October 1st.

Been off 4 days. 

Expecting to go back to work tomorrow.  If they don't send me a decent run by 2 pm I'll be contacting them.  They really should have sent me out yesterday - but who am I to complain about time off? My only concern after a while is slim paychecks.  

Anyway, I've been making phone calls about getting stuff done on the property since last week and this morning was no different.  I was actually deep asleep before I heard little feet pounding on the floor in the living room going into the kitchen - that didn't make Uncle Ben too happy, I went out there to find another little kid Taylor had brought home. Turns out the power was out and the kid was actually there with his mother, I just didn't see her at first.  

The power wasn't out at our house but apparently a lot of the town was blacked out.  I guess I feel people bringing their kids over to other people's homes should exercise just a bit of control over their offspring and mind some manners.  It was a pretty rude awakening and I'm still out of it. 

Regardless, I got up, sat down at the kitchen bar and started making more phone calls.  The last call I made was back to a company I had called the week previous last week and the gentleman had informed me to just call him next week - which was last week - to have him come out and give quotes.  He called me back after I made the initial phone call and we ended up meeting out at the property.  

We discussed everything.  Literally, everything it was going to take to build the first portion of the park including clearing out all of the front land.  His ball park quote for septic install for 14 sites was $7,500 give or take and another $4,500 to put in the sewer pipe to each pad and run the water line to the sprinklers.  That was an astounding difference from his first quote over the phone.

Note the first quote was for 25 sites.  My next quote I originally thought 10 sites, then went up to 12.  But he said it wouldn't make any different between 10 and 14, so you might as well go with 14.  Hearing that price tag was the first really good news I've heard yet.  A far cry better than 26 to 30k.  After hearing that, I just said fine, let's get a quote for 14 sites and a quote to clear out all the land.  

The quote will include installing the septic, lines, water line and electric.  At least I had the right size water tap installed, he said they only deal with 2* line - which is what I have installed.  He was impressed that I had already called the power company to install a pole.  He went on saying most people don't even think of that.  Well, I did, I was going to do all of this myself, just be the general contractor and tell everyone what I want done.  If 1 company can do everything at competitive price that's even all the better. Any problems? Call that company up and tell them. Power ain't working, water line broke, septic is backed up, please come and fix it.

Oh yes, I fully expect some sort of guarantee on all the work if I go this route.  It just really depends on what the quote comes back at.  I'm hopeful, I'll say that much.  He also said electric parts prices are all over the board right now, just like the other electrical contractor stated and that it would be impossible to give a ballpark on that, prices are going up and down. Let's get this done before the prices go up so high I can't afford to do any of this.  The 4 thousand dollar power pole kind of gave me  a clue.

I've got that guy's number, the power company - he's local - if I don't hear back from him by the end of the week I'll call him at the beginning of next week and see where we're at with it.  The man today said they take their sweet ole' time and you are on their schedule, lol.  Yup, not the first person I've heard that from and I suspect my rather incessant phone calls to them is the only thing that got me to getting that guy out there as fast as he did.  I don't have til' the second of never to get power out there.  

It's perfect weather for camping right now.  The sooner I get this thing up and running the sooner I can hopefully start seeing guests coming and spending a day, several days, a week, whatever.  I've contacted an online reservation company.  They charge $2 per reservation to do everything online.  My price for a stay will go from $30 to $32 plus tax.  The going rate around these parts is around $30 to $35 with a few places much higher that have a lot more amenities.  But I doubt I will ever raise my prices unconscionably high, I just need to be able to make a living off of this and hopefully give some out to the community and God's work.  If I ever did put a pool in, the rate would go up $5 per night to pay for the maintenance of the thing.  And yes, I absolutely intend on putting a medium sized pool in some day - Lord willing and I'm still breathing and alive on the face of this earth.  

He said somewhere around 5 grand to install a half acre pond.  Not bad. I'd rather have a full acre. If they bring all that equipment out here to clear the land I'm going to want to have them dig out even a small pond to start with just to get something going back there.  A much larger version - as with any other upgrades - can come in the future.  

And another thing I just learned yesterday after reading through SBA loan documents.  Yes, that's still in the offing -- at some point I actually intend on going that route I just want to get an operation up and running nowish, not a year or two years from now.  That the info says is that any money spent on start up costs goes towards the down payment........keep the receipts.....of course, receipts are necessary for tax write offs.  You don't think I"m not going to take advantage of any tax write offs I can get?  Lol, I don't even think Biden is trying to do away with that (he's now officially one of the most unpopular presidents of all time, even democrats are turning against him because of inflation). 

Anyway, that was great news.  If I spent all of this 401k on the property, all of that goes towards the down payment for the SBA loan.  I don't have to come up with yet even more down money on top of what I have already spent, something that lingered on the edge of my mind while I was attempting to decide what to do.  So now that I have that established, yes, I do feel like I'm on the right path.  But if it's in the financial realm of possibility right now, I would like to get all 7 acres cleared to start off with.  But if it saves a bunch of money to not have 2 or 3 acres done right off the bat, so beit. 

I'm going to make this work - Lord willing - and get this thing going.  I always say Lord willing because that's what the Bible says about people going to a village to earn some kind of profit - you're tiny little self - me included in that description and calling myself nothing more than dust from the land "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes" You are not guaranteed tomorrow, you have today.  I had today, I made the calls, I feel like I got something done, we'll see.  I expect he'll have a quote for everything fairly quickly, he had ball park numbers off the top of his head, that's his job is the numbers game, he should be able to give a specific quote for everything in short order.  

I'll say it again, because it's what it is: I really have no idea what I'm doing here.  I change my mind about things because I get new information.  I consider the new information and make decisions based off of it.  By the time I'm done with this, I"ll know exactly what to do if I ever wanted to start another park - or more specifically - buy a smaller property and put some mobile homes on it.  Pretty much the same difference as an RV park excepting your septic system has to be bigger per unit.  

I know what I want in terms of the finished product, it's the path to get there I am completely unfamiliar with.  I still sit here in wonder, after all of that research I did it's still like wading into unknown waters, wondering if there's a drop off I can't see I'm about to step into and really just hoping I meet the right people who can give me the specific information I seek at that point in time.  I can tell ya right now, if this guy comes back with a price I can afford, I'm going for it.  I'll have the whole thing built quickly and have the lion's share of it done with.  

Then, if need be, take out another loan, pay off 2 loans that are now down to a grand a piece - and $300 per month total payments, knock those payments out plus finish the project. One of the loans is for the crowns I had put in the other is for credit card debt consolidation. I could go through a list but I think I need not go there right now. I do need to write all of it down and start looking at the things that I need to get to work on now versus later.  

But yea, I definitely think I want at least a small pond dug out back there right off the bat.  It's just a part of the setup that I feel needs to be done at the beginning.  I can get a small business operator out there to finish my walking trails. I went out there again today since I was already there and walked around the trails.  Pretty nice, actually.  If I need to, at some point, have a well dug back there to supply the pond then so beit. I'm hoping that tiny stream will be enough, especially when it rains it grows in size substantially . 

Well there it is.  Eternal waiting games are plenteous in this proposition.  But the ball is rolling, if ever so slowly. It will gain momentum.  I hope, lol.

As for the rest of today?  I just need to hear about tomorrow's run, for there needs to be one.....

g'day

 Soooo.

Took the dogs out to the property and met up with the power engineer. 

He looked at where I want to put the pole - which is right there where the power lines are already running.  He said, ok, good we won't need to run a lot of line.  Great, how much do you figure this is going to cost? 

$4,000.  Four thousand dollars?!!!  I mean, I didn't give him any lip or anything, but that was a much higher price tag than what I anticipated.  I was guessing, of course, but I figured around $2,000 to $2,500.  

But what can I do?  I can't have a park without power.  I really can't do anything out there, even if just on a personal level, without power so I just agreed to it. He said I would probably cost less than that, his estimate was on the higher end.  Whatever it ends up being, the power company will give a credit to my account to make up any difference. 

I have no idea when they are going to install it, he said he was going to go work up a work order and they will get it done.  It will include a power line running down the pole and into a pedestal right there at the pole. Shrugging shoulders, moving on with this.  Whatever the costs are, I just have to pay it. If it means I run into a road block getting other stuff done, it is what it is.  

He also said I didn't have to pay that up front, I could make payments for up to 60 months.  That was a bit of relief, I won't have to dig into my savings just to get the pole installed.  He figured a minimum payment of $150 per month plus whatever the electric bill for any give month is. I opted for that, whatever I can do to save as much of my working capital as I can? Let's do that.

Next, I called the water install guy and started discussing with him about clearing the land.  He said it costs the same amount to move the equipment in whether it's an acre or 50 acres.  What he was alluding to was the idea that you may be better off just getting the entire 7 acres cleared right off the bat.  Yes, but how much money is that going to cost? 

I don't mince words when it comes to the cost, I want/need to know that upfront.  He finally said look Ben, I never walked past the front of the property.  I need to drive on back in there and walk the woods and see what I'm getting into before I can give you a price.  Fair enough.  I'm going to guess right up front that he's gong to quote me 15 grand to do all 7 acres and I'm probably just going to shrug my shoulders and say fine, let's get it done.  And I'll want a quote on a 1 acre pond dug out while we're at it. 

