5C's Que Pasa

Got a late start due to a number of reasons. Hence we drove the last two hours in the dark in the rain.

We have no internet despite stopping in Omak at ATT to get a new SIM card and paying $30.00 for 15GB of data. It was not activated as it should have been and when I finally got Colin’s cell charged ( not able to use mine until we get to Mexico ) the ATT office was closed.

There was no one in front of us at the border when we arrived at 1:25PM. I teared up a bit as we approached, I think it was the emotion of knowing that we were no longer trapped within Canada and free to travel and to make choices.  We got asked the usual questions and I told the agent that I had quite a bit of wine with us.  We did not get boarded  but were asked to pay duty on my 120 bottles. That came to $24.78 @ .21cents each for 118 bottles.  We got to bring two in for free.

The girls are not doing too good at peeing at any stop that we make. Carlie has only done her main business at 7AM this morning. They were sleeping most of the way and being very good.  Once we stopped tonight they had a very long and rambunctious wrestling go round and got rid of any excess energy.

It seemed like the day went on forever but we did finally stop about 6:30PM just off HWY 17 near Warren ( south of I90 ) at the Sage Hills Golf and Country Club. Because of the rain the batteries never charged during the day and it was cool ( in Omak in was only 44F ) and I have no idea what it is tonight – the outdoor sensor is in the basement as we have been using that to monitor the freezing temps at home at night. It is nice being plugged in and warm. I managed to figure a route for three nights of using RV parks. Tonight is our first new to us stop and for $60.00 USD per night we are not happy. It was pitch dark when we arrived and it was hard to see the road never mind the site numbers. Between not being able to get level and sinking and not being able to get their free wifi to work we are not impressed. They have a QR code that you are supposed to scan to connect.  How the heck do you do that?

So by 7:15 pm we were settled and fed the girls but they were not wanting do any business in the rain.  We ate and then that is when I discovered that we had no wifi. We figured out how to get a bit from the RV Park but it is not fast and I have no idea if this post will even send. We only drove 276 miles today but is seemed like forever.

I took photos but there is no way that I could download them and post them. So this is the best that I can come up with for tonight. Thanks for checking in. I promise a more fun post tomorrow.  We are so happy to be on the road in our cozy RV.

 

Tomorrow we head south and are eager to get on the road. It seems to have taken a long time to get packed and organized. Maybe we became lazy by not going to Mexico the fall of 2020.  We did not have a choice then but we do now.  Canada is allowing non essential travel and the US had opened its borders to us northerners.

The past week has  gone by very quickly.  I made the odd note here and there for when I did the next post but I can’t quite make out all of my notes 🙁 I got my final massage on Monday as well as my left leg veins.  Only about 34 needles this time. I did another grocery shop after that.  Meanwhile everyday we go back and forth to the RV. By the end of the day everything is put away.

It has been very cold out again.  The girls are not getting as many walks as they should. The weather forecasters say that we will be waking up to 2 cm/.787 of an inch tomorrow! We are not too concerned at this point. However we do have winter gear on board for the first three nights and the last three nights on our return here. The girls got their last tub bath until April. They have no idea what is in their future.

There have been several time taking issues such as the generator no longer being available on Monday when Colin went to order it. The problem is that one can only order it  and have it delivered within 7 days hence the reason we waited. So of course we were beyond shocked that it was now out of stock. Between us it took 3 -5 hours of online research and phone calls to find another. Then there was an issue if it would even be delivered in time. Somehow I found the phone number and Colin was able to talk to the shipper, etc. We should be good to receive it next Monday 😀

When I went to sort out Colin’s Telus phone they were giving me grief over being able to use it for texting and phone calls while roaming in the US.  They did not like that I was shutting down his data. I have shut my iPhone down until April with Virgin. Sadly I will have to pay $20.00 per month ( last week when I asked it was only $15.00 per month but everything is going up! Once we get into Mexico I change my Virgin  SIM card to my Telcel SIM. So if you are wanting to text or message me please just email me. Emails are checked a few times per day, that is always the best way to be in contact with us.

The girls are mostly doing well with all the back and forth. They became unsettled today when their crate was moved to the RV and all their blankets. They will sleep with us tonight. We did take them to the RV later in the day and first thing they did was locate their bed. I think it has been difficult on them, all this to and fro, etc. Today we we drove to Vernon to see our chiropractor.  The girls loved being in the car and fell asleep right away. Hoping that all will go well with them tomorrow. So much planning for their food as on January 4th when they are a year old they need to change to adult kibble. So now we have both puppy and adult in the RV. We would not be able to get this kibble in Mexico.

I wasn’t sure that I would make it to Thursday morning. Yesterday I was working on Christmas cards until midnight. All the to do’s seemed overwhelming.  So here we are the night before departure morning feeling organized and relaxed. We will be up very early as we need to do the final transfer to the RV including our pillows. We have a plumber scheduled for 8:30AM tomorrow to blow out all the lines so we have no damage over the winter. There are still a few more items to cross off the list in the morning.

Best get this post completed so I can get to bed.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting day. So wonderful to be able to go somewhere – other than within Canada 😎

 

 

Meanwhile Colin was going back and forth doing this and that. I did six loads of laundry of which three were for the twins. They have now have dozens of freshly washed blankets. I will admit that I am going oh my, only 4 sleeps.  I do have four appointments within those three full days as well as more packing.

As for Momma she is off for a soak in a hot bath and dinner is in the oven. Our final Greek salad with our own tomatoes 😎  Oh yes, Colin did peel and blanch all his parsnips a few days ago, and now they are in the freezer awaiting our return in the spring. Life is good, just not quite as relaxed as we would like but that will soon change. Safe travels to all those rushing to the border tomorrow.

