Year 3 Week 39

March 11 to 17, 2007

Rio Grande Valley, Texas

Year 3 week 39

 

Sunday ; Today was cloudy, windy, hot and humid.

This morning Erbon and Lorraine left. They are driving to Kingsville today and staying overnight so that they are close to King Ranch for their guided birding outing there tomorrow morning. Then they'll return to Port Aransas, and will be returning here in 8 days to spend another week with us.

My priority this morning was to change all clocks and watches to daylight savings time. I did some e-mail, then went to the clubhouse to get online, send and retrieve e-mail, and update my blog. After lunch I read, then napped. Ahhhhh ... back to normal routine. Joanne did laundry while I napped. We went to H-E-B in Palmview to replenish groceries. In the parking lot was a Golden Retriever puppy, scratching incessantly due to severe flea infestation. His ears were almost stripped of fur, and he had bald patches on his body where he had scratched so long and hard that the fur was worn off. Poor puppy. Neglect of dogs is an element of Mexican culture that's difficult for me to accept. While looking for a tub of ice cream Joanne found a flavour that she had never seen before. Cajeta ! I asked a young Mexican man walking by what Cajeta is. He said it's a Mexican form of caramel. We bought a tub of Cajeta ice cream, and now Joanne says it's her new favourite. She hopes it's available in Keremeos, B.C.. HA HA HA !

We had a late, leisurely supper, and watched Amazing Race. While we enjoyed our time with Erbon and Lorraine, it's nice to be "alone" together again. We very much enjoy being just the two of us.

 

Monday ; Today was cloudy and warm, with intermittent light rain. Well, the "Upper" Valley ( La Feria to Mission ) got light rain. The "Lower" Valley ( Harlingen to Brownsville ) got heavy rain.

The gloomy weather inspired a late start to the day. I made a few phone calls before lunch. After lunch we went out for a day of errands. First stop was to adjust the air pressure in one of Lanoire's tires. It seems to have a slow leak. I hope it's just the valve extender, and not a puncture. I removed the valve extender, and will monitor the pressure carefully for a few days. Next stop was to refill Lanoire with diesel. Gee whiz ... the price of fuel has just gone up, for spring break week, no doubt. We went to an RV parts dealer to pick up theSlide Out Slickers that they special ordered for us. I looked at them and realized that they would not be suitable for our trailer now that we've replaced the carpet with vinyl flooring. We didn't buy them. The RV dealer was miffed. As a former retailer, I can appreciate that. Next I stopped at a used auto parts dealer to ask if they would buy Lanoire's factory air intake system. I replaced the factory air intake system with an after market high performance air intake system while we were in Palm Springs. I don't want to throw out a perfectly good factory air intake system. I'm trying to find a used parts dealer that will buy it from me, while we're here in The Valley. There are a few used auto parts dealers here in The Valley.

We drove all the way over to La Feria, to pick up 2 batches of mail I was expecting to be waiting for me at General Delivery. Doggone it ... only one was there. I'm going to have to drive all the way back to La Feria later this week to get the second batch. We drove back towards Mission, stopping at Wal-Mart in ... I don't know ... I think we were in Alamo. While Joanne started Wal-Martin' I went to Pep Boys to browse for truck accessories. After Wal-Mart I stopped at a couple more used auto parts dealers. No luck yet selling Lanoire's factory air intake system.

There is a small notice in the clubhouse from a local propane supply company. They are expressing their appreciation for the Winter Texans' business by inviting us to come and pick all the free citrus we want, from the citrus trees on their property. How nice ! After supper we watched a movie Joanne borrowed from the clubhouse video library. An old John Belushi and Dan Akroyd movie. YUCK ... what a stinker. I gave up halfway through and went to read a book in the bedroom.

I have just returned from walking Bo late at night, after a light rainfall. The park smells like a perfume factory thanks to all the Mexican Oleanders in bloom.

 

Tuesday ; Today was hot and humid. It started out cloudy and raining. The sky cleared by late afternoon.

Today was a lazy day. This morning I walked Bo, then went back to sleep until noon. I phoned some more used auto parts dealers trying to find one that would buy the factory air intake system from the truck. No luck. Very reluctantly I am going to discard the perfectly good parts. Because I had a toothache for a couple of days last week, and now some sensitivity on the same tooth, I decided I need to see a dentist in either Reynosa or Nuevo Progreso, the 2 nearby cities in Mexico. I did some research, checking ads in the local tourist newspapers and magazines, got a referral from the owner of the RV park, and did some online research. I selected a dentist and made an appointment for Friday at noon. The air pressure in the truck tire seems to be holding okay, so hopefully the problem was just the valve extender. I'll keep checking the air pressure for a few more days, then if everything is okay, I'll just replace the valve extender.

I composed some e-mails regarding the purchase of our new RV lot in Keremeos, British Columbia. I prepared an e-mail to Valid Manufacturing regarding the 2 utility pedestals and concrete bases we will need, and another one to my investment broker about the money I will need to pay for the lot and its development. I finished reading a book, then surprisingly fell asleep. How can one sleep until noon then fall asleep for a nap 6 hours later ? ! ?

For supper I barbecued "Texas seasoned" beef ribs. They were great ! Holy, mackerel ... Joanne scarfed down an entire tub of Cajeta ice cream in 3 days ! And she wants to go to H-E-B for more ! HA HA HA !

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny, windy, and hot, temperature in the 90's !

Well, this morning I finally discarded the perfectly good factory air intake system from Lanoire. It irritates me that I wasn't able to sell it to a used auto parts dealer here. They seemed to be concerned about buying parts from a stolen and "chopped" vehicle. Understandable, I guess. We spent most of the day washing both the truck and trailer. Whew ... what a tough job.

Late in the afternoon I filed our corporate GST return online. I suppose that once we get settled in our new "home" in Keremeos, B.C. I'm going to have to "dissolve" Misty Ventures & Developments. YIKES ... more money lost in the market. I hope the stock market stabilizes and starts heading back upwards again soon. After supper I continued working on the latest incoming batch of mail we recently picked up.

 

Thursday ; Today was hot and humid, cloudy in the morning, clearing in the afternoon.

Today was another day of running errands. First we drove east on Hwy. 83 all the way back to La Feria, to get the batch of mail that wasn't there a few days ago. It still wasn't there. Darn ... that's a 90 mile return trip... for nothing ! On the way back to Mission we went to Lowe's in Pharr, and bought a new barbecue. A very deluxe, stainless steel one. I didn't know they made such nice barbecues in small table top versions. Next stop was PetsMart in McAllen to buy cat food. I stopped at a truck accessory business and took a look at brush guards for Lanoire. Huge, honkin’ brush guards / "Mazda swatters" are "de rigueur" for pickup trucks down here in Texas. I'm considering buying one. HA HA HA ! Last stop was H-E-B in Palmview for milk, bread, and < whispering > more Mexican pastries. What can I say ?

Late in the afternoon I began to work on repairing a stress crack in the fiberglass on the trailer. I'm trying to figure it out as I go along, and if it turns out okay, there's two more. After supper I went to the clubhouse, got online with Wi-Fi, and retrieved mid-month investment updates. HMMM ... not great !

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and hot.

The population of The Valley is slowly declining. The mass northward migration has begun. Except for the Manitobans. We are noticing a disproportionate number of Manitoba license plates in the last few days. I wonder why the Manitobans haven't begun heading home ? Could it have something to do with the fact that the temperature is still 15 degrees below zero ? ! ? HA HA HA !

This morning we headed east on Hwy. 83, then south on Hwy. FM 1015, to the Mexican border, for my dentist appointment in Nuevo Progreso. WOW ... consultations with 2 dentists, and x-rays. Total bill : $10 !

I arrived at the dentist's office at 11:30 A.M. for my appointment at noon. I was in the chair, being seen by Dr. Ricardo Carreon ( Caddy own .. roll the "rr") at 11:45 A.M. ! WOW ! A dentist who see patients even before their appointment time. What a pleasant surprise ! Without a doubt, this was the cleanest, most impressive dental office I've ever been in, even slightly superior to our "regular" dentist in Los Algodones, Mexico, south of Yuma, Arizona. Certainly superior to our upscale expensive dentist in Ottawa. All instruments are in sealed packages. All water used is distilled water imported from the United States. Even the handles on the dental lamp had plastic sleeves on them, which were changed between patients. Before he even looked in my mouth, based on my description of the toothache problem, Dr. Carreon suspected it was a gum problem, not a tooth problem. He examined my teeth, then took an x-ray. No cavity, no loose filling. He is a specialist in teeth. He called in his associate, Dra. Elizabeth Salinas. She is a specialist in roots. She tapped hard on the sore tooth, blew water on and around it, blew air on and around it, studied the x-ray, and concluded there was no root problem. That leaves a gum problem. They recommended that I see their periodontist / gum specialist, who isn't in the office on Fridays. I made an appointment for Monday with Dra. Elizabeth Lince ( Linn say ). There was no charge for the examination and consultation with Dr. Carreon. There was no charge for the examination and consultation with Dra. Salinas. The x-ray cost ten dollars. When was the last time you went to the dentist and the bill was ten dollars ? ! ?

We crossed the border back into the United Sates for the third time with expired passports. For the third time, there was no problem. We drove back to Seldom Rest Ranch, had lunch, read, napped, then spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. I did some minor maintenance, then some online work, retrieving some corporate income tax forms.

 

Saturday ; Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Today was sunny, hot, and humid again. As nice as the weather is here in The Valley, we still prefer the weather further west, out in Arizona and Southern California, because of the much lower humidity.

Today was another lazy day. I finished working on my fiberglass repair of the first of three stress cracks on the trailer. It turned out pretty good. Tomorrow I'll tackle the other 2 stress cracks. I assembled the new barbecue. Very nice. After almost 3 years in the world of full time RV'ing, it's time we move up in the RV world, to a deluxe stainless steel barbecue. The RV world table top version of those stainless steel "outdoor kitchen" barbecues. Gotta keep up with the Jones ! HA HA HA ! Somewhat hard to do when the neighbours have half million dollar Wanderlodges and three quarters of a million dollar Prevosts.

We took Bo for a long obedience walk, followed by a tennis ball play session. That left just enough time to read and nap before attending the park's communal St. Patrick's Day dinner in the clubhouse. Very nice corned beef and cabbage. Well ... nice corned beef, anyway. I'm not a big fan of cabbage. Or, more precisely, Senor Colon isn't a big fan of cabbage. The park's residents contributed desserts. We got an introduction to a local favourite. Grapefruit Pie ! Very good ! One of the park's residents invited me to come pick fresh limes from the lime tree in his site. After supper, while walking Bo, I did that.

I spent the evening updating my investment spreadsheets. HMPH ... lost half a dually !

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 38

March 4 to 10, 2007

La Feria to Mission, Texas

Year 3 week 38

 

Sunday ; La Feria to Mission, Texas

Today was cloudy and cool in the morning, but the sky cleared and it warmed up later in the day. This morning we prepared for departure from La Feria RV Park, and just as we were about ready to leave, Erbon and Lorraine showed up. They had left Port Aransas early this morning, to meet us. We drove about an hour west in The Valley, on Hwy. 83, to Mission. We found our way to Seldom Rest Ranch, an RV and mobile home park where we had rented a mobile home for a week for Erbon and Lorraine, and an RV spot for us right next to their mobile home.

After getting set up, and having lunch, we left to go explore Bentsen State Park nearby. We picked up information on the park's birding activities and schedules at the park's visitor centre, planning to return another day. From Bentsen State Park we drove to "Pepe's On The River", a local honky-tonk of some renown. HA HA HA ... welcome to Texas ! Pepe's is sort of an indoor / outdoor thatched roof honky-tonk. The first building we went to was a huge, thatched roof, no walls, dance bar sort of place. Live country band, lots of old people / Winter Texans with pitchers of beer, drinking and / or dancing, overlooking the banks of the Rio Grande River, and Mexico on the opposite shore. We walked along the shoreline of the Rio Grande River, looking at birds, over to the other Pepe's building. This was the indoor portion. Similar to the first building, but a bit smaller, and with walls. We ordered beer and Margaritas, and sat down to listen to the country and western band. Hey, you know ... when in Rome ...! Lorraine promptly spilled her Margarita all over the table. Ooooops.

After finishing our beer and Margaritas, we left Pepe's and drove next door to an old "mission", La Lomita Chapel. We walked around the grounds, and inside the old, small church. The city of Mission is named for this "mission". We drove into Mission and stopped at H-E-B to buy a few groceries. We drove over to Mission Nature Park and walked around briefly, admiring huge Prickly Pear Cacti, and the blooming wild flowers.

Back at Seldom Rest Ranch we sat and visited ( and drank Jack Daniel's ) in the nice screened porch attached to Erbon's and Lorraine's rental mobile home. I barbecued some really nice steaks we bought yesterday, that Joanne had marinated overnight. MMMMM ... very good. Following Lorraine's example of earlier today, I spilled a glass of wine all over the dinette table. Ooooops again ! Have another bourbon, Dan !

 

Monday ; Nuevo Progreso, Mexico

Today was sunny and very warm. For breakfast I picked a fresh grapefruit off the tree by the clubhouse in our RV park. We left this morning for a day in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. But first we had to drive west on Hwy. 83 to the city of La Joya ( "J" sounds like "H" ), where we bought tickets at the high school for their Saturday evening Mexican Folkloric concert. We back tracked east on Hwy. 83, then south on FM 1015 ( FM is "farm to market" road ) to Progreso, Texas. We parked and walked across the International Bridge into Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. Joanne and I have been to Nuevo Progreso a few times. It was the first time Erbon and Lorraine have been into Mexico. Our first few stops were at pharmacies. Erbon wanted to buy some medication for their friend Marion in Port Aransas. Once we got those medications purchased, we spent a couple of hours wandering down the main street, shopping for nothing in particular. Erbon and I each had a $1 Margarita, sipping on it as we walked down the street shopping. Hey ... welcome to Mexico. I bought a leather pocket change pouch. Erbon and Lorraine bought a custom made signature bracelet for a friend's child with an unusual name. Joanne recommended it. We had purchased these personalized name bracelets for her nieces a couple of years ago. We had a great lunch at Arturo's Restaurant, a restaurant Joanne and I have not tried before. After lunch we went for haircuts, all four of us. $4 for men, $5 for women. Then we did some serious shopping. Lorraine bought a dress. I bought a lot of Mexican chocolates. So did Erbon, although not quite as much as me. I bought our old standbys, Creminos, Nugs, and Coconugs. But I also bought some new ones to try. Turkos, which are similar to Creminos, but flavoured differently, Nugs Crujiente, and Mui-Bon. My backpack sure was heavy, loaded down with all those chocolates and chocolate bars. Lorraine bought a straw hat.

We were all shopped out, with sore feet. We walked back across the bridge into the United States. We drove to a nearby new state park called Estero Llano Grande ( double "L" sounds like "Y" ). Erbon and Lorraine picked up information and schedules on birding activities. While they did that, I sat on the visitor centre's outdoor deck and watched a Naria swim around the marshy pond, and hunt on the shoreline. A Naria is a local small mammal, looks somewhat like a beaver or an otter. We drove back to Mission on the "scenic route", Hwy. 281 A.K.A. Military Highway. We stopped to watch a plane doing crop dusting. YIKES ! That's certainly not the way I was taught to fly an airplane.

Back at Seldom Rest Ranch we quickly changed and headed for the swimming pool while there was still some sunshine and warmth left in the day. While were all changing out of our bathing suits, some mystery neighbour hollered through Erbon's and Lorraine's screen door that he was leaving some grapefruits. They didn't even see who it was, they just heard the voice. Some grapefruits ? ? ? Geeeeez ... it was a huge box full. We were laughing that grapefruits in the Rio Grande Valley must be like zucchinis back home in Canada. When they're ready to harvest, you can't give them away fast enough.

We convened in Erbon's and Lorraine's porch to plan our activities for the rest of the week that they are here with us, So much to see and do, and so little time ! We ( well, everybody except me ... hmph ! ) decided we weren't very hungry, after such a large lunch at Arturo's. Joanne made a fresh fruit salad, and we had that with Mexican pastries for supper.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and very warm, a bit windy in the afternoon.

This morning we loaded into Erbon's and Lorraine's car and headed for Bentsen State Park, about 4 miles south on the road we're located, Bentsen Palm Drive. We wanted to go on the once per week guided birding tram tour at 11:00 A.M.. It was very good. We were driven around the park on a tram trailer that seated about 20 people, towed by a pickup truck, stopping periodically at bird viewing stations. Erbon and Lorraine spotted about a dozen new types of birds to add to their birders' list. We saw Altamira Orioles, Green Jays, Chachalacas, Kiskadees, a Screech Owl, and very interesting Leaf Cutter Ants at work. The Ranger who led the tram tour was a Naturalist, now retired from the National Parks system and working part time for Texas State Parks. It seemed as if most of the 20 or so people on the tram tour were Canadians. It appears as if the American Snowbirds / Winter Texans have begun their migration back north, but the Canadians haven't yet. After the tram tour ended back at the park's visitor centre, we spent about a half an hour at each of two of the bird viewing stations in the park before heading home to Seldom Rest Ranch.

We had lunch, then headed for the swimming pool to float away the afternoon. The park's very sociable female cat visited with us at the swimming pool. After the pool it was time for a nap for most of us.

Finally ... the much awaited and anticipated supper hour arrived. We loaded into the Dickinson's car for the drive back towards the border crossing into Mexico at Progreso. We had some difficulty finding it , but ... just before Progreso ... there it was ! Fat Daddy’s ! ! ! The best barbecue in the Rio Grande Valley ! Actually, I thought it didn't quite live up to its reputation. But I couldn't eat the signature pork spareribs. Erbon, Lorraine, and Joanne all thought that the pork spareribs were the best they've ever eaten.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and hot.

We slept in this morning. Erbon and Lorraine left early this morning for a birding tour in Estero Llano Grande State Park. We met them for lunch at Whataburger in Donna, about half an hour east of here on Hwy. 83. After lunch we went to the Donna / Weslaco Flea & Farmer's Markets, between the cities of Donna and Weslaco. I wanted to buy a few small items I needed that I knew would be available at the flea market. Joanne was looking for something specific that she bought here before, but the vendor she bought it from was not here this year. Erbon bought Lorraine a very lovely silver and turquoise bracelet made by a Zuni Indian artist from New Mexico. Joanne stocked up on fresh fruit and produce at the farmer's market. It was about 3:30 P.M., and Erbon was much too tired from a morning of walking around the state park to want to stay near Weslaco for another couple of hours to view the late afternoon return of the green parrots that roost in Weslaco each evening.

On the way back to Seldom Rest Ranch I stopped to pick a few blooms off the top of a Yucca tree. Erbon and Lorraine had been told that the petals of the blooms on the Yucca trees are a nice addition to a garden salad, and the Yucca trees are in bloom right now. It was bit difficult to find a Yucca tree that I could reach the blooms on top, but finally Joanne spotted one that was growing bent over, and I was able to reach the blooms on top. Back at Seldom Rest Ranch we all headed for the pool and hot tub for the rest of the afternoon. Erbon and Lorraine made supper for us tonight. While they prepared supper I went to the clubhouse and got online with Wi-Fi to check e-mail. After we had supper Erbon and I returned to the clubhouse with my laptop so he could pay a bill online. We shot some pool. HA ... I won, two games to one.

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and hot.

This morning we left for the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. East on Hwy. 83, then south on Hwy. 281, then ... WHOA ... < SCREECH > ... MEXICAN BAKERY ! I slammed on the brakes and turned into the bakery. Joanne thinks I should have a bumper sticker that says " I brake for Mexican Bakeries". HA HA HA ! I bought a bunch of Mexican pastries, as did Erbon and Lorraine. I also bought a white chocolate cappuccino, and when we got to the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge a few minutes later, the cappuccino and a pineapple empanada were my breakfast. Ahhhhh ... life is good ! HA HA HA ! We walked slowly around the grounds of Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge viewing birds ( and lizards ) until it was time for our guided tram nature tour. It was an hour and half around the refuge, stopping occasionally at interesting places. After the guided tram tour we ate our picnic lunches, then hiked into the refuge, following the Chachalaca hiking trail, to view birds. Erbon and Lorraine are still spotting "new" species of birds. These past few days in The Valley have proven to be quite productive to them as birders.

Tired, and mosquito bit, we returned to Seldom Rest Ranch around 4:30 P.M.. Today was the first time we've encountered mosquitoes in The Valley. Joanne and I headed to the swimming pool and hot tub for awhile, then had an early light supper. At 6:30 P.M. we departed for Bentsen State Park, and the evening nature walk. A few days ago when we signed up for tonight's evening nature walk, Erbon and Lorraine got the last 2 spots available. Joanne and I signed up as "standbys". Everyone who had signed up showed up tonight, so us "standbys" didn't get to go on the tour. Joanne and I returned to the trailer, watched Survivor, and I downloaded and processed some photos before driving back to Bentsen State Park at 9:00 P.M. to pick up Erbon and Lorraine.

 

Friday ; Today was mostly sunny and hot. There were a few clouds this morning, due to high humidity and heat.

