The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Received an interesting email yesterday

From Amazon Mexico.

You'll remember back in early March when we were stuck in Puebla and had ordered some parts from Amazon Mexico for the motorhome. These parts were purchased through Amazon Mexico, but sourced through Amazon in the United States, and then shipped to Mexico.

Well it turns out that we're getting a refund!

The email stated that the export fees were less than expected and that they were refunding my credit card for a total of 251 pesos ($17 CAD, $13 USD).

Nice! Not a huge amount, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless. It impresses me how Amazon can keep track of all of this stuff, and issue a refund when it's due.

On Monday, Ruth and I went for an hour hike up in the hills around the park.

This will look so different by the time we head out in two weeks.
The leaves are starting to bud now.

The rolling hills of the River Valley.

Wild crocuses in bloom.

Ruth, admiring the view.

Me!

We walked back along the shoreline of Lake Deifenbaker.

But there's no more time for relaxing like that because there's work to be done! May the 1st was the start of our two week work stint here at the park with the new managers Steve and Jo. 

While Steve and I were up at the shop getting the machinery ready, Ruth and Jo started leaf cleanup.

Ruth, up on the roof of the house trailer cleaning the gutters.

Jo, doing some raking.

Before.

After.

Ruth with the leaf blower.

The old truck is getting a workout.

And so are we! Feels great to get some exercise, and my muscles are actually a little sore this morning. We rolled up the beaver fence, and went around picking up big logs that were left behind from these guys...

These guys were here for two days taking down broken branches and trimming the big trees.

Great sunset last night.

And, more exercise today! We've got a lot more work to do to get the park ready for campers. Seasonal sites need to be ready for the people to bring their trailers May 16th, and opening day is May 18th.

Fortunately, we've got a fantastic weather forecast for the next week. Highs between 18C (64F) and 23C (75F) with sunshine and not much wind. Perfect for working outdoors!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice price drop on the highly rated Zinus Memory Foam RV Mattress...


And in Canada...



18 comments:

  1. I am addicted to your daily updates and have learned so much. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, that is funny! We are glad that you are learning new things from them, that is one of our intents with our blog. :-)

      Delete
  2. Nice to get a refund you were not expecting.
    Enjoy your time there getting the park all set up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It wasn't much of a refund but it was a pleasant surprise and good public relations for the company to do that, they could just as easily have kept it and we would have been none the wiser.

      Delete
  3. With a team of four, the park will be in tip top shape soon. Nice to have the weather in your favour. Enjoy the sunshine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The work is definitely progressing nicely with four of us working away. The new managers will be off to a good start.

      The weather has been fantastic! So far we couldn't ask for more perfect temperatures and even the wind is almost non-existent which really helps when you are dealing with lots of leaves.

      Delete
  4. We were about four days behind you leaving Texas. It’s 43 in Denver this morning. Ready to go back. As a twist I was reading my Instagram feeds and saw your new camp hosts post on working with you two. Internet is a small world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It won't take long before things are really nice in Denver, I am sure. That would be a great area to explore in the summer and one summer we will do it. :-)

      Yes, it is a small world on the internet. It is an amazing tool.

      Just to set things straight though with the camp host thing, there is a big difference between being a camp host and a manager. Jo and Steve are managers and they will be running the park and all the facets involved with it's operation and they get paid for it. Unlike camp hosts that are normally volunteer positions with a fairly easy workload and only a certain number of hours required per week in exchange for their site. :-)

      Delete
  5. I literally wore out my hiking shoes in Canada and considered buying one right away. The trouble was we couldn't find hiking boots on Victoria Island, B.C. so I waited until I arrived back in Seattle. Felt so good to have a decent pair on my feet. Yes, I would have used my credit card in Canada for the purchase because credit cards automatically calculate exchange rate, taxes, and fees. However, I learned much more about credit cards & fees on Wheelingit blog when they moved to France.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's Vancouver Island and the city is Victoria. I'm pretty sure Victoria would have a place to buy hiking boots. We always use a credit card for most purchases when we are traveling in a foreign country. We absorb the fairly minor 2.5% foreign exchange fees, and it's pretty much given back to us in points.

      Delete
    2. Thank you for correction to Vancouver Island. I tend to use Victoria Island & people get what I'm talking about LOL My mistake. We arrived into Victoria on our last day, late, and the stores were closing. We were catching the ferry the next day to Port Angeles. The Island had some beautiful hiking trails and we got to see the salmon swimming up streams and rivers. Most of the time we were hiking in light rain with rain gear on in October 2017. I ripped part of the soles of my favorite hiking boots...had them forever. I chucked into trash bin in Seattle.

      Delete
  6. Park looking great keep up the good work. Always nice to have an extra pair of hands to help out. Lots to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lots of work to be done yet but with four of us working we should get it done fairly quickly. :-)

      Delete
  7. Glad that you have good things to say about Amazon. Trump has been raking Amazon over the coals saying it does not pay its fair share of taxes in various states and misuses the US Postal Service by using the Post Office at lower than fair rates as an intermediary for shipping products from Point A to Point B. But I think you and I know the real reason for this tirade! Do you think it has to do with Amazon owning The Washington Post which Trump considers Fake News?!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, we try to avoid talking about that stuff here. Our blog doesn't do politics. Yes, I love Amazon. :-)

      Delete
    2. Thank you. I love Amazon, too, for a lot of reasons!

      Delete
  8. That cherry picker could come in handy for replacing the park's burned out streetlamps...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it would have been, except we didn't have the bulbs at the time. They also would have been handy installing a wicker basket as a replacement nest for the owl but we didn't have one of those handy either. :-(

      Delete

There are more comments on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TravelwithKevinAndRuth

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.