So much happening all at once.  And then the phone rings with a personal or a business thing and dang there goes two hours. But we are making progress. My foot is better, I use it one day and rest for two. Except now I am in the RV putting things away but I don’t have too far to walk. Somehow I slept on my side and did something to my left thumb. Coping with that. I have a thumb brace and am using a cooling gel.

We rented a private site here in the park for two weeks. A very reasonable price based on the fact that at the moment there is no electricity to that particular site ( long story that you do not want to know). So a few days ago when we had freezing temps for three – four days we ran an extension cord across to our friends so that we could run an electric heater in the basement.  So far so good. Well it’s going to be freezing again for a few nights ( this is a three day post – written a bit here and there ) so using it to run a heater in the basement.

Colin had to take the RV out to Freightliner this past Tuesday to get an oil change. It was last changed after we came back in March of 2020. All is well. The electric components ( element & switch ) for the hot water heater have been changed. However we have not had enough power to check it out. They also adjusted his windshield wipers but they don’t look quite right. No time to take it in again.

Long term weather forecast between here and Las Vegas looks pretty good, cool nights enroute but no precipitation, at least not yet. We have snow forecast for here the day after we leave 😉

We have found the generator we need and will pick it up in Las Vegas.  More on that at the time.

We now have Mexican insurance for the RV and the Jeep.  About the same price as we paid in the fall of 2019. Extra careful to be sure that the Jeep is insured for towing as well as to drive on its own.  A new thing apparently.

I also got us covered for medical travel insurance with Costco who use Manulife. Included is COVID insurance for up to ten million per person. Whatever it takes they said.  Our bank quoted us $3765.00CAD total. We have been using the Costco Manulife for many years and only paid $2423.72CAD for both of us. This includes the 10 million for COVID plus plus. We decided to do this as an annual thirty day multi trip policy with a $500.00 deductible. Then we paid an additional 112 day top up for our 143 days out of country. My usual insurance agent went on maternity leave just before we left here mid October of 2019 and has not returned to work. Her supervisor hooked me up with Leevy @ 1 877 222- 7350.  That is his direct line. He was extremely patient with us, we were on the phone for 90 minutes between figuring out the best bang for our buck and asking all the medical questions that are required. We have always been able to say to no to each medical question. So now we are fully covered for Mexico as well as any additional 30 day trips we take before November 15th, 2022 either in Canada, the USA or anywhere in the world.  It does look like taking our dream vacation to Egypt may not happen.  We were booked for October 2020 and have been able to reschedule that for October 2022. At this point we don’t see us taking that trip. We would lose $600.00 USD each. Who would look after the twins for 2.5 weeks? Plus what state will the world and especially Egypt be in eleven months from now?

We just discovered that there is a Kelowna Dachshund Club. I have joined their FB page. Looking forward to some fun events once we return in the spring. It might be fun to bring the triplets to a meet up.  Heck we will start our own meet up when Sequoia visits here in 2022. Who can resit twins, well wait until you meet THE triplets!

The girls are really being so patient for 10 month old puppies. They don’t even bark at us going back and forth to the RV. It is very cold inside so they have only been there the once and were so excited. Carlie went to hide so we would not take her out of the RV 😀 We have made an area at the front of the house street side so that they can see us come and go. They are so good at using the ramp. We were surprised that after the first day they did not bark too much as cars drove past or folks walked by. Great training for leaving them alone in the RV – that will probably take all winter  to achieve.

I am writing this post off the top of my head. So many details to deal with. I did a major grocery shop on Thursday. There were certain items that are out of stock but I will check in the US.  No butter to buy 🙁  Much cheaper to buy here rather than the US never mind Mexico. We are trying to minimize our shopping in either the US or Mexico.

Every day is full. Who has their financial advisor drop by on a Sunday to get papers signed?  We do! Tomorrow is a huge laundry day, regular for us, but huge for the girls, all their blankets get washed. Monday I have a massage and my left leg veins get done right after.  Tuesday I have a 30 minute appointment followed by last minute grocery purchases. Colin wants us to see the chiropractor midway Wednesday with is great idea due to the aches and pains.  He really is doing all the heavy work and much lifting. My car is back in storage for the next six months. So we have just the one car to share 😉

It occurred to me that our departure date was Remembrance Day, November 11th. Best recheck with the plumber we hired to do our blowout. Oh he doesn’t work on holidays but he will for us ( extra $$ cash ) plus I have recommended him to many others this year.

We have to pay $40.00 to get our  house water shut off to the house for the winter. We really did think we were spending the winter here. I have been buying chocolate like it was the end of the world based on us hanging out here. Oh well, it is all in the RV now 😎 The eagles have been doing some low fly passes.  I saw a pair of eyes earlier this afternoon from my desk. We are going to miss our wildlife over the winter.

However things are becoming stricter in Mexico. You are no longer automatically given an 180 day tourist pass ( FMM ) but they can chose to only give you 10 days or two months.  This is of interest to only those who travel to Mexico but explains the process. The Mexican government is basically cracking down on illegal foreigners and Mexicans. this link is via Facebook. Click here to read about the new situation which will only get even stricter in the years to come. Basically Mexico no longer needs tourists especially those who are abusing the system.

You never know with me, I might post tomorrow or the next day. So be sure to check back soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 1st. It feels like it came out of nowhere. Last night was our 3rd or 4th freezing night in a row. There is a 60% chance of flurries tonight but it won’t last.