Daily Diary
Day 126 ~ Whenever - Wednesday October 15 ~ Whenever
We arrived at our winter 'retreat'. We are staying at the Mission Bell RV
Resort in Mission, Texas for at least 4 months, so SPOT will be stationary
for a few months.
Day 116 ~ 125 - Sunday October 5 ~ Tuesday October 14, 2008
Left Milton Sunday October 5 to spend winter in a warmer climate.
On the way back to Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake, Mississippi, we stopped
in Columbus, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky.
Arrived back where we had stored the trailer on Tuesday October 7, but severe
thunderstorms prevented us from getting the trailer out of storage, so we spent
the night in a hotel.
Spent the Wednesday night at the RV park, then left on Thursday morning October
9.
Stopped for a couple of nights at the Ameristar Casino RV Park in Vicksberg,
Mississippi and tried our luck at the casino without any major wins. Its a
really nice Mississippi riverboat casino with good restaurants and shuttle bus
service 24 hours from casino to RV park.
Sat around a pool for the first time in several weeks.
Moved on to Carthage RV Park in Carthage, Texas where we had stopped before;
stayed just for Saturday night; OK but not much to do.
Sunday night we stayed at Rockdale RV Camp in Rockdale, Texas; good for an
overnight stay but not much longer.
Monday and Tuesday October 13th & 14th were spent at Sea Breeze RV Park in
Portland, Texas. We were there in August and liked the location right next to
the Gulf of Mexico / Corpus Christi Bay.
Day 95 ~ 115 - Sunday September 14 ~ Saturday October
4, 2008
Spent 3 weeks back in Ontario with friends and family.
Day 83 ~ 94 - Tuesday September 2 ~ Saturday September
13, 2008
Spent a couple more days in Pharr, Texas, then left on Friday September 5.
Stopped for 1 night at the Lazy Longhorn RV Park in Victoria, Texas.
The next hight was Madisonville, Texas.
The following night at West Monroe, Louisiana.
Monday September 8 and we arrived at Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake,
Mississippi.
Spent 2 days here getting packed up, then put the trailer into secure storage at
Audubon Point on Wednesday September 10.
Once we got on the road with only the truck, we made better time and could drive
for longer.
We stayed near Nashville, Tennessee; Cincinnati, Ohio and Roseville (N.
Detroit), Michigan on the way back, arriving in Milton on Saturday September 13.
Day 82 - Monday September 1, 2008
Happy Labour / Labor Day.
Unfortuately, we received bad news today. Our eldest daugter Tracey's
father-in-law, Graham Higgins, passed away suddenly this morning after being
admitted to Oakville Hospital's Intensive Care Unit just after midnight.
If any of those who read this knew Graham and his company Electrotech of
Mississauga, then funeral arrangements are for Wednesday September 10, 2008;
please contact his family or Electrotech for more details.
This resulted in a flurry of phone calls between Texas, Ontario and England.
We feel that we should drop everything and rush back to Georgetown, but
logistics and weather are just not going to make that feasible. so we will leave
Pharr, Texas next Saturday (September 6, 2008), with the trailer and make our
way to just south of Memphis, TN where we intend to store the trailer whilst we
continue in the truck to Ontario to spend time with family.
Day 81 - Sunday August 31, 2008
Sunday, AH! Sunday. Time for a decent breakfast / lunch. Then, off to the
pool. It's good to be back in a place where brunch is actually worshipped.
Day 80 - Saturday August 30, 2008
Started out about 9:30 for the 4 hour run to the border.
We must have waited for almost 20 minutes to get out of the RV Park onto the
road as the rain was torrential and traffic was very heavy.
The drive from Ciudad Victoria should have been straight-forward; MEX-101 to San
Fernando, MEX-97 to Reynosa, MEX-2 to the Pharr International Bridge.
Somehow, what with heavy rain and road works, the 4 hour drive turned into 6.5
hours.
Eventually, we reached the border and went to the Mexican Immigracion office to
return our tourist visas, then to the Banjercito to return the 30 day temporary
import permit for the truck (the trailer got a 10 year permit, go figure).
Then we drove over the Rio Grande to the US border control.
This is a newly built facility and is still under construction.
Only 4 lanes are open and the queue stretches back a couple of hundred yards.
Eventually, we reach the kiosk, the usual questions, then we are directed to
pull over for a secondary inspection (fairly common for RVs).
I was really concerned about the tight right turn out of the kiosk area, but the
US customs officer says we should be OK, WRONG !!
As I make the tight right turn, the driver's side rear of the trailer hits one
of the concrete guide posts and damages a section of the rear plus rips off the
main shore-power connector cover and bracket.
Of course, they maintain that their design of the facility is perfectly OK and
that it was my fault, RUBBISH, an even longer truck-trailer combo than ours
would STILL be stuck there.
The secondary inspection resulted in US Homeland Security confiscating and
incinerating 5 eggs!
We also got dinged $1.00 because we had 10 cans of Modelo Mexican beer in the
fridge!
Finally, at about 5:00 pm, we pulled back into the Tropic Star RV Resort.
Now we need to decide what the hell we do from here, as Hurricane Gustav is
bearing down on east Texas and Louisiana, plus Tropical Storms Ike and Josephine
on the horizon.
Day 79 - Friday August 29, 2008
On the road early for a quite long and tortuous drive to Ciudad Victoria.
The worst part is the Tampico by-pass. It was so bad, that, at the southern
entrance, there were 3 women shovelling gravel and small rocks into the
pot-holes even as traffic was trying to drive over the holes !!
Much of the drive was in rain with a couple of sections in absolute downpours.
Finally, about 4:30 pm, we arrived at the Victoria
RV Park (also known as Rosie's).
This park, although somewhat difficult to get into, is in excellent condition,
and we had the choice of sites.
Again, we stayed with the truck and trailer hooked up ready for another early
start.
Day 78 - Thursday August 28, 2008
Last night, Cindy & I had a long discussion as to what we were doing and
how things had gone so far. We had some good ideas and some not-so-good ones,
then decided to sleep on it.
When we woke up this morning, we had a Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra
moment. Berra, a major league baseball player and manager with the New York
Yankees, once said "When you come to a fork in the road; take it!"
(this is also the title of his book published in 2001).
Well, we had reached our "fork in the road".
If we continue as we have been doing so far in Mexico, then by the time we reach
Panama the trailer will have rattled itself to bits, at least one axle will be
gone and the springs on both the trailer and truck will need to have been
replaced at least once. The roads so far in Mexico, along with the ever present
Topes, are herendous. We have been advised that this situation will not improove
at all through Central America, and, in fact, will probably deteriorate further
based on the summer rains.
Sooooo, we are turning around and returning to the USA !!!
Yeah, I know, we are chickening out, but remember that "Discretion
is the better part of valour" and "Those who run away, live to fight
another day."
We have decided that the stress and potential breakdowns that are envisaged
because of the conditions, plus the overall size of the truck & trailer
don't exactly help either, are just too much for us to undertake alone, and,
this being alone on the road so far in Mexico has been one of the most
disconcerting things. Literally, since entering Mexico, we have only talked to 1
other traveller, a nice guy called Mike from New Hampshire, that we met in the
Costa Esmeralda.
Our furthest point south with the trailer was 20o17' N; 96o49'
W, so at least we managed to get well south of the Tropic of Cancer.
Therefore, today we start to retrace our steps to Cerro Azul and the Condado RV
Park.
Not an over-long drive and we were parked and setup by 2:00 pm.
We even left the truck and trailer hooked up overnight so that we could get an
early start in the morning.
Day 74 ~ 77 - Sunday August 24 ~ Wednesday August 27, 2008
These last 4 days have been VEG days. Spent most of the time on the beach with cold and
somewhat alcoholic drinks in our hands. Went for a short drive south in the
truck, but not a lot to see except a Federal Authorities Check-Point where they
looked quickly for drugs then waved us on. Went into San Raphael to change some
money at the bank. Then, back to the beach. It's a tough
life, but somebody has to do it !! Ate at La Cabinata again with Cindy having
Tilapia and me eating Camarones a la Plancha (large shrimp cooked on a skillet).
Day 73 - Saturday August 23, 2008
OK, enough of Cerro Azul. Today we head for the Costa Ezmaralda. A very
winding road through Tuxpan kept us awake and alert assisted by many TOPES
(speed bumps) which the Mexicans create for no good reason and without signs !!
The new toll road south of Tuxpan, MEX-180D, is a very good road and allowed us
to get to reach Monte Gordo (north of Casitas) in good time. We are at the De
Alba RV Park, and apart from 1 other semi-permanent trailer, we are the only
occupants. The Gulf of Mexico is within 30 metres and there is a pool just
behind our trailer. Went into Casitas for supper and ate at La Cabinata
overlooking the Gulf. Got to pick our own fish. Cindy had Red Snapper, I had Sea
Bass, both cooked in foil with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, basil and green
peppers, with rice, more tomatoes and onions on the side. A 3 piece band
(6 string acoustic bass guitar, 6 string minature guitar and a 'harp') serenaded
us with 'Musica Anjeho'. The owner came over and chatted to us in fairly good
English. Finished up with a glass of Annis, Nice.
Day 72 - Friday August 22, 2008
We need to be back on the road today. We had scheduled our next stop at the
Bonnitto Inn & RV Park in Tampico. When we arrived, about 4 hours later, we
found that the entrance to the driveway had colums either side which meant we
needed to make a very wide turn to avoid scraping the side of the trailer, but,
to make that type of turn required heading right across 3 lanes of traffic!! NO
WAY. We made a quick decision to continue on to Cerra Azul and the Condado Hotel
about 150 kms further on. We finally got settled about 6:00 pm, a lot later than
we like to be on the road. We were the only rig in the camp.
Day 71 - Thursday August 21, 2008
When we arrived here in La Pesca, we had between 1/2 and 1/4 tank of deisel
left. We had been advised that there was a Pemex (all gas stations in Mexico are
Pemex) in La Pesca, but, when we drove the 4 kms we found they did not have
diesel. So today was a down day, spent at the pool next to the river so that we
didn't use up any more gas. We will have to get a refill of diesel as soon as we
get back to the more civilized sections (Soto La Marina or south on MEX-180).
Day 70 - Wednesday August 20, 2008
Here we go. Up early, tanks emptied, eveything disconnected. On the road
just after 8:15 am to drive the 12 kms to the border.
The whole process at Immigration and the Banjercito (temporary vehicle import
office) took just over 90 minutes and included:- 1) get immigration form from
officer, 2) fill in form with all details, 3) get photocopies made of passports,
4) take all documents to payment window and pay 237 pesos per person (about $24
each) and received a 30 day "TransMigrante" visa, 5) back to
Banjercito for 'Vehicle Import' dcuments, 6) back to copy centre for multiple
copies of all vehicle papers (ownership, insurance, drivers license, passport),
7) processed the Ford Truck without a problem after paying 242 pesos for a 30
day permit,
8) the 5th wheel trailer was a whole other problem, eventually, they had two
different set of people inspect it before deciding what it was and what category
it fell into. It became a 'Casa Movil' and was issued a 10 year permit for 504 pesos.
Before we got out of the border complex, there was a further inspection by a
Military group, they even had me pose for a picture in the doorway of the
trailer with their Sargeant !!
Once on the road, we found MEX-2 to Reynosa OK, but the turn south onto MEX-97
was poorly signed and we had to negociate a 'Returno' about 2 kms down the road
to backtrack to the highway. About 20 kms south there was another Aduana
(Customs) inspection, but after checking our permits and having a quick look
inside the trailer, we were on our way.
Our new Garmin NUVI 260W GPS is doing a reasonable job in Mexico, but we have
needed to make manual decisions in a couple of places.
We joined MEX-101 north of Ciudad Victoria, then another 70 kms further on, we
branched off left onto MEX-180 (about 17 kms of this road is being
reconstructed) towards Soto La Marina and here we turned east, heading for La
Pesca and the Gulf of Mexico on MEX-70. We did not know that they are building a
totally new road to La Pesca. Sometimes we would be on a part of the new road
(very nice and wide), a
few miles later we were on the old road and in other places we were on loose
construction gravel where the old and new roads crossed, very hairy. Finally
arrived at La Gaviota and got setup. We are right on the banks of the Rio Soto
La Marina, very picturesque. Sat outside and watched some pre-recorded
entertainment on the laptop, but were driven inside by insects. About 9:15 pm,
the local power went out, so rather than take the time and trouble to set up the
generator, we retired for the night and tried to keep as cool as we could. About
11:30 pm, a thunderstorm rolled in and woke us, but it did manage to cool things
down a little. Power came back on about 2:00 am, which woke us up again!
Day 67 ~ 69 - Sunday August 17 ~ Tuesday August 19, 2008
OK, so we are still in Pharr, Texas. The weather has been very stormy with
lots of flash flood warnings and watches. Also, we had not heard back from any
of the first four places we had scheduled to stop. Eventually, multiple phone
calls got us the information we needed, although we still had not received a
response from the RV Park in Ciudad Victoria. Therefore, our first stop will be
at La Gaviota Resort in La Pesca. Had our final "decent" North
American meal at Tony Romas Ribs. Tomorrow will be Mexico, for sure.
Day 65 ~ 66 - Friday August 15 ~ Saturday August 16, 2008
This is hopefully our final weekend in the USA. We have just about
everything ready. We picked up Mexican Pesos as much of what we will need to buy
in Mexico will be cash. This weekend is also a tax free weekend for Kids cloths,
shoes and school items, so the stores were packed with Texans and Mexicans.
Then, about 4:30 pm, the heavens opened and it stormed for about 90 minutes.
There was some flash flooding locally. Tomorrow, will be the last minute items,
then off we go.
Day 61 ~ 64 - Monday August 11 ~ Thursday August 14, 2008
The whole area around the Rio Grande valley has grown quickly in the last
years. Pharr, McAllen, Mission, Hidalgo, Harlingen and Alamo are the main
communities in this section of the valley, with Brownsville and South Padre
Island to the east. Basically, we are here to get our insurance arranged for
Mexico and Latin America. I must mention Charles and Byron at Nelson Insurance
in McAllen who have been very helpful in getting this insurance arranged and
with advice on driving and camping in Mexico. So, we are now set to enter
Mexico, and currently plan to cross the border into Mexico on Monday August
18/08. Our planned first stop in Mexico was to have been Ciudad Victoria, but,
based on information from Charles Nelson, we are now planning to make our first
stop La Pesca in Tamaulipas state. Other than the preceeding, we have had the
oil changed on the truck (exciting) and are picking up last minute items for the
trip.
Day 60 - Sunday August 10, 2008
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's back on the road we go. We travel today to Pharr, Texas
about 6 miles from the Mexican border in the Rio Grande river valley. The trip
was once again straight-forward and we pulled into the Tropic Star RV Resort
about 2:00 pm. Things are a bit quiet as this is their low season. Got all set
up, but their internet is still out since Hurricane Dolly passed through, plus,
there is some storm damage to the main office buildings.
Day 55 ~ 59 - Tuesday August 5 ~ Saturday August 9, 2008
The last few days have been spent mostly at the beach in the morning then
either shopping or picking up items for the truck & trailer in Corpus
Christi. Wednesday, we toured the U.S.S.
Lexington, very informative. We got an email with some figures for the
insurance we need for Central America and is was a lot higher than anticipated,
so on Sunday we will be moving to Pharr, Texas, right next to McAllen, Texas,
where the majority of the insurance companies have their headquarters.
Hopefully, we will be able to find insurance at a more affordable rate.
Day 54 - Monday August 4, 2008
Spent the morning at North Beach, Corpus Christi overlooking the U.S.S.
Lexington. The beach was almost deserted and the water was like being in a
warm bath. In the afternoon, we drove to Aransas Pass, then on the ferry to Port
Aransas, finally back through Mustang Beach and the South Padre Island causeway
and downtown Corpus Christi.
Day 53 - Sunday August 3, 2008
Moving day. We've spent 2 whole weeks in San Antonio, so it is time to move.
Our next stop is at the Sea Breeze RV Park
in Portland, Texas; just across the bay from Corpus Christi. Only a 2-1/2 hour
drive and we were in our camp site about 150 yards from the Gulf of Mexico
(actually, Corpus Christi Bay). This is a very nice camp ground complete with
pool, hot-tub and fishing pier. Dinner was another Chinese buffet and it was
excellent with crabs legs and sushi; and for less than $10.00 each.
Day 52 - Saturday August 2, 2008
Went to 'supposedly' the largest Flea Market in Texas. Well, it was fairly
big, but a lot of the stalls were unoccupied or not yet set up. Lots of clothes,
shoes and CDs. I purchased a 20 ton 'bottle' jack, whoopee!! In the evening we
ate at Coyoye
Canyon, a steak buffet. It was OK but nothing to write home about.
Day 51 - Friday August 1, 2008
Went back into town today to get a slow leak fixed on one of the truck
tires. Then spent the rest of the day just driving round San Antonio looking at
the other neighbourhoods.
Day 50 - Thursday July 31, 2008
Well, today is Cindy's birthday. It was her day to decide what to do. Guess
what; we spent the morning around the pool. Then, later in the afternoon, we
took the bus into San Antonio and spent a couple of hours waking along the
RiverWalk. Eventually, we stopped for dinner at Michelino's
Ristorante Italiano where I had pork tenderloin and Cindy chose veal
parmigianawith Tiramisu for desert, accompanied by the obligatory bottle of
Berringer. Took a cab back to the trailer.
