Just a few more days and we're headed back to Texas and 85 degrees...........
The tests are done, the results are in, and everyone has agreed there was no stroke. It has been diagnosed, re diagnosed, tested, and retested, but I have it in writing and we're good to go.
The only hold out now seems to be the insurance company. They have told me, and I quote "they won't pay the claim until they can be certain I was truthful in the way I answered the questions." She is referring to the way we answered the questions when we applied for our insurance. A friend recently said, "it's hard to handle someone challenging your integrity," and they are soooooo right. If they refuse to pay the bill we have to, which would really hurt. So we still have this hurdle to clear but my health issue was the main priority and it's behind us now.
So we're busy planning our trip back to Texas in early April so we can get our RV and get back on the road. Some of our friends live there year round and some others are still there so we plan to spend a couple of weeks before heading back North. Some of the return trip will be dependant on the floods up here and it looks like it might be pretty bad.
So - very soon now - I'll be able to get back to posting things on here as it was intended. I never dreamt I would have to devote three months to discussing a health issue. It was to be about fun, sights, sounds, and the things we saw and did. If you believe as we do that "everything happens for a reason" we have to accept that this was all preordained by a higher power (no not an insurance company) and meant to be. I'm just glad it's over and now we can get back to regularly scheduled programing.
Have fun, stay warm, stay well, thanks for stopping by, and please leave a comment when you can.
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Sunday, March 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Could The Diagnosis Be Wrong?
The TIA that wasn't, now that's a relief.
Fact - did you know that fully 30% of the stroke diagnosis made at Dr. offices and emergency rooms aren't really strokes. That certainly surprised us last week.
When we visited the Heart and Stroke Clinic last Friday is was a real eye opener. They asked what seemed like a few hundred questions and reviewed all of the test results they had obtained from the hospital and my Dr. They are going to do one more test to be absolutely certain but they have already sent a letter to my Dr. saying that, subject to confirmation by this last test, I didn't have a stroke.
So what happened? I had a migraine attack, in other words a severe migraine with no pain. The telltale sign was the length of time this went on for. Apparently, according to the clinic, a TIA is fast and usually accompanied by sharp pain. Mine lasted for hours and hours and did not involve any pain. They have a whole bunch of other determining factors but those two were the tip off. A web search of TIA + Migraine yields a lot of data. As you can likely imagine I have spent a lot of time doing that search since last Friday and I'm getting more comfortable with the new diagnosis every day. Apparently migraines, which are pretty common in my family, can do this.
Emergency rooms, especially American ones, have to diagnose and treat on a "worst case" scenario for liability reasons. Canadian ones don't have the same type of liability issues but they to must treat based on a "worst case" basis. That's what happened in this case. To their credit they gave me excellent care and did the job exactly the way it should have been done. It's no ones fault it's gone this way, but we're more than a little happy it has.
Bernie and I have taken to calling it the "$35,000 Painless Headache." One could say the $35000 pain in the _____ but we won't go there.
So what now? Well the diagnosis is on file and all insurance companies will have access to that from now on which makes medical insurance a bit tough to get. On the other side, once I have this last test finished, the Heart and stroke Clinic will give me a document saying that I had a migraine event, not a stroke. That will certainly help. If I can get coverage that excludes migraine events we'll be OK. If it were to happen again, with no insurance, I know now what it could cost us. If I can't get that and we're forced to go with no coverage for cardiovascular events, we're toast. There is no way, at this age one, could leave Canada without coverage for cardiovascular/stroke events.
We took a trip to Steinbach Man. yesterday. As some of you may know Steinbach is home to some huge trucking companies and I figured that all those commercial drivers needed to have travel insurance. It was a correct assumption and we got some really good help. Once again thanks to Darcy from Integrity Ventures (diesel repair.)
As it stands now I need to get this last test and then we can move forward. They told me it could take a month to six weeks to get it done. I have an appointment with my Dr next week at which time we're going to see if we can speed it up a bit,
All in all - another blessing. If a person was so inclined you could look at this as a headache that screwed up a winter. We don't, we believe we're back here for a reason and everything is working out as it should be. We're spending time with friends and family and this is just another part of our "Excellent Adventure." We'll be back on the road soon and someplace out there we'll have a toast to the "$35,000 Painless Headache," after all it made the winter of 10/11 much more memorable.
Stay well, stay warm, be happy, and please leave us a note when you can.
Fact - did you know that fully 30% of the stroke diagnosis made at Dr. offices and emergency rooms aren't really strokes. That certainly surprised us last week.
When we visited the Heart and Stroke Clinic last Friday is was a real eye opener. They asked what seemed like a few hundred questions and reviewed all of the test results they had obtained from the hospital and my Dr. They are going to do one more test to be absolutely certain but they have already sent a letter to my Dr. saying that, subject to confirmation by this last test, I didn't have a stroke.
So what happened? I had a migraine attack, in other words a severe migraine with no pain. The telltale sign was the length of time this went on for. Apparently, according to the clinic, a TIA is fast and usually accompanied by sharp pain. Mine lasted for hours and hours and did not involve any pain. They have a whole bunch of other determining factors but those two were the tip off. A web search of TIA + Migraine yields a lot of data. As you can likely imagine I have spent a lot of time doing that search since last Friday and I'm getting more comfortable with the new diagnosis every day. Apparently migraines, which are pretty common in my family, can do this.
Emergency rooms, especially American ones, have to diagnose and treat on a "worst case" scenario for liability reasons. Canadian ones don't have the same type of liability issues but they to must treat based on a "worst case" basis. That's what happened in this case. To their credit they gave me excellent care and did the job exactly the way it should have been done. It's no ones fault it's gone this way, but we're more than a little happy it has.
Bernie and I have taken to calling it the "$35,000 Painless Headache." One could say the $35000 pain in the _____ but we won't go there.
So what now? Well the diagnosis is on file and all insurance companies will have access to that from now on which makes medical insurance a bit tough to get. On the other side, once I have this last test finished, the Heart and stroke Clinic will give me a document saying that I had a migraine event, not a stroke. That will certainly help. If I can get coverage that excludes migraine events we'll be OK. If it were to happen again, with no insurance, I know now what it could cost us. If I can't get that and we're forced to go with no coverage for cardiovascular events, we're toast. There is no way, at this age one, could leave Canada without coverage for cardiovascular/stroke events.
We took a trip to Steinbach Man. yesterday. As some of you may know Steinbach is home to some huge trucking companies and I figured that all those commercial drivers needed to have travel insurance. It was a correct assumption and we got some really good help. Once again thanks to Darcy from Integrity Ventures (diesel repair.)
As it stands now I need to get this last test and then we can move forward. They told me it could take a month to six weeks to get it done. I have an appointment with my Dr next week at which time we're going to see if we can speed it up a bit,
All in all - another blessing. If a person was so inclined you could look at this as a headache that screwed up a winter. We don't, we believe we're back here for a reason and everything is working out as it should be. We're spending time with friends and family and this is just another part of our "Excellent Adventure." We'll be back on the road soon and someplace out there we'll have a toast to the "$35,000 Painless Headache," after all it made the winter of 10/11 much more memorable.
Stay well, stay warm, be happy, and please leave us a note when you can.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Next Hurdle Cleared
One of our big concerns has been "Will My Drivers Licence Be Affected?" Visits with my doctors and the local licensing people has confirmed that I do not have any problems with my drivers licence. This is a huge relief for us. We had a fall back position figured out in case it had gone the other way. It was going to be expensive and we didn't want to do it unless we had to. WE DON'T.
Our next step is to get cleared by the Heart and Stroke Clinic, Feb 11th, and then we can try to find travel insurance. Hopefully we'll get it together in time to have at least a few more days days in Texas this spring.
I'm pretty well glued tight to the TV right now watching the situation develop in Egypt. It's exciting to watch history unfold in front of our eyes. At the same time it's not as much fun watching that turbulence drive the price of diesel fuel into the stratosphere. We may have to do a fund raiser to fuel our truck....it holds 240 gallons (900 liters) of fuel. At this rate, in Canada, we're close to $1000 to fill er up.
So we're hunkered down in Winnipeg riding out a cold cold winter. For our friends in S. Texas, it was -45 here this morning. I know you have a bit of cold coming but I'd trade you for this any time you want. Our friends condo is treating us really well and are so happy to have it.
We just had a great weekend looking after two of our Grandchildren. Huge fun and HUGE tired. At our age the kids certainly have more energy than we do and Bernie was fighting with a bad cold all weekend.. We enjoyed every minute of it and, of course, can't wait for next time. This grandparent stuff is fun, you know, "spoil the ______ out of them and leave." Mom and Dad can clean up the mess :-)
I really don't want to bore you with all the wonderful things we're seeing and doing outdoors right now, so I'll say adios amigos.
Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Our next step is to get cleared by the Heart and Stroke Clinic, Feb 11th, and then we can try to find travel insurance. Hopefully we'll get it together in time to have at least a few more days days in Texas this spring.
I'm pretty well glued tight to the TV right now watching the situation develop in Egypt. It's exciting to watch history unfold in front of our eyes. At the same time it's not as much fun watching that turbulence drive the price of diesel fuel into the stratosphere. We may have to do a fund raiser to fuel our truck....it holds 240 gallons (900 liters) of fuel. At this rate, in Canada, we're close to $1000 to fill er up.
So we're hunkered down in Winnipeg riding out a cold cold winter. For our friends in S. Texas, it was -45 here this morning. I know you have a bit of cold coming but I'd trade you for this any time you want. Our friends condo is treating us really well and are so happy to have it.
We just had a great weekend looking after two of our Grandchildren. Huge fun and HUGE tired. At our age the kids certainly have more energy than we do and Bernie was fighting with a bad cold all weekend.. We enjoyed every minute of it and, of course, can't wait for next time. This grandparent stuff is fun, you know, "spoil the ______ out of them and leave." Mom and Dad can clean up the mess :-)
I really don't want to bore you with all the wonderful things we're seeing and doing outdoors right now, so I'll say adios amigos.
Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Saturday, January 22, 2011
When Life Throws You A Lemon - Make Lemonade
Or - in our case make a "Snowman."
On New Years Eve we caught a lemon in the form of a TIA (mini stroke) that put me in the hospital for a couple of days in McAllen TX. Three days later the insurance company called to exercise their "prior conditions" clause and told me I had no insurance if another one was to happen. They offered to fly us home as long as we got out of the US within 48 hrs. Apparently once you have one of these you can be susceptible to a second one, in the first month or two, and we couldn't take that chance. So it was a hectic couple of days but thanks to huge support from our friends at Tropic Star we got out in just over 48 hrs.
The help we were got down there was amazing. From the moment we got home from the hospital, even in the hospital, there was a steady stream of people coming by with offers of help. We even had three couples offer us the use of their homes, one of which we ended up in. A nearly new, very clean, well decorated condo here in Winnipeg, with a heated underground parking stall. Bernie and I were overwhelmed by the support we were offered and given. Do you remember the old saying "you find out who your friends are when the chips are down." We knew we liked Tropic Star and especially the people there but we had no idea how many friends we have in the park. To any of you that may read this "Thank You, we'll see you back there ASAP."
So now - making lemonade.
We were so blessed in this for many reasons. 1) Friends, 2) It wasn't a major stroke, 3) There was no long term damage, 4) It could have been fatal, 5) The support we got, 6) We had family to come home to, 7) We're in a nice warm condo, and I could go on and on. So Bernie and I do feel we were blessed. I got a wake up call with no ongoing effects and it just doesn't get any better than that.
My GP here is a super lady who has taken the lead on it. She has me into The Heart and Stroke Clinic in a couple of weeks, she's done all the tests, and now she gets to sort through the data collected. We meet with her next week to get the results. Of course this pinched nerve that has caused me all kinds of trouble still has to be dealt with. Our ex neighbour is a physiotherapist who has worked miracles on it already. He has achieved more in two visits that we could have ever hoped for. He`ll have me back on the dance floor in no time. His name is Charles - another blessing.
Of course we have been able to spend some time with our kids and grandchildren - another blessing.
As you can imagine we didn't envision this as part of our ``Full Time RV Adventure.`` A friend of mine always says "Just Another Bump In Life's Road." That's how Bernie and I are feeling about this. We'll get our RV back in about three months and we'll be on our way once again. Not a wall, just a bump.
Sorry I can't post pictures of all the warm and exciting things we're seeing. I will post some winter shots when I can -- but at -35 and colder, I am NOT going outside to take them.
Stay well, stay warm, be happy, and please leave a comment when you can.
On New Years Eve we caught a lemon in the form of a TIA (mini stroke) that put me in the hospital for a couple of days in McAllen TX. Three days later the insurance company called to exercise their "prior conditions" clause and told me I had no insurance if another one was to happen. They offered to fly us home as long as we got out of the US within 48 hrs. Apparently once you have one of these you can be susceptible to a second one, in the first month or two, and we couldn't take that chance. So it was a hectic couple of days but thanks to huge support from our friends at Tropic Star we got out in just over 48 hrs.
The help we were got down there was amazing. From the moment we got home from the hospital, even in the hospital, there was a steady stream of people coming by with offers of help. We even had three couples offer us the use of their homes, one of which we ended up in. A nearly new, very clean, well decorated condo here in Winnipeg, with a heated underground parking stall. Bernie and I were overwhelmed by the support we were offered and given. Do you remember the old saying "you find out who your friends are when the chips are down." We knew we liked Tropic Star and especially the people there but we had no idea how many friends we have in the park. To any of you that may read this "Thank You, we'll see you back there ASAP."
So now - making lemonade.
We were so blessed in this for many reasons. 1) Friends, 2) It wasn't a major stroke, 3) There was no long term damage, 4) It could have been fatal, 5) The support we got, 6) We had family to come home to, 7) We're in a nice warm condo, and I could go on and on. So Bernie and I do feel we were blessed. I got a wake up call with no ongoing effects and it just doesn't get any better than that.
My GP here is a super lady who has taken the lead on it. She has me into The Heart and Stroke Clinic in a couple of weeks, she's done all the tests, and now she gets to sort through the data collected. We meet with her next week to get the results. Of course this pinched nerve that has caused me all kinds of trouble still has to be dealt with. Our ex neighbour is a physiotherapist who has worked miracles on it already. He has achieved more in two visits that we could have ever hoped for. He`ll have me back on the dance floor in no time. His name is Charles - another blessing.
Of course we have been able to spend some time with our kids and grandchildren - another blessing.
As you can imagine we didn't envision this as part of our ``Full Time RV Adventure.`` A friend of mine always says "Just Another Bump In Life's Road." That's how Bernie and I are feeling about this. We'll get our RV back in about three months and we'll be on our way once again. Not a wall, just a bump.
Sorry I can't post pictures of all the warm and exciting things we're seeing. I will post some winter shots when I can -- but at -35 and colder, I am NOT going outside to take them.
Stay well, stay warm, be happy, and please leave a comment when you can.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Goodbye 2010, Here's To 2011
HAPPY NEW YEAR
2010 has moved off into the sunset as the sun rises on 2011. Many many folks are glad to see that one fade off into history. For us we're sort of sad to see it go because 2010 was "The Year" we started on our "Excellent Adventure." It had it's hurdles but we are truly blessed to be able to do this.
Posts to our blog have been a little scarce for the last couple of months because we haven't been on the road. We're enjoying S. Texas and the warmth of it's climate and people. Bernie actually had a person (another customer in a cashier line up) thank her for coming to spend our winter in the valley.
We're pretty sure there are fewer people down here this winter and the merchants are feeling it. The Christmas madhouse was the same as every other year. Getting to a mall is impossible from mid December to Christmas because the Mexican rush is just overwhelming. We were listening to a Mexican businessman doing a presentation last week here in our park. He owns businesses on both sides of the border but lives in Mexico. He told us that the La Plaza Mall, about 10 minutes from us, is the highest grossing (per sq ft) mall in N. America. I wasn't sure I bought that but I can tell you from experience it's not Texans or Snowbirds that make it that busy. The place is just packed solid with Mexican plates and some places do not have any English speaking staff. The airport is next door so the private planes come and go by the dozen and they certainly aren't coming from this side of the border. Singles, twins, business jets, all lined up and gone shopping at the mall. It's actually quite amazing. Simply stepping into some of those shops causes our Visa Card to go into cardiac arrest. Yet as as you walk the mall you'll see ladies with bags and bags of stuff from those stores. Mexico may be a third world country, and they do have their problems, but we certainly see the other side of that coin in December every year. Some say it's all drug money, who knows, I just know there lots of it.
Friends Ken and Doreen Broughton (each end of the table in the picture) invited us to their home for Christmas dinner. There were 15 Canucks there and we had a wonderful time. The guys did their normal guy stuff, while the ladies teared up for the kids we were all missing so very much. After eating way tooooo much we had some fun at the card table and went home to figure out how to loose these extra Christmas pounds.
New Years Eve was supposed to be spent at the park clubhouse with a top notch country & western band. Unfortunatley I was under the weather and we had to miss it.
In my last post I mentioned a pinched nerve that was causing me some trouble and it still is. Things are improving and hopefully we'll get to do a little dancing before we hit the road on March 1st. Bernie is doing a great job of looking after me (read as - putting up with me) and although I'm going stir crazy we're doing ok.
