Chill In The Air

There is a chill in the air here in Mesa. I woke up on and off during the night to pull the covers up and when we got up at 7:00 it was downright cold! We had an electric heater but it was not working properly. I think the thermal switch that prevents overheating was malfunctioning and shutting the heater down far too early. I did a little research on line and went over to Target Stores to buy a Lasko unit. It required a bit of assembly but seems to be working well. It has a nice fan and pushes warm air throughout the RV.

This is our 4th or 5th heater and so far is the best one. It even has a remote so I can turn it on and off at night! Pure luxury!

Our neighbor/friend Shadowmoss came over for a visit this afternoon and we made tentative plans for an outing on the weekend. It was nice to see her.

I am watching Canada's Grey Cup game on TV. Edmonton vs. Ottawa. I am cheering for my old hometown Edmonton but so far it is not all that exciting.

Mesa!

We are in Mesa! The only drama was buying propane. We found a Flying J that sold it but after trying for five minutes the attendant announced his equipment was not working. We parked and went for breakfast (Daybreaker in the Foothills - very good) and when we walked back he was filling another RV. He said it was now working so we pulled around and this time it worked! Two hours for breakfast and propane.

The highway got busy as we approached Phoenix but the GPS lady got us right to the door of the park. The office was closed but we had already been assigned a spot so we just parked and hooked up. The office will be open Monday.

The suggested time of 2 hr 13 min is way off, it took us about 6 hours including the propane / breakfast stop. I now have a frozen pizza that is calling my name.

Being Lazy

We have not done much in the last few days. We had neighbors over for a happy hour once and went to our friends Muff and Val's for dinner once but other than that we have just hung around the RV. We did hire a crew to wash the motorhome for $1 per foot and an extra $5 for the roof. They did a good job but with the dust here in Yuma, it did not stay clean long.

The plastic drain plug in the water heater started leaking so I replaced it with a brass one that should last forever.

We are moving to Mesa, AZ tomorrow. This next park, Mesa Village, is where we stayed for a month last year. It is a quiet residential park with a nice pool and hot tub, close to lots of shopping and restaurants.

After that we have no plans except to see where the desert breezes blow us.

Our Florida Friends Gone - Just Like That

We just learned this morning that Paul and Dodi, the Florida couple we met in Mexico when they were abandoned by their RV caravan and then visited twice at their home in FL have both died late last month.

Paul went first with a sudden brain aneurism and was followed a couple of days later by Dodi who simply could not live without Paul.

Paul and Norma were born on the same day in 1942 and Dodi and I were about the same age. Makes you think.

We had a lot of fun with Paul and Dodi in three countries, Mexico, the USA and the Bahamas. Very friendly, generous people. Paul was the very definition of "a colorful character" and made the best Bloody Marys I have ever tasted!!

Here we are enjoying a late breakfast on Isla Aguada, Mexico in 2010. Miss you guys! Smooth sailing and,  "Keep the wind at your back and the sun on your face"!

What Really Happened In Dallas

November 22, 1963 Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas

If you are a Conspiracy Theorist like me, or just interested in modern US history, you will find this Salon article interesting.

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/22/inside_the_plot_to_kill_jfk_the_secret_story_of_the_cia_and_what_really_happened_in_dallas/

Mesa and Finding StarChoice Signal

We booked a month at the same Mesa, AZ park we were in last March. It is convenient, has a great pool and hot tub and is cheap at $450 US per month including electric. We booked the same spot we had last year. We are both tired this year and just want a month of doing almost nothing. Decisions will be made as we go.

I went to Dishpointer to get the dish pointing information for the park and what do you know, the satellite image has our motorhome in it! They updated their image file while we were parked there. You can see the motorhome, the Mazda and the dolly. Cool!

Speaking of StarChoice (or any other satellite service), if you cannot find the bird easily and there is someone else in the park with the identical dish and LNB, here is an easy non-invasive way to copy their settings. First, set the skew as listed on the Dishpointer site. Then aim your dish in the general direction of the bird (you can use the compass setting on the site) and leave the tightening bolts slightly loose. Now go to your neighbor's site and photograph his dish from the front making sure to include the shadow of the LNB as it falls on his dish (see photo below). This can be done from outside his property but if you see anyone you might want to explain why you are photographing his dish.

Now quickly go back to your own dish and adjust your altitude and azimuth so the shadow on your dish matches the photo. You have maybe five or ten minutes to do this before the sun moves too far in the sky. You will now see bars on your setup screen and can easily do the fine tuning required to get a perfect signal, Obviously, the sun has to be in a position to cast a shadow for this to work.