He doesn't want to use a dozer, his experience - and mine for that matter in removing those trees - is that those small trees don't just fold over in a solid line, they twist and bend and they're hard to get out with a dozer, they prefer to use a trackhoe to pull them out of the ground.

The last guy that came out to give me a quote said the same thing.  So I am going move forward under the idea that anyone that wants to come out and do this project is either going to have to pull the trees out with a trackhoe or they are going to have to mulch them down with a large Bobcat style machine that has an attachment on the front of it.

Whatever the case, I'm going to have this guy give me a quote for the pond as well.  I'll start small, no more than an acre and see what I can get it done for.  He will already have the equipment out there.....or even a smaller pond, whatever I can get done without spending a fortune, a half acre pond is better than nothing.  

It dawned on my today that the surveyor has yet to come out or even call me back. He was supposed to have already been out there, now I'm going to have to find his number and call him and ask if he's still going to do it or not. 

And I never heard back from the septic installer I called, they said they would call back the next day - that's obviously not happened yet.  Septic can't be installed - or water or electric for that matter - until the land is cleared.  

The funny thing about this land clearing business? A neighbor told me that after the trees were harvested off of the front portion of my land, the owner had a hay field going.  That means at one point the entire lot had been cleared with no trees or underbrush at all.  Oh how I wish that were still the case at this point, I would have nothing but some leveling to do.  Just plant more trees and be done with it.

Anyway, he's not going to call me back for a couple of weeks. Everyone is busy right now.  Nice that they are staying busy in a rather rancid economy, everyone I know is broke right now.  When I say broke, I mean living paycheck to paycheck type stuff. Been there, done that, hated it.  But, even in the worst economy there are still plenty of people around that have money.  The ole' rich get richer and poor - going broke type of thing.  

So, moving along at a snail's pace tbh - but I sort of expected that.  You can only do so much at once.  There is nothing I can do further until I have the driveway cleared and the lots cleared out and hopefully leveled a bit.  Well, I could probably have the septic installed since I want it in the rear/back western corner of the property, land clearing probably won't affect that installation.  

Well, here's a bit of good news: The realtor just stopped by, she said the check for me would be around $1,500.  That's $500 more than I expected.  She originally told me my profit would be around $900. 

That could pay my way to AZ and back if I decide to go.  I have to decide today, the funeral is tomorrow and no, I haven't made any reservations.  I wasn't sure if I was going to go or not.  I dunno yet, tbh, I've found ok airfares it's just a lot of traveling in the span of 2 days and then probably back to work the next morning after I get back.....I'm feeling pretty exhausted right now with all of the late nights on my last trip.....

The only other thing of note going on is the friend of the family that was in a bad accident yesterday. He's a volunteer firefighter with the county, he was traveling 50mph somewhere with his lights on.  He has a full set of emergency lights that are highly visible from all sides - yet the person that ran into him said they didn't see him. His pickup was totaled and it was reported he had to be extricated with the jaws of life to pry open the door to get him out.  He survived the ordeal and is already at home recovering.  It put on quite the scare yesterday for everyone, wondering what his condition was.  He already has pre-existing conditions tho, I suspect this will make those worse. 

Anyway, that's enough for now, I have more phone calls to make.  If this process is going to be at a snail's pace, at least make sure the snail is moving even if - very slooooooooooowly.  

G'day. 

 I mean, it's no secret that I was going to cash out the old 401k to finance this proposed business.  I've been talking about it for over a year now, at least.  Giant loans can come later when I can show revenues and no need for complicated forms that I have no current info for, for future projections.

I mean, I don't feel bad or have any reservations about the fact that I just cashed it out today.  Electronic transfer, it should be in my bank in the next 2 or 3 days.  Well, next week since tomorrow is Friday.  But it's done and it's all there.  I don't trust the stock market right now, not with the finances that were intended on starting up this business. My current 401k - is getting up there quickly anyways. Dumping a lot of money into it every paycheck, it's almost at what I just cashed out of the old one.  Imagine taking only 4 years what it took almost 12 to get the same amount of money.  

Oh that I would have started into this hazmat business long ago.  But, I wanted a local job back then and I was around for my son while he was growing up.

But yes, I did put in the request for complete cash withdrawal.  The government will get a fine paid to them for me saving my money and deciding to use it before some "time frame" the government decides it should be.  It's bad enough that I pay copious amounts of money into Social Security, why does the government have the right to fine me for taking my money that I have saved out of my account before a required age?  What stake does the government have in this? NOTHING. 

Yet, I knew that going into this and it's whatever.  I need the money and I need it soon, not years from now.  I'm hoping this venture will finance my retirement.  There's risk here, of course. Any business venture has risk.  But not that much risk. If the RV park idea fails, the single wide mobile homes rented out will work, guaranteed.  It's not even a guess.  But them cheap, fix them up, rent them out.  I'm not living in a dream world with any of this.  I had 130k with this and the current 401k combined.  It's not even close to enough to retire on. Maybe some day 

The Phoenix property is a retirement fund. It will sell for a good price whenever I decide to do that. I'm not retired.  I'm not even close to it, frankly, I'm still 5 years off from the minimum age to collect SS.  I"m just not throwing Mark off the property - he's faithfully tended to it for the 7 years since I left there. He fixes everything, or has it fixed if he can't, he rents out the rooms, I'm just not going to sell the place and throw his ass out onto the streets. That's where he'd end up.  There is literally nothing in the area "cheap".  The whole entire area for miles around it has had housing prices escalating to ridiculous levels. 

I'm doing this. Whatever the first product turns out to be, it is done.  

Tomorrow I will be over that at 9:00 am to discuss power with Swepco engineer and then I will be measuring and marking the area that needs cleared. And attempting to decide what trees will stay and where. The "and where" part will make it more tedious, the lots will have to be marked out so I can determine what can stay.  However, if the contractor says you can't keep the trees because I want it leveled, they will all come down and I will just have to plant new trees and that's that.  I've mentally prepared myself for the idea that level lots are far more important than a bunch of trees.  

I'm done.  It's getting my normal version of late at 10:00 pm, versus the 4:00 am, 3:00 am and 1:00 am stuff I did the last 3 nights.  This idea of keeping trees and measuring lots will be mentally challenging and wading through the brush and all of those thorns and potentially more hornets - not going to make it any easier.  

Anyway, I'm off to never-never land. My dreams of late have been strange.  Interesting, but weird. 

G'nite. 

 I'm aghast.  I was going to go meet up with a friend here - my friend's I live with friend but we are friends now - he was in a serious accident going to a fire call .  We only know he crashed into a ditch after a car that "didn't see him" ran into him and the jaws of life had to be used to extricate him from his pickup. 

I've seen far too much death in recent times with people I know, it's time for this trend to take a different route.  

That's all.  I don't want to talk about anything else.  Apparently he's going to survive the crash, but with increased agitation to neck and back injuries he sustained previously.  

I don't know, folks.  But life is far too short to not take some risks.  401k is cashed out, bank transfer in the next few days. I intend on profiting from this expenditure and I am not taking out any loans to get it.  

If you have a problem with that, have a problem with it. I don't, it's a risk that I believe will be worth it in the end.  Failure is not an option, failure is not the goal.  It's not even in my horizon.  I don't think about failing, at all. It's, okay, plan B and if plan B fails, plan C.  l

I'm still working. It's not like I've stopped everything and said ' OKAY! I"M GETTING RICH NOW'

We are all concerned about this man's health at the moment. That takes priority over much of everything else.

Not going to stop me from going to the property tomorrow at 9:00 am and meeting with the Swepco engineer. Not at all. Life always goes on, but you also always have these things happening to people in mind

Because we care. And we love. And we hope. And we pray. 

 Uhh, well maybe Southwest wasn't a good idea, I didn't buy tickets anyway.  To Phoenix for a funeral, that is.  Southwest is still canceling massive amounts of flights due to "employee non-compliance". LMAO.  Poor bastards, they're actually subject to the workers that make the airline successful! THIS is what will force corporations that want to force it's workers to do things that no corporation should - back into compliance with the American blue-collar worker.  

You shit on us long enough, we're gonna take a dump right back on you.  You watch, it's going to spread. I actually LIKE Southwest Airlines, don't get me wrong.  They have the 2 bags for free deal that's never changed, even when they could charge just like everyone else. They resisted that temptation and you can save a lot of money in airfare just by that virtue alone. 

But I do not like the idea that they are going to somehow force employees to get a vaccination of a drug that apparently many employees don't want.  In any large corporation, if enough employees band together and stand strong, they could actually force a corporation out of existence.  This is where I can give unions some credit, the Southwest dilemma is undoubtedly got an airline union coordinating all of these pilots calling in sick.  What is Southwest going to do, FIRE all of them?  Lmao again. They can't fire hundreds or even thousands of pilots.  I don't know how many they have, I just know that these pilots are pushing back.  What if the REST of the airlines' pilots did that? American, Frontier, Delta, etc? 

I could write a small book about my thoughts about what's going on in this country right now - but it wouldn't accomplish anything, so why bother. Well, sometimes you just have to let it out, that's why.  But, it's getting late and I digress. Actually, I'm wide awake and sleep eludes me at the moment, so I will stay up as late as it takes for the sleep bug to hit and then I will hit the sack.  