January looks like a pretty busy month. We have so much to do and so many people to see that there just doesn't seem to be enought time. This happens every year. We were with some friends, in Mexico, yesterday and he said to me " you leave in just two months." It seems amazing but our winter is already half over and we've got sooooo much left to do. This retirement thing is just too much work :-) :-) :-)
We're working on our route for the Texas to BC trip now. I can't figure our how to do all the things we want so we're modifying the plan to do a bit less and enjoy the ride. It's a work in progress but at this time it looks like a couple of days around the Big Bend National Park here in Texas http://ca.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=slv8-hptb6&va=big+bend+national+park
Then we'll move on to Roswell area of New Mexico. This is a serious "must do" for me as a UFO lovin kind of guy. I rode the UFO highway a few years ago on a motorcycle trip but I want to go back and stay awhile. You know - once again walk the sacred ground of the UFO World Headquarters, the only place on earth they have done autopsies on real life (dead) aliens. Bernie and the kids all think I've completely lost my marbles, and now you do to, but I run with it and have fun bringing UFO's up at every possible opportunity. :-) http://www.roswellufofestival.com/
From there over to Arizona for a few days, then Nevada for a week around Vegas, Hoover Dam, Death Valley, and they a nice long slow ride to Vancouver, Calgary, and back to Winnipeg by ??????????? I just found out the Heavy Duty Truck/RV Rally is in Nebraska on Oct. 16th and Bernie really wants to be there. http://hdtrally.com/ Now -- if you believe Bernie wants to be at a HD Truck Rally, I have a great piece of land down in Florida you might want to consider. There just isn't enough time and since we don't want to overstay our welcome in the US of A we have to do some more planning.
Speaking of time, I think I need to close this one, Bernie is headed for the gym and I have work to do.
Have a great day, thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.
Posts to our blog have been a little scarce for the last couple of months because we haven't been on the road. We're enjoying S. Texas and the warmth of it's climate and people. Bernie actually had a person (another customer in a cashier line up) thank her for coming to spend our winter in the valley.
We're pretty sure there are fewer people down here this winter and the merchants are feeling it. The Christmas madhouse was the same as every other year. Getting to a mall is impossible from mid December to Christmas because the Mexican rush is just overwhelming. We were listening to a Mexican businessman doing a presentation last week here in our park. He owns businesses on both sides of the border but lives in Mexico. He told us that the La Plaza Mall, about 10 minutes from us, is the highest grossing (per sq ft) mall in N. America. I wasn't sure I bought that but I can tell you from experience it's not Texans or Snowbirds that make it that busy. The place is just packed solid with Mexican plates and some places do not have any English speaking staff. The airport is next door so the private planes come and go by the dozen and they certainly aren't coming from this side of the border. Singles, twins, business jets, all lined up and gone shopping at the mall. It's actually quite amazing. Simply stepping into some of those shops causes our Visa Card to go into cardiac arrest. Yet as as you walk the mall you'll see ladies with bags and bags of stuff from those stores. Mexico may be a third world country, and they do have their problems, but we certainly see the other side of that coin in December every year. Some say it's all drug money, who knows, I just know there lots of it.
Friends Ken and Doreen Broughton (each end of the table in the picture) invited us to their home for Christmas dinner. There were 15 Canucks there and we had a wonderful time. The guys did their normal guy stuff, while the ladies teared up for the kids we were all missing so very much. After eating way tooooo much we had some fun at the card table and went home to figure out how to loose these extra Christmas pounds.
New Years Eve was supposed to be spent at the park clubhouse with a top notch country & western band. Unfortunatley I was under the weather and we had to miss it.
In my last post I mentioned a pinched nerve that was causing me some trouble and it still is. Things are improving and hopefully we'll get to do a little dancing before we hit the road on March 1st. Bernie is doing a great job of looking after me (read as - putting up with me) and although I'm going stir crazy we're doing ok.
January looks like a pretty busy month. We have so much to do and so many people to see that there just doesn't seem to be enought time. This happens every year. We were with some friends, in Mexico, yesterday and he said to me " you leave in just two months." It seems amazing but our winter is already half over and we've got sooooo much left to do. This retirement thing is just too much work :-) :-) :-)
We're working on our route for the Texas to BC trip now. I can't figure our how to do all the things we want so we're modifying the plan to do a bit less and enjoy the ride. It's a work in progress but at this time it looks like a couple of days around the Big Bend National Park here in Texas http://ca.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=slv8-hptb6&va=big+bend+national+park
Then we'll move on to Roswell area of New Mexico. This is a serious "must do" for me as a UFO lovin kind of guy. I rode the UFO highway a few years ago on a motorcycle trip but I want to go back and stay awhile. You know - once again walk the sacred ground of the UFO World Headquarters, the only place on earth they have done autopsies on real life (dead) aliens. Bernie and the kids all think I've completely lost my marbles, and now you do to, but I run with it and have fun bringing UFO's up at every possible opportunity. :-) http://www.roswellufofestival.com/
From there over to Arizona for a few days, then Nevada for a week around Vegas, Hoover Dam, Death Valley, and they a nice long slow ride to Vancouver, Calgary, and back to Winnipeg by ??????????? I just found out the Heavy Duty Truck/RV Rally is in Nebraska on Oct. 16th and Bernie really wants to be there. http://hdtrally.com/ Now -- if you believe Bernie wants to be at a HD Truck Rally, I have a great piece of land down in Florida you might want to consider. There just isn't enough time and since we don't want to overstay our welcome in the US of A we have to do some more planning.
Speaking of time, I think I need to close this one, Bernie is headed for the gym and I have work to do.
Have a great day, thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
South Texas, Great Month
We're now at three weeks in the Rio Grande Valley and it couldn't be better. Of course the weather is the best part with daytime temperatures reaching into the high 80's, even low 90's, and nights down in the 60's or high 50's. How could we ask for more, there hasn't been a drop of rain since we got here, and Amber, no SNOW either.
Most of our friends are here now in fact some are already leaving. Many of our American friends leave to go home for Thanksgiving, next weekend, and stay there for Christmas. So this week the Winter Texan crowd thins a bit until after next weekend and then there is a big influx. After Christmas and New Years everyone arrives in force. All 1.3 million of us are here for a couple of months and then it thins out again until the end of March when it's pretty well done for another year. The locals like that time best, they get their valley back, the lineups are gone, the prices come back down and life is good again.
We're having fun with the birds this year. I bought a cheap bag of bird seed and hung a feeder out back, along with a clear plastic plant pot holder (water catcher) that I filled with a few small rocks and fresh water. We have birds like crazy and they seem to love to bathe in the plastic pot holder. Ever seen a woodpecker take a bath? We hadn't either but he did a couple of days ago. I think it's the same one I wanted to execute a couple of winters back when he was eating our house. He survived that winter and paid us back this winter by taking a bath in our little bird bath. Of course we get sparrows grabbing a free meal but they have to eat to. There are some pretty neat birds showing up that we don't see at home and I certainly can't name. Bernie and I were walking a week or so ago and came across a flock of wild parrots. We have been told they're here from time to time but that was our first sighting.
A pinched nerve in my back and the consequnces of it are keeping me off of the dance floor and even walking is a chore. Bernie is having to go at that all alone. I think it's improving but it is turning into quite an ordeal.
Monday we'll be taking our first trip into Mexico. There only seems to be one safe place anymore, which happens to be Progresso, our favourite anyway. We're going down, with Bob and Lynn, for our favourite lunch at The Red Snapper and doing a couple of touristy things. Things are pretty ugly along the border these days so we'll be sticking to the busy streets and main street shops. I don't think there is a day goes by that the local paper doesn't have a story about Mexican violence. We had a guy from U.S. Boarder patrol at our meeting on Thursday morning. He went to great lengths to explain to us the W5 of this whole mess. He certainly didn't have the answers. Since we're only 5 miles form the border and an International Bridge/crossing point it is on everyone's mind quite a bit. Since it's all drug and drug cartel related it doesn't have much effect on anyone local. It just keeps us from enjoying Mexico the way we should be able to.
We have to go early tomorrow so we can get back in time for "Dancing with the Stars." I give in, and force myself, to watch it with Bernie every week. I just detest :-) having to watch those female dancers and their terrible costumes, but you know how it is, "Happy Wife, Happy Life." Speaking of this, how about that Bristol Palin? Can that girl dance or what...... :-) Do you think politics might be involved here ???????????? I love it. Since I plan to spend about 7 hours watching two CFL games tomorrow I can hardly complain.
We had our truck into Freightliner last week to run a couple of test. It looks like we need a new throttle position sensor which I'll install myself. I have no idea what a throttle position sensor is or where it sits in the truck, but Darcy our from Integrity Diesel in Steinbach is once again coaching me through the process. I'd be sooooo lost without him. I'll post the results here, you'll be the first to know.
I broke the signal light lever on the Smart car a week ago tonight. Mercedes Benz has offered to tow it to San Antonio ($600+) so we can have a new one installed. The problem is the nearest new one is in Germany (so they say) and can't be here until Dec. 28th or later. Interesting........tow the car, sit on it for 6 weeks, hope the part comes in, leave the customer hung out to dry. Great service, great warranty, just no parts. Seems to me that if they really gave a _______ about their customer that part would have been on an a plane to Texas a few days ago. In the interim we're strengthening our left arm and it works out OK.
We're off to the McAllen Concert Hall tonight to watch a brass and strings band from Dallas. They come highly recommended so it should be fun.
Thanks for stopping by and do leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Most of our friends are here now in fact some are already leaving. Many of our American friends leave to go home for Thanksgiving, next weekend, and stay there for Christmas. So this week the Winter Texan crowd thins a bit until after next weekend and then there is a big influx. After Christmas and New Years everyone arrives in force. All 1.3 million of us are here for a couple of months and then it thins out again until the end of March when it's pretty well done for another year. The locals like that time best, they get their valley back, the lineups are gone, the prices come back down and life is good again.
We're having fun with the birds this year. I bought a cheap bag of bird seed and hung a feeder out back, along with a clear plastic plant pot holder (water catcher) that I filled with a few small rocks and fresh water. We have birds like crazy and they seem to love to bathe in the plastic pot holder. Ever seen a woodpecker take a bath? We hadn't either but he did a couple of days ago. I think it's the same one I wanted to execute a couple of winters back when he was eating our house. He survived that winter and paid us back this winter by taking a bath in our little bird bath. Of course we get sparrows grabbing a free meal but they have to eat to. There are some pretty neat birds showing up that we don't see at home and I certainly can't name. Bernie and I were walking a week or so ago and came across a flock of wild parrots. We have been told they're here from time to time but that was our first sighting.
The picture is from S. Padre Island. Kind of a nice beach.
A pinched nerve in my back and the consequnces of it are keeping me off of the dance floor and even walking is a chore. Bernie is having to go at that all alone. I think it's improving but it is turning into quite an ordeal.
Monday we'll be taking our first trip into Mexico. There only seems to be one safe place anymore, which happens to be Progresso, our favourite anyway. We're going down, with Bob and Lynn, for our favourite lunch at The Red Snapper and doing a couple of touristy things. Things are pretty ugly along the border these days so we'll be sticking to the busy streets and main street shops. I don't think there is a day goes by that the local paper doesn't have a story about Mexican violence. We had a guy from U.S. Boarder patrol at our meeting on Thursday morning. He went to great lengths to explain to us the W5 of this whole mess. He certainly didn't have the answers. Since we're only 5 miles form the border and an International Bridge/crossing point it is on everyone's mind quite a bit. Since it's all drug and drug cartel related it doesn't have much effect on anyone local. It just keeps us from enjoying Mexico the way we should be able to.
We have to go early tomorrow so we can get back in time for "Dancing with the Stars." I give in, and force myself, to watch it with Bernie every week. I just detest :-) having to watch those female dancers and their terrible costumes, but you know how it is, "Happy Wife, Happy Life." Speaking of this, how about that Bristol Palin? Can that girl dance or what...... :-) Do you think politics might be involved here ???????????? I love it. Since I plan to spend about 7 hours watching two CFL games tomorrow I can hardly complain.
We had our truck into Freightliner last week to run a couple of test. It looks like we need a new throttle position sensor which I'll install myself. I have no idea what a throttle position sensor is or where it sits in the truck, but Darcy our from Integrity Diesel in Steinbach is once again coaching me through the process. I'd be sooooo lost without him. I'll post the results here, you'll be the first to know.
I broke the signal light lever on the Smart car a week ago tonight. Mercedes Benz has offered to tow it to San Antonio ($600+) so we can have a new one installed. The problem is the nearest new one is in Germany (so they say) and can't be here until Dec. 28th or later. Interesting........tow the car, sit on it for 6 weeks, hope the part comes in, leave the customer hung out to dry. Great service, great warranty, just no parts. Seems to me that if they really gave a _______ about their customer that part would have been on an a plane to Texas a few days ago. In the interim we're strengthening our left arm and it works out OK.
We're off to the McAllen Concert Hall tonight to watch a brass and strings band from Dallas. They come highly recommended so it should be fun.
Thanks for stopping by and do leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Settled in for the winter
Greetings from Pharr, TX., where we HAVE to run the air conditioner every day :-)
We've been here a week now and have things pretty well organized. It took a few days to wash the trailer, car, and truck, to refill the fridge, and rest up a bit. Now it's time to get down to the serious business of happy hours, dinners with friends, exercising, going to the pool, stained glass class, gym, shopping, (Bernie's all alone on that one) going to the ocean, and on and on. We're already back to trying to figure out how to fit it all into our schedule.
I have inserted a link (above) that will take you to some pictures if you're interested. The picture I inserted here is to show where we set up our 5r for the winter. We picked out this lot last fall and planned to be here if the 5r would fit and it did. That tree to the left is an orange tree that provides me a with a nice fresh, sweet, orange for my breakfast every day. I only pick them in the AM so they can fresh and cool for breakfast. Sucks to be us...... :-)
We have had a great week although the first few days were all catch up. You wouldn't believe the road grime we had to take off of the 5r from two weeks on the road. We didn't have any rain at all on the way down but we sure did have tons of road grime to wash off. We got the fridge stocked, the flowers planted, the grass seeded, the stretch mat down, the bird feeder up, the bird bath down, and now we get to start all of the fun things.
Today we start our dance classes once again. Friends/dance teachers Bob and Lynn (picture in the link above) are ready to take us on for the fourth straight year so we're good to go. We haven't danced a step in 7 months so it will take a couple of lessons to get our legs back. Bernie has been going to the gym, we've been walking, I have my bicycle all tuned up, so we plan to leave here in better shape than we are now.
Last Sunday Bob and Lynn took us to the "Shrimp Festival" in Brownsville/Port Isabelle. It's quite an experience. Imagine a huge area fenced in by a few dozen booths and inside each booth some restaurant or company is trying to get you to try their "Best Shrimp Dish." In the center is a huge tent, holding a few hundred people, with a really good band blasting music from the 50's, 60's, 70's (they know the target market down here), the beverages are very cold, the sun is very hot, and nobody even mentions the swear word "calories." Following way too many samples we went to a local eatery for some of the best shrimp Bernie and I have ever found. This place uses some kind of spice in the batter of their butterfly shrimp that makes me drool, I could go back every day. Fortunatelyy it's an hour away and we only go twice each winter. Of course we have to follow it up with Italian Ice Cream from the shop on S. Padre Island.
From the restaurant we drove to S. Padre Island, for the previously mentioned ice cream. There was a kite competition going on with every imaginable kind of kite in the air. The wind here makes it a great spot for the sport. Friends of Bob and Lynn just won a "World Championship" for precision flying. They, along with three others, compete with small kites and fly them (8 of them) in precision maneuvers. Teams come from Canada, Australia, and Europe to compete. There are kites as big as cars, (see picture of fish kite in the link) kites of all shapes (see dog and bone in the link) and hundreds more. It's an experience.
So that's about it for today. I have to go and pick that fresh orange for breakfast, put on a pot of coffee, and wake my bride. She likes to wake up to the smell of fresh coffee and I like to make it for her.
Have a great day, thanks for stopping by, and please do leave a comment when you can.
Neal
Monday, November 1, 2010
Black Hills SD, Oklahoma City OK, Pharr TX
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It's nice to be settled down for a few months after a really amazing trip. As I mentioned before we really enjoyed SD's Badlands and the Black Hills were beautiful. We only stayed in the area for five days but we'll certainly be back and hopefully for a couple of weeks. We had no idea what was there and were just awe struck with what we found. I'd bet next weeks food budget we'll be slowly riding The Needles Highway on next summer's motorcycle tour. If you've been there you know what I mean, if you haven't seen it get going.
We left SD for Oklahoma City for a few days of sight seeing and visiting with our friends Jim and Lois McDowell. They treated us like royalty and we had a great time. Thank you both so much.
We spent almost an entire afternoon at The Cowboy Museum. We went there expecting to see lots of hats, boots, and shiney buckles. NOT. It would be easy to spend a couple of days in the museum, and it could be a very educational experience. The history one can see and learn there is unbelievable. I really enjoyed looking at the clothing, and weapons used by the US Army/Calvary dating back to the early 1800's. They have all kinds of original eqipment, no reproductions, saddles, rifles, clothing, and on and on. From there it moves forward through history right up to the current rodeo stars.
