In the afternoon, I went for lunch with an old friend of mine who used to be my accountant partner when I owned the auto body repair shop many years ago. Nice to catch up since I hadn't seen him in about two years.
It was chilly all day, and it rained for a few hours late afternoon.
Checking the summer tires before installing them.
That church in the background is the one that Ruth and I were married in.
Now, it's been converted to a private home.
I still like getting my hands dirty every now and then.
Meanwhile, Ruth was doing some raking.
The daffodils are out!
So, next fall we will fly back to Ottawa, sometime around September 25th. Haven't booked the flight yet, although I'm keeping my eye on the prices, which are currently at around $314 CAD ($240 USD) for the one way flight from Regina to Ottawa. Oddly, I came across a deal from Regina to Syracuse, New York (connecting in Toronto) for $163 CAD ($125 USD). But, that would mean someone doing the almost three hour drive back and forth to Syracuse to pick us up. Almost worth it, but not quite.
Once back in Ottawa we will have almost four weeks there... however I'm going to keep my eyes open for a one week flight or all inclusive deal somewhere south during October. Four weeks in Ottawa would be too long for me.
Around October 23rd we will head out in the motorhome! South into New York State and Pennsylvania. Taking our time, because we don't have to be in Laredo, Texas until the beginning of January. We want to spend some time in Kentucky, a state that we've driven through a few times and always have said "we need to spend more time here".
Then, maybe we'll head over to South Carolina, another state that we want to explore a little bit more.
All the while, keeping our eyes open for flight deals originating from wherever we happen to be at the time. Wouldn't mind zipping away to a foreign country for a couple of weeks if the opportunity should present itself.
Then, we will make our way to Laredo, Texas for January 5th. We'll be leading a group of ten other RVers through Mexico, right to Cancun! What an adventure that will be! We'll be with that group for almost three months. The itinerary has us exiting at Laredo on April 2nd.
After that is up in the air. We have to get through this summer at the park before we commit to next summer! Either way though, we would be heading back up to Saskatchewan with the motorhome. But at least it gives us over three full weeks to do the drive.
So, it's not often that we plan this far in advance. But, other than the possibility of a short flight excursion somewhere along the way, it seems our next 12 months are pretty much spoken for!
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The Coleman Roadtrip grill is on sale. This is the upgraded model with the larger burner, so it's a great price...
And in Canada, the popular Instant Pot is available at a decent price...
Sounds like next winter will be exciting. We look forward to it.
ReplyDeleteIt's sure shaping up to look like it will be! :-)
DeleteWOW for someone that doesn't like making too many plans (jello!) you sure have your year booked! Can't wait to see if you can bounce off somewhere for a quick jaunt to a foreign country
ReplyDeleteI know, we aren't often looking this far into the future but we had to because the RV Caravan company needed our commitment early. So, we knew that we would be doing that from January until the first of April and other than being in Ottawa in October the rest is mostly up in the air! With us you never know what can happen. :-)
DeleteA bit of a heads up for you two. We did a trip last summer down through New York and Penn, thru Virginia and so on. The area around Lexington Virginia has infestations of stink bugs...you might want to google this...and they are almost impossible to get rid off. We used an exterminator in New Mexico and he did not get them all. We left the trailer in Phoenix over the winter and the climate there finally killed them off. They don't bit or anything like that...just a darn nuisense. Just thought the info might save you some trouble later. Cheers Charlie
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up but hopefully by the end of October, those stink bugs won't be an issue.
DeleteHaving any kind of a bug infestation in an RV is not a fun thing!
Hopefully we will see you on the Isla in March.
ReplyDeleteYou mostly will, I believe that the caravan route has us stopping in there.
DeleteWe are just getting ready to full time in August. We too plan on spending at least 3 months in Mexico. Perhaps we will cross paths.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the getting ready to full time, what an exciting time for you! That would be nice to if our paths could cross. Just keep an eye on the blog and if it looks like we are going to be close, let us know and we will try to meet up. Our Email address is near the top of the right hand column.