This morning we loaded into the Dickinson's car and headed west on Hwy. 83 to Falcon State Park, about an hour west of here. We first visited FalconState Park when we went there a year ago to visit friends of ours who were WorkCamping here. Falcon State Park is at the Falcon Dam, on the Rio Grande River, creating Falcon Reservoir.

At the park we spent some time viewing birds from inside a bird blind, then explored the park a bit by car before having our picnic lunch. We wandered from the picnic area down to the water's edge where I chatted with 2 couples from Winnipeg. Small world ! They told me about a nearby "hippie couple" who have turned their 2 acre piece of property into a bird watching haven. Following their directions, we drove out of Falcon State Park, found the small village of Salineño ( "ñ " sounds like "n" followed by the "y" sound as in the word "yellow" ), drove down to the Rio Grande River, parked, and walked to their property. We spent an hour and a half sitting in lawn chairs in their yard, viewing birds. The "hippies" are an 80 year old couple from Michigan who have been coming to this property of theirs for the last 22 years, from November to April each year. They have turned their yard into a bird watching area, and invite all birders to visit, opening their yard to the public each day from 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M..

Alongside the road I broke a long segment off a huge Aloe Vera plant, to sample fresh Aloe Vera gel ( I know ... I’m a bad boy ). We drove back into Falcon State Park, and did more exploring by car and by foot. We drove to the city of Roma, and briefly explored the waterfront area looking across the Rio Grande to the Mexican city across from Roma. I can't remember the city's name. As the sun set we went for supper to a restaurant in Roma called El Mexicano. Our friends Jack and Sharon Board took us there a year ago. The meal we had there today was good, but not as great as the meal we had last year. And the service was poor. And they no longer are licensed, so I couldn't have an ice cold Dos Equis cerveza ( servaysa / beer ) to cool down my tongue which was on fire from the salsa that came with the tortilla chips as an appetizer < opening mouth wide and breathing fire >.

It was a productive birding day for Erbon and Lorraine again. They continue to identify “new” species of birds that they have never seen before, including 2 new types of orioles. Spring has arrived in The Valley. Everything is blooming. Falcon State Park smells like a perfume store.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and hot again.

This morning Joanne and I slept late. Erbon and Lorraine left early in the morning for another guided birding outing in Bentsen State Park. They are leaving tomorrow morning to return to Port Aransas, but have decided to return in a week for another week in The Valley. So Joanne and I are going to stay here for 2 more weeks.

When I lifted the hood of the truck to do today's preventive maintenance, an old man wandered by to stick his head in under the hood with me. That's a common occurrence in RV parks when one lifts the hood of one's truck. HA HA HA ! We chatted for a long time about my relatively new Dodge truck, his old Dodge truck, and what pieces of shit both our previous GMC trucks were. His burnt to the ground. Said it was the best thing that could have happened to it. HA HA HA !

We spent the afternoon floating around the swimming pool. Nice work if you can get it ! We had an early supper. Erbon and Lorraine bought a Honey Mesquite barbecued chicken at H-E-B, and Joanne prepared spinach salad and potato salad. Most barbecue down here is done over Honey Mesquite wood because the Honey Mesquite trees grow like weeds around here.

After supper we loaded into Lanoire and drove about 15 minutes west of here to the city of La Joya ( remember "J" sounds like "H" ), to the gala concert at La Joya High School. It was the 25th anniversary of the high school's performing arts program, featuring their musical instrument and singing group, Mariachi Los Coyotes, and their dance group, Grupo Folklorico Tabasco. It was a 3 hour performance of Mexican music, singing, and dancing. It was great ! A real treat was that the last quarter of the show featured alumni. Graduates of the performing arts program over the last 25 years. As they mature, Mexican women might lose their shape, but they sure don't lose their voice. Seeing the 40 year old alumni makes me think I should cut back a bit on the Mexican food and pastries. Aiy, Chihuahua ! One of the 3 principal female singers of Mariachi Los Coyotes had a vocal range and singing ability that made shivers run up and down my spine !

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 37

February 25 to March 3, 2007

Port Aransas to La Feria, Texas

Year 3 week 37

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and mild.

We went with Erbon and Lorraine to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. They picked us up at 8:00 A.M.. We drove about an hour north, "zigzagging" along the Gulf Of Mexico Coast. First stop was the Visitor Centre, where Erbon confirmed our spots on the 10:00 A.M. guided tour. The guided tour, led by 2 older women, with 8 participants, in a van, drove slowly around Aransas National Wildlife Refuge for 2½ hours, stopping at places of interest to view birds and / or wildlife. Highlights were seeing the rare Whooping Cranes, and a couple of Wild Boars. After the guided tour, we had a picnic lunch, enjoying the warm sunshine. Lorraine and I both have colds, and didn't feel great today. After our picnic lunch, we drove slowly around the self guided 16 mile auto tour, stopping frequently to view birds, and occasionally alligators. Erbon and Lorraine are avid birders. To me, one big white bird is the same as the next. What a Philistine ! HA HA HA !

They dropped us off at our RV park about 5:00 P.M.. We walked Bo quickly, then hurried off to this park's ice cream social held every Sunday at 5:00 P.M.. HUH ? Nobody in the clubhouse ! And no announcement about the ice cream social being cancelled. Oh, well !

I finally and reluctantly concede that something is wrong with our TV antenna. So I set up our little tiny "emergency" TV, with its own little antenna, and we watched Amazing Race while we ate supper. After supper I downloaded and processed a couple of photos I took today of alligators, then went to the clubhouse to get online with Wi-Fi so I could do my weekly blog update. Oh, for crying out loud ... this park's Wi-Fi is out of service again !

 

Monday ; Port Aransas to La Feria, Texas

Today was sunny and hot ! I finally felt my cold diminishing significantly.

This morning we prepared for departure and left Port Aransas heading south on Hwy. 361, driving the length of Mustang Island, and crossing onto Padre Island. We turned inland heading alongside Corpus Christi Bay towards the city of Corpus Christi on Hwy. P22 which became Hwy. 358. Through Corpus Christi and onto Hwy. 44 heading west, then we turned south on Hwy. 77.

We drove a few hours south on Hwy. 77, turning west on Hwy. 83 when we reached the Rio Grande Valley at Harlingen. We found our way to La Feria, and La Feria RV park, where we've stayed twice before. We got hugs from the couple working the check in office. They are Escapees who are WorkCamping here. We checked in and got settled into our site. Joanne did laundry and I got online in the clubhouse with Wi-Fi. I updated my blog, sent and retrieved e-mail, and did some Internet surfing.

We took Bo for a walk, everybody enjoying the great weather. We did some planning of where to go and what to do with Erbon and Lorraine when they come to The Valley to visit with us next week. We finished the evening by giving Bo a bath. What a filthy little cur ! How does he get that dirty ? Mind you, I guess my wife asks that about me, too, especially when she’s washing my shirts. HA HA HA !

 

Tuesday ; Today was mostly sunny, hot, and humid. Evidently spring has arrived in the Rio Grande Valley. My cold is mostly over. I felt healthy for the first time in a week. It was unfortunate, and inconvenient, that I was ill the entire time we were visiting with Erbon and Lorraine in Port Aransas / Mustang Island.

First thing this morning I reinstalled the repaired fluorescent light fixture over my folding computer desk. It was waiting for us when we arrived here yesterday. I sent it back to the manufacturer for warranty repair when we were in Benson, Arizona less than 2 weeks ago. I'm impressed that Thin-Lite in California repaired and returned it that promptly. We drove over to the Post Office to buy a stamp and mail a letter, then over to a nearby motel to check their rates. We're looking for a suitable place for Erbon and Lorraine to stay next week.

After lunch we drove into Harlingen. First stop was, as usual, Wal-Mart to replenish supplies and groceries. Then we refilled with diesel at the Wal-Mart gas bar. From there we found our way to a Walgreen's Pharmacy to buy a few items that Joanne had Walgreen's coupons for. On our way back to La Feria there was a very serious looking single vehicle accident on the freeway. Back in La Feria, we stopped at Mexicana Bakery #2 and stocked up on ... well, you know ... a bunch of Mexican pastries. I wonder where Mexicana Bakery #1 is ? HA HA HA !

When we got back to the trailer, there were chores to do, but ... what the hell ... the pool looked too inviting. We spent a couple of hours floating around the pool, chatting with a couple from Missouri. I spent the remainder of the afternoon on the roof of the trailer trying to determine what was wrong with the TV antenna. I determined the problem, and began to work on the solution. The problem is corrosion, caused by 8 years of exposure to the elements. The connections are rusty. The coaxial cable core is rusty. Everything made out of metal is rusty. Everything made out of plastic is brittle and cracked. I managed to get the antenna head removed before it got dark. Certainly the antenna head will have to be replaced. Perhaps the entire antenna head, shaft, and mounting assembly will have to be replaced. Oh, well ... at least we don't have to whack the starter every time we want to start the truck and go somewhere. HA HA HA !

Joanne wants me to mention in today's journal entry that her incessant nagging ( well, that's not exactly the wording she used ) for the last 6 months ( it seemed like 6 years ) about the TV reception problem was justified. HA !

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and hot.

Whew ... lost an awful lot of money in the stock market yesterday. Oh, well ... as my Quebecois friends would say ... "spway cadeau" ( ce n'est pas un cadeau / it's not a gift ). I expected this market correction. The stock market's been too hot to hold.

I started out this morning by having to dismantle the plumbing underneath the bathroom sink, to retrieve the electric toothbrush battery that Joanne dropped down the drain < sigh >. Then I climbed up on the roof and continued working on the TV antenna. I needed to know if the coaxial cable was rusted just at the end of the connection, or had the rust extended down into the cable core. I cut off the rusted connection and an inch of cable, and discovered that the cable was okay. I installed a new cable end connection. Now I knew I would only have to replace the antenna head, and not the entire assembly. Then I did a minor repair underneath the bed, where the bed slide mechanism is. That went okay as well.

After lunch we headed west further into The Valley. La Feria is near the east side of The Valley. First stop was an apartment hotel in Pharr, to see if it was a suitable place for Erbon and Lorraine to stay next week. Not bad ! Next stop was Camping World in Mission where I bought a replacement RV antenna head. A bit more expensive than I thought it was going to be. Finally we went to Seldom Rest Ranch, an RV park in Mission that also has some rental units available at reasonable rates. We liked the place, and selected an RV site for us, right next to an older mobile home available for rental for Erbon and Lorraine. It has a nice screened porch which I'm sure we'll all enjoy, including Teddy. Teddy misses the large screened porch of our last home, in Ottawa.

We began to head back east, stopping at the Farmer's Market in Weslaco. We bought some fresh fruit and produce, including some massively huge Rio Red grapefruits, 5 for a dollar, and some local oranges, 15 for a dollar. From there we went to H-E-B for a few groceries, then we drove back to La Feria.