There is one entire section dedicated to movie equipment and the stars that used wore it. As an example, I really enjoyed the movie "Quigley Down Under" and now Tom Selleck has donated a huge amount of the gear he used shooting the movie to the museum. Yes - I did get to see a pair of Roy Rogers cowboy boots :-).
There is a ton of Native American history in there as well. Bernie and I were blown away when we looked at a giant map of N. America that showed the dozens and dozens of different tribes that inhabited our entire continent and the general areas they lived on.
There's a bunch of information on the buffalo herds and how they were hunted to the verge of etinction. One comment that stuck in my head was an interview a Eastern newspaper did with a buffalo hunter who claimed to have shot 18000 (yes) buffalo by himself that week. Just that one hunter. The whole thing is mind blowing when taken in todays context.
Jim and Lois took us the the Oklahoma Memorial which is another amazing experience. You stand there, on the very spot where 168 people died, in a split second, 15 years ago, and try to comprehend the magnitude of the event. The memorial itself is an almost difficult experience. It's beautiful, it's humbling, it's overwhelming, you can't help being touched when you see it. For those that haven't seen it; they have set it up with brass and glass illuminated chairs, one chair for each victim. To see 168 chairs lined up by the floor of the building they were on that terrible morning is tough enough, then you realize that the wee little chairs are for the children that died that day. Will we go back? No, it's a tough one. Are we glad we saw it? Yes.
So here we are at Tropic Star in Pharr for the fourth winter. We were able to get on a lot we had picked out last spring and it's really nice. We have a couple of palm trees out front, an orange tree at the front door, and a couple of huge __?__ trees out back. Some of our friends are here and more are arriving all the time so it should be a fun winter. Our neighbour to the back has been coming here for 33 years, is 86 years old, and just as spry as can be. I was hanging a bird feeder tonight and he was out there telling me what kind of seed I should be using, before he invited us over for a drink. Neat people. The good news is I finally found someone that is more deaf than I am. Ya, ya, ya, I know he's 86.
We talked to Bob and Lynn, our friends and dance instructors, tonight and it looks like we'll be "Dancing Wth The Stars" (in my dreams) in a few days.
Gotta go, thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Bad Lands and Black Hills
Our first visit to the badlands and Black Hills of S. Dakota. What a mistake we've made having all of this so close to our home and never visiting it until after we retired.
Winnipeg and Canada faded off in the rear view mirror last Sat. and we've been doing the "Tourist Thing" for a few days now. We started off with a couple of nights of no services camping in Fargo ND, and Pierrre SD, to see if we could manage fully self contained. Everything went perfectly so we know now we can easily survive for 2 or 3 days without services. It was much easier than either of us anticiated.
What could easily have been a one day drive in the car took us three and we're now set up just outside of Rapid City S. Dakota. Over the next few days we're going to see all of the things we came here to see, especially Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We spent a few hours yesterday driving the Badlands and did the obligatory "Wall Drug" visit. The Badlands are pretty neat. Of course we've all seen pictures but they really are more impressive than the pictures can ever show.
We unloaded the car for the first time, on the road by ourselves, last night. It was fun, Some people from Alaska are parked next to us with their teenage son. The father and son were all over it. Some hunters parked down at the other end brought beverages and, to quote them, "came down for the entertainment." People across the lane got out their chairs and a table and sat down to watch. Happily everything worked flawlessly.
I read another "full timer's" blog and they use his 222 rule in their travels. I'm starting to think I like it. 222 means 2 people, travel 2 hours, and stay 2 days. :-) I must be getting old or maybe it's lazy, either way I like it. So we're here for at least 2 days before we head to Oklahoma City for Monday/Tues. next week.
We'll post a bunch of pictures on Picasa once we leave here but for now I thought you might enjoy "Bernie and the singing Gorilla" from Wall Drug.
Gotta go, thanks for keeping tabs on us and please leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Winnipeg and Canada faded off in the rear view mirror last Sat. and we've been doing the "Tourist Thing" for a few days now. We started off with a couple of nights of no services camping in Fargo ND, and Pierrre SD, to see if we could manage fully self contained. Everything went perfectly so we know now we can easily survive for 2 or 3 days without services. It was much easier than either of us anticiated.
What could easily have been a one day drive in the car took us three and we're now set up just outside of Rapid City S. Dakota. Over the next few days we're going to see all of the things we came here to see, especially Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We spent a few hours yesterday driving the Badlands and did the obligatory "Wall Drug" visit. The Badlands are pretty neat. Of course we've all seen pictures but they really are more impressive than the pictures can ever show.
We unloaded the car for the first time, on the road by ourselves, last night. It was fun, Some people from Alaska are parked next to us with their teenage son. The father and son were all over it. Some hunters parked down at the other end brought beverages and, to quote them, "came down for the entertainment." People across the lane got out their chairs and a table and sat down to watch. Happily everything worked flawlessly.
I read another "full timer's" blog and they use his 222 rule in their travels. I'm starting to think I like it. 222 means 2 people, travel 2 hours, and stay 2 days. :-) I must be getting old or maybe it's lazy, either way I like it. So we're here for at least 2 days before we head to Oklahoma City for Monday/Tues. next week.
We'll post a bunch of pictures on Picasa once we leave here but for now I thought you might enjoy "Bernie and the singing Gorilla" from Wall Drug.
Gotta go, thanks for keeping tabs on us and please leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Smart car goes on
Yesterday was the big day, we did our first "test" load of "Little Squirt" on the back of "My Way."
Yes we have named the Freightliner "My Way." Seems a few people think I have a stubborn streak in me and "My Way" seemed appropriate. So it's a done deal. My sister in law, Norma, suggested Samu because the truck reminds her of a big white whale but "My Way" won out.
On our travels I'll be watching for one of those charcoal artists. When I find one I like we're going to have him/her do a charcoal sketch of a semi with smoke pouring off of oversize tires etc. I'll use that to make a big decal with "My way" incorpoated into it for the back of the sleeper. Just a bit of fun. Bernie thinks I've completely lost it. She's probably right.
For the first loading we winched the car up and it worked fine but it's a slow process. I decided to drive it off and then drove it back on again to see if that was a viable solution. Turns out that driving it on worked just fine although it is a bit nerve wracking. Once I work out a couple of bugs I think the normal course of action will be to use the winch. The winch has to he mounted higher and further out for ongoing use. Once we had it up there we realized the angles were too sharp (down,) because the winch was mounted low to the deck. A minor hitch we plan to correct on Wed.
Darcy Brown, the owner of Integrity Venture (diesel) in Steinbach, MB, has put his heart into making this work, and making it something we would be proud of. We Are. He and his technician "Alex" have worked tirelessly to make it happen. Darcy put Integrity into his business name to represent the style of work and business he wanted to own. He's achieved it and I happily recommend them for any kind of diesel mechanic work you may need.
Since this is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada we're on hold until Tuesday morning. We have an appointment for some decals on Tuesday morning. Wed afternoon we're going back to the builders for a couple of touch ups, Thursday is a "wash em up" day, Friday is "pack em up," for a Sat departure to the Black Hills of South Dakota and South.
It's been seven months since Bernie and I decided to do this and we'll be on the road a week from today. If you're the praying type please think about us on Sat morning.
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS.
Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment when you can.
Neal and Bernie
Yes we have named the Freightliner "My Way." Seems a few people think I have a stubborn streak in me and "My Way" seemed appropriate. So it's a done deal. My sister in law, Norma, suggested Samu because the truck reminds her of a big white whale but "My Way" won out.
On our travels I'll be watching for one of those charcoal artists. When I find one I like we're going to have him/her do a charcoal sketch of a semi with smoke pouring off of oversize tires etc. I'll use that to make a big decal with "My way" incorpoated into it for the back of the sleeper. Just a bit of fun. Bernie thinks I've completely lost it. She's probably right.
For the first loading we winched the car up and it worked fine but it's a slow process. I decided to drive it off and then drove it back on again to see if that was a viable solution. Turns out that driving it on worked just fine although it is a bit nerve wracking. Once I work out a couple of bugs I think the normal course of action will be to use the winch. The winch has to he mounted higher and further out for ongoing use. Once we had it up there we realized the angles were too sharp (down,) because the winch was mounted low to the deck. A minor hitch we plan to correct on Wed.
Darcy Brown, the owner of Integrity Venture (diesel) in Steinbach, MB, has put his heart into making this work, and making it something we would be proud of. We Are. He and his technician "Alex" have worked tirelessly to make it happen. Darcy put Integrity into his business name to represent the style of work and business he wanted to own. He's achieved it and I happily recommend them for any kind of diesel mechanic work you may need.
