We finally made it. New York to San Francisco (via Miami Beach). 10,000 miles and 30 cities in 31 days. Our first stop— Haight Street— where love (and hippies) reigned one summer forty years ago. We are here to spread some blog love.
If you want to share the love, call us at 646-714-2720. You can find us parked on Haight Street (at Belvedere), just across the street from a Zillow-like establishment.
Day 16: July 16, 2007 . We have traveled over 4,500 miles.
Blog Tour USA was hosted to a “Weenie Roast” at Cherokee Park in St. Paul, Minnesota by Blog Mayor, Teresa Boardman of St. Paul Real Estate Blog. We celebrated blogging and the Real Estate Weenie, which we are happy to report continues to feed hungry readers useful information, with no artificial additives.
Teeing up the weenies
We all gathered in Cherokee Park to talk shop ‘an stuff between bites. We learned that Edina Realty is the top dog in town, don-chya-know, and real estate agents are not allowed to use “MLS” on their sites or ads— some clever weenie somehow got ownership of those magic letters. Hmm… doesn’t sound kosher.
Others in attendance included Bonnie Erickson (Real Estate Snippets) Lisa Dunn (Real Sage Advice), Jennifer Kirby (Minneapolis Luxury Real Estate), Aaron Dickinson (Aaron Sold), Alex Stenback (Behind the Mortgage), and Jake Hines (Brandl Anderson Homes). I know I missed someone. Oh yeah, there was this weenie in a suit doing some dude marketing.
Rudy & Bonnie
Alex, Jennifer and blogger in training
Lisa & Teresa
Aaron behind the RV
Alex behind the pickles
Teresa signs in
Undercover Teresa
Uncovered
The gang’s all here.
After the roast, Teresa and Bonnie took us for a tour of lovely St. Paul. The unique architecture and varied home styles, dating from the mid-1800s, makes the city an unzillowable paradise. I was surprised by how many homes have dem porches. We learned author F. Scott Fitzerald called St. Paul home, along with cartoonist George Schulz, of Peanuts fame.
We stopped for drinks at a local pub in town. Bonnie and Teresa had the apple-tinis while Rudy & I sampled the local brew. It dint disappoint.
Bonnie’s pet dinosaur
A cool ending to a hot day
We left St. Paul with hugs and kisses from our favorite Minnesotans– you betcha.
July 15, 2007. Sunday. Today we arrived in Chicago, Illinois. It was another beautiful, sunny day. We drove the streets around the Ukrainian Village and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. The area was buzzing with activity. We had planned to meet Gino Petro (Chicago’s Home Weblog) and Jeff Kerr (ChitownLiving). But first we thought we’d take in an Open House.
We found one in Ukrainian Village. Hmm… what if we Zillowed the house and went in with our laptops to guestion the agent? Sounded like a good idea— to test Zillow as a buyer tool. The house we found was listed at $499,000, but the zestimate had it pegged at $449,000. Not bad. Maybe we could use the difference to our advantage.
The agent’s assistant was a bit taken aback when we approached with camera, microphone and computer. She consented to show us the house (which was very nice with an upgraded kitchen and appliances). We asked her if she knew of Zillow. She did not. We explained to her that it was a valuation site which estimated home values based on public data. She seemed surprised when we showed her the zestimate. She was at a loss to explain the difference. She said she would visit Zillow. We thanked her and went outside to wait for consumers to come by.
We interviewed several visitors to the Open House. None had heard of Zillow but all were intriqued by the possibilty of using zestimates to negotiate lower prices. Funny, we found ourselves promoting Zillow to buyers.
When we asked how the folks knew about the Open House, several said Dreamtown, which they said was a Chigaco search engine. Funny, we never heard of it. We checked it out and found that it was actually a brokerage made to look like a search engine. Clever.
After the Open House experiment, we went to visit real estate agent and blogger Gino Petro, who was holding his own Open House— at HIS condo. He took us for a tour of his crib in Lakeview (gorgeous). He had advertisied it on Craigslist. To entice visitors, he offered a free bottle of wine. It worked.
Gino also showed us his blogging throne:
We discovered that Gino was once a stage actor. He also plays the guitar, which he gladly demonstrated for us. And here’s an interesting tidbit. Gino told us he was the recipient of one of Zillow’s goodie bags (they have a point woman in Chicago) which contained $500 in free ads and some pens. It seems Gino rated as an influencer in the Chicago market— one of the fringe benefits of blogging.
Since Gino had some more visitors, we took some pics and said our goodbyes.
We set out to get some lunch before meeting Jeff Kerr. We struck up a conversation with a local resident, who happened to be a published author and French Literature professor. He recommended Capri. The food there was delicious.
As we were eating, we noticed the crowds thicken on the street. It was the fans who had attended the Cubs game at Wrigley Field. We noticed no one was smiling or animated, suggesting that the Cubbies had lost the game. We were surprised to learn the Cubs won. Interesting. Maybe the fans were so used to their team losing, they instintively wore those game faces.
