When we got up on Tuesday at Idaho Falls a light snow had fallen during the night and it looked nasty. However, we did not want to pass up the free "Hot Breakfast " promised by the Comfort INN. During breakfast we drummed up a conversation with a couple from Sask who were heading to Surprise, AZ and a couple from AB who going to Mesa.
Even thought the roads were snowy, followed by a light misty rain for all of the way to SLC we played "Leap Frog" with the above two couples as we all seemed to think the 120 KMH was the preferred speed.
However, we usually stop south of SLC at a place called San Quintan which is apple country to purchase a bag of Pears and Apples. We also stopped there for fuel since it was 2.22 a gal. Since this stop took about 1/2 an hour our Leap Frog friends were long gone so we never seen them again.
From San Quintan to St. Geo was clear sailing again as they weather became sunny and clear. We stopped in at St. Geo as Carroll purchased an overprice set of " Bamboo" sheets when we where there to play ball in Oct. The sheets frayed on the first wash so we wanted to exchanged them which the company did without any question.
We planned to stay in Mesquite , at the Virgin River casino hotel tonight and to get the MH out of storage tomorrow. We arrived in Mesquite, NV around 4 PM and the weather started to cloud over and within 1/2 an hour it started to pour rain and it continued throughout the night. We had hoped that the rain would stop in the morning so we could unload the car into the MH without getting drenched.
We went to the casino to have supper ( Prime rib special for 6.99) and for Carroll to donated another 20.00 to the casino to ensure that it stays afloat for another year. I believe she dropped the 20.00 in record time. After supper we went to Lee's Discount Liquor store to pick up a supply of Beer, wine and Rye as the price are always reasonable. We met either the owner or one of the salesman and he and I discussed Canadian Whisky, mainly Crown Royal and he knew all about the Crown Royal being brewed in Gimli, Manitoba and the fact that Crown Royal is no longer aged for 12 years because of the demand for the product. Also, any Crown Royal consumer probably is aware that they have new product such "Black " and " Maple" which are flying off the shelf. Cheers
Monday, 11 January 2016
Okotoks to Idaho Falls.
We left Todd's place at 8:08 AM , just as the G/Kids left for school and we headed for Idaho Falls. The weather was -8 C when we left AB and the roads were great all the way to Idaho Falls. Except for the preverbal stop at the Duty free to pick up two bottles of Crown Royal and the "Where are from and Where are you going questions " at the border the rest was clear sailing except for gas. Gas in MT was 2.35 and diesel was a little cheaper, and it got cheaper as we went south except for UT so I avoided it. The weather was a little rainy in Idaho Falls and since the temp was dropping we expected snow in the morning.
I used my charm at the Comfort INN to get a good room for a reasonable price. The price started at 80.00 for a Queen bed on the second floor so I ask for a discount for a Senior which did not move the needle at all. Then I used the " I am a Veteran " card and that got me a 10.00 discount once I showed proof. The I used " my wife has two new knees and can't climb stairs " card so the clerk gave us a suite on the 1 st floor with a King bed at no extra cost. I told you I used my charm.
We had supper at the Olive Garden before we got a room so after getting the room we hit the pool and the hot tub. By now we were tired and wanted to get an early start tomorrow so we hit the bed shortly thereafter. cheers
I used my charm at the Comfort INN to get a good room for a reasonable price. The price started at 80.00 for a Queen bed on the second floor so I ask for a discount for a Senior which did not move the needle at all. Then I used the " I am a Veteran " card and that got me a 10.00 discount once I showed proof. The I used " my wife has two new knees and can't climb stairs " card so the clerk gave us a suite on the 1 st floor with a King bed at no extra cost. I told you I used my charm.
We had supper at the Olive Garden before we got a room so after getting the room we hit the pool and the hot tub. By now we were tired and wanted to get an early start tomorrow so we hit the bed shortly thereafter. cheers
Todd's place
2 Jan 2015
Todd and family have been at the cabin in BC since Christmas, polishing their skiing skills and will be returning home today. Since they have been away since the before Christmas the fridge was empty so we decided to do some grocery shopping so there would be the necessary food supplies when Todd, Yvonne and the 4 "Human Garborators " arrived home around supper time.
