Belated Happy Halloween Everyone

A very quick update. On Monday we got our Visa extended for the next 3 years and the TIP  for the car to match it. Tuesday it only took 30 minutes to carefully drive here and park in our compound. The driving part included cutting tree branches that could scratch the RV ( that had been done the day prior ) or put a hole in the roof and the parking part took over two hours and involved some machete cutting and saw cutting and rock pounding ( Mexicans are so creative ). Not to mention tall fellows standing on ladders to hold up both the electrical and the internet wires. Miraculously we pretty much fit next to the palapa we built last season. Details to follow. Also had some RV work done and we are good for now.

I had a massage today, a long shower and enjoyed homemade fresh shrimp burritos for lunch with a lovely glass of Australian Sauvignon Blanc. Followed by a bit of reading time and a long nap outside.  It was way too hot to sit outside at Tres Amigos but the breeze is perfect here and of course no bugs 😎  My main goal is to decrease my pain and increase my energy level. The rest of the yard set up and unloading can wait. As far as I know we are here for at least 6 months. We had planned to go out and about for the Day of the Dead ceremonies and parade starting tomorrow but this year we are just going to sit tight.

Just love the sunflowers and the butterflies.

We have arrived on the Isla!

It was a great travel day, we were driving by 6:03AM and arrived on the Isla itself by 12:40PM.  It was a stressless drive. In fact we wondered if this cartel war was for real.  We saw neither bad guys nor good guys ( police/military, etc ) no one was being pulled over every so often as we have been the past two past days. No military presence whatsoever. The roads were busy with mostly trucks. Never saw another RV since we left the US border. It was an easy non stressful drive.

Until we got to the Isla that is 🙄

We disconnected as usual but Colin decided to take the Jeep for a quick preview of the condition of the road and the low hanging  trees. He was gone almost 90 minutes 😯 Finally he came back with dismal news. Our site was full of weeds and our gravel had not been delivered and the gate was rusted shut! But worst of all there were so many low hanging tree branches that needed to be cut so we could drive to our site. It would take hours.

I made an executive decision and called David, manger of Tres Amigos and he graciously offered us to stay in which ever site we want to in RV1. It truly felt like coming home. Our site for years and years was number one but we stopped in site number two. Not sure we would fit in our old site with the new to us RV. But it was really wonderful, pulling in here. Even the girls knew where they were.

So tomorrow is tree cutting and gravel delivery day. I am staying here with the girls. Nothing is planned for certain but we wonder if it might be best for us to relax here for a few days and get our INM Visa business completed and then move to the compound Tuesday or later. Here it will be like a vacation just sitting and relaxing.  Moving involves starting a permanent set up. I vote to stay and relax 😎   We already had visitors earlier this afternoon which was very pleasant. Happy Birthday Jeannie, sorry but we really needed to set up the RV. Hope your dinner was extra special.

I feel asleep watching the ocean waves and then it was sunset. Perfection.

First Isla sunset this season. It feels so great to be back.

Yahoo, we are in Mexico

This was to have been posted Wednesday PM but I could not internet to work. So now I am post ing at noon today, Thursday. So read the following as if you were reading this last night.

 

It feels like the first day to the rest of our life.