Jeff Kerr signs in
Jeff met us outside the restaurant. We showed him the RV and put him in the hotseat for an interview. As we were talking, a meter maid walked by. I immediately jumped up and ran outside to feed the meter. Jeff chuckled at my panic and said it was Sunday and there was no need for concern. As he was explaining the city parking regs, he looked out the window at his own car parked across the street and noticed what looked like a parking ticket. He rushed out to check and sure enough, Jeff had been bagged. Rudy and I started to laugh and told Jeff not to worry– we told him to send the ticket to Brad Inman. Sorry Brad.
As it was getting late, we got a few last pics and headed out of town.
Thanks to Gino & Jeff for welcoming us to their windy city.
Joe, Jeff & Rudy
We started the long drive to St. Paul. We stopped at a rest stop and called it a night.
Rest stop nightcap.
July 24, 2007. 11:00 pm.
We were just ninety miles from Ardell’s house when strong winds swooped down on us. The RV started to get blown around the highway. Not wanting to end up like this, we pulled off at the next rest stop. It was already packed with truckers who knew better. See you in the morning Ardell.
It’s been a heavy mileage day.
The alarm went off at 6:00 am at Greg & Trish Tracy’s house in Salt Lake City, Utah. (We had spent an entertaining evening with the Tracys and the BlueRoof crew at a local hot spot. Got some great video.) I didn’t roll out of the RV penthouse bunk until 7:00. We hit the road at 7:15. We made it in time for lunch with Phil Hoover in Eagle, Idaho. Spent some quality time (and laundry) with Phil (a great fellow). Left for Seattle about 4:30.
We just crossed the 45th Parallel on our way to Ardell’s house. We’ll get in after midnight.
Total miles so far– about 8,500.
Maureen Francis
July 14, 2007
After a festive day at the HER Real Living event in Columbus, Ohio, we gave our farewells to the Buckeye state and made our way north to arch rival Michigan.
Our hosts in Birmingham, Michigan were Maureen Francis, Missy Caulk and Todd “Black Tie” Waller.
The trip north was smooth sailing. So much so, that we arrived an hour early. This afforded us an opportunity to freshen up with nice cold showers. After the showers, we noticed that the shower water was not draining. Darn, our tanks were full again. We couldn’t meet anyone with our shower full of nasty soapy water now could we? We needed to find an authorized dump spot. Not an easy task in the middle of town.
We googled one and as we made the detour when we noticed someone behind us waving their hands out of their window and honking their horn. Could it be a blogger? A blog fan? It was Maureen! She rolled up next to us laughing and telling us that we just passed her office and asked us to follow her. Sheist! Since we couldn’t dump, I had to bring out the nose stimulizers to freshen the place up a bit.
Missy Caulk
After we followed Maureen to her company parking lot, Missy rolled in behind us. We greeted them with the bloggerazzi TV cam. It was too embarrassing to tell her the real reason why we passed her office. So we blamed it on our darn gps which has become a scapegoat for many of our mishaps. Now you know what that funky smell was guys 
Todd “Black Tie” Waller and Maureen
As we chatted, Black Tie Todd rolled up. We watched him from afar as he put on the top half of his tux. What a way to get noticed - half tux and half jeans. So funny yet so incredibly genius. In a sea of agents, what better way to have consumers remember you and actually approach you and ask what the heck is up with the tux. Todd has mastered the art branding by branding himself first and foremost. I can’t wait to see the Black Tie franchise grow. Way to go Todd!
After a brief autograph session, we got the grand tour of Maureen’s Sotheby’s office. As a street level brokerage, they took full advantage of their prime location by having a large plasma T.V. in the window that displayed the company’s hottest listings. More attractive than a window plastered with tiny black and white property information sheets.
In the back office we proceeded to do a impromtu ambush interview with them about everything real estate related. I wanted to understand how they marketed themselves and their clients listings both online and offline as well as some of their other advertising and marketing habits. It’s quite interesting how each of them had different things that worked for them. The video will be one to watch for sure.
After the grilling, we made our way onto the streets to experience real life. Coincidentally, today was the annual street fair. Many local vendors littered the streets with all sorts of arts, crafts, products and services. Our visit couldn’t have been timed more perfectly.
As we made our way to one of Maureen’s favorite lunch spots, I noticed one of mine - the SoupMan. Known as the soup nazi and made famous by Seinfeld, this original local New York City favorite soup stand was now a franchise. I schmoozed with the ladies who worked the booth in front of the store and asked how I could get a free t-shirt for the Blog Tour. Dumbfounded by my bluntness, they suggested I speak with the owner of the store, who just happened to be inside.
With the bloggerazzi TV camera running, we made our way into the store. Now imagine me wearing my sunglasses, headphones with a mic in one hand and a camcorder in the other and an entourage behind me (Maureen, Missy, Todd - with his half tux and Joe). Yes, we did get some stares.
