Figured It Out!

After considering a comment on my earlier post by my friend Rae, I think I now know what happened. When Norma and Nancy were cleaning the motorhome the other day they were using the 120 volt heater and vacuum cleaner on the same GFI breaker. The fridge was also running on that breaker. The fridge has been running on AC for most of the summer and when the breaker tripped, it tried to transfer to gas. Since it has not run on gas since April and it has been raining here for days (weeks), everything was too damp for the flame to light. That was when she noticed the check light was on. After drying out in the shop and resetting the GFI, it worked properly.

One of the things I would have done as part of my trouble shooting if I had the time, would have been to try to dry the outside compartment out with my heat gun. That probably would have fixed the gas problem and I eventually would have found the tripped breaker as well.

Thanks for steering me in the right direction Rae!

Motorhome Is Back Home

I must admit I reacted a little quickly when I discovered the fridge would not run. I would normally do a few more checks myself before sending it off to the repair shop. To be fair to myself, I was a little squeezed for time because if I didn't take advantage of a cancellation yesterday morning, I would have had to wait a week to get it in and that would have been cutting it way too close.

We drove it down late Monday afternoon and left in overnight so they could start on it first thing Tuesday. I explained the problem, asking them to fix the fridge and to make sure the water heater and furnace worked properly.

They called shortly before closing time to say it was ready. I nervously asked the cost and was told $119. Humm, doesn't sound like enough. I asked what they found and was told, "Nothing, everything works fine, you are ready to go". I reminded him that the fridge did not work when I left home and he said, "Well, it is working now". I asked him to plug it in and let the fridge run overnight just to be sure and I would pick it up this morning.

We drove down, saw the manager and told him we wanted to go into the rig and check everything out for ourselves. The fridge was working fine with the freezer freezing. The water heater fired up, although it took two tries and the furnace blew hot air. I questioned the technician and he said the bathroom GFI was tripped and that provides power to the fridge. Well, that might explain why it did not work on electric but why wouldn't it work on gas? He just shrugged and said everything worked. Maybe it just got a chance to dry out.

I topped up the fuel and propane tanks and brought it home, parking it in the driveway where it is convenient to load. I plugged it in and the fridge switched to electric. Everything works.

We will start loading it but probably will not leave Campbell River until November 7th. It is a day or so later than we planned but we both want to watch the USA election on the night of the 6th. We will spend Wednesday night in the Black Ball Ferry parking lot in downtown Victoria and have dinner with Brooks, Linda Lee and Linda Lee's parents. One week to go!

I Should Know When To Shut Up?

Many of my fellow Bloggers have made the conscious decision to avoid politics. I have thought about this and my wife has encouraged me to do so as well. Well, tough. I am not going to. If I lose a few readers, those are not the people I want here anyway. If you are offended by my politics or lack of religion I am sure there are many other Blogs you would enjoy.

I started this Blog for myself and have always been amazed at the number of readers who have joined me along the way. I never expected anyone else to read this. I know I am not a great writer and I know my politics are on the fringe but my thoughts are mine and are what I believe in. What you see here is what you get.

I am an unashamed lefty atheist, but then you have probably figured that out long ago. I state my opinion and admit to trying to steer the opinions of my readers. I appreciate every one of you and value your comments and opinions more than you know. As long as you sign your name, I will not delete your comments. I consider you all my friends and even if we do not always agree, I will try to keep you amused.

My tongue has been loosened tonight by our house sitter, a childhood friend of our son who visited tonight with a $200 bottle of really nice single malt scotch!

I discovered yesterday that the motorhome fridge would not run on 120 volt or on gas! It tries to start and then the "check" light comes on. It has been working fine as Norma had wedding stuff in it most of the summer. She and Nancy were out there cleaning last week and she noticed the "check" light was on. The food in the freezer was still frozen solid so it had not been in trouble for long.  I played with it for a while, turning it on and off in both modes and finally called our local RV repair. They were booked for the next week but had a cancellation tomorrow morning. We rushed down to buy insurance for the rig and dropped it off at Bill Howich RV Repair. I will be anxiously be awaiting a phone call from them tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

What You Would Get With Romney

Think about it!

Trapper Croft (Rat Patrol)

Our house is less than 200 feet from the ocean. This brings the odd unwanted house guest from time to time. At least once a year a mouse or rat sneaks in a door that has been left open and sets up housekeeping. About a week ago we started noticing traces of a new guest. A potato was removed from the pantry and taken behind the freezer where we found it's remains. We also found small black droppings on the kitchen floor. Considering myself somewhat of an expert on these matters, I concluded it was a mouse. I set up mouse traps and sticky pads around the kitchen and laundry room. The first night one of the sticky pads disappeared. Strange... The traps had all been cleaned of the peanut butter bait as well. I added more bait and the next night I awoke to the sound of a trap going off. I investigated and found the sprung trap but no mouse. The other traps had been cleaned off again.

Well, maybe this was something bigger than a mouse! I pulled out the heavy duty artillery. The rat traps that will easily break a finger if you get it caught in them. I set up three of them and yesterday morning found they had all been relieved of their bait. But no victim. I re-baited them and this morning Norma got up to find one of them in the kitchen with a foot long Norway rat in it with his head squashed and a large amount of blood pooled around it. Well, that was the end of my sleep-in! 

We are pretty sure there was only one so we put the traps away until next time but will keep close watch for more droppings. We won the battle but have no delusions that we have won the war.   

