Day 4..."On to Reno!!"

Aug 4th - Today was going to be a good day.  I woke up in Battle Mountain, NV, easily found gas and breakfast, and was on the road for my short 4 hour drive.  Doing over 1000 miles the day before put me ahead of schedule, and I had only a few hundred miles to my next stop, which was Reno, NV.  This was so exciting for me because it would mean my first shower in over 3 days, and it also meant my first night in a bed since I left.  Driving out west non-stop was a great experience, only made gruelling by the lack of bathing and bedding. 

Dejah had used Priceline to score me an awesome room at the Peppermill, and I was really looking forward to the resort atmosphere.  2 Hot Tubs and 3 heated pools sounded like just what I needed.  My excitement was short lived when I arrived.  I was pleased to find out that I was able to check in early, but I quickly learned that my room was in the far right corner of the property, and the only available parking was in the front left.  The walk from one to the other with my luggage seemed to take forever, not made any easier by the fact that the hotel/casino layout was set up like a maze.  (They actually give you a map when you arrive so that you can find your room)  I was charged an additional $10 "resort fee" over what I had already paid Priceline, which I had no choice but to pay at that point in time, since the rest of my reservation was third party and therefore non refundable.  The property, rooms and amenities were beautiful, but the service was mediocre and there was a lack of "welcome feeling".  Overall the Peppermill was a nice play to stay, although a little inconvenient and definitely not conducive to the business traveller. 

I did find "Hot August Nights" in the parking lot when I arrived, and although I had no idea of the magnitude at the time, I could tell I was in to see some pretty awesome cars at this show.  I spent the rest of the day walking around, being thankful for the break and being able to stretch my legs.  I ate dinner at Denny's, ordering my favorite "Grand Slam Breakfast", and felt a lot better about the trip than I had for awhile.  The long drive was over, the following day I would finally have my first home party, and I had a large king sized bed with an unlimited supply of shower water waiting for me when I got back to the hotel room.  

I spent the rest of the evening walking around the hotel and casino, stretching my legs, happy to have plenty of room to roam yet nowhere to really go.  While pacing a track around the slot machines, I got a text from a friend of a friend who said that I would have a free place to stay for 2 nights when I was in Portland.  It was good to know I would have a place to stay, and there would be a minimal drain on the travel funds for the some of the time I would be spending in the Pacific Northwest. When my legs couldn't walk anymore, I was happy to see it was only 9:15 and I still had a little time for the hot tub again.  Soaked for 30 minutes, headed back to the room and I hit the sack early to prepare for the long day ahead.  Promo pictures around Reno in the morning, a short drive to Orangevale, CA, and then finally...Paige's Home Party!  My first one of the tour after 5 days of travel.  I was excited at the prospect of meeting our west coast fans for the first time, and couldn't wait to get there.  Even though I was literally exhausted and the king size bed was extremely comfortable, it wasn't easy to fall asleep.  Eventually, I drifted off thinking about all of the picture locations I had scoped out while I walked around, wondering if any of the guys at the car show would let me take a few shots of our product with their cars. 

When day 4 was all said and done...Lindenhurst, NY to Reno, NV....70 hours...2894.7 miles covered so far.

Day 3 of the Summer Tour..."Still Driving"

Aug 2nd - Woke up on Day 3 on I80 in Nebraska.  The bugs were gone, and it was a beautiful day to drive.  I freshened up and hit the road.  I stopped a little while later for breakfast and gas in N. Platt, so I could refuel my body and steed and continue my journey.  As it turns out, Nebraska is even longer than Iowa, and has just about as much corn, if not more.  Nebraska took the whole morning to cover, and It was midday before I reached Wyoming.  Finally, the scenery started to change, and the cornfields turned into the high plains, which turned into mountains and interesting rock formations.  I stopped at a "Point of Interest" on the side of I80 to take some pictures, stretch my legs, and leave a crumb for anyone following along in "The Equality State".  While here, I got to check out one of natures wonders, a tree growing from a boulder which splits the interstate.  It is said that this natural obstacle rerouted the original Union Pacific Railroad, and has been observed by travellers through the state for over 140 years.  It was a warming, spiritual type feeling to think of all of the people who have been here before me, all with a different reason for their journey, all just passing through the life of this tree.  Be sure to check it out if you ever pass by, or just read about it here.

