San Carlos – Day 2

We had a vote last night to see who wanted to stay another day and who wanted to keep on travelling.  The vote was 3-1 for staying, I won’t say who was in a hurry to get to Valle de Juarez, Nancy….

We woke up to sunshine and light clouds and 14 degrees at 8am, so we slowly got ourselves organized and went for a walk down the main street, checking out the stores and sights. 

We decided to treat ourselves to lunch out at the restaurant near our RV park.  Ummm, mojacajte, we hadn’t had one since Melaque 2010.

Other than that we had a very peaceful day… tomorrow we will head further south…

Today was the birthday of the nicest, best person we had ever met, we love and miss you Rita!

We are in Mexico!

This morning we woke up in Arizona, AND, it was -3, as I write this we are in San Carlos Mexico!  

We pulled  out of De Anza RV Park at 7:50 headed for the small Arizona town of Rio Rico to fill up with gas and to meet Doug and Nancy. 

From there it was about 15 minutes to the border.  We were excited and worried about this crossing.  Euri led the way, they got the red light and had to pull over for a quick inspection we got waved though a narrow opening and that was it we were in Mexico.

The paperwork, visitor and vehicle permits would be done at KM21.  Strange system but who is going to complain.  We had to pay a toll to travel on the road, it was bumpy, but two lanes most of the way and we were soon at the “immigration” buildings.  We went into the first building and a very nice woman handed us the forms to fill out, we showed our passports to her, told her how long we expected to be in Mexico and we were shuffled over to the next building to the cashier.  We showed her our vehicle registration,  our passports and the visitor card and she put the info into her computer, charged us $49.95 US for the vehicle and $590 pesos for us  and handed us our permits.  We then went back to the first building where a nice man stamped our passports and sent us on our way…

That was way easier than we expected!  We were legally in Mexico!

Our first stop was the city of Hermosillo to find a Walmart.  We again let Euri lead the way, (their Garmin GPS showed more details then our Tom Tom GPS) we drove through the narrow bustling streets until we got to the Walmart.  Euri drove right in… We turned into the entrance and that was where the fun began!  Narrow entrances, low fiberglass awnings over the parking spaces, high curbs and low hanging wires.  Sorry we didn’t take pictures, we all were too busy trying to direct Al back out of the parking lot without damaging the structures or the motorhome.  By the way, we did get groceries…

We went back on to the highway and headed for Guyamas/San Carlos…these are two small towns right on the ocean!  We pulled in to Totonaka RV Park around 4 pm, got set up and poured the Margaritas

We made it to Mexico!

Amado, Arizona Day 2 +

When we woke up the skies were a mix of sun and cloud with lots of wind thrown in.  It was laundry day for us and our plans for the rest of the day was to do nothing!  I’m good at that but it is a new undertaking for Al, but after 5 days of driving he was ready to give it a try.

We were waiting to hear from Doug and Nancy about the health of Euri (their vehicle), it started to overheat on Saturday as we were heading in to Palm Springs.  We finally heard and it wasn’t great news they needed a new fan and the part had to be delivered from Los Angeles.  Hopefully, it will arrive as scheduled and we will be back on the road on Wednesday.  Oh well, we have no set plans and at least they could get the part.

Here are some pictures of the resort….

the office, pool, gym, restaurant, laundry facility

Notice the clouds....the sun would come out and the temperature would rise and then the sun would go behind the clouds and it would cool right down.  I just have to keep reminding myself it is January.

Tuesday morning we woke to sunshine and clear skies.  It was really cold overnight but seeing that lovely blue sky makes it worth it.  Hopefully the wind will die down and it warms up this afternoon.  Here are some sunny pics of the mountains surrounding us...

and our poor old motorhome Sunny surrounded by his bigger, younger cousins...

hasta luego....