Since this is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada we're on hold until Tuesday morning. We have an appointment for some decals on Tuesday morning. Wed afternoon we're going back to the builders for a couple of touch ups, Thursday is a "wash em up" day, Friday is "pack em up," for a Sat departure to the Black Hills of South Dakota and South.
It's been seven months since Bernie and I decided to do this and we'll be on the road a week from today. If you're the praying type please think about us on Sat morning.
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS.
Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment when you can.
Neal and Bernie
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
"Little Squirt" the Smart Car has arrived
It's Sunday morning and the temperature is -2 (C) which is about 28 for all of our American friends. I have a hot cup of tea and decided to announce the arrival of "Little Squirt," our little white Smart Car.The picture shows her just before we took her outside for her maiden trip from Regina to Winnipeg. Standing beside her is Len Halgerson of Dilawri Acura in Regina. Len has just started his new career in automobile sales and based on the great job he did for us I suspect he will enjoy a ton of success.
I drove Little Squirt, back from Regina to Winnipeg in howling winds and pouring rain. She handles much better than anticipated. The transmission takes a bit of getting used to but overall I was very impressed. With her huge 1000cc (61 cubic inch), 70 HP, three cylinder engine, :-) I didn't expect much in terms of power or performance. It surprised me, and a few other people, on the highway as we drove home. Admittedly we won't be setting any land speed records but she is competent at highway speeds with far far better handling than a couple of other small cars I have owned. Bernie has had a few experiences with it now and she's getting the hang of it quickly.
We expect to have a ton of fun with Little Squirt. She will likely see more of N. America than the average Smart Car, but most of those miles will be while she rides around on her big brothers back. Speaking of which we need a name for her big brother and your suggestions would be appreciated. So far we're just calling it The Freightliner which really doesn't cut it.
We have another appointment Tuesday with our bed builder and expect to be able to load Squirt on the Freightliner around the end of this coming week.
With nighttime temperatures now hovering around the freezing mark we may be headed South sooner than we planned. It may be old age but whatever it is I just don't like this weather. If we had the truck finished we'd be "GONE."
We picked up Squirt on our way back from Vancouver to Winnipeg. We were gone for just over two weeks and had a great trip. The family time was awesome and there is nothing, anywhere, more impressive than the drive from Vancouver to Calgary. I've driven the road a few times starting in 1964 and although the road has improved, a lot, the Rockies are unchanged and majestic as ever. If you haven't made that drive yet make sure it gets on your "bucket" list. People come from around the world to drive the Canadian Rockies and "it's worth the trip."
That's all we have for now, thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment when you can.
Neal
PS: Don't forget, and don't be shy, naming suggestions for Squirt's big brother would be appreciated.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
5 Weeks To Go
The weather is getting cooler, it must be time to go South.
The truck is almost finished, the loading ramps are in from way down South, and Integrity Ventures (Diesel) in Steinbach, MB. are working on the finishing touches. We should be ready to go by mid Oct.
We're actively shopping for our Smart Car now and plan to be able to test load it in a couple of weeks. Fortunately for us there are plenty of them available and we're shopping from Vanc. to Winnipeg. The new ones are soooo tempting, they have four years warranty, and there are year end discounts on them right now. Problem is I suffer from "old and cheap syndrome" --- but Bernie doesn't and we'll get it figured out.
We decided to go S. to Texas via the Black Hills and Bad Lands of S. Dakota, on to Okalhoma to spend a couple of days with some friends at their home, and then to Texas. We plan to be in "Tropic Star" by the 5th of Nov. in time for the "Shrimp Festival" on S. Padre Island. I not an expert by any stretch but the best shrimp I have ever eaten were on S. Padre Island. We've never been down there in time for the "Shrimp Festival" but we might be able to this year.
This will be the first trip we've made down there taking "ALL" the time we want. Every other time we drove down we were on some kind of a self imposed deadline but this time we'll take two or three weeks or more if we decide to. Staying in our 5r spending time with freinds and seeing the sights should make for a fun trip. I'm trying to plan the roads so we never touch a freeway, two lanes and small towns all the way, with lots of pictures posted here as often as I can.
August and Sept have been really nice, family oriented time. Colleeen, Tim and their family visited from Langely, Amber was in from Calgary, we had some great times at Leslie and John's cabin, and now we're on a road trip to Vancouver. We stopped in Regina for a couple of days with my brother Rick and his family, then on to Calgary for a few great days with Amber and my sister Jan and her family. Great times along the way and now we're with Colleen and Tim in Langley for a few days.
So that's kind of all there is, the posts should become much more regular as we begin to travel..
Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.
The truck is almost finished, the loading ramps are in from way down South, and Integrity Ventures (Diesel) in Steinbach, MB. are working on the finishing touches. We should be ready to go by mid Oct.
We're actively shopping for our Smart Car now and plan to be able to test load it in a couple of weeks. Fortunately for us there are plenty of them available and we're shopping from Vanc. to Winnipeg. The new ones are soooo tempting, they have four years warranty, and there are year end discounts on them right now. Problem is I suffer from "old and cheap syndrome" --- but Bernie doesn't and we'll get it figured out.
We decided to go S. to Texas via the Black Hills and Bad Lands of S. Dakota, on to Okalhoma to spend a couple of days with some friends at their home, and then to Texas. We plan to be in "Tropic Star" by the 5th of Nov. in time for the "Shrimp Festival" on S. Padre Island. I not an expert by any stretch but the best shrimp I have ever eaten were on S. Padre Island. We've never been down there in time for the "Shrimp Festival" but we might be able to this year.
This will be the first trip we've made down there taking "ALL" the time we want. Every other time we drove down we were on some kind of a self imposed deadline but this time we'll take two or three weeks or more if we decide to. Staying in our 5r spending time with freinds and seeing the sights should make for a fun trip. I'm trying to plan the roads so we never touch a freeway, two lanes and small towns all the way, with lots of pictures posted here as often as I can.
August and Sept have been really nice, family oriented time. Colleeen, Tim and their family visited from Langely, Amber was in from Calgary, we had some great times at Leslie and John's cabin, and now we're on a road trip to Vancouver. We stopped in Regina for a couple of days with my brother Rick and his family, then on to Calgary for a few great days with Amber and my sister Jan and her family. Great times along the way and now we're with Colleen and Tim in Langley for a few days.
So that's kind of all there is, the posts should become much more regular as we begin to travel..
Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Catching Up
We've past our first week as "full timers," and we spent most of it catching up on much needed sleep.
After two weeks of frantic go go go we're both happy to be sitting here doing absolutely nothing. Read a paper, a BBQ, a bit of sleep, beating Bernie at Scrabble (once in awhile), whatever. Just some time to rest up a touch.
We went, thanks to Rob, and watched the Blue Bombers stomp the Eskimos last Friday night. Great game. For our American friends the Blue Bombers are our local CFL (like the NFL) club and the Eskimos are a competing team from Edmonton Alberta. The NFL is a little bigger :-) than the CFL but it's the same concept.
We took the truck to the bed builder on Friday so work can begin on the Smart car deck. They were more than a bit surprised when I told him we were OK if they kept it for a month or so. Most of their customers want things back in an hour or two so we're a pleasant switch for them. The bed build is going to be an interesting project. It has to be decent looking but we aren't prepared to spend 20k making look good. I'm more interested in function but Bernie and I both want it to be nice. It's going to take some work because many others have spent that kind of $. and more.
Some folks we've met online at a "full timers" website are coming into the area next month and are planning to come by for a few days at our campground. That will be a first. Good friends from our park in Texas have invited us to bring the rv to their place in Oklahoma in the fall for a few days on our way South which will be another first. Two different friends in the Kelowna area have invited us to stay on their acreages when we get there in the spring, another first. Sooooo many friends, so little time. What a great problem. Thank you all.
After two weeks of frantic go go go we're both happy to be sitting here doing absolutely nothing. Read a paper, a BBQ, a bit of sleep, beating Bernie at Scrabble (once in awhile), whatever. Just some time to rest up a touch.
We went, thanks to Rob, and watched the Blue Bombers stomp the Eskimos last Friday night. Great game. For our American friends the Blue Bombers are our local CFL (like the NFL) club and the Eskimos are a competing team from Edmonton Alberta. The NFL is a little bigger :-) than the CFL but it's the same concept.
Colleen and Tim and their family arrived from Langley yesterday. We'll be spending some time driving to visit them at John and Leslie's place on Falcon Lake. Rob is coming out with his kids, & Brady is coming out with his girlfriend. Its will be a busy but fun week out there.
We took the truck to the bed builder on Friday so work can begin on the Smart car deck. They were more than a bit surprised when I told him we were OK if they kept it for a month or so. Most of their customers want things back in an hour or two so we're a pleasant switch for them. The bed build is going to be an interesting project. It has to be decent looking but we aren't prepared to spend 20k making look good. I'm more interested in function but Bernie and I both want it to be nice. It's going to take some work because many others have spent that kind of $. and more.
Some folks we've met online at a "full timers" website are coming into the area next month and are planning to come by for a few days at our campground. That will be a first. Good friends from our park in Texas have invited us to bring the rv to their place in Oklahoma in the fall for a few days on our way South which will be another first. Two different friends in the Kelowna area have invited us to stay on their acreages when we get there in the spring, another first. Sooooo many friends, so little time. What a great problem. Thank you all.
So, once again, thank you for reading our blog and please leave us a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
We're All In
Good morning,
So finally, after four months of hyper activity and many years of dreaming we're actually full time RV'ers.
When I say we're "All In," we really are. We're "All In" the RV, but we're "All In" physically as well. Trying to reduce our home to what we wanted in the RV and a 10' x 10' locker was a huge job all by itself. It's amazing how much stuff we had accumulated and how hard it is to find new homes for it. The MCC got a few loads, we sold some, the kids took some, and the trash can got quite a bit. I figure the kids owe us, we did a whole bunch of work they were going to have to do in a 20 or 30 years.
Sons, Brady and Rob, came over with Brady's truck and trailer to spend a few hours moving the big and heavy things for us which really, really, helped. Thanks guys.
We're staying in a small, but nice and clean, place just outside of Winnipeg called The Arrowhead RV Park www.arrowheadrvpark.ca .
There are still a multitude of things to get done before we head for Texas in October. All the little things like computer access, telephones, banking, mail, and on and on and on. We also have to get the truck finished, find a Smart car, sell our existing car, and win the lotto to pay for it all. No Problem.
We're thinking we'll drive to Texas via the South Dakota Badlands. Bernie and I have never been there, we'd like to see them, and of course we have to make a trip to Mount Rushmore at some time. This will be the first time we make the Texas trip without any kind of schedule. No schedule, ???????? I'm thinking I'll like it but after 40 years of meetings, appointments, and schedules who knows. I'll likely create some kind of a schedule before we get started and then PANIC if we get a day behind. Why change now?
We have reservations for a few days at Falcon Beach early next month. Colleen and her family are coming in from Langley to spend a week out there at John and Leslie's cabin. We made a reservation at the local campground but we're afraid the lots are too small and we won't fit. So we decided to take a day trip to the lake today to check it out. Once I see it we'll determine if we move the RV or stay here and commute for the week. It's an hour each way. Not bad, kind of like driving to work in Vancouver. To our friends on the West Coast, I think of you often, especially your commutes. :-)
Then it will be time to get to work on building the bed for the truck. There is a 50/50 chance we're going to get the motorcycle on there with the Smart car. It really is down to a matter of 2 or 3 inches and we won't know until the bed builder gets to work on it. I have the plan all laid out and it boils down to the build. He has to be able to make it strong, and I want it heavy, so there is no way it (bed and car) can come loose and move forward in the event we have an unexpected stop. That could sort of spoil our plans.
It would be pretty neat to have both of them up there and we could have some good fun with the bike. I really want to ride in the hills of San Francisco, and at some point I want to ride through Manhattan and Central Park. Riding those two spots is on my bucket list and it must be done. No I don't have brain damage, it just looks like it. Driving them in a Smart car just wouldn't be the same.
So that's it for now, I have to go and schedule :-) our trip to Falcon Beach.
Thanks for reading our blog and do leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
So finally, after four months of hyper activity and many years of dreaming we're actually full time RV'ers.
When I say we're "All In," we really are. We're "All In" the RV, but we're "All In" physically as well. Trying to reduce our home to what we wanted in the RV and a 10' x 10' locker was a huge job all by itself. It's amazing how much stuff we had accumulated and how hard it is to find new homes for it. The MCC got a few loads, we sold some, the kids took some, and the trash can got quite a bit. I figure the kids owe us, we did a whole bunch of work they were going to have to do in a 20 or 30 years.
Sons, Brady and Rob, came over with Brady's truck and trailer to spend a few hours moving the big and heavy things for us which really, really, helped. Thanks guys.
We're staying in a small, but nice and clean, place just outside of Winnipeg called The Arrowhead RV Park www.arrowheadrvpark.ca .
There are still a multitude of things to get done before we head for Texas in October. All the little things like computer access, telephones, banking, mail, and on and on and on. We also have to get the truck finished, find a Smart car, sell our existing car, and win the lotto to pay for it all. No Problem.
We're thinking we'll drive to Texas via the South Dakota Badlands. Bernie and I have never been there, we'd like to see them, and of course we have to make a trip to Mount Rushmore at some time. This will be the first time we make the Texas trip without any kind of schedule. No schedule, ???????? I'm thinking I'll like it but after 40 years of meetings, appointments, and schedules who knows. I'll likely create some kind of a schedule before we get started and then PANIC if we get a day behind. Why change now?
We have reservations for a few days at Falcon Beach early next month. Colleen and her family are coming in from Langley to spend a week out there at John and Leslie's cabin. We made a reservation at the local campground but we're afraid the lots are too small and we won't fit. So we decided to take a day trip to the lake today to check it out. Once I see it we'll determine if we move the RV or stay here and commute for the week. It's an hour each way. Not bad, kind of like driving to work in Vancouver. To our friends on the West Coast, I think of you often, especially your commutes. :-)
Then it will be time to get to work on building the bed for the truck. There is a 50/50 chance we're going to get the motorcycle on there with the Smart car. It really is down to a matter of 2 or 3 inches and we won't know until the bed builder gets to work on it. I have the plan all laid out and it boils down to the build. He has to be able to make it strong, and I want it heavy, so there is no way it (bed and car) can come loose and move forward in the event we have an unexpected stop. That could sort of spoil our plans.
It would be pretty neat to have both of them up there and we could have some good fun with the bike. I really want to ride in the hills of San Francisco, and at some point I want to ride through Manhattan and Central Park. Riding those two spots is on my bucket list and it must be done. No I don't have brain damage, it just looks like it. Driving them in a Smart car just wouldn't be the same.
So that's it for now, I have to go and schedule :-) our trip to Falcon Beach.
Thanks for reading our blog and do leave a comment when you can.
Neal & Bernie
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Home With Our NEW Home
It's Monday night and we have our new home back in Winnipeg.
It was quite the adventure. We were supposed to get away on Friday, which was delayed to Monday and ended up being late afternoon Tuesday. That didn't change the fact we had to be in Indiana on Thursday morning. It was a long hard drive in a new (to us) heavy duty truck. All in all it went very well but driving through downtown Chicago at 10:30 pm at about 70 MPH, on freeways under construction, is an experience I will never forget and will certainly NEVER duplicate. We got to Indiana a couple of hours late for our appointment but it still went very well.
If you are ever in the market for an RV let me recommend Earl and the team at The Outpost RV in Middlebury Indiana. I have had some experience with RV dealerships and I can safely say I have never seen service like we got from them. We had a wiring issue with our truck which could have, and probably should have, cost us a bunch of money. The owner of the dealership, Jim Wilson, came out to the truck and spent two hours reworking our wiring to get us going. When I asked him for the bill he said "no, send us a referral if you can." The sales team, the business manager, the service man, everyone was just first class. They even have three full service spots on their lot that buyers are encouraged to use for a day or two, or more, at no charge. They want to be sure everything is working right before you leave. I guess you can tell we were very impressed.
We took this first picture on their lot, where we stayed for two days and nights.
The Amish are huge in that area and we really enjoyed sitting in our rv hearing the horses clop clop as they went by. we drove a few miles of back roads around there which was huge fun. The Amish farms are pristine. Imagine a city lot landscaped to the extreme and then transfer it to a farmyard, with manicured lawns and gardens, painted barns, beautiful horses and clean clean clean. We hope to go back when we have more time and we can site see in something a tad smaller than our Freightliner.
We headed for home on Sat morning about 9 and were home Monday night at 9ish.
Thankfully it was fairly uneventful. Had a bit of trouble with the braking system that I was able to deal with and then we dropped the electric plug from the trailer to the truck. We pulled into a rest stop and bumped into a trucker who pointed it out to us. I took one look and went "we're toast." He said "no you ain't, I got all you need to fix it." He spent the next hour working with me fixing it up and getting us going again. A really neat guy, a Vietnam veteran who has been driving ever since, 37 years on the road. I tried to pay him and he refused, I tried to pay for his supplies and so forth and he said, "you can pay me by keeping this pretty lady safe, and helping out the next traveller you see in trouble." Just a really nice man who has some stories to tell but all he would say was that he was special ops in Vietnam and did some things he regrets.
We stayed at a couple of neat campgrounds on the way home. The first one "Boone County Fairgrounds" in Belvidere Wisconsin, had a horse show going on so we got to see some amazing animals and riders. The second night was at a place way off in the middle of nowhere Minnesota, where we found a neat spot with that challenged our driving skills getting up and down into it. Nice spot and very clean.
So now we're home and packing the rv. I had to spend the night on the Wall Mart lot last night because I couldn't get the rv on our lot at the condo. This morning I got it over here and we're packing it up. 6 days and we're officially homeless, "full time rv'ers."
Have to go and do some packing, thanks for reading our blog.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Sunday Morning
Sunday morning once again and all is quiet at our place.
It's been an exciting week to say the least. Passing the commercial licence driving test, spending an afternoon cleaning and polishing our truck, selling some more furniture, getting insurance on both the truck and trailer, and a ton of unusual small things. The fellow that bought our bedroom furniture, TV, and sound system is coming to pick them up today. Tonight we're on the floor but we still have the small TV in the bedroom and our alarm clock.
They should finish our truck tomorrow so we can leave on Monday. The people we bought from in Indiana were very helpful when I asked to change the pick up time so we have plans now to pick up the rv on Thursday morning. We'll spend Thursday, Friday, living in it at the dealership campground and then hit the road on Saturday. The two days there should uncover the bugs they ALWAYS have and get us back here for the 12th. We have permission to park it on the visitors lot for the 12th, 13th, 14th, so we can move our things into it and an rv park reservation for the 15th.
The only variable right now is whether or not they can get the truck finished on Monday. The shop came highly recommended but they seem to be really slow. I set it up so they would have more than enough time to do the job, based on what they told me, but they still have a huge days work to do Monday. We have a couple of days built in for variables, that always come up, but it irks me when people don't do what they say they will. Maybe my age is showing a bit.
So we'll be silent on here for this week, as we travel, but the next post should be fun with pictures of the 5th all hooked up to the truck.
It's all so close now only 16 days until we are official full timers.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Our Baby is Born
We got to spend a few hours washing and polishing our new baby this afternoon. She should be home on Monday all set for her maiden voyage to Indiana.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Wine Is Chilling
:-) I am more than a little bit happy to report I passed the driving test for my class 1 licence today. Nobody can possibly be as surprised as I am. The examiner told me twice I passed and laughed when I asked him again. I couldn't believe it.
It is just a huge relief to have this behind us. Everything hinged on having a class 1 licence, because without it this whole adventure would not be possible. But I did pass and it possible and it is going to happen.
The licence is done so we were planning to leave for Indiana on Monday to get our 5th wheel. BUT we did run into a bit of a snag today when the repair shop told us they couldn't finish the hitch install and some other work until Monday. Not a big deal, it just sets us back one day and we'll be fine leaving on Tuesday instead. The problem is everyone is in holiday mode with the long weekend this weekend.
We were able, after about an hours work, to get a motor home licence for the truck yesterday. It was a bit of a hassle but thanks to persistence and a really good young man at the insurance agency we got it done. We were very pleased, it saves us a few hundred $ a year and makes it a certainty that we don't have to pay commercial fees as we travel.
Bernie and I are going to spend a few hours on the truck tomorrow, using a polishing compound to get the paint all nice and shiny. Once we get back from Indiana with the trailer we are going to take the truck back out there to have the frame sandblasted and then painted. Since it has been used commercially the salt has taken it's toll on the frame paint. We want it nice and shiny and black so we're going to get it done asap. Unfortunately we can't have it done before we go for the rv because time is running short. We have to be out of the condo by the 20th which means we're down to less than three weeks.
Gotta go, Bernie is preparing a nice celebration dinner and as I mentioned "the wine is chilled."
Talk soon and thanks for reading our blog.
Neal & Bernie
It is just a huge relief to have this behind us. Everything hinged on having a class 1 licence, because without it this whole adventure would not be possible. But I did pass and it possible and it is going to happen.
The licence is done so we were planning to leave for Indiana on Monday to get our 5th wheel. BUT we did run into a bit of a snag today when the repair shop told us they couldn't finish the hitch install and some other work until Monday. Not a big deal, it just sets us back one day and we'll be fine leaving on Tuesday instead. The problem is everyone is in holiday mode with the long weekend this weekend.
We were able, after about an hours work, to get a motor home licence for the truck yesterday. It was a bit of a hassle but thanks to persistence and a really good young man at the insurance agency we got it done. We were very pleased, it saves us a few hundred $ a year and makes it a certainty that we don't have to pay commercial fees as we travel.
Bernie and I are going to spend a few hours on the truck tomorrow, using a polishing compound to get the paint all nice and shiny. Once we get back from Indiana with the trailer we are going to take the truck back out there to have the frame sandblasted and then painted. Since it has been used commercially the salt has taken it's toll on the frame paint. We want it nice and shiny and black so we're going to get it done asap. Unfortunately we can't have it done before we go for the rv because time is running short. We have to be out of the condo by the 20th which means we're down to less than three weeks.
Gotta go, Bernie is preparing a nice celebration dinner and as I mentioned "the wine is chilled."
Talk soon and thanks for reading our blog.
Neal & Bernie
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday Morning
Sunday morning and all is quiet at our house.
Things are progressing nicely and it looks like we just might be ready to leave for Indiana on July 5th. Thinking positively, we made an appointment with the rv people for the morning of the 7th.
The driving lessons are going well, they think I am test ready on a number of points but I still have to work on the air brake inspection some more. Daughter Leslie suggested I cut it up into a bunch of small tests in my head and then just memorize a series of bite size pieces. I think it's going to work. I have the majority of it down pat and will have the rest by the end of next week when I hope to do the exam.
The hitch arrived from Kentucky on Friday and we moved the truck from one shop to another. Now it's going to get the hitch installed and a whole lot of little things done that are necessary to make it an rv puller. The big ones are the hitch and the electrical connections for the trailer. The truck has air brakes and the trailer has electric brakes so they have to install whatever it needs to do that conversion. Apparently it's no big deal but I know "0" about those mechanics.
On Monday afternoon we're going to licence it. We want to licence it as a motor home and I think we should be able to do it. Our provincial regulations say it has to have a bed plus a sink or fridge. It has a bed and we'll put our travel fridge in it. This makes it a motor home in my opinion, however "my opinion" doesn't really count for much with the insurance company. The savings amount to a few hundred $ per year and I would like to do it if I can.
So if this all falls into place we'll have our Freightliner motor home ready by next Friday. I just can't wait. The day we head out on the road with this thing will be a BIG BIG BIG day for us. We're close now.
Today we're going to a motorcycle poker derby, show and shine, and bud and spud dinner. It's called "Wings For Warren." Warren was a good friend who passed away last year from cancer and this is a fund raiser for cancer care.
I would like to encourage you to please leave a comment on here once in awhile if you're reading it. They don't bite and it will make it more fun for those that are reading it. I follow a couple of other "full time rv" blogs and the comments are great.
Have a great week, I have to go and study a "bite size piece" of an air brake manual.
Things are progressing nicely and it looks like we just might be ready to leave for Indiana on July 5th. Thinking positively, we made an appointment with the rv people for the morning of the 7th.
The driving lessons are going well, they think I am test ready on a number of points but I still have to work on the air brake inspection some more. Daughter Leslie suggested I cut it up into a bunch of small tests in my head and then just memorize a series of bite size pieces. I think it's going to work. I have the majority of it down pat and will have the rest by the end of next week when I hope to do the exam.
The hitch arrived from Kentucky on Friday and we moved the truck from one shop to another. Now it's going to get the hitch installed and a whole lot of little things done that are necessary to make it an rv puller. The big ones are the hitch and the electrical connections for the trailer. The truck has air brakes and the trailer has electric brakes so they have to install whatever it needs to do that conversion. Apparently it's no big deal but I know "0" about those mechanics.
On Monday afternoon we're going to licence it. We want to licence it as a motor home and I think we should be able to do it. Our provincial regulations say it has to have a bed plus a sink or fridge. It has a bed and we'll put our travel fridge in it. This makes it a motor home in my opinion, however "my opinion" doesn't really count for much with the insurance company. The savings amount to a few hundred $ per year and I would like to do it if I can.
So if this all falls into place we'll have our Freightliner motor home ready by next Friday. I just can't wait. The day we head out on the road with this thing will be a BIG BIG BIG day for us. We're close now.
Today we're going to a motorcycle poker derby, show and shine, and bud and spud dinner. It's called "Wings For Warren." Warren was a good friend who passed away last year from cancer and this is a fund raiser for cancer care.
I would like to encourage you to please leave a comment on here once in awhile if you're reading it. They don't bite and it will make it more fun for those that are reading it. I follow a couple of other "full time rv" blogs and the comments are great.
Have a great week, I have to go and study a "bite size piece" of an air brake manual.
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