Today was a bright and sunny day so maybe we will finally get the weather that we expected when we decide to come to this part of TX.
Our neighbors ( Roy and Bya) who are from Dauphin, MB wanted to go to the border town of Progresso, MX where all us winter Texans go to waste a day. They did not want to go alone because a Border Patrol Officer spoke at the Monday morning meeting and advise people to be very careful about go to some of the Border towns in MX. This always scares the " Bejeuses " out of most Americans and those Canadians who never travel much.
Anyhow the women mainly go for a Pedicure (12.00) and Manicure (8.00) while the men go for a haircut ( 5.00 ), shoeshine (2.00 ) and the beer (1.75 ). While Carroll was having a Pedicure I was looking for a Barber with no waiting ; as you know I have very little patience when it comes "lining up" for anything including for a haircut. Most Salons also have a barber shop but the one Carroll was at seemed busy but of course he doesn't want to lose a customer so when I ask he said just a few minutes. I said, am I next and he says there is only 2 ahead of you... I just walked away. I walked a few hundred feet down the street until I found a barber shop who had an empty seat. After my haircut, I returned to see how long Carroll would be and I had forgotten where I left her so I had to check a few salons before I found her. She was not ready, nor did I expect she would be, so I then left to get a shoeshine.
Since neither of the ladies were done when I returned, I suggested that Roy and I go to the "Red Sapper" and commence sampling the beer and when the ladies join us we would have lunch. The Red Sapper is one of the favorite "Haunts" of the Winter Texans because the food is good, reasonable priced and there is good music if you are inclined to dance. It is a very noisy place but that has a lot to do with the number of Margareta's consumed by the ladies. ha ha. On the way out of MX I picked up a litre of Drambuie for 25.00 USD plus a 3.75 for a TX tax. I'm sure that is a little cheaper than in Canada.
After we got home I had to update our GPS but first I had to get a Microchip as the GPS data was full. The only store that carries a Micro chip was Office Depot. I'm not sure how a GPS can be full since an update usually replaces the old info with the new. Anyhow I managed to get it updated.
After the sun went down , it clouded over and later in the evening the wind came up "again ", it clouded over and we got a short blast of rain. Dam weather in TX. Cheers
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Thursday, 26 February 2015
Finally, The sun 25 Feb 2015
Today was " Errand Day " as we had several places to "find " to complete the errands. I should mentioned that it rained during the night but the Sun showed its' shinny face in the morning and it was a nice sunny day. Temp reached 75 F.
First we had to go to Freightliner to pick up an Ignition switch that I ordered last week. We knew where the Freightliner garage is located because we wasted or better yet, spend several hours trying to find it last week. The part was due in on Tuesday so I will just pick it ... right. Once I got there it took to people to check the computer only to tell me that the part was just sent today so they advised me to call on Monday. Ok , not much I can do!!!
Our next job was to try to find a Micro chip for our Garmin ( GPS ) because when I went to run an update it said there was not enough room. I had previously check at Wal-Mart and they do not stock them. My first stop was Staples , no luck; my next stop was Best Buy, No Luck... Ok so we gave up on that item and went to Home Depot to find a space heater and a indoor/ outdoor Thermometer but no luck. We decided to try Lowe's ( again ) and they had a Thermometer but no space heater . We are now batting 500 % , not bad.
We now decided to try to find a Mexican style restaurant called " Wille B's"
who serves the biggest Potato you have ever seen. Of course we have not been in TX for about 4 years so we weren't sure it was still in business. Not only is Wille still in business , he has expanded. Believe me you only dine there for the food not for the ambiance because there is none. And because it is good food at a reasonable price it was full of seniors, mostly winter Texans.
Our next stop was at Victoria Palms to find some friends from Ont that we have seen off and on over the past 10 or so years. We knew the street but not the site number but as I drove by Herman seen the AB plate and said it must be the Eslers. We had a short visit as they were involved with a Poker Run that their park has every Wed afternoon.
That's how we wasted another day. We did find out that we can get a chip for the GPS at Office Depot. cheers
First we had to go to Freightliner to pick up an Ignition switch that I ordered last week. We knew where the Freightliner garage is located because we wasted or better yet, spend several hours trying to find it last week. The part was due in on Tuesday so I will just pick it ... right. Once I got there it took to people to check the computer only to tell me that the part was just sent today so they advised me to call on Monday. Ok , not much I can do!!!
Our next job was to try to find a Micro chip for our Garmin ( GPS ) because when I went to run an update it said there was not enough room. I had previously check at Wal-Mart and they do not stock them. My first stop was Staples , no luck; my next stop was Best Buy, No Luck... Ok so we gave up on that item and went to Home Depot to find a space heater and a indoor/ outdoor Thermometer but no luck. We decided to try Lowe's ( again ) and they had a Thermometer but no space heater . We are now batting 500 % , not bad.
We now decided to try to find a Mexican style restaurant called " Wille B's"
who serves the biggest Potato you have ever seen. Of course we have not been in TX for about 4 years so we weren't sure it was still in business. Not only is Wille still in business , he has expanded. Believe me you only dine there for the food not for the ambiance because there is none. And because it is good food at a reasonable price it was full of seniors, mostly winter Texans.
Our next stop was at Victoria Palms to find some friends from Ont that we have seen off and on over the past 10 or so years. We knew the street but not the site number but as I drove by Herman seen the AB plate and said it must be the Eslers. We had a short visit as they were involved with a Poker Run that their park has every Wed afternoon.
That's how we wasted another day. We did find out that we can get a chip for the GPS at Office Depot. cheers
Rain Rain go Away; Southern Comfort Feb 2015
We are staying at an RV park called Southern Comfort and the sister Park next door is called Country Sunshine. My question is, where the hell did they get those names as it has rained off and on for 3 days and it has been cold. Those " early risers " who walk there dogs ( yes dogs )between 6 and 7 AM are wearing winter coats, winter hats and gloves. There is something wrong with this picture.
23 Feb : Yes it is raining so we decided to go shopping for a new a Faux wood blind to replace the " day / nighter " one that we "massacred" while trying to restring it while in MX. We found the levolor blind we ( mainly Carroll ) wanted in Lowe's but had to have it cut to size.
24 Feb: We ( mainly Tom ) had to make this Faux blind fit into a MH that it was not compatible. However, if there is a "will there is a way" and it did work out fine with a few modifications. The downside is that Carroll will eventually want all the blinds changed. It is amazing how long it takes to install a blind.
About 2:30 PM our friends dropped in for a visit ( what else can you do when it is raining ) so the blind installation got delayed for a couple of hours while we had an afternoon drink. But we managed to complete the task before supper. Actually it looks good. cheers
23 Feb : Yes it is raining so we decided to go shopping for a new a Faux wood blind to replace the " day / nighter " one that we "massacred" while trying to restring it while in MX. We found the levolor blind we ( mainly Carroll ) wanted in Lowe's but had to have it cut to size.
24 Feb: We ( mainly Tom ) had to make this Faux blind fit into a MH that it was not compatible. However, if there is a "will there is a way" and it did work out fine with a few modifications. The downside is that Carroll will eventually want all the blinds changed. It is amazing how long it takes to install a blind.
About 2:30 PM our friends dropped in for a visit ( what else can you do when it is raining ) so the blind installation got delayed for a couple of hours while we had an afternoon drink. But we managed to complete the task before supper. Actually it looks good. cheers
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
Wind , Rain and Cold Feb 2015
Saturday 21 Feb: Since it was only windy today I decided to try to fix our steps on the MH. Jut before we left MX the steps did not retract properly so I kind of push them with my foot. Apparently I pushed them past the point of no return as the stopped functioning. Now I have to fix them. Since I am now "stumped" on the problem, and the manual does offer a solution therefore I will now call the MH company with the hope that they have the solution. I spotted a Mobile RV repairs service truck in the park yesterday so I got his card and I may have to call him if all else fails.
Since the Scotties curling was only one game on Saturday, we had the after free so we went to our sister RV park which is right next door and visited with friends who we met in Shilo from 77 to 81. They were both teachers on the Base and I believe Holly actually taught Todd in grade 6. I coached both their sons in hockey so we had lot of family talk. Both their boys are teachers so you would think that since I coached Hockey then our boys should have been in the NHL. I'm not sure what happen there. haha. We also had mutual friends from Shilo so they brought us up to speed on those happenings.
I was asking our neighbors' about this dam wind and when it might stop. They said, the weather news is bad because we are going to get rain on Sunday and Monday along with a cold front. I know what you are thinking; " why the hell did we come here". We are asking ourselves the same question.
Most of the residents are walking around with heavy coats, toques and gloves. Sunny TX my ass !!!!!!