A short while later, back on the road, I actually sat in a traffic jam in Rock Springs, WY.  My first look at a wall of cars since I left NY.  I turned on my portable CB to find a report that a stalled car in a construction zone was the reason for the logjam.  I tried to be patient but it definitely wasn't easy.  I had been in the car for quite awhile and I was ready for a break.  Just then, I glanced to my right to find a woman riding a horse into the town next to the highway.  It's not everyday that you see something like this as a NYer, so I had to get a pic for proof...needless to say, it took my mind off of the traffic situation long enough to get through it. 

                                          

After I passed the stalled vehicle, it was smooth sailing all the way through the rest of Wyoming, and all of Utah.  I also got a chance to stop and catch an amazing sunset while driving I80 through "The Beehive State"...It really was an incredible sight.

                                      

I finished up around Battle Mountain, NV with just over 1000 miles logged since I began that day...Total miles driven to this point, 2562!!! 

Body Marinade Summer Tour - Fan Blog!

Hey Marinaders! This blog entry is for you!  Write a blog entry about the Summer Tour from your point of view as a fan, whether you have been or will be a party hostess, have been or will be a party guest, contest participant, or just a spectator!

This contest will be closed at Midnight EST and a winner will be chosen based on the best blog entry! We will choose one winner for every 10 blog entries we receive!  The prize for this contest is a 4 oz. Milk in your choice of flavor!! Good Luck everyone!

Day 2 of the Summer Tour..."The Drive Continues"

Aug 1st - I woke up Sunday morning in a rest stop in Indiana, just a few miles from the Ohio border.  I had logged over 700 miles the day before, and I was eager to get back on the road to keep moving.  After being awake for only 3 minutes, I was standing next to my car in the rest stop, stretching out, and I made a new friend.  His name was Chuck.  He owns 3 houses which he is trying to sell.  We had an interesting conversation about his VW that does 160mph, cops in Illinois and Iowa, traffic in Chicago, and his brother who passed away.  He was a very nice fellow, I just wish he had given me some time to get a coffee and splash some water on my face before he came to visit with me at the Hotel Honda.  I don't think he fully understood Body Marinade or what we do, but I tried.  We wished each other safe travels and we went our seperate ways. 

While driving that day, I left a crumb behind in Walcott, Iowa, across the street from the "World's Largest Truck Stop", and it was the first one to be claimed.  Congrats to Jeni Martin who drove over 30 minutes with her son Jonny to pick it up, you guys rock!!  He looks like a pretty cool mini-marinader!!  Check him out here!!

Driving through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and the beginning of Nebraska took up the rest of the day, and I finished just west of Lincoln with just under 1600 total miles logged on the trip.  We had also started running a mileage contest on Facebook as well, and it was fun to know that everyone was waiting to see how far I had gotten by a certain time.  Just before I fell asleep, there was an amazing lightening storm that was better than anything I have ever seen on TV.  Mother Nature is truly amazing sometimes.

A few minor observations from Day 2...

1.  There is alot of corn in Iowa...What you see on "Field of Dreams" is really the way it is.  I was amazed at how much corn is actually grown right next to the highway, I can't even imagine how much there is total once you leave the roadway.

2.  Iowa is an extremely long state.  It seemingly takes forever to cross, and there really isn't much change in landscape.  It was very nice, but extremely boring.

3.  There is an extreme amount of bugs in the state of Nebraska.  I had no idea.  I stopped at the rest stop for the night and there were thousands of crickets on the ground between the car and the facilities.  As you walked you couldn't help but crunch them, they just refused to move.  Besides the carpeting of insects on the pavement,  there were swarms of mosquitos...big swarms...like what you see in cartoons...it was crazy.

1589.5 miles logged so far...on to Day 3!