Addler was all over me coming into my room tonight, he's such a good doggy. Loyal, protective - if he's in the house and you don't belong here, you are not going to have a good encounter with that particular dog.  He's not just a growler.  He will bite you and it will hurt.  But I don't have dogs so they can attack people, it's nice to have them around in case, but I just like dogs in general and Great Danes are my favorite breed. He started talking to me as soon as I cam in the room lol. 

I accomplished a lot on the phone today. I can legally do that while driving, and that is a good time to get all of that talking done.  I called Swepco - the power company with lines running through my property - again today.  The lady said the best she can do is send another email, she can't directly contact the engineer department.  Ok, thanks.  30 minutes later, a lady calls.  Long story short, she said she would contact the engineering department and they should contact me back soon.

The Squeaky Wheel.  A full, entire minute after that conversation was over? A guy from the engineering department calls.  Short conversation, he's coming out Friday, meet me there, discuss where the pole will go and make sure it's all good and then he can give a price.  How much does it cost to have a telephone pole installed with a transformer? I hope to soon find out.  I'll take a guess: 2 grand.  I'll take another guess: shouldn't cost 2 grand. It's just a tree shaved down to a pole and slathered with some sort of goo.  The transformer? Well I don't have any idea how much those cost.  Or whether I should have to even be paying for it.  They will make their money off of that property if all goes well, that's a fact.  The equipment to make that money should be on them, not the proprietor of the business. IMO, anyway.  

I've said it before and I will reiterate it now: I have no clue what I am doing here. Sure, I did months worth of research. Many, many months. But I"m basically the general contractor and I am subbing out the jobs - saving a lot of money, but not having all the info these people want.  Or any real knowledge of what each phase of this project entails.  Just wading my way through this folks.  Ask a lot of questions, pick people's minds, extract whatever knowledge/wisdom I can get and incorporate it into my thinking.  

The electrician that the water install guy recommended today went into a big long dissertation about how the pre-made pedestals I was wanting to have installed.  He did it in a very courteous, non-demeaning manner, but he was directly opposed to such a setup. I was curious what he considered a better idea and of course asked him.  Well, we've been doing this a long time and we've had parks actually have those pedestals removed. We build our own version of one that is a much more simple yet effective and longer lasting version that is nothing more than the 3 outlets on a sidebar.  

I didn't ask him how much more or less they cost.  He was quick to inform me that he was swamped with work and couldn't even come out to take a look at what I needed for at least 2 weeks.  There isn't really anything to look at but they all want to come out anyway. The septic people, yes they need to come out. The electrician?  I guess to satisfy that what I'm saying is actually reality, lol.

It's 1:00 am and I'm going to sleep, it finally hit me, lol.  

G'nite.  

 Cross Plains, Tennessee.

Drove til 4:00 am on Monday.  The appointment time was at 1:30, which naturally lead to a much later departure time than I am normally accustomed to - tho starting to get accustomed to these ridiculously late nights - and the plant was having a problem.

Specifically, the scale stopped working. It was working fine when I came in, but something happened to it and it was down for a few days, actually.  Anyway, driving to the scale, finding it busted, had to drive clear back to the other side of the plant to another scale, weigh, and then back to the busted scale, scale house.  That added another 25 minutes or so plus they were having trouble figuring out how to use the other scale info in their system - different software, different systems - and it just took forever to get out of there.

But I was determined to make this a 3 day trip if possible, so yes, I drove til almost the time many people are getting up for work lol.  That got me to Smiths Grove, KY.  Then yesterday, I drove up to WV, dropped and hooked - and dropped and hooked - and dropped.....and....hooked...again......then got out of there, still determined to drive as late as necessary to position myself to get home today. 

Well, tonight anyway. That took my all the way up to 3:00 am.  

Today? Well, I will miss Nashville rush hour, dunno about Memphis, but there is a storm that just went through my town, replete with tornado sirens going off, heading this way.  So the fate of making it home tonight or not? I dunno.  I was going to stop at Smiths Grove again last night, I gained 50 miles coming down here, so maybe I can make it.  If not, I'll be pretty close to home lol.  

Well anyway, I called Swepco again yesterday. They had record of my call and wanting a call back from an engineer.  So, they red flagged it, which allegedly sends it to an expediter, which allegedly will get me a call back.  I just need info - unless they can come out and do the job without anything more than asking.  I doubt that, tho, they will probably want specifics on how much power I will need and I, of course, will have no idea. Lol.  But they should still be able to tell me how much it costs to install a telephone pole and putting up a transformer.  Ballpark it, please. And whatever other specific information I will need to get them to come out and do the job.  

I'm waiting for that call and info before I start calling electricians.  Going armed with knowledge is better than just groping in the darkness, knowing nothing, obviously knowing nothing and possibly being taken advantage of.  

I'm also going to call Fidelity - again - and ask why they haven't returned my phone call. 

And, ATT again.  The dude that installed the water setup said there are definitely lines inside of that underground cable.  I'm getting totally conflicting stories. I need a person from ATT to look into it and find out what's running through there. Wish me luck, the first phone call went absolutely nowhere.  Getting past the first wave of people looking at computer screens to prompt them what to say is a wee bit on the impossible side, but I will have to just keep pressing them until I  can get through to someone that actually has the knowledge and probably a degree in some field of electrical application.  

I have my work cut out for me, which is why I was desperately trying to get home tonight, so I'll have tomorrow to go over there and start measuring out everything.  I predict that I will be so tired tomorrow that doing much of anything will be a chore.  So I dunno about that. I'm motivated, but this has been a grueling trip and I am going to need some recovery time.  

I'm really thinking I need to cash out my 401k sooner than later.  I'm definitely going to need the money and I really don't see a lot of optimism in the stock market with people looking at the economy and wondering if there is even going to be a crash.  It's gone up, tho, in the last week, a couple of grand.  Yet, the future of this park rests squarely on the use of that money.  I'll be thinking about that long and hard today while driving, I may just go ahead and pull the trigger on that.  It's simple, the Prudential website makes it very easy to cash it out. They withhold the taxes and the penalty and send a check for the rest.  I'll end up with around 51k if I did it today, looking at what's in there.  Doesn't sound like much but it's enough to clear the land, get the water in and hopefully get the electric and a septic system installed. After that?  Well, I'll figure it out.  And pray. And ask the Lord for guidance.  

Once I get that far? It's all over. I'm all in, it will happen one way or the other, Lord willing and I"m still alive and breathing on this planet.  

One thing I can say about the last few days: driving at night is pretty tough for me, not a night owl, but ohhhh the traffic is soooo much better!  That is a great pro versus all the cons I can come up with.  

Anyway, I just had some time before my 10 hour forced break is up. If the government would get it's nose out of my personal business - and every other truck driver - I would have left 2 hours ago.  I didn't need 10 hours, I needed about 7 hours of sleep, that's what I got and then I woke up.  I don't know how they came to the conclusion that truck drivers need or want 10 hours off every day, I'm sure some of them do, I am not in the class and I know a lot of other truckers that also think it's ridiculous that the federal government believes that one size fits all for millions of drivers.  We would get a lot more driving done and right now, that's allegedly what this country needs.  

But, these clueless politicians with power make these rules and there isn't anything anyone can do about it, excepting with truckers who are quitting in droves, saying enough is enough, they are letting their feet do the talking. Hopefully, my time to do that will occur in the next few years and I can live my days in peace running a hopefully successful operation that is giving more income than I even need so that I can help others.  That's my heart.  I believe that's God's heart.  Not sure what route I would go, but there's plenty of homeless in my town and impoverished people.. 

Who knows what is going on around us at any given time. You read stories about families that don't have enough to eat, but their neighbors know nothing about it.  They say nothing about it to their neighbors.  I understand not wanting to seem like a "beggar" or something, but at the same time, there are still alot of people around that will help out needy people, especially families with kids.  But, those are the types of people I like to help.  And missionaries. With a true heart for God.  The ones that don't have giant ministries, that labor tirelessly for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.  The ones that you've never heard of, the people that are doing the Lord's work on this earth.  I'd like to help them out.  I have plenty of connections to find such people.  

I just am chomping at the bit to get this project moving along.  I knew there would be stalls at the beginning just getting utilities in, but now that I've found a man that has a good heart and isn't a rip off and has the equipment to do the job, I can at least get moving with the land clearing - when I can get over there and mark everything out. 

Well it's almost time to leave.  Another 11 or so hours from now and I should be in Longview.

G'day.  

Water install paid, turns out this guy has all kinds of earth moving equipment, he can just bring out a dozer and plow everything under in no time and be done with it. I wouldn't expect more than a day for him to get 12 lots cleared out and the driveway, if 2 days I'd be surprised. His rate is $125 per hour for a dozer with operator - that's pretty darn cheap around these parts.  

I met up with him this morning, my load time today isn't until 1:30.  He wants his money and I want more information.  He gave me a contact for electrical installation which I will be calling later on today.  I have to mark out the lots before I can get him to give me a quote on clearing all of it.  I probably should have gotten that done already, but I didn't and oh well.  Next day I have off I'll be out there for sure and attempt to get it all marked out.  

So, I need to get out there and measure everything out and mark it.  Get him to clear out all of that and then I can move on to getting quotes on electric. 

However, he let me know in no uncertain terms that the power company would try to pressure you into having them run 3 phase out there - from the road, that's 1.2 miles, no way am I paying for that.  I say that, of course and then what?  There's 7,200 volts running through that power line and there isn't that much going on on that road.  There is that other RV campground down the street but they are hardly ever in operation.  

