49 Years Ago Today

November 22, 1963 is a day I am sure all of us old enough remember vividly. It was the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

We visited Dealey Plaza and the site of the Texas Schoolbook Depository in 2010 and here are the two posts I made at that time:

Dealey Plaza

6th Floor

Algodones, MX

We parked the car on the US side and walked into Algodones. The hustlers and “guides”  are at you right away asking if you want dentists, prescriptions or glasses. If you show any interest they will lead you to the store that gives them the most money for their services. We always say “no thanks” as we know where we want to go for everything.

First stop was Algodones Optical. I quickly learned that the anti reflective coating my optometrist in Campbell River told me I should have would take two weeks to have done. Well, that is out. I will try again further down in Mexico when we park for a while. It is not an emergency as my glasses are still good and I have my last pair for backup. Norma, on the other hand had broken her pair and was using her backups. She ordered  a new pair without the anti reflective coating and they were ready in three hours.

While we were waiting we had some fish tacos and then found a small jewelry store where Norma asked to have her jade ring, which had a tiny diamond chip missing, looked at. After looking through his loupe he said he had a diamond chip the same size and could do it while we waited (and watched) for $30 US. I know we took a chance on the quality of the stone but it is so tiny, you almost need a magnifying glass to even see it. They offered to clean the ring (and all our other jewelry) for free. The last time she had that ring tightened and cleaned back home it was almost $200 so it was a good deal no matter what.

The young jeweler started working but discovered he had to solder which meant taking the jade stone out. As he was bending the claws that held the stone one of the claws that was badly worn, broke. He said he could replace it for another $30 so that is what he did. The job took him two hours and the total cost was $60 US. The owner of the store kept me entertained with stories and free shots of tequila while Norma watched and worried as the jeweler worked.

If you need a jeweler in Algodones, the place is called Rodeo Drive at Plaza Pueblo #206. It is in the same inside mall as the main Algodones Optical store. It is straight down the street from the border, in the second block on the left side of the street. Nice, friendly guys and not out to rip you off.

When Norma retired in 2003, we treated each other to heavy, matching gold bracelets. Mine cost $1100 and hers $900. As the Algodones jeweler was cleaning hers, he asked what she had paid. He asked if she wanted to know what it was worth today, pulled out his electronic scale and told her $2,800! Mine weighs about 25% more. I love gold!

This And That

It is 9:00 AM and I am trying to get Norma motivated to head to Algodones, MX to pick up our FMM's (Mexico Tourist Visas) at the Migration office there. It will be a lot easier than doing it at Sonoyta.

I also got a new prescription for glasses to be filled there. My optometrist back home reminded me to get all the coatings on the next pair. Evidently my present pair and missing the anti-reflective coating although they seem fine to me. The good news (I guess) is my prescription has not changed since I bought these two years ago. I do not have to worry about prescriptions any more since Canada has reduced drug prices to the point that they are almost the same price at home as I was paying in Mexico.

The BC Lions went down to defeat yesterday. At least now I do not really care if I see the Gray Cup game. I am more a fan of the team than I am of the sport itself so my interest wanes as soon as "my" team is knocked off. This applies to football, hockey and baseball.

The weather is still perfect here in Yuma. Not too hot and no wind. Have a great day everyone!

80/60

I love Yuma weather (when the wind is not blowing). 80 in the daytime and 60 at night. Just about perfect!

Our friend Muff dropped by for a bit today. He is just getting over some medical problems and feels like he has gone a few rounds with Mohamed Ali. He is slowly recovering and of course the good news is they are here! Muff and I started working together in 1967 near Vancouver and although we moved on to different locations and jobs within BC Tel, we have remained friends with him and Val through the years. We will get together again for a short Happy Hour.

The old row here at Cocopah is thinning out. Muff and Val bought a park model and are moving to another part of the park this week, Dave and Sharon from Spokane bought a park model in another park, Perry and Sharon moved to another park and Carl and Gina bought a park model a few rows away this year. It is pretty much just us in the old row this year. A couple of things are to blame for the changes. The rates are going up quite a bit in January and the golf pro was let go with some of the golfers not liking the way he was treated by management. All of this combined with the general economy made for some good deals in park models. Things change.

The BC Lions are playing in the Western Finals against Calgary. Calgary is playing the better game and are leading at the moment. Sad times for Lions fans like me.

Yuma, AZ

We pulled into The Front End Shop in Parker at about a quarter to ten. They told me to pull the car into the compound and they would get busy. He also told us they close at noon on Saturdays,  a minor detail they forgot to mention when I called. "Don't worry", he said, "we stay here until the job is finished". Great news! While testing the A/C he noticed the oil leak from the valve cover gasket and offered to change that as well. Nice. The A/C in the '89 Honda was the old type so a "refit" had to be done to install the proper connections to recharge the system. They started on these jobs while we went for breakfast in the motorhome.