Day 4 & 5 – Manteca Calif to Amado Arizona

Doug and Al did some route adjustments, so that we would not have to drive through Los Angeles, which I am very thankful for.  Those big trucks drive by so fast and close to us.  Now we are headed towards Fresno and Bakersfield, Palmdale and down to Cathedral City (a suburb of Palm Springs).  Nancy and Doug are spending 2 nights with their friends George and Brenda

We pulled into a small gas station in Manteca this morning and the man running the place was from Burnaby!  Small world…

This route is fairly boring, mainly agricultural.  Again we are having mixed weather.  It is cloudy with the sun breaking through occasionally, but it is 10 degrees at 9 o’clock.  The temperature is getting warmer and warmer and that is the main thing.

About 2:00 we made to the Mojave Desert and it was bright blue sky.  It is sand and brush as far as you can see.

We kept driving and driving and the weather kept changing.  It was nice, it was cloudy.

It was late by the time we were nearing Palm Springs area, Doug and Nancy went past us and into Cathedral City.  We decided to keep going.  At about 6 pm we saw signs for a Casino in Indio and decided to go there.  We had heard that casino's let RV'ers park in their lots for free, so we thought why not.  When we got there all we could see were RV's!  We pulled into a spot between a truck and trailer and a large RV, then got changed and went into the casino.

We could have been in a casino in B.C. except for the smoke.  We each put $20 in a slot machine.  Al lost his money I hit a small pot and cashed out with $30.  We left after that and went back to the motorhome to sleep.  And in the morning this is what we saw!

We pulled out early and continued on our trek east.  At the California/Arizona border there were border patrol agents stopping vehicles, don't know what they were looking for...they just asked how many people on board and then let us through..

As we drove further into the desert we started to see RV's dry camping or boondocking every where in the desert.  Then as we drove into Quartsite we saw more RV's then we have ever seen before.  Quartsite Arizona is a very small town that caters to RV'ers with swap meets, trade shows and rally's.  Sometime in the future we would like to stop and have a couple of days checking it all out.  

We continued on through the outskirts of Phoenix..

Then Tucson (they have the loveliest overpasses, decorated with art.  and sorry i forgot to take pics, i am new to this blogging stuff)  and just south of Tucson we stopped in Amado at a really nice park and we are staying here for 2 nights until Doug and Nancy catch up to us and then we are heading across the border into Mexico!

Hasta luego mi amigos!

Day 3 – Eureka to Manteca, California

I know, your first thought is where the heck is Manteca…it is east of San Francisco.  We are heading back to the I-5 to continue on to Cathedral City (Palm Springs).  Al didn’t want to drive in San Francisco if it could be avoided.  I wonder why? 

So back to Eureka, we had needed a switch for our dash heater/air conditioner and mistakenly thought we could buy it at Lordco (back in Canada) but of course it needed to come from Winnibago, so we had ordered it to be shipped to Eureka so we could pick it up on our way through.

the silly part (by the way, it didn't fix the problem..more on that later)

Al cleaning the windows 

This morning we packed up, filled the fuel tanks, gas was $3.79/gal in Eureka.  (Washington and Oregon were $3.25) and headed to the UPS store for the switch.  Well, of course, it wasn’t there yet, it could come in their morning shipment,  so we did the only thing we could do…Nancy and I went shopping to waste time.  Al and Doug waited patiently.  Yeah! It came in on that delivery, so we continued on our way!

The drive was a windy road wandering through trees, then we got to green hills and finally to the hustle and bustle outside of San Francisco.  It was 22.5 degrees celius.

We skirted the city and crossed from San Rafael to Oakland on the longest bridge I have ever been across.

Oakland to Manteca which was a eastern direction was a slow drive, we were in rush hour.

Finally we pulled in to the Turtle Beach Rv Park (thank god for GPS).  We didn’t see any turtles, but we did see a heron.

By the way, Jazzy is doing good…as soon as we stop she makes an appearance demanding food and water, which is normal for her.  I think she is enjoying the fact that we are getting to warmer temperatures.

