Spread 'Em - OK, Slight Exageration

That was the toughest Canada/USA border crossing we have EVER had! We drove off the ferry at about noon and stopped at the customs booth. He was nice enough, inspected our passports, asked where we were going and for how long, the standard questions. He then told us to drive down the block, park along the curb and wait for the inspector.

The inspector eventually walked over, took our passports and then looked in every outside bin. He came inside and looked in every cupboard, lifted the toilet lid, looked under the seats and couch, fridge, freezer and just about everywhere you could imagine including under the bed, between the pillows and under the mattress! Then he did the same thing to the car. Checked the trunk, inside the cooler, in my StarChoice parts bag, everywhere. The only contraband he found was a quarter of a bag of wild bird seed from two years ago in Mexico. He told us this was a terrible thing to have and that he was going to seize it. No problem, we said, it is probably too old for the birds anyway. 

Anyway, we are honest and were not worried, let them search.

We are parked in our favorite WalMart in Chahlis, Washington. I set up the StarChoice and I am watching the Canucks. Life Is Good and we are on our way!

We Are On Our Way!

We are in line waiting to board the ferry to Washington State, $280 lighter in the pocket! More to follow. The adventure continues!

Easy Furnace Duct Repair

The duct guy arrived in a rainstorm this morning. He had me turn the furnace on, climbed into the crawl space and found the problem immediately. The duct heading to the master bedroom had pulled loose and was laying on the ground. The repair was easy, duct tape, but getting to the area involved crawling on his back over an old, abandoned footing. It was a good thing he was skinny and not claustrophobic! He was finished in about a half hour. They called me with the price of $78.75.

All that is left now is Norma moving her clothing into the motorhome and taking some food out of the house. There are stories about US customs not letting fresh food through this year so we will not test them on that. We will load the pantry with canned goods and fill the freezer with frozen salmon.

On Friday we have to move the motorhome out, hook up the dolly and load the Mazda. I would like to have everything done and the rig parked in the driveway Friday night, ready for our Saturday morning departure. The Black Ball Ferry leaves Victoria at 10:00 Sunday Morning and we will be aboard!

Last Minute House Repairs!

Once again disaster strikes just before we leave! I finally called the furnace repair guy to deal with the lack of heat in the back bedroom. We first noticed it after the duct cleaners did their thing last year. It was not that noticeable as we seldom have the bedroom vent open, preferring a cool bedroom. The duct cleaners put their camera into the duct and said there was a blockage that looked like a large wasp nest or a rock. This made no sense but we do not use heat in the bedroom anyway, we ignored it.

Last week I thought we should get it dealt with for the house sitter who might like some heat. I called the furnace guy and arranged a visit on Thursday (tomorrow). Yesterday I decided to open up the accesses to the crawl space and when I took the first hatch off I was met with a blast of hot air out of the unheated crawl space! The duct must be pulled apart somewhere and the 'rock' or 'wasp nest' the cleaners saw with their camera was actually the ground!

We have been pumping hot air into the crawl space for a year! No wonder my gas cost went up!

Mexico Through New Eyes!

Remember the reaction you had on your first motor trip into Mexico? Well, I know many of you have yet to experience this but one person is getting that experience right now!

Our friend Rae has ventured south of the border, driving her pickup from Nogales to Mazatlan where she will stay in an apartment for the winter. She crossed the border very early Sunday morning and landed in San Carlos that afternoon.

Rae is a great Blogger and the chronicle of her adventure is going to make interesting reading. You may want to join me in seeing Mexico through new eyes!

Rae's Blog.

All Quoted Out!

I spent two hours on the phone today answering endless questions about our health. I decided today was the day to settle the health insurance problem for six months in the US.

I called three places, BCAA. Johnson Insurance and Desjardins.

BCAA was recommended by Rod and Sylvia. After answering all their questions I was given the total: $5,468 with zero deductible and $5,223 with $1000 deductible. Wow! I asked her to save the quote but that I was going to call a few others.

Johnson was next. Norma and I each belong to a retirees group that is affiliated with Johnson Insurance. Norma the BC Government Retired Employees Assn and I the BC Assn Of Retired Telecommunications Workers. Rates were slightly different for each group and in our case she chose my discount instead of Norma's. It came in at a more reasonable $3,950 with no deductible and no option for a deductible. The nice thing about this plan was that it was for a year and covered us for as many additional trips as we wanted next summer of less than 35 days each. OK, one more to try.

We have used Desjardins (the issuer of our Visa credit card) every time we have traveled. When Norma broke her hip in Tuscon, they were very good and easy to deal with. They covered every expense including an Air Ambulance home for treatment and then returned us to get the motorhome. We had already decided to go with them again if their quote was at all competitive. I was happy to hear that their cost was $3,498 (again, no deductible), $450 cheaper than Johnson and $1,970 cheaper than BCAA! Desjardins also covers flying us home and back if there is an emergency at home (sickness in family, damage to the house). This adds a little security. This is only $50 more than we paid last year and amounts to exactly $20 per day for the two of us. Sold! Expensive if we do not need it but cheap if we do.

The pleasures of getting old! After this marathon I went out and finished the cable addition to the motorhome. Done!

StarChoice Moves And Final Plans

Yes, I know it is now Shaw Direct but I still call it StarChoice.

We normally move the bedroom PVR between the house and the motorhome bedroom every year. Norma has it loaded with movies and programs to watch when we are not hooked up to the dish. This year we decided to change out the non-PVR receiver in the front of the motorhome for the PVR from the TV room in the house as well. This will give us two recorders for the winter, his and hers.