Day 47 ~ 49 - Monday July 28 ~ Wednesday July 30, 2008
Nothing much going on these last 3 days. Got an additional spare tire for
the trailer. Done a lot of 'pool lounging'. Went into San Antonio today
(Wednesday) and visited the Mexican Market (El Mercado), sort of like a
permanent flea market but all the goods are Mexican or Latin American (importado
de Mexico, hecho en China). Had a very nice Mexican lunch at La
Margarita Restaurant & Oyster Bar. We are staying around San Antonio
until Sunday Aug 3, as
the Rio Grande Valley (McAllen, Pharr, Brownsville & Reynosa) is still
cleaning up after Hurrican Dolly.
Day 46 - Sunday July 27, 2008
We had finally got the application forms for the auto insurance for Central
America, they had been delayed as the company that handles it is located in
McAllen, TX and they had been shut because of Hurricane Dolly. Spent about 2
hours completing all the forms and copying various documents, then emailing them
back. Once again, the rest of the day was spent "at leisure", but we
did finish up having a nice rib supper at Applebee's.
Day 45 - Saturday July 26, 2008
Travelled for the day to a place called Gruene
about 25 miles east of San Antonio. It is a quaint community along the Guadelupe
River and has remained original and mostly authentic since the late 1800's.
There are antique and curio shops plus the usual 'tackier' souvenir and t-shirt
emporiums. The area is well known for "Toobing". There are several
companies, such as Rockin' R,
that will rent you a large inflated inner-tube which you use to float lazily
down the Gualdelupe River, groups of tubes can be roped together for
larger partys and many take a spare tube for the 'beverage cooler'; a very
civilized way to spend a couple of hours on a very hot afternoon.
Day 44 - Friday July 25, 2008
The weather is still mixed this morning, so we decided to clean the trailer.
The afternoon was spent by the pool. This evening we went into downtown San
Antonio for dinner and entertainment at The RiverWalk. Again, we took the bus
and found the spot we wanted almost straight away. We ate at Landry's
Seafood House and had a table for 2 right next to the San Antonio river,
very picturesque. Cindy had Salmon with wine and I had Mahi-Mahi with a couple of
Sam Adam's, all of which was excellent. After dinner, we walked the banks of the
San Antonio river, along The RiverWalk for about 45 minutes, then decided to
have a drink in the Mad
Dog British Pub, big mistake! There were 3 greeters/bouncers/doormen at the
steps leading into the pub, they said we could not enter without showing proper
ID. As we had gone into town by bus and were taking a taxi home, I had not
brought ID with me. Even though I'm 59 years old, they still wanted ID. When I
said that I was Canadian / British, and we don't normally carry ID all the time, one of
these moron's states that "US / Texas Law says that Canadians have to carry their
passports at all times!!" Naturally, we moved on and spent our money
elsewhere.
Day 43 - Thursday July 24, 2008
The clouds, rain & storms have moved in with avengance. There was little
to do except shelter in the shops. A small tornado wrecked Brady Marine on
Steve's Avenue a mere 2.2 kms from our trailer!! The Rio Grande Valley between
Brownsville, McAllen and El Paso has been pounded by Hurricane Dolly as a
category 2 hurricane. They have received up to 15 inches of rain in the last 24
hours and there are more than 40,000 people withour power. Rest of the day was
quiet.
Day 42 - Wednesday July 23, 2008
We are supposed to get some weather action today from Hurrricane Dolly. It
was due to make landfall near Brownsville in mid morning, but was then predicted
to travel west, so here, in San Antonio, the prediction was for thunderstorms
late in the day; as of this writing, 8:00 pm CDT, we have a lot of cloud but no
rain yet. To while away the time today, we drove north-east towards New
Braunfels and picked up some spare parts for the trailer from the local Jayco
dealership. I even picked up a new bicycle !?!? On the way back, we stopped in Schertz
and took a break at Bonnie's Texas
Pecan Candy & Gifts for some hand-made ice cream. The 2 ladies that run
the place, Bonnie & Ginger, were very pleasant and full of useful local
information, and the ice cream was delicious.
Day 41 - Tuesday July 22, 2008
We had set aside today to attempt to organise the insurance for the truck
& trailer for Central America. The primary agency is Sanborns, but they are
very difficult to deal with and want $35 just to provide a quote ! So we spent
more time than we had planned and wasted most of the day. Had a nice supper at Carino's
Italian Grill.
Day 40 - Monday July 21, 2008
We were advised that parking in and near downtown San Antonio was scarce and
expensive, so we hopped on the # 42 bus from directly outside the RV Park. San
Antonio's transit costs $1 per person including one transfer. In less than 20
minutes we were in the town centre. Had a late breakfast in Alamo Square then
walked over to the Riverside Plaza. We decided to spend $7.50 each on a 45
minute guided boat tour of the 'RiverWalk',
very interesting and beautiful, we intend to return one evening for dinner at
one of the riverside restaurants. Early afternoon found us entering 'The
Alamo'. There is no charge to explore The Alamo but donations are accepted.
The information about the history of this site is amazing and well worth the
visit. Never did find the Basement of The Alamo as indicated by Pee-Wee Herman
in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure !
Day 39 - Sunday July 20, 2008
Moving day again. We were packed up and on the road by 9:30 am. Picked up
US-87 going North-West out of Victoria on the way to San Antonio. Again, a very
uneventful drive through mostly flat Texas countryside. Arrived at Traveler's
World RV Resort in San Antonio, TX about 12:30 pm. This is one of the best
RV Parks in the area and is very close to the attractions of downtown San
Antonio such as the RiverWalk.
We got settled in our nice big RV spot and, sorry to say, we gravitated to a
very nice pool for the rest of the afternoon, especially as the thermometer was
sitting at 99 F !!! We are going to be in this RV Park in San Antonio for 7
days, so the next few day diary may be condensed unless there are significant
events to record.