Note for Alyssa – we have driven past 7 outlet malls so far….

Until tomorrow….

Day 2 - Eugene, Oregon to Eureka, California

It was foggy when we got up this morning.  We are going towards the coast to avoid those high mountain passes, so we headed west towards Florence Oregon, along a 2-lane highway, that was twisty and turny and tree lined.  It reminded us of many BC roads. 

When we made the turn to the south along the Oregon Coast Highway the sun decided to show its face.  It was so nice to put on sunglasses for the first time in many days or is it weeks?

The scenery along the coast was fantastic!  Sand dunes and waves crashing.  We stopped at an Oregon State Park, Umqua Lighthouse State Park, which had a lovely lighthouse and gorgeous views.  It is housing for the Coast Guard members.

Further along we stopped to have a sandwich, made in the motorhome, at Port Orford.  I really liked the rock formations and the waves crashing against them.

We drove through the Redwood Forest.  Man, those trees are huge!  I wanted to go through the drive through tree but Al said we wouldn’t fit….rats!

And then we were across the state border into California and back into the fog…I guess fog is better than rain or snow!

We camped overnight at the Shoreline RV Park in Eureka, California.  It was nice enough but very close to the freeway!  Doug and Nancy again supplied dinner…Chicken, rice and vegetables cooked in the crock pot while they were driving!  Good purchase Nancy!  It was excellent.  Al and Doug did some route tweaking while Nancy posted to her blog and I downloaded the pictures from my camera to the laptop and then we all had an early night.  

We are retired you know!

Day 1 Surrey to Eugene Oregon

Just a quick post..I haven't figured out how to add pictures from my camera when I post using my tablet.  I guess I'll have to pull out the laptop.   The weather was rainy the whole drive yesterday.  We are driving the Oregon coast road today, it is supposed to get warmer as we head south, we are optimistic.

If you want to see pictures of our dinner yesterday head over to Nancy and Doug's blog at runningawaywithdougandnancy.blogspot.ca 

Must go now to pack up so we can be on our merry way...

We are on the move!

After an almost sleepless night, yes, we were anxious,  worried, excited, all those thought and worries running through our heads, we are ready to go.  It is 7:00 am andit is raining and we are madly preparing the motorhome for take off. At least Al is, I am sitting tapping on my tablet.

I will post pics of our travels when it is light.

See you in the summer my family and friends.  I will miss you all....

Alex and Corry don't forget your grandma!  Love to everyone

Christmas, Birthday, New Years and Retirement!

December was a busy month!  Al officially retired on December 31st but his last day of work was December 21st (had to use up those holidays!).  At the company Christmas party earlier in December he was given a gift and card celebrating his years of employment...

 We spent Christmas Eve, Day and Boxing Day with our two daughters and two grandsons at our daughter, Alyssa's place. Four adults, one teenager, one baby and three cats in a 2 bedroom townhouse.

This was the Christmas Eve spread, needless to say, with only the six of us eating, there were lots of leftovers for nibbling Christmas Day.

Then it was time to get down to the important stuff!  Our annual Wii competition.

Corry and Alex played until Alex went to bed, then we all joined in. 

In the morning, while drinking Champagne and OJ we opened presents.  Santa was very good to us all with Alex getting extra because it was his first birthday too!

Christmas Dinner was held at my sister's house.  It was a small group this year, only the six of us and my sister, brother-in-law and nephew.  Our niece and her fiance were in England visiting his family.  This was also the first Christmas without my parents included.  My dad passed away in July and my mom is suffering from Alzheimer's and we felt it better for her to have a quiet day. 

For New Year's we got the ferry over to Nanaimo to spend a couple of days with friends Nancy and Doug!

We did the prerequisite celebrating and some planning for our upcoming Mexican Adventure!  The plan is to leave on the 23rd of January.  Why the 23rd you ask, well, it is Doug's 60th birthday on the 22nd of January and his son wanted him to be in town for that!  The nerve of some kids,lol!