In the morning we sent Todd a message and ask if we were to make supper for them . Todd's answer was no , they would eat on the way home. We bought a 5 lb roast along with other groceries just in case they didn't stop on the way home. Around 3 PM we rec an email from Todd saying , you can make supper as we have changed our plans and will now be home around 6 PM. Luckily I checked my email at 4 PM and seen Todd's message and then panic set in. We cranked the oven up to 400 F and put the roast in hoping it would be done by 6 or 6:30. Todd is notorious for being late and this is one time I had hoped he would miscalculate his arrival time.
As it turns out , Todd and family arrived home around 6 PM and Carroll had every thing ready by 6:30 so we had supper and then the G/kids shows us there Christmas presents.
3 Jan 2015.
Since we are leaving for Yuma tomorrow ( the 4 th Jan ) around 8 AM and /or after the G/Kids leave for school, we had to sort out the clothes we are taking and those that are staying behind. We would normal leave our summer clothes in the MH when we left it in Mesquite, NV but we had to bring some home to take to Puerto Plata. We also need "winter" clothes for the first two days of travel, for going south. It always seems that our vehicles are too small for the items we have to take with us. I'm sure I can get by with a lot fewer things than Carroll but who am I to argue that point!!!!!
Todd and I build a hockey rink in Nov and he has been trying to get it flooded every since. The dam weather has been fluctuating above and below Zero during Dec so it was hard to get a smooth surface. Since it was minus 13 today, we got 350 gallon of water from Todd's work and dumped it on and sealed the edges and to smooth out some ruts.. He will get a water truck to flood it later in the week.
The we decided to string the necessary lighting to make this " Coliseum " as close as possible to look like then" Saddle Dome ". After working outside at -13C for about 3 hours I almost forgot how cold that is so we call a " Timeout " I think Todd allows two timeouts per day , so I could warm up.
Later I finished packing the car so we could get an early start as we had hope for good weather so we could get to Idhao Falls tomorrow. cheers
Todd and family have been at the cabin in BC since Christmas, polishing their skiing skills and will be returning home today. Since they have been away since the before Christmas the fridge was empty so we decided to do some grocery shopping so there would be the necessary food supplies when Todd, Yvonne and the 4 "Human Garborators " arrived home around supper time.
In the morning we sent Todd a message and ask if we were to make supper for them . Todd's answer was no , they would eat on the way home. We bought a 5 lb roast along with other groceries just in case they didn't stop on the way home. Around 3 PM we rec an email from Todd saying , you can make supper as we have changed our plans and will now be home around 6 PM. Luckily I checked my email at 4 PM and seen Todd's message and then panic set in. We cranked the oven up to 400 F and put the roast in hoping it would be done by 6 or 6:30. Todd is notorious for being late and this is one time I had hoped he would miscalculate his arrival time.
As it turns out , Todd and family arrived home around 6 PM and Carroll had every thing ready by 6:30 so we had supper and then the G/kids shows us there Christmas presents.
3 Jan 2015.
Since we are leaving for Yuma tomorrow ( the 4 th Jan ) around 8 AM and /or after the G/Kids leave for school, we had to sort out the clothes we are taking and those that are staying behind. We would normal leave our summer clothes in the MH when we left it in Mesquite, NV but we had to bring some home to take to Puerto Plata. We also need "winter" clothes for the first two days of travel, for going south. It always seems that our vehicles are too small for the items we have to take with us. I'm sure I can get by with a lot fewer things than Carroll but who am I to argue that point!!!!!
Todd and I build a hockey rink in Nov and he has been trying to get it flooded every since. The dam weather has been fluctuating above and below Zero during Dec so it was hard to get a smooth surface. Since it was minus 13 today, we got 350 gallon of water from Todd's work and dumped it on and sealed the edges and to smooth out some ruts.. He will get a water truck to flood it later in the week.