Day 1 of the Summer Tour..."The Drive Begins"

Sorry Guys, it has been tough to adjust to life on the road, being away from the family, and still trying to run the businesses as much as possible without steady cell signal and Internet access.   For now, I've found a nice spot in Portland called the Fuel Cafe...free wifi, great coffee, and outstanding service....Highly recommended if you're in the area.  Here's the scoop from the first day on the road...

July 31st...Leaving was really tough...I had already said goodbye to Jessica on Thursday afternoon, and we didn't get overly emotional since her step dad had come to pick her up.  For some reason it's never easy to say goodbye to Jess, but we have been separated in the past and we have learned to adjust to a few weeks apart.  Dejah and Ang were another story altogether.  Ang started crying the day before, and then on and off until I did actually leave.  She gave me the longest and strongest hug ever, and finally let go of my neck when I had to get into the car.  Dej and I haven't been apart for more than 10 days since we met, and although we were very excited to get the Tour started, it wasn't an easy goodbye.  I really miss that kiss she gave me before I left.  I finally got on the road and went through the mental checklist to make sure I had everything...and realized I forgot the insurance card on the counter.  I ran back home, got another 10 minutes with Dej (She didn't tell Ang I had come back because she had just stopped crying), then put the car back into drive around 2pm NY time.

Alot of traffic on the Cross Bronx Expressway heading towards the George Washington Bridge, but that's nothing new.  After the bridge it was smooth sailing.  That gave me time to think, nothing to look at but trees, and alot of time to second guess what I was about to do.  A small family owned start up, just 10 months old, going across the country to promote the business old school style.  A travelling salesman, packing the car to the gills, leaving his family behind, and praying that the money in his pocket is enough to get him to where he can make more.  Will the car make it?  Will I get killed while sleeping in a rest stop?  Will the parties flop and strand me somewhere on the west coast with no way to continue?  I didn't know, but I still didn't turn back. 

Then something crazy happened, and I never questioned any of that again.  In the middle of my own thoughts, Dej and I were brainstorming the cross country "Where's Waldo" contest, and she started to write the post and set it up.  Just passed the middle of PA, I stopped at a rest stop to hit the bathroom and stretch my legs.  I was on the phone with Dej, and she was ready to go live with the contest.  We hung up so we could each do what we had to do, with another convo coming as soon as I was rolling again.We had no idea if there would be interest in the contest, and we were a little skeptical to go full blown nationwide.  I did a quick walk up and down the lot, and got back in the car.  I started it, put the car into reverse, and I got this idea.  The "Breadcrumb" idea.  As well as the "Where's Waldo", I was going to leave something behind for anyone who "just missed me".  A business card...with a code...that could be redeemed if found...Awesome!  I pulled the car back in, and got started on my own little contest plan.  I knew Dej would be down with it, so I got ready to make it happen.  Now, for the craziness...Getting this idea made me pull back in to the spot and start working, and this prevented me from leaving.  At the same time, someone had pulled into a spot a few down from mine, and at first, I honestly didn't notice the car, or the two women who got out of it, I was so engrossed in my new crumb idea.  I looked up when the first woman said "Excuse me, but can I take a picture of your car?".  I was blown away..."Where's Waldo" had just been posted 3 minutes before, there is no way she could have known and was already looking for me.  I looked at her and she thought I was mad, and I had to explain just why I was in shock.  I told her that she just won a contest, and she laughed because she had her own story to tell.  As it turns out, she was travelling with her daughter, who went in to use the facilities at the time....and when they pulled in, the saw the writing on the back of the Hotel Honda (My affectionate name for the Marinade Mobile).  She has another daughter, who married an Australian and moved to Australia, and they have a family joke that he is fattening her up so he can marinade her and eat her.  Essentially, they had an inside family joke using Body Marinade way before we were ever in business, and apparently they were just discussing it while driving down 80.  We were both amazed at the coincidence, and she called it "fate".  They had left later than planned, and I had pulled back in instead of driving away.  She didn't know that I had left late also, which made it all that more weird. I gave them a freebie and asked them to post up their picture and story of the experience to the page, but they unfortunately haven't done so, even though it was worth $50 in Marinade.  My picture from the meeting is below.  It seems to have slipped my mind, but I believe her name was Julie.  I hope she enjoys her freebie and posts up to claim her prize at some point before the tour ends, even though they weren't looking, they were the very first to find Waldo. 

Later that night, I was driving along 80 in Ohio, and got a call from Dej that there was someone else who wanted to find Waldo just 70 miles or so up the road from where I was.  We worked out the logistics by phone and FB, and an hour later I was pulling into a gas station in Sheetsboro, Ohio to meet Carla, Jenna, and Phillip.  I gave them some freebies, a microderm abrasion demo, and they got a chance to mix their very own fragrances while we talked for a few minutes.  They were great people and I was really happy that I got the chance to meet them.  I am grateful that they left their house at midnight and drove over 30 minutes to give me the opportunity.  You guys rock!! My pic with Jenna is below...

I finished the night in an Indiana rest stop, just over the Ohio border...710.5 miles down....

Body Marinade Summer Tour - End of Day 5

Well, we've made it to the end of Day 5 on our Summer Tour.  I can't believe Mike actually traveled from New York to California with Body Marinade... in the marinade-mobile! It's pretty amazing to think about.  It gets little harder and harder every day that he's out on this journey.  But it's a small price to pay for going out there and meeting our fans and supporters, and just spreading Body Marinade out in the world! 

Our first home party was last night.  From what I've heard, it was a blast and everyone had a geat time!  I wish I could've been there to meet Paige and all her friends.  Right now, Mike is in Portland, Oregon where I was born!  Earlier this afternoon as he was driving, he told me that he thought he just found about half the cows in all of America... on the side of the I-5!! We have certainly learned that different parts of the country all have their own very unique ways of life.  But regardless of how differently people live, it's great to know that everyone from all different places and walks of life can come together on our fanpage and cheer each other on, be happy for each other when they won contests, and interact with each other so freely. 

On his way from California to Oregon, he had left a couple of "breadcrumbs" along the way so that our fans can Follow our Trail!  If you don't already know about the details of that contest, click here!  And of course, we still have our nationwide "Where's Waldo" contest going on!  So any of you fans out there in the Portland area, make sure you keep an eye our for "Waldo" and his ride!  Snap a pic of either one and post it up on our Facebook Wall, and you win $50.00 in marinade bucks!  For details on that contest, click here!

And in the middle of all this, we are also running the August Edition of our Design Your Own Scent Contest!! we officially started taking entries at Midnight, and we've already gotten some great ones!  I have a feeling some people have had theirs ready for quite some time!  Have you entered yet?  What are you waiting for?? Enter here!!

Til next time, Marinaders!  

- Dejah

Body Marinade Summer Tour - End of Day 3

Well, we've got 3 days down, and our first home party is tomorrow!! Mike has driven a long way.  He is staying in Reno tonight, and I hope he's having a good time!  We all miss him over here.  Since the beginning of the trip, we had launched a nationwide "Where's Waldo" Contest, and we've already had one fan find "Waldo"!! They posted a picture up on the Body Marinade Facebook Page Wall with Mike and the Marinade-Mobile! Mike had a great time meeting Carla, Jenna and her husband! They were great people, and I only wished I was there to meet them too!

We have also launched another real-life contest called the "Follow Our Trail" Contest!  For this contest, Mike has been leaving "breadcrumbs" all over the country for our fans to find!  The "breadcrumbs" are Body Marinade business cards with codes on them.  If one of our fans finds one and posts a picture of themselves retrieving the card on our wall, they get  $10.00 in Marinade bucks!! We've already had one of our fans, Jeni, and her mini-marinader find a breadcrumb in Walcott, IA!!  She posted some great pics on our page!

We're hoping to get some more great pictures of the bottles for you guys for more picture caption contests!  I'm sure there will be plenty... still about over 6,000 miles to go before the tour is over!  I can't wait for the parties to start so we can start introducing Body Marinade to the world! Still, a part of me can't wait til it's over and our family is back together.  In the meantime, Mike is out there meeting our Body Marinade family! We hope to run into more of you guys along the way! 

- Dejah