We were planning to go to Austin , TX when we head home but we seen on the news yesterday, that they have plenty of snow and a very cold winter... so much for that idea. cheers
Sunday 22 Feb: Our neighbor was right about the weather as it started to rain during the night and the temperature dropped considerably and the wind was still blowing about 20 MPH. Luckily curling was on so we had something to do. Also Carroll decided to do some laundry and if the rained stopped the wind would dry the clothes as we do have clothes lines. However, you are not allowed to hang out underwear because it does look good. Can you imagine anything so foolish or better yet, stupid. I told Carroll to hang it out anyway because I doubt that the "Underwear Police " work on Sunday. You probably know that Seniors are just Older Kids who have gone senile.
The rain did stop for a while but the clothes did not dry before the rain started again so the neighbor came over to offer the use of their dryer so we took the clothes across to their place. I really think they wanted someone to talk with because they didn't seem to want us to leave. At least they are nice neighbors.
Our friend Terry , whose husband died on Monday called me to ask if I would replace the battery in her smoke detector as the beeping was annoying. So we invited her over supper as the less she is alone is probably better for her. Cheers
Since the Scotties curling was only one game on Saturday, we had the after free so we went to our sister RV park which is right next door and visited with friends who we met in Shilo from 77 to 81. They were both teachers on the Base and I believe Holly actually taught Todd in grade 6. I coached both their sons in hockey so we had lot of family talk. Both their boys are teachers so you would think that since I coached Hockey then our boys should have been in the NHL. I'm not sure what happen there. haha. We also had mutual friends from Shilo so they brought us up to speed on those happenings.
I was asking our neighbors' about this dam wind and when it might stop. They said, the weather news is bad because we are going to get rain on Sunday and Monday along with a cold front. I know what you are thinking; " why the hell did we come here". We are asking ourselves the same question.
Most of the residents are walking around with heavy coats, toques and gloves. Sunny TX my ass !!!!!!
We were planning to go to Austin , TX when we head home but we seen on the news yesterday, that they have plenty of snow and a very cold winter... so much for that idea. cheers
Sunday 22 Feb: Our neighbor was right about the weather as it started to rain during the night and the temperature dropped considerably and the wind was still blowing about 20 MPH. Luckily curling was on so we had something to do. Also Carroll decided to do some laundry and if the rained stopped the wind would dry the clothes as we do have clothes lines. However, you are not allowed to hang out underwear because it does look good. Can you imagine anything so foolish or better yet, stupid. I told Carroll to hang it out anyway because I doubt that the "Underwear Police " work on Sunday. You probably know that Seniors are just Older Kids who have gone senile.
The rain did stop for a while but the clothes did not dry before the rain started again so the neighbor came over to offer the use of their dryer so we took the clothes across to their place. I really think they wanted someone to talk with because they didn't seem to want us to leave. At least they are nice neighbors.
Our friend Terry , whose husband died on Monday called me to ask if I would replace the battery in her smoke detector as the beeping was annoying. So we invited her over supper as the less she is alone is probably better for her. Cheers
Monday, 23 February 2015
Weslaco,TX 20 Feb 2015
Weslaco is the city is where our RV park is located. It got its' name from the West Land Company hence Weslaco; kind of original. I can't believe it can be so dam windy even though it has been blowing since Thursday. At least it is warm which makes it bearable as the temperature is around 80 F. Believe it or not I don't have a thermometer, another thing I left a home.
We started to watch curling when the "Welcome " lady came to the door so we had to invite her in. Then she realized that we have been here several times so there wasn't much info that she could give us as we know where to shop, ie Wal-Mart, the Outlet maul and HEB ( groceries) and how to get to MX. We have probably been across the border to Progresso, MX more times than she has and she has been coming here for 18 years. She spends 10 months of the year here. We left the curling game on but turned the volume down but she still stayed to talk for about an hour.
As you know, I have been having a slight problem with the intermittent power supply to the Slide Outs so I decided to replace the ignition switch. I called the MH company ( Tiffin ) and they gave me a part number but suggested that I get it from Freightliner, who built the chassis. They also gave me the address for Freightliner in he area, which was about 10 miles away. First we couldn't find the street and our GPS somehow lost the Data ( whatever the hell that means) so we wandered aimlessly, even stopping for directions until we stumbled over the street only to find out that this street actually became Hwy 183 and Freightliner is about 5 miles out of town. Anyhow I had to order the part and it should here on Tuesday however it is coming for Tennessee and they are " snowbound" so there is no promise for delivery. I'm sure the young Parts man doesn't even know what snow really looks or feels like. This is a huge Freightliner Service Center and they had 6 counter Parts men and they were all Hispanic and of course spoke both languages.
On the way home we stopped at HEB for groceries and this is a Supper Store. We never seen one Caucasus person working in he store and most of the shoppers where Hispanic. I'm just trying to point out that this area is really populated by Hispanic. The Time Warner Tech whom connected us to the internet says his wife's family lives in the border town a few miles away and they have not been there for a visit for 6 years and he has no plans to go there. Mexicans and most Americans are terrified to cross into MX.
That's how we spent this Saturday so now it's back to curling and hockey for the evening. cheers
We started to watch curling when the "Welcome " lady came to the door so we had to invite her in. Then she realized that we have been here several times so there wasn't much info that she could give us as we know where to shop, ie Wal-Mart, the Outlet maul and HEB ( groceries) and how to get to MX. We have probably been across the border to Progresso, MX more times than she has and she has been coming here for 18 years. She spends 10 months of the year here. We left the curling game on but turned the volume down but she still stayed to talk for about an hour.
As you know, I have been having a slight problem with the intermittent power supply to the Slide Outs so I decided to replace the ignition switch. I called the MH company ( Tiffin ) and they gave me a part number but suggested that I get it from Freightliner, who built the chassis. They also gave me the address for Freightliner in he area, which was about 10 miles away. First we couldn't find the street and our GPS somehow lost the Data ( whatever the hell that means) so we wandered aimlessly, even stopping for directions until we stumbled over the street only to find out that this street actually became Hwy 183 and Freightliner is about 5 miles out of town. Anyhow I had to order the part and it should here on Tuesday however it is coming for Tennessee and they are " snowbound" so there is no promise for delivery. I'm sure the young Parts man doesn't even know what snow really looks or feels like. This is a huge Freightliner Service Center and they had 6 counter Parts men and they were all Hispanic and of course spoke both languages.
On the way home we stopped at HEB for groceries and this is a Supper Store. We never seen one Caucasus person working in he store and most of the shoppers where Hispanic. I'm just trying to point out that this area is really populated by Hispanic. The Time Warner Tech whom connected us to the internet says his wife's family lives in the border town a few miles away and they have not been there for a visit for 6 years and he has no plans to go there. Mexicans and most Americans are terrified to cross into MX.
That's how we spent this Saturday so now it's back to curling and hockey for the evening. cheers
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Southern Comfort 19 Feb 2015
The Southern Comfort RV Resort will be our home for another month if we get there today. We left the Cracker Barrel parking lot in Kerrville around 7 AM and we are about one hour out of San Antonia on I- 10, so we know we are going to have to fight some earlier morning traffic on the way into the city. Our plan was/is to take a Beltway/Bypass assuming we don't miss it as we have done in the pass. The navigator was doing an excellent job ( without the use of our GPS as it lost its' Data ) and got me into the Beltway lane right up until we had to make a choice of "East" or "West". Hell, we need to go due South ( there is no south ) but since I had about 2 seconds to make a decision I chose East which in fact sent me North but the navigator put me back on I-10 and then right back on the Bypass going West ( eventually south ) so the disaster was averted and now we were clear sailing and expected to arrive in Mercedes, TX around 2PM.
We like to top up the fuel before we get to the RV park so when we leave we don't have to spend travel time looking for a gas station where we can get the cheapest fuel and if we can get in and more important, how we can get out.
All of the prices we noticed along our route was 2.85 and up until we came to a small city which had a new H.E.B grocery store with a Gas Bar and the price for diesel was 2.59. At that price I'll fill up; thank you. H.E.B is a chain store much like the Super Stores in Canada but at first glance it did not look like I could get into the pumps until Carroll noticed that an 18 wheeler was just pulling out. I said if he can get in so can I so in we went. It was a little " squishy " but we made it and this is a farming area so the other users made sure I had room to get out. A Cattle Trucker even blocked traffic until I got out.
We arrive at our RV park around 2 PM and we called The Meakins to say we had arrived and since they had previously invited us for supper we needed to qualify our timings. We got to meet Terry and pass our condolence as she too was at Meakins. Shirley had a great supper for us as she always does and Don poured me a Crown Royal which I needed, ha ha.
Since we have been to this Southern Comfort Resort several times over the years, some residence recognized us so they had to drop over say hello.
When we checked in at the office we reminded the clerk that we had put down a 200.00 deposit 2 years ago and we wondered if it could be applied to our rent. She told us to go and setup and come back later and she would see if she could do it. This park is owned by a big corporation ( not a Mom and Pop operation) so we did not think they would apply the deposit but since it was still on the books she applied it. Sometimes things just go your way. Cheers
We like to top up the fuel before we get to the RV park so when we leave we don't have to spend travel time looking for a gas station where we can get the cheapest fuel and if we can get in and more important, how we can get out.
All of the prices we noticed along our route was 2.85 and up until we came to a small city which had a new H.E.B grocery store with a Gas Bar and the price for diesel was 2.59. At that price I'll fill up; thank you. H.E.B is a chain store much like the Super Stores in Canada but at first glance it did not look like I could get into the pumps until Carroll noticed that an 18 wheeler was just pulling out. I said if he can get in so can I so in we went. It was a little " squishy " but we made it and this is a farming area so the other users made sure I had room to get out. A Cattle Trucker even blocked traffic until I got out.
We arrive at our RV park around 2 PM and we called The Meakins to say we had arrived and since they had previously invited us for supper we needed to qualify our timings. We got to meet Terry and pass our condolence as she too was at Meakins. Shirley had a great supper for us as she always does and Don poured me a Crown Royal which I needed, ha ha.
Since we have been to this Southern Comfort Resort several times over the years, some residence recognized us so they had to drop over say hello.
When we checked in at the office we reminded the clerk that we had put down a 200.00 deposit 2 years ago and we wondered if it could be applied to our rent. She told us to go and setup and come back later and she would see if she could do it. This park is owned by a big corporation ( not a Mom and Pop operation) so we did not think they would apply the deposit but since it was still on the books she applied it. Sometimes things just go your way. Cheers
Friday, 20 February 2015
Overnight in Kerriville 18 Feb 2015
When we woke at the Rest Stop we still had no battery power to close the slide. Therefore I had to bring the slide in manually.
All slides do have a manual over-ride' it was just that I never thought to read the manual as I did not expect I would have to use the manual over-ride. After removing some of the cargo I crawl into the cargo space to address the problem. The manual says there is a 3/4 inch nut on the end of the shaft in which to retrieve the slide. I guess the guy responsible for installing that nut was on days off when they built our MH because it was not there. Move to Plan B; a 12 inch pipe wrench would do the trick except I left that wrench at home. I didn't think I would need it but I have since change my mind. Move to Plan C; I do have a 6 inch pipe wrench in my tool kit but is asking a lot from such a small wrench but I must give it a try and Bingo it worked and the slide came in and this procedure took about 1/2 an hour.
So now we headed for Kerriville and we expect to arrive there between 5 and 6 PM, and to stay at the Cracker Barrel overnight. After driving down the road for some time Carroll notice that the interior lights came so for some reason the lost power is back. I'm confused but I still think it has some thing to do with the ignition switch, so I'll call Tiffin when I get to TX.
The trip was pretty much uneventful except for the crosswinds that blew most of the day. By the afternoon, we kept looking for diesel fuel prices that were around the 2.55 price range but most of the Truck Stops where at least 2.85 or more. I did pass one Truck stop that was 2.56 but I was past it before I notice it. Finally, I was down to a 1/4 tank so I had to refuel at 2.99 a gallon.
We arrived at the Cracker Barrel in Kerriville at 5:30 PM so after driving for 10 hours I decided I was overdue for a sip of Crown Royal. After supper we checked our email and there was a message from our friends in Southern Comfort, TX that read "Please call me ASP". I knew right away it was not good so we called on Face Time only to be told our friend Joe , who has ALS and was wintering in Southern Comfort, TX had passed away late Sunday evening. We knew Joe was not well but his death was certainly unexpected. We knew Joe's wife Terry would be helped through this ordeal with Shirley and Don Meakin and hopefully we could be of some comfort when we get there tomorrow. It was another sad night for us. cheers
All slides do have a manual over-ride' it was just that I never thought to read the manual as I did not expect I would have to use the manual over-ride. After removing some of the cargo I crawl into the cargo space to address the problem. The manual says there is a 3/4 inch nut on the end of the shaft in which to retrieve the slide. I guess the guy responsible for installing that nut was on days off when they built our MH because it was not there. Move to Plan B; a 12 inch pipe wrench would do the trick except I left that wrench at home. I didn't think I would need it but I have since change my mind. Move to Plan C; I do have a 6 inch pipe wrench in my tool kit but is asking a lot from such a small wrench but I must give it a try and Bingo it worked and the slide came in and this procedure took about 1/2 an hour.
So now we headed for Kerriville and we expect to arrive there between 5 and 6 PM, and to stay at the Cracker Barrel overnight. After driving down the road for some time Carroll notice that the interior lights came so for some reason the lost power is back. I'm confused but I still think it has some thing to do with the ignition switch, so I'll call Tiffin when I get to TX.
The trip was pretty much uneventful except for the crosswinds that blew most of the day. By the afternoon, we kept looking for diesel fuel prices that were around the 2.55 price range but most of the Truck Stops where at least 2.85 or more. I did pass one Truck stop that was 2.56 but I was past it before I notice it. Finally, I was down to a 1/4 tank so I had to refuel at 2.99 a gallon.
We arrived at the Cracker Barrel in Kerriville at 5:30 PM so after driving for 10 hours I decided I was overdue for a sip of Crown Royal. After supper we checked our email and there was a message from our friends in Southern Comfort, TX that read "Please call me ASP". I knew right away it was not good so we called on Face Time only to be told our friend Joe , who has ALS and was wintering in Southern Comfort, TX had passed away late Sunday evening. We knew Joe was not well but his death was certainly unexpected. We knew Joe's wife Terry would be helped through this ordeal with Shirley and Don Meakin and hopefully we could be of some comfort when we get there tomorrow. It was another sad night for us. cheers
Leaving for TX 17 Feb 2015
Tuesday in this RV park is "Sticky Bun Day " or if you prefer " Cinnamon Buns. Every Tuesday, a few people get up real early to make Sticky Buns and by 8 AM they open the doors and serve Buns, coffee and Juice for 2.00. These are a real big seller so to speak so most park residence take advance of this offer. What would you expect, we are Seniors.
Our friends, Bob and Karen knew about "Sticky Bun " Tuesday so they came over to join us for breakfast and to say farewell.
By 9:30 AM we were on our way, with our first stop to fuel up. We buy our groceries at Fry's and we had enough points to get a 20 cent discount per gallon up to 35 gallons. Fry's do not have their own pumps at this store so you can use your Fry's card at a Shell or Circle K. I went to the Shell station but the Fry's card does not work at the Pump so you have to have the clerk activate the card; she said I could only get 62.00 of fuel on that card but she could not explain why I could not get my 35 gal discount. I wasn't about to debate the issue as long as I got some discount. However, when I got to the pump I got the 35 gallons with the 20 cent discount.
So off we go for our trip to TX. Somewhere in New Mexico we stopped at a rest stop for lunch. We also picked up some maps and they also have free wifi so we checked the emails. Our plan for the night was to get thru El Paso, TX which is right on the border with NM. I did not want to fight the morning traffic in El Paso. We stopped at the TX Welcome centre and picked up a map and a few brochures. We ask the attendant about a Rest Stop where we plan to spend the night. You are allowed to stay at a Rest Stop for 8 hours but there are no " Rest Stop Ploice ". It was about 37 miles ahead so we stopped for the evening. When we pulled to the Rest Stop there was 1 truck. By 9 PM the place was full with trucks, RVs and pickups parked in any space available. A pickup parked so close to us I had to back up just to get out.
Since we have the MiFi we checked out email and we rec an email from a friend in TX which read; if you rec this email by 9 PM please call me. I had a bad feeling and I said to Carroll that we should call because I think it might be about our friend Joe who is in TX but has ALS but Carroll said we can call tomorrow as they probably want to know when we are arriving in TX.
We had another slight problem with the MH. We moved the slide out a few inches so we could access a cupboard. Then later that evening I tried to move the bedroom slide and "Bingo" we lost all battery power so the slide out would not move. This is a problem to be overcome in the morning so we played cards with our flashlight and went to bed. Cheers
Our friends, Bob and Karen knew about "Sticky Bun " Tuesday so they came over to join us for breakfast and to say farewell.
By 9:30 AM we were on our way, with our first stop to fuel up. We buy our groceries at Fry's and we had enough points to get a 20 cent discount per gallon up to 35 gallons. Fry's do not have their own pumps at this store so you can use your Fry's card at a Shell or Circle K. I went to the Shell station but the Fry's card does not work at the Pump so you have to have the clerk activate the card; she said I could only get 62.00 of fuel on that card but she could not explain why I could not get my 35 gal discount. I wasn't about to debate the issue as long as I got some discount. However, when I got to the pump I got the 35 gallons with the 20 cent discount.
So off we go for our trip to TX. Somewhere in New Mexico we stopped at a rest stop for lunch. We also picked up some maps and they also have free wifi so we checked the emails. Our plan for the night was to get thru El Paso, TX which is right on the border with NM. I did not want to fight the morning traffic in El Paso. We stopped at the TX Welcome centre and picked up a map and a few brochures. We ask the attendant about a Rest Stop where we plan to spend the night. You are allowed to stay at a Rest Stop for 8 hours but there are no " Rest Stop Ploice ". It was about 37 miles ahead so we stopped for the evening. When we pulled to the Rest Stop there was 1 truck. By 9 PM the place was full with trucks, RVs and pickups parked in any space available. A pickup parked so close to us I had to back up just to get out.
Since we have the MiFi we checked out email and we rec an email from a friend in TX which read; if you rec this email by 9 PM please call me. I had a bad feeling and I said to Carroll that we should call because I think it might be about our friend Joe who is in TX but has ALS but Carroll said we can call tomorrow as they probably want to know when we are arriving in TX.
We had another slight problem with the MH. We moved the slide out a few inches so we could access a cupboard. Then later that evening I tried to move the bedroom slide and "Bingo" we lost all battery power so the slide out would not move. This is a problem to be overcome in the morning so we played cards with our flashlight and went to bed. Cheers
Clean up Day 16 Feb 2015
I'm sure you have noticed that I misdated the 14 th by calling it the 16 th. Senior moment.
Well Monday was a busy day because we are leaving tomorrow for TX. First, of there was curling and Carroll had a "ton" of laundry , something we had not done since we left MX. Also we went to see our friend Bob play ball as he had a 10:30 game so that killed the morning. He plays a very good quality of ball, certainly better that our league at home.
After the game Carroll and I had to drive to south end of Tucson ( not right in the city ) to return the Modem/Router to Cox, the provider of the WiFI which I had rented for the week. Then we revisited AT&T to get another lesson on the G.D. cell phone. We were ask, when they sold us the Sim card if we wanted to included Canada but we said no as we only needed it for the US. However, Todd called us Monday morning but we could not answer him as the phone says we are out of minutes which was not true hence the reason to visit AT&T. The "Techy" told us , unless we pay the extra 5.00 we could not send or rec a call from Canada, something we did not know so we added the Canada to the cell.
There rest of the day was spent packing up as we are leaving for TX tomorrow. It always seems to take about half a day to pack. cheers
Well Monday was a busy day because we are leaving tomorrow for TX. First, of there was curling and Carroll had a "ton" of laundry , something we had not done since we left MX. Also we went to see our friend Bob play ball as he had a 10:30 game so that killed the morning. He plays a very good quality of ball, certainly better that our league at home.
After the game Carroll and I had to drive to south end of Tucson ( not right in the city ) to return the Modem/Router to Cox, the provider of the WiFI which I had rented for the week. Then we revisited AT&T to get another lesson on the G.D. cell phone. We were ask, when they sold us the Sim card if we wanted to included Canada but we said no as we only needed it for the US. However, Todd called us Monday morning but we could not answer him as the phone says we are out of minutes which was not true hence the reason to visit AT&T. The "Techy" told us , unless we pay the extra 5.00 we could not send or rec a call from Canada, something we did not know so we added the Canada to the cell.
There rest of the day was spent packing up as we are leaving for TX tomorrow. It always seems to take about half a day to pack. cheers
Sad Day 15 Feb 2015
We rec an early morning phone call from Carroll's nephew to advises us the her 80 year old brother , Walter was found dead in his home in Montreal. I spoke with Walter on Skype at 5:30 PM on Wed for a few minutes and told him I would call on Thursday. When he was not on Skype Thursday morning I got concerned so I called on the phone but still no answer. On Friday when he was not on Skype so I called his son as Walter should have been on Skype as he practically lives on the computer. I would have called his friend in Montreal but I did not have a contact.
His neighbor noticed that Walter,s sidewalk was not cleared of snow on Sunday so he entered the house to check and found Walter was dead, sitting in an arm chair. He probably died Wednesday evening.
Carroll and I spent the next hour mulling over who we needed to contact, and knowing we had to speak with the family , if for no other reason bring some kind of peace to all of us. Todd and Clark know uncle Walter real well so we contacted them but we had no real info for them. When we rec the call from Walter's son on Sunday morning ,the police had not arrived at the house yet so there was no further news.
We had a breakfast date with our friends ( Bob and Karen ) at 11:30 so that kind of help to set aside the death for the moment. The rest of the day was spent contacting Carroll,s family and of course my family. A sad day but life goes on. cheers
His neighbor noticed that Walter,s sidewalk was not cleared of snow on Sunday so he entered the house to check and found Walter was dead, sitting in an arm chair. He probably died Wednesday evening.
Carroll and I spent the next hour mulling over who we needed to contact, and knowing we had to speak with the family , if for no other reason bring some kind of peace to all of us. Todd and Clark know uncle Walter real well so we contacted them but we had no real info for them. When we rec the call from Walter's son on Sunday morning ,the police had not arrived at the house yet so there was no further news.
We had a breakfast date with our friends ( Bob and Karen ) at 11:30 so that kind of help to set aside the death for the moment. The rest of the day was spent contacting Carroll,s family and of course my family. A sad day but life goes on. cheers
Sunday, 15 February 2015
Curling, The Scotties 16 Feb 2015
For those who don't know or don't care, the Canadian Ladies Curling, better known as the " Scotties " is on TV and we are curling fans and we are hooked on it. Curling doesn't start until 3 PM so we decide to hunt for a toaster oven. However, the local Wal-Mart does not have one so we had to venture into Tucson, some 30 miles away. Our GPS couldn't find a Wal-Mart if we were sitting in the parking lot so we stopped in Tucson to ask directions. I should have known better than to ask a man but I did and one of us got East and West mixed up. However, we stumbled over a Costco so we took a look in there but no Luck. The cashier, a Lady gave us the exact directions for a Wal-Mart and we found the toaster Oven that Carroll wanted.
We returned to the MH to watch the start of the curling, followed by the Toronto / Montreal hockey game followed by curling, followed by the Calgary / Vancouver game. Did I mention that we watched some curling. ha ha . cheers
We returned to the MH to watch the start of the curling, followed by the Toronto / Montreal hockey game followed by curling, followed by the Calgary / Vancouver game. Did I mention that we watched some curling. ha ha . cheers
Friday the 13 Feb 2015
The RV park has lots of activities and one of them is a 1 hour computer course every Friday at 10 AM, which I attended because "heaven knows" I need a lot of help. Today's topic was moving pictures and videos around and sending them out as e-mail. There was two instructors, one on PCs and one on iPads and iPhones. They were a "way way " over my head but I know that there is much more I can learn and of course I now have more questions than answers. There was about 18 people in attendance and about 3 people talking at once so it was hard for me to follow. The gentleman sitting next to me notice that I wasn't "getting" it so gave me some private lesson so to speak which I appreciated.
We spend some of the afternoon running so more errands and while I was filling the Blazer with gas a cyclist got hit by a car while he was riding in the bike lane just in front of the gas station. We did not see him get hit but he was on he ground and several cars stopped to protect him until police etc arrived.
Now for the finale for the night. Every Friday night is Karaoke night from 7 to 9 so we thought it would be entertaining so we attended and most of the singers where pretty good. Actually there was 6 or 7 singers and they just kept cycling thru. After 1 1/2 hours we returned to the MH as I decided that a hockey was slightly more exciting. cheers
We spend some of the afternoon running so more errands and while I was filling the Blazer with gas a cyclist got hit by a car while he was riding in the bike lane just in front of the gas station. We did not see him get hit but he was on he ground and several cars stopped to protect him until police etc arrived.
Now for the finale for the night. Every Friday night is Karaoke night from 7 to 9 so we thought it would be entertaining so we attended and most of the singers where pretty good. Actually there was 6 or 7 singers and they just kept cycling thru. After 1 1/2 hours we returned to the MH as I decided that a hockey was slightly more exciting. cheers
Saturday, 14 February 2015
Camping at Green Valley Feb 2015
Tuesday 10 Feb; After having the 2.99 breakfast including coffee at the casino we, moved to the Green Valley RV Resort. This RV park is located 30 miles south of Tucson, AZ and has 300 RV sites , mostly park models. Green Valley is a large municipality but is not a incorporated city and it seems to attract a vast majority of Seniors during the winter months. It has several great golf courses and more than adequate shopping plus the casino on " Indian " land. It also is the site of a large copper mine and the home of the only inactive Titan missile for a tourist attraction left over from the "cold War ".
I could not get the Satellite signal for some reason so I played with it off and on all day but no luck. I'll work on it tomorrow.
We spent the rest of the day shopping as the Custom office cleaned us out of our food.
Wednesday 10 Feb: Our friends from Medicine Hat, Bob and Karen Charette , who spend the winter in Green Valley as they are avid golfers and Bob plays ball twice a week so we called they and they dropped in for a visit after his Ball game.
I found the satellite signal this morning; I'm not sure were it was hiding yesterday.
The park has free WiFi at the office bldg. and / or you can purchase WiFi that is available at your site. However, our neighbor , "Jim " ; there is always a Jim in each park, dropped over to check us out and he said the WiFi was the " shitts " but he gave me the phone number for a company who would hook me up within 24 hours to the phone system, so I call them. I called them at 5 PM on Tuesday and they delivered the modem by UPS at 9 AM on Wed and said a Tech would hook me up no later then 5 PM. He showed up at 4:45 PM . Hello Telus.... are you listening; same day service, have you ever heard of it ????
The techy is only suppose to hook a customer from the phone kiosk to the MH but I pleaded computer illerate so he connected us to the modem and called the office to activate the modem. Now I have WiFi.
Wednesday, is Pot Luck supper night at the park so we bought a Marie Callender pie ( she makes great pies ) while shopping so we grab the pie and head for the supper. We also get to sit at a table and met some very nice people. Our table was from Minnesota so they are practically Canadians. cheers
Thursday 11 Feb: today was another " run around day ". First we found an ACE hardware store ( no Home Depot here) as I needed some nuts and Screws and few other items. Then I found an O'Rielly auto shop so I purchased a fuel filter as I intend to change it before I have another problem. They had to order it but promised delivery in1 hour. Hey, NAPA are you listening; 1 hour not 1 week. We then visited Radio Shack to get a Sim card for our iPhone but they are out of sim card but did sent us to ATT some 20 miles away. By the way Radio shack has applied for Bankruptcy Proctection, I wonder why. We then drove to ATT and they inserted the Sim Card but we have not used our phone since Nov and of course it was dead so they could not verify it would work but the Tech assured us it would. Once we charged it , it did work.
Bob and Karen invited us for supper so we had a great supper and got to chat to catch up on the happening at home as they too keep in contact with some friends who just happen to stay in Med Hat for the winter. It just so happen that the Evander Kane trade happened so Bob and I got to beat the hell out of that trade. Another day done. cheers
I could not get the Satellite signal for some reason so I played with it off and on all day but no luck. I'll work on it tomorrow.
We spent the rest of the day shopping as the Custom office cleaned us out of our food.
Wednesday 10 Feb: Our friends from Medicine Hat, Bob and Karen Charette , who spend the winter in Green Valley as they are avid golfers and Bob plays ball twice a week so we called they and they dropped in for a visit after his Ball game.
I found the satellite signal this morning; I'm not sure were it was hiding yesterday.
The park has free WiFi at the office bldg. and / or you can purchase WiFi that is available at your site. However, our neighbor , "Jim " ; there is always a Jim in each park, dropped over to check us out and he said the WiFi was the " shitts " but he gave me the phone number for a company who would hook me up within 24 hours to the phone system, so I call them. I called them at 5 PM on Tuesday and they delivered the modem by UPS at 9 AM on Wed and said a Tech would hook me up no later then 5 PM. He showed up at 4:45 PM . Hello Telus.... are you listening; same day service, have you ever heard of it ????
The techy is only suppose to hook a customer from the phone kiosk to the MH but I pleaded computer illerate so he connected us to the modem and called the office to activate the modem. Now I have WiFi.
Wednesday, is Pot Luck supper night at the park so we bought a Marie Callender pie ( she makes great pies ) while shopping so we grab the pie and head for the supper. We also get to sit at a table and met some very nice people. Our table was from Minnesota so they are practically Canadians. cheers
Thursday 11 Feb: today was another " run around day ". First we found an ACE hardware store ( no Home Depot here) as I needed some nuts and Screws and few other items. Then I found an O'Rielly auto shop so I purchased a fuel filter as I intend to change it before I have another problem. They had to order it but promised delivery in1 hour. Hey, NAPA are you listening; 1 hour not 1 week. We then visited Radio Shack to get a Sim card for our iPhone but they are out of sim card but did sent us to ATT some 20 miles away. By the way Radio shack has applied for Bankruptcy Proctection, I wonder why. We then drove to ATT and they inserted the Sim Card but we have not used our phone since Nov and of course it was dead so they could not verify it would work but the Tech assured us it would. Once we charged it , it did work.
Bob and Karen invited us for supper so we had a great supper and got to chat to catch up on the happening at home as they too keep in contact with some friends who just happen to stay in Med Hat for the winter. It just so happen that the Evander Kane trade happened so Bob and I got to beat the hell out of that trade. Another day done. cheers
San Carlos to Nogales, USA 9 Feb 2015
The drive to Nogales is a 7 hour drive so we would be crossing the US border about 3 PM. The MX roads were not much better and of course we still had those dam Tolls to pay. In MX terms, I'm sure their roads are considered as good but we Canadians don't expect to see potholes or broken pavement on our highways, hence the reason we complain.
One thing I forgot to mention was the vast acreages of corn grown in the area from Mazatlan to San Carlos. Also, the cities along the way have all the infastruction in place for handling the vast corn harvest. Sugar cane is another crop that is grown here but it seems like it is still harvested by hand as we did not see any combines in the fields.
Another point of interest is about vehicle insurance. When you enter MX you must have Mexican Insurance and you can not get your travel documents without it. Therefore your Cdn insurance ceases and in our case, 24 hours before we cross into MX we advise our insurance company to cease our insurance. By the same token, we normally advise our insurance company, by email, 24 hours before we return to the US to activate our insurance and to confirm by email, that we do now have valid Insurance. However, it slipped our minds until we were 2 hours from the border so now we were in panic mode as we had no way to phone back to Medicine Hat.
As we drove into a small town I notice a sign on a hotel that read , Free WiFi so I thought they might let me use the Wifi to contact my insurance company. However, where do you park a 40 ft MH with a car in tow in a small town. Luckily, the next Hotel we seen had enough room to get off the road, even though it was not a parking area. I ask the clerk for their Free Wifi and she graciously accepted by handing me the user name and password. I then used my iPad to send a msg to our insurance company with the hope that they would answer back while we were having lunch. Then Carroll suggested that we try to phone our insurance an sure enough we got thru and the agent ask me the preverbal question as she reviewed our policy and advised me that I would be insured within 10 minutes. What a relief because we can not enter the US without insurance.
Now we head for the border but we must stop to turn in our Temporary Import permits ( good for 6 Months ) which we got before entering MX. This tells the MX gov't that we have not left our vehicles in MX and if you do not turn them in, you will have a very hard time returning to MX. When I pulled up to the kiosk the only gate that was open said "Autos Only" so I stopped. Finally a security guard waved me thru but I debated because I did not think there was enough room. He assured be there was but he doesn't own the MH. I barely crept into the slot with meare inches to spare. I ask why he could not open the RV gate and he said the gov't did not have the money to hire more people. Anyway we got "that " paper work done quite quickly as the clerk was very efficient . Then we had to go to another office to turn in our "Visitors Visas" so they know that we have left MX. We also checked on the 400.00 deposit we had to pay for the car. Since we paid by Visa it will be credited back to our account. This ensures that we also bring the car back. I'm not sure why it can't be done when they check the MH but I assume it is a make work project.
Now for the US border. We have never crossed from MX to the US thru this border so we are not sure which line to enter. I did however, cross from the US into MX at Nogales and I do know that MHs have to use the Truck line as the Auto line has a height restriction. When we were about to enter the US border gates my choice was Truck or Auto. I chose Truck. If you own an RV ; Never never never enter the truck line at the US border. You immediately become " Americans Most Wanted ". This small mistake took 3 hours and 6 different Custom agents to clear us of this most " hernias " crime. However, the Custom Officers where very polite and I might add very busy with truck traffic. We did compound our own problem because we forgot to dispose of our meat and vegetable products before leaving MX.
Once we were cleared to enter the US "legally" we went to a Casino to park overnight as we intended to go to an RV park in Green Valley tomorrow. By the time we reached the casino I was way overdo for a drink!!!It was quite a day. cheers
One thing I forgot to mention was the vast acreages of corn grown in the area from Mazatlan to San Carlos. Also, the cities along the way have all the infastruction in place for handling the vast corn harvest. Sugar cane is another crop that is grown here but it seems like it is still harvested by hand as we did not see any combines in the fields.
Another point of interest is about vehicle insurance. When you enter MX you must have Mexican Insurance and you can not get your travel documents without it. Therefore your Cdn insurance ceases and in our case, 24 hours before we cross into MX we advise our insurance company to cease our insurance. By the same token, we normally advise our insurance company, by email, 24 hours before we return to the US to activate our insurance and to confirm by email, that we do now have valid Insurance. However, it slipped our minds until we were 2 hours from the border so now we were in panic mode as we had no way to phone back to Medicine Hat.