Back at La Feria RV Park we had to decide whether to wash the truck, or head for the swimming pool. Some decisions are easier than others. HA HA HA ! On the way back to the trailer from the pool, we found that neighbours, from Sarnia, Ontario, were searching for their misplaced kitty. We took Bo for an obedience walk, searching for the missing cat while we walked. About half an hour later the neighbours found their cat, cowering under a truck 3 sites over from theirs. They were extremely relieved. Been there, done that !

After a great supper of huge barbecued beef ribs, we phoned Erbon and Lorraine, making arrangements to meet with them on Sunday to head to Seldom Rest Ranch in Mission. Afterwards we administered Teddy's and Bo's monthly flea treatments and heartworm medication. I went to the office to retrieve month end investment updates. YIKES !

 

Thursday ; Today was partially cloudy and hot.

This morning I installed the new TV antenna head. It took a little longer than I expected, but the results were good. After lunch we spent half the afternoon floating around the swimming pool. We chatted with a woman from South Dakota who is here for the first time on her own. She and her husband had been coming here for a number of years. He died in July of cancer. The rest of the afternoon was spent washing the truck. Very thoroughly, inside and out. Just because it was nice to work outdoors in such nice weather.

I retrieved my February bank statements and reconciled them. I spent the evening updating my investment files with month end data.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and hot here in The Valley again. Kind of a repetitive theme, n'est-ce pas ?

This morning while Joanne went off to do laundry I got up on the roof to do some resealing with rubber roof compound around the TV antenna mount . I tried to pay the MasterCard bills by phone, but MasterCard was experiencing some technical difficulties. I'll have to try again later. I phoned Passport America and renewed our annual membership. I disinfected the fresh water holding tank.

After lunch we spent much of the afternoon floating around the swimming pool, and lying on a lounge chair in the bright, warm sunshine. Another repetitive theme. Joanne took the truck and drove into Harlingen to do some shopping. I did some reading, took Bo for an obedience walk, and finished my investment updates that I had not completed last night.

While Joanne prepared supper, I went to the clubhouse, paid the Canadian dollar MasterCard online, then paid the U.S. dollar MasterCard by phone. I can't pay the U.S. dollar account online. The stock market continues to decline < sigh >.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and hot.

This morning I got up on the roof and finished up the resealing around the TV antenna. I had to slice the rubber roof compound I applied yesterday, around the base of the antenna, to allow the antenna to turn for tuning. I didn't think I was going to be up on the roof very long, but I can tell from the feel of my shirt on my shoulders tonight ( ouch ) that I should have worn a shirt while working up on the roof in the bright sunlight of South Texas.

After lunch we went out to run errands. First stop was Mexicana Bakery # 2 in La Feria to stock up on Mexican pastries before we leave here tomorrow morning. Then we stopped at a market in La Feria that was advertising freshly picked pecans. We bought a pound. I'll shell them and Joanne will bake a pecan pie. Pie made with pecans fresh out of the shells is great ! We drove to Harlingen. Joanne went into H-E-B to buy groceries. I went into the adjacent Radio Shack to look at small TV's.

When we visited with our new friend Mary Anne from Virginia while we were in Hondo, she showed us a small TV she had just bought at Radio Shack. We wanted one. Today I looked at 5 different models they had on sale, and bought one. It has a 5 inch colour LCD flat screen, operates on both AC and DC power, and tunes / finds channels electronically. It will replace a boxy little black and white TV we have that works on AC and DC power.

Back at La Feria RV Park, we spent the balance of the afternoon in the swimming pool. AHHHHH ! Life is good !

DSK

Year 3 Week 36

February 18 to 24, 2007

Hondo to Port Aransas, Texas

Year 3 week 36

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and mild.

We had a restful day. I tightened the truck's power steering fluid reservoir which had become slightly loose. We took Bo on an obedience walk, then walked to the edge of the RV park to allow him to see the goats and horses on the farm next door. WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF ! ! ! Easy, Bo ! We went to the clubhouse, so Joanne could check out their bargain table, and I could check if the TV in the clubhouse could receive CBS, which we can't receive in the trailer. The TV in the clubhouse had no better reception than the trailer. Darn ... we're going to miss the season premiere of Amazing Race.

I read, and napped. Joanne is convinced that there is something wrong with our TV reception so I removed the TV and VCR from the entertainment cabinet and checked all the cable connections. I couldn't find anything wrong. We went to the ice cream social, a weekly Sunday afternoon event in all SKP parks. The ice cream servers were bragging about the Texas sized scoops of ice cream they serve here at Lone Star Corral. And they certainly put their money where their mouths are, so to speak. After eating a huge scoop of ice cream, and a piece of cake, we went to the small Class C motorhome of Mary Anne, our new single woman friend from Virginia and visited for a few hours.

 

Monday ; Hondo to Port Aransas, Texas

Today was sunny and mild, but became windy when we got to the Gulf Of Mexico at Port Aransas.

We departed Lone Star Corral this morning, heading east 8 miles into Hondo. While I refilled with diesel at the Wal-Mart gas bar Joanne went into Wal-Mart with our jar of Great Value peanut butter. Sure enough, we had a jar with the recalled production number, the batch that had some sort of bacterial infection that had caused widespread illness, resulting in something like 167 confirmed cases of bacterial "food poisoning". HMPH ... now I'll never know if my severe illness in San Diego was indeed a flu, or was I poisoned by Wal-Mart peanut butter ? ! ? I suspect the latter.

We turned southeast on Hwy. 173 to Jourdanton, then northeast for a very short distance on Hwy. 97 to Pleasanton. Driving through Pleasanton I saw a Mexican tire shop with a display of used hub caps. I stopped and bought a 15 inch chrome trim ring for the trailer, to replace oneI lost a long time ago. At Pleasanton we drove another very short distance on Hwy. 281 to Interstate 37 where we turned south. When we stopped for lunch at an Interstate rest area, I chatted with the couple parked next to us, in a large motorhome with Ontario license plates. They were from Prescott, a bit south of Ottawa. My memory of Prescott, from the years we lived in Ottawa, was that it seemed to be the incest capital of Canada. For years there were news stories of the large numbers of incest prosecutions and convictions in and around Prescott.

After lunch we continued southeast on I-37 to Hwy. 77, then we turned North on Hwy. 77 to Sinton where we wanted to turn east on Hwy. 181 leading to Aransas Pass and the ferry to Port Aransas. The highway interchange from Hwy. 77 onto Hwy. 181 was closed due to construction. We followed a detour until we finally got lost, in the town of Portland, stuck in a traffic jam in a school zone as school was letting out, and many children were dawdling across the road < fume >. We finally found our way back onto Hwy. 181, then onto Hwy. 361 to Aransas Pass. We got loaded onto the ferry to cross Aransas Pass, to Port Aransas. The ferry left, turned around and returned to dock. What ? ! ? Some goofball had an open container of gas in the back of his pickup truck, and was being evicted off the ferry < sigh >.

We finally got to Port Aransas and found our way to Island RV Resort. We weren't able to get into our assigned site because a motorhome was sticking out into the road, preventing us from turning into our site. We got reassigned another site, and finally got parked. I visited with the neighbours with the Manitoba license plates, from Birds Hill, the neighbours from Colorado, and the neighbours from Harlingen, Texas, down in The Valley. We were in our site for over 2 hours before I stepped inside the trailer.

As we were sitting down to dinner, our friends from Ottawa, Erbon and Lorraine, arrived to visit. We spent the evening visiting with them, planning some activities for the next week. It was great to see Erbon and Lorraine again. We're looking forward to visiting with them over the next week here, in and around Port Aransas, and then after we move south to The Valley, they're going to drive down to visit with us there.

 

Tuesday ; Today was cloudy and mild. The humidity here on the Gulf Coast is a lot higher than we've been experiencing so far this winter. We've been in desert climate for most of this winter.

I've caught a cold. Yesterday I thought I might be catching a cold, but wasn't sure. This morning there was no doubt. It made me feel rather poorly all day. This morning we chatted with the very friendly neighbours surrounding us in this park until Erbon and Lorraine arrived. We all piled into Lanoire and headed over to the mainland, to find the restaurant called The Big Fisherman. At a social hour at the SKP park in Benson, Arizona, when we mentioned we were heading to Port Aransas, we were told we must go to The Big Fisherman for their Tuesday lunch special. So today we did. Margaritas for a dollar. All you can eat chicken fried steak, and / or chicken livers, and / or chicken gizzards, with a bowl of soup, mashed potatoes with gravy, and coleslaw for ... wait for it ... a dollar seventy-five ! HA HA HA HA HA ... welcome to Texas ! Joanne had chicken fried steak. I had chicken livers and gizzards. And we had margaritas. I preferred the chicken livers over the gizzards, so I put my gizzards into my empty margarita cup and brought them home for Teddy and Bo, who thought they were great !

After lunch we found our way to Wal-Mart in Rockport where I refilled Lanoire with diesel. We drove slowly back towards Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, exploring as we drove. We stopped to walk out on a boardwalk over a marshy area and look at birds. Back on Mustang Island / Port Aransas we drove to the condominium where Erbon and Lorraine are staying, so Joanne and I would know how to get there, then we drove down onto the beach. We drove along the beach for a couple of miles. I drove Lanoire into the Gulf Of Mexico surf to "baptize" her. I thought it was evident what I was doing. I guess it wasn't. Erbon and Lorraine had their windows open, and their forearms and shoulders got splashed. Ooops ... sorry ! We parked at the breakwater on the main shipping channel of Aransas Pass, and walked out on the breakwater part way, chatting with the fishermen. We drove off the beach back into town, and stopped at Oceans Of Seafood. I bought a half a pound of fresh, large shrimp, and a "tea bag" of shrimp boil seasonings. As we drove back to our RV park, people were beginning to congregate on the side of the road for the small Mardi Gras parade that was about to take place. Oh, yeah ... today was Mardi Gras.

Joanne cooked the shrimp for me for dinner tonight, but I didn't have enough of an appetite to appreciate them. I put them in the fridge to eat tomorrow. Maybe I'll make myself a shrimp po'boy.

Despite feeling ill and weak, and with great reluctance, at Joanne's strong urging, I spent the evening trying to determine why we seem unable to get decent TV reception using the roof top antenna. I fiddled with the big TV, the little TV, the VCR, all the cables, and all the connections. I can't find anything wrong. That doesn't mean there isn't something wrong. I just don't have the electronic skills to find it.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and warm. Until we arrived here, the weather here had been awful for about 3 months. We've been telling everyone that we talk to here that we're responsible for bringing the great weather, and it will probably leave with us next Monday. HA HA HA !

This morning Joanne prepared a picnic lunch, and we drove over to the Aransas Princess condominiums to pick up Erbon and Lorraine. We drove south on Hwy. 361 along the length of Mustang Island, until it crossed a bridge over to Padre Island. We entered Padre Island National Seashore ( National Park ) and spent the day exploring. First stop was to do some bird watching on the Laguna Madre side of the island. Laguna Madre is the Intracoastal Waterway between Padre Island and the mainland. I took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my pant legs, and waded in the warm waters of Laguna Madre. Then we drove down to the entrance onto South Beach. I shifted Lanoire into 4 X 4 mode, and off we went driving down the beach. A couple of times I swerved Lanoire over to drive briefly through the surf. Just because she's a big 4 X 4 ( or 6 X 6 ) truck, and it makes me feel like I'm 20 years old to do that ! HA HA HA ! Although ... I now have to contend with the dried out salt spray on her. Joanne ... wash the truck ! HA HA HA HA HA !

At the 5 mile mark was a sign advising only 4 wheel drive vehicles to proceed beyond that point. The sand became a bit softer and deeper after the 5 mile mark. We had a nice pleasant picnic lunch on the beach. I was feeling kind of miserable with this cold, and the sunshine and warmth helped me to feel better. We walked along the beach for awhile, Erbon and Lorraine doing some bird watching, me chatting with fishermen, finding jellyfish, watching little crabs scuttle down into their holes in the sand, etc.. I found a dollar bill washed up on the beach. Maybe I'll keep it as my version of a lucky sand dollar. HA HA HA ! We continued driving slowly along the beach, just exploring. We tracked our mileage on the way back. We had driven 9 miles along the beach.

We drove over to the Visitor Centre at Malaquite Beach and looked around. We drove back to Mustang Island. I saw an entrance to the beach along Mustang Island, so once again shifted Lanoire into 4 X 4, and off we went. WOW ... deep, soft sand. WOO-HOO ... felt just like a redneck bouncing along the beach, destroying the environment. HA HA HA HA HA !

We dropped Erbon and Lorraine off at their condominium, then went to the pharmacy to buy me more cold medications. I napped briefly before we went to the RV park's potluck dinner. Nice dinner, and pleasant company chatting with 2 couples from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but ... like many American communal meals ... chomp, swallow, goodbye ! Merkins sure do like to eat and run. I found out that the park's malfunctioning Wi-Fi system was repaired today, so after dinner I got online to send and retrieve e-mail, and retrieve our 2 MasterCard statements. I also took a quick look at our investments "bottom line". WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO !

 

Thursday ; Today was overcast, hot and humid.

I had a slow start to the day, due to having a cold. Today is day 3 of my cold, usually the worst day of a cold for me. Hopefully tomorrow I will begin to improve.

This morning I trimmed my beard, then printed the MasterCard statements. After lunch we went grocery shopping to the only grocery store here on Mustang Island, Port Aransas IGA. I had difficulty selecting a jar of peanut butter. I'm a little paranoid about peanut butter right now. Back at Island RV Resort I reconciled the MasterCard statements.

At 5:30 Erbon and Lorraine picked us up. We went with them to a Mexican restaurant called La Playa ( The Beach ) where we met their friends from New Brunswick, Glen and Marion. We had a lovely dinner. I had the daily special, a blackened Redfish with small grilled shrimp and Pico Gallo on top, served with Mexican Rice, grilled zucchini, grilled squash, and grilled Portobello Mushrooms. Very nice ! Although a bit expensive. When the waitress explained the daily specials, I thought she said the Redfish was $8.50. When the bill arrived I realized it was $18.50.

After dinner we drove to PACT, the Port Aransas Community Theatre, to see tonight's performance called We Love To See You Smile. When we arrived at the theatre, I realized I had left my sweater at the restaurant. We dropped off Joanne and Lorraine at the theatre, and Erbon drove me back to the restaurant to get my sweater.

The theatre production was an agonizing 2½ hour hodge podge tribute to Broadway musicals, written, produced, directed, and performed by a no talent, off key group of local, amateur thespians. It was horrible !

 

Friday ; I was too sick to get out of bed today !

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

I woke up still feeling quite ill, but as the day progressed, I improved. I wonder if my cold is something more than a cold ? I phoned Erbon this morning to discuss our plans for tomorrow, and whether or not we were going to get together today to do something. He told me that now Lorraine is sick with this same cold, or flu, or whatever it is.

We drove over to Port A Pharmacy to buy me more cold medications. We drove down to the beach, to allow Bo to romp in the sand for awhile. And I thought some sunshine and fresh air might make me feel better. We stopped at Port Aransas IGA, and Joanne went in to buy a few groceries while Bo and I waited in the truck. Back at Island RV Resort I went to the clubhouse to get online with Wi-Fi and send and retrieve e-mail. We took Bo for an obedience training session. I read the newspaper. I coughed a lot !

DSK

Year 3 Week 35

February 11 to 17, 2007

Casa Grande, Arizona to Hondo, Texas

Year 3 week 35

 

Sunday ; Casa Grande to Benson, Arizona

Today was partially cloudy and warm.

We left RoVers Roost this morning continuing east on Interstate 8. A bit east of Casa Grande, Interstate 8 merges with Interstate 10, and I-8 ends. It began in San Diego. We have now driven I-8 literally from one end to the other. We continued on I-10 into Tucson ( Too sawn ) where we stopped at Camping World to see if they carried a product for the trailer called Slide Out Slickers. They didn't.

We continued east on I-10 to Benson, to the SKP park called Saguaro Co-op. Once again, the park was full, and we ended up in the boondock area. After supper we went to the park's regular Sunday evening ice cream social. We chatted with 2 couples from Florida. And we reacquainted with a couple from Idaho that we have met twice before. We first met them about 2 years ago at a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, and we spent a very enjoyable New Year's Eve 2005 sharing a table with them in this park.

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and warm.

Today was a day with a lot of wasted time, due to inefficiencies / personal inconsiderateness here at Saguaro Co-op. When we checked in yesterday, we were no. 5 on the list waiting for a serviced site, with 6 rigs expected to leave today, so getting a serviced site today was probable. This morning I went to the office to check on our site availability status at 10:15 A.M.. Check out time is 11:00 A.M.. We were no. 2 at 10:15 A.M., with 3 more rigs expected to depart. Looking good ! We prepared for departure / to move to another site. Then, mostly to kill off time, we drove to the dump station to refill the fresh water tank, and drain the waste holding tanks. We returned to the office at 11:00 A.M., to either get a serviced site, or depart. Well ... a site was not yet available for us, but was going to be soon, due to a late check out. Okay ! A little miffed, we drove to "downtown" Benson, towing the trailer, to go to the Post Office. We did our business at the Post Office, bought some groceries at Safeway, and refilled some water jugs. I phoned the park office. Our site was expected to be available to us at 1:00 P.M.. Getting a bit more pissed off, we drove over to Benson's new Wal-Mart Supercentre, and did some Wal-Mart'n. How does a town of 5000 people justify a 24 hr. a day Wal-Mart Supercentre ? !

We drove back to the park about 1:00 P.M.. Our site wasn't vacant yet < fume >. We went back to boondock, and had lunch. Our site wasn't vacant yet. I took a short nap. Finally, we were able to move onto our serviced site at 2:30 P.M.. The chores that I wanted to accomplish today were not yet started. And we were still here in Benson. The plan was ... either get some chores done, or travel a couple of hundred miles down the road towards meeting our friends at Port Aransas on the Gulf Of Mexico in Texas. We accomplished neither !

We got set up in our site, then went to the regular weekday afternoon social hour. This park is the most sociable of all the SKP parks. Everybody brings snacks and hors d'oeuvres to each day's social hour, and everybody actually sits around and socializes for a couple of hours. And, we know from 2 previous visits to this park, for a bunch of old folks, they sure know how to party here !

I guess the chores will have to wait until tomorrow.

 

Tuesday ; Today was mostly sunny, a few clouds, windy and cool. It rained a little bit overnight.

This morning I unhitched Lanoire from Harvey, and drove into town to run errands. I mailed the malfunctioned fluorescent light fixture back to the manufacturer for warranty repairs. I refilled Lanoire with diesel, then refilled an empty propane tank.

This afternoon I worked on a project that has been on my to do list for a long time. When we had the trailer carpet removed and replaced with vinyl sheet flooring a year and a half ago, I cosmetically finished the job by installing two six foot pieces of moulding along the lower front edge of the living room / dinette slide. Almost since then, I've wanted to replace the 2 sections of moulding with one, to eliminate the seam. Just before we left Palm Springs I bought a 12 foot section of the same moulding. This 12 foot section of moulding has been in our way for the past 2 weeks, every time we retract the slides to travel. I finally installed it today. We were too busy in San Diego sightseeing, too busy in Yuma buying Joanne's glasses in Mexico, and then had a few nights on the road without being hooked up to power, to recharge my drill battery.

Joanne worked on sanding and refinishing the sofa table made for us by my brother-in-law Bud. It fell over recently while we were driving, and got a bit of a scratch and dent on it. Joanne sanded off the damage, then re-varnished it. She went into town to do some shopping. I went to the afternoon social hour. I'm amused by the irony exhibited by wealthy old folks. Earlier today, this park had a fundraising auction of home baked goods and home cooked meals. The topic of discussion around the social hour table was the prices paid for some of the items. Sixty dollars for a home baked lemon pie, which was then brought to social hour by the purchaser, to be shared with everyone. And $350 for a home cooked meal of barbecued ribs with all the fixings, plus a bottle of wine. Then ... the topic of discussion turned to today's grocery store flyers in the newspaper. People were all a-twitter over the sale price of 10 lemons for a dollar. HA HA HA ... these people pay $60 for a lemon pie, then get all excited about lemons on sale, ten for a dollar ! Remember, these are the same people that will pay a quarter of a million dollars for huge motorhomes, then "dry camp" in the desert to avoid paying campground fees of $20 a night. HA HA HA HA HA !

After social hour there was enough daylight left for me to do a couple more maintenance jobs. I lubricated the bedroom slide weatherstripping, then mixed up a small batch of fiberglass epoxy and hardener, to repair a small crack on Harvey's fiberglass gel coat. I've become quite proficient at fiberglass repairs over the last couple of years.

 

Wednesday ; Benson, Arizona to Deming, New Mexico

Happy Valentine's Day

Today was mostly sunny, with a few minutes of rain. Benson was cool. Deming was cold and windy.

We departed a bit late this morning, because I decided to do one more project before leaving. Saguaro Co-op has a well equipped workshop available for use by the park's residents, and I used the opportunity of having tools and equipment at my disposal to fabricate a spare roof ladder stand off stanchion. I bought the parts and hardware needed while we were in Palm Springs, but I didn't have the right tools to do the job until now. We were delayed a bit more when I checked the tire air pressures and realized that all the tire pressures were low because we were now 5000 feet higher than when I last adjusted tire pressures a week or so ago at sea level. Saguaro Co-op has an air compressor station right beside the trailer dump station. Some parks are so well equipped.

