The trip that almost wasn't

I keep two calendars of appointments one for mother and one for myself.  Hers is obviously more important.  With the administration threating to shut down the border since last October 2018 and actually doing so in California for several hours last year I canceled my remaining appointments for 2018 so I could resume them in 2019.

This year did not start any better with the long lines at the border.  Have only managed a trip to the dentist thus far.  Scheduled a follow-up appointment but could not find my calendar so left the card in my purse and of course, forgot about it.

I was reading Barney's blog (OFM Adventures) when he mentioned his own trip to the dentist and something just kept nagging at me. Yesterday morning I found the appointment card only to realize it was today at noon and had less than two hours to get ready!  Thank you, Barney.

My dentist is a stickler for punctuality as one should be so was surprised that I had to wait for 30 minutes.  Listening to her son talking on his cell I understood why.  He had driven with his mother from San Angelo, Texas (a 3 hours drive) for her to have an emergency root canal.

Today I had the old filling removed from my two molars and replaced with a more natural color substance.  Fillings are $58.00 dollars each so today I spent $116.00 USD.

Tuesday's are Martes de Cosecha...Harvest Tuesday at Gutierrez.  They have really good specials on fruits and vegetables so much so that the other stores do not try to match their prices anymore and now offer their own version but on different days.

The shade canopies at Gutierrez give
it a leg up on the competition.

Drove by Gutierrez which has a much larger parking lot than this picture depicts, there is more on the side and the back...it was packed!  You know my rule...NO LINES...unless they are unavoidable like the lines to cross back to the USA.

Drove to the smaller Bodegas Aurrera (owned by Walmart) mostly so I could use their Wi-Fi as my cell phone does not work in Mexico and I wanted to check the Border Wait Times App.  It said there was a 35-minute wait which seemed incredible to believe.

Their limited shade canopies are no match
to those at Gutierrez.

Before I list the prices...here are the Exchange Rates...top number is the BUY rate for $1.00 US dollar you can buy $17.40 Mexican Pesos. The second number is the SELL rate, they will sell you one US dollar for $18.70 Mexican Pesos.

Exchange rates for 5-07-19

I wanted to buy some onions and tomatoes but I did not like the prices so I will buy those in Del Rio.

The last time I was in Bodegas Aurrera was at their larger store on the northwest part of town.  I remember mentioning then that there were stockers everywhere and empty shelves. The same took place today at this smaller location.

I was going to buy a bottle of Kahlua and save $3.75 (Texas liquor tax per bottle) by crossing at the Amistad Dam Port of Entry but the liquor shelves were barren.  Ended buying 3 bottles of hot sauce that were on sale for $20.00 pesos (20.00 divided by 17.40 equals $1.15 USD).

With the re-routing of traffic to the new Mexican Customs building
you have to pay attention to the signs or end up lost like what
happened to me the first couple of times.

With no reason to drive to the Amistad Dam Port of Entry headed back home the regular way still doubting the 35-minute wait quoted on the App. Tolls to cross to the USA are 28.00 Mexican Pesos the equivalent of $1.61 USD.

 

 When something sounds too good to be true it's because it is.  This was NOT a 35-minute line.

It was hot and humid around 88 degrees and it took 1 hour 20 minutes to cross the border because only two lanes were open to traffic.

When I got home I decided to make an early post because I had my NBA Semifinal games this evening only to find the cable, internet and home phone were not working.  The cable came back in time to watch my games but both the internet and telephone were out until 7:32 a.m. this morning.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

It is that time of the year...time for decluttering...

It seems every other e-mail I receive from Ikea, Home Depot, Walmart, AARP, etc. etc. reminds me that it is time to declutter.  It is easier said than done :-(

Wish I was like Barney (OFM Adventures) who is ruthless when it comes to getting rid of things he no longer uses or needs.

I have wanted to purchase a shed or small cabin so I can get the boxes I brought down from Houston when I moved back to Del Rio a place of their own besides my small teenage bedroom.  Yet deep inside of me I know that I need to get rid of them rather than stockpiling them.

We do not have a Goodwill, Salvation Army or other charity organization besides a local church where we can donate our gently worn clothing items.  Taking them to San Antonio or Houston to donate would use up valuable cargo space.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Sorry I missed you Barney

What a difference a day makes. In contrast to yesterday, today we experienced a beautiful sunny day with highs in the 80's that definitively made you turn on your car's A/C. The house A/C has never stopped running.