We'll see. I think today is the last day of the 3 business days they should be calling me back.  All of them should be calling me back today, actually.  If they don't, I'll be calling them.

Conflicting stories on the ATT underground line.  I've heard there is just the pedestals and the sheathing, no fiber optics or any kind of line running through them. This guy told me he accidentally scuffed one of them and there is definitely line running through it.  I'd like ATT to actually tell me what is going through there, but getting past the clueless computer screen operators that answer is next to impossible.  I tried and I eventually gave up on that.  I think I"ll have better luck with the internet provider that looks as tho they have a line running down the road.

I really wasn't going to start trying to get all of this figured out until I had the property in my name - which it is and the title documents were finally sent to me and my name is now on the county assessor site as the listed owner of the property.  So, I'm getting this going, seemingly at a snail's pace but it is what it is.

I had to tell the guy what I am intending on doing with the property, he was asking and he didn't have nay issue with it at all. He's an oldtimer, I'm guessing in his 70's, certainly late 60's, he runs an operation with a bunch of employees working for him and doing all the work. He was talking about an RV park a friend built a few decades ago - not terribly far from where my operation will be at - and says it's always full.  

Yes, I've noticed most of the parks in any decent location are full or mostly full.  

Well I'm half going to AZ for a funeral. I really don't want to travel via airplane atm but it is either that or don't go. Plus it's a lot of time off, really would like to keep up with everything, just hit with $3,256 for the water install, the first land payment coming up at $700 and change, don't remember the exact figure, it's only that high the first month and then down to $442 after that.  Just  saying, I don't want to eat into savings for monthly bills.  I gotta make up my mind quick, the departure date is soon and I have to get airfare. The good rates are already gone, but I needed approval first.  So instead of $100 round trip, it's $247 with tax.  Gag.

Well, off to the races. My West Virginia trip starting in a few hours, I'm outta here. 

My original thought on the water install was 4 to 5 grand. This guy originally said $1,100, but that was a much small diameter installation.  So, I can't say I'm unhappy that the thing is going to cost me $3,200.  I figured between $2,500 and $3,000, but inflation is pushing the cost of everything up, it's actually a bad time to be thinking about building much of anything.

Never-the-less, he is also interested in clearing my lots for me. He has no idea what I'm doing with the property, I only clued him in on the fact that it was going to be for a business venture, but I never said what. Let me go get the water turned on through the city and give them their $600 fee and then I'll feel more comfortable.  

I dunno, but I'm meeting with him today to pay him the tab and discuss him doing more work out there.  I didn't really give him any thought about it, he has a mini-hoe, I don't know if he has other machinery.  But it would take forever for a mini-hoe to do that work.  Even just 10-12 spaces would take quite a bit of time.  I dunno, but he told me that while his worker had to get some part somewhere, he was just sitting there an decided to start moving things around.  We're talking about all the timber and the giant piles of torn down trees I have sitting in the front.  I dunno if he dug out some of the stumps or exactly what he did, but I'm heading over there soon.

I dunno why, but my employer gave me 3 days off.  I didn't ask for it but I won't turn it down. I have chest congestion that started on the first night of the last brownsville trip. The dispatchers knew I had this going because I was coughing on the phone last time I talked with them and indicated I wasn't feeling all the great on the way back.  Perhaps they gave me the time off to recover.  

I am actually going to - well potentially anyway - take the boys over there today as well, they want to go hiking and the 4 year old will like it much better with some trails to walk on instead of attempting to fight his way through those nasty, thorn covered vines.  Last time on the property, well back in there and off the trails, I also encounter some sort of wicked, evil tree whose trunk was also covered with sharp thorns  Eventually ALL of that stuff is coming out of there. I don't know how long it will take, maybe years of just working at cutting it down and digging it out, but I don't want any of that stuff on my property! 

It's okay, whenever I can get a pond installed, they will dig a ton of that stuff up with machinery and get it burned and gone.  I'll ask this guy about digging out a pond as well.  I doubt I'll have him do it tho. He doesn't like credit cards and by the time I get to the pond portion of it, that's all going to be on credit.  And he would need a much larger trackhoe and a bulldozer or possibly a front end loader as well.  I think the other company I had out would be a better choice for that.  

Im getting a little more motivated about getting this small version. done  I should have the money to do it, if not I"ll be close enough that I can figure out something. Either credit cards or another personal loan.  I really would like to get this done quickly and get the operation up and running soon - like within the next 6 months at most and start getting some people to stay in there and start getting some money extracted back out of what I am putting into it.  

There's a lot to get done.  And I'm afraid that the electrical portion of the deal is going to cost more than anticipated what with inflation pushing everything up.  I'll blame Joe Biden and his version of a White House for that.  Y'all blamed Trump for LITERALLY everything that happened in life, not even just connected to politics, but claims that our society is breaking down because of "Trumpisim" and the "Cult of Trump", I can legitimately blame Biden for his lack of any common sense, he's a Communist at heart, he wants all of these illegals in here and he wants to keep spending money like it grows on trees for a purpose.  

All I can say is, I feel the need to get whatever I can get done, done as fast as possible before it even becomes impossible because of economic or even government conditions to do so.  The idea of civil war has resurfaced and I really, really want no part of that tbh.  I've seen enough death and destruction world wide in my lifetime, I don't need or want to see my fellow countrymen dying at each other's hands.  We still have the Constitution and we still have a Supreme Court that can shut down a lot of this nonsense, hopefully, especially vaccine mandates. Screw that and frankly, screw anyone whether it be government official or average every day citizen who backs such garbage.  I'll make my own decisions about what goes into my body, whatever that may be and whatever form it comes in.  You can keep your vaccine.

And after seeing what my mother has been going through since February, no thanks.  She didn't just get that second shot with ensuing side effects.  it was 8 months ago she got that shot and let me tell you, when that stuff hits her she is down for the count.  I'm not going to go into the lengthy list of things that happen, she's a pretty private person and I'm not going to let that out on the internet.  I'm just going to tell you it is very unpleasant stuff. Fortunately for her it's not a daily event, it comes and goes. I consider that vaccine a form of evil in itself, being used by a bullying government to force everyone into submission. Just on that principle alone I oppose getting it. Couple that with my mother's severe reaction to it and my reaction to other vaccines earlier in life and my reactions to other types of medications such as Penicillin? Yeah, I think it would be a death sentence for me.  A dose of Penicillin right now would likely kill me.  It's why I got pissed when I was sick, down in Brownsville and this idiot doctor tried to give me ampicillin, a derivative of penicillin.  

ANY doctor knows that if you can't take penicillin you can't take any of it's derivatives.  I saw that prescription and looked at this lady that gave it to me. "Did you check the form I filled out before you wrote up this prescription?".  She looked at me funny.  Go get that form and look at the part about medications and if there are any I can't take.....

When the hospital called me to ask about my experience there, I laid into them.  What kind of moronic idiots are you employing there that would do this to a person?  I informed them that I had left a nasty review online and that there would be more coming and if they wanted to do something about it, BRING IT.  That stuff literally could have killed me and if I hadn't checked it, I would probably be dead right now. That's what the doctor told me after I got penicillin the first time and had an extreme, weeks-long-lasting reaction to it.  "Don't ever get a shot of that again". I was 10 years old when this doctor was talking to me about death and severe reactions and I still remember the severity of his tone to this day.  He was making it quite clear that another exposure to penicillin would likely end my life.

I'm supposed to be wearing a bracelet or a wrist band or at least have the info in my wallet.  I forgot about having that kind of ID on me long ago. 

Well, enough soap box ranting, that vaccine subject gets me riled up.  After thinking about all of this park stuff, I really only need 50 spots at most in that park for the finished product. If I could fill up 50 spots every night during peak season that's 45k per month.  Figure half of that for expenses, or even just leaving 1/3rd after everything paid out every month and that's still 15k profit.  

I'm proceeding - cautiously - with the hope that a septic system for 10 or more sites is going to cost less than 15k.  Preferably more like 10k, but I'll prepare myself in my thinking for a higher price tag in case that's what it turns out to be.  It's time to get the lots built and to that end I'll be talking with that guy today and if he's too high priced I'll talk to more people.  Until I either find someone with a price to my liking or I just have to eat it and say, ok, it's going to cost that much, let's get it done.  

50 lots, 2 rows is only 750 feet of linear space needed.  I could actually go 40 feet wide lots and still only have 1,000 feet used up leaving a couple of hundred feet in the rear for a turn around.  And the facilities that may eventually be put onto the premises could either go in the front or along the east side, already existing driveway.  And my calculation for monthly gross income is based on only charging $30 per night. I could get more if I eventually can get a swimming pool installed and other nicer amenities. 

You're jumping ahead of yourself again. No, I have to think of the future with upgrades and where I will be able to put them and also building pathways between a few lots for guests to be able to walk over to them without intruding upon someone's else's rented lot versus having to walk all the way down to the end and come back. That would annoy me as a guest having to do that, this is why I try to think of everything I eventually want to have in there. Accessibility is key.  3 or 4 pathways in between a couple of lots will have to be installed.  I won't need that to begin with, those amenities won't exist and all of the lots are going to be on the east side to start with.  

The other thought is to have a pool and laundry room in the middle of the property.  Meaning put in say, 12 lots (when I get that far of course) and then leave open around 100 feet and then put the rest of the lots in the other side.  

Lots of thinking to do on that subject, but no rush.  Not with only starting out with 10 or 12 lots.  I'll put in, initially, as many as whatever sized septic system will allow.  It best be at least 10 and that better not be so high priced that I am still reeling from the price tag.....

I am heading over to the property now, dogs in tow and going to see what the guy did out there and possibly start measuring out the lots.  I'll have to do that before anyone can start clearing anything in there.  I have it all laid out - in my mind lol.

1 am.  

I mean, I started driving this afternoon around 1:15 pm and I had to take an alternate route from Houston to bypass a complete highway shut down for yet another I-69 project.  It just adds more and more time every time they start up a new construction site for this Interstate venture they are building.  

They either don't understand that there are a lot of trucks out there that are on schedules that need to be kept - or they don't care.  I'm guessing the latter.  At the rate they are doing these construction popups everywhere, it will eventually become necessary to take a completely different and much longer route down there.  

Regardless, there are a few things.  First, after getting to the yard, getting all of my stuff out of the truck - there is another driver using it this morning, he has to be at the plant at 6:00 am, lucky him lmao (his truck is also broke down) - I did indeed drive by the property.  Just to see if they completed the water installation project.  Lo and behold, it was all done.  I don't have water turned on yet, I have to pay the city $600 for some new start up fee that they charge everyone when a new line is installed. And then I can have it turned on.  I may or may not do that tomorrow.  

Second, of course they want me to go clear to Tyler to get my truck from the shop. That's how they justified booting me out of the day cab - I can't say I'm unhappy about getting out of that ridiculous machine, but going to Tyler is a bit far fetched as well. I'll have to drive to the yard and then either get a ride over there or take an Uber.  I'm guessing an Uber. It will take a minimum of 3 hours out of tomorrow's available daylight  hours to get it done.  I'm charging them from the time I leave my house to the time I return to it.  The entire trip is solely to get the truck, I don't see how I should have to pay anything to get that done.

Third, this RV park that seems to be turning into a nightmare.  26k just for septic.  I realized today that that doesn't even include the sewer lines being run to it, it's just the system itself with the vault and I think this was an aeration style that has sprinklers.  I would rather have the leach fields under ground.  

I came to the conclusion this morning that I will simply further reduce the number of sites to start with again, going from 25 down to 10.  Bigger is better - excepting in this case. Well, it is better, but it's out of reach at the moment.  Well out of reach, at least without getting a huge loan.  

If I can't do 10 sites with 50k plus whatever I have in the bank I can afford to spend plus if necessary maybe 10k in credit card debt or a little more - maybe even 20k - I'm going to stop what I'm doing and just not do anything.  I just can't believe the costs of some of this stuff. I'll have over 15k just in gravel even with only 10 sites - but that's because I need a driveway that goes clear to the end of the park and then does a turn around.  If I do a turnaround at the end of the 10 sites, I'm going to have to clear all of those trees out of there, all of it, for that turnaround. It would shorten the driveway to 350 feet, tho, and drastically cut the price of the gravel.

So it may end up that I do that.  Then I've got around 7k worth of gravel which includes one driveway and 10 sites.  

The water installation to the property is completed, btw, I checked on the way home tonight.  I haven't even heard from the guy about the bill, I'm guessing $2,500 to $3,000.  The parts are ridiculously expensive, I already knew that from my years spent in the waterworks industry and we now have high inflation.  Actually it's probably going to be more like $3,500.  I think there is about $2,500 worth of parts in that little setup with a stainless steel saddle, 2 2-inch brass ball valves and a $1,100 meter.  I'm still wondering what the need for 2 2-inch ball valves was for, but it's a done deal now so eat it and move on.  

The funny part is that the ball valve attached to the saddle doesn't even have any access to it. They just buried it under there without putting in a pipe with a water valve lid on it to access it with. That's pretty odd stuff right there.  That $325 or so part will just get filled with dirt and if it ever had to be used? Good luck.  

I have no clue about electric costs, still waiting for that phone call from the power company engineer.  However, I am going to start calling electricians in the area tomorrow and see if anyone does this kind of setup and actually knows about RV electricity.  

Now, don't read anything into what I said.  I'm not giving up by any stretch of the imagination.  I'm just continuing to decrease the number of lots until  get to what I can afford.  However, 10 is the threshold. I will not do any of this if I can't at least get 10 sites in there with the available finances.  15 would be better.  But at this point I don't really care how many RV sites there are as long as it's a minimum of 10.  If it's a grand per site, which that appears to be the calculation, then I'll go with 12 sties and call it a good start.  I'm guessing electricity will cost me $500 per site what with the new power pole, the cable running along the driveway and the cable going to each pedestal and the pedestals themselves.  

That's for the materials, tho, not including labor.  

Water will be whatever this install costs plus a couple of thousand worth of pipe and fittings and the cost of a ditch witch rental.  I doubt I'll pay anyone to install that, it's easy and saving money on labor would be nice if only somewhere in this deal.  So let's say 5 grand for all of that total. No, let's up it to 6 grand.  I'm going to go with 10k worth of gravel and hope I can make that work.  I'm somewhere around 33k. 

Land clearing.  I think around 5k. No make that 6.6k for 3 days. Shouldn't take them longer than that, much smaller job.  We're basically around 45k at this point.  I want a small, portable office building. But I'll buy one on payments and just pay the down payment.  Oh wait, those are unfinished tho.  Maybe no office building necessary for only 10 lots.  I will not have  a full time staff, I won't have any staff at all unless I can find someone to live on the property rent/electric free - supply your own RV tho please - and simply be the face that represents the property.  

I'd like to have at least a small laundry room.  One washer and dryer, that's it to start with.  A small shed would do for that.  

A website that makes the reservations online and takes the payments online. Everyone is doing that, you don't even fool with money on the property.  I dunno how much it costs to have one of those built.  

We're in the ball park of 50 k after all is said and done.  I'll have to have someone come out and finish the trails for me, but that's a days work, we'll figure a grand for that.  

Picnic tables and fire rings for 10 lots will cost around  $2,000.

I'm figuring a pond will cost around 12k.  It shouldn't take them more than a week to dig the thing out.  Yes, folks, it's going to be a large pond, more like a small lake.  Still, it's just digging dirt and doing something with the dirt.  Actually, I could have the dirt hauled to the front of the property and level everything out.  Instead of digging down on one side going to the other, just have it dumped in piles all over the place and get them to level it out with their equipment.  The pond goes well beyond the 50k, but it could be put on credit cards.  It's necessary.  I need something that says look at me! I have something here that you want!  Hiking trails in the woods and a huge pond filled with fish!  

So next on the list is clear the land - meaning I need to go out there, measure everything out, mark the lots and the driveway and then get someone to do the job.  Then I need to see if it needs leveled.  If it does, let's do the pond next.  They can haul whatever dirt needs to be hauled to level it and then the rest can be piled up in a huge pile near the pond for future use - namely - leveling the rest of the RV sites once I get to doing more. They can make a mountain over there, lol.  

Everything leveled and compacted, we can do the water, electric and sewer installs, then lay the gravel and then - we're done.  

My mind gets carried away with this stuff and the time passes. 

And I'm starting to get tired, finally.  Second wind hit me earlier and the drive was easy after that. Mostly that was due to curling up in a ball in the truck and taking a nap on my 30 break, lol.  

G'nite. 

 I am so tired.

I got in here at this hotel around 2:00 am, got to bed quickly and slept very well.  

But I woke up groggy and out of it.  

I then started thinking about my 11:30 departure.  If I leave then, it will be the middle of rush hour traffic in Houston.  

I just don't have that in me today.  Not after that grueling drive last night.  My dispatcher got me 2 days here for a reason - so I wouldn't have to be rushed out of here and I'm going to take advantage of it.  I won't leave here until 12:30 at the earliest and at least let some of that horrid traffic die down a bit by the time I get there.

I'm just sitting here in a daze. These late night drives are just not my cup of tea. 

I don't complain about it tho. Not yet anyway, tho they have been dumping them on me a lot more than in the past.  The new dispatcher, I dunno who is saying what into her ears, but drivers tend to complain about everything, whining like little babies.  

But when you do that, you can also get - treated like that.  I just try to stay on dispatch good side and do whatever they ask of me without questioning it.  They did ask me last night if I was planning on delivering last night or the next day? They don't like to hear "the next day". That adds 10 hours plus however much longer it takes for you to get down there. 

Not to mention I'm in a day cab, I can't just pull over anywhere and go to bed.  They got me this hotel down here yesterday, sent me the info and that was my motivation to complete the drive.

The news yesterday, on a different note, wasn't exactly good.  The septic install company called and went through a whole list of things they could do to help me get the project completed.  Septic, electric, water, even clearing the land and making the lots.  

Yeah, I thought, what's the price tag for all of that? 

Well, I did get a ball park for septic and it was not what I wanted to hear.  I was hoping in the 16-20k range, he said they have done many RV parks and just got through doing a 30 hook up lot for another place.  Oh? I wondered how many people are building RV parks around here?  What kind of competition am I in for?  That isn't going to stop me, but money could.

He said based on that 30 lot install, I am wanting 25 to start out with, it would cost around 26k.

I'm pretty sure I gasped, involuntarily, over the phone.  

If sewer costs that much, how much is it going to cost to get electric in there? I wondered but not out loud.  This is just for 25 spaces, not the full park's worth. So basically, there is truth to the idea that a 75 to 80 site park would cost me somewhere in the 80 to 90k range.  

Let's just say that wasn't the most pleasant of news and got me to wondering how much this entire set up at only 25 spaces would end up costing me and if it would be just better to get the whole thing done.  Meaning all of that nonsense filling out all of those forms and paying a company to do all of that work to give projections and estimates. 

When you don't know what to do, don't do anything.  At least in a scenario like this.  The water is already installed and I will find out how much to at least get power to the park.  I mean, if I never build a park on there, I am still going to want electricity to do something else.  Such as buy old mobiles, install them, fix them up and rent them out.  What's the difference? A lot less hookups for one.  No one has to be on site 2.  Less money is the end result, less revenues but a lot less hassle as well.

That would be plan B, a plan I am not currently interested in, but it's there, on the shelf, if it comes down to it.  Hide them in the woods, neighbors won't have to see any of it, lol. There are, actually, old and trashy looking mobile homes on the street. Not many of them but there are a few and they don't look good.  

Plan C would be to do nothing with the property on a commercial basis and just look forward to eventually building a cabin in the rear of the property and call it done, drive trucks for the rest of my life or as long as my health holds out and deal with it.  

Building a cabin on the rear of the property at some point in the future is actually something I would like to do regardless of any commercial operation at the front of the property.  There is a lot of room between the two.  Which would, in my mind, make it essential to at least put up 5 or more mobiles and say here ya go, maybe put in 5 or so RV lots for permanent use, not the kind of operation I am wanting to build.

I'm not giving up, lol, but the reality is that this operation I want to get going even on a small basis is going to cost far more than I anticipated and I would have to come up with some serious cash in loans and also have some reassurances in my mind that once it's done, the thing is going to take off and fill up. 

And that, might be hard to do without amenities such as a pool or a bath house.  

I feel lethargic right now.  No energy, just blaaaah.  Like, I could just go back to bed and sleep for 3 more hours.  

But, it's daylight, I am going to take a shower and I am going to force myself out of here.

G'day

 So I - get - to make another trip clear down to Brownsville in that lovely day cab! Woohooooo!

Yea, that isn't going to make my day, neither is a 1:30 loading time, meaning I will be pulling into Brownsville at around 2: 00 am - give or take depending on how long it takes to load and traffic, tho traffic shouldn't be much of an issue since I will be going through Houston long after rush hour should be either over or substantially subsided.

The water install should be done today.  I have no idea when Swepco is going to call back - within 3 business days, plus the septic people are supposed to call today.  So, I have to answer all the calls - which includes a truck load of spam calls I get every ... single....day.

The 401k ROBS will not work for me, after doing more research on the subject. They want 4 to 5 thousand dollars to start up such an account and then pay anywhere from $75 to $125 per month to maintain the account until you have paid all of that money back.  

I'll just eat the 20 k right off the bat, cash it out and be done with it.  On the up side, when I left Ferguson, the account only had 51k in it. Over the years since I left it's gone up to around 75k, so whatever I lose, at least it's nothing more than what I had when I left.  The ROBS account is probably good for people with substantial amount of money in their 401k and need all of it to get their business enterprise up and running and planning to pay it off as they start receiving revenues from their business.  

If I had half a million in a 401k I wouldn't even think about cashing it out early.  The amount of money lost right off the bat wouldn't be worth it to me.  

For right now, I'm going to go out there and measure out lots, 25 of them.  Plan on offset rv pads - where the rv actually parks in the site and off to the right of each site to give campers more room on their patio side - and then mark tress I want to keep up, if even possible.  

I'm waiting for the estimates for installs before I make any grand decisions on what to do next.  It all comes down to how much I will have to borrow to finish off the project after I get it started with the 401k cash out.  I literally have no idea how much the septic system will cost, but I will hopefully have a ball park on that by the end of today.  

Note that not getting a SBA loan does not mean I don't need any loans at all.  It just means I won't be doing the whole property in one fell swoop and I won't have to be jumping through their hoops for months to get a loan, if I can even get one.  The - new - idea is to simply get the park going on a small scale and then, down the line, get an SBA loan to finish it all off.  

Locals think I'm crazy doing all that tree cutting with a chain saw versus calling someone out there to have them do it for me.  Well, it gave me a sense of getting something - anything - done and the feeling that I can actually do this.  Motivation is a key factor in undertaking a project where you aren't even sure if you will have the financial means to actually finish said project.  

I've been hoping to get leads on locals that will do some of the stuff I need done versus finding some huge corporation that wants more money to do the same things.  

I'll tell  ya right now if I have to take out 50, 60 or more thousand in a personal loan, I'll do it.. Pray, seek the Lord, ask him for his provision.  I dunno what else t do and I'm going to just keep moving along with whatever I can do until I either come to a dead end or it's the end of the end of the project and time to open up the business.

Whatever the case, the time to depart for the yard draweth nigh.  Think I"ll finish watching a rerun of the Big Valley and then get out of here.

g'day

 Been a very interesting day.

Yesterday I came to the conclusion that I'm not going to fool around with this SBA loan nonsense.  I just don't have the time to wait forever to get the necessary information, there is far too much, I want to get this thing going.  Months wasted on just getting all of that information together, paying premium prices to some consultant agency to possibly find out I won't even qualify.

Yes, I've been wishy-washy on this subject. It's really perplexed me.  

But I came to a definitive decision last night that I've had enough of this.  I'll just put in 25 lots and see what happens. There isn't going to be a bath house to start with and definitely not a pool.  I'm sorry, guests, it is what it is. I'll charge accordingly to start with tho.

Anyway, the water guy finally showed up today.  He's busy at it.  They dug up the line and they're doing their thing.  

I called the power company, ATT, a septic installer that has more recommendations than anyone else around  another internet company and let's get with it.  ATT was useless. I'm hoping the other company can take care of my needs, because it's ridiculous attempting to get to the right people at ATT. I spent a lot of time on the phone with that company before I finally gave up on it.  

The other company said they would have their engineers look at it and get back with me.  

There are numerous return phone calls I am expecting - But starting with 25 lots and getting the ball rolling is where I'm going with this.  I won't need blue prints, design, paying a company to do all of this stuff, it's whatever my  mind decides it will be set up as.  It's going to be 15 back in lots and 10 pull throughs to start with. 

The septic company flat out told me they would get their man working on an estimate and give me a price. The power company said they would have an engineer get back with me within 3 business days.  The local internet company said they would do their research and get back with me later today or tomorrow.  The water install said he would have it done tomorrow.  

I've dramatically downscaled the initial park opening.  With only 15 back ins on the west side and 10 pull throughs across from those back in sites, I will need much less driveway to begin with, meaning less land clearing and less amount of gravel - a lot less gravel.  I'm looking at maybe 300 tons instead of the over 1,000 tons I was initially looking at.  

Once I get all of these estimates in and know how much money I'm looking at, I can go straight to getting a company started to roll over the 401k and get the full amount that is in there.  It will have to be paid back in the future, but that's fine.  I'm simply not interestedin dragging this thing out until the next of never, the 2cd of nothing, let's get something started, see how it goes and get the process going.

I am still pretty firm on the pond tho. I need that pond.  I was walking my  new trails with the dogs today, easy striding. Those trails aren't finished and I'm not renting another Bobcat. I'll find one of these people that charges by the hour, mark out the rest of my trails and they can finish it.  

The feeling of freedom came back into my veins today. I don't have to have the pressure of trying to get all of this information for an SBA loan.  I'll have a solid idea of what this venture is going to cost me hopefully within the next week.  There's 72k in the 401k account, 14k coming at the beginning of next year and personal loan will have to deal with the rest.  I'm done with this idea that I have to bow to someone else's will to get the financing I need.

I already went through that just getting the land.  

Moving on, I took the dogs for a very long walk out there today. Explored portions of the property I hadn't seen before.  Many, many sites in the back where I could put in tent campsites.  These aren't a huge money maker, just giving people an opportunity to take their families somewhere close by where they can experience the great outdoors and  not have to drive far at all to get there.  That will be back where I have my walking trails and hopefully get the pond built.  

I feel much better about this now. I'll do what I can afford and work up to bigger and better things as I can afford it. There just seemed to be so much pressure. And it was totally self-inflicted, it was needless and ridiculous.  The septic company said they would have to get a permit.  But, the road I am doing it on, could have either type of septic.  I'll take whatever works better if it's in my budget.  I'll take whatever I can afford if it's not.  I literally have no idea what that is going to cost.  I have no idea what it's going to cost to install the electrical component.

But, we're getting there.  

So much to do, but one step at a time and I took several steps today and very much happy to see that guy on his mini hoe with his worker out there today - we're getting stuff done.  

So what else is new? I dunno, isn't that enough? lol I spent hours on the phone today.  ATT is one of the worst companies in terms of customer service on the face of this planet. I hope I don't even have to use them, gag.

The dogs absolutely loved their walk today. It was from one end of the property to the other.  It was very nice temps out - let's enjoy that before it gets cold.  

I'm thinking I can have this smaller version of a park up and ready by Spring.  It's a goal, it may or may not be realistic, I'll find out soon enough.  

I really don't want to do much of anything else until I talk to the power company and ensure that there will be enough energy available to power up an entire park and also the septic company to find out how much it's going to cost.  I'm truly hoping for better news than - bad/costly.  The power company said they wanted $500 up front money if they can provide for my needs. Ok?  All of these utilities likely want up front money. Shocking!

In the news? More of this idea that tens of thousands of workers across the various industries and public servants are going to be fired.  Ok?  When do we get to the revolt? It's coming.  Don't want one but people's lives are being ruined by fact of private companies and public sectors alike forcing them to either get the jab or take a hike.  I'm proud of these people that are taking a stand for their personal freedoms.  I'll be right there along with them if my company attempts to force us to get this crap injected into our veins. After my history with the flu vaccine and now watching what my mother is going through after getting the shots? 

It isn't going to happen.  

Well whatever.  A few things I am keeping up with in the news, this is one of them. And watching for my company making any further announcements than what they have already made about this vaccine. So far, they aren't requiring it.  They probably are figuring out they will lose a massive amount of people in a forced scenario and their profits are going to - whoosh! - right out the window.  Truckers in general aren't getting the jab, not the majority of us anyway. Not saying none of us are, but a lot of us are saying no thanks.  

My truck? No clue.  I may be on another trip to Brownsville in that daycab. So beit, I won't like it, for sure I won't like it, but the money is needed. I also just got another credit card. Why? Because I will run those things right on up, all the way up, if I have to, to get this park going without having to resort to more loans. And then, take a loan out to pay all of it off and bring the numbers back down to zero on credit balances.  

And there ya go. I've been totally wishy-washy about this SBA loan stuff. I'l get one, I wont't get one, I'll get one, I'm not doing that, right now.  Sorry, I just don't really know what I am doing in the arena of finance and it shows.  Not on a business level anyway.  I want to get this thing going and whatever I can afford.  I figure I can do it with 100k.  Plus a portable office building to start with.  It can be converted into a small rental until somewhere down the line and moved out of site.  

Did I say I would love to build a house on the back of the property and actually live there?

I'm done. 

For now. I've got a plan, it's moving forward and it won't take until the 2cd of Never to accomplish. 

G'day.  

 Lol!!!

Ok, I got up this morning from that rather rag hotel, headed back to the yard, got my stuff done and got out of there. Headed to the property first - see if this dude got anything done on the water install.

Note: the water install is not of any great importance ATM, it's just a motivational factor of something that needs to be done along with everything else.  Get that going and I can see myself taking a step here, a step there.  

Nothing.  So I drove him and started calling this guy. Voicemail full, I left no messages because I couldn't but just kept pressing his number on my phone until I got tired of it and quit calling. 

30 minutes later, I loaded up the dogs, got in the SUV, went back over there.  I looked of course, I always do.  Drove down the driveway, opened the gate, drove to the back of the gas well operation and parked on a down hill going into the rear of the property.  Dogs in tow, we went on a nice, long walk.  The freshly formed trails were a huge help, no getting entangled in thorns, underbrush and more thorns.  

We left the rear of the property and walked around the gas well operation, the nicest pine trees are in that area because they are in full sun.  The rear of the property? The trees literally have no branches until near the very top on most of the very tall, 75 foot tall and higher trees. They fought for sunlight their entire lives, apparently. It's more junglish out there with the idea that there is a canopy covering everything but no branches.  

That just really caught my attention today as I was looking at this giant maple tree, my eyes following it from the bottom to the top - no branches until near the very top, amazing.  

Well, after that, we left.  Dreaming of getting my ATV going, I got to the gate, locked it and then pulled out to the street.  The corner of my eye caught something so I turned left instead of right and lo and behold.  This guy had come while I was at the back of the property.  I mean, all I had to do was just call him 7 times and walaah, there he is?!!  

He had no idea I was there and I had no idea he was there. My property goes back close to half a mile.  It's not the widest property on earth but it's definitely long.  Seriously, he never answered his phone but apparently took it to heart. I was ready to call someone else. I couldn't inform him of that since he wasn't answering and no ability to leave a voice mail.

I'm actually pretty happy the progress I've made on it. It isn't a lot, but for me and the amount of spare time I have - it really meant something to get out there and see what I had gotten done.

One of the designers finally emailed me back.  He said he had had a death in the family and he had been busy dealing with that and hence he wasn't available until now.  Okay, let's get going!

We'll see about that. He's not local but I've given up on local now.  

I'm actually content whatever happens at whatever pace now.  I think some dreams I've had about this land got me to that point. Yes, I've had vivid dreams about the property.  It wasn't about building an RV park, either, it was about building a 5 bedroom cabin in the rear of the property with 4 bathrooms and building a huge pond/small lake. 

I woke up out of that dream a bit perplexed but also a bit interested.  Well it hasn't just been one dream, there's been several.  

Well, who knows what's going to happen? Losing that land isn't on my list of things to do. Is it possible that I just need a small park and not so many pads and not so much capital involved?  I struggle with some of this.  

25 sites.  A smaller operation. Just get it going.  Spend a fraction of the money, keep the quality but get rid of the grand ideas?  

You know, I could build just one driveway and put a huge turnaround at the back so it's 2 ways and simply go as far as I can go with what I have to start with.  

It's so perplexing to me.  I get caught up in all of this thought and then I start wondering which path to take.  25 lots would generate enough money. Look at 30 lots for example.  If they are all full and only charging $30 per night, that's $900 per day.  '

I'm seriously thinking Im' just looking through eyes of greed and if that's true, it needs an adjustment.  A smaller park would work as long as the amenities are there.  The pond the only thing I really think I HAVE to have to appeal to people to come and stay.  And those trails!  I could expand them all over the place back there, connect them all together and there is a nice maze for people to get lost in - not literally - lost in thought and peace and quiet - plus fishing.  I still want a swimming pool lol.

The trail idea is definitely a winner, IMO and walking on them today definitely sealed that thought. 

I'm seriously thinking of putting in what I can get done without a huge loan and get it started. 

Because who cares if I'm not taking in 70k per month when I can still take in 20 - 30 k depending on occupancy and still make a bundle in net profit?  You tell me.  I need some input.  I mean, I can make decisions on my own, but a cozy 30 lots, maybe another 5 beyond that in a group formation - that's where you build a circle and then groups can come in and all be in the same area away from the rest of the campers. 

And tent camping. That's not a high profit thing, that's a - gee, families can come and enjoy nature cheap thing. You can drive back there atm.  After I plowed it with the bobcat a pickup can drive all the way to the back where I want the tent sites.  Away from people, away from civilization.  Just peace, nature and love.  

Really, a smaller set up to being with feels more comfortable to me.  I don't need blue prints, coming up with all kinds of data that I have to pay to get.  

Yes.  I'm 90% sold on just doing what I can with what I have and what I will be getting.  

My grand ideas can wait.  400k in loans can go away.  I haven't sold myself on that yet, but it's where I'm thinking. No pressure.  I don't need or want pressure. You buy, you pay!  

Just think.  Great water pressure at every site.  Probably get away with a smaller and cheaper septic system.  Just build one driveway - huge savings on both clearing land and on gravel.  A one room bath house to begin with. Just something simple, take a hot shower here, have a nice day.  A doggy park is easy and cheap.  Okay, a swimming pool not cheap and maybe not in the initial plans, but I'm really steering myself away from this huge debt thought. Or trying to, anyway.

The thought of just doing what I can at the beginning and seeing where it goes is actually soothing to my soul.  I've been in too much anxiety over doing it all at once. 

Power: Swepco - power supplier on that street. Just told me to get a neighbor's address and then an engineer would contact me and discuss what I would need to set up a new pole - poles actually.  They would have to put a power pole along their lines and then put the runoff to a sub pole for my property.  

They are probably going to tell me I need to know how much wattage/volts I am going to need which determines the size of the transformers I will need mounted to the sub pole. I will not have that information, of course, I have no clue and not claiming to, but I want to at least get guided in the right direction. They may have leads for engineers that I can contact to get me the power design I will need.

Yes, this feels right.  Do the size i can do. Add to it later.  I was going to do this, then I hemmed and I hawed. But I am really not into all of this planning and development stuff I need to get the whole park built at once. It took a while and thinking about it and the money it will take, loans, debt, etc.  

I don't have any help with this endeavor is the real deal. James is busy with work, he started a new job and I don't expect him to want to spend his weekends working on property even if I'm paying him good money. There are more things to life than working, I totally get that. 

And finding anyone else to actually work right now?  Pleeeeeaaaassssseeeeee.  The federal government has made it a thought process to too many people that you really don't need to work anymore.

This is beyond my control and out of my thought processes. The idea that you don't have to work to survive isn't even in the bible. The bible says in the book of Proverbs that the man that doesn't work, doesn't eat.  

Yup, 30 lots at most, 25 at minimum.  Maybe even just 20.  Let's downsize this thing to start off with and get it going? And put in a buddy lot, just one, see how that goes.  

I'm going to come up with my own plan and start seeking out bids for around - 25 lots we'll say.  

I've been struggling with this. To say the least, I've been struggling with this.  I can get this thing going with my 401k and the scheme they use that's perfectly legal to use ALL of it and pay it back later - plus my mom is going to help out even more, bless her heart (I mean that, I love my mom) and a smaller, personal loan to finish it off.  

