A Relaxing Get Ready Day

WHERE ARE WE? Casa Blanca Lake State Park, Laredo TX

We are enjoying a nice down day before we cross into Mexico tomorrow.  We are always a little nervous about what problems we may encounter with our paper work.  3 of our group have 1 ton trucks and the Mexicans always see them as a commercial truck and so they need more approvals (which sometimes involve a little cash).  We don't usually have any problems with the MH but it can sometimes be a long process of standing in line to get our FMM and TIP.   Then after we get all that stuff done, we have almost 600 kms to go to our first overnight stop so we don't want to be delayed too long at the border.  And of course the Aduana doesn't open until 8 am.  Anyway as before every Mexican excursion, we have a little get together with everyone in the convoy to go over the route and some of the basic rules of travelling together.  The other topic is where we hope to stay each night and who will follow who in the procession.  Most of the conversation is light talk and involves some stories of previous experiences.  We really do look forward to the comradery and a little bit of fun along the way.  Here is our lineup.  Of course no need for a picture of Sue and I!!!  We will be leading for now because we have been this way a few times and we are the slowest of the group.  Gosh I'm getting old.

Len and Judith will be the tail gunners because they know how to push the crew along.

Bob and Cindy will be sharing middle duty because they are the heart of the operation.

And Jeff, Fany and Max in the middle to keep us in a straight line.

About the end of our little get together, Max got stung by a bee on his big toe!!!  Oh man that hurt I bet.  They got the stinger out and applied ice and he is going to survive.  His toe swelled up pretty good so we will call him Mr. Maxbigtoe!!!

That's one dirty big toe!!!

All better

He spent a lot of the day at RRV helping Sue and bugging me. lol.  He is a good little helper for sure.  Its fun to have him around again.

Everything in this country either bites you or prickles you.  

Jeff and Fany came over this evening to help us put some peso's on our Easy Trip Toll Pass.  The Pass makes it so much easier to go through the tolls without having to fumble for change.  They even sometimes have lanes devoted to the passes so you just sort of slow down and go through.  We expect to pay around 5000 pesos ($380 Cnd) in tolls to get to La Penita.

mounts on the windshield. (sorry about the reflections)

It was a hot day today so we are ready for bed.  Gotta be up early to hit the road tomorrow.  Good Nite!!

Moving to Laredo

WHERE ARE WE? Casa Blanca Lake State Park, Laredo TX

We had a relaxing coffee with Randy, Sue, Carol, and Keb before packing up and heading down the road.  We are off to Laredo today to meet up with Len, Judith, Bob, Carol, Jeff, Fany, and Max, all who will travel in a convoy with us to La Penita.  

If you remember when we left Winnipeg, we tried to follow Highway 59 as much as we could.  We did deviate a little near the end of our trip because it took a curve to the east.  Well today we got back on Highway 59 which will take us right to our camp spot in Laredo.  

This is the route we took today.

We got to Laredo about 4 pm and got all set up before Len, Judith, Bob and Cindy dropped by for a little visit.  We have decided to hang around for an extra day for various reasons.  It will also give Jeff and Fany a day to relax after having driven like madmen to get here.  The sites in the park are not very level and the front of RRV is sitting about 6 inches off the ground.  I know some people frown on this, but no one has yet to tell me what damage it might do!!!

     

It is still quite warm and humid here and we are glad we are plugged in and have AC.  Jeff and Fany didn't get here until after dark and they got all set up in time for bed.  We will all visit tomorrow.  Good Nite!!!

Last Day at Magnolia Beach

WHERE ARE WE? Magnolia Beach Texas

This is our last day at Magnolia Beach for a while.  Tomorrow we head west to meet friends who will accompany us into Mexico.  We had coffee on our little deck and did some tidy up chores on RRV.

We did head into town and washed the Jeep today.  I had scrubbed all the bugs off the front so it came out of the car wash sparkly clean.

   

Had a quiet evening watching some TV and following the score of the Toronto vs Dodgers ball game.  Loved the 9 run inning!!!

One last sunset here in Magnolia Beach.   Good Nite!!!

A Shave and a Haircut!!

WHERE ARE WE? Magnolia Beach Texas

Today we had an appointment for Archie to get a trim.  He is getting pretty scruffy and so it is time.  We took him to a local place in Port Lavaca named Fluffy Mutt!!  They would be about 4 hours working on him.

We had promised to take Randy and Sue out for supper before we headed out on our southward journey but we seemed to run out of time.  Randy is with his brother this week to support him through some cardiac surgery, so there are no days left for him to join us.  So we grabbed Susan and headed out to the Bayshore Restaurant for a nice seafood supper.

We picked up Archie after supper and he looked really good.  I think he even liked it.

We got home in time to join Susan for a game of Play Nine.  I think I won!!!

We had a good day today and look forward to tomorrow.  Good Nite!!!!

                                                                                                      

Finishing up Some Projects

WHERE ARE WE? Magnolia Beach Texas

A cold front supposedly moved through last night and our temperatures went down a bit however the humidity stayed quite high.  None the less, it is certainly much easier to take.  I got busy and finished the front of RRV.   It is all nice and shiny now so I hope we don't run into a bunch of migrating butterflies in Mexico!!

I even scrubbed the front of the Jeep which was covered in sticky bug guts as well.  While I was doing that I lifted the hood and washed the motor compartment.  Nice to have it nice and clean.

Sue got busy and took all the screens off the windows of RRV and I gave them a wash.  They look much better now.

Another of my jobs was to remove the car radio that is mounted under one of our cabinets behind the couch.  We store lots of stuff behind the couch in the shelf that I built last week, and I have been back there a few times.  Almost every time I went back there, I hit my head on the stupid radio.  We never listen to the thing so I don't know why we have kept it.  Anyway, Sue was back there doing screens and gave herself a good wallop on the knog.  Well as you can imagine, that was it for the radio.  I got out the screwdriver and it is now history.

Archie got to go on a couple walks today and we got to sit on the deck and enjoy life a bit.  Life is good.

I spent some time on the computer doing some work things as well as purchasing our Mexican Vehicle insurance.  Mexico does not recognize any insurance policies from other countries when travelling by vehicle so a separate plan must be purchased.  When we leave Mexico in the spring, we apply to our Manitoba Insurance provider and we are reimbursed for the time we spent in Mexico and didn't need their insurance.  We actually get more of a refund than what we pay for the Mexican plan so that's ok.

And that wrapped up another day.  We are just putting in time waiting on Jeff and Fany and Len and Judith to meet up with us this weekend.  We will all travel together in Mexico next week.  Good Nite!!!