We had a very good night boondocking in Quartzite, no RV issues.  Our new to us bed is very relaxing.  It is a king as we have given in and the girls are now sleeping with us every night. They sleep between as the foot of the bed, lay on top of our covers and are covered with their various dog blankets. Therefore we did not bring Carlies’ crate which is her private hideout place and we can tell she misses it. Frankly we have no room for it. However Colin will build her a private area once we are stopped and set up on the Isla.  Meanwhile they have numerous perches here in the RV to check life out and they appear content.
The word beach escaped Colin’s lips earlier this evening and the twins went ballistic.
Yesterday ( Tuesday ) we stopped near Tucson for some final grocery items. At the same time I got a lead from someone who has a friend who is a facilitator. So we spoke to here for a while and got her started on checking things out for us. Long story short for $650.00CAD she would arrange fo bus to have our address changed form the Isla to San Carlos and then we would apply for our next 3 year temporal visa through Guaymas and eventually have to change our address back to Mazatlan before getting out permanent in three years.
Then the RV would not start. We were stranded in a Walmart parking lot. Eventually Colin got it going but in the meantime we decided to stay with Genie and Joe for a few days but their park was full. So we carried on to Amado where we had a reservation. At that point we decided to spend a few nights there before moving to San Carlos for a few weeks. Then Colin decided that the RV seems to be fragile and that we should keep it running for 3 days until we get to the Isla. Meanwhile I had already formulated a plan to travel today via Santa Teresa to Torreon and Mazatlan. Suddenly we were going to be living in San Carlos for a few weeks!!! But we would have our Visa renewed and not have to worry about the cartel killing us on 15D this Friday and I could relax. Then Colin decided that he could not deal with the electricity at Totonaka, we never plug in – especially with his new RV.
So plan #256 was formed and we left this morning ( Wednesday the 23rd ) and head straight to the Nogales border crossing. All was well until at the customs declaration area we were directed to drive in in a certain lane. Colin one we could not make it but they insisted. Another longer story and an hour later the Jeep had been back up a bit and then removed and then the RV backed to of that lane. They next wanted us to drive the RV ( still unhooked ) into the lane next to it. Colin knew it cold not be done but ‘they’ insisted.  A few feet in we were almost stuck but Colin just ignored them and backed out. Finally we got thru the correct that that we had planned to use along. Got hooked up and sent on our way.  We were never boarded nor inspected😳 That all took an hour.
KM 21 also took an hour as they were busy at the banjecito as there were about five complicated situations ahead of Colin. I stayed on the bus with the girls as it was running ( just in case ). Anyway we got our ten year RV permit. Not sure if I will still be rving in ten years but you ever know.
Enjoyed the uneventful drive to the Fletcha fuel station at the turn off to San Carlos. Got a great spot between all the semis and having a generator is worth every penny we spent on this RV.
It has been extremely hot. In fact today we drove with the dash air on full as well as the generator running with the overhead A/C on.  I noticed that there were several passenger buses on the road and other private vehicles. But very few semi’s are driving. The road seems pretty empty. There were about 4 -5 check stops. We were waived thru all but the first one right after KM 21. I observed a superior officer telling the fellow in control to stop us. He asked if we spoke spanish and asked about home much money we had and about our drug use. Colin just joked with him and he let us go with a laugh about Colin being too old to use drugs and losing his hair.
One thing we noticed is that because we are 45’ with a tag axel we now have five axels and our toll cost is abut 100 pesos more per toll. Oh well…..
I decided between yesterday and today that I am done with noting how many miles we drive in day or what time we stop and go and the cost of fuel or the amount we spend.  Are we ahed of scheduled compared to last year or??? Who cares? We will get “there” when we get there.
So here we are parked up at the Fletcha next to the big boys and their huge engines. Double pane windows and all is quiet. I am so happy to have a generator and it is nice and cool in here. We have only opened the two slides the driver side and we have plenty of room inside. We discussed how we felt about this being or forever home and we both feel we need more time. We love being in here but have not yet had time to relax, take a nap, watch TV or cook a full meal.  So it is not quite home but hopefully will be soon.
Tomorrow we drive to Los Mochis where we will stay the night at Smart Gas. Friday is the important day – the stressful day where we will drive from north of Culiacan to the Isla. That is our day of Russian roulette. So if any of you read anything tomorrow evening or Friday morning please email me that information. We will depend on your input to help us make our decision to drive further south through the danger zone. Do not hesitate to contact us with any information that you feel we might need to know.

Made it to Quartzsite

We have spent the past 9 or so days ( I no longer recall details ). All our boxes have been unloaded, most items found a home in the RV, a few others hit the dust bin. We purchased some necessary groceries. We now have a residential fridge that holds more that expected. Bonus.

The alternator was replaced a few days ago and works great.  Colin noticed that the the RV tires seemed more flat than round on the bottom. He called in a semi truck repair vehicle. The tires were at 90 and were properly inflated to 130. So we were good to go.

Today we travelled from Las Vegas to Quartzite and are dry camping to test out how it all works out with our new home re keeping the fridge cold via the inverter and so on and so on. We are running our quiet generator to charge things before shutting it down about 8PM.  Yes we parked all away from other rvers.

Set up is quick with a self levelling system, no jacks 😎  Four slide outs deployed within in a few moments, push buttons and there you have it all ready.

Today was the second day that I have not had to take pain meds so that is big plus. Today was also our dry run for our first few nights in Mexico. Speaking of Mexico things are not going so well right now on 15D. In fact there are now cartel wars in at least six areas of Mexico. I have heard that the new president of Mexico does no plan on initiating any activity against the cartels until October 29th? Why?? Is she waiting for the weekend celebrations of the Day of the Dead to invite more killings?

As you know our personal issue is the renewal of our Temporal Visa.  Legally it must be done at an INM office – actually the same one we started this journey with last year. We would prefer to not have to travel to Mazatlan at this time. So my plan is to ask at KM21 for mercy due to the cartel situation and ask the INM there to grant us a few weeks extension. Then we would stay in San Carlos or Playa Los Glorious in Gusave. If we are not granted an extension then we will have to make a major decision on Wednesday evening.

Many have emailed or commented about us flying into Mazatlan. First of all it is not a fly and fly out the same day. It can take up to 3 days of back and forth to INM.  That means hotels, etc. Secondly we would have to leave the girls alone in an RV they are not very familiar with and with strangers to feed and walk them. That just is not going to work plus it is rather expensive.

I have photos to share but not the time right now. I thought that you might prefer this update. Gene don’t you dare leave me after all of these years.  We are not settling into one location but will be traveling all around Mexico, the US and maybe back to Canada.  I know I owe that generator repair post…..have not forgotten.

 

 

Right now, this moment, real time update!!

Written at 8PM Thursday the 17th. Then spent two hours trying to post this. No go.

We have been in Las Vegas since last Saturday the 12th of October.  Much to my chagrin the internet is dead, dead, dead😵 We left the dealership about noon on the 11th and have had a few challenges. Long story short we need a new alternator. Finally got that today ( $$$$$ ) and then a no show from the RV tech. Hopefully tomorrow.

We LOVE our new home but it has been a difficult adjustment. Still sorting out where to put stuff. The dealership was very good to us and did 2 days worth of fixes at our request. But who knew we would have a 50AMP shore power issue and an alternator issue.
Our 2009 Signature ( Ralph Lauren ) Monaco only was driven 24,000 miles. It had a much larger ( too big ) engine and that was downsized to a 550 HP 2 years ago  and only has 3,000 miles on the new engine. We can tell that this RV was well cared for ( by a Boeing pilot ), lived in but not driven much. Parked in Florida mostly. So the few issues we are dealing with are from not being used enough.
We are dealing with that situation as well as still moving in, finalizing our Montana LLC and all that that entails ie tax number and to register with the department of crime, EIN number and so on.
Some nights we work putting things away until midnight and a few nights I go to bed at 7 or 8 PM. We are being pushed by having to be in Mazatlan, Mexico to renew our Temporal Visa by month end. Otherwise we would need to start all over and it would be costly. I and a few friends have been working behind the scenes to try and figure out a way for us to extend our deadline, thus far it is not working. We need to physically be in Mazatlan.
Needless to say we are concerned about driving from Nogales to Mazatlan. Once day things safe but not so safe the next day.
So hopefully this helps explain whyI have not been posting. I have lost 4 pounds just from not eating – no time. Most of my day has been taken up either looking for a certain alternator part, I finally paid an extra $200.00 in shipping to get it here or putting out this fire or ordering this  ( garbage cans, a clock, towels hangers and so and so one ) or that and of course unloading and storing things.  Without that part we may not even get as far as Tucson.
I do intend to do a write up of our trip with the U Haul but in days to come……
Hope this gives you an idea of the intensity of our days. We have had no free time nor relaxation. Certainly not what I expected.
We have not had a moment to take photos so please click here to see our new home.
For certain real time update NOW at 9AM Friday the 18th
At first it looked like I had lost the above but clicked around enough to find this.
I just want to add that this has been the most frustrating two weeks of my life. Can you believe that we left our Kelowna home two weeks ago today? The fact that I have no clear eyesight has made navigating extremely frustrating what with changing from sunglasses to readers to distance vision spectacles all hang around my neck on their own chain. I need 12 days to get progressives which I will do in Mazatlan. Then going into a store I am dizzy and disorientated because things are fuzzy. Frightening to say the least 😥 Plus I misjudged my distance here in the RV and almost fell but only succeeded in twisting my left knee yet again ( it was only 3 weeks ago that I had my fall in the bathtub ). That pain is still with me and paired with low sight I am miserable and feel no joy. I love our RV but it has been a good deal of physical work which is not over. I truly hope that within the next few months my body will normalize. I believe that once we get to the Isla things will start to stabilize emotionally, mentally and physically. I have never felt so low in all my life. The garage sales, the selling of everything, the packing up has been too much for me. My body needs to catchup with my new life ahead.

Road trip – Day 1

The entire packing and loading thing took much longer than expected. We knew that it would be time consuming but had no idea it would take the energy and amount of time that it did. Who knew how much space a king duvet and cover and sheets and mattress cover would take once all folded up? In the end both the car and the U – Haul were full and I mean FULL!!

