Find free events near your RV

When out and about in your RV, there always seems to be plenty to look at. Scenery pours by our windows, squirrels steal our lunch, neighbors back their brand new motorhomes into trees. But sometimes you want to do more than just look out the window. Sometimes you want to DO something.

If finances are standing in the way of DOING, then here's a trick you may want to latch onto. Find out what's FREE and DO IT. All across the U.S., plenty of outfits from museums to gardens, comedy clubs to live theaters roll out free stuff. It's just a matter of finding it.

Here's a sample of some FREE things around the country:

San Diego: Free comedy club routines. "The best up & coming comedians come to San Diego every Tuesday night! Here's the chance to see who's next in Comedy for absolutely no cover charge before 7pm. (Only $5 after) Hosted by Byron Bowers with new comedians every Tuesday!Full Bar & food available at great prices, come laugh the early week stress away!"

Chicago: Looking for a fun evening of FREE classical music concerts in the Chicago area?  Why not check out the Park Ridge FREE CONCERT include five concerts by Park Ridge Fine Arts Symphony, a 50-piece ensemble made up of the finest free-lance professional musicians in the Chicago area.

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New Orleans: Who can think of "Naw-lins" and not think jazz? The Snug Harbor Jazz Club on Frenchmen Street frequently offers free shows on weekends. Acts include the Sweet Home New Orleans Trio at 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and other free gigs on Friday and Saturday at midnight. Check the monthly calendar before you go.

Seattle: They don't just guzzle coffee here, they do boats, too! Check out the Center for Wooden Boats because every Sunday the center offers free wooden boat tours (all run by volunteers) that will take you around Lake Union. On our ride, we got to stop to check out boats around SLU and, of course, the boathouses in the area.

Houston: Funk meets junk (cars?) in Texas. This free museum will make you feel instantly hip when you traipse on in.  The exhibits, including the cars, rotate every few months so you never know what you'll see.  The front is staffed with the sweetest, aging hippy volunteers who are only too happy to talk your ear off about art car culture and how the cars are put together.  

We could go on talking about free industry tours (and plenty of free eats and drinks where produced), music events, arts events, and whatnot. Finding them is all at your Internet equipped fingertips. Hit your search box and type in "free events" and the name of the closest larger city of interest. You may be able to drill down to smaller cities, but the likelihood of finding free events grows with the size of the town. You can also ring up the tourism center or Chamber of Commerce in nearly any town and ask away about what's for free in their area.

RV traveling? Bargain shop at Goodwill outlet stores

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Ever wonder what happens to the stuff that doesn't sell at a Goodwill Store? Wonder no more. After a few weeks, things that don't sell make their way to an outlet store. Sometimes these warehouse-like places are called Goodwill Outlet Stores, or they may go by another name. But why should any of this interest you? Because if you like digging for real bargains (and "digging" is sometimes literal) then an outlet store is your bag.

A lot of the stuff sold in  the outlet stores are sold, not by the item, but by the pound. Take clothing, or "textiles," as they're listed. You'll pick up all kinds of clothing and other textile items, often for less than $2 a pound. And hey, it's not all junk, among the tons of clothing that Goodwill processes every week, there are plenty of "missed" designer items and fabulous bargains. If not by the pound, then Goodwill whacks off a huge amount of the original, already-pretty-low, price. We're talking 75% less than "normal" Goodwill rates.

Depending on the outlet location, you may find the items sorted, but most often, you'll just find BINS of items. If you have the "digging for treasure" personality, you'll love digging around in the bins. If you're more of a "Felix Unger" sort of shopper, you're probably best advised to stay away from the outlets.

If you're ready to dig, here are tips from the "Bin Shoppers."

* Wear gloves and bring hand sanitizer. You never know what might be lurking in a bin that might be disagreeable.

* Set aside plenty of time, at least a couple of hours, to make your search fruitful.

* If you're clothes shopping, be aware, there are no fitting rooms to try on your treasures. Experienced bargain shoppers say they wear form-fitting clothes like tank tops and shorts and "try on" their finds right over their clothing.

* Don't limit yourself to the front of the store. These are the most picked-over bins, as it seems folks tend to be a bit lazy. Starting at the back of the store and moving forward may be more fruitful.

* Keep your "treasures" close at hand. Aggressive bargain hunters have been known to grab other shoppers finds.

* Be sure you like what you found – Goodwill has a NO RETURN policy.

These Goodwill bargain outlets are found all over the country. Visit this site for a state-by-state list.