Beginning our 8th trip south for the winter!

We left our home about 8 pm on Oct 31st to spend the night at the Flying J in London, ON. (A truck stop so no electrical hookup to run the furnace) It was cold that night -- to the extent that the alarm went off on our fridge at 12:14 am saying it couldn't get any propane. Bev got up and shut the fridge off since the weather was cold enough to keep the food properly.  With no furnace running, we just close the door to our bedroom, snuggle under the blankets and cover our head so only our nose is out in the cold!  We need to start leaving earlier in October!

From London we drove to stay with our family in Indiana.  We visited and shopped for a few days. While there we saw 3 deer cross the lawn -- what a sight -- 2 females plus a male who had 4 point antlers!

Our next stop was Effingham, in southern Illinois, to shop for our favourite whole wheat pancake mix and a few other items at the Hodgson Mill Retail store.  We parked overnight at the Walmart nearby and disconnected the car to drive to Il Forno, an Italian restaurant with delicious entrees.  We had a glass of wine, soup and entree each for a total of $35!!

From Effingham we drove to Memphis and continued on Hwy I-55 south to Enid Lake.  We stayed overnight at the Corps of Engineer campground there.  The site had sewage, electric and water hookups.  The regular price is $18 with seniors over 62 paying $9 per night.  The photos below shows how roomy the sites are.

This year we decided to address one more item on our bucket list with a visit to New Orleans.  We found a campground in Pontchartrain for $44/night thanks to our 50% discount through Passport America. The campground offered a shuttle into the French Quarter for $6 for the day.  The weather was rainy but the first day we managed to do an airboat swamp tour at Jean Lafitte and a visit to the WWII Musuem.

That day we drove our car in to the French Quarter and paid $20 to park for 5 hours while we were on the airboat tour.  Luckily we had driven into town as we had to drive back out to the campground after the swamp tour -- we got soaking wet from a heavy downpour towards the end of the tour! Yikes!

after this photo was taken of Vic in his wet clothing, he purchased a new t-shirt to wear something dry!

The airboat tour was great -- our guide was very knowledgeable and shared much information.  We saw about 6 alligators which he said was unusual as the older gators were already digging themselves into the mud for the winter thanks to a cold snap the week before we arrived.

Our guide

ear protection -- the engine was loud!!!

starting up the side channel

Spanish moss on the trees

gator about to snap up the marshmallow

The guide stopped in one channel to visit a "crack head" gator -- one that will come close to the boat to be fed marshmallows! They are so addicted to eating marshmallows, just as if it was crack. This one swam a 100 metres toward to boat to get a treat.

A stop to discuss the vegetation surrounding us

a bald eagle's next

We spent time in the afternoon at the WWII Museum. When it closed at 5 pm we were once again greeted but a heavy downfall of rain so were stuck in the building for a while. Lucky for us it was Happy Hour and the bar just happened to be just inside the museum door. The rain subsided enough for us to dash 2 blocks to our car.  We tried to go out to dinner that evening but we couldn't find a parking spot due to flooding of the streets. We even spotted a man-hole cover dancing and bobbing over its hole while the water squirted out from beneath.

The second day we took the shuttle into town for the day.  We visited the Aquarium first. Not as impressive as the one in Toronto or the one in Atlanta Georgia.

up close to a penguin

there were many tanks with sea horses

From the Aquarium we took a trolley car (for the cost of 40 cents for seniors) to the west side of the French Quarter to visit the Mardi Gras World where the floats are built.  It was a great place to visit!  The characters were sculptured out of layers of foam, then covered in paper mache and painted

a jesting Victor!

trying on costumes

an owl in the making

painting in progress

CNC machine can sculpt giant piece of

A bare float ready for decorating

a photo of a tiger for our granddaughter Megan

A dragon chomping on Papa

Giant blocks of foam for the CNC machine

Hey! There's the Cat in the Hat.

Note the scorpion is circled in the drawing and the gal below is gluing the tail pieces together

Next we took the trolley car to the east side of the French Quarter to meander through the French Market (dodging raindrops from time to time).  We stopped for an afternoon break at Cafe du Monde to try their Beignets. Sorta French donuts covered in powdered sugar. Delicious! Here are a few photos from our meandering around the French Quarter:

typical building in the French Quarter

Canal Street boulevard lined in palm trees.

The Steamboat "Natchez" docking after a luncheon cruise.
Yes Warren...the paddle wheel is in reverse.

The shuttle was due to pick us up at 8 pm so we had an early dinner at Oceana in the French Quarter.  The food was delicious.  We had an appetizer of gator bites!! Interesting. Could be described as a cross between chicken and calamari.

From New Orleans we headed west on Hwy I-10. We stopped at Wharton TX (south of Houston) at a Walmart. We arrived at Lemon Tree RV Inn in Mission on November 10th where we plan to stay for almost a month.

FYI - The price of gas when we topped up our tank as we travelled south:

Oct 31st - $1.05/litre at home, $0.95/litre in Woodstock and London, ON -- CAD $
Nov 1st - $2.03 USD/gallon in Port Huron, MI
Nov 4th - $1.88 USD/gallon in Gilman, IL
Nov 5th - $1.90 USD/gallon in Marston, MO
Nov 6th - $1.89 USD/gallon in Hazelhurst MS
Nov 9th - $1.84 USD/gallon in Iowa, LA
Nov 10th $1.86 USD/gallon in Wharton, TX

Anything can go wrong...

