Where is Ben?

POG Rally

I'm hanging out with a bunch of bus nuts at the POG rally in Polk City, Florida. We're learning how to maintain our buses and just socializing.

Heading To Dearborn, MI

I'm headed to Dearborn, MI to speak at an event put on by the Photographic Guild. The event is being held at the Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, MI this Saturday from 9am until 4pm and costs $69. For more information contact them via e-mail.

Posted from the Prevost Service Center, Jacksomville, FL

Parked at the Mothership

Last night was the first time that I've ever paid for park overnight. I decided to stay at a RV campground that had full hookups (water, sewage, electrical, cable TV & wireless net access). It was nice to watch TV, but I don't know that I'll be staying all that many nights at campgrounds. I like the idea of stealth camping, which might be a challenge once I make it to Chicago next month.

Tonight I'm parked at the Mothership: The Prevost Service Center in Jacksonville, FL (Prevost is the brand of bus I live on). I stopped by and asked if I could park here a few days while I fly to Michigan and they were more than happy to accommodate me.

Ichetucknee Springs

I parked at the Detroit Diesel parking lot last night. My engine coolant sensor has been acting up. It would indicate that I was low on coolant when it was full. It took them about a half hour to change out the sensor and then I was back on the road.

I kayaked the Ichetucknee river today. The water was crystal clear with deep blue spring-fed waters and a very slow tide. It was perfect weather for a day on the water and I ran into less than a dozen people during my 2.5 hour adventure. If you're ever near Gainesville, FL, consider spending a day at Ichetuchnee Springs.

Posted from Detroit Diesel parking lot, Ocala, FL

Hubcap Help

On my way to Ocala, I was stopped by a frantic driver who came up waving his arms at a stoplight. He claimed that my rear lug-nuts were loose and that my right rear wheels were making a bunch of noise. I stopped in the parking lot of the local tattoo shop to check out the situation. It turns out that one of my rear hubcaps was loose and rattling. It looks like the person who changed my tire neglected to re-install a spacer which caused the hubcap to have too much play in it. This would have been a simple 5 minute fix (remove wing-nut, install a few washers to substitute for the missing spacer and re-tighten) if someone hadn't invented the tamper-proof Allen wrench. The wing-nut that holds the hubcap in place is secured by a bolt that has a founded end (impossible to grip with a vise grip) and Allen wrench fitting. But unlike any other Allen wrench bolt I've ever seem, this one has a tiny little pin in the middle of it that prevents any normal Allen wrench from being used. I called all over the town to see if anyone carried the required special Allen wrench (it looks like a normal one with a hole drilled in the middle) and ended up empty handed. Someone from the tattoo shop I was parked in front of came out to lend a hand and helps turn this fancy "tamper-proof" bolt into a slot screw I could remove using a standard screwdriver... so much for being tamper-proof.

After tightening up my hubcap, I stopped by Marci's photo studio to get a few mugshots taken. I had gotten my hair cut outside by the lakeside a few days earlier. I'm actually starting to get a tan, which isn't easy to tell in the photo.

Posted from Detroit Diesel parking lot

Visiting Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor

I was fortunate enough to have a chance to visit Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor at their home near Gainesville, FL. Talk about an interesting combination; Jerry has been creating B&W photo collages in the darkroom for decades while Maggie is know for using her scanner as your primary input source to create high-end full-color collages.

Jerry has been a major source of inspiration for over twenty years. I a chance to see Jerry's darkroom complete with seven enlargers. It was right then that I realized that I had left my camera back in the bus! I had originally planned to drive the coach up to Jerry & Maggie's place, but decided to leave it in Oklawaha instead. If you're not familiar with Jerry's work, you owe it to yourself to check out as many examples of his work as you have time for. Be sure to check the dates of each one since you might assume that they were done in Photoshop, when in reality, you might be looking at an image that is twenty or thirty years old.

Maggie's work involves collecting old photographs, dolls and interesting artifacts. Her studio is full of drawers that contain hundreds of interesting items. In fact their entire house is packed full of an eclectic collection of folk art which makes every inch of the house something that should be explored and experienced.

Posted from Jerry & Maggie's guest house near Gainsville, FL

Headed to Orlando and Chicago

I'll be headed to Orlando in the morning to present my Photoshop for Photographers seminar before flying to Chicago to present the same seminar the next day. It sounds like attendance is good, with over 1000 people total at the two events.

The bus will remain parked near Marci's house in Oklawaha, FL

Posted from Oklawahala, FL

Lakeside Stealth Camping

I'm parked within view of Lake Weir in Oklawaha, FL. Blog reader and seminar attendee Marci found me this nice spot and offered the use of her Pontoon boat and Jet Ski :-)

I tried to park under a tall tree in Marci's neighbor's property (a 73 year old woman who still mows the grass and rakes enough leaves to easily fill a half-dozen huge garbage bags). I didn't realize that what felt like solid ground was really just a crust with tons of sand underneath. In the process of trying to park, I broke through that crust and sunk into the sand. It cost me $200 to have a huge wrecker pull me out.

Posted from Oklawaha, FL

Visiting the Photoshop Guys

After spending the morning in the Everglades, I headed up to Venice, FL to visit Herb Paynter. I attended one of Herb's seminar way back in 1992 and have used his ScanPrepPro software back then. It was good to catch up with Herb and hear about his past and current adventures.

I parked just off the beach and enjoyed the cool breezes. I went for a morning walk down the beach and kept hearing about people finding shark's teeth, but I was too blind to find one.

My afternoon was spent visiting the Photoshop Guys over at NAPP headquarters near Tampa. Everyone had a tour of the bus, we went to lunch, and then I recorded a tip for Photoshop TV (their free Photoshop related video blog... search on the iTunes music store to find it). It sounds like they might end up talking about the bus on next week's episode.

My fuel tank was nearing empty as I left Tampa, so I stopped by the local Flying-J's and filled her up. The total bill was just over $500!

Tonight, I'm parked at a rest stop an hour or so North of Tampa. There are 18-wheelers on each side of me and I'm using earplugs to make sure I won't wake up as more trucks pull in.

Posted from rest stop on I-75 North

Key West & Everglades

I was planning to spend two nights camped in the Everglades but ended up staying an extra day in Key West due to severe weather reports. The weather report called for anything from small hail to 2" hail depending on who's report you were reading. To avoid the hail, I paid to park about one block from Duval street in a covered building. Or course, the severe weather ended up mellowing out and moved North of Key West, but I thought I'd wait it out since I wasn't looking forward to driving through it on the bridges that head out of the keys.

While I was waiting out the storm, I hung out at a hot sauce store known as Peppers of Key West. Peppers is owned by Michael who is Kathey's husband. Kathey is the person who found me my stealth camping spot in Key West. While I was there, the cast of the local production of the Rocky Horror show was there drinking beer and sampling hot sauces. I joined them in an extended tasting and we ramped up to the second hottest sauce they carry. 

That sauce claims to be three times hotter than Police pepper spray! Only one of the sauces really hit me (the third from the hottest), otherwise my eyes were dry and I wasn't sweating too much (the guy sitting near me was really getting hit hard... see photo below). I used to really be into hot food and have built up a tolerance for hot sauces.

After the storm passed, I drove to Florida City, FL and stayed overnight in the Walmart parking lot. This was my first Walmart stop and I found a mini city of RV's parked in one corner of the lot. I'd estimate that there were no fewer than 15 RV's parked that night. Most Walmarts will allow RVers to park overnight.

I heard a knock at my door, right when I was starting to get ready for bed. It was a group of German guys who's RV was parked next to mine. They had spent two weeks exploring America starting in California and where about to fly home. They had huge boxes full of food to give away (they shopped at Costco). I ended up with enough pasta to easily last me 1.5 years along with boxes full of canned and packaged foods. They were either going to throw it away or give it away, so I was happy to help.

After parking at Walmart, I went into the Everglades to shoot sunrise. It looks like the campground at Flamingo could easily handle my rig, so I made a mental note to explore this area in the future. I would have liked to spend a lot more time in this area, but I had an appointment in Tampa on Tuesday, so I had to move on.

Posted from Walmart parking lot, Florida City, FL