As we drove into a small town I notice a sign on a hotel that read , Free WiFi so I thought they might let me use the Wifi to contact my insurance company. However, where do you park a 40 ft MH with a car in tow in a small town. Luckily, the next Hotel we seen had enough room to get off the road, even though it was not a parking area. I ask the clerk for their Free Wifi and she graciously accepted by handing me the user name and password. I then used my iPad to send a msg to our insurance company with the hope that they would answer back while we were having lunch. Then Carroll suggested that we try to phone our insurance an sure enough we got thru and the agent ask me the preverbal question as she reviewed our policy and advised me that I would be insured within 10 minutes. What a relief because we can not enter the US without insurance.
Now we head for the border but we must stop to turn in our Temporary Import permits ( good for 6 Months ) which we got before entering MX. This tells the MX gov't that we have not left our vehicles in MX and if you do not turn them in, you will have a very hard time returning to MX. When I pulled up to the kiosk the only gate that was open said "Autos Only" so I stopped. Finally a security guard waved me thru but I debated because I did not think there was enough room. He assured be there was but he doesn't own the MH. I barely crept into the slot with meare inches to spare. I ask why he could not open the RV gate and he said the gov't did not have the money to hire more people. Anyway we got "that " paper work done quite quickly as the clerk was very efficient . Then we had to go to another office to turn in our "Visitors Visas" so they know that we have left MX. We also checked on the 400.00 deposit we had to pay for the car. Since we paid by Visa it will be credited back to our account. This ensures that we also bring the car back. I'm not sure why it can't be done when they check the MH but I assume it is a make work project.
Now for the US border. We have never crossed from MX to the US thru this border so we are not sure which line to enter. I did however, cross from the US into MX at Nogales and I do know that MHs have to use the Truck line as the Auto line has a height restriction. When we were about to enter the US border gates my choice was Truck or Auto. I chose Truck. If you own an RV ; Never never never enter the truck line at the US border. You immediately become " Americans Most Wanted ". This small mistake took 3 hours and 6 different Custom agents to clear us of this most " hernias " crime. However, the Custom Officers where very polite and I might add very busy with truck traffic. We did compound our own problem because we forgot to dispose of our meat and vegetable products before leaving MX.
Once we were cleared to enter the US "legally" we went to a Casino to park overnight as we intended to go to an RV park in Green Valley tomorrow. By the time we reached the casino I was way overdo for a drink!!!It was quite a day. cheers
Friday, 13 February 2015
Mazatlan to San Carlos 8 Feb 2015
From Mazatlan to San Carlos is an 11 hour trip, mostly on Toll roads and believe me the tolls are extremely high. Even though most of the roads are 4 lanes they are really rough, meaning potholes and broken pavement. With the money they collected from me I would think they would improve the roads. Many Mexicans don't make enough wages to pay taxes so they have to collect the money somehow, so tolls are the answer.
We made it to the San Carlos area around 5 PM but it has been years since we traveled this route so we were looking for a sign that says "San Carlos ". The city/town of Guaymus and San Carlos are close together but you would think that there would be a sign for both town. Wrong; apparently they only had enough money for one sign and they chose to name it Guamus not San Carlos so we drove right by the turnoff . We kept thinking there must be a sign but finally we decide to check with a Pemex station and we had driven 50 KM pasted our turnoff to San Carlos. We considered staying at the Pemex but thought we would feel more comfortable in an RV park so we turned around and went to the RV park in San Carlos. Besides we were really for a restaurant meal, which would be our last Mexican style meal for this trip.
The RV park owner allows us Travelers who are just stopping overnight to park in the driveway and allows us to connect to the utilities. That way we do not need to unhook the car which is why we travelers stop here.
So parked the MH, hooked up the utilities and had our MX supper. Cheers
We made it to the San Carlos area around 5 PM but it has been years since we traveled this route so we were looking for a sign that says "San Carlos ". The city/town of Guaymus and San Carlos are close together but you would think that there would be a sign for both town. Wrong; apparently they only had enough money for one sign and they chose to name it Guamus not San Carlos so we drove right by the turnoff . We kept thinking there must be a sign but finally we decide to check with a Pemex station and we had driven 50 KM pasted our turnoff to San Carlos. We considered staying at the Pemex but thought we would feel more comfortable in an RV park so we turned around and went to the RV park in San Carlos. Besides we were really for a restaurant meal, which would be our last Mexican style meal for this trip.
The RV park owner allows us Travelers who are just stopping overnight to park in the driveway and allows us to connect to the utilities. That way we do not need to unhook the car which is why we travelers stop here.
So parked the MH, hooked up the utilities and had our MX supper. Cheers
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
A knock on the door, Saturday 7 Feb 2015
At 6 AM, while Carroll and I have just awaken, thinking of what to do when suddenly we heard a knock on the door. I darted out of bed, dressed only I my underwear, wondering what or who the hell could be at the door at this time of the morning. In a flash I assumed it must be the police.
To my surprise it was a well dressed young man about 30 years of age and he said Hello ( in Spanish ) do you have a problem. I yes , my MH won't go and needs a mechanic. He said come with me and I will find you a mechanic. I said where and he said in Tepic. Tepic is 45 miles away. So I said, let me get dressed. While getting dressed I was wondering if this was for real or was it a set up but the young man seemed sincere. So I grabbed my booklet with all the Engine Data that I had compiled and the Operation and Maintenance Manual for my Cummins engine. So we jumped in his car and took off. A few minutes later he says I have to go home first, which is in the local town of Compostella. When we got to his home he says you must come in; I said no I'll wait in the car. He says no, you must come in. Now, I'm getting apprehensive but I agree, all the time looking for an escape route if necessary. Once in the house he volunteers that his wife and two children are on vacation. Then he get grabs his iPad and say you type out the problem with your MH. I started typing and lo and behold it translated my English into Spanish so he could understand the problem. He then writes down the translation on a piece of paper and says lets go to Tepic so off we go. I'm feeling more at ease now.
On the way to Tepic we try to talk and I understand that his father is in the Tepic hospital and will be operated on for stomach cancer on Monday.
When we get to Tepic he goes to a garage and speaks with a Mechanic but they do not have the Code Reader we need. But he sends us to another garage and he assures me this guy can help us. ( I've seen this movie before and it is never good) but I am between a rock and hard spot so I'm hoping.
I should mention that Mexicans work 6 days a week so the garage is open. When we arrive at the garage he ask the Clerk to see the owner. She then makes a phone call and said the owner will be here shortly so I'm thinking "Mexican Time ". About 1/2 an hour later the Owner and his wife show up and they exchange salutations and I believe he gave them a short briefing about my problem. The wife looks at me and says is it an ISL engine, I said yes, then she replies do you have the Operating manual so I hand it to her. I'm thinking this lady knows her business. The owner then gets his Code Reader out and ask me if it was a 10 pin or 6 pin connector and I knew it was a 6 pin. I think he said good, we can do it. Then the owner went to his "garage area" and returned with a mechanic. The mechanic says to me Hello. How are you , in English. ( You can imagine how relived I felt ) he then ask some question about my problem. He say we will go to you MH and we will solve the problem. What a relief. The wife, who runs the parts department then handed me a fuel filter and says take it. Then the English speaking mechanic and one other prepared the service vehicle while the owner change into his work clothes.
The young man who brought me to Tepic says you are going with them so we shook hands. I gave him 200 P for fuel and off he went.
The owner told me to jump in the front of the truck and the two mechanics got into the back and off we go to the MH.
Once we arrived at the MH the mechanics did a lot of checking and finally connected Code Reader and said that your problem is not the Throttle that was the problem in Guayabitos. After further checks they pin point the problem as the fuel filter and they changed it and it was obvious that was the problem. They insisted that we take the MH for a drive so we did a 20 KM run and all was great.
Now for the " bill ". Just remember , there was 3 mechanic, a service vehicle and they drove about 100 KM round trip and they replaced the filter. The total bill was 200.00 USD.
The English speaking mechanic ask me many questions about Canada , mostly about Mexicans who work in Canada and about their wages. I told him that a MacDonald's worker would get about 120 P and hour and he say that he only made 150 P per day (15.00 ) ; yes per day.