The we decided to string the necessary lighting to make this " Coliseum " as close as possible to look like then" Saddle Dome ". After working outside at -13C for about 3 hours I almost forgot how cold that is so we call a " Timeout " I think Todd allows two timeouts per day , so I could warm up.
Later I finished packing the car so we could get an early start as we had hope for good weather so we could get to Idhao Falls tomorrow. cheers
Saturday, 2 January 2016
Happy New Year
As mentioned, in our last report we got to Todd's home in Okotoks about 2:30 Am 1 Jan. On the way home we seen a MacDonald's that was open so we thought we would grab a burger and a coffee. Now remember this about 2 PM and the drive through had a lineup of about 50 vehicle. They were actually wound around the parking lot. We went inside and found out that you could only order by a computer activated menu panel; actually there was 4 of them. I ask one guys how quick were they filling the order and he says I'm number 286 and the last number called was 195. I looked and Carroll and said, We are out of here. So we had some leftovers at Todd's and got to bed around 3 AM.
We woke up at 10:30, had a shower followed by breakfast and then decided to unpack the suite cases. To my absolute amazement and shock, I had picked up the wrong suitecase . As soon as I open the suite case and seen the ladies underwear I new I was in the wrong pair of pants ( so to speak ). About the same time Todd phone to say that WestJet called our house sitter in Med Hat and they in turn called Todd to say that WestJet had found our lost luggage, which really wasn't lost. The mix up was that I quickly checked the name on the tag and I thought it was Esl on the tag but it was Ebl. It was a paper tag and of course it was wriggled .
My first thought was to call the name on the luggage ( that I stole ) and to deliver and apologize for my error as the phone number was AB. However, I called WestJet and they said just return it to arrivals and pick up your own luggage. Problem solved; but can you imagine if we were going home to Med Hat and the other person was connecting to who knows where.
Quite a way to start 2016. And we got 364 days to go???? We leave for Yuma on or about 4 Jan.
My next blog will be a brief outline of the life and times about the interesting people we met in PP. We hope all our readers will have a Happy and Prosperous new Year . Cheers
We woke up at 10:30, had a shower followed by breakfast and then decided to unpack the suite cases. To my absolute amazement and shock, I had picked up the wrong suitecase . As soon as I open the suite case and seen the ladies underwear I new I was in the wrong pair of pants ( so to speak ). About the same time Todd phone to say that WestJet called our house sitter in Med Hat and they in turn called Todd to say that WestJet had found our lost luggage, which really wasn't lost. The mix up was that I quickly checked the name on the tag and I thought it was Esl on the tag but it was Ebl. It was a paper tag and of course it was wriggled .
My first thought was to call the name on the luggage ( that I stole ) and to deliver and apologize for my error as the phone number was AB. However, I called WestJet and they said just return it to arrivals and pick up your own luggage. Problem solved; but can you imagine if we were going home to Med Hat and the other person was connecting to who knows where.
Quite a way to start 2016. And we got 364 days to go???? We leave for Yuma on or about 4 Jan.
My next blog will be a brief outline of the life and times about the interesting people we met in PP. We hope all our readers will have a Happy and Prosperous new Year . Cheers
New Years Eve
Our taxi ( Fernando ) was scheduled to pick us up at 12:30 so we could be at the airport by 1 PM giving us lots of time, since our flight was scheduled to leave at 3:30 PM. We arrived at 1:00 PM but the line up was already out to the sidewalk, which surprised the hell out of me. Anyway, we meandered along and spoke to a few of the "working folks " who only had a weeks holidays and were envious because we were here for a month. We were no more than 1/2 an hour getting to the wicket. Of course the WestJet clerk reminded us that we had too much luggage and we would have to pay for the over size, over weight. I said I'm a Veteran and she said I need to seen some ID so I gave her my Retirement Card which she cleared with a supervisor and so Ok , no problem.
After filling out an Immigration forum we had to pay 60.00 USD ( each ) because our stay was over 29 days. This made no sense to us but we were told in advance that we would have to pay it.
