Nov 14, 2017
Catch up time
We are in Amado, Arizona, less than an hour from crossing into Mexico. It is 8:20PM and I am ready with pesos, paper work, photo copies, US dollars to import the Jeep and whatever else I might need. I am enjoying wine but we haven’t had dinner yet. First I must catch you up to the que pasa of it all.
Where we spent the night with only about 90 miles to drive to Vegas. Sadly it turns out that tree dropped some sort of sap all over the RV and the Jeep. So much for our hand wash vehicle job the other day.
Some lovely art all over Las Vegas, especially along the on/off ramps.
We were in a rush to drop the Jeep off at the dealership but got caught in rush hour! We were crawling along the freeway, it took an hour to drive 24 miles.
Once we dropped off the Jeep we headed back up the same freeway in the opposite direction that we had come from. Just an aside here. Once we got to Freightliner, Colin approached to owner of this Safari with an offer to buy his coach anytime he wants to sell it. What! They even exchanged information.
In a nut shell, the RV problem was the secondary fan used by the A/C which is what Colin had diagnosed. We had to wait for 3 hours for them to even look at the RV and then it took over an hour to locate the part. We did tell them where the part came from as it had already been replaced once before. Then they had to order the part. By 2PM we knew that we were done for the day as they shut down at 4:30PM and of course the part would never get there in time. So we moved the RV to their over-nite site that is nothing but a piece of concrete, no power, no water, etc. Meanwhile we had contacted the Jeep dealer who said that all was okay and there were no issues at all 😯 It took over 2 hours for their shuttle to pick us up. Meanwhile we were able to open the RV slides for the first time in months and finally start to put things away. The cold, snow and ice had prevented us from doing so as we were loading.
When we got to the dealership we realized that we had left the tow shield on and it was now dark. So we had to somehow get it into the back of the Jeep on top of all our other stuff. We did run a few errands on the way back to our RV at Freightliner. I have to say that I now love the GPS. We only used to use the CPS but it is getting old and weary ( Contessa Positioning System). The Jeep GPS truly made our getting around Vegas so very much easier.
The next morning we were at the Freightliner office by 7:45AM as the part was to have come late the day prior. It actually never came until about 11AM. While waiting I worked for hours with help from a friend and finally by a Bitdefender Tech to rid my computers of the program. No go. Thank goodness I was able to do so a few days later. Such a relief.
At 11:45 Friday morning we were told that the ordered part had finally arrived but did not fit 😥 That was it for me. We had already told them where to get it but no that is not the way Freightliner does things and no we could not go get our own part. If we let them order the part we knew the we would be there until at least Monday ( maybe longer if it was the wrong part yet again ) and there was no guarantee that the part would fit. We took the damaged part and headed out in the Jeep. We knew that part could be found at Auto Zone and GPS told us it was only 3KM away 😀 We were back within 35 minutes and I felt so very good dropping the part on the managers desk. However what should have been a 20 minute install took two hours and then as the computers were acting up we had to wait another 45 minutes for the bill. They charged us for 2 hours of labor. Plus our purchase of the part for $70.00 which they would have marked up.
We finally got settled into the Las Vegas Resort about 30 hours late. They did not charge us for checking in a day later, I of course had let them know the day prior.
We made friends with several people in the Freightliner waiting area including two other couples who live in BC. In fact we all live within an hour of each other. What are the chances of us meeting up at the same place with RV issues. What is most amusing is that we ended up parked right next to the fellow with the Safari that Colin wants to buy. What are the chances?
We spent the next two days doing all errands that should have taken 3.5 days.
This was my favorite spot:) In fact we had been there the night before and purchased a few bottles to sample to chose some favorites. Wow, how we love US Costco. So many food choices and so many organic products. I had the best ever eggplant parmigiana for dinner that first evening. At one point we had 6, yes six, open bottles in the fridge. As we were only sampling we didn’t drink t00 much.
We had so many errands to run from buying more paint for our patio on the Isla which became an issue as they no longer have one of the color codes that our color choice last year had, so the paint came out the wrong yellow color and then it was a big to do to try and get it right ( never did but by then I no longer cared ), to good soil for my veggie pots, to more wine and specialty items, to sandpaper and polish cloths re waxing the Jeep and RV, etc.
Of course you now know about the Canon camera battery issue and fire on Sunday. Once we got ourselves together we were off yet again for a final shop at Walmart but now we had to get Best Buy to check my melted hard drive ( it is okay ) and buy a few new things that had been destroyed. Rush back to the RV and laundry for me while Colin unloaded and also set up the tire sensors on the Jeep.
As a surprise to me, while still back in Kelowna Colin had booked us a table at Nacho Daddy’s for dinner Sunday night. The perfect way to unwind. The margaritas were fabulous as was the meal.
I had a seafood taco and a lobster enchilada while Colin had two lobster enchiladas.
A stroll along Fremont Street helped wear off our dinner.
Always so much to observe. It helped take my mind off the events of the day.
Love the colors and the energy. Las Vegas was unseasonably cool while we were there. I used the seat heater on the way home.