Finally Carroll and I took off and arrived at Mazatlan about 6 PM. While driving down a street in Mazatlan a dam tree branch jumped out an bite us but luckily it hit the Air horn first then bounced off the awning and did not due any damage. Our friends Otto and Edna where waiting for us, at the RV park with a beer and supper. What an unbelievable day. Yes there is an angel. cheers
To my surprise it was a well dressed young man about 30 years of age and he said Hello ( in Spanish ) do you have a problem. I yes , my MH won't go and needs a mechanic. He said come with me and I will find you a mechanic. I said where and he said in Tepic. Tepic is 45 miles away. So I said, let me get dressed. While getting dressed I was wondering if this was for real or was it a set up but the young man seemed sincere. So I grabbed my booklet with all the Engine Data that I had compiled and the Operation and Maintenance Manual for my Cummins engine. So we jumped in his car and took off. A few minutes later he says I have to go home first, which is in the local town of Compostella. When we got to his home he says you must come in; I said no I'll wait in the car. He says no, you must come in. Now, I'm getting apprehensive but I agree, all the time looking for an escape route if necessary. Once in the house he volunteers that his wife and two children are on vacation. Then he get grabs his iPad and say you type out the problem with your MH. I started typing and lo and behold it translated my English into Spanish so he could understand the problem. He then writes down the translation on a piece of paper and says lets go to Tepic so off we go. I'm feeling more at ease now.
On the way to Tepic we try to talk and I understand that his father is in the Tepic hospital and will be operated on for stomach cancer on Monday.
When we get to Tepic he goes to a garage and speaks with a Mechanic but they do not have the Code Reader we need. But he sends us to another garage and he assures me this guy can help us. ( I've seen this movie before and it is never good) but I am between a rock and hard spot so I'm hoping.
I should mention that Mexicans work 6 days a week so the garage is open. When we arrive at the garage he ask the Clerk to see the owner. She then makes a phone call and said the owner will be here shortly so I'm thinking "Mexican Time ". About 1/2 an hour later the Owner and his wife show up and they exchange salutations and I believe he gave them a short briefing about my problem. The wife looks at me and says is it an ISL engine, I said yes, then she replies do you have the Operating manual so I hand it to her. I'm thinking this lady knows her business. The owner then gets his Code Reader out and ask me if it was a 10 pin or 6 pin connector and I knew it was a 6 pin. I think he said good, we can do it. Then the owner went to his "garage area" and returned with a mechanic. The mechanic says to me Hello. How are you , in English. ( You can imagine how relived I felt ) he then ask some question about my problem. He say we will go to you MH and we will solve the problem. What a relief. The wife, who runs the parts department then handed me a fuel filter and says take it. Then the English speaking mechanic and one other prepared the service vehicle while the owner change into his work clothes.
The young man who brought me to Tepic says you are going with them so we shook hands. I gave him 200 P for fuel and off he went.
The owner told me to jump in the front of the truck and the two mechanics got into the back and off we go to the MH.
Once we arrived at the MH the mechanics did a lot of checking and finally connected Code Reader and said that your problem is not the Throttle that was the problem in Guayabitos. After further checks they pin point the problem as the fuel filter and they changed it and it was obvious that was the problem. They insisted that we take the MH for a drive so we did a 20 KM run and all was great.
Now for the " bill ". Just remember , there was 3 mechanic, a service vehicle and they drove about 100 KM round trip and they replaced the filter. The total bill was 200.00 USD.
The English speaking mechanic ask me many questions about Canada , mostly about Mexicans who work in Canada and about their wages. I told him that a MacDonald's worker would get about 120 P and hour and he say that he only made 150 P per day (15.00 ) ; yes per day.
Finally Carroll and I took off and arrived at Mazatlan about 6 PM. While driving down a street in Mazatlan a dam tree branch jumped out an bite us but luckily it hit the Air horn first then bounced off the awning and did not due any damage. Our friends Otto and Edna where waiting for us, at the RV park with a beer and supper. What an unbelievable day. Yes there is an angel. cheers
Leaving Guayabitos Friday, 6 Feb 2015
By 7:30 AM we were guided out of the RV park as it is not an easy exit and we headed for Via Corona which is a an RV park with 9 Hot swimming pools and it is a theme park. The beauty of it is that, with our RV entrance fee we are allow entrance to all the pools. Incidentally they drain every pool each night except that they leave one pool for us campers until 10 PM so we can sit around pontificating about our travels and having an after dinner drink.
However about 40 KM down the road from Guayabitos the Check Engine light started to flicker and I was losing power. We limp into the town of Compostaella at which point we entered the Toll booth heading for Guadalajara. All Toll booth have a large parking area for travelers and truckers to stop for a washroom break and most have a Macs Milk type store. We obviously had no choice except to stop and try to get help.
Luckily there was a Green Angel sitting at the toll booth.
I know your asking , what is a Green Angel so I will tell you. Green Angels are a federal sponsored service vehicle that patrols the toll roads to help ( free of charge ) anyone who has a breakdown. They will help to change a tire, replace a fan belt or call for a tow truck and in fact some Green Angels have a tow vehicle.
So I ask the Green Angel to call a mechanic to help so he "apparently" called one but after an hour he was a no show. So he ask me to jump in his truck and we will find a mechanic. We checked with 5 truck shops in the town but nobody had a Code Reader that could check the reason for the check light coming on. So he dropped me off at the MH and he made another phone call to another mechanic. A mechanic , who spoke a little English, showed up about 20 minutes later with a Code Reader but it was for small diesel truck. However he in turn made several phone calls and said a mechanic with a code reader would show up between one and 3 hours. He never showed up and it is now 5 PM so the best I could do was have a beer. We would therefore spend the night in the MH we will worry about tomorrow when it gets here .
You will not believe tomorrows story . cheers
However about 40 KM down the road from Guayabitos the Check Engine light started to flicker and I was losing power. We limp into the town of Compostaella at which point we entered the Toll booth heading for Guadalajara. All Toll booth have a large parking area for travelers and truckers to stop for a washroom break and most have a Macs Milk type store. We obviously had no choice except to stop and try to get help.
Luckily there was a Green Angel sitting at the toll booth.
I know your asking , what is a Green Angel so I will tell you. Green Angels are a federal sponsored service vehicle that patrols the toll roads to help ( free of charge ) anyone who has a breakdown. They will help to change a tire, replace a fan belt or call for a tow truck and in fact some Green Angels have a tow vehicle.
So I ask the Green Angel to call a mechanic to help so he "apparently" called one but after an hour he was a no show. So he ask me to jump in his truck and we will find a mechanic. We checked with 5 truck shops in the town but nobody had a Code Reader that could check the reason for the check light coming on. So he dropped me off at the MH and he made another phone call to another mechanic. A mechanic , who spoke a little English, showed up about 20 minutes later with a Code Reader but it was for small diesel truck. However he in turn made several phone calls and said a mechanic with a code reader would show up between one and 3 hours. He never showed up and it is now 5 PM so the best I could do was have a beer. We would therefore spend the night in the MH we will worry about tomorrow when it gets here .
You will not believe tomorrows story . cheers
Monday, 9 February 2015
MH; Check Eng light 5 Feb 2015
The last word yesterday , from the Cummins dealer in Guadalajara was that the Tech would be in Rincon in the morning. We forgot to ask if that was Mexican time!! All the MH owners, along with me were just waiting the Mexican "Super Tech " to fix my MH and he arrived at 8:30. He probably wondered what all the fuss was about as he does this diagnostic check every day. By the way he did not speak a word of English and Chris was in PV for the day.
First he checked to see which indicator light was on; then he got his code reader out which incidentally is about twice the size of a Visa card reader and his Lap Top computer. There are two connection points; one in the dash but not the easiest to access and one in the Engine compartment, real easy to access . He plugged it in and I started the Engine to start his diagnostic test and several of the MH owners were trying to see what was happening. After about 5 minutes he pointed to the front of the MH meaning it was a throttle problem. We shut the Engine down and he got under the dash area to check the throttle connection and I believe he disconnected the components; then got out his iPhone and I believe he reset the fault because the light went off. He then ask me to take the MH for a test run so I drove it forward and backward several time and it was good to go. Problem solved.
The mechanic then called Chris in PV to explain what he did and he then handed me the phone and Chris said he want to advise me to replace the Throttle component once I get to the US because , although it is working , it might resurface again.
Before he left I "tried " to explain that I needed a copy of the work order and an invoice. He said yes to the work order but the invoiced had to come from the office so they are " suppose " to email me a copy. I got distracted by all the fuss for about 2 minutesand before I knew it he was gone and I did not have the work order copy. GoodSam Insurance will pay for the service call, if I provide an invoice. I hope.
We parked the MH so we could get out early tomorrow as we are heading for Via Corona.
It is interesting in this day of age that a problem can be fixed without taking a wrench out of the tool box. A mechanic's tool box now contains a computer. Cheers
First he checked to see which indicator light was on; then he got his code reader out which incidentally is about twice the size of a Visa card reader and his Lap Top computer. There are two connection points; one in the dash but not the easiest to access and one in the Engine compartment, real easy to access . He plugged it in and I started the Engine to start his diagnostic test and several of the MH owners were trying to see what was happening. After about 5 minutes he pointed to the front of the MH meaning it was a throttle problem. We shut the Engine down and he got under the dash area to check the throttle connection and I believe he disconnected the components; then got out his iPhone and I believe he reset the fault because the light went off. He then ask me to take the MH for a test run so I drove it forward and backward several time and it was good to go. Problem solved.