DeleteWow Cancun, Mexico. I spent a week in a resort there in March 2017 and drove to Chichen Itza and part of the non tourist section of Cancun. People were great. We couldn't find a market in non tourist section to see what it was like i.e. veggies, etc.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if the route will actually have us in Cancun but we will be very close. We have been there before with the RV right around New Year's back in the winter of 2008/2009. To be honest Cancun isn't high on our list for seeing the best of Mexico, it does have something to offer but for us there are far better places to visit in Mexico.
DeleteI guess you must not have been looking in the right area for the local, non-tourist market in Cancun because there is a nice one there, a little more pricey than some we have been too though. www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2014/03/lost-in-cancun.html
Sounds good!!!
ReplyDeleteWe like the sound of it too! :-)
DeleteWow, and I thought I was a planner! Sounds like a great itinerary!
ReplyDeleteDo you use a specific website/app to keep an eye on airfares? As I travel often for work, I get tired of going back and forth on various websites, when I remember to of course. Thanks!
Well it is only partially planned because you never know what might crop up between the end of October and the middle of December. We do however know that we will be leading the RV caravan in Mexico from January to the first of April and visiting family in October so really those the only plans that are concrete.
DeleteKevin wrote a blog post about how we find good airfares with tips on how he goes about it, along with some of the sites that he uses. www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2014/05/how-to-get-best-airfare-deals.html
Well, I don't know the caravan itinerary but I want to meet up at your first stop after Laredo. Too bad you can't take them to Montemorelos. :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like the first stop is Saltillo and the second is Zacatecas. Yep, too bad but we have to follow their route. Here is what the proposed route looks like, it may still change but only slightly. http://www.mexicorvbuddies.com/images/yucatanmap.jpg
DeleteYou guys have an exciting year ahead of you! The church you got married at looks adorable. It would be interesting to see how they converted it into a private home.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ellen, we think so too! :-)
DeleteWe have been inside of the church since it was renovated and they did a marvelous job on it. I don't think we took any pictures of it though because we didn't want to intrude on their privacy.
Sounds like fun. It would be interesting to see the Mexican caravan itinerary. We always enjoy the people, the great roads and cheap gas in the US, but my wallet is still recovering from the exchange rate.
ReplyDeleteYes, the exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and the US dollar is really hurting right now. We love exploring the USA as well but while the dollar is high it isn't so feasible for us right now for long term travel, plus the weather isn't always guaranteed to warm/hot whereas it is almost guaranteed in Mexico.
DeleteHere is a map of the proposed route which could change slightly as they company tweaks it. Looks like the first stop is Saltillo and the second is Zacatecas. Yep, too bad but we have to follow their route. Here is what the proposed route looks like, it may still change but only slightly. http://www.mexicorvbuddies.com/images/yucatanmap.jpg and here is their website http://www.mexicorvbuddies.com.
Looks like a good trip through Mexico. Just wish they would get on with the Ultra Low Sulpher Diesel. In your text you say the you exit Loredo on April 2. The map shows you exiting at Nogales.
ReplyDeleteMexico is already starting to sell the ULSD as of a month or two ago. There is supposed to be a list of the stations (by station number) online that tells you which stations that are now selling it.
DeleteI believe that in Mazatlan we will be meeting up with the second group and the wagon master from that group will lead those wanting to exit through Nogales and those that want to exit through Loredo will follow us out.
We spent time in Kentucky and Tennessee last October and really enjoyed it. Fall is a beautiful time to go. If you want to see what we did, check out our blog for October, 2016. We also enjoyed time in Charleston, South Carolina in March of this year. One of my favorite cities ever. We found a walking tour on Groupon that was excellent.
ReplyDeleteThanks Evelyn, we will have a look. We have spent some time in those areas, both in the spring and the fall but it wasn't lots of time. We have however been to Charleston, SC twice so not sure that we would head into the city again, although we did enjoy the city.
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