Somehow on the way back to the car I stumbled into a casino. Colin loves to watch as I manage to make $10.00 last a very long time. We had fun. It was the perfect way to end the crazy day we had had.
Perhaps he did.
This post is long enough and it is getting late. ( 10:20PM ). Must get to bed soon as we are up at 5:30AM. I will finish up with the US side of things tomorrow along with our first day in Mexico.
<< Older Posts Home Newer Posts >>
Be safe driving. Lots of back and forth between lanes but basically roads are pretty good. Except through Hermosillo.
Good luck at first Mexican check point.
“Weather here is still very warm and humid, won’t need seat heater. We got the AC in the Jeep fixed yesterday, now it just has to be put back together and get the oil changed. Lots of changes here in town. When all the construction is finished it will be great. Big changes in Olas Altas. All new sidewalks around old town. Today I hope to go to camera repair and pick up my cameras. He is still in same home.
Post quick when you get to Stone Island. Thinking about you. Bill and Carol
Glad you got things all taken care of and juts love freemont street, our favourite part of Vegas.
Good to see you got the chance to unwind. You and Colin have a lot more patience than I would have with that dealership. I am going through a similar situation with the company I ordered my Z4 parts for repair, with two shipping delays now. I am remaining calm and nice though.
So let me get this straight … you BUY the part at AutoZone and then the RV dealer CHARGES you for the part plus their markup. That’s when they would have had to escort me out of the building with my toes dragging and me screaming.
The beach is close !!!!
So glad you made it down safely. Sorry could not make it to dinner this year, yesterday turned out to be a really tough day & NIGHT. We will catch up with you later. Keep the pics coming that we love so much. Enjoy!
rocmoc n AZ
So very sorry that you are having to endure all this extra pain. I hope that things improve for you quickly. Looks like we will be seeing each other next October. I can hardly wait.
All that stress and you look amazing.
Thank you, you are so sweet.
The picture of you and Colin at dinner and the one of him, Costco and wine are such fun photos. I enjoyed seeing them. You are a problem solver my dear Contessa and together you and Colin make quite a team! Traveling Mercies all the way to the Isla.
Oh dear Sandy, you always have so much confidence in my abilities. Thank you. Yes we do make a good team, just as you and Rex do.
Woohoo next stop Mexico! I bet the second you guys are done crossing the border a lot of your stress will just fade away from this crappy year
You know me well. Yes the stress did decrease once we got through the paperwork at KM 21.
It has been quite the adventure getting as far as Las Vegas! It also sounds like Colin has his eye on a new(er) RV!
You can relax now, you are almost in Mexico enjoying the cheap living and warm weather!
Actually the Safari RV is only two years younger than our RV. However looking at the layout online it is nowhere near as nice as the layout in ours is.
I guess it has been a while since you have been in Mexcio, prices are not what they used to be, better but not cheap.
Hi Contessa/Colin:
Yes that was quite the trip down so far. Thanks for the updates. I am just wondering/curious about the protocol etc as it regards the transport of your wine over the Mexican border. Would there not be a maximum duty free quantity?. I personally would be afraid to not disclose it all. Could you clarify in a post perhaps how that works for you. I want to RV/winter in Mexico in the near future and your blog as well as others I follow has provided very good information on the in’s and out’s of doing that.
I am a very long time reader/lurker and wish you a relaxed winter in MAZ.
Regards.
Welcome to the comment section of my blog. Nice to know that you are reading my posts. For years and years Mexico did not seem to mind what we brought into the country. That is slowly changing. You have to be comfortable with what you tell any official when you cross an international border. For years and years many RVers would smuggle booze into the US and into Canada then the crack down came. I know Rvers who even had the amounts of alcohol remaining in each bottle measured and totaled and then were charged. I know others that had storage under the cushions of their dining room chairs that they hid alcohol in as they crossed. Now one can be easily xrayed in both the US and Canada so one would have to be foolish to smuggle anything in. Please feel free to email me ( top right of my blog ) with further questions. You might not always get a quick answer depending on where we are or how busy I might be but you will get an answer. Over the years I have helped many folks travel to Mexico.
Almost to paradise…safe travels!
Yes paradise awaits. Hope to see you in April if it all works out.
You look fantastic Contessa!
Thank you but I’m sure that you are only saying that because I am wearing black, your favorite color 🙂
It looks like things are changing for the better, safe travels 🙂
Gracias
Oh, u r getting close!!!
So what wine do u buy at Costco?? What is good? I look, but don’t know what to try, I always order Pinot grigio when in the restaurant, chablis (sp)
I love Pinot Grigio, my favorite. This is the first time we have purchased wine at Costco but it won’t be the last. From the Kirkland brand I got the 2016 Pinot Grigio, from Friuli, Italy, 750 ml size. I also got the 1.5 l size California Pinot Grigio ( also Kirkland ). This one is my favorite, a Sauvignon Blanc called Ti Point from New Zealand, 750 ml size and also Kirkland brand.