The mechanic then called Chris in PV to explain what he did and he then handed me the phone and Chris said he want to advise me to replace the Throttle component once I get to the US because , although it is working , it might resurface again.
Before he left I "tried " to explain that I needed a copy of the work order and an invoice. He said yes to the work order but the invoiced had to come from the office so they are " suppose " to email me a copy. I got distracted by all the fuss for about 2 minutesand before I knew it he was gone and I did not have the work order copy. GoodSam Insurance will pay for the service call, if I provide an invoice. I hope.
We parked the MH so we could get out early tomorrow as we are heading for Via Corona.
It is interesting in this day of age that a problem can be fixed without taking a wrench out of the tool box. A mechanic's tool box now contains a computer. Cheers
Sunday, 8 February 2015
Motor Home Problem solved 2015
4 Feb: Chris , the park manager, called Cummins in Guadalajara at 9 AM with me in his office to answer a realm of question about the MH and the Engine. I'm sure they figured if they were going to drive 3 hours one way they better have all the information necessary to solve the problem. Finally , they agreed to send a man tomorrow morning if and when I deposited 5520 P ( 500.00 Cdn ) in their bank account . I immediately went to the bank and deposited the money. They called back a few minutes later and said the Mechanic with the Code Reader would be there in the morning. Finally a ray of sunshine.
I took deep breath , grabbed a beer and went to the pool. The beach is dirty from the 3 days of rain.
It was kind of funny as several other MH owners started their engine just in case they needed this Mechanic while he was here. Nobody had a Check Engine light so all was OK. cheers
I took deep breath , grabbed a beer and went to the pool. The beach is dirty from the 3 days of rain.
It was kind of funny as several other MH owners started their engine just in case they needed this Mechanic while he was here. Nobody had a Check Engine light so all was OK. cheers
Motor home Delima Feb 2015
2 Feb: The rain stopped or should I say tried to stop. I think the rain Gods just stopped long enough so that we would go outside and then come with another downpour.
Anyway, my friend Dave says , lets go and find a Mechanic in this area so off we go. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to said it was a fruitless few hours.
So Carroll and I went to Lo de Marcos to see our friend Ron and he takes me to see his friend Art who has a Code Reader. Art agrees to come tomorrow as he is tied up elsewhere today. Eureka, we might have a solution. So after a couple drinks at Ron's abode we return home with better " hopes" for tomorrow. The rain is still off and on but it stayed off for Happy Hour. I said to hell with it, tomorrows another day. cheers
3 Feb: Ron and Art show at 9 AM with the Code Reader and everyone in the park wanted to see what this mystical Code Reader looks like and how does it solve this engine problem by merely spitting out the info on a computer. Our anxiety was short lived as Art's Reader was for small diesel truck ( ie F350 ) only.
We spent the rest of the day trying to find a Cummins Tech somewhere in MX and it seems that nobody could tells where to find this Code Reader. With all the frigging Cummins Diesels in MX it was unbelievable that nobody could help us.
Dave Killey just kept asking all his connections if they knew of a dealer and finally he came up with a phone number in Compostella ( 1 hour away ) and they in turn gave us a number in Guadalajara ( 3 hours away ).
Since it is now 5 PM , Chris the park manager / owner will call the Guadalajara number in the morning and of course hopes are high that they will solve the problem.
I know everyone wants to help and or feel sorry for us but I was wearing thin on all the question. No one else every had this problem so they never had a better solution than mine. Tomorrow looks like a better day. cheers
Anyway, my friend Dave says , lets go and find a Mechanic in this area so off we go. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to said it was a fruitless few hours.
So Carroll and I went to Lo de Marcos to see our friend Ron and he takes me to see his friend Art who has a Code Reader. Art agrees to come tomorrow as he is tied up elsewhere today. Eureka, we might have a solution. So after a couple drinks at Ron's abode we return home with better " hopes" for tomorrow. The rain is still off and on but it stayed off for Happy Hour. I said to hell with it, tomorrows another day. cheers
3 Feb: Ron and Art show at 9 AM with the Code Reader and everyone in the park wanted to see what this mystical Code Reader looks like and how does it solve this engine problem by merely spitting out the info on a computer. Our anxiety was short lived as Art's Reader was for small diesel truck ( ie F350 ) only.
We spent the rest of the day trying to find a Cummins Tech somewhere in MX and it seems that nobody could tells where to find this Code Reader. With all the frigging Cummins Diesels in MX it was unbelievable that nobody could help us.
Dave Killey just kept asking all his connections if they knew of a dealer and finally he came up with a phone number in Compostella ( 1 hour away ) and they in turn gave us a number in Guadalajara ( 3 hours away ).
Since it is now 5 PM , Chris the park manager / owner will call the Guadalajara number in the morning and of course hopes are high that they will solve the problem.
I know everyone wants to help and or feel sorry for us but I was wearing thin on all the question. No one else every had this problem so they never had a better solution than mine. Tomorrow looks like a better day. cheers
Leaving Guayabitos for Via Corona 1 Feb 2015
At 7 AM Elia and family pulled out as he was heading back to Ft . Steel to help calf 150 cows. His son who runs the farm dropped the blade of a Front End Loader on his toes and cut them off.
Eslers intended to pull out at 7:30 AM but when I started the MH the Engine Check light came on and I had no throttle. Holy Crap!!!. What I did have, was lots of opinions , most of which I did not need. So I called our friend Ron Miller who has run a Diesel shop in Calgary and Okotoks for 30 plus years. He agreed, that we needed a Code Reader to find the fault. Code Readers are not that common so we figured we would have to get someone from a Cummins garage in Guadalajara to check it out. But first we called Freightliner and after 1/2 an hour on the phone " Mr. Freightliner" gave up. We tried Cummins but the 1 800 number is in the US and we could not get it to ring thru. Ron Miller said he knew of a friend in another camp who had a Reader and he would check with him tomorrow.
Since we were in the mists of a torrential down pour we call a truce since nobody was going to stand out in the rain with a computer under these condition. Incidentally the computer plug is located in the rear at the Engine near the oil dip stick.
I even went to another Park to see a guy who had a similar problem last year. Unfortunately he had a Cat Engine so no luck, however I now have a new friend. Believe me this scenario is not over by an stretch of the imagination but suffice to say we are not going anywhere soon. cheers
Eslers intended to pull out at 7:30 AM but when I started the MH the Engine Check light came on and I had no throttle. Holy Crap!!!. What I did have, was lots of opinions , most of which I did not need. So I called our friend Ron Miller who has run a Diesel shop in Calgary and Okotoks for 30 plus years. He agreed, that we needed a Code Reader to find the fault. Code Readers are not that common so we figured we would have to get someone from a Cummins garage in Guadalajara to check it out. But first we called Freightliner and after 1/2 an hour on the phone " Mr. Freightliner" gave up. We tried Cummins but the 1 800 number is in the US and we could not get it to ring thru. Ron Miller said he knew of a friend in another camp who had a Reader and he would check with him tomorrow.
Since we were in the mists of a torrential down pour we call a truce since nobody was going to stand out in the rain with a computer under these condition. Incidentally the computer plug is located in the rear at the Engine near the oil dip stick.
I even went to another Park to see a guy who had a similar problem last year. Unfortunately he had a Cat Engine so no luck, however I now have a new friend. Believe me this scenario is not over by an stretch of the imagination but suffice to say we are not going anywhere soon. cheers
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Rain , Rain Go Away 31 Jan 2015
Friday was cloudy and rainy most of the day. Every year before the majority of the people leave they have a "class " picture and since several of us were leaving on Sunday and Monday it was decide to have the "Portrait " done on Friday. But the weather did not cooperate so it was cancelled until further notice. On Saturday it rained and rained until 2:30 and then finally the Sun broke through for few hours. So we muster the crew together and got the annual picture done. Does anyone what a picture of 50 senior they don't know. OK , I take one 8 by 10 matte.
Actually the rain stay away long enough to have Happy Hour. Then we went for supper and while we were walking the 4 blocks back to the park the rains came and came and came all night and it was still raining in the morning. Did I mentioned it rained most of Saturday.
Since we are leaving tomorrow we spent the most of the day packing up so we could leave by 7 or 8. cheers
Actually the rain stay away long enough to have Happy Hour. Then we went for supper and while we were walking the 4 blocks back to the park the rains came and came and came all night and it was still raining in the morning. Did I mentioned it rained most of Saturday.
Since we are leaving tomorrow we spent the most of the day packing up so we could leave by 7 or 8. cheers
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)