The trip to T.O. was uneventful and we were made aware, about 2 weeks ago that our 8:30 flight to Calgary would be delayed by 1 hour. What we did not know , until we got to T.O. that there would be another delay to 10:00. However we had to go thru Customs in Toronto which is a bit of a dance. It is all computerized now, which was new to us. Finally we followed the "Herd" and along way a custom agent took our forum that we filled out on the plane and that was it... no questioned ask. If the refugees get into the country that easy, we are in trouble.
At 8:00 PM they announce they would be loading soon. I thought I missed the announcement so I checked at the counter and said " did you say we are loading at 8 and we are going to sit on the runway until 10 PM for takeoff.. are you serious? She said we are loading soon: so I said my definition of "soon " is 15 minute, what is your definition .. she said we are loading soon.
Shortly after that they announced that they were waiting on a flight from Halifax and I noticed the arrival time was 10 PM so I now know that we will be delayed until at least 10:30. We got airborne at 10:45. To make matters worst we got the rear seats that do not recline.
We also spend the arrival of 2016 somewhere over Saskatchewan as the flight attendant counted down the seconds. That is a first for us!!!
After arriving in Calgary ( it is now 12:20 AM 1 Jan 2016) we waited about 20 minutes for the luggage to roll in. After retrieving our 3 bags we rush outside in the cold only to wait another 25 minutes for a Taxi to take us to our car which was parked at Yvonne's brothers place. Todd and family are at there cabin in Fairmont. There were very few cabs as they were too busy taking drunks home who were naturally bigger "Tippers " than a bunch of grouchy WestJet passengers who wanted to get home to bed. Our Cabbie said he was called to come to the airport because he was in the area. We got to Todd's place at 2:30 AM 1 Jan 2016. We left our condo at 12:30 PM 31 Dec 2015. and the story doesn't end here... cheers
After filling out an Immigration forum we had to pay 60.00 USD ( each ) because our stay was over 29 days. This made no sense to us but we were told in advance that we would have to pay it.
The trip to T.O. was uneventful and we were made aware, about 2 weeks ago that our 8:30 flight to Calgary would be delayed by 1 hour. What we did not know , until we got to T.O. that there would be another delay to 10:00. However we had to go thru Customs in Toronto which is a bit of a dance. It is all computerized now, which was new to us. Finally we followed the "Herd" and along way a custom agent took our forum that we filled out on the plane and that was it... no questioned ask. If the refugees get into the country that easy, we are in trouble.
At 8:00 PM they announce they would be loading soon. I thought I missed the announcement so I checked at the counter and said " did you say we are loading at 8 and we are going to sit on the runway until 10 PM for takeoff.. are you serious? She said we are loading soon: so I said my definition of "soon " is 15 minute, what is your definition .. she said we are loading soon.
Shortly after that they announced that they were waiting on a flight from Halifax and I noticed the arrival time was 10 PM so I now know that we will be delayed until at least 10:30. We got airborne at 10:45. To make matters worst we got the rear seats that do not recline.
We also spend the arrival of 2016 somewhere over Saskatchewan as the flight attendant counted down the seconds. That is a first for us!!!
After arriving in Calgary ( it is now 12:20 AM 1 Jan 2016) we waited about 20 minutes for the luggage to roll in. After retrieving our 3 bags we rush outside in the cold only to wait another 25 minutes for a Taxi to take us to our car which was parked at Yvonne's brothers place. Todd and family are at there cabin in Fairmont. There were very few cabs as they were too busy taking drunks home who were naturally bigger "Tippers " than a bunch of grouchy WestJet passengers who wanted to get home to bed. Our Cabbie said he was called to come to the airport because he was in the area. We got to Todd's place at 2:30 AM 1 Jan 2016. We left our condo at 12:30 PM 31 Dec 2015. and the story doesn't end here... cheers
Last working Day in DR.
Since we are leaving tomorrow (31 Dec ) today we have to prepack and close up loose end before we hit the beach for the last time. Carroll is still trying to figure out why she packed 5 pair of Capris since we spent the past month in Shorts and a bathing suite. I still trying to understand we even needed three suite cases, however, that ship has sailed.