We continued heading east on I-10, slowly ascending most of the day, it seemed. New Mexico is generally at a higher elevation than Arizona. We stopped for lunch at the Arizona / New Mexico border. Driving an Interstate across the desert is easy, so Joanne drove after lunch while Bo and I snoozed. We woke up when Joanne started singing some obscure old cowboy song about tumbleweeds tumbling along, because that's exactly what she was seeing out the windshield. At Deming we stopped for the night at Dream Catcher SKP Park. We just had time to get set up in our site before the special Valentine's Day social hour. Over home baked cookies and fruit punch we chatted with a single man from Denver, Colorado who had just arrived today, leaving Benson, Arizona this morning 2 hours before us. He encountered snow while driving. We didn't. Just a bit of rain. After social hour, as we were returning to our rig, we recognized the man that had just pulled into the site beside us. It was Terry Ellis, a member of Escapees Ontario Chapter 18 that we've met a few times before at Chapter 18 events. We chatted briefly. Jim, our new friend from Denver, Colorado, invited us to join him for dinner. We drove with him in his car into town, and drove up and down the main street of Deming looking for a restaurant to choose. We chose Si Señor, a Mexican restaurant. We had an enjoyable evening of dining and chatting with Jim, who is relatively new to the world of full time RV'ing, having started about 6 months ago.

 

Thursday ; Deming, New Mexico to I-10 mile marker 233, west of Fort Stockton, Texas

Today was sunny and cold. Our outside water supply hose froze overnight. I already miss the warm temperatures of California and Arizona. I hope The Valley will be warmer then New Mexico and West Texas.

We chatted briefly with our new friend Jim from Denver, Colorado, before departing Dream Catcher SKP Park in Deming. We continued east on Interstate 10. As we crossed the border into Texas, we stopped at the El Paso suburb of Anthony to buy an item at Camping World and refill with diesel at Flying J. I-10 passes through El Paso for about 35 miles. Tough driving in urban traffic. And we were delayed by a fatal accident. It didn't appear to be a traffic accident. It appeared to be an industrial accident in a construction zone. It's unnerving to pass a body laid out on the road covered with a sheet.

We passed a bill board for a medical clinic advertising vasectomies ... with a money back guarantee ! HA HA HA ! Welcome to Texas, Pilgrim ! HA HA HA HA HA < SNORT > ! Just a minute ... I'm laughing too hard to be able to type.

We stopped for lunch after passing through El Paso. Joanne drove for a couple of hours after lunch. We drove a long distance today. West Texas is mile after mile of endless scruffy desert. We saw a herd of 8 deer, and then a large group ( don't know what else to call them ) of javelinas ( "j" sounds like "h" ) grazing on the side of the road at dusk. We were going to push through all the way to Fort Stockton, and spend the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. But about half an hour before Fort Stockton there was a road side rest area with free Wi-Fi. Thank you very much, Texas. We spent the night at the rest area, enabling me to retrieve my mid-month investment updates. At the rest area, I chatted with the occupants of a large motorhome with the name THORNBIRD emblazoned all over it, and the equipment trailer it was towing. They were a rock band from Los Angeles, heading to San Antonio for a gig. < whispering > Never heard of them !

 

Friday ; I-10 mm 233 to Hondo, Texas

Today was sunny and cool.

We had another long hard day of driving. About 350 miles / 550 kilometres each of the last 2 days. We continued east on I-10 this morning. We stopped in Fort Stockton to buy diesel. Two years ago we ran out of fuel ( twice, Joanne reminded me ) just outside of Fort Stockton. Once about 25 miles out of town, and again about 3 miles out of town when my 2 gallons of emergency fuel ran out. We stopped for lunch near Sonora. We saw lots of deer today, both dead and alive. The deer population in Texas seems high this year. The topography slowly changed from the Sonoran Desert to "Texas Hill Country", rolling hills with trees and ranches. We stopped in Kerrville to refill with diesel again. We don't often have to fill up twice in one day. At Kerrville we headed south through town on Hwy. 16, then south on Hwy. 173 to Hwy. 90 at Hondo. We turned west on Hwy. 90, through town, then found our way to Lone Star Corral SKP Park about 8 miles west of Hondo, almost at the town of D'Hanis.

We arrived at the park at 5:15 P.M., fifteen minutes after their scheduled closing time, and we expected to spend the night in their boondock area. But the office was open a bit late tonight, they accommodated our arrival, and we got a serviced site. How nice.

I spent the evening updating my investment files. WOO-HOO !

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and mild, but windy.

This morning our friend from Ottawa, Erbon Dickinson, phoned from Port Aransas to find out when we would be arriving in Port Aransas. The cell phone signal was so poor we were unable to communicate. I unhitched the truck from the trailer and we headed into town.

Once in Hondo, with a stronger cell phone signal, I returned the call to Erbon, and we made some preliminary plans for our visit with him and Lorraine in Port Aransas next week. We had lunch at Whataburger. The verdict is divided. Joanne thinks that the Texas chain Whataburger is better than the California chain In N Out. I disagree, preferring In N Out's hamburgers, but conceding that the Whataburger chicken strips burger is outstanding. We went to Wal-Mart after lunch. We have once again entered the area of the United States where the Wal-Marts have gas bars, with the cheapest prices in the area. I will definitely refill with diesel as we depart Hondo on Monday. We did our Wal-Mart'n, then went to McBee's Bar B Que to buy take-out barbecued brisket and barbecued fajita ( pronounced "faheeta" ) beef for supper tonight. We had take-out barbecue ( a noun in the Southern U.S ) from McBee's 2 years ago. It's GREAT ! McBee's reinforced my long held conviction that it's universally hard to find good help. The lady serving us screwed up our credit card transaction ... twice before getting it right the third time. Neither she nor her boss knew how to reverse a credit card transaction on their credit card terminal. I refused to accept a cheque for the correcting refund. I'm a "foreigner" in the United States and cannot readily cash a cheque. They had to fork over $125.65 cash for the errors on the credit card.

Back at Lone Star Corral I installed the spare tire valve extender I bought at Camping World in El Paso a couple of days ago. Now I can check and adjust the spare tire's air pressure without having to crawl underneath the back of the truck. I bolted the extended valve on the back bumper beside the license plate. We went to social hour. We learned that there has been a recall of peanut butter made by Peter Pan, also sold by Wal-Mart under their private label, Great Value. There have many instances, all over the United States, of severe flu like illness caused by a bacterial infection in the peanut butter. We have a fairly new jar of Great Value peanut butter. Could that have been the cause of my severe "flu" while in San Diego ? ! ?

After social hour we sat in the clubhouse and chatted with a single woman from Virginia for about 3 hours. She made a very interesting comment. She said that in her experience, Canadian "couples" are much more sociable to "singles" than American "couples". I wonder if that partially explains our friendship with Julie Hazlett whom we met on a WorkCamping job over 2 years ago in Missouri, our friendship with our paraplegic RV'er friend, Jim Shelton, whom we met here in Hondo 2 years ago, and our new friendship the other day at Deming, New Mexico with Jim from Colorado ?

When we finally returned to the trailer there was a huge stain of bile vomit on the love seat, with a Live Oak acorn in the middle of it. BO ! ! ! Why would you swallow an acorn ? ! ? What a stupid ****ing dog ! ! !

MMMMM ... we have just finished our barbecued brisket and barbecued fajita supper, accompanied by baked beans and potato salad, which are the traditional barbecue side dishes in Texas.

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 34

February 4 to 10, 2007

San Diego, California to Casa Grande, Arizona

Year 3 week 34

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and hot. Good thing ... the weather helped me to feel better.

I woke up this morning still feeling very ill with the flu. After spending a day and a half in bed I was determined to push though it, although I was skeptical whether I could play tourist today. As it turned out, I did okay, as long as I moved in slow motion all day.

I did some preventive maintenance, then worked on sucking some excess power steering fluid out of the power steering pump, using a piece of plastic tubing. Yuck ... power steering fluid tastes terrible ! We left Viejas ( Vee yay hass ) Casino, heading west on Interstate 8 into San Diego. We passed through the suburbs of El Cajon and La Mesa, and found our way to San Diego RV Resort. Boy, they jam those RV's in pretty tight when the park is in a big city, with expensive real estate. We got settled into our site, and I managed to eat a bowl of soup. First food in 2 days.

It was our plan to do a bit of exploring of San Diego by truck today, because I was feeling too ill to walk around much. We unhitched and headed for Pacific Beach. It was great ! We walked out onto historic Crystal Pier. We walked onto the beach, and walked under the pier. Neat ... I've never been under a large pier before. We walked slowly along the beach for awhile. The bright sunlight and warm temperature made me feel better. We decided to go see Mission Bay. As we drove to Mission Bay Park we realized how much of San Diego's waterfront is public park land. Great ! We've been to places where all waterfront property is privately owned and developed, and visitors can't get near the water.

We parked at Mission Bay Park, then walked around some more. It was a really lovely, beach front park with beautiful landscaping, and lots of picnic tables. We drove to nearby Campland On The Bay, an RV park that we might move to if we decide to stay in San Diego longer then 3 days. The park that we're in only allows the Passport America rate for 3 days. We decided to head for Ocean Beach, and watch the sunset. We drove to Ocean Beach, in a somewhat circuitous, occasionally lost fashion. We arrived at Ocean Beach just as the sun was setting. We parked, and walked out onto the beach, taking a picture of the sun setting behind Ocean Beach Pier. Pacific Beach was filled with a youngercrowd of surfer dudes and beach babes. Ocean Beach was an older crowd of throw back hippies. We started to walk out onto Ocean Beach Pier, the longest pier on the West Coast. I didn't make it very far before I ran out of steam. The sun was down, the temperature was falling rapidly, and I was feeling quite ill again. I rested while Joanne walked to the far end of Ocean Beach Pier. When she returned we walked very slowly to where the truck was parked, and began to drive back to our RV park.

We stopped at the transit station close to our RV park to get some information. We decided that for the next 2 days, we will get around San Diego using their public transit "trolley" ( elevated train ) system.

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and hot again, temperature in the upper 80's.

This morning I phoned MasterCard to pay my 2 monthly bills. The woman who served me had a Jamaican accent and, obviously, a cold. She complained that the weather there in Toronto was making her illness harder to tolerate. It was 29 degrees below zero there today. HA HA HA ! Betcha leaving the islands to come to Canada doesn't look like such a good idea now, does it, mon ? HA HA HA HA HA !