Cleaning

Norma and I removed all the inside vent covers, screens, A/C cover and filter and window screens a few days ago. On Wednesday Norma and Nancy cleaned everything cleanable in the motorhome and yesterday I put all the covers, screens and filters back on. I bleached the fresh water tank and ran all the hot and cold water taps until I smelled bleach coming out of each. That will take care of any critters or mold in the system.  We dumped some strong cleaner down the toilet so the black tank will scrub itself clean by sloshing around while we travel before our first dump.

I reviewed our route down into Mexico and discovered things have changed at our usual point of entry, Lukeville, AZ / Sonoita, MX. In the past we simply drove through this crossing and continued to the Aduana (Customs) buildings at KM 21 on Mex 2 where we got our FMM's (personal visas) and TIP (temporary import permit) for the car. The motorhome has a ten year permit already. We could get everything in one stop and there was a copy place and a bank there to pay all the fees. Convenient.

Well, typical of Mexican bureaucracy, this has now changed. The building is no longer there! The process now is to park on the Arizona side of the border and walk across to the Migracion office to get our FMM's. This process is reported to take up to 90 minutes. They can be paid for right there but I do not know if I can pay with USA dollars or if I must have pesos to do this. If so, I will have to try to get some pesos as I do not think there is an ATM at the border.

We then walk back to the USA to pick up the mptorhome, drive back across the border and follow Mex 2 to the village of Altar where there is a brand new Aduana building where we can get the permit for the car. Again, I do not know if I can pay there or not. We shall find out and I will report on what happens.

After this stop, it will be a short drive to Edgar and Anna's Punta Vista RV Park in Santa Ana. They are a neat couple, he Mexican and she from Mississippi. Very friendly people and eager to offer advice for Mexican travel. If you have or want to spend the night in Santa Ana, don't hesitate stopping there.

Doctor says "Go"!

I made my semi annual visit to my doctor yesterday and got the "OK" to head out. He had all my lab results and everything was within safe levels. I had some kidney problems almost twenty years ago and have had regular annual tests since then. I asked about it and he said, "You have the kidneys of a twenty year old"! They take a reading of kidney function and want to see anything over a "70" figure. Mine was 125. This represents  healthy, well functioning kidneys.

Our house sitter is moving in over the next few days and Norma and her friend are going to give the motorhome a scrubbing. I have to clean out the fresh water storage tank and add a little bleach to it. I will flush out the holding tanks with a little bleach as well. I have not had a chance to connect the dolly to the motorhome to check out the wiring after the fender repairs in the summer but I have confidence in my wiring ability. The dolly is parked in front of the motorhome so it means rearranging everything to connect the dolly for this final test.

The tires are good, the coach batteries are new this year and the engine battery is new last year. I will polish the solar panel, fill the gas and propane and everything should be good! We will get an oil change on the way through the USA and buy extra oil and a filter to get it changed again in Mexico if needed.

My feet are getting itchy! Many of our RVing friends are already on their way so I am getting that left behind feeling. One couple had problems crossing the border but they are much younger than us and the USA Customs questioned their ability to support themselves over the winter. After 90 minutes of questioning the finally convinced them of their ability to pay their own way without illegally working in the US. We have never had a problem crossing the borders, any of them in either direction. I guess we look old enough to have a pension or to have saved some money. "D-Day" (departure) is in ten days or so. Life is good!

Still Good

After the disastrous day in the markets Friday, I am still up $110 for the week! Friday did not hit Canada as badly as the USA. All is still good! We can go out for dinner. Well, maybe lunch!

All in all, my investments are rising. There are good days and bad days but the good far outnumber the bad. Norma is getting nervous and saying we should get out of precious metals for a while. She is listening to too many doom and gloom financial consultants on the radio. I will talk to my "guy" before we leave.

My precious metals actually went up a bit last week. It was the more conservative funds that brought me back down. I need a crystal ball.

Post Debate

Well, it was fun to watch the second debate, this one attended by the President. He held his own and according to most polls, actually won. It was fun watching Romney paint himself into the corner over the Libya attacks and Obama's statements the next day. Jon Stewart nailed it when he said, "When you are about to jump up and yell "checkmate" and your opponent sits back and says "Proceed, Governor" you might want to think back to Wiley Coyote and the Roadrunner and think, "Is that doorway ahead of me just a doorway painted on a rock?" Well, it was and Wiley Romney ran head first into it. Smack!

Like I say, the majority of polls are showing the Presidents lead increasing again. I can't wait to get back to the USA to watch first hand. We might even be there for Election Night!

Will He Throw A Punch?

We know he can. Look how he decimated Hillary in the primaries in 2008 and she is no lightweight herself! He has to take the lead and attack Romney who has left himself wide open for attack. He has been caught in lies and he has continuously changed his positions. He does not want to be reminded of this and Obama politely downplayed these issues in the first debate.

It is time for the gloves to come off! We want to see the same Obama we saw in 2008!

EDIT:

Where were the questions on choice?

Where were the questions on equal marriage?, Voter suppression?

Romney was up to his usual lies and Obama did challenge him on a couple. One biggie he missed was Romney saying his Blind Trust "might" invest in China. EVERYONE can repeat almost word for word Romney's previous statement that blind trusts were a scam, that anyone can tell a blind trust what and what not to invest in.

It wasn't a knockout but it went to Obama on a decision.

This Just In:

Croft --

Tonight, I hope you saw exactly what's at stake in this election.

This race is neck and neck. What happens in the next three weeks will determine which side wins.

That's in your hands -- I'll be fighting as hard as I can, but I can't do this without you.

Stand with me tonight. Make a donation to support this campaign before tomorrow's final FEC deadline:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Deadline

Thank you,

Barack