I feel rejuvenated.  It's refreshing.  No more get it all done now stuff. Just do what i can and see what happens, ask the Lord's blessing upon it and go from there.  Peace is a good thing.

With that, I am going to move forward. I still want the 2 inch install for water tho - that's going to be necessary regardless. I have tomorrow off,l that dude put his mini trackhoe over there, he must be fixing to do this job.  Water!  

Now then, get Swepco input and I have a lot of references for one specific septic system company. Like half the county gives them kudos.  Tomorrow tho, it's after 5 and I'm not going to bother those people today.  

Is there something wrong with just having 25 spots to start out with?  

Just saying/asking.

 Just getting done with the day/night, stopped at a hotel in Paris, Texas.  Baytown hotel, to be more precise about the property and about the equivalent of a fancy Motel 6.  If that.  I'm a bit surprised my company has this hotel on their list. I've never stayed at a Baytown before and I probably will never stay at one again, lmao. 
I can't even imagine what kinds of surprises that bed in front of me may have in it.........

But I have no choice now.  I am stuck here for the night and I surely cannot sleep in that day cab. The other option for this town from my company was a better - much better than this place - brand but I looked at the satellite and it was in a complex of hotels at the very end of it, it was definitely not truck friendly. This place isn't truck friendly either, even tho they said it would be.  I found a place to park out front, blocked some things - told them about it, they didn't care so neither do I.  

I got 2 "critical event" s***s today, these are the company's nanny state bs.  This day cab has "lane departure" electronics set up on it, something my regular truck doesn't  have. This old truck is pretty squirrely, I didn't go completely off the road but just driving on top of the line on the shoulder is enough to set this thing off. Set it off too many times? It sends a report to my company.  And a "critical speed" warning for going to fast - that was down a hill and the brakes on that truck aren't exactly wonderful and more importantly, there is no engine brake on the piece of junk. That is something every truck should have regardless, engine brakes should be standard equipment. This truck is at least 10 years old, probably older, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't have come equipped with an engine brake.

Whatever.  I'm almost 4 years with this company and the few critical event reports I have had the thing automatically sent to HQ? I've never heard anything about it.  They don't apparently care unless you make a habit of it.  

I'm ready for my truck back and I will be calling again tomorrow to find out the status of it.  This cramped thing I am driving now I've had enough of.  It has a terrible suspension, it just bounces and pops you up and down all day long.  It's ridiculous, you'd think the truck has leaf springs the way it lunges and jumps, it actually has airbags but it sure doesn't drive like it.

And sitting here in this room - at least it doesn't smell bad - I found a place in Longview that rents Cats.  Bulldozers included.  No prices on it, of course not, you have to contact the dealer. So I filled out the form and I would expect a call tomorrow or an email.  I'm also talking to this dude about coming with his machine and having him clear the land.  But, I am having trouble getting the guy to give me a price per acre - that's his method versus doing it per hour.  

I mean, if I could really rent a bulldozer, I could wait until next month when I get more vacation hours added to my account and take a week off and just get it done.  I suspect a week's worth of a dozer rental is the same as a month's worth of a Bobcat rental. I'm going to have to make something work that isn't going to cost a fortune.  

This dude just quoted me $2,500 per acre lmao.  The first guy that came over last week told me $2,250 and that's with a crew of people.  I dunno, but right now I"m not in the position to be spending 15 grand on land clearing.  I'm going to wade into this proposition a lot slower than I had initially planned on.  

I get back tomorrow I'm going to start making endless phone calls to engineers and whatever companies I can find that will create a plan/blue print for the property.  This is holding me up, tho I could do land clearing without any of that.  

Well I could go on but it's getting late and I'm tired.  Long day.  They're all long days, but this late night stuff needs to go by the wayside. I'm not  a night owl.  It's wearing me out.  I hope this bed doesn't turn into a nightmare lol.  I've been in lots of hotel with funny beds and they aren't pleasant.  

Outta here.  

 Driving until 1:30 am has never been my forte. Much more, having to drop the trailer when I got to the yard and then head over to the hotel.  But, the only other choice was to not get down here last night and tho I was fighting fatigue, I did make it.  Even under the best of circumstances, I would have been tired, but after 3 nights of not sleeping it was much worse.

And then this hotel....I have stayed here before and never had an issue. But getting to the 4th floor, the smell in the hallways was overpowering. Disgusting, almost gag reflex. Upon entering my room, the same smell, undoubtedly coming from the hallway, was filling the room as well.  I cannot imagine that hotel staff can come up to this floor and not notice that horrific smell.

My stay here is almost over, thank goodness.  The shower curtain had mold all over the bottom of it - black mold!  Makes a person wonder about the condition of the sheets I was laying on or the towels I dried myself off with......Like, if they never wash the shower curtains or even inspect them, what else is going on in this facility? I would have far rather stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn, my hotel of choice down here that they used to put me up in which apparently has been scrubbed off their list of available hotels. 

Well, the day cab is running better at least. That's what I was forced to drive down here in and why I was staying at a hotel.  I am determined to get back up to Longview tonight and get this trip over with. I'd really like a day off in between runs, especially if my truck isn't done. Yesterday, they told me a NOX sensor and other DEF related issues and the bill would be $1,500, which is basically nothing in the trucking world.

But do they have a NOX sensor? Parts are hard to come by nowadays with the supply chain in the mess that it's in.  They are blaming truckers, which is part of it, but the rest of it is the fact that no one wants to work anymore. DC centers, manufacturers, supplies to make the things you find on the store shelves are all lacking.  Employers are paying more than ever right now trying to lure people to come to work for them.

It sort of got me thinking about getting an RV park up and running, but there are two things. One, it won't be finished for quite a while and 2, if it comes down to it, I'll quit my job and run the place myself if it brings in the necessary revenues.  I can find someone to run it for me at the beginning, pay enough money and I'll get someone in there.  

It isn't really a "now" issue for me since I have many hurdles to face -mostly financial ones - to get that place operational.  I'll be calling some places today on the way back up and see if I can get them out there to give me some quotes.   

Regardless, I'm not sure that my truck is going to be finished and available to pick up today, and even if it is, someone else would have to go get it and bring it to the yard since I won't be getting back into town until long after the Rush truck center closes.  So, I just expect that it will be next week before I get back into my truck and therefore, prepare myself for a weekend run in this daycab. 

It's just soooo small.  There is no leg room, there is no room to store your stuff besides just cramming it down in front of the passenger seat.  It only has one fuel tank - daycabs are supposed to be used for local runs, not out of tonight overnight stuff.  At least it's running better than last time.  Whatever the case, I'm making money off of it, just bite the bullet and move on.

Well I'm an hour off from having to leave and I need breakfast and I want to get to the yard where the empty trailer is, get hooked up to it and be ready to go when the clock hits the mark where I can come back on duty again.

G'day. 

 Brownsville trip en-queue.  \

Taking the day cab, a truck I would have liked to never drive again for multiple reasons.  Earning a paycheck and getting money into the bank to move on with the RV project takes precedence over my personal desires, so I readily volunteered yesterday to go on another run somewhere.

It will mean that tonight I will have to find a hotel to stay at.  That's one of the reasons I really don't like taking that truck. Hotel stays are nice - if you are actually staying there for a while.  Not so nice if it's rushed in, take your 10 hour, and then usually up early and out of there even earlier so you can go hook up to a trailer and prepare for the drive that day.  It isn't optimal, but it's a good paying run so I will not complain about it too much.  

At least there is a "decent" hotel near the yard down there, I don't want to stay at one of the higher quality brands we normally are put into down there, just because I don't want to have to drive too far to get to the yard tomorrow morning. 

As for my sleep, I a in a 3 day funk.  I slept miserably last night, I stayed in bed 11 hours in order to attempt to somehow make up for the lack of sleep last night when I woke up.  My whole sleep cycle has been disrupted from the last trip and I suspect it will be a while before it returns to normal.  

Regardless, this day cab has no refrigerator and very little room. I will be relying on stopping at places to get something to eat versus having a refrigerator stocked with ample food.  I also have to drive clear to Tyler this morning to retrieve my forgotten paperwork out of my truck. I have no choice, the paperwork is due, has been due and I don't get paid until I turn it in.  

I will, however, be doing my usual drive by the property to see if by some miracle, this water install company has actually shown up to do their job. I don't know what the delay is.  Perhaps they had to order the meter or other parts? The man knows what he's doing, if he didn't the city wouldn't be using him.  So, unless he's busy, which was never indicated, there must be a causal reason for the delay in installing.  If he wanted a deposit up front, I would have given him one.  But, that request was never made. So, I have really no idea what's going on and getting a hold of him on the phone is near impossible.

Anyway, my departure time draws night. It's almost 9:00 am, but with having to drive to Tyler, I hvae to give myself an extra hour of drive time.  I really wish I had remembered the paperwork.  It was 3:00 am when I got dropped off at the hotel from the tow truck and I had to climb up into my truck that was on the tow hoist to get everything, it simply slipped my mind.  I even sat in the cab for a minute, trying to remember everything.  My mind was in a fog and I was extremely tired.  

So, pay the price and drive over there, that's all I can do.  At least there's a Carl's Jr. on the way, I'm going to stop and get a lettuce wrapped burger for breakfast/lunch.  

And with that, I must be offa here and out of here.

G'day.