Mission to San Antonio and on to Marshall Texas

We stayed for 2 weeks at Lemon Tree RV Inn in Mission TX.  At times it was very hot there -- one day the temperature reached 99F but we did get work done on the RV and had time for relaxation with our friends there. We enjoyed an amazing Easter dinner with 100 people attending at Lemon Tree's Community Center. The hams were provided by the park owners while the veggies and desserts were pot luck.

While in Mission, Vic spent 2 days installing the 4 new cameras with a new dash display unit for our rearview/sideview camera system.  The wiring for this system required crawling underneath the entire length of the motorhome to run the wiring along the frame. Not once...but twice as the first time the cable was put in back to front. Grrrr.

Our new auxiliary brake system for the HHR works like a charm.  10 years newer in design than our old system, more compact, easier to set up, and much lighter.

Thanks to Craigslist, Vic was able to replace his bicycle with a Mongoose model that had all the features he wanted at less than half the price of a brand new one.

We had the time to visit Express Optical in Nuevo Progresso to order new progressive lenses for Bev at 1/4 the cost she paid for the previous lenses in Ontario.  Vic purchased new frames and bifocal lenses also at significant savings.

While waiting for our lenses to be installed, we headed to a bar down the street.  It had tasty margaritas for $4 each and many comical signs.  One that caught our fancy said:
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MEN

No shirt
No shoes
No service

LADIES

No shirt
FREE drinks
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Alas, another problem appeared when we went to leave Lemon Tree RV Inn on Saturday Apr 2nd.  We opened the curtains at the front of the motorhome to find the windshield cracked top to bottom on the passenger side. But we headed out anyways as a recommended RV windshield specialist is located in the San Antonio area.

We drove to Braunig Lake RV Resort at the south east side of San Antonio and booked in with our 50%  discount thanks to our Passport America membership.  All places for RV windshield repair/replacement and the insurance company were closed for the weekend so it was time to putter on some other jobs.

view from our rear window of the fishing pond (catch and release only)

lots of Mallard ducks wandering around the fishing pond and not one Canada Goose!

a small fountain  in the fishing pond

spring is here -- flowers were popping out in the grass on our camp site

It was cool enough on the weekend for Vic to shampoo the carpeting in the motorhome and clean all the screens. Bev watched all the way through without breaking a sweat.

But when Monday came, calls to the RV windshield specialty shops revealed we would have to wait 5 days for a new windshield to be shipped from Indiana or California.

After many calls, we determined that the shipping time to get a windshield to San Antonio was too long. It would leave no time for a visit to La Porte Indiana with my brother and not enough time to get home. It would be easier to get the windshield replaced in Elkhart Indiana where the supplier of the windshield is located and is on our route home.  We spent most of Monday on the phone with our insurance company and the windshield supplier trying to make arrangements for the windshield to replaced before we have to cross the border on April 14th.

The only good news out of this fiasco is that there is a zero deductible. Wooo  Hooo! Free windshield.

We left the San Antonio area on Tuesday, Apr 5th to head to Laguna Vista RV Park in Marshall TX, about 75 miles south of Texarkana.  We will stay here for 2 days, then move on for 3 more stops before we proceed to Elkhart for the windshield installation.

Lo de Marcos to Mission

Wed Mar 16th we started our journey north to Mission, TX.  It is normally a 2 1/2 day drive so we had planned to cross the border at Mission about noon on Fri Mar 18th to miss the heavy Mexican traffic scheduled to start that weekend for their big Easter holiday (Semana Santa) and Mon Mar 21st the birthday of Benito Juarez.

As usual, nothing happens as planned. We stopped after 129 miles at Magdalena as our travel buddy had problems with the turbo charger on his diesel truck.  We parked in a PEMEX gas station while his truck went into the local mechanic to be serviced. The PEMEX is fine to stay overnight at but not for days on end due to the truck traffic.  By Thursday night the mechanic did not have the parts and our buddy indicated the truck may not be ready until Tuesday.  Ash was floating in the air along with the smoke from the burning of the local sugar cane fields -- not good for Bev's allergies.

sitting on the PEMEX parking lot with view of old opal mine on the mountain in the distance

entrance to the PEMEX gas station -- it is a new station with nice landscaping

So Vic and Bev decided to head out alone on Friday morning.  The next 2 days driving was stressful due to problems encountered along the way. The first problem occurred just east of Guadalajara when a very sharp and downhill turn of an off-ramp tore our stone guard apart. Our rear view camera was not operating so the problem went unnoticed until we stopped for gas about 10 minutes later.

The next problem occurred on the south end of Aguascalientes with a "check engine" light and greatly reduced power. We pulled off easily and everything seemed fine and off we went. The next time left us climbing the mountains at 5 mph with nowhere no pull off so we had to keep driving until we found a spot wide enough to pull off and shut the engine off for 2 minutes.  After this brief wait, we could proceed normally.

Near Zacetecas we chose a road that appeared to be a great short-cut. The road started out just fine but we soon encountered some very rough areas and a construction zone. The workers alerted us to a problem and we found that one of the bikes had partially jumped out of the bike rack on the back of the motorhome and was dragging on the ground. The bike was basically destroyed and we left it at the side of the road. The car did not fare very well and has a few scratches in the front bumper.

Some damage to our car might have been avoided if our rear view camera worked consistently but alas it seems to quit just when it's needed most.

