Rochelle’s Latest Venture – A TransContinental Tour
I want to share some very exciting news with you!
On Sunday, May 20, my husband, Geoff, and I will be leaving for a 3-4 month trip across Canada and the Northern USA. Geoff is bicycling across the country! Yes, ALL the way to St. John’s, Newfoundland – over 8,000 km from Vancouver, BC (for my US family/friends = 5,000 miles!) 
This has been something Geoff has wanted to do his entire life and we decided there’s no better time to do it than now.
I will be driving the support/chase VW camper van, affectionately called “VanGo – Our (T)rusty Touring Van”. (The intentionally misspelled, “catchy” name is both aspirational (since the van is OLD, from 1984, and we’re hoping it “goes” the entire trip) and a gentle nod to our business activities (more below).
If you’re interested in following our progress, you can do so at either GeoffsTour.com or www.facebook.com/GeoffsTour. Geoff and I are very excited about our trip and also a bit anxious since we’re not quite sure how this will all pan out. That said, VanGo is completely decked out with a bunch of technology tools and gadgets (as well as a beefed-up electrical system to support it). This will allow both of us to work as usual while on the road and for those of you who know our uber-techie lifestyle, this should come as no surprise.
In terms of work, you may have read, I left BookRiff in March and Geoff and I have decided to focus on a “side” business we launched almost 7 years ago that has steadily grown, based completely on word-of-mouth. It’s called ArtSites.ca and is a very simple, inexpensive website-building platform that allows visual artists to create and manage their own websites. We already have a good-size community and we thought this trip would be a great way (1) to breathe some new life and energy into the business, as well as (2) to meet up with several of our artists and artist communities as we drive across the country (hence the name “VanGo”)
Over the summer, both Geoff and I will be focusing on further developing and updating ArtSites and if you want, you can help us by:
- Recommending ArtSites.ca to your artist friends
- Recommending Art Fairs we should hit along the way
- Letting us know about opportunities for informal ArtSites “meetups”, e.g. where we can do a demo or tutorial of our service for a group of artists or an Artists Guild/Association
- Donating to the Tour (either to the Tour directly or the Canadian Cancer Society)
- Sharing any “must-see” attractions we should hit along our route!
- Sending us lots of positive “vibes” for the trip!
So, that’s the latest on my front…please let me know what you’re up to and feel free to follow our TransContinental progress online and find out when/if we’re in a city or town near you! If you want to meet up with us in-person at any point along the way, do drop me a line! I’d LOVE to see and reconnect with you! (Phone numbers and contact information will remain the same. Again, technology is our “bestest” friend!)
Geoff and I are very much looking forward to an exciting summer journey! Now, back to my LONG to-do list of last-minute errands! 
Cheers!