After packing and breakfast, we went down to the pool to check the emails, hockey scores etc and to get Joe to arrange for his favorite taxi ( Fernando ) to pick us up at 6:30 tonight and to take us to a restaurant in Puerto Plata called "Kilometer Zero". Apparently it is the favorite haunt of our friends and the meals are generous and at a reason price. Joe speaks a little Spanish and Fernando speaks a little English but they can't understand each other on the cell phone. So Joe types a text in English, then hits the translation key and Fernando rec the msg in Spanish . Fernando sends a reply in reverse order. Now, how fantastic is that?
Since we have to leave the condo clean including the laundry ( sheets and towels ) we arranged with Mario the Landlord to look after that part after we depart. The bonus for the cleaning lady is that she can have all the condiments, can goods and anything in the fridge.
By this time we are ready for our last hurrah at the beach which includes a swim in the warm Caribbean water. Surprising , the beach was not crowded at all. Possibly all the people at the "All Inclusive " where on tours this day or worrying about getting home if they were on SunQuest.
After spending a few hours at the beach we got ready for supper and went down to the pool area to wait on our taxi. Our friends ( the three couples and Mario ) where checking their emails and sipping on a drink and they told us again what a great restaurant this Kilometer Zero . So off we go in the taxi only to find out that the Restaurant is closed on Wednesdays. " Just the type of friends we needed". We were slightly disappointed but luckily we knew that the Las Palmas was open and we had eaten there a few weeks earlier so the Taxi dropped us off there. The main area has ten table and additionally, they have a sunken garden area that I'm sure would hold another hundred customer but it is not as fancy. When we walked in at 7 PM we were the only customers and I'm thinking, how do they make any money and why do you need 4 or 5 waitresses. By 7:30 the main area was full and by 8:00 there was at least another 50 customers in the Garden area including our friends who sent us to Kilometer Zero. They were all apologetic and Judy and Peter came to our table to apologize again. We can understand how you can lose track of the days in Puerto Plato. However, I will not let them forget it.
Well, that capped our last day of Fun in the Sun as we leave tomorrow. Luckily we are not traveling with SunQuest. cheers
After packing and breakfast, we went down to the pool to check the emails, hockey scores etc and to get Joe to arrange for his favorite taxi ( Fernando ) to pick us up at 6:30 tonight and to take us to a restaurant in Puerto Plata called "Kilometer Zero". Apparently it is the favorite haunt of our friends and the meals are generous and at a reason price. Joe speaks a little Spanish and Fernando speaks a little English but they can't understand each other on the cell phone. So Joe types a text in English, then hits the translation key and Fernando rec the msg in Spanish . Fernando sends a reply in reverse order. Now, how fantastic is that?
Since we have to leave the condo clean including the laundry ( sheets and towels ) we arranged with Mario the Landlord to look after that part after we depart. The bonus for the cleaning lady is that she can have all the condiments, can goods and anything in the fridge.
By this time we are ready for our last hurrah at the beach which includes a swim in the warm Caribbean water. Surprising , the beach was not crowded at all. Possibly all the people at the "All Inclusive " where on tours this day or worrying about getting home if they were on SunQuest.
After spending a few hours at the beach we got ready for supper and went down to the pool area to wait on our taxi. Our friends ( the three couples and Mario ) where checking their emails and sipping on a drink and they told us again what a great restaurant this Kilometer Zero . So off we go in the taxi only to find out that the Restaurant is closed on Wednesdays. " Just the type of friends we needed". We were slightly disappointed but luckily we knew that the Las Palmas was open and we had eaten there a few weeks earlier so the Taxi dropped us off there. The main area has ten table and additionally, they have a sunken garden area that I'm sure would hold another hundred customer but it is not as fancy. When we walked in at 7 PM we were the only customers and I'm thinking, how do they make any money and why do you need 4 or 5 waitresses. By 7:30 the main area was full and by 8:00 there was at least another 50 customers in the Garden area including our friends who sent us to Kilometer Zero. They were all apologetic and Judy and Peter came to our table to apologize again. We can understand how you can lose track of the days in Puerto Plato. However, I will not let them forget it.