Extra special thank you to our great neighbour and friend Jack who helped Colin pull it all together at the last minute. And he even took out all of our garbage and recycle later in the day. Also a huge shout out to our friend Cindy who was concerned that we were still home when we should have been gone 15 minutes earlier. The plumber could not come on the weekend to do the water blow out of the house which is why we rushed things to leave today,  However I had a hair appointment with Tana which would be my last for a very long while. Cindy took only a nano second to take in the que pasa of the moment and decided to save the day by driving me to the top of the Mission for my appointment giving Colin much needed extra time to finalize the packing and loading. Almost two hours out of her life to do this for me 😎

Meanwhile I also have another special friend working behind the scenes trying to help us figure out a way to delay the extension of our temporal due to the cartel situation in Sinaloa.

We had a shaky start to the day but we quickly crossed into the the USA late afternoon with few questions. The border agent asked all the usual questions but not once asked why the Jeep was loaded to the roof nor what we were hauling in the U-Haul. I must say that we truly felt like the Beverly Hillbillies today. It was only about a 130 mile day but we were ready to call it a night. About 10PM now, we just shared a tuna Subway for dinner and a lovely bottle  of Sauvignon Blanc. The girls were very upset earlier in the day because of all the strange activity.

Actually I later realized that I was also unsettled as suddenly I was being driven away from my home without having a chance for a final look at the view or even an adios to mi casa 😥 It felt strange not leaving the house together.

Tomorrow is the begging of another adventure for us, roads never travelled and so on.

Maybe photos tomorrow……

Our final day

The weather has been spectacular the past few weeks. No rain to mention, the odd shower perhaps. Perfect conditions for packing and packing and even more packing. The leaves are just starting to turn. Nature is beautiful. We will miss our home here but not the cold which is beginning to creep in despite the sunshine. However it appears that at some point we will be back here next spring/summer for a bit, especially if the house sells.

Colin is working so very hard –  I never could keep up and now he is taking over most of my duties as well. I wasn’t going to tell you but then I always tell you everything so here goes. I had a fall, actually a bad fall last Sunday evening getting out of the bathtub. Finally I got up and got to bed. When I woke up Monday I could not walk and thespian was off the charts. No I did not go to the hospital as I don’t have 7 hours to sit in the ER. I carefully felt around, even both hips were hurting. Then I borrowed a walker. That helped me a bit. Mostly I sat at the computer and finalized all the online to do’s 😛 Yes finalized. There will always be things to do but I can let go now for a few days. I was so grateful for Colin taking on so many of my usual tasks.

Colin thought that this U-Haul which is that largest they have would be too big. Well it is pretty much filled to the top and front to back. Big worry is where will everything go when we unload.

Tuesday afternoon I got my crown and it fit perfectly. Best root canal and crown ever. I was using the walker and in pain. Yesterday morning I saw the eye doctor but a different one. Not the surgeon but an ophthalmologist in the same office compound as the surgeon. She was young and full of energy and very helpful. I had the best eye examination ever. Long story short I do need some distance correction ( very minor and a bit of astigmatism adjustment in my left eye ). I do need readers for close up, computer and reading. I am going to alternate between a  2 and a 2.5 correction. She came up with the perfect prescription for me but when we walked across the hall to the optical area I discovered that while they can do many things in a day they can’t do progressives. It takes a few weeks which of course I don’t have. My eyes are still healing and in fact I still do have inflammation in both eyes. Also my tears dry in mere seconds which is another reason I have trouble seeing. So I need to continue with the eyes drops but Mazatlan’s humidity will take care of that. So I had distance lenses put into my old teal coloured glasses which will be great for driving. I will use the readers I have. I was hoping to get sunglass readers but they are expensive and take several days to make. So I will find a pain of nice sunglasses to cover my readers when outside or using my distance glasses. As my eyes heal I will likely no longer need the distance correction.  So it was a good surgery but I am unique in my healing time.

Today I have less pain than the day prior and am going to start using a cane instead of the walker. To be honest neither of us felt that I would be able leave tomorrow because of the pain levels. However here it is our last day and there is a huge amount of packing to get done and I have no choice but to get it done.

This quick post was just to update you. I might just use the lap top so there may be no photos. Right now I am focusing on the next hour and then the next hour. The poor girls are upset with all the activity and were not happy to be left alone for over 5 hours yesterday. Today we are all together and will be from now on.  I am looking forward to building them a lovely nest in the car for our hours of travel.

I have been stressed to the max but today I can see a glimpse of my lovely future. Just have to take baby steps. You all know that loading the RV in a day next week will be a challenge but that is next week.

Off to finalize the packing……

Right now at 11:45AM!  Go to go, coffee break is over.