Excitement on The Home Front

I am so excited to share the wonderful events in my life. I am still in shock !!!

I received second place honors in the NetTrav Travelers Lounge contest. All I had to do to win this great contest was talk about my adventures. WOW !!

That was so easy. I love to travel and talk about all the great places and wonderful people that I meet while on vacation. Let me rephrase that PAYCATION !!!

Platinum One Destinations (in my humble opinion) is the #1 home based business opportunity. Where else can you travel first class for coach prices and earn money while doing it?

Don't forget to check back on a regular basis so that you don't miss my updates from my newest adventure. Remember that the view from the top is breathtaking.

Stop wishing you could do and "JUST DO IT."

Ebay/PayPal. Unhappy Customer

Ebay and PayPal

I recently ordered items from Ebay and have had a very bad experience. I normally don't order anything from outside the continental US as I have always been cautious about the shipping, condition of the product ect.

I ordered some Network Marketing Video. I failed to take the extra step and make sure that the seller was in the US. This is not an excuse but I was in a hurry.

Lesson # 1 slow down. Take the extra time to make sure that your getting what you want before clicking the submit button. I didn't and here is what happened.

I placed the order on April 7, 2008. My item wasn't shipped to me until I filed a claim with PayPal for non receipt of the item. During this time the only response I ever received from the seller where emails asking not to leave negative feedback. This made me very suspicious.

On May 9, 2008 one broken DVD arrived. The seller hadn't even so much as used a padded envelope to send it in. The order consisted of 14 DVD's. Not just one.

I proceeded to open a claim with PayPal for non receipt of full order and damaged product. This dispute was opened on June 2, 2008. This is how long it took the seller to respond to the emails that PayPal was sending him.

Now you would think that given just that information alone PayPal would be on the side of the buyer. But no. PayPal is requiring that I send back the broken product to the seller, which would not be a problem normally, however they require a tracking number. Well to ship the item back to Maylasia with a tracking number requires that it be sent certified.

Now to ship it back via regular mail the cost is $1.69. Now you add certification and the cost is $12.79. I only paid $14.72 for the entire order and I will not be reimbursed the cost of return shipping.

Now lets see......I never took modern math but even without that it appears to me that I am paying double for something that should have only required one shipping cost.

I am also a seller on Ebay and when one on my customers had a problem with the item the bought I reimbursed them completely. Shipping included even though I state in the description that shipping is non refundable. I only expect this from other sellers on Ebay.

I have submitted a complaint with PayPal and explained how I think this should be resolved. I will be glad to ship it back to him without a tracking number.

This is why I don't buy outside the continental US. I sell power tool batteries also and have shipped outside the US myself without a problem. If PayPal chooses not to support me on this I will definitely be looking for another merchant gateway for all my transactions.
www.toplinepowertoolbatteries.com

Baby Chicks

We live on 16 acres in the Ozarks. Here on the farm we are blessed to have the opportunity to have a few animals. We have 3 Missouri Fox Trotter horses, 2 cats and a dog.

We had 4 hens and 1 rooster when the month of May began. We have other visitors that seem to wander in whenever they get hungry. One of them is a raccoon.

Well he managed to have 2 meals here. One of his meals was our black hen and the next night it was our rooster. The raccoon is very slick and seems to know how to avoid the trap.

We were left with 3 hens. 2 of them were setting on eggs. Well the eggs have now hatched. The white hen started out with 18 chicks. We moved them into a large tractor tire with wire over it to keep them safe from varmints.

We had no idea that the white hen, a new mother, this being her first clutch would decide to abandon some of them. We went to check on them in the morning and to our horror there were 8 dead chicks.

We knew that no varmint had been in there and the evidence showed us what had happened. She didn't want the dark colored chicks. The scene may have been different had the red hen been done hatching hers.

The red hen, an experienced mother, hatched out five more eggs. We have now moved both families into the horse stall and they all seem to be thriving.

We will wait 1 week to give the little ones a chance to grow stronger before we let them out to roam during the day.

Just another day on the farm.

I Love The Freedom

We recently returned from our cruise to the Mexican Riviera and have been reliving the wonderful memories of it.

This set into motion another great whirl of ideas. John and I have had a goal to live life unobstructed by normal limitations and boundaries. We are working our internet business and cutting our ties to the land. Our goal is to live the kind of live that most people only have the opportunity to dream about.

When I came across this article by Louise Woodcock it was as if I had written it myself. It is a great article. For just a moment allow yourself to daydream. Remember how much fun this is. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in your RV.

You just opened your eyes for the day. No rude alarm clock jarring you into reality but just the sweet awakening that comes when you are free to wake at your leisure. Look out your bedroom window and what do you see? The beauty of the ocean or mountains? Your eyes can't get enough of the wonders outside your window. You Thank God for the scene before you.

Next take a long deep breath. Smell the tang of salt from the ocean or the deep pungent scent of pines? Next your ears have the pleasure of hearing the rolling ocean, the song of sea gulls preparing for breakfast or the light and airy sound of Blue Jays.

Now you can also have this life thanks to the Power Of The Internet.

I Love My RV! I Love The Freedom And I Love The Wide Open Spaces! Do You?

I love those wide open spaces. The feeling of timelessness! The freedom of wearing what I want, sleeping where I want, setting off when I want to, wherever! The random order contrasted with the former settled chaos of my old normal office job lifestyle!

Could you enjoy a traveling lifestyle? You do not need to have a fortune in the bank. Nowadays the internet and wireless networking allows you to work as you travel. You can buy things at shops, warehouses, garage sales as you go along, and resell them on internet auctions at your leisure. You can write articles for profit. You can promote affiliate products. You can offer your former skills as freelance or consultancy work. You can run an online bookstore or dropshipping business. You need carry no stock.

You could take great sunset photographs and sell framed prints online. You could paint and sell the finished painting or even sell limited editions online. You can have your art and pictures created as merchandise while you wait! You can take people and pet portraits and sell those. You can take property pictures for real estate agents. Sell your RV story to a local newspaper! Write a blog about your experiences as you travel from your old world to your new and sell some affiliate products or site memberships from your blog. Have an opt in subscriber list and promote to them regularly.

I love the long lazy day awaking early in my camper van and grilling bacon and drinking cafeteire coffee at my leisure! I love knowing that no one is going to shout at me or give me grief or boss me around today! I love visiting new places, meeting new people, seeing the sun set in all its glory!

I feel at one with nature, I eat what I like, I enjoy local colour. I play on my guitar and sing along. I lead a carefree life, me and my RV! Say, come and join us on the road, and leave your cares at home alone!

Louise Woodcock Piano Teacher, Success Motivator and Internet Business Strategist. You can discover more about me at http://ZowocoMarketing.com
Please feel free to use this article however you wish! God bless! ;)

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Louise_Woodcock

Our Last Stop - Cabo San Lucas

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Cabo San Lucas

Wow! What a beautiful place. From the moment we arrived, the bay, the mountains, the beach, the people left you feeling inspired.
At this stop there is no pier. We drop anchor in the bay and a tender takes you ashore. This is the first time we had done anything like this. It was great. My mother stayed on board as she didn't want to take a tender ashore. She has always been afraid of water so just getting her on this cruise was quite an accomplishment. She is now hooked for life on cruising.
When we arrived at the pier we just started walking. Our eyes were so busy taking in all the wonderful boats that were docked here that we didn't even realize how far we had walked. We saw boats from all over the US. There were boats there from Miami. Some of them were just breathtakingly beautiful.
We ended up downtown looking for some of the shops that are listed on our map. We went into a jewelry shop that had a large display of Mexican Fire Opals. These opals have so much color and light. I would love to own a set of these pieces. We left there and walked further down the street into many different shops. These vendors sold hand crafted items. The clothing was all hand embroidered. Very beautiful designs and artistry.

We found a small information booth on the corner of two busy streets and stopped to ask about the location of another shop we were looking for, the lady explained where it was and started telling us about Mercado Beach. It is the main beach. She was explaining about her time share opportunity. We declined. She was then telling us about a way to get around in the city. It is by bike taxi. A cart is placed behind a bicycle and someone pedals the bike. It was a great way to get to the beach. Along the way we saw an ATV rental place. They offered a variety of options to rent. Scooters, ATVs , Mules and Jeeps. This is something we want to do on our next visit to get out of the main area and see some of old Cabo. We walked out to the beach and started south. Along the way we found a number of different types of beach activities. Wave runners, kayaks, banana boats, small catamarans, para sailing and of course more water taxis. We walked on the beach for 30 - 45 minutes enjoying the beauty of the area.
When we returned to the main part of the beach area we found an outdoor cantina. We settled down under an umbrella with some other cruise guests. Such a beautiful place to rest. We talked and laughed. The cantina brought beer in a bucket with ice. It was so good and cold. We finally had to say goodbye to Cabo. It was time to board a water taxi and return to the pier to board our tender back to the ship.
If you have never visited this place of great sites and people, you really need to put it on the top of your list to do.

