A Word About Our Sponsor

 "When traveling with someone, take large doses of patience and tolerance with your morning coffee."
                                             - Helen Hayes

Las Vegas is the sort of place you go when the rest of the world becomes boring. 

Okay. Not entirely true. When the rest of the man-made, modern sterile downtown districts and suburbs become boring.

Okay. Las Vegas is a very fun place to go. Argue with that. 

Okay. Wow. Rough crowd. How about this: Las Vegas is a really fun place to go, relax and have a good time, besides it's closer and cheaper than Monte Carlo.

?

Okay, good. I knew we saw eye to eye.

I'm at the massive Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino complex in Vegas so that my wife can attend the semi-annual Organo Gold distributors' conference -- OG is the brand of pre-packaged packetted coffee now sponsoring the Thumbnail Traveler sites through my wife's distributorship -- and I can visit my full-time employer's local sales office for a couple of meetings. Travel is better when someone else is paying the tab, yes?

But it's the former I want to talk about with this post, and forgive me if this is a bit of an aside versus a real travel column. With the kind sponsorship from Organo Gold -- again, through my wife's good offices -- I think it's only fair I give them a solid mention here in the blog. You may have noticed the appearance of their link to the upper right of this post. If not, please check it out. It's a very cool thing and we're thrilled to be on board with them.

Organo Gold is a coffee distributorship for flavored coffees presented in packets which, perfectly enough, are well suited to travelers and outdoor adventurers. The company's product distribution path is structured not unlike Mary Kay or Herbalife or Tupperware or any other solid and recommendable product represented by a local distributor versus a chain store. It's network marketing, which unfortunately makes a lot of people cringe in fear whenever that term is used. Relax. 

First:

 Organo Gold is like any other consumable product: it's good, it's safe and more than anything else it's worth the cost. Good product at a fair exchange. And frankly, I love the flavors.

Second:

Unlike some of the less savory network marketers -- more Ponzi schemes than sales organizations -- we have met and truly like a lot of the people currently engaged with us. They are, to a one, professional and honest. For me a fundamental aspect of any business relationship is the quality of the people you work with, and these guys are great. (Trust me. I've dealt with some true losers in the traditional business environment. Nobody is immune to the jerks, whether it's network marketing or traditional chain stores or multinational corporations.)  

A major reason, in fact, we like this company not only because of the product and convenience, but in working with her sales channel we have found the people my wife works with, works as team -- that everyone supports each other, as they do the best of organizations. For us, it's the people you work with as much as the product they represent, and this is true pretty much however and wherever we are.

Third:

The product is terrific for anyone, particularly those of us who travel more than the average bear. In addition to a packet that makes a traditional cup of coffee, the OG flavors extend to a latte (more of a cafe creme, since there's no foam involved), a mocha, hot chocolate, several types of teas and other products... Including black coffee.

Since I spend a fair amount of time on the road, I often fall victim to that hateful cup of coffee we've all encountered from time to time. You know the type I mean. It's either so weak that the flavor is less coffee than the warmed over remains of leftover coffee with water added, or it has an indescribable flavor something akin to bourbon but without the kick. Ugh.

So coffee packets are a terrific idea, letting me add a few ounces of water to get a consistently good cup without having to hunt down a Starbucks or other brand name -- not always available on the highways of life. Just last Tuesday I found myself on a 130 mile stretch of highway in West Texas where the closest thing to real coffee was a slight brownish tint to some of the groundwater.

So, please. Check out our sponsor and let them know you saw them here and appreciate the support. I wanted to make sure our first 
sponsor was really, truly something that would benefit our fellow travelers, and luckily uncovered this one just a few months ago. Now, after some vetting of the company and the people up line from us, and my own usage of the product while on the road (and at home, for that matter -- they have an excellent brewed coffee product as well), we can fully recommend their product. 

Which is why you now see their ad in the upper right. Good stuff, from good people and at a good price. They're our first sponsor, and we're proud they're here.

Somebody has to pay the bills, right?! And its still all about travel. Hence the Las Vegas pictures to keep you occupied.

And keep you coming back.

Pass the word.