We walked over to the 70th St. Transit Station and caught the Green Line heading to Old Town San Diego. We spent the entire day wandering around Old Town San Diego, which is a living history museum / restoration / reconstruction of the original village that became San Diego, in the early to mid 1800's. I felt a little weak from my 2 day bout with the flu, but we explored at a slow pace.

When I finally ran out of steam about 4 P.M. we decided to take a long circuitous route home on a variety of the trolley lines, just to rest and see a bit more of the city. From Old Town we caught the Blue Line and rode to and through downtown. We transferred to the Orange Line, and saw some of the "real" San Diego. Slums, lots of graffiti, filthy industrial wastelands ... just like any other big city. We transferred once more, back to the Green Line, and rode back to the 70th St. Station.

Back at San Diego RV Resort, I tried to get online using a dial up connection in the clubhouse, but was unsuccessful. I need to phone AOL Canada to get some help. I have been having trouble accessing AOL Canada by dial up ever since we entered the U.S. on November 1. I've ignored the problem because I almost always find a way to get online with Wi-Fi. This park has Tengo Internet Wireless available for a fee, but I'm boycotting Tengo as a result of the problems I had with them in Desert Hot Springs. I drove slowly around the park, with the laptop on the centre console, stealthily seeking an unsecured wireless internet signal. Found one ! I'm getting pretty good at this process of finding and "stealing" Wi-Fi signals in RV parks < snicker >. I did e-mail and updated my blog, then went back to the trailer and surprised Joanne by telling here that I actually wanted to eat some supper.

Darn ! The fluorescent light fixture over the dinette table died tonight. And it's not just a burned out bulb problem.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and warm.

We decided we would take the truck, instead of using the trolley system again, to go to Balboa Park and the world famous San Diego Zoo today. San Diego Zoo is in Balboa Park, along with many different museums and miles of park land. As we arrived at San Diego Zoo, I received a phone call from Crystal Chrysler in Palm Springs. Chrysler denied their claim for warranty reimbursement for the cost of replacing the steering gear box on Lanoire, because they did not submit the necessary documentation Chrysler requires from dealers making warranty claims on "foreign" vehicles. Crystal Chrysler was phoning to ask me to fax to them a copy of my driver's license and vehicle registration. No problem. That's a hell of a lot less "hoop jumping" than GM used to require !

We were very impressed with San Diego Zoo. Not just with the amazing assortment of animals, but the astounding design and engineering challenges of creating and maintaining this zoo. Men like Disney, Spielberg, and Lucas were / are part of a fraternity / environment in Southern California of believing that if you can dream it, you can create it. Bravo !

We started our day at the zoo by taking a guided bus tour around the entire zoo, to get an overview of what to see, and where. Then we rode on the aerial tram, to see the zoo from above. We spent a long, fascinating day walking around. The highlight for us was watching a Polar Bear romp with a toy, under water, from a glass enclosed viewing area.

When the zoo closed at 5:00 P.M. we drove over to the El Prada Blvd. area of Balboa Park. We parked, and walked slowly around the El Prada pedestrian mall area for about an hour until it became dark, admiring the old Spanish architecture of the grounds and buildings.

 

Wednesday ; San Diego, California to Yuma, Arizona

Today was sunny and very warm.

We departed San Diego heading east on Interstate 8, through and over the Vallecito Mountains. We pulled off the Interstate at Pine Valley to buy diesel. Uh-oh ... no diesel in Pine Valley. I poured in my emergency 2 gallons of diesel, and we made it to the next town that had diesel, Live Oak Springs. We refilled with diesel and adjusted tire pressures at Golden Acorn Casino, another rich Indian band casino. There's a lot of Indian bands in So. Cal. getting rich off casino operations. I guess there are a lot of Indian bands everywhere getting rich off casino operations.

Halfway across California we came down out of the mountains and back into the desert. We stopped at El Centro to buy some groceries and supplies at Vons and at Wal-Mart. Back on I-8 Joanne phoned the SKP park in Yuma, Kofa Ko-op, to check on site availability. Darn ... they were full. We turned off the Interstate near Winterhaven and drove 10 miles across the desert, including a mile of dirt road, to an RV park that was full ! GRRRRR ! It turned dark just before we got there. We drove back to the Interstate, and drove the rest of the way to Yuma. We went to Del Pueblo Golf & RV Resort, near Kofa Ko-op. It was full. GRRRRR !

It was late, we were tired, we were fighting, I was sick ... we went to Wal-Mart for the night.

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and hot.

This morning Joanne phoned RV parks until she found one with a vacancy for 2 nights. Southern Mesa RV Park was near Kofa Ko-op so we found it easily. Yuma's RV parks seem to be filled to capacity for January and February. After we got settled in, I removed the non-functioning fluorescent light fixture over the dinette table, and we headed for Arizona Flea Market, where I knew there was a vendor who sells Thin-Lite ( brand name ) light fixtures. I wanted to get information on warranties and repairs / ballast replacement, and was intending to buy another light fixture, but the vendor gave me testing recommendations and instructions, so I didn't buy a new one yet. I returned to the trailer, did the testing recommended, and determined that the light fixture was indeed deader than a door knob. Joanne did a lot of laundry.

I went to the clubhouse and got online with Wi-Fi. My, my ... the stock market has been very friendly lately, hasn't it.

We've just returned from a late night ( 8:45 P.M. ) dip in this park's excellent hot tub. It's a small hot tub, for about 6 people, about the same size as the hot tub we had in our home in Ottawa, it's covered, it's clean, and it's hot !

 

Friday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, México

Happy ( calculated / estimated ) 3rd Birthday, Bo !

Today was partially cloudy and very warm.

Astounding ! A complete eye exam by an optometrist, including computerized glaucoma test, 2 new pair of eyeglass frames, one pair with bi-focal SunSensor lenses, one pair with bi-focal sunglass tint lenses, all for ... wait for it ... eighty-nine dollars ! ! !

This morning I phoned Thin-Lite to get instructions on returning the light fixture for repair under warranty. Then we drove back to Arizona Flea Market to see the Thin-Lite vendor. I wanted to get a price on buying a new light fixture or perhaps buying a replacement ballast for the broken one, as an alternative to living with no light fixture and wires hanging out of the ceiling for the next month. After pricing new light fixtures and replacement ballasts, I decided to just send the old one in for warranty repair.

From Arizona Flea Market we headed for the Mexican border, to buy new glasses for Joanne in Los Algodones, our principal reason for this trip to Yuma. Ever since I got 2 new pairs of glasses in November, Joanne has had eyeglass envy. HA HA HA ! We thought that my 2 pairs of glasses, and eye exam, for U.S.$119 was pretty spectacular, but, with some coupons we found in a local Bargain Hunter type of publication, Joanne's exam and 2 pairs of glasses were an astounding U.S.$89 !

We parked, crossed the border, and headed for Best Optical. Joanne selected 2 pairs of frames, and had her eye examination. We were to return to pick up her glasses in 2½ hours. We wandered around Los Algodones, buying a lace tablecloth, $15 haggled down to $10, and a t-shirt for me, $10 haggled down to $5. HA ... I still got it ! We went to Paraiso, our favourite restaurant in Los Algodones, for lunch. Whew ... big Margaritas ! After lunch we continued shopping, buying a tub of Creminos, Joanne's favourite Mexican chocolates, and a box each of Nugs and Coconugs ( my favourite Mexican chocolate bars ). Finally, we went to Super Pan Bakery and bought 8 assorted Mexican pastries. We returnedto Best Optical and picked up Joanne's new glasses, then lined up for the border crossing back into the United States. Gee ... today's line-up was 75 minutes long. We chatted with the people in line in front of us, Canadians from Vancouver Island, and Camrose, Alberta.

Our passports just recently expired. We used them to cross the border back into the U.S. without incident. It didn't appear as if the border guard noticed that they had expired. We drove back to Yuma, stopping at PetsMart to buy some cat food.

For his birthday, Bo got a big dog Kong, just like the ones he really enjoyed playing with at Guide Dogs Of The Desert.

 

Saturday ; Yuma to Casa Grande, Arizona

Happy Birthday to my sister, Sharon.

Today was sunny and hot. We drove across the western half of Arizona, entering into the relatively small region of the United States where Saguaro ( pronounced "Sah wharrow" ) cacti grow ... the quintessential desert look.

We left Yuma heading east on Interstate 8. An hour or so down the road we stopped at Dateland, Arizona, the third area where dates are grown in the United States, along with Indio, California just outside Palm Springs, and Bard, California, just outside Yuma, Arizona. We think the date shakes at Dateland are the best of the 3 areas. We bought 2 large date shakes, and asked for an empty Sundae cup, for date shake for Bo. Bo is absolutely crazy about date shakes. We filled his little Sundae cup with date shake four times. He was pleading for more, but 4 Sundae cups full of date shake seemed quite enough for a little dog, we thought. While sipping on our date shakes, sitting on grass, in the shade of a large Date Palm, I phoned my sister Sharon to wish her a Happy Birthday. She wasn't home.

We pulled off the Interstate to buy diesel at Gila ( pronounced "Heela" ) Bend. As we pulled into the Love's service station, the truck computer's "distance to empty" read ... wait for it ... zero miles ! ! ! HA HA HA ... timing is everything. Broke my old record of "2 miles to empty" set in Steinbach, Manitoba last summer. Shortly after buying diesel in Gila Bend, we stopped for a late lunch at a roadside rest area. While Joanne prepared lunch, I phoned the SKP park in Casa Grande. Full ! I phoned the SKP park in Benson. Full ! I phoned every Passport America park between Casa Grande and Benson. Full ! We decided we would just go to the SKP park in Casa Grande and stay in their unserviced "boondock" area. Gee whiz ... Arizona is full in February !

Just before reaching Casa Grande, the trailer from Oregon in front of us blew a tire. I stopped and helped them change their trailer tire. When trailer tires explode like that, they always cause some cosmetic, and often some structural damage. This was no exception. When we arrived at RoVers Roost, the SKP park at Casa Grande, we got the last available site in the boondock area. After getting set up I went to the office to send a fax to Crystal Chrysler in Palm Springs. While walking to the office, a lady noticed my UFO .... Ukrainian From Ontario ... t-shirt, and struck up a conversation. What a small world ! She used to live in Ottawa / Cumberland, Ontario, one street over from us. And she was a customer of ours at our Orleans PET VALU store.

Our friend from Ottawa, Erbon Dickinson, whom we are heading to meet in Port Aransas, Texas phoned. He and Lorraine have arrived in Texas. We'll see them in a week or 10 days or so. I phoned my sister again. I wished her a Happy Birthday, and we chatted briefly.

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 33

January 28 to February 3, 2007

Desert Hot Springs to San Diego, California

Year 3 week 33

 

Sunday ; Happy 53rd Birthday to Joanne

Today was sunny and very warm.

