5C's Que Pasa

Despite the constant drizzle we were hooked up and ready to hit the highway at 9:00AM Sunday morning.  It really was a great idea to spend Saturday night in the RV.  At one point I opened a closet and noticed it was empty.  Colin had forgotten to move his clothes from the house to the RV.  Yesterday morning he realized he had forgotten something else.  I think that even if we have to rent an RV site we will spend the night prior in the RV.  Much easier to see what is missing.

We enjoyed great vistas of various vineyards in the throes of autumn colors.

Only two hours later we reached the US border.

First question was where were we going?  Then, how much cash do you have? Why do they want to know that?  Does anyone know?  I gave an answer in USD only to be asked how much Canadian did we have.  He never asked how many pesos we had so I never mentioned it.  We are always stopped for a further Agriculture Inspection.  She was not very thorough other than tracking her wet boots through my newly cleaned carpet.  Then she wanted to check all of the basement compartments.  She checked the 3 on the passenger side of the RV where all she saw were bins.  Never asked what was in them but did ask if we had bird seed!!!!!  She did not go to the other side of the RV at all.  She did want to check the compartment at the back of the RV.  Colin kindly explained that that was where the engine was!  We were on our way in just under 10 minutes shaking our heads at the whys and hows of the system.

Not much to see until were getting close to Soap Lake. Beautiful camping and fishing areas.

We could not figure out why there were these white lines all up and down Lake Lenore. It looks like someone painted the lines.

Just as we were leaving the town of Soap Lake we decided to get diesel.  Who knew how long we would have to run the generator tonight to keep warm.  I had heard that prices were less this year than last.  Not true, we paid 4.19 per gallon whereas the most we paid last year was 4.09/gallon.  Perhaps it is just the area we are in.  But over all $8.00 more for the tank is not a big deal.

We left early Sunday which meant we arrived early at our destination.  This is a first in all our years of RVing, to stop at 3 PM.  There was no sense driving on for another 60 miles so we stopped in Moses Lake after a short drive of 252 miles.  That meant the we ( as in Colin ) had time to set up our satellite dish.  We had two shows we like to watch on Sunday so we were able to tape them.

Poor Colin had to brave the elements to set up.

The entire thing was done in 15 minutes.  I was amazed that we got the guide up right away and then our shows started taping within 40 minutes.  Next was a long walk for the girls and a quick ( not ) trip to Walmart for me.  Really it is cheaper to stay at an RV Park then dry camp for free at Walmart.  My bill for the quick trip into the store was $270.00USD.  But I really did need every single thing I purchased and most of it was on my shopping list.

So the first day of travel was relaxed and easy with no problems at all. We hope that the next ten days will continue in this fashion. Only 2.5 more days until we feel the heat of the sun.  We have run the generator for 6 hours so far and will shut it down within the hour as we all cuddle under our duvet.

Our journey for Monday....Moses Lake, WA to Mountain Home, Idaho, 407 long miles.

Tags: Mexico, travel, USA

The plan today is to get through the US border and drive a short, for us, distance.  Hopefully all systems will be go and when we stop for the night we can just relax.

A 257 mile day with a planned overnight stop in Walmart at Moses Lake.

Heard what I thought was a huge flock of geese overhead yesterday.  Turns out there were only five of them.  They sure made a huge amount of noise.  Maybe they were asking if they could hitch a ride with us.

We will be lucky with the time zones. Other than one night in Idaho we will remain on the same time zone as we are in right now.  Mexico has it’s time change today which puts them on PST.  Sure makes things easier.

Looks like we have snow in the forecast for a few nights, sure hope not.  Not much else to say.  Adios until we get to the USA.

Tags: Mexico, travel, USA

Not fair having my blog hijacked while I slept last night  😳

It continued cold and damp through the day Friday.  Lucky me, my jobs were all inside ones unlike Colin.  He is a real trooper.

The fog and drizzle made for unpleasant last minute to dos. Soon this will be all behind us.

Both my car and the golf cart are tarped for the winter.

Now that the shed has been loaded into our tow car, the HHR, we can put the final patio furniture away.

I have to say I was overwhelmed at first trying to get this stuff put away.

I did get all of this plus more put away.

No wonder I fell asleep waiting for dinner.  At least I did have it planned. Thanks for feeding me Colin.

Still lots to do today. Many last minute details which includes the fridge.  That is easy, everything from one fridge just goes into the other fridge.  I do know that I will have way too much for the freezer but that will be a last minute call.

The big plan is to get the house winterized today and we have the builder coming to do the blowout this afternoon.  After that we will start our six months of living in the RV.  I think the girls are as excited as we are.

Tags: 319, travel

Well it’s been a long day. The Head blogger got lost  for 5 hours in the cans of tuna, pasta, dog kibble, sauces, paper towels etc. in trying to find spaces to either store or hide items so I wouldn’t say – “what about our tires.”  She is good at hiding things and making it look like there is alot more space.  Last year on the way back we had a thumping tire so I stopped in Quartzite at the main tire shop. This guy comes out with rings in his ear lobes. I swear you could have shot a 22 through the holes in the rings. He says ” where you all go in”    I say ” Canadaaa”  He says ” You go on,   drive straight there and you will have no problems but every once and a while, stop, have your wife get in the drivers seat and turn the steering wheel. If you can see steel chords in your treads, don’t go any farther.”   I asked, ” how fast can I go”  He says, ” doesn’t matter, fast as you want” .  So we thought we should press on but not sure about this. Definitely he was not our technician. We kept thumping along  a couple more hours.  We passed through Havasu and that night we stayed in the BLM lands north of Havasu, towed our car in to a canyon until we could go no farther because it got too narrow and decided time to unhook and hopefully turn around. Wine was consumed. The next morning  15 minutes out of Havasu on 95 north and just before Interstate 40 west we came across a Loves Travel Stop.  I said to Contessa , “maybe we should get them rechecked’.   She said “good idea.”  The guys there said   “you are not going to get out of this state.”   I said,  ” give me the new tires”. Guess what they said , “they can carry more weight”. I said, “Don’t tell my wife”.  Seems that not many people think about the chassis and if it can handle all these cans etc. of weight. If all your stuff fits – good but when the tires buldge, maybe they need more air ? or didn’t you put enough in them?  Maybe we need 2 buses. Last year we had stairs for our rv, a rebounder, a barbacue, a massage table. This year an inversion table, a gazebo to be picked up, a shop vacc., a new larger fridge and I have stopped drinking wine so she can get her quota. ( maybe I will sneek a bit). So, after a long day of packing , I made diner while the maiden slept and before she ate here is her photo. ( all in good fun – heck, we are sort of retired, I think.)

So yesterday started with Colin calling halfway to his appointment in Kelowna.  “Did I leave my wallet there?”  Yes you did!  Don’t get caught by the police I suggested.  He got back home safely but what would  you do?  If you had a meeting in 10 minutes with an important client and 4 other people, that took 3 days to arrange, would you come back home to get your wallet or just carry on?

If you are a Canadian in Mazatlan on December 6th, you have been invited to a dinner party.

RSVP required and there is only room for 250 folks.

Seems that my eyes have settled down with the new lenses in the new frames.  I will travel with the other pair as a back up and deal with getting them sorted out when we return in the spring.

I managed to finish my last big to do yesterday for my father.  It took a while and lots of research but I did find someone in Edmonton who has a knitting circle that does charity knitting.  Also one of the people in her circle has another circle that also does charity knitting.  So all of Mom’s boxes and boxes of wool are going to be put to good use.  She was a great supporter of charities and to have her wool turned into blankets and hats and socks for the needy couldn’t be more perfect.  Best of all the lady will actually go to Dad’s home to pick it all up.  It’s a win win situation.

Isn't Colin's Mom beautiful? I don't think you can tell that she is 99 years of age.

He had a very good visit with her as I did with my father a few weeks ago. It is always sad to leave and be so far away.

The girls are ready to head south.  I have their toys, their beds, their blankies and their food packed.  They saw the vet on Wednesday for their final check up, shots and International paperwork.  They even had a bath last night.

Caeli is very patient as Dr. Susan checks her teeth, Carmeh not so much. They both checked out perfectly.

Yesterday was a long working day in the RV and we will be back at it once again today.  We are making progress.  It certainly is worth it for the lifestyle we have, six months on the lake in this great home and then 6 months months on the ocean in our wonderful RV.

Tags: Family, Mazatlan, Mexico, The girls, travel