A Great Dinner With Old Friends!

Our friends Muff and Val McMurphy have a park model in Yuma where they spend a few months escaping the Vernon, BC winters. They are always busy with their golf and active social life but they got a night off last night and decided to spend it with us.

Muff and I started working for Canadian Telephones and Supplies (CT&S), an offshoot of BC Tel around the same time back in the mid 1960's and met shortly after that on a job in Chilliwack. Our wives to be met shortly after and we all became fast friends, the kind of friends that if you go a year or two without seeing each other, it is just as if you were never apart when you finally do get together. Our friendship continued on through our work (and political) lives where we were both active in our union and worked together on several projects for the telephone company. When we both retired we continued to see them at retirement do's and down here in Yuma.

Yesterday Norma raided her well guarded freezer for some very nice BC salmon, halibut and prawns which her and Val marinated in teriyaki sauce, threaded onto skewers and cooked in the convection oven. They turned out perfect and shared our plates with some potato salad. They were so good, they were eaten before I thought to take a photo!

Here are our friends. Funny how we are all aging except Val who insists she is keeping up with us age wise but it sure does not show!

Back In The USA

We checked out of the room and got into the short lineup for the USA border crossing, declared our two bottles of booze (tequila and Kahlua) and drove back to the RV park. First check was the fridge and it is fine so I guess that particular drama is over.

I have to think out the teeth thing, it was quite a shock when they almost doubled the cost on me. We will stick around in the US and make plans.

Since we did not spend any money at the clinic we had to pay for our own room but at the 'patient' price of $35 US per night instead of the regular $50.

The whole peso/dollar thing was very confused. We always spend pesos in Mexico but that does not work in Algodones where only dollars are used which we had hardly any of. There is only one ATM in town and it had a sign on it indicating it was out of dollars and only had pesos. So here we were with nothing but pesos in a US dollar economy. Pretty much everyone was accommodating, using their smartphones to convert their prices to pesos, the only exception being the hotel and attached restaurant who objected to taking pesos and who charged us an unfair exchange rate.

The other problem in Algodones is keeping track of the time. Baja California Norte is in the Pacific time zone but because 99% of their customers come from Yuma, AZ all the medical clinics work on AZ time. Most other businesses run on Mexico time so you can see how confusion reigns.

Anyway, it is nice to be back to the RV and our own soft bed. We are paid up here until Saturday and there is nothing to do around here so we shall relax!

Not Cast In Stone Yet

I need time to think. This decision does not have to be made in one day. I am getting by quite well and am in no pain. I have time to think about this major financial outlay. I had a good chat with Miguel, the consulting dentist this morning and he said I did not really need the extra two times four rear molars on separate implants, that I was doing fine now without them and that if I took them off the estimate the bill would come down about $4,000 US! Much better. We are going back to the RV tomorrow and then on Saturday moving up to Mesa where we will relax and do some thinking. I have a written estimate and assurance that the price will not change in the near future. They did not charge me for the X-rays and scans they did yesterday and they arranged for the special patient rate of $35 US at the hotel. We will spend tonight here because I did not get my margarita and fish tacos last night as I did not get out of the dentist office until after the sidewalks were rolled up for the night. Back in Vacation Mode. Life is good! Baja is on hold. For now.

Well, Here It Is

The Decision:

We had dinner and discussed our options. It is a lot of money but dirt cheap compared to having the same work done in Canada or the US. Doing it all at once means I only have to deal with temporary plates for six to eight months. Splitting the job into two would be a little easier on the cash flow but would mean temporary plates for twice as long, something that does not enthuse me in the slightest.

I think I am going to go for it. It is much cheaper than the $40,000 we paid for similar work on Norma ten years ago in Victoria. My cost will be $8K USA now and another $4K in six to eight months.

It is still a lot of money! My rainy Day Fund will no longer survive more than a small hurricane. But then I have to take a substantial payment out of it in 2016 anyway.

Short Term Consequences:

We are putting off the Baja trip. One reason is the money we will save but the main reason is being close to the clinic for a few months if I have to run back. Another reason is I suspect I will have trouble eating for a few months and I know I will have a better selection of food in the US than in Mexico. We are going to call and see if there is a spot in the same Mesa, AZ park we were in last year. It is nice and quiet and has a great pool and hot tub. We also made a couple of friends there.

All in all, it will reduce stress as I recover from major oral surgery.

I think this is the final decision.