Driving through town we noticed an Air Cadet car wash in the Pizza Hut parking hut. On a whim we asked if they could do the motorhome and told them we had long brushes. "No problem" they said. I asked how much and he said whatever we wanted to donate. They were a little disorganized as young kids will be, but ended up doing a pretty good job. They washed and dried the whole rig and went back over a couple of spots that Norma pointed out that they missed. I gave them $50 and they were very happy.

After breakfast we went back to the front End Shop and they were almost done. At around 1:00 PM we had paid the $180 charge and were on our way to Yuma. Two hours later we were paying for one week at Cocopah RV and Golf Resort. I set up the StarChoice while Norma walked around socializing. Our neighbours from Washington State came over for Happy Hour and then we went in. It gets very dark very quickly here in the desert. Our friends Muff and Val are here but were on their way out for dinner. We shall see them tomorrow. Tomorrow is also the BC Lions semi final football game.

If you are passing near Parker, AZ and need air conditioning work done, I highly recomend The Front End Shop. They have mechanics and will do any other work as well. The owners are from Zacatacas, Mexico. They are very nice guys and you will get a square deal from them.

Parker, AZ

We decided to drive all the way to Parker today so were on the road for over nine hours (seven hours driving and 2 breaks), the last hour in the dark. We could have stopped half or two thirds of the way but we wanted to be first in line in the morning to get the Honda’s A/C serviced. We had to buy enough gas at Needles, CA to get us into Arizona where gas is cheaper. I put in $50 worth at $4.59 and when we got to Parker, I filled up at $3.56. A dollar and three cents per gallon cheaper!

We are bedded down at the very RV friendly Walmart in Parker and Norma is over getting something to microwave for dinner.

I am keeping this brief as the Internet is REALLY bad here and I don’t want it to drop off before I hit “Publish”!

Middle Of Nowhere

We covered a lot of miles today but wanted to stop north of Bakersfield for the night. We passed one nice big truck stop, thinking there was another one ahead but there was not. We are in a gas station, restaurant complex on I-5 parked on a wide street that serves as an exit for the big rigs leaving the Carl's Jr and Chevron station.

We hope to get up early and head towards Parker, AZ (about a 6 hour drive) where we will get the air conditioning on the Honda topped up at The Front End Shop where we had the Mazda done last year. We have to get it done Friday or Saturday as they are closed Sunday. I called them and was told to "Just bring it in. No appointment necessary!"

We walked over to Carl's Jr and got a fish sandwich meal each. I ate 1 1/4 and Norma ate 3/4. It does not sound like it is going to be a quiet night. The trucks are passing pretty regularly.

It Was The Tope!

Remember that huge tope we hit doing about 50 near Chetumal last year? Well that is what caused the problem with the front tire wear. The camber was out which means both front tires were leaning in a little at the tops, putting more pressure on the inside of the tire.

Manuel at Les Schwab drove the rig into the alignment area and did his check. He came out to tell me it needed new bushings and he could fix it for $152. It took him about an hour and a half and we drove it back to the RV park before the sun went down.

Tomorrow we will head south again and see where we get. No plans, no reservations.

Corning, CA

We went to the Les Schwab store in Anderson this morning where they moved the front tires with the wear pattern onto the left rear dual and brought those tires up to the front. We have to have a front end alignment done but the shop in Anderson could not handle a big rig like this. They called their shop in Corning which had the equipment and could fit us in at 2:00 PM Wednesday.

The tire store had FOX News playing in the waiting room and I sat and watched it for a half hour. I think this is the first time I have watched it in my life. What a bunch of crap they are spreading! No wonder Americans have such weird ideas. Present company excepted of course.

We drove the 40 miles to Corning, confirmed our appointment and went to the Olive Pit store. This is like a candy store for olive lovers! They have dozens of flavors of olives, oils and spreads and all are available for tasting!. We tasted a few and picked up a few to buy. They now have a wine tasting room as well but it was only 2:00! Another time.

We checked into the Heritage RV Park and discovered it was no longer Passport America and our half price deal was no longer valid :(. We booked for two nights at the Good Sam rate as it will be late afternoon when the alignment is done. We dumped the tanks and set up the StarChoice as their cable brought in only four very weak channels. Norma wants to watch Dancing With The Stars in HD.

We are being slowed down but we have lots of time. Life Is Good!

Forgot To Mention Seven Feathers

I forgot to mention we spent we spent Sunday night at Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, OR. This is a normal stop for us as they have a great free RV parking area a short walk or a shuttle ride to the casino. It was chilly and rainy so we spent a couple of hours in the casino where I donated $10 to a slot machine. Norma tried as well but she got paid back all but $3 of the fifty she fed her machine. For her, almost breaking even is like a win!

We had dinner in their restaurant and caught the shuttle back "home" around eight where we fired up the generator to make a pot of coffee. We used the extra down comforter for a very cozy night! We were up at nine for our drive over the mountains to Anderson, CA.