Mosquitos are an unfortunate  fact of life for those of us that choose to live and visit Manitoba. But that doesn’t mean we have to like them or ever stop fighting them. I am always looking for a good way to get rid of them so that we can enjoy more camping time.  As I was strolling the net the other day  I came across a story that almost sounds too good to be true. Some of you may have heard this before, but it was new to me. Apparently Listerine will chase the mosquitos away. They say that if you put it in a spray bottle and spray the grass, doorways, tables, chairs etc it will keep them away for a couple days. I did a google seach and if you believe what you read on the internet it sounds as if it actually works. I am definately going to have to give it a whirl this summer and find out for myself. If  anyone has already tried this let me know your thoughts – did it actually work or just make things smell minty fresh? The story has even made it onto Ehow.com (http://www.ehow.com/how_5096300_repel-mosquitoes-listerine.html) where they tell you the super complicated directions.

I was browsing through an RV magazine the other day and saw some interesting new trends for this year’s RV world.  If you are heading to the Manitoba RV Show next weekend you may be able to see some things up close and personal.

First up is the Reese Revolution fifth wheel hitch. This seems to solve a couple common problems: breaking the back window of your truck and running into the hitch while at the campsite. The hitch on the trailer rotates up to 90 degrees so that you are able to turn sharply while backing up. Then once the truck is unhooked the hitch rotates to fold out of the way. http://www.goevergreenrv.com/page/107/Reese-Revolution-5th-Wheel-Hitch 

One of last year’shot  trends was the outdoor kitchen which appears to still be going strong this year. The Forest River R-Pod has kicked it up a notch. (Note the TV)

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a picture to post and there is not even anything on their website but Monaco is making a motorhome with a slideout in a slideout. ?? There was a picture in the magazine so it appears to be for real. But considering their website lists the starting price of their Diplomat model at $3o4,350 it should probably have lots of bells and whistles.

I am always a litte amazed that Airstreams are still so popular and really have not changed much in the last few decades. They even have an Eddie Bauer model http://www.airstream.com/products/travel-trailers/eddie-bauer-airstream.html . I think that this is the type of camper that you either love it or you hate it. If you are looking for unique this is definately the way to go.

How about this one.. http://www.openrangerv.com/whats-new.aspx. You can bring your own deck to the campground.

Another trend that I hear will soon become standard is a remote control to operate the slideouts and jacks. The theory is that you can stand outside and watch as the slide goes out to make sure that there is enough clearance etc. Sounds like a great idea to me and we all know how much men like to play with their remotes. lol

I can’t believe some of the options that are available in campers nowadays – dishwashers, big screen tv’s and even central vac. I am looking forward to touring the RV’s at the convention centre. Of course I have absolutely no intention of actually buying, but it is always fun to look. Now keep in mind that I am not endorsing anything here, but just suggesting that there might be something interesting to look into further.

If you are coming to the RV Show on Saturday, feel free to stop by and say Hi. We will be on the 3rd floor in the Interlake Tourism  and Manitoba Association of Campgrounds and Parks booths.

If you have been watching the news in the last few months I’m sure you have heard all the warnings about travelling to Mexico.  We have recently returned from Mexico ourselves and I thought that I would share our experience.  First, have a look at what they did to our truck. 

Well, I never said it was a bad experience. We actually had all good experiences down there  and let me tell you the weather there is a lot nicer than here right now. This  year we were lucky enough to literally stumble upon a very talented airbrush painter named Antonio. We were driving into town and he pulled out of a campground in front of us. We took one look at the pictures on his truck and knew that we had to talk to him.

We showed him our logo on our brochure and asked if he could put it on our truck. Then we asked him how much and were blown away when he said only $100 per duck. (gotta love Mexico)  He came the next day and we got to sit and watch the truck be transformed into a  work of art. We can’t say enough about his talent and what an amazing job he did. We never dreamed it would turn out as good as it did.  These pictures just don’t do it justice, you really do have to see it in person.

On some weekends in the summer our truck is used by a local drag racer to travel to the Speedway in Gimli so we thought it would be good to somehow get a picture of his car on the truck as well. We had Dean email some pictures which we forwarded to Antonio and he was able to create this on the tailgate.

You can’t miss our truck coming down the highway now and it is really easy to find in a parking lot.

These are a few shots of the airbrush process.

Mexico is not really as scary as it is made out to be by the media. Yes, I admit that there are some parts of the country that I would not really want to venture into, but keep in mind that it is a big area. That would be like someone saying that they weren’t going to come to Warren because there is violence in Toronto. The town that we go to is located South of Phoenix, about a one hour drive into Mexico. The town is called Rocky Point or Puerto Penasco.  We have been here a couple times and have always had a relaxing vacation. I won’t go off topic into too much detail but if you are interesting in learning more about the area and about travelling in Mexico just feel free to ask. We will gladly share our experiences and answer any questions.

Quite often during the busy summer months I get asked when we get to relax and take a break. These pictures answer some of that question. We take a couple weeks in the winter fly south like the ducks where we can enjoy some camping ourselves.

And we now have a new place to find some.  GoDeals.ca is a website that was launched last week where you can find some deals on all sorts of things in and around Winnipeg. We are currently trying it out with a couple coupons already posted online. I will be adding some more as we get closer to the camping swing of things.  Being a coupon seeker  myself I  will be bookmarking the site so that I can see what kind of new deals are coming up.  With the website just having been launched at the beginning of the month, the coupon offerings are still growing quickly.

PS. Only 63 more days till camping season.