5C's Que Pasa

Last night we had a relaxing dinner at home and watched a movie. Colin had already taken down the dish and packed it up.  Sometime in the past few days we discovered that we could download Netflix and store them on my iPad. In order to watch those shows on our TV screen we needed a special HDMI cable to connect the iPad to our new smart TV.  Something like this.  That cable cost us $65.00 USD. We should have picked it up in Canada where it was the same price but in Canadian dollars or order it on that Amazon link at an even lesser cost. It worked and we watched a just released movie.

I did not sleep well last night, likely my mind was thinking about our Cummins appointment today.  I heard the roar of the Harley come in at 1:40AM.  Then the diesel pusher leaving at  4:10AM roused me from my light sleep.  I had been worried about starting the RV and disturbing our neighbors, I guess if he did it at 4AM then we should not worry.  The alarm went off at 5:10, I had just been waiting for it.  We were driving by 6:10AM.  I drove the Jeep using GPS and Colin followed.  Bit of a glitch once we turned onto Alexander as the GPS stopped.  Fortunately I had reviewed the route on Google maps last night and knew where to go more or less. Colin later told me that the GPS would not take the Cummins address.  We later found out that this facility was just under two years old so it likely is not in our GPS.  Did not use the freeway but Nellis Blvd instead.  We were first in line at 7:00AM when they opened.  However the RV never went in until closer to 8:00AM. Apparently it takes over an hour to check in.

Colin first in line. The doors electronically unlock at 7AM!!

Colin was calm but I was on pins & needles as we waited.  There was another couple in the lounge with us and they put the TV on right away but were not even watching it.  She was texting and he was literately sawing logs, quite the snore.  They had been here for five days and were still waiting for their repairs. As polite Canadians we said nothing about the noise to the TV, nor the log sawing. We finally got some RV news about 11:00 AM.  First the mechanic needs to talk to the shop foreman who then talks to the service advisor who then talks to us.  No wonder they charge so much per hour.

There were only four places to sit in the lounge and I decided that this is where we wanted to be. The other two seats were recliner loungers just in front of this area and the TV right is front of them.  Plus there was no wifi, I could not believe that.

Very long story made short based on being at Cummings for just over six hours, is that we have no problem with the coolant and the engine is fine.  However we may have air in the coolant system ( which might have happened last April when we had the coolant drained into a bucket to test it for integrity and perhaps they might not have refilled it enough )  which means that we might have to keep adding coolant until it is full.  They have no idea why the coolant reservoir empties every day.  They suggested that we probably don’t need it and perhaps the RV manufacturer added it on for no particular reason. Or perhaps it is an old plastic tank and is worn and could be replaced but they did not think that we needed it.  They suggested that we check with an RV dealership.  So Colin will just keep refilling it every day.  It does not drain when we are parked, just when we are traveling.  They did however tell us that there were no leaks in that reservoir tank.

As we were already there Colin asked them to check why we have an exhaust smell within the RV as we are driving.  We have had this problem off and on since 2012 and we have replaced the seals around the bed which is over the engine. Last April Freightliner found a small hole that they fixed.  Today Cummins discovered that we have an exhaust leak from the exhaust brake gasket.  However that gasket is no longer made and they would have to try and source one.  That means we might be stuck there for several days.  However we would have to move into a hotel as we would not be allowed into the RV.  After much discussion it was decided that we could continue on but to leave the fantastic fan vent open and operating in the bedroom as we drive.  It is not a fire hazard.  We will only get this gasket replaced once we get home in April by Freightliner.  Who knows where they will find a replacement gasket but at least we will be home and not paying for a hotel for a week or so.  It was our choice to stay or to go and deal with the issue in April.  We chose to leave.

As our bed is over the engine we had to take everything off the bed ( 5 guitars, plus, plus ) and remove the mattress which we usually lean up against the closet in the bedroom. The RV was a mess plus we had to put the tow shield on the car as well as the windshield screen and get it all ready to drive. We were there for over six hours and were only charged for 1 and 1/2 hours  which is great.  Basically we were there for six hours to get piece of mind.  The price was right.  We were finally driving by 12:55PM.

Shortly after leaving Cummins and once we were on the freeway the brake buddy started to beep and beep and beep.  We could not find a place to stop for forty minutes.  Once we were able to stop, it only needed to be reset.  The cause for the irregular beeping, who knows.

Who would want to live right on the freeway?

Normal temperatures had finally returned to Las Vegas and for the first time since mid March we turned on the dash A/C. It was 45F when we got up at 5:10AM and now at 1:00PM it was 86F.  We waited and waited, thinking it was just taking time but we are obviously lacking in freon.  It was warm inside but we managed.  I was the one in the sun.  However I flatly refuse to travel further south into Mexico without dash A/C as we will not have roof A/C when we stop as we have no shore power nor generator.  So of course as we are driving I am online looking for A/C repairs in Lake Havasu.  It only took three calls and we are booked for 9AM on Thursday.  Plus it is only 1/2 mile away from the state park where we will be staying.

Within 35 minutes today we were in Nevada, California and finally Arizona. All so very close together in this tiny corner.

We were just getting parked in our site as sunset was happening

We only had the windows open and it was 83.3F inside and 75.3F outside.  We do have have shore power here but I wanted to see how warm it was.  Not sure how I am going to manage the two nights in Mexico with no electricity nor generator.  It will be much warmer.

Lovely location.  I only had to book this site on May 2nd and it was the last site available in the park for a three night stay in November.

Time for dinner, good thing that we like to eat late.  Stay tuned for whatever tomorrow will bring us.

In fact we still can’t believe what happened.

We decided to go to a movie last night as we needed to do something fun.  We found a theatre with those lovely recliner seats that was showing the new Judy Garland movie. Suddenly a huge bang and our necks whipped back and forth.  We got rear ended  just 1/2 block from the theatre.  Thank goodness our car is like a tank but we both have sore necks, and are stiff from the whiplash, etc. It was a young girl as in sweet 16 and she had only had her license for 3.5 months.  From how she was acting it appears that she may have been texting.  There were three lanes of vehicles all stopped for a red light, perhaps 8 – 12 cars ahead of us.  Suddenly she drove into us.  She admits she wasn’t paying attention and that it was her fault.

The damage is mostly to our bumper.

But it will have to come off, the frame will have to be checked and so on.

So the police came, information was exchanged and paper work was done.  All the while I had a splitting headache and my neck ached.  I also could not stop shivering.  I was in shock.  I stayed inside the car and called sweet 16’s insurance company as we had been told to make a claim.  We were done about 90 minutes later. We headed back home.  We had a late lunch with the anticipation of movie popcorn but once we got home we just sat there shell shocked.

Still love my new dishes. and yes I will have a glass of wine with lunch every now and then.

The GPS was making me dizzy. So many overpasses and off ramps.

Today I contacted my assigned US adjuster with my sweet 16’s insurance company via voicemail and email.  We have a 7AM appointment with Cummins tomorrow and if everything is fine ( fingers crossed ) we are heading straight out of town to Lake Havasu.  So if a US adjuster needs to see the Jeep they better do it ASAP in the morning.  I explained that we are in transit from Canada to Mexico and won’t be back to Canada until April 1st so could he please call me first thing tomorrow.  He is not working over the weekend but did email to say that he has assigned me to another adjuster and that I should contact her.  I did and she is away on holidays 😯  From her voicemail I went to a fellow and then it was suggested by the initial adjuster I had that I call a supervisor who in fact is only returning from holidays tomorrow.  So I spent another afternoon on the telephone dealing with all of this.

I also called ICBC ( our BC Canadian insurance company ) to file my insurance claim and she told me that I did not need to have our car checked by the US adjuster.  She said go and have a nice holiday and we can deal with all of this in April.  Of course we will have to have a phone conversation with whomever our Canadian adjuster will be and will need to send in our accident photos.  Well that all sounds easy peasy.  I am still leery of leaving Nevada before a local adjuster sees the Jeep.  Does any one have any input on that?

Friday this truck pulling a long 5th wheel took the corner too wide.

He eventually got pulled out by another pick up truck using a simple chain.

How do you get those heavy bricks up there to hold the dish down?

We woke up yesterday to a new hole being dug right next to our RV.  I guess the first pipe break was part of this one.  We still have a big hole outside of our door as well as dirt and muddy water along the side of the RV.  In the whole big picture of our lives right now, not a big deal.

Just before we left home Colin put a new smart TV into the RV. The old one was not smart.  Colin had to create a border along the top and the bottom to fill those gaps.  It was not easy to find a small smart TV to fit a specific space, but of course after much online research I did.  I really have to get away from being online so much.

Yesterday he plugged in our sound system plus a few other things.  That piece of wood acts as a brace so the TV stays put when we are driving.  It is a permanent fix behind the TV and the hole it goes into is covered up.

We both spent yesterday getting things ready for the trip. Colin is putting on our Canada flag stickers on the RV and car windows. It does make a difference in how we are treated in Mexico by officials at the border and along the road.  Colin even fixed the kitchen fantastic fan.