We always look  back on our trips and remember how enjoyable they were. All the nice weather, sunshine, and warmth. The scenery that slid by our windows. The people we meet. The food we enjoyed.

But in reality, everything doesn't always go as planned or the unexpected and unwanted pops up. So here is a list of gotchas that got us this last trip.

Somewhere east of Dallas we found a rear side window on the HHR was shattered, but still in holding together. When it happened, or why, we just don't know. Gotcha!

On the final kilometer of our trip to our campground, in Lo de Marcos, the air conditioner covers came in contact with a low hanging branch. The front cover was completely torn off and the rear one had a hole punched in it. In order to use the front unit, a temporary cover had to be cobbled together. It is great that there is a Home Depot in Puerto Vallarta for the needed supplies.

On our trip home, north of Zacatecas, we chose a road that was a great short cut. NOT. It was extremely rough in spots, which caused the bikes in the bike rack to seek some relief. One hopped partially out and dragged on the ground between the motorhome and the car. Scratch one ruined bike. Maybe if our rear view camera was working, we might have been able to save it. Damn camera. The rear view camera system has always been a problem and we have put up with it's random failures. Replacement is a must!

When we stopped at US customs, a check of the HHR determined that the battery was dead. After clearing we headed directly to Walmart to buy jumper cables to start the car so we could unhook and park when arriving at the campground. Forgetting, of course, that we already had jumper cables in one of the storage compartments!. The root cause of the dead battery was a failing add-on breaking system we use in the HHR when towing it. The add-on braking system is mandatory in many states and provinces. The unit was coming on every two minutes to pump up the air that drives the system. The repetitive cycling used up the battery's charge. The unit had to be replaced.

Our stay in Mission Texas allowed us to get caught up with replacing the bike, the braking system and the rear view camera, and installing the new air conditioner covers that had been ordered ahead of time. A big sigh of relief.

While cleaning up using aerosol brake cleaner, some bounced back and hit my (Vic) glasses, leaving spots that were permanent. We rushed off the next day to Nuevo Progreso, across the border in Mexico to get replacement glasses (and some for Bev too). Another gotcha!

Wearing our perfectly new glasses, we were ready to leave Mission and head north. On the morning of our departure, we drew back the from drapes of the windshield and low and behold, found a crack from top to bottom on the passenger side. Just what we needed.

All told that adds up to over $3000 in unexpected expenses. Luckily enough, the windshield replacement was fully covered by our insurance, otherwise the cost would have doubled. Ain't camping fun?

Marshall TX to home

As planned we stayed 2 nights at Laguna Vista in Marshall TX. Another campground where we got 50% off thanks to our Passport America membership. The campground is very basic and not much more than a gravel parking lot but the service and facilities were more than adequate as we just wanted some place to stop over on our way north.We explored the area and enjoyed our last days wearing shorts and t-shirts.

We left Laguna Vista in Marshall TX on Thurs Apr 7th. We drove 305 miles to Forrest City, Arkansas to stay at the Walmart, our usual stopover. We met one fellow RVer there from Ontario who had just retired and was on his way to California!

On  Friday we drove 358 miles to Effingham, IL.  When we left Forest City, the temperature was 57F (14C) and it dropped as we traveled north.  By the time we reached Effingham it was 50F (10C)  We booked into Camp Lakewood with our Good Sam discount as the overnight forecast called for  29F (-2C) . (We wanted the comfort of electrical hookup.) Ouch...the price had gone up since we were last here,  now US$35. Since we arrived in Effingham just after 3:30 in the afternoon, we had time to go shopping at the Hodgson Mill retail store for our favorite Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancake Mix, Barley Bread Mix and several other whole grain items. Later in the evening we went to Il Forno for a great Italian meal.

On Saturday we drove to La Porte IN to stay with Vic's brother for 4 days and enjoy some family time. On Sunday, we trekked off to Chicago to witness the christening of Ian and Dawn's latest child, Ian Tyler.

Wednesday, April 13th we were at Elkhart Service and Collision shortly after 9 am to have the windshield replaced.  We took the opportunity to shop at RV surplus stores in White Pigeon, MI and Elkhart, IN, on the hunt for bargains.  ESC provided us with an outdoor site with 50 amp service to stay overnight as the adhesive for the windshield needed 12 hours to set.  The next morning it took the technicians about an hour to clean up any excess adhesive and water test the windshield.  We left Elkhart about 9:45 am and were home in Thornhill, ON that evening.

Our total mileage from Oct 31st, 2015 to Apr 14th, 2016 was 5,790 miles.  The portion of our return trip from Lo de Marcos to our home was 2,853 miles.

The cheapest gas on the way home was $1.64 per gallon north of San Antonio TX.  The most expensive was $2.13/gallon on the east side of Flint MI.   Thanks to our Pilot/Flying J Discount card we get 5 cents off per gallon in the US and one cent off per litre in Canada which is very helpful with the size of tank for the motorhome.  We fueled up at the Flying J in London on April 14th for $0.939/litre which was a bargain as the gas at home was $1.049 that day.

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:
-------------------------------
MEN

No shirt
No shoes
No service

LADIES

No shirt
FREE drinks
-------------------------------

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: