Answering a few questions

Mexico

The main question people are asking is if Mexico is still on.  Definitely!  I arrived at my brother Rick's house last evening and will probably stay here for a while doing some minor (I hope) repairs on Dod.  My current plan is to hit the border around the first of November and be in Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta for the holidays.

Chairs

Someone asked about the chairs with the canopies.  They work great but I like the sun so I have only used the canopy for shade a couple of times.  The canopy does, however, make a great platform for holding all my shower supplies while I use the solar shower.  I checked on line and found the chairs for $60. each and said "No way!".  I finally found them at a building supply store in Pendleton, OR where they were on sale for $24. (also, no sales tax) and I bought two.  Later I found one on sale at a small market in Pierce, ID for $15.99.

Books

As far as reading materials go, I have been stopping at every small thrift store I notice and stocking up on paperbacks at an average of  fifty cents each and now have a couple of months supply.  By the time I hit the border I hope to have 100 or more.  Then when in Mexico I will visit the larger marinas where they usually have a book exchange for cruisers where you can trade books one for one.

Budget

Even though I have not posted about it, I have managed to stay under $900. per month for August and September.  In July I went over by about $500. due to some purchases to equip Dod and also for some minor mechanical and service work on Dod.

I have been on the road for three months now and have traveled almost 4,000 miles.  That represents 400 gallons of gas at an average price of close to $4. per gallon.  I have about 1,400 miles ahead of me before reaching Mazatlan so the majority of my budget will continue to be fuel until I arrive there.  Once there I will only travel a few hundred miles each month and with gas selling for $3.00 per gallon I should feel rich!

My total campground expense for the three months is a grand total of $62. and I don't anticipate that going up  in Mexico.  I probably spend less than $30. per week on groceries and I have only had 7 restaurant meals while on the road (all breakfasts).  I have cut my smoking down from 10 packs per week (ugh!) to 5 packs per week (still too much).  Cigarettes in Mexico sell for about $2. per pack instead of the $5. a pack here in the U.S.  My alcohol expense has been running about $30. per week and almost all of that is for the purchase of my favorite drink which is scotch.  In Mexico the price of scotch is ridiculous due to the import tariffs and being the tightwad that I am, I refuse to pay $25.-$30. for the same bottle that would cost $10.-$15. here.  I will have to settle for tequila or rum or cerveza but that doesn't worry me.

Overall, I don't think I will have any problem living on $600. per month and easily on $900.