Parked in front of Paint Ball battleground.  Good thing we left when we did.
PB enthusiasts (combatants?) were there early Sunday morning to wage war on each other. Very polite fellows.  There was an airforce base on the other side of the river and some of these fellows were very clean cut looking, maybe soldiers?

This is our spot behind the VFW in Yuma.  Drycamping wasn't too bad as long as you had water and food and a nice shady spot like this one.  That bike on my last post was something eh?  I'll try to download another picture of it from the interior angle.

Here I worked hard to get two photos included here.  Of course we are in Mexico right now and I am still trying to figure out why my photos aren't allowed to download.  I will succeed.

Next post coming up.

Hasta luego
Holoidays on holiday



Let's try again

Hello friends and other interested viewers,
I had trouble getting back in to do another post, but finally I was able to figure it out and here I am. 

We are in our park of choice here in Lo de Marcos, Mexico.  We arrived Thursday afternoon after a good drive, but a little harrowing, having driven up to Tepic and down to Las Varas, instead of going through San Blas, which we did last year.

When we reached Tepic, we stopped on the other side and undid the tow car.  I drove it all the way down to Lo de Marcos, following the motorhome, and the other couple in their truck/camper following me.

Hubby didn't have any problems driving down that long hill.  He basically drove in second gear to save wear and tear on the brakes.  My tow car is a little Kia Spectra, 5 spd manual and this drive was the farthest I have ever driven it.  We were given this car by our son, who didn't need two cars, because he is living full  time in a motorhome and they only needed one vehicle; of course, how can he tow two cars?  I never had it licensed until the day before we left on our trip so I didn't have a chance to get used to shifting the gears, but I learned pretty quickly on that free for all road from Tepic to Lo de Marcus.  If you are wondering if I have ever driven a standard vehicle the answer is yes and more like 35 years ago.  I guess it's like riding a bike; you never forget.

So my friends, if you are reading this, and want to know if the San Blas road is open yet, the answer is we don't know.

We are the first visitors in this park.  Savage RV park is open and waiting for your visit.  The internet is up and running, thanks to Alfredo and I.  He called on me to help get it set up and between us and the friendly helper on the other end of the phone line, we got it going.  Phew, I'm glad we did because I only have a three hour battery in this puppy and the electrical connection was only two pronged at the office.

Now I'm going to try to download some more photos.



How's this for a Harley?  Quite a story behind this modified rig but all I can say is that it is really different and it actually works.  Couple from South Carolina own it and they were parked at the VFW in Yuma.

Well, it looks as if this is the only picture you will get.  Seems my image uploader on this blog site does not want to upload more than one picture at a time.

It was another hot day today and we went over to the beach today to enjoy the waves.  They were not too big but they were dirty.  The beach had been stripped of its sand and it looked as if the waves were bringing the sand back again.  The waves are very noisy right now and it is quite cool now.  It is 11:50 pm as I write and I've closed all the windows and I'm going to bed.

Adios amigos,

Holoidays on holiday



Here are some photos I promised

We had pretty messy weather on the way down to California but the weather got nicer and Mike's first priority was to clean the rig and the car. 

I finally got a cool shot of these wind machines lined up in an orderly fashion.  These are near Desert Hot Springs, California.







Arhgggggggggg...

Well, it appears that I am not going to be allowed to download any more photos tonight and I had lots more to show you.

We will be leaving Mazatlan in the morning and should be in Lo de Marcos in the late afternoon.  For our friends who are coming down I'll let you know the road situation when we get internet access.  We have decided to take the road to Tepic and down because we've heard that the road through San Blas is not ready for heavy vehicles yet.  We will unhook the car and I will drive it down from Tepic behind the motorhome.