Needed to run a couple of errands but before I did that wanted to go pay Barney of OFM fame a visit
https://ofmadventures.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-long-tow.html

The only people at the campground when I was there were a couple of guys tent camping,  It sure brought back memories of Terlingua :-(

For some unknown reason, I figured Barney was going to be spending a couple more days in Del Rio. I was surprised my cell phone picked up a Wifi signal and yes, I double checked and Barney had stated he was staying at campground #1.

I am so sorry I missed you this time around Barney.  Maybe next time.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

A very productive day

The phone rang at 8:00 a.m. it was a computer generated call from FedEx letting us know they had a delivery that required a signature.  Even though I had only slept for three hours decided to get up in anticipation of said delivery.

The FedEx guy is a friendly and personable guy not to mention he is also easy on the eyes. Why is it that a women looks old with gray hair but a man looks distinguished by comparison?

Finally got mother to fill out her ballot (she votes by mail) and drove to the post office. When was the last time I was there?  Our P.O. Box was overflowing. The County Courthouse is close by so went to exercise the most important right in our democracy and did early voting.

Headed to the Recycling Center to get rid of my plastic, steel cans, cardboard, and junk mail.  The railroad tracks are behind the center and there was a train that was going nowhere so decided to go pay my dad a long overdue visit.

Have been thinking a lot about him especially during the funeral and tributes to the late Senator John McCain. I can not believe he has been gone for 18 years and I still miss him terribly.  Dad always included me in his plans so I was a  little dismayed when I found out he had bought two gravesites but failed to buy one for me.

When he passed away I decided to purchase my own gravesite.  However, all the ones in the proximity to my parents had been sold years before. Well, at least I will be in the same cemetery.

I was getting hungry so headed back into town. While I am a full grown woman responsible for my own decisions, I am placing all the blame on Barney of Old Fat Man fame for my choice of eating establishment.  He recently wrote about his visit to Whataburger and I have been thinking about doing the same since then.  It was delicious!!!

Headed to the mall to walk off some calories and stopped at Ross and Marshalls...the best part...I did not purchase a single thing!

Then headed to Long John Silver's to pick up some dinner for Mom.  All in all, I got a lot done today.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Campground Hopping

Having had problems starting mother's mini-van on Friday decided we needed to take that sucker for a ride... to charge it up and to get rid of all the carbon monoxide built up by putting the pedal to the metal!  I drove it between 60 to 65 mph and for a few seconds got it up to 75 mph (it only goes to 85 mph) lol :D

Our first stop was my favorite campground Governor's Landing.  They had five campers.  One of them was a couple playing their guitar and singing, they seemed to be having a good time.  We waved to all the campers that were outside and they waved back, pretty friendly bunch today.

I believe Barney of OFM Adventures told me the International Water Commission was no longer releasing water downstream to Falcon Lake.  Maybe my CRS or perhaps it was an illusion...but for some reason or at least along the visitors area it looked like there was more water than the last time we visited.

Our next stop was San Pedro Campground...I can not believe mother did not say a thing (she hates it there) well...I will take that back...she complained about the condition of the road :-)

This campground is rarely full, even this week being Spring Break.  I expected more people but there were only three or four RV's.

The Billy Bob tree sure has grown!

Good use of the rack space of this older model Toyota.

On the way out I saw this white truck similar to one Barney of OFM Adventures http://ofmadventures.blogspot.com/ drives and as we crossed paths thought how it looked like him...but he is Bibe, Texas, so thought nothing of it. Later this evening when I got online he had left me a comment on my prior post asking if I had been driving a gold mini-van...so it was him!

We then hit the 277 Campground only to find it was closed.  Can't say I am surprised as there is virtually NO water there anymore.

Going rate at the Exxon by the Lake as well as all over town...

Well I will take that back...the new Stripes (that is not yet open) had the following price...kind of makes you do a double take and wonder if this is a glimpse of what to expect in the future?

Obviously someone with a good sense of humor or perhaps a wry one?

While the temperature did not reach 90 degrees like it did yesterday... it was warm, even late this afternoon.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.