Day 37 ~ 38 - Friday July 18 ~ Saturday July 19, 2008
Well, Victoria, Texas is a pretty boring town. Thursday we went into town,
did a bit of shopping then went back to the pool and sat in the sun for the rest
of the afternoon. On Saturday, we went exploring to try and find a nice park
near some cooling water. Initially, we entered Saxet
Lake Park advertised as "95 acres of fishing, swimming and picnic
areas". The place was deserted at 11:00 am. Maybe it was the signs warning
"Beware of the Alligators" !! So we drove to Riverside
Park with the Guadelupe River running through it and holding the Texas
Zoo. It is a big park, but the Guadelupe River was very low and stagnant in
most places and the grass was knee high near most of the picnic areas. The golf
course was busy, but much of the park near the river was barricaded off. We
eventually sat near the duck pond, watching snapping turtles try to snag ducks
and geese, the highlight of our day. Back to the pool at the RV Park. Dinner was
at Ramsey's, a family run home-style restaurant serving catfish, shrimp, oysters
and the ubiquitous 'hush-puppies'.
Day 37 - Thursday July 17, 2008
Got on the road to Victoria on time. Arrived at TX-35 to go north, but our
GPS must be out-of-date as it sent us onto a Levee road which was too narrow to
turn around. Eventually entered a nearby water treatment plant with a compound
large enough to turn the rig, but as I made the really tight turn, the 5th wheel
'break-away' pin popped locking the brakes on the trailer. It took about 25
minutes to get the break-away pin re-inserted and the electronic brake
controller to recognise that fact. Eventually reached Victoria and the Lazy
Longhorn RV Park. We are due to be here 3 nights leaving on Sunday. Did a
quick drive through of Victoria and supper at Golden
Corral (not Golden Griddle).
Day 35 - Wednesday July 16, 2008
We had been planning to move off today, but, with the truck problems
earlier, we decided to spend another day here to make sure everything is OK
before towing the trailer again. Sorry to be boring, but the morning was spent
on the beach again; it's just too tempting and the Dolphins were back to
entertain. Around lunchtime, some stormclouds rolled in, so we left the beach,
showered and did some exploring in the truck, but the heavy showers of rain kept
the exploring to a minimum. Dinner was a large Chinese Buffet with a very good
selection of Chinese food, Sushi and Maki; and again it was ledd than $10.00
each !!
Day 34 - Tuesday July 15, 2008
A gorgeous morning. The beach was almost deserted, so another 2-1/2 to 3
hours whiled away getting that almost perfect tan. We were delighted to see
several pods of BottleNose Dolphins passing by about 200 yards from the beach.
The truck was due to be ready between 2:00 & 3:00 pm, so when we got back
from the beach, showered and had lunch, we drove back to Angleton, dropped off
the AVIS car and picked up the truck. Another $100.00 warranty deductible to be
paid, but that's a lot better than $1,260.00 which was the non-warranty cost.
Had supper at Ryan's Buffet.
$9.79 each and there was enormous amounts of food and it was very good, these
prices are crazy.
Day 33 - Monday July 14, 2008
Here we go again. We drove about 20 miles north to Angleton, TX and the
service bays at Gulf Coast Ford.
They took the truck straight in and within 45 minutes had diagnosed a partially
block Oil Cooler. They stated that a new Oil Cooler was required and it was
covered under warranty, but would not be ready until Tuesday. We got an AVIS
rental car and spent the rest of a somewhat rainy afternoon in Angleton and Lake
Jackson.
Day 31 ~ 32 - Saturday July 12 ~ Sunday July 13, 2008
Hooked up for the relatively short (38 km) drive over the San Luis cuaseway
to Surfside Beach, TX. Should have been straigtforward EH? Murphy's Law struck
again. As we approached the toll both at the start of the San Luis causeway, the
Edge
Attitude monitoring system on the truck showed an alarm for high Engine Oil
Temperature. The normal upper limit is 235 F, but, by the time I pulled off the
end of the causeway, the Engine Oil Temperature was in the high 240's F. Let the
temperature cool down then drove slowly into Surfside Beach. Setup at Surfside
Beach RV Park and, because there was not much I could do regarding the
Engine Oil Temp problem until Monday, we just mooched around Surfside, Freeport,
Clute and Lake Jackson on Saturday and Sunday, but, again, the beach, which is
only 250 yards away, got a lot of traffic.
Day 30 - Friday July 11, 2008
Well today was not exciting, did a bit of shopping in Galveston in the
morning then we spent the rest of the day on Jamaica Beach. Even though the
temperature was in the mid 90's F and quite humid, the breeze coming in off the
Gulf of Mexico made it very bearable.
Day 29 - Thursday July 10, 2008
Galveston is quite the happening place. There are hundreds of vacation
condos and a lot of very beautiful beach houses, all built on 'stilts' putting
them about 10 - 15 feet above ground so that they can escape the worst of any
hurricane flooding. We drove all the way to the east end of the island and took
the ferry to Point
Bolivar. There are 4 vessels that ply this 3 mile run carrying cars and
trucks (including big semi's) and all for NO CHARGE !! Came back into town and
explored the East Beach area. In the evening, we went to Yamato
Sushi & Steakhouse for Tapanyaki, it was very entertaining and tasty.
Day 28 - Wednesday July 9, 2008
Finally getting out of Beaumont, Texas, thankfully. We are headed a couple
of hours south-west to Galvaston Island, Texas. Again, the drive was uneventful
with a couple of rain showers to ease the temperature back from 92 F to 86 F. We
are now in the Jamaica Beach RV Park about 11
miles west of downtown Galveston. Across the road is the Gulf of Mexico and
miles of sand dunes, wide beaches and calm waters about 90 F and where you can
walk out about 80 yards before the water is above your waist. Spent the
afternoon at the beach.
Days 22 ~ 27 - Thursday July 3 ~ Tuesday July 8, 2008
OK, so we spent a week in Beaumont, Texas. We had been led to believe that
Beaumont was a reasonable place to spend some time and get some stuff done on
the truck; well here goes. On Thursday, we were recommended to Modica
Bros. Tire & Wheel to get the brakes renewed. They quoted $375 for all 4
wheels, but said we should come back at 2:00 pm. We returned and left the truck,
they gave us a Honda Accord Station Wagon to drive for the couple of hours the
job was supposed to take. When we got back at 5:15, we were told that the truck
needed new rotors which they could not get until Monday July 7 (Friday was the
July 4th Holiday), and the price was going to be $900 !!!, so they gave us the
truck back and we went into Beaumont. At about 7:30 pm, we were getting off I-10
at Walden Avenue when my foot and brake pedal hit the floor, NO BRAKES !!
Luckily I was not going too fast and managed to bring the truck to a stop. I
gingerly pulled into the nearest service station and discovered all the brake
fluid pouring from the rear driver's side wheel. Eventually, we needed to call
AAA and get the truck flat-bedded to the RV CampGround. The next day was July
4th and there was nowhere to get a rental car, so we spent the day at the pool
in the RV Resport. On Saturday, we got the truck flat-bedded back to Modica
Bros. Naturally, they claimed that it must have been pure coincidence that the
brakes failed after being in their shop?!?! They again loaned us the Honda
Accord for the rest of the weekend. This Honda was an old vehicle, the
speedometer did not work, so we did not venture very far. On Monday, we got a
call from Modico Bros. to say that they had also discovered that the calipers
were damaged from overheating and would also need replacement; the price was now
up to $1,685 !!!!!!! They had us by the "short and curly ones", we
needed the truck back in full working order. By the end of Monday July 7, we
finally had the truck back and we were $1,700 + lighter. Another thing, the Gulf
Coast RV Resort says it has free WiFi internet. Well, the main reason this
site went without update for the week was because their WiFi Internet was up and
down like a toilet seat. It was very frustrating especially as they kept
maintaining that everything was OK. Tuesday July 8, our last full day in the
Beaumont area, we spent a couple of restful hours next to the Naches River at
Colliers Ferry. We are looking forward to getting our of this place tomorrow !!
Day 21 - Wednesday July 2, 2008
Up at a reasonable time and got the trailer ready for travel. Left Carthage
just after 10:00 am and picked up US-59 on the way south to Beaumont, TX. It
really is a lot greener than I had anticipated. Everything is lush and most of
the communities, their lawns and gardens, are very well kept. We stopped for
lunch at Elijah's
Cafe in Kirbyville, TX. We had the "Blue Plate Special" which on
Wednesdays is Chicken Pot Pie with 2 side dishes. It was all home cooked and
very tasty. We'd like to mention Renee and Pam for their attention and great
service. Got into Beaumont, TX about 2:30 pm and it was just starting to rain.
Beaumont has a population of more than 115,000 and is less than 30 miles from
the Gulf of Mexico. We are going to be here in to the Gulf
Coast RV Resort for 7 nights, including the US Independence Day holiday. In
the evening, we went into the shopping and restaurant area of North Beaumont and
chose to eat at Tokyo
Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar on Dowlen Rd., Beaumont. The food was
fine and well presented, but, the service, although attentive, was poorly
performed. The waiter was clearing away my soup and salad plates while my wife
was still eating; then, he brought and presented the check plus cleared my
dishes whilst Cindy was still in the middle of her main meal, very
unprofessional. From being seated to leaving was less than 40 minutes, we felt
that we were getting 'The Bums Rush'.
Day 20 - Tuesday July 1, 2008 -
Today was what I like to refer to as a "Nothing" day. We planned
to do Nothing specific and we achieved our goals. We spent most of the day at
the pool and then drove into Carthage for a buffet supper at the local Catfish
restaurant. We are now seeing the 'stranger' southern foods such as Grits,
Turnip Greens, Suchatash, Hush-Puppies and the like, that's not to say we are
eating them !
Day 19 - Monday June 30, 2008
Drove into downtown Carthage today, it is the standard small American town
with everything centred around a central town square with the Courthouse and
Post Office just off this central square. As there was very little to do in
Carthage, we drove back up US-59 to Marshall, TX and then on I-20 to Longview,
TX. These are larger communities, but again, do not seem to have anything to
make them anything special. We decided to drive back from Longview on what Texas
calls "Farm Roads". These are like fairly decent country roads without
resorting to gravel or dirt. At one point, we drove alongside a massive open
quarry/pit where the trucks carrying the mined earth must have been 70' - 80'
long and probably weigh in excess of 120,000 lbs; thankfully they were on roads
inside the quarry but parallel to the normal road; quite a sight. The weather
today was a mix of sun & cloud with a high of 92 F and not too humid.
Day 18 - Sunday June 29, 2008
We are leaving Arkadelphia and Arkansas today. We were on the road just
after 10:00 am. Continued South-West on I-30 to Texarkana then south on US-59 to
Carthage, Texas. Arrived at about 3:15 pm having driven through a few showers of
rain. The Carthage
RV Campground is a lot more pleasing than the one we just left in
Arkadelphia. We will spend the rest of the day setting up, doing some washing
and probably laying in the sun with something cold in a glass by my side.
Day 17 - Saturday June 28, 2008
It is cloudy this morning with the promise of rain and storms later in the
evening. When we were in Hot Springs yesterday, we had seen a huge Tire and
Wheel shop, and as we were needing to replace 4 of the 6 tires on the truck, we
took a drive back to Hot Springs. Arrived at American Tire & Wheel on Mall
St. about 9:30 am. Talked to a very interesting guy called Gary Clarke who
analysed what we had on and what we are going to be doing and came up with 4 new
LT 235/85R16 tires, with a fairly agressive tread pattern, which should help on
the roads and cart tracks of Central America. The price for all 4 tires,
installed, balanced and with 2 General Ameritreads from the back being tranfered
to the front wheels, was $640. On the way back, the weather had improoved, so we
grabbed the sun chairs, swim suits and snacks/drinks and went to the beach at DeGray
Lake State Park, it costs all of $1 to enter this Arkansas State Park.
Stayed for a couple of hours, it was very peaceful. In the evening, we went into
Arkadelphia looking for a restaurant. Well, didn't the heavens open up and the
wind did blow. We took shelter in the truck under an awning on one of the
downtown buildings, but, when grape sized hail started to fall, we quickly drove
into the covered loading bay of a closed mattress shop and stayed there for about
30 minutes. A couple of the streets were like small rivers and the weather
forecast had warned of flash flooding. Eventually, we left Arkadelphia and
headed for the Fish
Net Restaurant back near the campground. We had just started into our main
course of Catfish, Shrimps, Fried Oysters and Clam Strips when the power went
out all over Clark County. We finished dinner by candlelight, then drove back to
the trailer in absolute darkness, isn't it nice to have your own power supply?
Day 16 - Friday June 27, 2008
Mixed weather here today, started off cloudy and only 81 F. Decided to drive
up State Road # 7 to Hot Springs, Arkansas. A lot bigger town than I had
imagined with a population of about 40,000. The area is a mix of lakes and
rolling high hills. We drove to the top of Hot Springs Mountain but had a
somewhat misty view. Bill Clinton spent his boy-hood here before moving to
Little Rock. After lunch, drove back by the main road and down into Arkadelphia.
Not much to be seen here, just a basic mid-American town.
Day 15 - Thursday June 26, 2008
Were up at a reasonable hour to get on the road. Came back up I-55 to
Memphis then across the Mississippi River and west towards Little Rock, Arkansas
on I-40 then south-west to Arkadelphia, Arkansas on I-30. Arkansas is a very
flat state east of Little Rock, but gets hillier towards the west including Hot
Springs and Pine Bluff. Got to the Arkadelphia
Campground just after 3:00 pm and got setup. We will probably not do much
this evening, and YES it is still very hot and humid.
Day 14 - Wednesday June 25, 2008
YES, we are STILL at
Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Went back into Southaven to
pick up the spare matched pair of serpentine belts for the truck engine; they
only cost $48.00 at O'Reilly Auto Parts rather than the $106.00 the Ford
dealership wanted and they are exactly the same part !! This is the last day at
Horn Lake, promise. But, just to be consistently boring, we did spend the
afternoon at the pool again as it was in the mid 90's F. Cleaned the main awning
down with bleach to make sure no mildew accumulates. Sat outside for the evening
chatting with other travellers. The sun sets relatively early here, 9:15 pm.
Day 13 - Tuesday June 24, 2008
Still at
Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Went into Southaven (the
nearest big town) to pick up all of the miscellaneous bulbs we need for the
trailer. Also ordered a spare matched pair of serpentine belts for the truck
engine, they will be in tomorrow. Mike from Town & Country RV
Repairs came back about 2:45 pm with the replacement slide-out motor. It all
seems to work now. For the rest of the day, the pool was as far as we ventured.
It did reach 95 F (35 C), so the pool was the best place. At about 7:30 pm, we
washed the complete exterior of the trailer with the power washer, that has got
rid of a lot of the dead bugs and dirt.
Day 12 - Monday June 23, 2008
Still at
Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Talked to the RV repair guy
today but he probably will not get to us until Tuesday. Went into the nearest
town, Southaven, MS, had lunch and did some grocery shopping (exciting Eh!).
Came back to use the pool again, but got a call from the RV repair shop that
they could come over at about 3:30 pm, so the pool had to wait. Mike arrived
from Town & Country RV
Repairs complete with an enclosed work & tool trailer, very
professional. He diagnosed that both of our IOTA Power Converters had been
damaged by water (probably from the newly installed Washer / Dryer which is
immediately above the converters). He replaced them both and we now have the
low-voltage circuits working again. The problem we have with our Galley
(kitchen) slide-out is an almost burned-out motor, which Mike should have for us
tomorrow (Tuesday). We are glad that these items occured now rather than in say
Guatemala. Eventually got in the pool about 6:30 pm to cool off. Nothing
exciting tonight, sorry.
Day 11 - Sunday June 22, 2008
Todays journey is a little longer than previous runs, so we were on the road
just after 9:00 am. Took some of the state roads from Clarksville to Paris and
on to Brownsville eventually joining I-40 for the run into Memphis, TN. We did
not stop in Memphis to see Elvis working in a 7-11 as we had done the Memphis
thing 3 years ago, and, as far as I know, he is still deceased. We are at
Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake, Mississippi, just south of the Tennessee -
Mississippi border. This is a beautiful, fairly new RV park. We arrived at
around 2:45 PM CDT and were in the really nice temperate pool by 3:30 pm. The
temperature reached 33 C with moderate humidity and very few clounds - perfect
!! A few wobbly pops. and were are good for the rest of the day.
Day 10 - Saturday June 21, 2008
Spent the day in and around Clarksville, TN. Had breakfast at IHOP, then did
some shopping in the large shopping area. Picked up a load of fuses and bulbs
for both the truck and trailer ready for the journey through Central America
where these items may be in short supply or even unavailable. Went back to the Clarksville RV Park
and spent the afternoon around the pool. In the evening, we went to Red Lobster
as our good friends Margaret, Vi & Ken were attending the Milton, Ontario
Lions Club "Lobster Fest" and we usually go with them, but, this year
we are on the road, so Red Lobster was the closest we could get, we missed you
guys.
Day 9 - Friday June 20, 2008
The weather forecast for Louisville for the next few days is not that good,
so we are getting on the road today and heading just across the border into
Clarksville, Tennesseee. This drive will take us onto more scenic state roads
rather than Interstate highways. I'm very glad we did take the sideroads
because, having crossed into the Central Time Zone, we stopped for an early
lunch at Mike's Bar-B-Cue in Guthrie, Kentucky (just north of the KY - TN state
line). Mike Reeves (and his lady Nancy) cooks Old Fashioned West Kentucky Style
Ribs, Pork & Chicken with a selection of side dishes such as Hashbrown
Casserole, BBQ Beans and Turnip Greens. The food is excellent and Mike himself
came over and talked to us. He is an interesting person, having served in The
Marines and he is also a Pastor. Well worth the trip to Guthrie. A few miles
later, we pulled into Clarksville RV Park where we will be for the next 2 days
or so.
Day 8 - Thursday June 19, 2008
Spent a fairly quiet day in and around Shepherdsville, KY. Did some grocery
shopping. They don't have 'Sprite' here, it is called 'Sierra Mist'. Encountered
an electrical short on 1 of the 2 Power Converters, will need to get it replaced
at the next large city. About 8:00 pm, the storm clouds rolled in and it poured
with rain. accompanied by thunder and lightning, for about 90 minutes.
Day 7 - Wednesday June 18, 2008
We were on the road by 9:30 am and had a very uneventful run from
Crawfordsville, IN to Indianapolis, IN on I-74, then south to the Kentucky
border on I-65. Much of the flood water from earlier this week has now subsided.
Passed through Louisville, KY and on to Shepherdsville, KY and GrandMa's
RV Park where we will spend the next 2 nights. Cindy got to try out the new
washer / dryer late this afternoon, so I now have clean underwear ! The daytime
temperature has been steadily climbing as we have moved south and today reached
28 C. Actually went to a 'Ponderosa' Restaurant for supper,
hadn't been to one of those in ages.
Day 6 - Tuesday June 17, 2008
Got a call from Dave at RV One Inc. at
about 9:15 am; the washer / dryer is installed and the trailer is ready to be
picked up. So we checked out of the hotel, filled up with diesel and drove over.
Hooked up and by 10:30 am we were on our way. We had decided to drive to
Crawfordsville, IN as southern Indiana has suffered severe flooding over the
past 7 - 10 days. Had an easy drive through beautiful countryside down US-31
then IN-25 and IN-231. We are camping at Crawfordsville
KOA and will only be here 1 night and will be on the road
fairly early tomorrow for the drive to Shephersville, KY. We will be sticking to
the main highways because of the flooding. Once we cross the Ohio River into
Kentucky, we should be clear of the flood dangers.
Day 5 - Monday June 16, 2008
Up at a reasonable time to pack everything up for the run to Elkhart IN.
Just over an hour later, we pulled into the RV
One Inc. repair shop and dropped the
trailer off. Went into another area of Elkhart to pick up the Washer / Dryer at
Factory RV Surplus and
deliver it back to the repair shop. Booked into Comfort Suites for the night (a
king size bed for a change and full cable TV). Did a bit of shopping, then back
to the hotel for supper and a few drinks.
Day 4 - Sunday June 15, 2008
Still at Circle B in Angola IN. Fathers Day breakfast was $2 for everyone
except Fathers, who got theirs for free !! Spent the rest of the day doing not a
lot. Towards then end of the day I prepared the closet area where the Washer /
Dryer will go. Near sunset, it clouded over and their was a brief thunderstorm.
Day 3 - Saturday June 14, 2008
We drove into Elkhart IN today to look for the washer / dryer we want. Found
it at the 2nd RV Accessory shop we visited, and for a good price. We also got
the name of a company that can install it for us on Monday. The drive to and
from Elkhart passes through Mennonite country and it was intriguing to see all
the black buggies and horses loaded with families going to the nearest town.
This part of Indiana is very well kept and most of the houses looked very smart.
It's going to be a lazy evening just sitting round the camp fire.
Day 2 - Friday June 13, 2008
We woke at about 6:30 am to the rumble of thunder, turned on the TV to find
we were under a "Tornado Warning". The sky to the west was very dark
and threatening. So we quickly packed up, closed all the slides, disconnected
the utilities and got on our way. As we passed through Flint MI, the rain was
very heavy and there were a few flashes and more rumbles. As I-69 turns towards
the south towards Lansing MI, the sky started to become lighter and by the time
Lansing MI was behind us, we were in hazy sunshine. Just over the Indiana
border, we pulled off at Angola IN and entered the "Circle
B" RV Park. This is a large campground bordering 146 acre Hogback Lake.
We are going to stay here for a few days as Angola is about 50 miles from
Elkhart IN, which is where the vast majority of all North American RVs and
Trailers are made. We want to have a combo washer / dryer installed, so this is
the best place. Sat out until the stars started to come out and talked to Sharon
& Bob from the St. Louis MI area who were headed for Mackinaw IL.
Day 1 - Thursday June 12, 2008
Well, this is it !! We were up at 6:30 am and had all of the final items
packed by 10:00 am. I emptied all of the waste tanks and ensured that the fresh
water tank was full. We said our final farewells to some of the other RVers in
the Nor-Halton Park in Acton and hit the road at about 10:30 am. A gentle drive
south on Highway 25 towards Milton followed by a steady right turn onto
westbound Highway 401. Stopped for a Double-Double at Tim's in Ingersoll, then
back on the 401. Eased off the 401 onto the 402 heading for Sarnia. No problems
at the toll booth, but the truck and trailer together cost $8.25 ! Slowly
forward to US Customs. Not much of a queue, maybe 11 vehicles ahead of us. The
'Homeland Security' officer was very friendly and after a couple of questions,
we were on our way. Picked up I-69 west towards Flint, MI. Pulled off at MI Hwy
24 to Lapeer and less than 3 miles up the road is our overnight - Water Tower RV
Park (part of the Michigan State Park system). $25 for the night with full
services and a relatively easy 'pull-thru' site. We are just here for the 1
night, so supper and a reasonably early night.