I found Judy the store proprietor and asked her how I could get a free t-shirt. She was overwhelmed by our blogger enthusiasm and just laughed. I got a free double x and a brief interview with her and her daughter. She was a great sport. In this case, “No soup for you” turned into a free t-shirt for me. If you want something, just ask for it. You never know…
After the shenanigans, we finaly sat down for some great food at a New York style diner. The conversation at lunch was nothing short of bloggerific and the food hit the spot. They even had one of my favorites - gyro - pronounced yeeh-roh. Yummy.
Gyro - Yeeh-roh
After stuffing our bellies silly, we got up the energy to ask some locals about their online and offline real estate habits. As usual, I held the camera and Joe held the mic. Together, we asked the questions. The feedback we received was a mixed bag but informative nonetheless. We even found someone who did not own a computer. The reason being they heard you could get worms and viruses. Huh?
After watching us in action for a while, Missy took center stage and became a bloggerazzi herself.
She was quite a natural and even looked like a real reporter, unlike Joe and I. One of the couples she interviewed was in the market to buy and may become a client. Imagine that. By taking our blogging offline, we were able to connect with real people buying and selling real estate.
Birmingham Blog Crew
It was such a pleasure getting to know Missy, Maureen and Todd in person. We can only get a glimpse of a person by reading their blog. If you have the opportunity to meet your fellow local bloggers, I suggest you take the leap and meet in person. It’s well worth it.
Maureen and Todd signing our board
Missy doing real estate graffiti
Cheeseburger in Paradise
Dmitry - Mr. Maureen Francis
Street Fair
You’re my boy blue!
Guerilla Blogvertising
Rudyrazzi gone wild
Real Estate Signs of the times
Chilln’ with ma peeps
Thanks again guys! We had a blast in Birmingham. Let’s go Buckeyes Wolverines!
Next stop…..Chicago…..
Tonight - July 23rd @ 6pm
Cottonwood Oyster Bar 2985 E Cottonwood Pkwy, Salt Lake City -
We’re meeting with Greg Tracy from BlueRoof and anyone else who want’s to tell us their story.
July 13, 2007: We had parked for the night in Goodale Park in Columbus, Ohio. We woke early and headed to the North Market on Spruce Street to get a light breakfast. Established in 1876, the North Market is the only remaining public market in central Ohio. The indoor market is an epicurian delight.
While in the Market, we came upon the Flower Man at the famous Market Blooms.
So, we decided to get a bunch to surprise Maureen McCabe (Discover Columbus, f/k/a Columbus Best Blog, Sellsius Founding Member #1), who had helped plan the Real Living sponsor hosted event— a cook-out.
When we arrived at the downtown Columbus office of Real Living, we were surprised to find no one there. Hmm…was this some kind of surprise party? Well, the surprise was we were at the wrong location. We were supposed to be in Worthington. Luckily, Bill Evans, President of HER Real Living was there and he volunteered to escort us to the event. It was our first Presidential escort.
Bill Evans, Joe, Rudy, Tom Holcombe
Her Real Living, Worthington office
When we arrived, we were greeted by Maureen and Tom Holcombe, manager of the Worthington office. There were about 30 or so present to devour weenies, potato salad, beans and homemade desert pastries. Little did the group realize they had to bear our blog blathering for about 15 minutes— you know what they say— there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Blog pontification wows the crowd
Those in attendance included Elaine Reese (Reeses Pieces of Real Estate), Sondra Johnson (Columbus Real Estate Voice), Teri Lussier (The Brick Ranch), Toby & Sadie Boyce (Sadie’s Take on Delaware Ohio), Jonathan Danylko (DCS-Media), Joe Peffer, Eric & Nikki Ransom (Real Estate Laundry– which reminded us we had to do ours).
Sadie’s take on Rudy
Soraya’s take on hot dogs
She prefers them bunless
Elaine & Rudy
Hot dog grillers - The Ladies of Real Living Title
Ohio Blogoholics - Joe, Bill, Teri, Rudy, Sondra, Toby, Sadie, Maureen, Eric and Elaine
Does it?
Her Real Living Office
Elaine is prepared for anything
Maureen busy blogging
Blogger directions
Sondra, Joe and Eric
After the event, we went to Amano’s for drinks with Tom, Maureen and others. There we sampled a spicy hot pizza and the local brew. We learned about the Buckeye’s rivalry with the University of Michigan. (The town is nuts about college football).
Rudy w/ the ladies of Real Living Title
Teri and Tom’s Sister
We rolled out of Columbus with great memories and two pints of Graeter’s irresistible ice cream, courtesy of Eric and Nikki
.
Elaine ’s Plates
Thanks again to Her Real Living, Real Living Title, Maureen, Bill, Tom and everyone who attended.
Blog Tour USA South Beach video part II
By Peter Santiago of Santiago Labs
Blog Tour USA got some recent press from the Arizona Republic and Worthington, Ohio’s This Week News.
‘Blog Bus’ stops in Phoenix this week.
Blog Tour stops at HER office.
Technorati Tags: Blog Tour USA, Arizona Republic, Worthington Ohio, Press