I also want folks to know that there is a good presence of federalies and army and that we have seen no reason not to come to Mexico.  As I think I said in my last blog, the roads are good as expected so far and there are a few people travelling together, we being one of them.   A nice place to stay in Guayamas is at the Hotel de Cortez.   It is a long day's drive from there to Mazatlan but the San Fernando RV park is ok.  The bathroom leaves a bit to be desired but the shower has one of those big round heads on it and it is great to use.  If you stop in Mazatlan check out the Fat Fish restaurant only a few blocks away from the rv park.  The ribs are EXCELLENT.  The price is 160.00 for two. We walked there two nights in a row and had no problems with anyone.  There are not a lot of people in Mazatlan yet and the lady at the restaurant asked us to let our friends know about them. 

Until next time,
Drive carefully for our friends coming down here and hello to everyone who can't or won't come.  You don't know what you are missing.

Holoidays on holiday

We're in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

     We made it today, November 2nd, 2010 to Mazatlan from Guayamas, Sonora, Mexico.  I have not written for a while because we seem to camp out where there is no wifi.  I can't believe it has been since Oct. 25th that I actually put words to computer.
     My daughter-in-law (kind of) had mexican pesos for us but we missed seeing them in Arizona.  That's ok, we have survived without them. 
     Well, since my last post we have been to Quartzsite (sp?) where I found this great BIG bead barn.  Unfortunately for me the hubby said no more beads.  But; he did find a used ladder from the rock guy's place.
     We stayed at the Kofa Mountain RV park.  It was very nice, but again, very few travellers were there.  They had a nice little club house, with a big screen tv but no wifi. 
     We toodled on up to Parker for an afternoon of shopping (for groceries of course) and a mandatory visit to the local casino.  I wouldn't like to stay there.  Not much happening.  There is a river, I think it is the Colorado, just kidding, of course it is.  The casino is situated on the river and has a lovely waterslide built facing the river and marina.
     From  Q.S. we drove to Yuma and met up with Carol and Walter from Vernon.  They stayed in the same park as we did in Lo de Marcos last trip.  We decided to travel together but they left at a different time than we did so we met at the VFW on the north end of town.  There is a dry camp there behind the VFW.  This acronym is short for Veterans of Foreign Wars.  We stayed there two days. 
     Took a look around Yuma finding things we still needed.  One thing we really wanted for the rig was sun screening for the front windows and side windows.  We found a place that had a special on at SewMaster.  We got screening with 85% sun screen in black for the front windows, the driver and passenger side windows and a 20% discount plus a free window cover.  We chose the back window.  They also gave us window wiper covers. Total bill was just under $275.00 US.  I would have had the big side windows done too, but maybe next time.
     On Sunday, October 31st we headed south to the border but stopped at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  What a very interesting place that was for us.  I have some pictures but I will put them in when I've made the pixels smaller; easier to open and download for the readers.
     Mike claimed he saw wildlife; a rabbit.  This park is only a few minutes drive from the Lukeville border crossing. 
     We had a long wait although there were not many people there.  Just slow processing all the necessary papers.

     Here is how Mike described the process:

1.  Wait in line with passport to fill out application(s) for tourist card(s).  The form is a little different this year.  It is two sided, I mean that it is split in half.  They keep the left side; we get the right side.

2.  Turn left, go to Bank to pay for tourist card(s).

3.  Go back to first office and get passport(s) and tourist card(s) stamped.

4.  Go and get photocopies of passport(s), tourist card(s), vehicle registration(s).  Go back past the tourist card door and walk into next building.  Young man there to make you photocopies of everything.

4.  Go back to Bank with stamped tourist card(s) to get vehicle import card(s).

NB:  do not leave your credit card at the Mexican Insurance office in Tuscon.  The immigration people like to use your credit card to pay for all of this stuff.

That process took us over an hour.  We were not the first in line so of course we had to wait our turn.  The bank is pretty small so it gets a little squishy with eight people in there.
     This day we only went through two toll booths.  Cost was $257.00 Pesos,  not dollars. 
We drove all the way to Guayamas this day.  It was about a seven hour drive.  We usually only drive about four hours but we wanted to get out of the border area.
     I want to reassure anyone reading this that the road from Lukeville to Guayamas was a beautiful new road.  It is a truck route so there were lots of trucks on the road, but the driving was easey-peasey. 
     We unhooked the car, parked the rig and went shopping.  No, it isn't me who goes shopping; it's the food afficionado.  Obtaining some pesos was another priority.
     We stayed at the Hotel de Cortez.  What a beautiful place.  The hotel itself was built in the 1930's.  It has a lovely lobby where the wifi hot spot was located.  Their big patio overlooks the Bay of Cortez.  There is lots of room in the rv park behind the hotel and there is a washroom with mens and ladies showers.
     If you've never been to Mexico I have an important if a bit gross tip for you.  I found out that their sewer systems are not all as sophisticated as ours in Canada and the US.  If you are in a rig, do not put toilet paper in your black waste tank.  If you are using their toilets, put all toilet tissue in the bins in the cubicles.  I know it sounds gross but one does get used to it.  In the bigger cities the newer hotels have more sophisticated systems.  Just check first. 
     Other rvers parked near us told us about a pearl farm quite near where we were staying and it was open until 5pm.  We hopped back in the car; found the place quite easily and pulled into their parking lot.  There is a gift shop there that has pearls set into rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, etc. 
 The sales clerk explained how the pearls are grown.  It was a very interesting talk.  They operate on the oysters to place the little balls into the oysters.  Some balls are round and others are half of the round.  The nacre is produced by the oyster when it senses an intruder in its shell.  If you have seen Mabe pearls, these are the half round balls that are inserted.  They are left in the water for two years and produce beautifully hued pearls with many layers of nacre that won't wear off for years.
     It did not cool down overnight, but we left all the windows open in the rig.  Bed by 10 pm and up by 5:45.  We were on the road by 6:45; on our way to Mazatlan.  This was another very long drive for us.  We made a couple of pit stops, but for the most part just kept on driving.  We never got to Mazatlan until 5pm. 
     The traffic from Guayamas was heavy, lots of trucks and Mexicans on the roads today.  In total we went through nine (yes-9) toll booths.  It was a little more expensive this year because we are towing a car.
     Mexicans have a celebration called "The Day of the Dead".  What it really means is that on the 1st and 2nd of November every year the Mexican families buy flowers and visit their relatives long since deceased.  Today driving by the cemetarieswe witnessed the honour that they give their ancestors.  There were people everywhere and they all had flowers on hand to lay on the  tombstones. 
      We made it to the San Fernando RV park just after 5pm.  After parking, hubby and I both needed showers.  It was very humid so even after showering we never cooled down.
     We went out for ribs at a place called Fat Fish.  It is only about three blocks from the RV park.  One of the patrons looked very familiar to us.  Turns out they were at the Cortez when we got there.  They are slowly making their way to Bucerias.  Getting back to the ribs; Mike had the ribs; Walter had the ribs; Carol and I had  the rib eye steaks.  Good meal and all for 160.00 pesos a couple.  Of course that does not cover the cost of the cervazes.
     Our next move will be to Lo de Marcos.  In the meantime, I will get working on my photos and produce a page of them for your perusal.

Hasta luego, amigos

Holoidays on Holiday

Finally, we can move on

It's been the windiest week we've ever seen.  Too bad I didn't take any pictures.  It wasn't as if there were sand storms, or palm trees touching the ground.  It was the incessant noise as the wind blew day and night creating an atmosphere that for hubby was not an inducement for a good sleep. 
The wind has finally died down and the constant rocking has stopped.  We were able to get some work done around the rig today.  I vacuumed, folexed the spots on the carpet, washed the floor, and did two loads of laundry.  I even managed to iron some of the shirts that came out quite wrinkled from the park's dryers.  Hubby found some trailer stabilizers and it sure makes a difference when we walk around in here.  We are still looking for a few things.  We would like to buy a ladder that is at least six feet high.  Having a ladder will help us keep the rig cleaner.  We will be able to easily reach the windows for cleaning.  We also want to obtain sun screens for the windows.  We hope to find a dealer in Quartzsite, Yuma or Mesa.  These towns have huge flea markets where a person can find just about anything for a motorhome.  Oh yes, I'm still hoping to find some reasonably priced zero gravity lounge chairs.  I saw them in Salmon Arm at the camping store and they were $165.00 each.  They've also been for sale at Wal-Mart and some big box hardware stores for about $45.00 (in Canada).  I'm hoping for a good deal on two of them and maybe a nice director chair with a little table attached.  Only time will tell if we can find them.
It's great to have the car to tow.  What freedom; I even drove it to town one day.  It's a bit awkward for me as many of you know that I am vertically challenged and have to sit with my chest resting on the steering wheel to reach the pedals; but I did manage to get around without stalling the vehicle.  I must admit that I haven't driven a standard shift vehicle since my first vehicle I ever owned.  A green Ford Cortina I bought from the used car department where I worked when I lived in Vancouver.  That poor car.  I'm surprised I never needed a new clutch.  I did need a new distributor cap, but that is another story.
In case I didn't mention it, we are back at the Caliente Springs RV resort in Desert Hot Springs.  There are very few rigs in here as it is early in the season for the snowbirds.  We never got to meet anyone really; even the home owners are not all here yet.  I never even took advantage of the pools this time.  Mike of course, was in the hot pool in the evenings, and they have a pretty well stocked library that we both used. 
Tomorrow comes too soon. 
Take care friends,
Holoidays on holiday

We're on the road again...

Just a short blog today to let you know that we are on the road again.  We left home on October 8, 2010 and stayed in Princeton overnight at the Princeton Golf course.  There is a campsite for trailers, etc.  The site host and hostess were Al and Patty Lambe.  We met them coming home from Mexico in March of this year.  They were staying in the same campground in Huntington, Or. and Al told hubby he worked at the golf course. 
From Princeton we were only going to drive to Rosedale, but I was anxious to get to Vancouver so we continued on our way to Surrey, BC where we stayed at the Plaza RV Park on King George Blvd.  It's not the fanciest place but it is the only one close to hubby's brother.  We spent four days there visiting with relatives and our lovely daughter before heading out on Wednesday, Oct 13, going over the border to stay for the night at the Tulalip Casino in their RV parking lot.  It has no amenities so you either put on the generator to keep warm at night or you pile on the blankets.  We piled on the blankets.  By the way, we left our dog with the relatives in Surrey this time; hubby insisted that the dog would not come with us.  What a quiet trip.  No whining, from the dog that is. 
From Tulalip we travelled to Vancouver, WA where we stayed one night.  It's nice that we are towing a car this trip.  It is surprisingly easy.  Our son showed us the ins and outs of hooking up the car.  It is a quick set up and take down with two people and it tows nicely. 
From Vancouver, WA we drove to Myrtle Creek, OR.  That was a long drive and it was good to get out and walk around.  The campground wasn't fancy but it was suitable.  I guess one could say it was in Tri City.  Our little jaunt in the car exploring found us driving over our first covered bridge and finding the golf course.  Looks intimidating with lots of up and down fairways.  It is open all year round.  We were told that there was usually very little snow there.  That was a surprise because the area is surrounded by hills much like at home.  I think hubby would like to go there to golf.
The next day saw us off again and driving into California to stay in Redding.  We found the Redding RV park and parked on a hilly road.  The pads were stepped down the hill so they were pretty level without having to support the rig.
All the places we stayed are listed in the Passport America book.  Passport America gives 50% off the listed prices of the participating campgrounds. 
From Redding we drove to a place called Patterson, CA.  Again, we used our PA pass for a great deal on our stay.  We have already paid for the membership with the savings we have received from using PA.  I am not paid by PA to endorse their program, but we used it last year and it was great then too.  Only son and partner have bought a life membership to PA.  They will make good use of it. 
From Patterson we drove to Mojave, CA.  We didn't hit the best RV park there but it had electricity and cable, but the WiFi "sucked" as the kids would say.  We gassed up the rig there.  The price of gas in California is a lot more than anywhere we have travelled so far.  We've seen it as low as 2.98.9 (cash price) for regular unleaded to a high of 3.39.9 for regular unleaded. 
In Oregon it is against the law to pump your own gas.  Every service station has gas jockeys to serve you.
It was great to get up this morning excited to finally drive our last stretch of highway to Desert Hot Springs, CA where we will be parked for a week.  Seven days for $129.00 includes wifi, electric, water, dumping, cable.  Our new tv can search out more cable stations than the campground has on their list.  Hubby was very excited to find a hockey game on TV.  The Bruins against the Washington Capitals.  We are big Bruins fans now that his cousin's son plays on the Bruins team. 
I went to Bingo tonight in the hall.  Me - playing Bingo.  How sad is that?!  I didn't even need my dabber.  They used the old style Bingo cards with the little red sliders.  I won the first game-almost got my money back-$1.00, lol.
Hubby has gone to bed and it's my turn to sign out.
Adios, amigos
Hasta luego.

It's time to travel again!!

What a great summer we had here in the North Okanagan.  We were away most of July visiting relatives, etc. but we came home to enjoy another holiday with our golfing group.  We went to Fauquier in the West Kootenays for a three day camping/golfing trip.  We all enjoyed it so much we plan to do it again next year.  Tukaluk Campground is only about a quarter mile from the Fauquier Golf Course so we were able to pack eight people and golf bags and carts into three cars.  The day started out a bit cloudy but as we continued our play (no don't ask how I did) the weather improved as the day went on and we girls left the boys after doing nine holes and went back to the campground to "mellow out".  They caught us giving each other pedicures.  The pedicures delayed supper by about two hours (a minor nuisance according to my hubby).   By the way, I'm giving a plug for the campground even though there was a fire ban in the district.  The owner, Gloria, was just great.  She greeted us and took hubby on a tour of the campground in her golf cart and showed us where we could all set up.  It was great. 
At the end of August, hubby and I participated in the club championship at our little golf course in Armstrong, BC.  Hubby won his flight low gross and I won my flight low gross.  I was VERY focused.  I had been golfing like a beginner all year and I finally hit the ball, chipped good and putted good.  It was enough to win by one stroke.  Two gift certificates to the golf course will come in very handy next year.  We also decided to buy our membership on a limited basis.  That means we can golf only during the week.  We counted how many weekends we had golfed and guess what?  not once except for the club championship.  We'll save a couple hundred dollars on that too. 
Last year our clubhouse burned to the ground.  We were hoping we'd be in the clubhouse by now but they are building it very slowly.  It is going to be a spectacular timber frame building and hopefully we will be in it next year when we get back from our trip.
Our son worked at a golf course  this year about 25 miles from our home.  He and his sweetie will also be travelling south a few days after we leave. 
The weather in Lo de Marcos has been very rainy this summer and we may wait a while before going to Mexico.
We are travelling with folks from Vernon and Ontario into Mexico this year.  We are trying to downplay the news reports about the violence between the drug cartels and hopefully we will be safe.  The people down there depend on us "snowbirds" for our custom.  I am humbled by the privilege to travel in their country.  I did not find the language barrier as bad as I thought it might be.  Son's sweetie is fluent in Spanish and she helped us along the way.  When we left them we were on our own and we made do; a few words seemed to help us ok.
Well, we'll keep in touch with everyone as we get underway in a week or so.

Adios for now,
Holoidays on holiday