with friends way back last year and booked our sites just as the window opened to make sure we had sites together. Little did we know, we booked the most coveted sites in the park out at the end of the peninsula. We were surrounded by water on 3 sides and had great views of the lake activity. The sunsets were also pretty amazing and each evening offered a different palate to photograph. This park is was quiet and well kept. Bathrooms and showers were always clean and the sites were well cared for. We even spent some time talking to the hosts and restroom attendants about bidding for COE positions. They were a wealth of knowledge and we feel more confident on accurately bidding on those in the future. One thing we did not like however is that they said the park here requires a three year commitment. At this time, that is not something we are looking to commit to as we want to get out and travel. We know many other COE parks do not require this long of a committment so a COE workcamping position is not out of the question. We spent alot of time relaxing with friends enjoying the view. We did not have set agendas and had a very relaxed timeline. Our boys took their first road trip and came down Thursday evening to Tuesday morning. It was great to have them join us and the group was happy to see them again. The main focus of this visit was a mini-reunion of sorts for Rick and his Army buddies, Kirk and Bill. They were stationed together in West Germany (Fulda, Germany) in the mid 80's as part of the 11th Armored Calvary, "The Guardians of the Frontiers of Freedom". This was the time just prior to the wall coming down between East and West Germany. Every year their entire unit has a reunion in June and we have attended many in the past years. This year the reunion was in Boston, and unfortunately our travels and timeline would not lend to us being out east so we decided to plan a mini-reunion in a central location for the small group. Bill and Denise hailing from Texas, Kirk & Betsy from Northern Missouri and us from Wisconsin, Kirk and Betsy scouted locations and found this gem of a park in southern MO near Branson. We hoped to have a couple other troopers join us but plans did not line up. Hopefully we will see them next year at the reunion in Las Vegas. As you can see by the pictures, good times were had by all and some of the ol' libations from the years in Germany flowed freely. Outside of relaxing and reminiscing, we did plan a couple excursions. Some successful, some not. On Wednesday we ventured to Top of the Rock Ozark Heritage Preserve. This is an amazing location perched above Table Rock Lake. It was developed by Bass Pro Shops Johnny Moris and has an Arnold Palmer golf course and driving range, a golf cart tour of the area and caves, a Ozarks Natural History museum, as well as Big Cedar Lodge and amazing restaurants and shops. We took the Cave and Nature Trail golf cart tour and were able to get a military discount. They do charge $10 for parking but you can then use the $10 coupon they give you to apply it to any purchase, including the golf cart tour. They offer 2 and 4 seat golf carts , so our group of 6 took one of each. The views were amazing and the property was a very natural, but beautifully manicured setting. The bridges were Amish built and it looked as if they were going to be building another one over a ravine. This was a self guided tour and you could take as long as you wanted and had plenty of pull off parking spots to take in the scenery. Several of the waterfalls pooled and flowed over the golf cart path, making it more adventurous but never compromising safety. The paths were paved and roped to ensure there was no off-roading, much to the chagrin of the guys. The tour also had a cave that you drove through and had a drive up "Bat Bar" that served beverages. Of course, we couldn't pass that up! After the tour, we took the shuttle to the other end of the preserve to see the golf course, restaurants, shops and sink hole. Yep, you read that right, they discovered a sink hole in 2015 after some heavy rains, right next to the driving range. The Cathedral of Nature sink hole started out as 70 feet wide and 40 feet deep and is now 350 wide and 200 feet deep. There is some great footage here and more information on the journey of this amazing discovery. There is also a beautiful chapel, perched on a cliff, overlooking the lake that no doubt hosts amazing weddings. The entire property is amazing, thoughtfully done and a beautiful tribute to the area and its ancestors. We loved it soo much that we went back on Friday with the boys and took the nature trail tour again and also went thru the natural history museum. We were all amazed at the extensive collection amassed in this one location and how well the history of the Ozarks was told throughout. Thursday, before the boys arrived, we went out to check out one of the oldest icons in Branson, Dick's 5 and 10 in downtown Branson. It reminded us of the old Woolworth's, minus a malt & ice cream counter. They had everything in there and more. After everyone purchased their mementos, we headed over to The Farmhouse restaurant for some good ole home cooking. On Sunday, the group decided to head up to Springfield to check out the worlds largest Bass Pro Shop, Museum and Aquarium. Since I was a bit under the weather, I stayed back to keep an eye on the homestead. Everyone had a great time and there was soo much to see. It was a day of lots of walking and seeing some amazing things. Here is just a few of the pictures from the museum and aquarium. Since the boys and Denise and Bill were heading out Tuesday morning, we decided to do a jet boat ride in Branson on Monday. Since none of us were really fond of doing the Branson strip and battling the crowds and traffic, we were excited to see that the jet boat took off from Branson Landing, which is on the "quieter" side of Branson or what they also call Old Branson. I had called ahead to make sure they had room for us and was assured there was plenty of seats on the 4:45pm ride and to come on down. Well due to the curvy roads and traffic, that is a 30 to 40 minute journey. Once there, I called again to confirm their kiosk location as Branson Landing is an open air shopping and dining district. They gave us directions and again, said to come on down. Once we got to the kiosk, we were told that they cancelled the 4:45pm ride as they did not have enough people to go out and the next ride would be the following day. It seems they need at least 20 people and we only had 8. Interestingly enough though, several other groups came and inquired as well and were told the same thing. Doing the simple math, with those other inquiries we probably would have had enough people. We figured they really just did not want to go out again and turned everyone away. WOW, that was a disappointment! Not wanting it to be a wasted trip, we decided to drown our sorrows in some chocolate and ice cream! We then went back to the campground and enjoyed a wonderful steak and corn dinner and then smore's later around the fire. To cap off a wonderful evening, we were treated to fireworks across the the lake at a local resort. Tuesday was an early morning with a 6am departure for the boys and a 9:30 departure for Denise and Bill. They each have a long way to travel and the boys are doing another one day roadtrip back home to WI, which takes about 10-11 hours. They took a different route back to see some new scenery and avoid St Louis. Can't wait to hear about their adventures when they get home. As for the rest of our time here, we will be doing some more serious R&R! Tuesday afternoon we are going to a local farmers market and then a quiet dinner back at the campground. Wednesday we will be doing some laundry and other household chores to ready for our trip to St. Louis to visit with family. SHOP AMAZON HERE
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Have you heard of side hustles or gigs?? In this day and age of rapidly expanding technology, the gig economy is the fastest growing job segment. Basically, these are different ways to make some extra money or make a part time living with many of these opportunities being short term job opportunities. You are basically working for yourself with the freedom to do what you want, when you want. The list of these contract or freelance type opportunities are endless! It could be anything from web developer, translator, social media host to on demand jobs like UBER driver, personal shopper, auto inspector, virtual test juror, mystery shopper to app based activities. As we get closer and closer to taking this show on the road, I started to think about how we could make additional side money to fund this journey. In fact, I started thinking about this before I even retired from my full time job last June. That is when I stumbled on the intriguing idea of side hustles. I cannot tell you how exciting and flexible I have found gig jobs to be! You could certainly make a full time job of this, but I am looking to just do this part time. We also want to explore some of the "traditional" type of full time RV'er work camping jobs and these side hustles will allow us to do both! So for those family and friends who are not full time RV'ers, you will find that you too can benefit from this article. In this post I am going to focus on those that I have personally done or researched at length and plan to do. If I did not narrow it down, this post could turn into a book! I am going to group these into categories: on demand jobs, mystery shopping, app based activities. On Demand JobsThe picture above only captures a small portion of what is available out there for on demand jobs and they are growing by the day. Below are some that I have personally signed up for. SHIPT This is the one that started it all for me. On Demand Grocery Delivery. I cannot tell you how much I love this and how wonderful this company is! SHIPT is all over the US, partnering with many different grocery stores and now is expanding into Target stores, Costco and liquor stores. SHIPT was recently acquired by Target which will allow them to scale quicker and allow Target to get into the delivery service to compete with Walmart and Amazon. As a shopper, I make my own schedule, down to the hour, and can take off for any amount of time without having to get it ok'd by the boss. Awesome, huh? Plus, this gig is totally portable since SHIPT is all over the US. As we travel to new locations, I can go into the app and change my metro location and start shopping. It is just that easy! As a shopper, I go into the app and put myself on the schedule for any amount of time I want that day, by hour increments. Shoppers then place orders online and choose a time to have their groceries delivered. You shop the order with the app and check out with a SHIPT funded credit card and then deliver the order to the customer. For those looking for a job that will offer those feel good moments and a sense of helping the community, imagine delivering to an elderly, wheelchair bound customer, who is unable to shop for themselves or a new mom with a colicky baby who ran out of diapers and you come in to save the day. Pretty cool! The pay for this can be pretty good as tips are appreciated and accepted in cash or on the app. It is not unheard of to make up to $25 an hour, but know that it is on demand, so it is dependent on customer demand as are most all of these jobs. For more information, follow this link. Also, you can enter my referral code (referral code: 33323) on the application and I will get a couple bucks. Appreciate it!! If you do decide to sign up to be a shopper, you also are a customer and get deliveries yourself without paying the annual fee. However, if you think this would be a great option for you to get your groceries delivered, follow this link and you will get a discount on your first order. WE GO LOOK This and the next gig are two that are on demand "Lookers" if you will. Think of it as someone, such as an insurance company or potential buyer, wanting to see a vehicle or property. They would contact one of these third party companies and they would dispatch one of their Lookers to go out and take app based pictures. The app is so easy that it is hard to screw it up. You can accept or decline the requests as your schedule dictates. You can also change your location so they keep up with your travels. You are paid via direct deposit in a couple weeks. Check it out here. ONSOURCE This is another "Looker" type gig. Similar to We Go Look, you use an app to capture pictures. You also get paid via Direct Deposit. Check it out here. The differences between these two? I would say I get more offers through We Go Look and they are pushed out via an app alert whereas Onsource calls you. Onsource pays a bit better and the pay is usually in my account in a week, where We Go Look is there in about 2 weeks. Appen **12/11/2018- I am now also working for Appen, which is a great work from home type job that you can do anywhere. I am currently a Social Media Content Reviewer and am enjoying the flexibility this job provides. Here is my referral link to hopefully get you in the door quicker rather than having to go through FlexJobs. https://connect.appen.com/qrp/public/jobs/list?uref=453f0159695377e8cc6a122874ae37d7 Roadie This is a delivery service and could be local or if you are traveling, you can make some money taking something along and delivering to another city or state. Postmates Their Fleet app lets you deliver food delivery from restaurants and stores. Shiftgig This app is more of a way to find some short term work such as picking up a catering shift or working at a special event like a concert. Once you sign up, you are able to search the app for available gigs. TaskRabbit This is an app that allows you to search for tasks. Things like, moving furniture for someone, yard work, personal assistant or helping with other projects. Mystery Shops/App based company & product reviews
Mystery shopper/app based review type gigs are unbelievably abundant! This includes observing everything and anything. It could be anything from making a call to a university to review their customer service capabilities to reviewing the cleanliness and customer service of a restaurant, oil change shop or Walmart to conducting a mystery shop on apartment sales staff or window sales people. The great thing about these are that you are reimbursed for purchases or services. For instance, I rated a carpet cleaning business and got paid for my review and received $225 worth of free carpet cleaning. I also have received many free meals for rating restaurants service and cleanliness. I have done movie trailer checks to record movie goers response to the trailers shown before a movie. I also got paid for putting coupons on spaghetti jars and taking a picture of my work, which took me all of 10 minutes to do. Plus you choose which ones you want to do, when you want to do them. One word of caution, you must follow directions for each shop. You will be financially penalized or even perhaps not paid for a shop if you do not follow directions. It happened to me once and that is all it took! Newbie mistake! I now make sure to read the directions very carefully and make sure I get all the requirements. Here is a list of those apps that I actively use with links for you to sign up for: MarketSource There are two divisions of this company. One is the mystery shopper component and the movie theater component. You will need to sign up for each separately. Presto InstaShops Some of these are quick ones were you take a couple pictures and you submit. They also have others that are more involved. Secret Shopper This company has a variety of shops from evaluating YMCA tours to cable company customer service reviews. They list them by city or by map location. IPSOS Mystery Shopping This group does alot of mystery shops for the postal service, which means you get reimbursed for sending packages and get paid. WIN!! Gigwalk This is one of those apps you can check and do shops on the fly. Not alot of preparation necessary and you can pick these up and do them when you are out and about. MaritzCX This company does alot of gas station audits. I have done several of these lately as they pay pretty good and once you get the flow down of what a brand (i.e. Mobil, Shell) is looking for, it gets pretty easy to get the evaluation done quickly. Field Agent If you want to just get a feel for the review process with some quick shops, this is the one of the apps I would recommend to start with. They are on the fly gigs but do have a 2 hour completion time frame from the time from the time you accept the shop. If you shop Target and Walmart, this is the gig for you! Survey.com This company offers a wide range of gigs such as standard mystery shops, merchandise resets, product demos, stock products or promotional displays. I am currently doing a gig for them where I stick some coupons on a product. This is another great one to earn some big money for some of these gigs! iSecretShop This company has gigs anywhere from mystery phone shop, web evaluations, to checking out certain fitness programs, hardware store and restaurants. EasyShift Just as the name suggests, this is another one that is a quick grab and go mystery shop app. Easy quick shops. GigSpot This group has a wide variety of mystery shops. I have done several phone shops for them as well as an in home window replacement mystery shop. They have several groups underneath them that they organize mystery shops for so there is always a wide variety of gigs. JobSpotter Finally, these last two are a bit different than the others. This gig is actually run by Indeed, the online job board. Everyone has seen local businesses hiring for help these days. This gig would be to take a picture of the help wanted sign and upload the picture on the app. This activity earns you wallet points to purchase gift cards. eJury This is an interesting concept of having virtual jurors to prepare for trial. I am signed up but have yet to get a virtual assignment. It just goes to show, you could do just about anything virtually! Again, these are the gigs that I personally signed up for. A couple reminders ... these are 1099 jobs so you do not get a W-2 for so if you plan on making a full time job out of these, you may want to look into the tax planning portion. You also need to make sure you pay attention to detail and instructions. Most all of these rate their shoppers and better ratings mean more shops! These gigs are plentiful and completely flexible, so why not get started and dabble in some today! They are fun and fit any lifestyle! Who couldn't use a couple more bucks in their wallet! |
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