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.