The RV park here is so busy that they are removing their storage sites and putting in more RV sites.  They claim that business is booming.  We certainly are seeing a good number of younger RVers here.

Today we went out and did our final grocery shop which is hard to do.  We don’t know if we will be on our way tomorrow or ??  My Visa was fine the first time but declined the next two as was Colin’s.  One was a small store and the other was a fast food place.  More time on the phone this afternoon with Visa 🙄  At the fast food place they took the card and were tapping it but it would not take.  Visa told me that when traveling away from Canada that we should always insert the card and use our pin number.  Much safer.

Long time blog reader, Michael, who crossed into Mexico via Nogales, sent me this report yesterday “The roads are the best ever, best USA quality, and the bypass was easy tho the new surface a bit bumpy.  Made great time but a line at K21.  More later, moving on today.”  He was referring to the new Hermosillo bypass and  KM 21 where you get your paperwork.

Just now tonight, he sent me this report, “We are in El Mirador tonight.  Roads again were best ever with a new bypass around Ciudad Obregón.  Much easier but PRICEY!  Road out to the park was in the worst shape ever but still good.  A few big potholes to watch for and the right lane showing wear”.

Based on this I am beginning to wonder if we should drive straight to Navajoa the first night and stay at that large truck stop north of town.  It is not the best of locations 😥 Considering we don’t have a generator nor batteries it would be nice to only stop the one night before arriving on the Isla.  Any thoughts?

I also received an email today from Shaw Mazatlan and they confirmed to me that our current satellite equipment will get us Shaw programming but not all the channels.  A direct copy/paste from the email “You get here tv from F1, and F2 satellites those broadcast the major part of the channels from Shaw. G1 satellite carries the local cities channels from Shaw”.

Al, another long time blog reader, sent me this link about Shaw, it is most interesting.  At the bottom of page one there is a list of the channels that you can get and those that you can’t.  The next two pages also have some interesting discussing about the life of the current two satellites that we are using.  Once those are gone so will our Shaw TV. https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29952599/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm

I think that about covers everything for tonight.  I am worn out, you might say frazzled.  Sorry if this post appears to be all over the place.  Tomorrow is a huge day for us.  Some fingers crossed would be wonderful.

By the time we got all of our chores done yesterday and Colin had a bit of time to play the guitar we decided to head to the strip and have some fun.  We didn’t leave until 7 PM or thereabout.

We know about free self parking at the Tropicana so parked there and walked over the top of the strip to get to New York York.  We were surprised at how few vehicles were out, especially on a Friday.

We came in on an upper level. Again the casino itself was pretty empty.  It did fill up later.

We gambled a bit, tried our luck at the Gorilla machine we like but nothing was happening. So we went and had dinner here at the NYC Fulton Fish Frye.  Last time we went to a proper restaurant but the food was not good and the price was ridiculously high.  Here we each ordered fish and chips.

I highly recommend this place. We each got two pieces of the freshest cod that I have ever eaten. So very tasty. I even ate both pieces and most of my fries.  Not greasy at all.  A great deal f

Then we found my favorite quarter machine and played that for a long while.  I made my $50.00 donation last for a very long time.  I just played and won and played and won.

I cashed out and we headed over to our new favourite, the Empire. It is all about King Kong climbing the Empire State building.  Your need to spin the Empire sign twice in a spin to make the gorilla climb to the top and then you get bonus points at random amounts.  We also like that we can sit side by side in front of the machine.  Here I am giving Colin the thumbs up that I was at the top yet again.

Here is a one and a half  minute video that Colin took. I had no idea he was taking it.  I wondered where he had wandered off to.  As we played we kept saying how much Mommio would have loved this machine.  She loved toys and gimmicks.  So many neat and different sounds that this machine makes. Take a moment and have some fun.

If you get three Empire signs your gorilla will go directly to the top and you get your bonus points.

This is a penny machine and we always played the max which is 125 pennies per spin.

Then I did it again and won $80.00. We really had a great deal of fun and totally forgot all of our RV issues.

So you can imagine our surprise when I finally looked at my watch.  It was 3:00 o’clock in the morning 😯  I thought my watch was broken 😳  No worries, we walked back to the car and drove back here to the RV park which is not more that a fifteen minute drive.  I brushed my teeth and was asleep by 3:35AM.  Colin had a shower ( I should have because of the smoke smell but I was way too zonked ) and then he apparently ate a muffin with peanut butter on top.  It takes a lot of energy to play the slots 😉 Our clothes are still airing outside.  We only do this once heading south and will like do it again heading north in March.

I have another Mexico update which is specific for those traveling with pets into Mexico.

Mexico Relaxes the Requirements to Import Pets from the U.S. and Canada.  Those driving will likely not be checked but those flying in will.  You can read all about that by clicking here.

It has warmed up nicely today and we got some more to do’s off the list.  More about that tomorrow.  It is now warm here and the stink bugs are coming out of wherever they hide inside the RV. Back in Kelowna we have to leave the RV door open as we load going back & forth with our arms full of stuff and that is when the bugs sneak in.  Hopefully they will be all found and removed before we get to the Isla.  I only just noticed that other day that five yes 5 guitars are traveling with us to Mexico.  I guess my brain was so frozen that I never saw them.

A very strange thing happened earlier this afternoon.  Mommio came to visit. She really did. I went to sit at my computer and suddenly my Safari page disappeared as did my Mail page with all of my emails. Then this photo appeared.

As you can see it was almost full size across my large desktop computer.  I could not use my mouse, it was frozen.  Colin could not get it to work either.  Where did that photo come from?  It was not on my desktop nor in any folder on my desktop nor in my iPhoto.  It is in my October 20th blog ” Mommio soars…” but the blog was not open and how did that one particular photo appear? Plus none of my photos are ever that large on my computer screen. The photo was on the screen was pin sharp.  Where did my two working pages go, they were not even in the dock.  They totally disappeared and we were left with a screen of Mommio sitting with our two girls.  It took about 15 minutes before I regained the use of my mouse but I had not clicked on anything when both my  Mail and Safari reappeared just as Mommio disappeared.  Colin and I are both convinced that this happened because Mommio was sending us a message.  She is up there somewhere and has our girls with her.  She wanted to let us know that she is alright.  Look at her huge smile.  Well we did speak of her often last night and I guess she was listening.  Hey maybe she was with us in spirt at the casino and was having fun with us.

October brought many changes and some challenges for us.  However it is not just us having to deal with whatever life throws at us.  I know of two full time RVers who are having to empty their RV’s and winterize them this coming week. They both write blogs and live in Ontario.  One is due to health issues and the other due to financial issues because of extensive RV repairs.  Actually there is a third blog writing RVer, from the famous Bayfield Bunch who is also taking this winter off due to health issues. We were to meet longtime friends from our Acapulco RVing years this winter on the Isla for a week or two. They then travel further south toward the Rincon area.  I was shocked this past week to receive an email from her saying that due to extensive RV issues that they’re packing it in and heading back to B.C. Canada for the winter.

Colin spoke with Freitghtliner today back in Kelowna about our engine issue.  Things are not looking good so he then called Cummins and increased the time of our appointment Monday morning to do a few other tests.  One problem that I never mentioned is that the engine dipstick is showing a higher level than what is normal.  Is that because water is getting into the engine and raising the oil level?  Not a good sign at all. We are hoping that it is nothing but we are prepared to move into a hotel or Airbnb for a week or more as they have to take things apart.  Not ready to deal with the high bill if that is the case.  But as I said yesterday I need to try and stay positive but at the same time we need to be realistic.

On a positive note it was much warmer today.  It got up to 64F and I didn’t even need a jacket, just long pants and a long sleeved shirt as I walked back and forth to the laundry room.  Even better the low tonight is supposed to only be 48F, it was a cool 35F this morning.

So the delivery saga of our new Shaw satellite system continues. It was not delivered yesterday as originally promised.  We spent time speaking to the DHL people last nite and they were not certain that we would get it today.  They did make a note on on file/case number that we were leaving the area and we needed to receive it today as we would then be gone.

So this morning just as I was getting caught up and looking forward to reading my e book which is due back at the library any day now ( I still have 100 pages to go ) the phone rang.  It was DHL and once again our package has been delayed in Cincinnati, Ohio, something about weather issues.  I was told that we would not get the dish today and it could only be delivered Monday afternoon.  As I mentioned we will either be at Cummins or on the road further south.  So I asked if we could have the package forwarded to an RV park by end of day Wednesday next week in Arizona.  Absolutely.  Except first they have to ship the package back to Ohio and then to Phoenix and from there it would be shipped to our RV park 😯  However no guarantees on the time line.

I asked if we could possibly pick up the package if it indeed gets into Vegas later today.   Failing that, Colin then said that he drive to the airport while I stayed with the RV Monday morning to pick it up.  So we were put on hold and finally told that we would be contacted if the flight did arrive in Vegas today. It did. Then they had to unload the plane  and open the container that our box was in.  It took several hours but we finally got an email that we could come and pick up our package before 5PM today.

