Thursday, November 20, 2014

Details...

I am up early this morning. Again, it is 48 degrees out. I’m a little warmer this morning, but may start up the heater for a little while, but my fingers and nose aren’t cold yet. I could move it to the bathroom and warm that up before I get my shower. Since I am keeping that door closed to keep KC out, it gets cold in there. Although, she hasn’t had any more accidents, and her litter box clumps are larger again, I may try opening that up. She likes to sleep in the shower.

Got in a decent walk after finally locating Kali Cat yesterday. I took my eyes off her briefly and she disappeared. I finally found her about an hour later, after circling the yard a bunch of times, I’m pretty sure she went over the wall. I guess that means she is feeling a lot better. No more unsupervised outings for her. I would hate to loose her. The not knowing what happened to her would drive me crazy, and I would miss her terribly. 

Anyway, we did go to Mexico yesterday. That was an experience. You park in a lot on the border and walk in. 


That’s it…no identity check or anything. There was lots and lots of shopping, Everyone there is trying to sell you something. There are dentists, optometrists, doctors, most US educated, cash services at a lot less money than is charged in the states. Also pharmacies and street vendors. Even beggars. They hawk their wares. A lot of them speak fair english - enough to make a deal.



I bartered for a tablecloth that I liked. I had seen one in a photo and really liked the bright festive colors and kept my eyes open for one. I liked the 96 inch rectangle (picnic table size), and the first place I actually looked, they wanted $40 and would only come down as far as $25. I tried a few other places as well, and the last one, where I actually bought it, I managed to get her down to $20. So I have my bright Mexican table cloth. I also bought a metal cactus, a hair clip (which is actually kind of junky, but is made of metal and not plastic), and some jewelry which is going to be an xmas gift for someone…maybe. :) I did over pay for the jewelry, but it was my first barter and I learned from that one. They don’t like to make change and offer other products instead. I got a nice silver bracelet instead of my change back. If I ever go again, I will be more prepared with smaller bills, and have a better idea of what to expect.


We had lunch in an open air cantina type place. People roam the tables selling their wares as well. Barbara bought some baskets while we were having lunch, and that is where I got the hair clip. I also got a little carved fish.


Speaking of fish, there was a bottle opener there that was made of silver and abalone. It was jointed so that it flowed. I really liked it, but thought they were asking too much for it. I just looked online, and even tho it was more than I wanted to spend and didn’t buy one, it was actually a good deal. Oh well.


This is similar to the ones I was looking at yesterday, but not quite as nice. They are jointed and flow nicely.

Leaving Mexico was a little harder than going in. That is when we needed our passports. I went thru that part just fine, but I got randomly selected to go thru the additional check point. Barbara and Howard did not and had to wait for me. My bags went thru the X-ray machine and there was something in there they didn’t like and asked what drugs were in the bag. Not sure if it was my trusty bag of almonds or my little tin of Vermints. But I got thru that just fine too. The whole thing was a real experience.  I doubt that I will go again, but if I do, I will have a better idea of what to expect.


Barbara is still sick and was a real trooper, so we didn’t do all the shops. I could have continued a little longer, but she had had enough. 

Today Howard and I are going to get the wiring and security cables figured out for Firefly’s towing. I have all the hardware to hook her up, but need the cables to run the lights, and the security cable. We priced them at an RV store the other day and the wiring harness was $90 and the security cables were $65. We can make them for a lot less. Plus, the scooter carrier arrived yesterday and I need to make sure that I need an adapter for the back hitch on Firefly and get that as well, along with another locking hitch pin.

Yuma has been a very expensive stop for me. But, by staying with friends, I have also saved a ton of money. Especially since I have been here a whole month. It has saved me the cost of a campground and dinner every night, plus water, electricity, etc. I really appreciate their generosity. I have gotten a lot accomplished since I have been here. 

I will be leaving without my scooter. I haven’t even received a shipping notice on it. I just sent them another email. I did hear from them a week ago and they were supposed to update me on the status within 24 to 48 hours, I haven’t heard a word. The rack for it came yesterday, but I am not going to assemble it until the delivery of the scooter is confirmed. If I do end up canceling the scooter somehow, I will send the rack back and I won’t be able to do that if it is assembled. They have until it is time to pay the credit card bill, then, if I still haven’t gotten a confirmation, I will start a claim with the credit card company. The customer service with these people is just horrible, and I will make sure everyone knows. At least now that I have a car, I can come back for the scooter. It will be a three hour round trip. A day trip. 

Today is laundry day. It is really nice having a washer and dryer available. I will have to do another small load before I leave, and I would also like to do the cover blanket on the bed and my bathrobe before I leave too. Start out with nice clean stuff. I’m sure there is a laundromat of some sort in Q, but I might as well start out clean. Will give me time to figure things out.

I might drive up to Quartzsite tomorrow to scope things out, get a PO box, and see if I can make contact with a friend or two. Plus, it will give me an idea of the route, some time to get used to the new car, and I might even find a campsite while I am there. I still need to get my pass too.

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