Mazatlan Mexico visit

Visiting Mazatlan

We entered the port on Thursday morning. I was totally in love with the landscape. We were looking at the side of the mountain and noticed what we thought were cars. After further research we found that the moving objects were people climbing to the top of the mountain. There is a lighthouse at the top. Later in the day our tour guide explained that these people walk to the top of the mountain everyday to work at the lighthouse. This lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in North America. Their commute is about 2 miles one way. Our guide said it took them about 4 hours to walk it each day. You would stay in great health with a hike like that everyday.

We continued into the bay, fishing boats were going out to sea as we were coming in. The dock was a commercial one. It was not what I was expecting. I saw military men all around all the warehouses. It was an uneasy feeling. I just didn't expect to see men with guns on the pier. Nowhere in the information did we read that this was a possibility. It was a shock to my vacation senses. Once we left the ship we were put onto trams and transported into a market area that was still behind walls with a guarded gate leaving the port area. I don't know if you were allowed to leave that area on foot. It is not something that I expected at all.

We were on a tour bus with 4 other ladies who were part of the Richard Simmons Group. They were so much fun. We stopped at the Cathedral. It was beautiful. This Cathedral was built in 1820's. It was awe inspiring. Then we went shopping for a short time. We only had about 30 minutes as the ladies in our group had to be at Senor Frogs to meet Richard. We were able to watch a cliff diver. I was disappointed by that. You see the ones in the commercials and this isn't like that at all. Then we dropped off the ladies and we were taken to a local cafe for lunch. It was amazing. The local atmosphere is the best. We were right on the beach watching as children played in the water. You could see the true beauty of the area and the people.

We arrived back at the pier and did some shopping there. We were sitting in the outdoor area enjoying the day. We finally made our way back to the ship. Exhausted but fulfilled. We had forgotten about the shock we had first encountered upon arrival. It is a city that has a lot of culture and well worth the visit again.

Cruisin' the Mexican Riviera

We have returned home.

The Mexican Riviera was wonderful. On Saturday April 26th we flew into LAX. Stayed overnight at the Quality Inn in Long Beach. Met our youngest son David and his family the next morning in line to board the ship. We cruised with Carnival on board the Pride. Gorgeous ship. Great crew. Spoiled us all rotten. Food, more food and fun. The kids had a wonderful time. They're favorite sport was flying down the water slide.

The first stop was on Wednesday April 30. We were in Puerto Vallarta from 8 am until 10 pm. We all went on an excursion of the jungle. It took us up into the mountains to an old town called Mismyola. Here we stopped at a local place where we were able to swim in the pools formed by the river. John, David, Julie and the kids went on a guided hike into the jungle. Mom and I stayed behind at the small restaurant. We watched as some men put a new roof made of palm leaves onto one of the sections. It was very interesting to watch them work. The beams consist of re bar placed horizontally over the top of large poles that looked like bamboo. The palms were stripped down about half way, then the next two sets of leaves were loosened and then threaded through the re bar and twisted together to create a knot. The roof section being done was about 10' x 10'. It will take 2 men 2 days to complete. The palms were left in the river to stay flexible until needed. This was very interesting.

When the hikers all returned we had lunch. When we had first arrived the owner of the cafe came out to the patio with a tray. On this tray he had an assortment of food that would be prepared for you. He had red fish, prawns, crab, lobster, chicken breast filet and kabobs. The kabobs were made of either chicken, beef, shrimp or a combo. We ordered the combo platter. It had all of the seafood items on it. It was great. The food was all prepared on a BBQ grill as there is no electric here. We were then treated to a free shot of tequila. We were given a black mustache and a Mexican sombrero to wear. David was the first one to go, he took the first shot and as he was bringing his head down the waiter took off the hat and below that was a smaller hat. He then had to have another shot to have the smaller sombrero removed. It was great.

John and I followed after David. Then we had to get back on the bus for the next stop in the tour. We went down to the Tequila Factory. We were shown how the agave plant was still hand processed. It was very interesting. We were then treated to more samples. There were 5 different types. This brand is only sold in Mexico. We brought home a bottle of the Mango flavored. I really liked the coffee flavored one. Julie bought a bottle of that flavor.

We were then taken to a vista point for pictures. I was breath taking. Along the way there were vendor stands with clothes, shoes, jewelry and leather goods. All hand made and beautiful.

We saw the spot where the original movie Night of the Iguana was filmed. Steven Spielberg's home. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor have homes here also.

We finished out our day with shopping. By 6 pm we were back on board and exhausted. We had alot of new treasures to bring home.