Meanwhile Colin had errands to do all over town for minor RV parts but we only have the one cell phone working.  I shut mine down for the winter so that I only have to pay $5.00 per month.  Colin will shut his down before we cross into Mexico and I will put my Mexican SIM card into mine.  He only has to pay $10.00 while we are here in the US while mine is horrendously expensive.  So Colin took the laptop with him and would check for emails from me enroute at Home Depot, etc, or wherever he found free wifi.   I actually had three calls so it was good that I kept the phone with me.  The good news is that he did pick up the new dish.

It takes up a good deal space. Now we will be traveling with two Shaw set ups for the 75cm dish.  I see that he also got the one bag of soil that I need to grow my veggies on the Isla.  That large bag you see in the background is full of sheets and towels for those who need it on the Isla.

Meanwhile I checked my Visa online and I had been overcharged $50.00 from the quote for the dish and shipping.  I figured out what had happened, the dish was in USD and converted to CAD but the shipping was in CAD but they took that as a USD figure and converted it back into CAD.  That is exactly the amount that I am out.  So back to me calling Quebec to where the dish was purchased ( it took 4 attempts )  and dealing with all of this in French.  I will get a credit but not until Monday when those who were involved in the purchase are back in the office.

Kind of a lot to take in. I seem to be on the phone all the time or on the computer trying to sort something out.  Life can’t always be about trying to sort things out.  I am getting real tired of this.  However we are at least still able head south one way or the other.

Halfway thru Colin’s shower this morning the water stopped.  Looks like there was a water break just a few sites over from us.  Apparently half the park was shut down for most of the day.  I still don’t understand why only this one fellow worked on it all day.  Back home in our RV park or in Mexico there would be a bunch of people working on the repair.

A special thanks to Sandy for sending me the following  so that I can share it with all of you traveling to Mexico.

Hi Contessa and Colin,  this was originally posted on  La Penita RV Park site and was picked up by a member of Paraiso Del Pescador FB page  and posted for all to see.  I do not know if you use your credit card at Pemex stations in Mexico but this is good information to have.  If it is being done at one station it could be done at others.

So much happening and so much time involved  in research for yesterday, today, tomorrow and down the road.  I am online doing this from when I wake up until  noonish.  Certainly not my idea of our week off in Las Vegas. I have not read one line of my book since we got here.  Then there is the very usually cold weather.  I spent the rest of the day yesterday shopping for our last minute items that we can’t get in Mexico.  Got 98% of my wine and just a bit more groceries to pickup.

We love this RV park but for some  reason, this time, we are directly behind one of the dog parks.  The dogs around this area are barkers. Not fun. They don’t honour the quiet times.

So in the RV department, I was able to find two parts re the water leak issues  that we need ( not an easy task for a 2001 RV ).  Colin was able  to establish that our new batteries will fit into the new battery tray with certain modifications by Erik once on the Isla.

Some of the damage to the arm of satellite dish.

As to the TV satellite dish, I spent four hours yesterday and found an EBAY company from Quebec that would ship us a new dish ( that we don’t need ), arm and LNB for only $32.00 CAD more that if we had it shipped to a friend in BC who would only bring us the arm and the LNB to the Isla when they arrived mid December.  Great deal. However the package got stuck in Ohio and did not get here.  They hope that it will arrive tomorrow which is our last day to receive the package before we leave here.  Just a tiny bit more stress.  I think that $147.00 DHL cost should follow thorough on their expected delivery date.  Turns out that they only have one flight per day out of their Ohio hub.  I think that they should decrease their one day service price as it is not what the service they offer is.

The other end of the arm was bent and Colin hammered at it as best he could to make it right.

Colin never gives up nor gives in.  He wanted to try and make that the arm and LNB new again.  I argued that if the arm was bent that for certain the LNB was broken as well.  He never gives up.  Amazingly it all worked and we got an even stronger signal  then when we first set up here in Vegas.

We still needed a new arm and LNB that I had ordered earlier in the day yesterday   Not sure how that Gorilla tape will stand up in the Mexico heat.  Somehow our new satellite package got delayed in Ohio today because of customs and missed the flight to Vegas.  They hope that it will arrive tommow.

Meanwhile last evening we headed out for a special meal.

Such a great place.

No idea why I only took photos of the menu.  I think I was relaxing.  A wonderful deal for $26.95.  They do have other choices for more money and some for less.  The salad is the best ever as is the ‘free’ wine, the garlic bread and the cappuccino  at the end of the evening was wonderful.

The meal totally relaxed me. Colin said that I slept all the way home.  First time I have slept while in a car. We both had a wonderful deep and long sleep last night.

Tonight. I think that they all look alike.