Well, that capped our last day of Fun in the Sun as we leave tomorrow. Luckily we are not traveling with SunQuest. cheers
Friday, 1 January 2016
Trip to Sosua
Our trip to Sosua, which is 25 KM away from our condo cost 70.00 USD and was way way way overpriced and I was sure scammed by the tour guide office. . First I ask for a certain tour guide that we had before and that they had to speak English. The guy we had did not speak any English. I fully intended to go back and rip a stripe off the Bastard who sold me the tour but I ran out of time but I told everyone else in the condo about it. So it is what it is; so I will consider it "Lesson Learned".
The town of Sosua is a nice tourist town located in a quite bay where many sail boats anchor overnight when sailing past this Islands. I'm sure it is the Beach and the Bars that attracts the visitors. I met a Guy from Drumheller , who spends 6 weeks in Nov/Dec and another 6 weeks in Mar/Apr ( he owns a Condo ) and he says he sees many returnees each year to get their Winter Fix.
There are many ( probably a 100 ) Shops and Restaurants setback about 200 feet from the beach area and if you stop at a shop it becomes high pressure to buy. I actually intended to but a cap but I wanted to check with a few shops to get a feel of the lowest price. The first shop wanted 20.00 USD so I told him where he could shove it but he then ask what I wanted to pay. I said ,so 20.00 is not your real price so give me your best price and he kept said how much you give me; I said no , I'm not buying you and left.
The next shop owners was funny and in fact lived in Canada at one time. He even said he would take Canadian Tire money and he spoke good English. I just argued with and let Carroll bargain with him and he agreed to sell me a Cap for 10.00. Then Carroll wanted a painting so her and him bargained back forth and finally she got it for 10.00.
We sat around the beach for awhile then had an excellent lunch at a reasonable price. In the early afternoon the tour guide said our tour was over and went home. If we go to Puerto Plata again I think we would stay in Sosua for a couple of days just to see the sites and sounds of the town.
We seen two interesting sites. A young lady was carrying two flats of eggs on her head with weaving in and out among the visitors at the beach. Another guy was carrying a huge basket of fruit on his head selling them to those basking in the sun along the beach. Can you imagine one of us trying balance that on our head. I have a hard enough time just keeping my cap on. Cheers
The town of Sosua is a nice tourist town located in a quite bay where many sail boats anchor overnight when sailing past this Islands. I'm sure it is the Beach and the Bars that attracts the visitors. I met a Guy from Drumheller , who spends 6 weeks in Nov/Dec and another 6 weeks in Mar/Apr ( he owns a Condo ) and he says he sees many returnees each year to get their Winter Fix.
There are many ( probably a 100 ) Shops and Restaurants setback about 200 feet from the beach area and if you stop at a shop it becomes high pressure to buy. I actually intended to but a cap but I wanted to check with a few shops to get a feel of the lowest price. The first shop wanted 20.00 USD so I told him where he could shove it but he then ask what I wanted to pay. I said ,so 20.00 is not your real price so give me your best price and he kept said how much you give me; I said no , I'm not buying you and left.
The next shop owners was funny and in fact lived in Canada at one time. He even said he would take Canadian Tire money and he spoke good English. I just argued with and let Carroll bargain with him and he agreed to sell me a Cap for 10.00. Then Carroll wanted a painting so her and him bargained back forth and finally she got it for 10.00.
We sat around the beach for awhile then had an excellent lunch at a reasonable price. In the early afternoon the tour guide said our tour was over and went home. If we go to Puerto Plata again I think we would stay in Sosua for a couple of days just to see the sites and sounds of the town.
We seen two interesting sites. A young lady was carrying two flats of eggs on her head with weaving in and out among the visitors at the beach. Another guy was carrying a huge basket of fruit on his head selling them to those basking in the sun along the beach. Can you imagine one of us trying balance that on our head. I have a hard enough time just keeping my cap on. Cheers
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