We also found out that the auxiliary braking system for the tow car had malfunctioned and drained the battery -- no problem while traveling but an issue when we need to disconnect the car to back into our campsite.

clouds around the mountain as we travel from Saltillo to Monterrey

We stayed overnight near a small town called Concepcion del Oro at a Pemex station that had a hotel. The hotel allowed as to stay overnight in their locked compound for 100 pesos, for which we were very happy and got a nice quiet sleep.

We finally made it to the border at the Anzalduas bridge west of Reynosa on March 19th at 3:00 pm Sat Mar 19th.  We had to stop on the Mexican side to turn in the permit for our car plus our tourist visas.  That took about 35 minutes as the was a line of cars doing the same thing.

Then we sat on the American side for 1 1/2 hrs in line.  Finally we got to the booth and were sent aside for the motorhome and car to be inspected by 6 men with 2 dogs.  The inspection was finished and we were on our way at last by 5:20 pm!

We are now back at the Lemon Tree RV Inn in Mission.  We traveled 830 miles from Lo de Marcos, Nayarit to Mission, TX.  Since we've been here Vic purchased a diagnostic tool that displayed the failure codes on the engine of the motorhome. Turns out that it is just a clogged air filter so that was ordered online from Walmart. Including shipping, the cost is less than half of the auto parts store! Vic installed the new covers on our motorhome air conditioners, ordered a replacement auxiliary brake system and a new rear view camera with monitor. Ain't eBay great! Now we need to replace the bike.

one of the prettiest poinsettias we've seen here at Lemon Tree

This chicken wanders through our campsite each day -- it must belong to one of the properties neighboring Lemon Tree RV Inn

Our costs CAD to date for our trip from Oct 31st 2015 to Mar 19th 2016 have been:

Gas for motorhome:                                          $1745
Propane (to run refrigerator, stove and furnace) $118
Tolls trip to Lo de Marcos                                  $281
Tolls trip LdM to Mission                                  $271
Tourist cards                                                      $124
Camping fees                                                   $2170

Total $4709 CAD

I have not included our out-of-country health insurance, Mexican insurance for the motorhome and car, our flight home for 2 weeks at Christmas or our Mexican car permit (I'm waiting to see the credit for the deposit for the car permit to see what it cost us in the end due to the change in the exchange rate over the past 5 months).

New Restaurant in Lo de Marcos

A new restaurant called "Sport Bar in the Sky" opened on the roof top of Ostion Azul.  A long walk up the stairs for some to the 4th level but the view is worth it.

Views of Lo de Marcos from the rooftop:

 Our dinner group:

 Vic, Bev, Edie, Lloyd, Walter, Carol, Mike & Liz

 A sample of some of the meals:

Pineapple shrimp

Tequila shrimp ceviche

 We timed our dinner reservations to allow us to see the setting of the sun.

San Pancho, Nayarit

San Pancho is a small town about a 20 minute bus ride south of Lo de Marcos.  3 of us decided to spend a girls day exploring the town the other day.

It cost us $15 pesos ($1.11 CAD)  to take the bus there.  The beach and wave action was quieter than Lo de Marcos that day.

The main attraction for us was the Entre Amigos complex:

This community complex features goods produced from recycled materials by local artisans. There were items made from compressed paper, plastic bottles, wine bottles, cloth, plastic bags, and metal. The complex also contains a library, a small gymnasium and cafe.  There are various types of classes offered each afternoon.

The first area we visited featured jewellery, children's toys, handbags, backpacks and glasses:

Jewellery made from compressed paper -- touching it you would never guess it was paper!

Earrings made from plastic bottles

 

childrens toys made from parts of recycled bottles

  

candle holders made from the bottom of wine bottles

Another use for the bottom of wine bottles - - drinking glasses with various designs etched on them

There was one large sculpture of a tree made from recycled electrical conduit, etc.

Towards the back of the complex there were 2 paper mache masks being prepared for a special parade this weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Entre Amigos.

A work in progress

Some of the detailed painting

Glued beads to highlight certain areas

Another paper mache item ready to go

As we entered the courtyard of the complex we discovered a beautiful mural:

First part of the mural

Another part around the corner

Looking closely we realized that each feather on the Toucan was a girl in the traditional dance costume

Some ladies showed us children's toys they made from recycled clothing:

tortuga (turtle)

  ballena (whale)

 Above the counter in the library was a canopy of plastic bottles each with different colours of paint in the bottom to create a design:

 
After leaving the complex, we noticed a nearby wall decorated with a rooster design:

Birdwatching, etc.

Last week we saw our first Robin here at Savage Trailer Park in Lo de Marcos.  It is called a Rufous Backed Robin. The song is similar to the American Robin we see in Ontario.

 Most evenings a flock of Hooded Orioles gather in the trees next to our patio.  They are quite different from the Baltimore Orioles that visit our yard at home.

Sitting at our dinette having a morning coffee we watch the Painted Buntings busy feeding on the seeds of grasses in the site beside our motorhome. 

The pale green bird in this photo is the female Painted Bunting.  We usually see 5 or more females to 1 male

One day 2 Coots flew over from the pond next door.  They were walking around the patio and along the cement wall behind our motorhome.  They had no fear of us and let us come within a few feet of them.

Here are a few other photos we've taken recently:

This plant is about 5' tall and the blossom is about 6".  Located in the garden at El Caracol where Bev takes morning stretch classes.

From a day trip to shop in Puerto Vallarta:

Huichol art made of tiny coloured beads set in wax on display in Puerto Vallarta

statue of traditional dancers on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta