December expenses

Once again, we are under our $1,000 monthly budget. Not by much though, and we'll have to be really careful in January when our daughter and grandson come to visit, plus we will have higher gasoline expenses because of our upcoming drive south of Acapulco.

Wedding #2

Yesterday started off beautiful, but we actually had some clouds move in later in the morning and even had thunder in the afternoon. Saw one or two rain drops, but certainly not enough to say it actually "rained" so we are maintaining our rainless streak that now stands at 11 weeks.

Wedding #1

Just another beautiful morning at Hacienda Contreras yesterday, but after lunch we were off to a wedding!

Las Jaras Hot Springs

Fellow campers Ulli and Heinz were going to the Las Jaras hot springs in the town of La Garita and they invited us to come along. So we left just before 11:00am. It was about a 40 minute drive on the other side of Mazamitla.

The castle

All of the campers hiked over to the "castle" yesterday morning. It's not really a castle, but it is an interesting building that you can see from the campground. Ruth and I were there just last February, but some of the campers had never been before.

Bike ride to town

You would almost think that sunset photo has been touched up, but that was the true color of the sky. We have beautiful  sunRISEs almost every day here at Hacienda Contreras, but it's not very often that we have a sunSET this colorful.

Hacienda Contreras (day 6)

We sure do like having shorts and t-shirts weather on Christmas Day! I've been reading some other blogs where RV'ers are freezing cold in most parts of Texas and Arizona. Although we would like to explore those areas more, those states obviously don't have warm enough weather for us in winter. And parts of Florida are nice, but Florida is simply too busy for us. Mexico has great weather, and more...

Another fun day at Hacienda Contreras

There is always something going on around here. Never a dull moment. We were just starting our morning walk around the park when we were hijacked by Barb and Sal who were going into town to see Barb's Christmas present. She had no idea what it was...and it turned out to be a burro!

Feliz Navidad!

Well that's a very cute grandson, even if we do say so ourselves! Can't wait to see him and Lindsey next month. Cameron is now almost 9 months old. Seems not that long ago that we were up in Nova Scotia for his birth. Time sure does fly when you're having fun!

RV'ing in Mexico for under $30 a day.

I just wanted to give an overview of how much it cost for our 6 week trip (actually 46 days) around Puerto Vallarta. RV'ing in Mexico can be so inexpensive!

Mexican Christmas Feast

At 6,400 feet altitude, it does get chilly at night. The temperature inside Sherman when we wake up in the morning is around 10C (50F) so we put the furnace on for half an hour to take the chill off. But by 9:00am it's warming up outside and with the sun shining it becomes perfect daytime weather around 23C (74F).

Back at Hacienda Contreras

Didn't rush out of Colima yesterday. Figuring we would let the morning traffic die down, we left at around 9:00am, and got onto the toll road heading north towards Guadalajara. We've done this route a couple of times before, so we were familiar with the roads.

Colima

Arrived in the city of Colima around 11:00am. This is the third time we’ve driven that highway, so we’re now a little bit familiar with the area. There’s no actual campgrounds in the city, but there is a listing in our Mexico camping guide for an event and party salon that allows RV parking. So that’s where we went.

Cuyutlan

Went for a walk along the beach yesterday morning before leaving Manzanillo. Beautiful sunrise with the ships in the harbor, and as we were walking a cruise ship was coming into port as well. But we wanted to get out of this part of town before things got busy, so we left right after our walk, just before 8:00am.

Manzanillo

Yesterday morning, we went for a bike ride to Melaque. It was only about 4.5 kms each way. Besides seeing the town, we had been invited to visit one of our readers who has a house there. But it wasn't meant to be!

Barra de Navidad

Only a short drive yesterday morning. We drove a total of 20 kms (12.4 miles) to the towns of Melaque and Barra de Navidad which are on opposite ends of the bay.

Ecocamping Los Ingenios (day 2)

Went for a walk in the village yesterday morning. We were looking for a view, and there is a new house built way up on the side of a hill so we found the road that leads up there. Very steep!

Ecocamping Los Ingenios

We had read about a new campground a couple of kms inland from La Manzanilla. So we set off yesterday morning to check this place out. It was only a 63 km (39 mile) drive.

Punta Perula (day 3)

Went for a bike ride to explore the town yesterday morning. Quite a few Canadians have bought property in the area and built winter homes. Most of them previously showed up here in an RV, then decided this was where they wanted permanent winter digs.

Punta Perula (day 2)

We are parked up at the Hotel Punta Perula (GPS 19.59053 -105.12751). They have seven RV sites at this nice place, and there's only us and one other couple.

Punta Perula

We were up at 6:00am yesterday morning, and had the tanks dumped and the water filled by 7:00am. Gary was up to say goodbye to us, and we hit the road about 7:10am.

Rancho Altarose (day 7)

What a fun day we had yesterday! Well, not so much in the morning as Ruth did a bunch of laundry...but just after lunch Gary took us on the ATV's up to the tequila ranch in the hills. And THAT was fun!

San Sebastian del Oeste

We were up at 6:00am yesterday morning, and by 7:00am we headed out on the 2.3 km (1.4 mile) walk into town to catch the bus. We had to catch our second bus at 9:00am, and we arrived there just in time!

Rancho Altarose (day 5)

Well, I said we would be busy here, and we have been. Took us a little while to get going yesterday morning, but then we packed a few snacks and headed out on the 4 wheel drive ATV's up into the hills with Gary.

Nopalea

Yes, this is the drink sourced from the fruit of the nopal cactus. The healing properties of the nopal cactus have been relied on for centuries by native peoples and they're now available in Nopalea.

Rancho Altarose (day 4)

Our plan for yesterday was a hike in the morning, and a bike ride in the afternoon. The first part of the plan came together, but we lost ambition for the bike ride, so we'll get to that this morning!

$4 visit to Puerto Vallarta

We figured out how to take the local bus from here to downtown Puerto Vallarta. We walked about 2 kms into the town of Valle de Banderas and asked at the central square where the parada (bus stop) was.

Rancho Altarose (day 2)

Around 11:00am yesterday, Jean came by and asked if we wanted to go into town. That was our plan anyhow, so we went with her...sort of! She took her quad ATV, and we followed along behind on our bicycles!

Altarose Rancho

We woke up at 6:00am yesterday and got ready to leave Sayulita. We had a coffee and wrote the blog post for yesterday, and we were on the road by 7:00am. Kind of surprised that there was still a fair bit of traffic at that hour on a Sunday morning, but I’m sure it was quieter then than it would have been later on.

Sayulita (day 2)

We slept fine parked on the road. We were still up early though, we tend to get up around 6:00am anyhow when the sun starts to come up.

Sayulita

We woke up yesterday morning to the sound of singing. It was about 6am, and the roosters were crowing, and a guy was singing. Loudly. He was quite good though. He was singing while he was washing his car. It was time to get up anyhow, so we did. Opened the blinds, and watched this guy go get his horse. He walked the horse up beside his car, and proceeded to wash his horse. All this while singing at 6am. We love Mexico.

Lo de Marcos

Before we left Rincon de Guayabitos we had one last walk we wanted to do up the hill behind the town of Los Ayala. So that's where today's header pic was taken. Nice view, and good exercise. Then, it was time to move on.

Rincon de Guayabitos (day 6)

Well we sure didn't plan on staying in Rincon de Guayabitos this long. Gonna have to get a move on because we've only got three weeks left to get back up to Hacienda Contreras for Christmas!

November expenses

November turned out okay for us. Still well under our budget of $1,000 per month, November came in at a total of $879.17. Nothing out of the ordinary, so here's the details...

Rincon de Guayabitos (day 5)

Went off to do some exploring yesterday morning. The two towns here, La Penita and Rincon de Guayabitos, are separated by a river. Guayabitos is more of a resort town with a nicer beach, and La Penita comes across as more of a working class town, although it also has it's share of rental accomodations. Not quite as touristy though.

Rincon de Guayabitos (day 4)

We knew we were going to have to get water and empty the tanks soon so decided to do some driving yesterday. We drove a whole block! Hardly had time to warm the engine up! And what a place we arrived at...

Rincon de Guayabitos (day 3)

Whales? There are no whales in this area. At least there weren't yesterday. The whales took Sunday off! So it's a good thing we didn't pay very much for our three hour tour, because it was a kind of a bust.

Happy 50th Birthday Ruth!

Well today is a special day! If you look on the left sidebar it says "We are almost 50 years old"....now I'm going to have to change that because one of us is 50 years old!

Rincon de Guayabitos

We left Chacala yesterday morning and drove the 30 kms (19 miles) to Rincon de Guayabitos. This town caters more to Mexican tourists from Tepic and Guadalajara. There are a few American and Canadian people here, but that is largely due to the 7 different RV parks in the area.

Chacala (day 2)

Yesterday morning we went for a walk to try and get to the beach on the other side of town. It turns out that the entire property surrounding the other beach is private property and inaccessible by the average person. The only way to get to the beach there is by boat. All beaches in Mexico are public property, however sometimes access to a beach can only be by boat.

Chacala

We were up early yesterday and we left Tepic at around 7:15am. Made a quick pit stop for 52 litres (13.8 gal)  500 pesos ($39.00) worth of gas and we were on our way. We like to get an early start, and arrive early. Besides, we didn't know exactly where we were going to end up last night.

Back with Sherman

Yesterday we caught the 11:00am bus back to Tepic. This time, we did manage to get the cheaper bus at 220 pesos ($17.16) each. And, it was a nicer bus! Watched a Steve Martin movie en Espanol, and the trip was uneventful.

Mazatlan (day 3)

Yesterday morning, we went back to the historic central area with Lee. She works as a volunteer to help tourists in need of information or directions, so it made sense to share a taxi down there because we were meeting fellow bloggers Contessa and Colin in the same area at 11:30am.

Mazatlan (day 2)

We've been in Mexico for 8 weeks now, and we finally made it to the ocean! But first, we had to have some breakfast, and Lee took us to a restaurant called "Te amo Lucy"...I love Lucy. The restaurant is owned by an ex-pat American, and his Mexican wife Lucy is the chef.

Mazatlan

We left Sherman at 6:00am yesterday morning an walked to the bus terminal. We had done this route the day before so that we would be familiar with where the station is, and so that we could confirm what bus we were taking etcetera. The plan was coming together. Or so we thought.

Tepic (day 3)

Well, by the time this is posted, we will be on a bus to Mazatlan!

Tepic (day 2)

First thing yesterday we had to find a laundry. The lady here said there's one two blocks away, so we walked over there first and made sure they were open and could do it before we lugged our clothes all that way.

Tepic

We got ourselves set up in the Los Pinos campground in the city of Tepic. The campground itself has been here for many years, and the city has grown around it. Now, you have to enter below an arch that is part of a little shopping plaza and if you didn't know it was here, you might have a hard time finding it.

Laguna del Santa Maria (day 2)

Yesterday's post has now been updated with pictures, so maybe you want to check that out first. The following was written Tuesday evening, with an update from this morning later on...

Laguna del Santa Maria

We said our goodbye’s to Bonnie and we left Delia’s Trailer Park near Etzatlan at 10:10am, just a little later than we planned.

Etzatlan, Mexico (day 7)

Yesterday was our last day here at Delia's Trailer Park. We're heading out of here this morning, back on the road!

Etzatlan, Mexico (day 6)

We decided to walk into town yesterday morning. It's not really that far and Bonnie had said that the town market was on Saturdays.

Etzatlan, Mexico (day 5)

What a busy day we had yesterday! We had the use of Bonnie's car for the day, and we were going to the ruins at Tuechitlan. But near there was the road turning off to Piedras Bolas, so Ruth came up with the idea that we should return there to complete the hike we tried to do last Monday.

Etzatlan, Mexico (day 4)

Had a relaxing morning yesterday. Then Bonnie had said we could use her car to go visit some ruins, but she needed it again late afternoon so we said we would wait another day because we didn't want to rush or risk being late.

Etzatlan, Mexico (day 3)

Another beautiful day. Bonnie was driving into town early so we hitched a ride with her at about 8:30am. We wanted to hike up to the mirador (lookout) up the mountain behind the town.

Etzatlan, Mexico (day 2)

When we arrived here at Delia's Trailer Park on Monday, a woman came out and welcomed us in Spanish. We said our hello's, and I was quick to explain that I only spoke a little bit of Spanish. She asked if I spoke English, and I said yes. And it turned out that her English is perfect!

Etzatlan, Mexico

We made it to a little RV park just outside the farming community of Etzatlan. But what a ride we had getting here! There was no easy direct route, so instead of taking the main highway back up to near Guadalajara, I decided to take some backroads.

Chimulco Water Park, Villa Corona

We wanted to leave Roca Azul early yesterday, and it was 8:07am when we did. We knew we only had a short drive, but because it was Sunday we wanted to get to our destination ahead of the crowds.

Roca Azul (day 2)

Another beautiful day yesterday, and we decided to go exploring on our bicycles for the first time since entering Mexico. We ended up doing 23 kms (14.5 miles)!

Roca Azul

We left Hacienda Contreras at our planned time of 10:00am. Said our goodbyes to Barb and Sal and their daughter Andrea who's visiting for a few days, and we look forward to returning in time for Christmas.

On the road again!

Just a short note this morning. We're hitting the road again today! After nearly five weeks here at Hacienda Contreras, it's time to go exploring!

Tope

Pronounced "tow-pay". Or several, as in topes "tow-pays". This is the Mexican version of a speed bump, and they are everywhere in Mexico. And, they are very effective.

Dia de los Muertos

Day of the Dead. November 1st and 2nd are Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. It's actually one of the reasons we're still here at Hacienda Contreras as originally we were expecting to have headed out by now.

October, our cheapest month ever!

Well, in keeping with our budget goal of $1,000 a month, we are pleased to report record low spending for the month of October! Living expenses came in at a total of $707.14.

Hunting for wild potatoes is like fishing!

And I'm not into fishing. However, we still had a fun day out in the mountains. We picked up Martin and his father Don Jose, and drove out of town at just after 6:00am yesterday morning. Don Jose grew up in these mountains and knows the area well.

Picking potatoes?... at 6:00am?

Well, not quite but we will be leaving here at 6:00am...therefore posting this before going to bed!

Panama?

I was reading about RV'ing in Guatemala and Belize, and I thought we might take a trip through there in the spring. Then I thought, if we're going to do that, why not go all the way to Panama?

What a game!

If you think baseball is boring, then last night's game would have changed your mind. No point in going into detail, because if you're a baseball fan then you already know, and if you're not, then you don't care anyhow!

Back to Canada!

That's it, we've had enough of this damn blue sky and sunshine. And I'm tired of having to wear shorts and t-shirts every day!

The view from under our awning.

Another beautiful blue sky day. Last year, we managed to go three and a half months without a drop of rain. Wonder what the record will be this year!

A visit to the outskirts of Guadalajara

Yesterday, Barb was going back to Chicago to visit their daughters for a week and a half. Sal was driving her to the Guadalajara airport, and they asked if we wanted to go along for the ride. They were also going to stop at the Sam's Club and the Walmart, so we could pick up any items we might need.

Nice hike and then a meal out

Ruth and I went on a nice hike up another hill in the area. We could see a road in the distance on the hill, and wanted to see where it went. It was a private road with gates and fences, but the rancher working at the bottom said we could go for a walk, no problem.

Saturday is market day

Barb was going into town, and Saturday is market day in Valle de Juarez, so we went in with her. First, we stopped at her house and used Skype to say hi to our son, then we went to the main square and picked up some meat at the carneceria (butcher).

Hacienda Contreras (day 21)

Wow, I can't believe we've been here for three weeks already. And although we're not bored yet, we are getting excited about moving on especially after planning our route yesterday!

Planning our next destination

Well it looks like everybody who wanted to vote took the time to do so, and we want to thank everybody who participated in choosing where we're going next. It looks like we're taking the route around Puerto Vallarta, so I've been doing some planning for that trip!

A busy day with lots of photos!

More perfect weather, so we decided to hike up the hill in front of Hacienda Contreras. But first, Barb was going into town to see the metalworking guy who was building the frames for the windows for the new addition.

Hacienda Contreras (day 18)

Well, we just had a lazy day yesterday. Other than our two mile fast walk around the park in the morning, it was just a relaxing day. And once again, the weather was perfect.

Los Cazos, near Mazamitla

Yesterday after lunch, Ruth and I went into the town of Mazamitla. On the far side of town is an area called Los Cazos. It's a kind of a different spot because while there are homes and cottages in there, it's also gated and you have to pay to get in. But it's really nice to walk around, and there's a pretty waterfall.

A nice hike in the hills

Yesterday, we went for a nice hike in the hills. It was another beautiful sunny day. Barb stayed behind in case the tile workers showed up. She wants to make sure they use the proper tiles in the right place because once they go down it's too late!

The beautiful weather returns!

Clear sunny skies and a high around 26C (79F). Perfect! The clear skies do bring some cooler nights, but it's nice sleeping weather. Woke up this morning and it was 5C (41F) outside, however the sun is shining and it's starting to warm up already. Looks to be another beautiful day here in the mountains south of Guadalajara!

A visit to Sahuayo

Well I lied. Yesterday I said "today we'll visit Mazamitla for sure" or something like that, and then plans changed! Barb and Sal were going into the city of Sahuayo to order some floor tiles for the new construction, and asked if we'd like to tag along.

Hacienda Contreras (day 13)

Well the rain dogged us again on and off all day yesterday so we just hung out here. We did get patches of blue sky in the afternoon and we took advantage of that to go for a walk, but by evening it was raining again.

Payback

We have to think that all this rain is payback for the three and a half months of perfect weather we had last winter! Well, it may be wet, but at least we're not cold and that's the most important part.

Hacienda Contreras (day 11)

Well I hate to keep going on about the weather, but it's kind of affecting our day to day activities! Normally the rainy season is over by now, but this latest hurricane has put a "damper" on things!

Hurricane Jova

Hurricane Jova is expected to hit landfall this afternoon as a category 3 hurricane. It looks like Puerto Vallarta is going to take a direct hit, but then the storm looks to be heading north from there. Because we are at 6,300 feet elevation, much of the wind should dissipate, plus we are on the eastern edge of the storm.

Rainy days

Well, we are getting what was forecast, on and off rainshowers and lots of cloud. The hurricane and tropical storm are still in the ocean and moving very slowly. Now not expected to hit landfall until Tuesday evening.

Hacienda Contreras (day 8)

We've been having some very cloudy days as this storm system makes it's way to us, so we've plugged into the electricity here. Solar panels work great, but only when there's sun!

Expecting some heavy rain

There are two large storm systems heading our way that are expected to dump a lot of rain over the next few days.

Where will we go next? We are going to let YOU decide!

We are quite happy relaxing for the month of October (and possibly a few days more!) and exploring the area around Hacienda Contreras. However we’ve been thinking about where we want to go when we’re ready to move on and we’re going to let you make the choice for us!

Starting our fifth year on the road

Other than one four month stint housesitting, yesterday marked four full years living in a motorhome. It was October 5, 2007 that our house sale closed and we moved into Sherman.

A picnic

Yesterday was a good day. Absolutely perfect weather, sunny with a few clouds and a high around 27C (81F). We did a 2 mile jog/walk in the morning and then I started washing Sherman. Got out the ladder and did the top half of one side. I'll do the lower half this morning.

Hacienda Contreras (day 3)

We had a relaxing day yesterday. Spent some time on the internet while having coffee and tea when we got up, then we went for a walk around the RV park. The perimeter of the park is a half-mile walk and we did four times around so we did two miles.

A nice hike in the hills

Woke up yesterday to clear blue skies and sunshine. The high was 26C (79F), and although we did get some clouds in the afternoon the weather was otherwise perfect. One of the things we love about this area is the temperature. Nice cool nights that are good for sleeping, and just perfect during the day.

September expenses

Well that was a costly way to end our fourth full year living in a motorhome! September was an expensive month, partly due to gasoline, but we also stocked up in the food department for an extended stay in Mexico, and we did some costly maintenance to Sherman. We spent $4,677 for the month, our most expensive single month in the last four years.

Hacienda Contreras, near Valle de Juarez

We didn't set the alarm Friday night because we knew we needed a good nights sleep. But we also wanted to do a long drive Saturday and so we wanted to get a fairly early start. Turned out we got a good sleep and we were on the road just before 9:00am. Not bad.

Zacatecas

Thanks you all so much for the outpouring of support. We are a little overwhelmed by your comments and thoughts, many from friends we have not yet met. We're so glad that some of you were able to share Whiskey's company over her last few weeks with us.

Whiskey

Whiskey passed away just after 1:00am this morning. We had a great 15 1/2 years with her.

Potrero Chico (day 5)

It was pretty much a relaxing day today, although we did get some work done. It doesn’t start to get really hot until after lunch.

Potrero Chico (day 4)

After I posted yesterday’s blog, we headed off to find the trailhead for the hike up the mountain. We walked along the arroyo (dried up river bed) about a half an hour until we came to a cairn that marked the entrance to the trail.

Potrero Chico (day 3)

It was a HOT day yesterday. 39C (102F) in the shade. There is a swimming pool here, but they're in the process of putting fresh water in it and it takes 24 hours to fill up, but we will have the use of the pool today. Supposed to be slightly cooler today though anyhow.

Potrero Chico (day 2)

Didn’t get any sleep Saturday night. None. As expected, the church party went on as a lot of Mexican parties do, right until sunrise. The music was loud and it never stopped.

Potrero Chico, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

We were up at 6:30am yesterday to get an early start for the border. The Columbia Bridge border crossing is actually about 25 miles (40 kms) west of the city of Laredo. We like this crossing because it’s never busy and there is lots of easy parking for an RV of any size.

Laredo, Texas

We had our best sleep in days at the fairgrounds near George West, Texas. They have only just installed rows of full hook-up RV sites there, but we didn't use them. We just parked.

Near George West, Texas

Yesterday's blog got posted late, so you may want to check it out first before reading the story below.

Yesterday's blog post

Austin, Texas

Yes, parked up at a Sears store mall right beside the I-35 in Austin, Texas. This is not an ideal overnight spot! How did we arrive here? Well here's the story...

Lake Limestone, near Groesbeck, Texas

We got an early start yesterday. We're trying to get back into the habit of leaving early and arriving early! We took all Texas backroads and arrived at our destination around 2:00pm.

Monticello Park Campground, near Mount Pleasant, Texas

We left Hot Springs National Park at a decent hour, but as soon as we left we came across a laundromat. We were going to have to stop and do laundry at some point today, so rather than risk trying to find another one, we simply stopped right away.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

We took a break from driving yesterday and hiked into the town of Hot Springs. There is a one mile hiking trail that goes from the campground into the town. It poured with rain all morning, but things cleared up a bit by 11:00am or so.

Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

We did a fair bit of driving yesterday, and it was all on the backroads. Plus, we didn't start off until later in the morning so we didn't arrive at our destination until after 4:00pm.

Blanchard Springs Campground, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas

We got an early start out of the Round Spring Campground yesterday morning. We took advantage of the facilities and had a nice quick hot shower.  Then on our way out we used the dump station for the first time this trip, and topped up our fresh water tank.

Round Spring Campground, Ozark National Scenic Riverways

We actually had a good night sleep at the Salem, MO Walmart. Interesting note, there has been a Walmart in the town of Salem, MO since 1971… store #46, if I remember correctly. Saw a sign that said they have one employee who has been there for 40 years! I hope she was able to take part in a share purchase plan!

Salem, Missouri

Well the highlight of yesterday was the weather. A storm system moved in yesterday morning that dumped a pile of rain on us all day, with a high temperature of only 61F (16C).

Berryman Campground, Mark Twain National Forest

Yesterday morning, Sam and Donna took us down to the old section of the city of St. Charles. This is famous as being the spot where Lewis and Clark and their dog Seaman set off for their expedition way back in 1804.

Downtown St. Louis

Today was our big trip to downtown St. Louis. We've never been to St. Louis before and we were looking forward to seeing a new city, and we were looking forward to meeting some new RV'ing and blogging friends.

O'Fallon, Missouri (day 2)

We had a fun, relaxing day yesterday. Even managed to squeeze in an afternoon nap!

O'Fallon, Missouri

Another long driving day, but now we can relax! We actually slept in yesterday morning, and didn't leave the winery until almost 8:00am. Whiskey seems to be back into her normal schedule now that we've left Ruth's Dad's where she had been waking up around 6:00am every morning.

Simmons Winery, Columbus, Indiana

Just another driving day. Did 299 miles (478 kms) today. Considering that we normally like doing about 120 miles (200 kms) a day, this is a lot of driving for us. But Sherman is doing fine just truckin' along!

New Philadelphia, Ohio

On the road early again yesterday morning, and managed to do another 235 miles (376 kms). Mostly on backroads again, but did do a little bit on the Interstate.

Port Allegany, Pennsylvania

We were up early yesterday morning to the sound of raindrops on Sherman’s roof. We said goodbye to John and Ellen and thanked them for their hospitality.

Near Camden, New York

We enjoyed our time visiting Ruth's Dad and want to say a big "thank you" for putting up with us and letting us use the shop and tools to fix up Sherman!

We left at around 7:50am, which was later than our planned 7:30am start. We were supposed to be at the Canadian Tire in Kemptville for 9:00am for Sherman's emissions test, and we made it at 9:05. They took us in right away, and as expected, Sherman passed with flying colors and the bill was $35 plus tax.

Headin' south!

Got Sherman all ready to go yesterday, and we're hitting the road!

One more sleep!

We head out tomorrow! And other than Sherman needing a bit of a tidy up, we're pretty much ready to go. The only thing I didn't get done was to finish cleaning the roof and touching up the roof caulking. That will have to be done on the road sometime because it's supposed to rain on and off here today.

Comments

Wow, thanks for all of the interesting and well thought out comments regarding my restaurant situation the other night. I agree with those of you who think the waitress messed up and forgot to put the order in. If that was indeed the case, I wish she would have just come right out and said that to us! We probably would have been more accommodating and felt bad for the girl. Anyhow, I guess we'll never know.

How long should you wait...?

I was out for dinner last night with four old friends. Went to the Heart and Crowne pub in the market area of Ottawa.

August expenses

Again, spending more than we wanted to, with August coming in at $1,747. But, the majority of the extra was split between vet bills for Whiskey and renovations for Sherman.

Drive Clean

That's the name of the Ontario vehicle emissions testing program. It's just a big money grab because the vast majority of vehicles tested pass with flying colors. For cars, the test costs $35. But for motorhomes, there is confusion.

New flooring...preview

I had to post a couple of pics just so you know I have been working! It's a bigger job than I thought it was going to be. Cutting out the old carpet on the entrance stairs was difficult and they had so many staples holding it in there that it was apparently not meant to be removed!

Seven more sleeps!

We leave a week from today, and it's going to be a busy week! Didn't get much done during the day yesterday because we went into Ottawa for lunch with my Mom and two sisters. So after supper I worked on the floor until about 10pm last night.

Europe in a motorhome?

We got into this motorhoming thing about four years ago. In fact, we had never even been in a motorhome until July of 2007. We always thought of motorhomes as being crammed into RV parks with your neighbor being parked about 10 feet away and we knew that wasn't for us. But then we met Glen and Steve.

Saturday

I got some more of the old carpet cut out from around the entrance steps. We're going to replace it with the same fake hardwood laminate that we're putting through the kitchen and bathroom. Of course they had it held in there with a gazillion staples, but I guess that'a the way they do it. At least it never came apart in 16 years!

Route south

Well it's only 10 days until we leave so we were looking at our route south. We have a few things we want to see along the way, and I've included some of them on the map below, but we've been known to stray as we find things to do that are close to our plan.

New Carpet!

Well the carpet is done and we're very pleased with it. It was a bit more difficult than I expected though, and my hand is sore this morning from cutting the old carpet out yesterday!

New carpet coming!

I took a small patch of the old carpet with me into the city yesterday, and the first place I stopped at was able to match it up pretty good with a short roll they had in stock.

Two weeks to go!

We leave here September 6, so there's only two weeks to go! We're making good progress though and I'm confident we'll have everything ready by then, including replacing the carpet. That's the only real big job left on the list.

License plate sticker (part two)

So I made the phone call to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. You would kind of think that the people who answer their help line have probably heard it all, but this girl said she had never come across this problem before.

Sunday

It kind of rained on and off all day yesterday, so didn't get much done. I did adjust Sherman's drivers door window, but I don't think it's getting any better than that. I have a feeling it's not the original one and that it was changed at some point, so this is as good as it gets, but at least it's slightly better than it was.

License plate sticker

Okay, so we're going to Mexico and odds are good that it will be for an extended period of time. Sherman is registered in Ontario, and so has Ontario license plates and a renewal sticker that expires in February 2012.

Two more jobs done!

Picked up Sherman's new heater control valve and got it installed yesterday. Fired him up, tested everything for leaks and everything works great!

New cupboards

Making some more progress on my list of things to do to Sherman. Got the new cupboard doors made and installed, and I'm very impressed, even if I do say so myself!

Busy day

I had a busy day yesterday. After we finished with Whiskey's vet visit, I headed down to Ottawa with a list of things to do.

Update on Whiskey

Well, we spent an hour at the vets. They gave her fluids because she was dehydrated and some medication to settle her stomach. We also have taken home fluid replacement  and have to administer them ourselves for the next three days.

Not a good night

We're off to the vet again this morning. Whiskey has been getting progressively worse the last two days and now can't keep any food down. I was up four times with her last night, coming out both ends. Worse, is that now she's not even interested in eating.

Progress

Some of you think I've got lots to do over the next three weeks! Well it's true, but I'll do a little bit every day and before you know it, I'll be done!

A quiet Sunday

Didn't get anything done to Sherman yesterday, and when I look at what I still have to get accomplished we can't have many more days like that! We're only here for another three weeks and I don't want to be rushing around near the end trying to get things done.

Tired

Might have got two or three hours sleep last night. Poor Whiskey had a bad night with an upset tummy, so Mom and Dad had a bad night too. We think it's a reaction to the rabies vaccine and so all we can do is see it through.

Red Pine Camp

So we visited Red Pine Camp yesterday. It was about an hour and 15 minutes drive to beautiful Golden Lake from Ruth's Dad's place. We got up there about 11am, and went searching for my sister Alison and her son Marshal.

Vet bills

So we took Whiskey to the vet yesterday afternoon. She needed her rabies shot updated for her to be able to enter the U.S. next month.

Slept in!

Whiskey actually let us sleep in this morning. She's been waking us up at just after 6am for the past while because she wants to come down to Ruth's Dad's house. We are sleeping in the motorhome, up at the top of the backyard.

Streets and Trips

You might remember that we won a GPS edition of Microsoft Streets and Trips from Sam and Donna's contest back in February. We installed it on the laptops in early April, but for whatever reason we never really sat down to figure it all out until now.

Interesting times

If the U.S. government were a family, they would be earning a fairly decent $58,000 per year. But they would be spending $75,000 per year. On top of that, they would owe $327,000 in credit card debt. Currently planned deficit reduction measures would reduce their annual spending to $72,000 per year.

Interior decorating

More puttering around on Sherman yesterday. Ruth got the panels recovered between the cupboards. They had a green coloured fabric on them and Ruth made them the same as the curtain valances she had recovered last year.

Fireworks!

Spent some time yesterday morning working on a water leak in my father in law's car. Think we got things fixed, but that pad under the carpet sure does hold a lot of water! Got to let things dry out before putting it all back together.

A little bit every day

Most RV's and motorhomes weren't designed to be lived in, so when they are subjected to that lifestyle they get a lot more wear and tear than they were designed for. Plus, Sherman is a 15 year old motorhome so we need to keep on top of things in the repair and maintenance department so that he will be with us for as long as we need him.

Plans for 2012

It's difficult to plan too far in advance. Certainly there are things that you want to do in the future and you can have goals you want to accomplish, but a lot can happen to change your plans.

Another productive day

Went into the town of Arnprior today and to their DMV office. One person in line in front of us, and we were in and out of there in less than 10 minutes. Paid $10 to replace my lost drivers license.

A productive day

We left here around 10:00am yesterday and headed for downtown Ottawa. We had a whole list of things to get accomplished, and it turned out to be a pretty productive day.

July expenses

Well July was another expensive month. We did a lot of driving, and with two vehicles, so we bought a lot of gasoline. And, I had my border visa thing for $585, so that upped our miscellaneous expenses.

Motorhome projects

I mentioned yesterday that I have quite a few things to accomplish with motorhome repair and maintenance. But there are also some upgrades and changes we want to make. Fortunately, Ruth's Dad has a full workshop and all the tools necessary to do jobs like this.

Galetta, Ontario

Well, we are in the village of Galetta, about 40 minutes west of Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. This is where Ruth's father lives, and this is where we are set up for the next month until we head south again in September.

Plattsburgh, New York

We left Burlington, VT around 10:30am and headed for Plattsburgh, N.Y. It's only 35 miles  (56 kms) but there's a ferrry ride across Lake Champlain and the roads are all secondary so the trip took almost two hours.

Burlington, Vermont

We left the Maple Syrup farm yesterday morning and headed for the town of Montpelier. We had originally thought about finding somewhere to overnight there, but the town is not designed for RV's, and there's very little suitable parking.

Goodrich's Maple Farm near Cabot, Vermont

We got up early yesterday morning, and drove right away to Cabot, Vermont. We figured there might be traffic because of the Cabot Dairy and so we wanted to arrive early. We had never been there and didn't know what to expect.

Saint Johnsbury, Vermont

Yesterday morning, we took the little car into Littleton, NH to try and find a better spot for Sherman so we could take the bikes for a ride, but didn't have any luck. Much of the town is built onto the side of a hill and there isn't a lot of suitable spots to park a motorhome in town.

Littleton, New Hampshire

We left the Apple Hill Campground yesterday morning, and drove the 6 miles or so into the town of Littleton. Found a free parking lot downtown behind the community center, and close enough to the library to be able to use their wifi internet from the inside of the motorhome.

Hike up Mount Washington

We were up at 5:00am Sunday morning. Made it to the National Forest trailhead parking lot near the Mount Washington cog railway, and began our hike at about 6:30am.

Apple Hill Campground, Bethlehem, New Hampshire

Kevin and Ruth staying at a campground? And it’s a private campground? And at $35 a night!! What’s up with that…!!??

Attitash Ski Resort, White Mountains National Forest, N.H.

It was another baking hot day. At 10:00am we wandered over to the Mount Washington Science Center. The lady at the front said we could bring Whiskey in, and her immediate boss had said that well behaved dogs on a leash are allowed, especially since it was baking hot outside.

North Conway area (day 3)

Yesterday was a relax day. Surprised that our muscles weren't a bit more sore from our day at the adventure park. We went and did some grocery shopping in the morning, and just hung out at the motorhome in the afternoon.

Cranmore Mountain Adventure Park

We had too much fun yesterday. Despite me spending an hour on the phone with the credit card companies and banks to report my lost cards. But other than that, we had a blast! (Warning...LOTS of pictures!)

North Conway, New Hampshire

Interesting day yesterday. We left the horse farm before 9:00am and headed into New Hampshire. "Live Free or Die". You gotta love New Hampshire. And, no sales tax and no income tax. Like I said, you gotta love New Hampshire!

Casco, Maine (day 2)

We relaxed for most of the day, until about 3:00pm when we left Whiskey behind to guard Sherman, and we took the little car into Portland, Maine.

Carousel Horse Farm, near Casco, Maine

We left the winery yesterday morning and drove on the back roads to Freeport, Maine. Freeport's claim to fame is the headquarters of L.L. Bean, and their factory outlet store.

Savage Oakes Winery near Union, Maine

We left Acadia National Park around 7:00 am yesterday and drove up the town of Ellsworth where we stopped at the Home Depot parking lot where they have free wi-fi. Then went across the road to Walmart and did some shopping.

Seawall Campground, Acadia National Park

What a great day we had yesterday. Perfect weather. An excellent morning hike. A nice afternoon bike ride. Cold beer. Each other.

Acadia National Park - Bar Harbor, Maine

Yesterday morning, we drove from Jasper Beach to Acadia National Park and got ourselves set up at the Seawall Campground in Acadia National Park. After lunch, we took the little car for a drive into Bar Harbor. We've never been here before, but we know that the whole area is a popular tourist destination, so we wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

Jasper Beach, Maine (day 2)

Had a totally relaxing day yesterday, didn't really do anything. Went for a walk on the beach in the morning. Ruth made some spaghetti sauce yesterday afternoon for today.

Jasper Beach, Maine

When we arrived in Machias yesterday morning, it rained quite a bit. We parked up across from the laundromat, and I spent the morning on the internet while Ruth did some wash. It cleared up though, and we went for a walk around town.

Machias, Maine

We crossed into Maine yesterday around 1:30pm on a beautiful warm summer day. No problems at the border, and in fact the border guards even seemed like they were in a pretty good mood.

Alma, New Brunswick (day 2)

Had a beautiful day yesterday, with clear blue skies and temperature about 25C (77F). Went for a 7.5 km (4.7 mile) hike in the morning, and then another walk around the third National park campground in the afternoon.

Alma, New Brunswick

Yesterday was another short driving day. In fact, we had our drive for the day finished by 7:30am! As soon as we got up, we drove the 24 kms (15 miles) into the town of Alma.

Riverside-Albert, New Brunswick

We left Rick and Elaines place just before lunch yesterday and made our way down to Hopewell Rocks. We were at Hopewell Rocks three years ago, but the tide was in at the time, and we wanted to see it with the tide out.

Riverview, New Brunswick

Well, we just never know where we're going to end up from one day to the next.  We had expected to be just outside of Fundy National Park last night but we received an email yesterday morning that changed our plans for the day.

Truro, Nova Scotia

We left early yesterday morning and headed for Halifax airport. Nope, not flying anywhere, I just had to put in the application for my U.S. visa waiver renewal.

We're off!

We're off on another road trip! We're up early this morning and heading for Ontario.

Charities

I'm not big on most charities. First of all, it's probably very easy to find a member of your own family who could use the money more, so why not help out someone you actually know? And, I think that in a lot of cases, registered charities waste a lot of money on administration or fundraising activities, or worse yet it simply goes into somebody's pocket.  How does this relate to Travel with Kevin and Ruth? I'll explain...

June expenses

I'm not including any more advertising income, because essentially we don't have any! Most of you know that we got shut down by the Google Adsense people. And the new Chitika ads have been a waste of time.

Happy Independence Day!

First of all, Happy Independence day to all of our American friends! I am wearing my once a year t-shirt for you all today!

A nice summer day

It is so nice that summer has arrived in the Annapolis Valley. Finally, shorts and t-shirt weather!

Back in Canning, Nova Scotia

Well we had a fun Canada Day yesterday! We got up early and drove from the national park to Paula and Jerry's and picked up our little car. Then we took Sherman to Canning and parked up at our couchsurfing friend Tracey's house.

Happy Canada Day

For anybody who cares, it's Canada's birthday today. Good enough reason for a nationwide party, I suppose, while the Americans will have their big event on Monday. Personally, I'm not a very patriotic Canadian, so it's not a big deal to me.

Unlawful to feed the wildlife

We have been breaking this rule every day since we made it to Kejimkujik National Park. The mosquitoes are soooo friendly here that we can't help but to feed them!

Kejimkujik National Park

We took a day off from blogging yesterday. Not sure why, just never got to it! Spent the morning getting ready to leave our house sitting at Paula and Jerry's and headed out around noon.

A relaxing day

Not totally relaxing, in fact in the morning Ruth did some baking, and I gave Sherman's interior a thorough vacuum job. However in the afternoon, we relaxed.

A productive day

Well yesterday turned out to be a productive day. Although we had some showers in the afternoon, we still managed to get a lot done.

Poll results

We've had some poll questions over there on the right hand side for a while now and I thought I'd post the results.

Greenwood, Nova Scotia

On the road early yesterday morning, but only had a short drive to do. First we picked up our little car where we had it parked for the last couple of weeks at Gaspereau Mountain, then we went over to Lindsey's and had a shower and visited with her and Cameron for a bit.

Centre Rawdon, Nova Scotia

Yesterday was an uneventful day. We took our time leaving our free fairgrounds boondocking spot, and then took the main highway towards Halifax, but turned off to take a shorter route towards Kentville.

Truro, Nova Scotia

Well, we didn't expect to be in Truro again, but that just goes to show that plans can change! We didn't have a great travel day yesterday, and that's why we're here instead of down along the southeast coast.

Queensport, Nova Scotia

We drove about 135 kms yesterday, (84 miles) yet we're only about 60 kms (37 miles) as the crow flies, from where we started!

Replacement for Adsense

As I expected, Adsense is not the only game in town. You'll notice that we now have advertisements again to subsidize the cost of our travels. These advertisements are provided by Chitika and from first impressions, I'm very impressed!

St. Peter's, Nova Scotia

More rain, fog, and cold. I forgot to tell you that on Saturday night, Ruth and I and Whiskey slept in the tent and it POURED with rain. We were warm enough, but with the wind flapping the walls of the tent we didn't have a great sleep. And it was drizzly and foggy all day yesterday.

Fortress of Louisbourg

A short Canadian history lesson today, and lots of pictures in today's post.  It was foggy all day, so it's not that I forgot to clean the camera lens!

Louisbourg, Nova Scotia

Yesterday was a busy day. In the morning we hiked the 7.4 km (4.6 mile) Franey Trail, and in the afternoon we drove 158 kms (98 miles) to Louisbourg.

Franey Trail

This is a 7.4 km hike that takes you above the village of Ingonish and overlooks the Clyburn Valley. It's a pretty steep hike to get up there, and then a gradual decline around the other side. We rate this trail a 7.0 out of 10.

Ingonish (day 3)

We relaxed most of the day yesterday. We have one more hike we want to complete, but it has a few viewpoints and it was foggy and drizzly all day yesterday so we are going to do it this morning.

We finally saw a moose!

We hiked a 14 km (8.8 mile) trail yesterday and right when we had to turn around at the end of the trail we spotted a moose. We almost missed her, even though she was less than 50 feet away.

Branch Pond Look-off Trail

This a fairly long hike, at 7.0 kms one way. So it's 14.0 kms (8.8 miles) return. It follows an old fire access road that used to go all the way to Lake of Islands, which was 12.5 kms one way, but that section is no longer maintained and we found it mostly overgrown. We give this trail a 6.5 out of 10.

Ingonish, Cape Breton Island

We did four separate trails yesterday, for a total of 11.5 kms (7.1 miles). We have now done 57.7 kms (35.8 miles) of our 75 km (46.5 mile) hiking goal!

Broad Cove Mountain Trail

This 2.3 km (1.4 mile) trail goes through the forest up the side of the mountain, with a nice lookoff at the top. Fairly steep in sections, but some stairs are built into the trail. A nice view at the top, we give this trail a 6.5 out of 10.

Warren Lake Trail

This is a 4.7 km (2.9 mile) loop around Warren Lake. It's a pretty trail, and we really enjoyed this hike. We give this trail a 7.5 out of 10.

Jack Pine Trail

This 2.3 km (1.4 mile) trail loops through one of the few jack pine forests in the park. There are some interpretive signs along the trail. Again, not a bad trail, but nothing special. A couple of view points make it interesting. However, we give this trail a 5.0 out of 10.

Jigging Cove Trail

This trail goes around a small lake, with another section that goes to the coast and back. We did the other section during the coastal trail earlier on, so this just details the 2.2 km (1.4 mile) hike around the lake. Not  a bad walk, but nothing special. we give this trail a 5.5 out of 10.

Neil's Harbour, Cape Breton Island

Yesterday morning, we left Bay St. Lawrence and had breakfast at Cabot Landing day use park. After that, we headed just past the village of Neil's Harbour to hike the Coastal Trail.

Coastal Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Yesterday we did the Coastal Trail. It's an 11.3 km (7 mile) hike that follows the coast south of Neil's Harbour. It's a decent hike, and we rate it a 7.0 out of 10.

Bay St. Lawrence, Cape Breton Island

There are several hiking trails leading out of the Meat Cove area, and we wanted to do one of them before we left. The girl running the campground suggested the Mountain Trail, and she said we were welcome to leave Sherman where he was while we did the hike. We left Whiskey behind to guard Sherman!

Meat Cove, Cape Breton Island

We had a great day yesterday. The sun was shining pretty much all day, and although the temperature never got much above 12C (55F), the nice bright sun made up for it.

Lone Shieling Trail

Another short walk, not really a hike at all. And with a full service washroom facility in the middle of the short trail, this one is almost not worth stopping at. We give this trail a 2.5 out of 10.

MacIntosh Brook Trail

Only a few kms from Pleasant Bay, this is just a short trail of 1.7 kms (1.1 miles) return. It's a nice hike though, and we give it a rating of 6.0 out of 10.

Pleasant Bay (day 2)

Well yesterday started out drizzly and cold and it didn't get any better until the sun went down! In fact, we didn't see the sun all day until 10 minutes before it set.

Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia

We had a busy day yesterday so we broke it up into three separate posts. We did two different hiking trails yesterday, so I have already done a post about each of the trails.

Skyline Trail

Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park is the most popular trail in the park. But it's not because it's a great hiking trail. I give this trail a 6.0 out of 10, and even then it's only because of the view at the end.

Acadian Trail

Yesterday morning, we did the 8.4 km (5.2 mile) Acadian Trail. This trail also leaves from the Cheticamp Visitor Centre of Cape Breton Highlands national Park. Overall, I give this trail a 7.5 out of 10.

Job hunting

No, not us.

But I thought it might be worthwhile to try and help our son out in a weak job market...

Cheticamp (day 2)

Well we already told you about our nice hike yesterday afternoon on the Salmon Pools Trail. It turned out to be a perfect day, however they are calling for 40% chance of rain again for today so we're heading out early to do our first hike while it still looks nice out.

Salmon Pools Trail

Just got back from a three hour hike. Today we did the Salmon Pools Trail which starts out behind the campground at the Cheticamp Visitors Centre of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Overall, I give this trail a 4.0 out of 10.

Cheticamp, Cape Breton Island

We did go get some laundry done yesterday in Inverness, and then we sat and waited for the rain to stop. They had been saying 40% chance of rain, but of course they don't have a clue and it rained all morning, eventually stopping around 1:00pm. Maybe they meant it was going to rain for 40% of the day!

Inverness, Cape Breton Island

We don't really have any plans as to how far we drive each day, and yesterday it turned out that we didn't drive very far. We just stop if we see a spot worthwhile to stop at. If not, we keep driving.

Port Hood, Cape Breton Island

We said goodbye to our friends in Antigonish, but will probably stop in again on our way back through in a couple of weeks. By the time we left it was after 10:00am. We made a quick stop for some groceries because there won't be any large grocery stores along the Cabot Trail.

Antigonish, Nova Scotia

We hit the road fairly early yesterday, about 9:00am. We took the long route that runs close to Halifax because it's a nicer road and it's actually about the same amount of time as the shorter route. I expected a bit more traffic, but the roads were actually fairly quiet.

On the road again!

Well we took off yesterday for our two week tour of Cape Breton Island and the Cabot Trail. We didn't make it very far, but that was by choice.

And the winner is...

C'mon now Sam, you don't really think you could have won...

Only four hours until our contest closes

Just a reminder for any last minute entries.

Medical Insurance

We've hinted a couple of times that we might return to Mexico a little earlier than normal. We're thinking September. Reader Elaine from Canada asked the following question...

May expenses and Adsense income

Well May was a little cheaper, coming in at just over $1,500 in expenses. And our Adsense had a record month! So overall, it was a decent month.

New shocks

I have ordered new front shocks for Sherman! I'm pretty sure that the front shocks on our motorhome are the original ones from 1995, and now have 66,000 miles on them. Now, that number of miles is still pretty low for a 1995, but when you've driven on Mexican highways you can probably double that!

Anyhow, I've ordered Bilstein HD shocks at a cost of $93 each and hopefully they'll show up by Friday so that I can have them installed during our trip out to Cape Breton Island.

Out and about

Well this past weekend I have been out and about visiting.

On Saturday, I went out to breakfast with two school friends that I have known since Grade 1.  That was so long ago, but we always manage to get together at least once a year.  It was nice to get see them and catch up on all the news.

Bachelorhood

I was looking through our pictures over the years, trying to figure out when the last time was that Ruth and I were apart for a full two weeks. Ruth will probably pipe in and answer that question real quick, and I can't recall offhand but I have a feeling it was quite a long time ago.

Everybody loves a parade

I stopped in town this morning to pick up some clips that I needed in order to put Sherman's dash back together. After that, I was on the way to Lindsey and Justin's because we were going to the 79th Annual Apple Blossom Parade.

Guess what?

It's been raining again.   I know, I know everyone is tired about everyone's post complaining about the weather. I guess we are lucky, considering we just have to deal with wet weather while others are dealing with floods and tornadoes.  We really feel for those people, some have lost everything or are trying to save everything from rising waters.

Almost like summer

Less than a week to go until Ruth returns and we can hit the road again. When she gets back, we're heading to Cape Breton Island to explore the Cabot Trail. We were there in the summer of 2008 and it's a beautiful part of the world so we're looking forward to going back there for a couple of weeks.

Contest giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a brand new RV cover of your choice!

We're going to have a contest!

With a valuable RV related item as a prize!

No rain!

Well I think I have gone about 5 days here in Ontario with no rain.  I think that is a record!  It still hasn't been real nice spring weather, except for Saturday when I went to Plattsburg to pick up Alex, that turned out to be a beautiful day.  It is still cool and more overcast than sunny, but I will take that, it helps keep the mosquitoes at bay.

Almost BBQ weather

Yesterday turned out good enough that it almost felt like barbecue weather. They had been calling for showers again, but it never did rain. Good thing, because Lindsey and Justin and Cameron came up to visit and go for a hike.

Motorhome repairs

I spent some time yesterday afternoon working on Sherman. You know, that "to do" list that I am going to get done before Ruth returns!

School is Over

Yesterday was a long day for me.  I was going to Plattsburgh, NY to pick up our son, Alex for the very last time.  After 5 years of college and university in the States he is finished for good.  He has graduated with honours with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Math.  Way to go Alex, we are so proud of you.

Online medication

Whiskey (now 15 years old) has a heart murmur that has essentially caused congestive heart failure. She has been prescribed a medication called Vetmedin that makes her heart pump more efficiently.

Anonymous?

You don't have to be Anonymous. Many of our readers become "followers". Yeah, it does sound a bit like a cult or something, doesn't it? But it's not. It just makes it easy for you to keep up with what we're doing.

A Nice Hike

This is the second post for the day.  To read Kevin's earlier post just click on the previous post.

We I didn't do very much yesterday.  I woke up to rain and it continued off and on throughout the day.  So I stayed inside for most of it.  I did make my dad his favourite cake and later took KC, my dad's dog for a short walk while there was a break in the weather.  Then later on made a nice fish dish for supper.

Out for a bike ride

We got another decent day here on Gaspereau Mountain, so I took advantage of it to go for a nice bicycle ride. Only problem is that we are pretty much located at the top of a hill here, it's not really a mountain. So pretty much any direction leads down, which means you have to cycle back up!

Galetta, Ontario

Well it was an early morning yesterday, up at 4:45am had a tea/coffee and a bowl of cereal and out the door at 5:30am on our way to the airport.  Very foggy that morning but no problems as it was dawn so we had some light.

An exciting day!

Well, not exactly. But that's better than putting a title that says "Defrosting the refrigerator"! Not a bad day however. Not as much sun as I would have liked, but it was nice to have the windows open and just the screen on the side door. Sherman was due for a little fresh air!

Just me and the dog

We did manage to get out for a nice walk in the woods yesterday morning, and I don’t think it rained all day! No sun either, but at least it didn’t rain.

Adsense color codes

A lot of you have Adsense advertising on your blogs. I'm always trying different ways to increase the revenue from Adsense, and our monthly income is starting to show some consistent gains.

Rain, rain, go away...

We’ve going to have to buy an anchor. Because without one, we’re afraid that Sherman is going to float away!

The Price of Milk

Most of our readers know that we're always searching for a deal and that we hate paying full price for anything. So when we bought our first jug of milk after arriving here in Nova Scotia, we had a bit of a shock.

Walk in the forest

Yesterday turned out better than they said it would be, and although it was overcast most of the day, it didn’t rain like they said it would.

Gaspereau Mountain

We spent the day with Lindsey and Cameron yesterday. He sure is a good little baby, and Lindsey is such a good mom. He’s about six weeks old now, so he’s starting to become alert and smile.

Back in Kentville area

Made it back to Kentville. We actually didn’t see any rain yesterday, so perhaps the weather is changing. But, it was still overcast all day.

Lunenburg (day 2)

Despite the weather (yes, it’s still raining) we had a pretty good day yesterday. We walked into Lunenburg, about 10 minutes from the campground, and went to the Bluenose II restoration.

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

It stopped raining just long enough yesterday morning to return the bikes to the back of Sherman. Our couchsurfing host David was at work, so we said goodbye to the other couchsurfers and headed out for the long drive to Lunenburg.

Blogger functions

We spent the whole day yesterday inside the house. Why? Because it poured with rain all day. Even Whiskey didn’t want to go outside.

Crescent Beach (day 3)

We did manage to go for a walk yesterday morning without getting drenched. In fact, the day turned out slightly better than was forecast, but the weather is still terrible.

Crescent Beach (day 2)

Yesterday morning was still cool, although the rain held off long enough for us to go for a 14 km (8.7 mile) bike ride. We haven’t had the bikes on the road since Mexico!

Near Crescent Beach, Nova Scotia

By the time we finished breakfast yesterday, the sun was shining! It was still cool and a bit windy, but at least we had the sun. We took Whiskey for a nice walk all the way around Graves Island.

camping-gear-outlet.com

So this looks like not a bad website to buy camping gear .

Graves Island boat launch, near Chester

We left Ross Farm Museum at around 8:30am yesterday. It was VERY foggy  and drizzly and it didn’t really start to clear up at all so we only drove about 35 kms (22 miles) to the town of Chester.

Ross Farm Museum

We left our spot at Tracey’s house at around 9:30am yesterday. We stopped at the gas station and put $140 worth of fuel into Sherman, and that gave us about half a tank! But it should be enough to last us for the month because we’re not going very far.

Customer service extremes

Last September we wrote about the exceptional customer service that we received from the Lagostina Cookware Company. Yesterday, we had another exceptional experience.

Puttering around

We were going to be heading out on our next Nova Scotia exploration this morning, but we’ve decided to put it off for one more day.

Blomidon Provincial Park

Most of our Canadian readers will know that today is election day in Canada. Will anything change? Well all we can do is hope, I suppose.

April expenses and Adsense income

 Not a bad month, but once again the “ miscellaneous” expenses were higher than we like them to be. On the website income side of things,  our Adsense revenue once again had a pretty good month.

A nice spring day

We fired up Sherman yesterday morning and drove the 6 kms (4 miles) or so over to Tracey’s place. We’re parked up on her front lawn overlooking the street, but it’s not a busy street and there’s a farm across the road, so it’s a decent spot for a few days.

A heat wave!

Yesterday morning we picked up Lindsey and Cameron and drove up to Gaspereau Mountain, about 20 minutes from town. The village of Gaspereau is a nice little place situated in a valley and it will make for some nice photos when things get green in a couple of weeks. But yesterday was cloudy and rainy.

Warming up, but still raining

Went for a walk yesterday morning in the farmers field across the road, then we went over to Lindsey and Justins.

A rainy day

Well they were calling for rain yesterday, and they weren’t wrong. We did manage to get out for a walk in the morning though before the rain started.

Back in Kentville area

The drive from Digby yesterday morning was uneventful. We stopped at the Greenwood Mall again and used their free dump station, and filled up again at the propane place in Coldbrook because we were driving right by it anyhow. We used 35.2 litres (9.3 gallons, $39.48) of propane trying to stay warm in the wind at Brier Island!

Back to civilization

Sure enough, we spent most of yesterday shrouded in fog. It made for an interesting walk in the morning though, and some different photo opportunities.

Brier Island (day 2)

Time for another change of scenery! We drove over to the other side of the island, and sure enough there were quite a few nice spots to boondock.  There’s no lighthouse at the end of this road, but there is a small parking area for “Sandy Beach”. And there is some sand at this beach but it’s still pretty rocky to me. My idea of a sandy beach would have us quite a bit further south!

Brier Island

Yesterday was beautiful. The sun was bright in the sky all day long, and the temperature actually got up to 10C (50F) or so. We went for a short walk and then got on the ferry to Brier Island at 11:00am.

Freeport, on Long Island

Yesterday morning after we left the lighthouse we headed back into Digby and bought $100 worth of gas. That was about a third of a tank. $1.359 per litre, about $5.00 per gallon. Oh well, such is the life we lead. Then, we stopped in to get a 4 litre (slightly more than a gallon) jug of milk, but they wanted $7.69. This sure is an expensive part of the world. We still had some boxes of Mexico milk, so we’ll use that until we can get milk here for under $7.00.

Lighthouse Road

Usually, where there is a lighthouse, there is a parking spot for an RV. Sure enough, at the end of Lighthouse Rd., there was a nice overnight spot for Sherman. Only one problem.

Another great boondocking spot

So it did pour with rain all morning yesterday, but the rain stopped after lunch and it actually cleared up later. By mid afternoon the sun was shining on and off.

Pouring rain

Yesterday morning, we did some groceries and Lindsey came with us so that we could drop our little car off at Justin’s cousin’s place. They actually have a nice spot where we could park up with Sherman for a few days as well, so we’ll take advantage of that when we return.

Getting ready to head out!

 It was a windy, rainy day on Sunday, although it did clear up towards the end of the afternoon. The temperature actually went up to 12C (54F) but it didn’t feel that warm because of the wind and rain. We actually went to the mall for a couple of hours just to wander around somewhere warm. Didn’t buy a thing though!

Cold

Sherman's propane is getting low again because it's been so cold. Down to the freezing mark again last night, and it's really windy out there now. I know there was a reason we showed up here in late March, but we're really getting tired of the cold, and the wind, and the rain. And although yesterday was mostly sunny, we have clouds today so have to conserve electricity.

Back home!

Well, that’s the first time in quite a while that we’ve missed doing a daily blog post. I was up early yesterday and on the road, so I actually thought Ruth was going to write something, but she thought I was going to do it when I arrived last night. But I was tired from the days driving and just wanted to visit with everyone.

Heading back to Nova Scotia

I left Ottawa at about 7:30am. I was already on the outskirts, so I didn't really have any traffic to deal with. Made it to the town of Casselman, where I needed to put in just enough gas to get me across the border to the USA where the gas is almost 30% cheaper.

Update from Nova Scotia

Well Kevin has a travel day today so it's my turn to write.  He has certainly been doing a lot more than me this past week.  Today he is driving to Plattsburg, NY to see our son at university there.

Errand day

Spent the day running around. I had five things to accomplish, and none of them went as planned!

An evening spent with friends

It turned into a rainy Sunday here in Ottawa, but it was a great day anyhow. I sold the snow rubber and rims that were taking up the back seat of our little car. We don't plan on ever having to use snows again, and I didn't want to have them in the car while driving back to Nova Scotia later this week.

A day spent with family

Saturday was the day of my father's memorial service. That was the main reason for my visiting Ottawa at this time. He passed away in late November, and we were in Mexico at the time so my mother decided to hold off the service until spring.

Bought a Mi-Fi!

We can do without television, but we can't do without internet. So when we're not near a source of wi-fi, now we can just fire up our Mi-Fi!

Whiskey and Cameron

April 7th

Not anything too exciting happening here at the moment.  It has still been unseasonably cold and windy with the exception of today.

Galetta, Ontario

So I made it to Ruth's father's place in the little village of Galetta, just outside of Ottawa.. He sure does have a nice view off the front porch, too bad it isn't warm enough to site out there and watch the world go by!

Flying to Kingston, Ontario

Ruth and I got up at 3:30am this morning, and took Whiskey with us for the drive to Halifax airport. I'm writing this from the lounge in Toronto airport, waiting for my connecting flight to Kingston.

Taking Sherman for a drive

Apr 4

The church parking lot where we’ve got Sherman is used during the week by the college next door. It starts to fill up by 8:30am, so we fired up Sherman just after 7:00am and drove to another church down the road where we could sit for a couple of hours until the propane place opened.

Home from the hospital

Lindsey, Justin, and baby Cameron came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon, and they’re all doing fine. Whiskey, on the other hand, didn’t have such a good day.

Highlights of our trip south

When you're essentially on the road in an RV for about five months, there can be a lot of different opportunities for memories. On this past trip, the longest we stayed in one spot was nine days. So because we move around a lot, we manage to see and do a lot if interesting things!

Welcome to the world, Cameron!

Yes, our grandson Cameron entered the world at 2:49pm, Friday April 1^st. Seven pounds, nine ounces. Mom and baby are doing great!

March expenses and Adsense income

Well, after a record cheap February, we almost had a record expensive March! It's hard to believe we can spend only $1,058 one month, and then $3,576 the next!

No grandbaby yet...

False alarm labor pains yesterday, and we are still waiting for grandson to make an appearance. We have a feeling this will be an April Fools baby!

Lots to talk about

Some days we have to think of things to talk about, but not today. Nope, still no baby yet, although Lindsey thinks this evening that she may be getting some contractions, so maybe tomorrow will be the day!

Searching for a home base

We went for a drive and checked out a couple of different RV parks as possibilities for a seasonal or even monthly home base for this summer. Because we will be heading to Ottawa in early September, we’re thinking a monthly price will be better. Plus, if we don’t like the spot we choose, we won’t be locked in any longer than a month.

Mexico, on $30 a day

How much did our five month trip cost? Not as much as you would think. In fact, it probably would have been more expensive for us to stay in Canada!

No baby yet...

Well that was the second coldest night we have ever spent in the motorhome. Temperature went down to -6C (21F) but with the windchill it was -14C (7F). These are near record cold temperatures for this area.

The next few months

Today was a relax day, and I expect we’ll have a few of those over the next week or so. Ruth went with Lindsey and Justin to the grocery store, and I stayed in the apartment where it’s warm, with Whiskey and the two cats…Husky and Phoebe.

Kentville, Nova Scotia

Woke up and turned the thermostat on the furnace higher. When we’re sleeping we just leave it at its lowest setting which keeps the temperature around 10C (50F). And it was a cold clear night, around -6C (21F).

St. Andrews, New Brunswick

It snowed overnight, just a dusting, but it was still snowing a bit when we left. Made it through Bangor and into the eastern part of Maine where there is still a lot of snow on the ground.

Lewiston, Maine

Woke up before 7:00am and moved from the Wal-mart parking lot, just like we promised we would. The Advance Auto Parts store was just a block away so we went to their parking lot which was empty to wait for their 7:30am opening.

Southington, Connecticut

We rushed out of Wycombe Vineyards just after 7:00am to try and get some driving in before we hit any rush hour traffic. Stopped at Liberty Corner, New Jersey, around 8:30am and used some free wi-fi from the Marriott hotel. Thanks Marriott!

Wycombe, Pennsylvania

It rained last night, and was overcast when we woke up this morning. We drove again right away, but pulled off the highway just before Wilmington because rush hour traffic was getting heavy.

Dover, Delaware

Slept fine at the Roanoke Rapids Walmart. Got up about 7:00am, and hit the road right away. It’s a Sunday, so we want to make it past Washington and Baltimore while the traffic is hopefully a little quieter.

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina

Sure enough, we slept in a little this morning, and we didn’t leave Pete and Pam’s lake house until just after 9:00am. They have a dump station at the house, so we made use of that before we left. Then we stopped at their store and gas bar and filled up the fuel and the propane. With full fuel, full propane, and empty holding tanks, Sherman is a happy camper!

Cross, SC (day 6)

Another beautiful day. We’ve been really lucky with the weather…high of around 86F (30C) today. Almost Mexico weather! I got the rest of the work with the air springs finished today. Very happy with the way they work, so I’m looking forward to putting in a full tank of gas and still have the vehicle ride level.

Cross, SC (day 5)

We slept in a little this morning. We had planned on leaving here at 8:30am to go visit John and Ellen at Congaree National Park, but we didn’t wake up until 7:30am!

Cross, SC (day 4)

Well the air bag system is 95% installed, and working perfectly! I ran the airlines and the wiring and placed the compressor where it will be installed in one of the lower cargo bays.

Cross, SC (day 3)

Another peaceful nights sleep. Woke up a little stiff and sore though, but I have to get the other air bag installed, so I’ll just have to suck it up!

Cross, SC (day 2)

Had a totally peaceful night here at the lakehouse. Didn’t get up until after 7:30am, but I’m sure some of that was due to the various time changes we’ve been through. And, we had to catch up from our lack of sleep beside the train tracks the other night!

Cross, South Carolina

Not a great night at the Cordele, GA Walmart. Do not put this one on your list of overnight places to stop! The train tracks are what did it, we heard train horns blowing pretty much all night long. Oh well.

Cordele, Georgia

Not sure what the temperature got down to last night, but Ruth got up in the middle of the night to put the electric heat on, and even when we got up around 7:00am, it was still only 57F (14C) in the motorhome.

Open Pond Recreation Area, Alabama

Had a good sleep at the Grand Biloxi Casino, but we were both awake early so we left right away and did some driving. I used http://www.gasbuddy.com/ to scout out a cheap gas station along our route about 20 miles away.

Biloxi, Mississippi

We had some laundry to do, so Ruth was in the camp laundramat before 7:30 this morning. Still, we didn’t rush out of Poche’s Fish ‘n camp and didn’t say goodbye to our friends Paula and Jerry until almost 11:00am, which is a pretty late start for us.

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

It was still drizzling when we woke up this morning, but the forecast said it was supposed to clear so we stayed put for a couple of hours. Plus, we were waiting to hear back from our friends Paula and Jerry who are trying to arrange us an inexpensive stay where they are at an RV park near todays route.

Vinton, Louisiana

Our record of no precipitation has ended! We heard raindrops on Sherman’s roof last night for the first time since November 13th! That was a pretty darn good run of beautiful weather we had. But it’s over now. It was drizzling when we got up this morning, and it rained on and off all day.

Tomball, Texas

Had a great sleep at the Walmart in Beeville, Texas. A couple of readers (thank you Evelyn and John and Ellen!) mentioned Spring Creek Park in Tomball, Texas as a possible destination, so that’s where we headed.

Beeville, Texas

I went to sleep okay last night, but the loud music woke me up. Chris said later that it was after 3:30am when it stopped. So we were kind of tired this morning, but we said goodbye to Chris and Juan and still got on the road shortly after 7:30am.

Made it into the U.S.A.

Just a short note to say that our drive from Monterrey and our border crossing at Laredo were both totally uneventful. We are now in Texas. Not sure where we're going to end up tonight, but we will try and post a complete update later on today, provided we have internet access!

Potrero Chico (day 2)

A bit of a loud night last night. There was music coming from somewhere until the wee hours, not real loud, but just loud enough to be annoying. No worries, we still got up fairly early, and went for a morning hike.

Our route to South Carolina

Tomorrow (Sunday) we will enter Texas at Laredo. We plan on being in South Carolina a week from tomorrow, and that's about 1400 miles (2,258 kms), or 200 miles (322 kms) per day. Should be no problem, since we will stick to the Interstate for the most part, even though it's not our most favorite way to travel.

Potrero Chico, north of Monterrey

We didn’t leave our parking lot at the hotel until almost 10:00am, figuring that most rush hour traffic would have died down. It was still pretty busy leaving Saltillo, but we made it through with out issue…until we got to the outskirts.

Saltillo

We were up just before 7:00am, and after saying goodbye to Alejandra and Tonio, we were on the road before 7:30am. We stopped for gas on the outskirts of town ($0.75 per litre $2.83 per gallon) and then as we were slowing at a speed bump, we were flagged down by somebody.

Zacatecas (day 2)

Today was a relax day, especially for me and Whiskey. Our friend Alejandra had some errands in the morning, and of course her son Tonio was in school for the day. But she left us the key to her house, so we had showers and spent time on the internet.

Zacatecas

Around 9:20am we left Whiskey to look after Sherman, and walked to el Centro (downtown) which was only about a 15 minute walk. We’re on a busy street, and we wanted to explore some of the churches and buildings so it didn’t make sense to have Whiskey with us.

February living expenses and blog income

Well February turned out to be an interesting month in the finance department. It was actually our cheapest month so far this trip.

Aguascalientes

Got up just before 7:00am, and we were pretty much ready to go. Barb and Sal were at the gate ready to say goodbye when we drove out around 7:30am. We had a GREAT time at Hacienda Contreras, and we look forward to spending more time there next year.

Hacienda Contreras (day 9)

It was another beautiful blue sky day. We have had pretty much perfect weather for over three months now, and we just don’t get tired of that at all. We never left the campground today, instead we enjoying our final day here just puttering around.

Hacienda Contreras (day 8)

We didn’t do very much yesterday, but we sure made up for it today! Sal had to go into town to get some auto parts, so around 9:30am we hitched a ride with him and he dropped us off at the Los Cazos area the other side of the town of Mazamitla. Los Cazos is a pine forest subdivision that has cabanas (cottages) on cobblestone roads, and a trail that leads to a waterfall.

Hacienda Contreras (day 7)

Well, today was supposed to be our last day here, but the week has flown by, and we haven't seen everything we wanted to see yet. So, we're staying put another couple of days.

Hacienda Contreras (day 6)

The day actually started off very foggy and cloudy. But the sun started to burn through around 9:00am and once again it turned into a beautiful day. We had planned on another hike this morning, and once we saw the sun we decided to go.

Hacienda Contreras (day 5)

We just lazed about this morning, and in between spending time on the internet I did some more cleanup of Sherman (wouldn’t want to get it done all at once!) and Ruth did some laundry.

Hacienda Contreras (day 4)

Some of the campers were going with Sal and his mother to the Las Jaras hot springs water park about 45 minutes from here. It was back the direction we had come when we arrived here, and we remembered passing by it at the time.

Hacienda Contreras (day 3)

We had a beautiful day today, and it was a perfect day to climb to the highest point overlooking the valley. It was a little hazy, but otherwise the view was fantastic.

Hacienda Contreras (day 2)

Temperature inside the motorhome when we woke up this morning was 11C (52F), which is the coldest it’s been for us since mid December! Had to put on jeans and a sweatshirt!

Hacienda Contreras, near Valle de Juarez

Today was a driving day, so we got up at 7:00am and we were on the road leaving Maruata by 7:30am. We would love to spend more time there, and next year that will be in the plans.

Maruata (day 2)

Ruth got up at 7:00am and went right out to the beach to see if there were any big sea turtles still up laying their eggs. We had meant to try and get up earlier, since they don’t usually come up to the beach after sunrise.

Maruata

We slept for almost ten hours! Obviously needed some catching up in the sleep department! Felt much better, and we got under way around 8:15am. We only had 47 kms (29 miles) to our next destination at Maruata, but that could take hours on these roads…

Zapote de Tizupan

We got up at 7:00am, and got ready to head over to the big Comercial Mexicana grocery store. As I was out walking around Sherman to make sure everything was ready to go, who walks by but Wendy! She knew we were heading to the store and hoped that we hadn’t left yet so she could catch a ride. So we gave her a ride up there.

Zihuatanejo (day 4)

The day started off cloudy, in fact it was almost overcast. Seemed a little odd not to have the sun shining. But it didn’t take very long and the clouds had disappeared so that it was blue sky and sunshine again for the rest of the day.

blueskyscrubs.com

Don't ask me why I'm blogging about scrubs , because it seems like an odd website to review on a blog that is essentially about travel.

Zihuatanejo (day 3)

Valentines Day is apparently a big deal in Mexico, with lots of young couples walking around holding hands and carrying heart shaped balloons and stuffed animals and other gifts. We didn’t do anything special just for Valentines Day, but I think it seems like we do special things every day!

Zihautanejo (day 2)

Took Whiskey for a walk along the beach this morning, and then left her with Sherman while we walked over to the market. Didn’t bring the camera this time, so no pictures. Picked up a few fruits and veggies, as well as a tortilla press for our daughter Lindsey.

Zihuatanejo

We slept great last night, and we didn’t notice any cars pull into the parking area until a pickup truck pulled in about 6:45am and a couple got out and starting exercising! Around that time we got up and made coffee and tea and opened the blinds to a beautiful sunrise.

Piedra de Tlacoyunque

The waves coming in from the beach were crashing in so loudly last night that the force actually rocked the motorhome. I didn’t think that was possible, but it really did. We didn’t get to bed until almost midnight in the first place, and then we were woken up by the waves while it was still dark. Still, we didn’t get up until 7:00am.

Acapulco (day 3)

Well the reason we stayed here another day was to get some more cleanup done to Sherman. Ruth had a major bathroom and shower cleanup to do, and my job for the day was the carpet.

Acapulco (day 2)

Up early this morning and got caught up on the internet. Ruth did some hand washing and walked Whiskey on the beach, then we went grocery shopping.

Repairpal

So http://repairpal.com seems like it could be a useful website. They have a section called "My Car" where you can keep track of all of your repair bills and it also has maintenance reminders.

Acapulco Trailer Park

We didn’t rush to leave this morning because we knew it wasn’t a real long drive to Acapulco. Still, we were on the road at about 9:00am.

Playa Ventura (day 3)

After our morning walk on the beach with Whiskey, Ruth and I walked into town to buy a couple of grocery items, and a six pack of beer to help celebrate my birthday!

Playa Ventura (day 2)

We actually slept in this morning…didn’t get up until almost 7:30am. It’s funny, you would think the noise from the waves crashing in would bother you trying to sleep, but I think it actually helps me sleep. I was out like a light last night.

Back at Playa Ventura

We were up at our normal time around 6:30am , and started getting everything ready to go. By 7:15am, we went and woke up our friends in the house, and everybody came out to say goodbye.

Puerto Escondido (day 8)

Well today was a coasting kind of a day. We slept really well at Tracy and Jims, and they drove us back to Sherman around 10:00am. We knew Mary would be concerned about us not being there in the morning, although when we got back she had gone into town with Sylvia, her mother in law.

Puerto Escondido (day 7)

We like Puerto Escondido. It’s one of those places that we can’t seem to leave. We really should be heading back up the coast by now, but we’re still here. The first time we came to Puerto in March of 2009 it was supposed to be an overnight stop and we ended up staying for ten days.

Puerto Escondido (day 6)

Mary’s sister in law is from a small village about a half an hour north of here. We were told that they were holding a rodeo there today, so even though we thought it was a little odd to do something like that during the day on a Wednesday, we thought okay, let’s go.

Puerto Escondido (day 5)

We decided to go to the beach today. Ruth packed up some sandwiches and we stopped along the way to buy a roast chicken for takeout.

Puerto Escondido (day 4)

This morning, a woodworking guy showed up to build the tables for the restaurant. Why buy tables, when you can hire a guy to build them for cheaper. By the way, I found out that the guys who showed up yesterday to help with the concrete floor were each paid 200 pesos ($16.67) each for about six hours of pretty hard work.

January living expenses and adsense income

We had a pretty cheap month in January, only spending a total of $1,067. It's a good thing because for some reason our adsense didn't have a great month, with not nearly as many people visiting our advertisers, even though we had an increase in visitors.

Puerto Escondido (day 3)

Mary took Ruth into town today to do some shopping. Ruth wanted a new swimsuit and we are both better off if I don’t have to be there for clothes shopping!

Puerto Escondido (day 2)

This morning, our friend Mary and her daughter Nataly and her niece Danna came with us and we took the collectivo into town and did a grocery shop at the relatively new Bodega Aurrera store in Puerto Escondido. It’s not a very big store, and I don’t think it was well planned.

Return to Puerto Escondido

We pulled out of our spot at Playa Zipolite at 7:15am. We wanted to make it throught the tight streets of Mazunte before there was any traffic, and we did okay. Still, the first 8 kms (5 miles) or so was pretty slow going.

Playa Zipolite (day 7)

Well I guess it was a 24 hour stomach bug! I woke up this morning surprised that I had slept so well through the night, and proceeded to feel better throughout the day. Now, I feel just about fine, I think!

Playa Zipolite (day 6)

One thing I forgot to tell you about regarding the downside to RV’ing in Mexico. Every time that we have been here, we have picked up some kind of stomach bug at some point during our stay. Usually related to eating out…

Playa Zipolite (day 5)

We each went for our walks on the beach this morning. We pretty much have to go separately now because Whiskey doesn’t seem to enjoy it. It’s about a 2 km (1.6 mile) walk. Although she was a little more chipper today…I think she just wasn’t feeling well for a couple of days.

Playa Zipolite (day 4)

We don’t talk much about the downsides to RV’ing in Mexico because we feel the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. But there are some minor issues that you have to deal with if you want to RV inexpensively in Mexico.

Playa Zipolite (day 3)

At around 9:00am, we started walking towards the village of Zipolite. From there, we needed to take a collectivo taxi to the next village of Mazunte so that we could visit the sea turtle sanctuary.

Playa Zipolite (day 2)

Didn’t do much today. Went for a walk down to the other end of the beach and then through part of the town and back to here.

Playa Zipolite

We stopped and got some groceries, and then some propane. We try and refill our propane tank when it gets down to about ¼ full. It’s a large tank and from full to ¼ full seems to last us about a month. That’s pretty good with the fridge running constantly on propane, and all the cooking we do.

Playa Chahue (Huatulco, day 19)

Had a good sleep parked up on the dead end street. We were parked just far enough off the road that nobody could see us down there, and as far as we know, nobody did.

Playa Bocana (Huatulco, day 18)

We were up well before 7:00am, but it was still almost 7:45am before we actually hopped on the bikes and went for a ride. Not sure why it takes us so long to get going sometimes!

Playa Tangolunda (Huatulco, day 17)

When Ruth took Whiskey out this morning, she came back with my other sandal! It had a few tooth marks in it, so it was obviously a dog or two who had walked away with them during the night before. But I’m glad to have them back.

Yearly full time living expenses

Readers Rob and Sherrie from Alberta asked about our yearly expenses while living fulltime in Sherman. We've kept track of pretty much every dime that we've spent, so I can kind of give you a breakdown.

Playa Tangolunda (Huatulco, day 16)

Ruth took Whiskey for a walk this morning as I was watching the stock market. It is sure an interesting time for gold, and there is a lot of money to be made with the junior gold stocks. It will be interesting to see how the whole U.S. monetary policy situation ends over the next few years.

Playa Tangolunda (Huatulco, day 15)

We went for our morning walk along the main road that runs by the entrances to the resort hotels. They have a sidewalk on either side, so no worries about vehicles. But you had better have your eyes on the sidewalk when you’re walking!

Playa Tangolunda (Huatulco, day 14)

Ruth walked down to the beach at 6:45am to see the sunrise. We are usually up before 7:00am anyhow, but today Ruth wanted to go watch the sunrise. I don’t blame her, the sunrises over the ocean are beautiful.

Playa Tangolunda (Huatulco, day 13)

First thing on the agenda was to clean the fridge burner. In this kind of hot weather, the burner for our fridge runs non stop.

Playa Tangolunda (Huatulco, day 12)

Up at 7:00am, after not a very good sleep. A couple of dogs barking, and a few kids playing soccer in the middle of the road in the middle of the night. I guess you get what you pay for sometimes!

Our RV'ing story

We have a lot of new readers, and not all of you know how we got into this Rv'ing thing. So for a change of pace we thought we'd tell you all the story.

Playa Tangolunda (Huatulco, day 11)

Had a coasting kind of a morning…me on the internet, while Ruth and Alex took Whiskey for a walk and then sat out playing cribbage.

Playa Tangolunda (Huatulco, day 10)

Our cellular internet went funny last night, and it still wasn’t working this morning. We were leaving this morning anyhow, so we decided to get up and leave right away.

Playa La Entrega (Huatulco, day 9)

Another day of doing nothing. Well, we did nothing important. Played games, went snorkeling…beach bum sort of nothing.

Playa La Entrega (Huatulco, day 8)

This morning, we went to the other beach. This is a small beach that is only accessible by boat or a walking trail. We got there about 9:00am and we were the only ones there.

Playa La Entrega (Huatulco, day 7)

We know that life is not always easy, and that sometimes tough choices have to be made. So the first decision of the day was to figure out which beach to go snorkeling at.

Playa La Entrega (Huatulco, day 6)

Got up to watch a beautiful sunrise this morning. Because we’re on the part of coast that is actually almost east and west, we get to see beautiful sunrises and sunsets from our location here.

Playa La Entrega (Huatulco, day 5)

We looked out the back window this morning to see the sunrise, and were surprised by a huge cruise ship backing into the bay. The boat was the Norwegian Star and it was on a Panama Canal cruise from Los Angeles to Tampa.