This means an additional RG-6 TV cable had to be added going from the electrical bay in the rear bin to the overhead area in the front of the motorhome. I drilled some holes and got underneath the motorhome with my flashlight, coil of cable and package of tie wraps. I quickly discovered that the motorhome must have sunk into the driveway because I could not fit underneath! I drove the right side up onto blocks and that gave me room to work. The rest of the work involved running the cable along the frame and whatever else I could use, keeping it away from the exhaust and slides while keeping it protected as much as possible. It was dark and the ground was wet so it was an uncomfortable hours' work but I got it done with only one cut finger and a washer load of dirty clothes. The only part left is the inside work, running the cable up the wall and into the entertainment center, adding the final connector. That will be tomorrow's project.

I also have to call about our medical insurance. I am going to get a couple of quotes this year. We have been very happy with the company we have always used, Desjardins, but with the costs going up so rapidly, I want a comparison.

We were looking at leaving on the 5th but Brooks does not get home from Alberta until the 7th so we will leave Campbell River on the morning of the 8th and spend the night at the ferry dock in downtown Victoria. Brooks and LindaLee will meet us there for the evening and then spend the night at LindaLee's parents. The ferry leaves at 10:00 AM the next morning.

From there we will head down the Olympic Peninsula, through Washington and into Oregon. If the weather is halfway decent we might drive down the Oregon Coast. I love the coast but if there is going to be stormy weather anywhere, that is where it will be. We are not in a hurry and I have a taste for fresh crab!

Kick It Up A Notch!

As we were getting the motorhome ready the other day I found a shaker of Tony Chachere Cajun Seasoning in the cupboard. I had forgotten that I had brought one of these home from Louisiana last winter. I knew I had a container of Slap Ya Mama Seasoning* which is very similar and which Brooks quickly relieved me of when we got home. If I had remembered the Tony Chachere, I would have been using it all summer. It gives any food a Cajun flavor, not hot, just spicy. They say it goes on anything that you can put salt on, which for me is almost everything. As they say, "Ya Gotta Try It".

If you do not live anywhere you can buy either of these, here is a recipe I found on the Internet that looks like it might be very close.

Cajun Spice Blend

Yield:	1 1/2 to 2 cups
This recipe appears in:	Cajun Spice Blend: Store-Bought or Homemade?

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 1 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf

Procedures

1. 1
   Combine all the ingredients into a spice blender, and grind until fine. Use to season meat, poultry, fish or vegetables. Store in a cool, air-tight container for up to three months.

Jan 20, 2010 8:55AM


*Note:

The NFL has recently banned the advertising of Slap Ya Mama Seasoning at football games, saying the name of the product is not in keeping with their Family Violence Policy. This is another case of Political Correctness run amok.  The expression relates to the fact that when your mama cooks up a delicious Cajun dish you want to jump up from the table, Slap Ya Mama on the back and thank her for such a great meal.

Getting There...

We are slowly getting ready to leave. I followed Kevin's suggestion and found a propane delivery truck to come fill the tank that emptied when someone left the motorhome furnace on. It was an expensive fill at $50, but then this was the first time I have had it filled from bone dry. I fired up all the propane devices (stove, water heater, fridge, furnace) and they all work.

Norma has been wanting the carpets cleaned for a couple of years so she finally hired Sears to come to clean the carpets and upholstery. The guy was here with his truck for just over an hour and dropped off a bill for $220. I missed my calling, I should have been a carpet cleaner instead of an electronics technician.

We brought all the storage bins into the house to be sorted out and some stuff thrown out. My job is to go through all the electronics and motorhome related stuff as well as the paperwork (including travel guides). I will do that today and tomorrow as well as running the generator for a couple of hours on load. This is supposed to be done every month but I have trouble remembering to do it. Our generator gets quite a bit of use as we boondock (WalMart) quite a few nights as we travel as well as stopping in rest areas for lunch and coffee breaks. It always fires right up (except for that time in Puebla, MX).

We will be towing the Mazda behind us this year. The A/C on the Honda packed it in again and it will cost +/- $1000 to fix it and the car is simply not worth this expense. The Mazda is bigger, heavier and wider so it will be a little harder to load properly as it has to be exactly centered on the dolly to avoid the possibility of the dolly fenders making contact with the doors as I make sharp turns. I may take some measurements and paint some guide lines for the tires on the dolly to make things easier.

I still have to deal with travel medical insurance. I am not looking forward to this as we are both a year older and costs go up every year. Our first winter insurance cost around $500, last winter it was $3,100.

Another difficulty this year is the devalued Canadian dollar (or over valued US dollar). Our dollar is worth 89 cents right now. On the positive side, gas is fairly cheap in the US and groceries are always a bargain compared to Canada. We will be fine. We will be saving on RV parking (and gas) by staying more long term and when we are in an RV park, the temptation to dine out is not as strong.

It will be a good year.

A Little Dose Of Reality

On October 8, Canadian Parliament voted 157 to 134 to join the US led campaign to bomb Isis in Iraq. Our prime minister had a big grin on his face as he stood to cast his vote amongst the childish clapping and cheering of his supporters. During the debate, he laughed at the opposition who argued against the motion to join the attack.

Are these "leaders" and their supporters so stupid as to not realize there are consequences to this war mongering? Do they not realize that thousands of innocent men, women and children are killed by these bombs, drones and fighter attacks that they laughingly voted in favor of conducting? Are they unaware that as many as 90% of the causalities in Iraq are non-combatants?

We send our soldiers to their country to kill their women and children and then are shocked when a couple of their supporters attack Canadians here in Canada. Did we really think we could keep this killing "over there" and away from our borders?

Are we stupid? Can we not see the connection? Wake up!

Can anyone remember a time when Canada prided itself as being "Peacekeepers"?

Laughing and cheering as we vote to kill Muslims: