I am 2/3s of the way to Orlando and having a great adventure. Monday evening I flew from Honolulu, had a early morning stopover in Dallas and arrived in Springfield, MO late Tuesday morning.
My older brother Russ Prothero, a REALTOR® in Branson met me at the airport. He had his suitcase, snacks and a case of water in his pickup truck so we hit the highway heading south. I need to add we stopped for gasoline. We I left Hawaii, our gas price dropped to $3.25/ gallon and we were celebrating. It was $1.89/ gallon in Springfield.
His GPS was set for the shortest route to Orlando. Hmm let's see now, I have never been to this part of the country and we have an extra day or two to get there. What to do?
I know let's go to New Orleans, I have never been there. We can then follow the coast to Florida. After a short 1200 mile drive we decided to stop in a motel north of New Orleans and spend the night.
After a good breakfast we drove the last stretch to New Orleans. Our plan was to get a hotel room and spend the day so we could walk down Bourbon Street in the evening. After checking into our room, we followed up on our e-mails and checked Active Rain for messages. I also sent New Orleans real expert Eric Bouler a contact message to let him know we were in town.
I barely hit the send button, when my phone rang. It was Eric. Two hours later Eric was giving us a tour of his town. What a truly gracious thing to do. We did not even tell him we were coming (we didn't know either) and he was showing us around town. He showed us the French Quarter, and a few other parts of town including the areas that were hit by the flood. After driving us around town we got out and walked all around the French Quarter.
I truly enjoyed hearing about how he does business and gained some real good advice on improving my internet presence. Eric has built a great niche' with upscale condos and has set himself up as a market expert for the areas he is working.
Mahalo (Thank you in Hawaiian), to Eric for his wonderful showing of hospitality. I look forward to the day when he visits Hawaii and I can return the favor.
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Randy L. Prothero, REALTOR®, ABR, AHWD, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, SFR
Century 21 Liberty Homes
Randy Prothero is well established as an expert in working with military / VA clients and first time home buyers. His home seller's (listing) campaign is one of the most aggressive marketing programs in the area.
Based out of Mililani, Hawaii. Randy services the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and the Leeward Regional Chairman of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. To improve overall professionalism in his area Randy also offers classes for real estate agents.
www.HawaiiRandy.com * Oahu (Honolulu County) Property Search * Hawaii Military Relocations
Hi there, long trip for you. Hawaii is my home (I was Controller for Lex Brodie's in HNL and most recently on the BI) and have travelled back and forth for YEARS!! Even took the Matson Lines cruise to California a few times when we were growing up. Am loving the change of seasons in Western North Carolina! Wow. The real estate market here... well, that's a different story. Hope to see you in Orlando. I leave this morning for NAR.
Aloha!
Hey Randy, it's easy. just arrange for the next NAR convention to be in Honolulu, adn you will have plenty of chances to drive Eric (and many others - LOL) around.
Hey Randy,
I'm hitting the road today...I'll see you there brotha!
What a great road trip! I like Jon's idea-lets all go to Hawaii!
Hope you are enjoying the road trip and time with yor brother. Hope to see you in Orlando.
Randy...It's great you took the chance to see more of the country while you had the chance. It's nice to know that AR members are so helpful!
Randy - that is awesome you looked up Eric, and he gave you a tour. What a great way to connect with other agents across the country. Let us know about the conference.
Thanks for the update Randy! Will look forward to your pole dancing at the AR party LOL!
Susie - I hope to meet you at NAR. I will be mostly hanging at the Expo.
Jon - I am not sure if we have a facility big enough for NAR.
Neal - Very cool! I look forward to seeing you in person.
Lisa - Look us up if you make it to Hawaii.
Gary - We are having a good time. I look forward to meeting you in Orlando. We will be there tomorrow.
William - AR folks are the best!
Sharon - I will be posting about the conference and the AR gathering if I can find its secret location.
Sally - No pole dancing for me. :)
Aloha Randy,
So happy to see that the GREAT ADVENTURE has turned out to be that! What a great business Ohana you have the privilege of being associated with. Have a great time.
Aloha-Penny
Randy I have seen you pop up on Monika McGillicuddy's and Neal Bloom's blog's today. I hope you get to meet them as well as all the other Rainers there.
Penny - Thank you
George - I am looking forward to meeting up with them.
I wish I would have taken my head out of my work(wherever), and planned on Orlando. Definitely next year.
Have a great time!!
Dan - It has been a great trip so far. The AR gathering tonight made the trip a success all by itself.
Have a blast in Orlando... I was there as well!
Hi Randy - so nice to have been able to meet you and your brother! Hope you enjoyed your trip back as much as your trip to Florida!
Ann
Sal - I am on my home and back to the real world. It was a blast.
Ann - I am at the Dallas airport, getting ready for the long flight home. It was a blast, but it will be great to see my family.
Randy - I envy you your time with Eric. I've enjoyed his posts for so long, it would be great to spend some time with him. Touring New Orleans would be a bonus!
Sharon - He was a great host.