This morning I phoned my brother-in-law Bud to find out how my sister Sharon is doing. She had hip replacement surgery 2 days ago. Bud said the surgery went as well as could be expected, with no complications.

We drove to Flying J in Thousand Palms to fill up with diesel and refill a propane tank. I wanted to treat Joanne to a birthday lunch at the In & Out Burger across the street from Flying J, as she's been wanting to try an In & Out Burger. The line-up inside In & Out Burger was so long, we decided not to stay because we had to be in downtown Palm Springs in an hour. We got back on the I-10 freeway, drove back to Palm Springs, and found our way downtown. My "Plan B" was to take her to a locally famous burger restaurant called "Tyler's", owned and operated by a late 1960's Playboy Playmate. We found a parking spot and walked to Tyler's. It was closed on Sundays. Darn ! And we only had 20 minutes left until the beginning of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies performance. No lunch today !

We walked to the beautiful, old Plaza Theatre on Palm Canyon Drive, picked up our tickets, and found our seats. The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies is a 3 hour presentation of Vaudeville style song and dance. What is unique about "The Follies" is that the youngest performer is 58 years old. And the oldest is 83 ! The guest "headliner" was Gloria Loring, an actress whose heyday was in the 80's. There were a couple of specialty acts designed, no doubt, to give the senior citizen singers and dancers a rest. The best was a husband and wife team, performing "quick change" / magic transformation. They were neat !

After the show, we walked around downtown looking for somewhere to have an early supper. Joanne selected Ruby Diner. A few weeks ago we had lunch at Ruby Diner in Rancho Mirage, and Joanne liked it so much she chose the downtown location for her birthday dinner today. Wow ... from dinner in the Eiffel Tower with a show at the Moulin Rouge afterwards, in Paris 3 years ago, to The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies and Ruby Diner today. What a fall from grace. HA HA HA !

As we drove back to Desert Hot Springs, Joanne's sister phoned to wish her Happy Birthday. Joanne chatted with her sister Lorraine, and nieces Madeleine and Amelia.

Happy Birthday, mi Amor !

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

This morning my sister Sharon phoned from the Grace Hospital in Winnipeg, to let us know how her recovery is progressing after hip replacement surgery a few days ago. I applied a second and final coat of rubber roof compound around the new vent cap I installed on Harvey's roof Saturday. After lunch we drove to the Post Office in Desert Hot Springs and picked up some mail at General Delivery. Then we drove to Cathedral City to shop at Yes I Can, a store that sells mobility aids, all kinds of health related products for the elderly, and post surgical specialty products. Joanne shopped in their mastectomy room for a new bra and swimsuit. She bought a new bra, but not a swim suit. Too bad. We don't often come across specialty stores offering mastectomy products. Back at Sam's Family Spa Resort we washed the truck.

After supper we went to Desert Hot Springs to buy some groceries, then spent the rest of the evening sitting in the mineral water hot spas visiting with people from Edmonton, Seattle, and Colorado.

 

Tuesday ; Today was mostly cloudy and mild. While I was driving to Crystal Chrysler in Cathedral City it rained for about 10 seconds ... literally.

This morning we finished buffing the truck. Looks very nice. I removed all the valve extenders, hub caps, and wheel liners. I'm too fussy to trust the dealership's technicians to remove and replace them to my satisfaction. I phoned the Canadian federal government, and the Ontario provincial government, and ordered corporate tax return forms. I made a mistake in my order with the Ontario government, and will either have to phone again, or order the form online, now that I've obtained the Ontario government's online forms order web site. I did a couple of minor maintenance chores, then drove to Crystal Chrysler in Cathedral City for Lanoire's 48,000 km. service. Gee ... the bill is going to be about U.S.$750 ! Change oil and filter, change rear differential fluid, change front differential fluid, change transmission fluid and filter, replace fuel filter, rotate 6 tires, inspect brakes and everything else. And ... HA HA HA ... as a courtesy, they're going to wash the truck. Too bad I didn't know that yesterday !

For supper we went to the park's pot luck dinner, the last communal social activity in this park before we leave on Friday. Good dinner ! Pleasant company. Chatted with an interesting 80 year old woman. Her daughter, our age, died last month !

 

Wednesday ; Today was partially cloudy and mild.

This morning I prepared some postcards to send, did obedience training with Bo, read, and snoozed. This afternoon Crystal Chrysler's shuttle picked me up to drive me over to Cathedral City to pick up Lanoire. Recently I had noticed what I thought might be evidence of a leak at the power steering pump. Crystal Chrysler checked it out and found that the steering gear box was leaking. They replaced it under warranty. No muss, no fuss. I'm impressed.

This evening I got online, using the Wi-Fi signal I can "steal" from the motorhome around the corner from us. I retrieved updated investment data, bank account statements, and the Ontario corporate tax return forms I need. Our investment portfolios' value is at a new all time high. WOO-HOO !

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and mild.

This morning I tightened all the lug nuts on the truck, then reinstalled the valve extenders, wheel liners, and hub caps. In the process I smashed my thumb with a mallet. Ouch ! ! ! Then we left for a day of errands and shopping, to prepare for our departure tomorrow. First stop was the Post Office in Desert Hot Springs, to post some mail and check for the last piece of mail I was expecting at General Delivery. It wasn't there. Oh, well, it was just an RV caravan tour company's catalogue. When it finally does arrive here in Desert Hot Springs, it will sit here for 30 days in General Delivery, then get sent back to sender. We refilled water jugs at Stater Bros., then went to a women's fashion shop called Glossy. A woman we were chatting with in the mineral water hot spas the other night told Joanne that Glossy had a good selection of mastectomy swim suits. She was right. Joanne bought a new swim suit. I tried to convince her to buy two, but she wouldn't. That means more shopping for swim suits in the future < big sigh >.

We drove from Desert Hot Springs to Interstate 10, then east on I-10 to Thousand Palms to finally have lunch at an In-N-Out Burger outlet. Great burgers ! But In-N-Out Burgers seem to be so popular here in California there was a line-up even on a Friday at 1:30 P.M.. I think In-N-Out Burger's burgers were better than the Texas chain Whattaburger's burgers. Joanne disagrees, and thinks weshould drive to Texas to have lunch at a Whattaburger for comparison. Okay ! HA HA HA !

We drove a bit further east to Rancho Mirage. First stop was Home Depot where they finally had in stock the 12 foot piece of moulding I need. But obviously I don't have time to install it before we head to San Diego, so we'll be struggling with temporary storage of a cumbersome 12 foot piece of moulding for awhile until I get around to installing it. Next was < another big sigh > Wal-Mart for a major replenishment of supplies and groceries before leaving tomorrow for San Diego. I think we spend way too much of our lives in Wal-Marts. Finally, on our way back to Desert Hot Springs we stopped at Flying J in Thousand Palms to refill Lanoire with diesel.

Back at the trailer I reconciled last month's bank statements, then worked on updating my investment files and spreadsheets. Late in the evening we went to sit in the mineral water hot spas for about an hour, our last chance to "take the healing waters" as they used to say.

 

Friday ; Desert Hot Springs to San Diego, California

Today was sunny and warm.

This morning as we prepared for departure I discovered that the automatic transmission fluid and power steering fluid in Lanoire were a bit low, as a result of work done by Crystal Chrysler the other day. That caused a bit of a delay in our departure. Topping up fluids in Lanoire is not as easy as it sounds, due to how high the truck is, and how large the Cummins diesel engine is. I have to stand on a step ladder to be able to reach into the engine compartment.

We departed Desert Hot Springs heading west on Interstate 10. We turned southwest on Hwy. 60, then south on Interstate 215, then south on Interstate 15. We stopped for lunch just south of Temecula. As we got to the northern edge of San Diego, we turned east on Hwy. 52, then south on Hwy. 125 to stay on the outskirts of the city and avoid the worse of the afternoon rush hour.

Joanne had read about a casino on the east side of San Diego on Interstate 8 that welcomed RV’ers and allowed overnight parking. She wanted to visit the casino and stay overnight. We turned east on Interstate 8, drove through the San Diego suburb of El Cajon ( Ka hone ), and found the Viejas Casino operated by the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. After we parked I discovered that I had overfilled the power steering fluid, and it was oozing out through the top fill plug on the power steering pump, making a greasy mess all over the power steering pump, the steering gear box, and the underside of the front of the truck. DARN ! We jumped into the shuttle that drives through the parking lot every 10 or 15 minutes or so, and rode to the casino.

What an odd building. Large, multi level, built in 3 “wings”, east, south, and west. We entered through the east door, then wandered around trying to find our way to the south door. Once we found the south door, we walked out to the adjacent “outlet” shopping mall. WOW ... another Indian Band with too much money ! The outdoor “mall” was a series of pave stone walkways, winding around through manufactured high desert “canyons”, remarkably life like. Periodically, there were “caves” in the canyon walls. These were the store entrances. All through and around the “canyons” was lush oasis landscaping. There was a dancing water fountain, laid out in a Dream Catcher design.

At the far end of the mall was a San Diego Information Centre. We went in and collected some maps and information. As we came out of the Information centre, I began to feel weak, and my muscles began to ache. We walked around a bit more, then headed back to the casino. By the time we got back into the casino, I was feeling horribly ill and needed to rest. We sat down at some slot machines so that I could rest a bit while Joanne played a dollar in a penny slot machine. It didn’t take her long to lose the dollar, so we decided to head back to the trailer. We got slightly lost a few times trying to find the east door. By the time we got back to the trailer, I felt so chilled that my body was shivering and my teeth were chattering, and I ached everywhere. My head hurt, my face hurt, my eyes hurt, my arms ached from shoulders to fingertips, my legs ached from hips to toes, and I was nauseous.

I was wearing a long sleeved denim shirt and cardigan sweater. I added a hooded sweater, and a knit wool, long jacket, wrapped myself like a cocoon in 2 down filled duvets, and crawled into bed for 18 hours.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and warm.

Holy Mackerel ! I don’t think I’ve ever had a flu grab me that hard, that suddenly. I couldn’t get out of bed until noon today. It was our plan to move to an RV park this morning, after seeing the casino last night, but I was too ill to even get out of bed, let alone drive the rig. And Joanne is not capable of driving the rig in congested urban traffic.

I got up at noon and had a small lunch. Joanne and I did some planning of what we wanted to see and do in San Diego, then she made a reservation at an RV park for arrival tomorrow. Right after lunch I went back to bed, where I stayed for another 18 hours, getting up only to deal with my ongoing episodes of exploding colon, made much worse by the flu.

Joanne went to the casino to renew our free overnight parking permit, then she went to browse in the outlet mall. She returned disgusted. Fifty-seven stores, and nothing of any interest to anyone over the age of twenty-five !

 

DSK