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.

Lazy Days

I am so far behind on posting that I probably will just do a summary for September and then try to keep up again.  The problem seems to be that even though I have access to free wi-fi, once I have breakfast and find a day camp I start reading or doing projects on Dod.  By the time I think about the internet it is usually late and I say manana.

I have been utilizing indian casinos while on or near the Oregon Coast.  They are all great with free slots if you join the players' clubs.  I actually am still ahead of the casinos after 20 days at four different casinos, it seems they are paying me to stay.  Heading south to a casino in Coos Bay tomorrow.

There are so many great day trips available up and down the coast that it is hard to decide where to go.  My favorite so far is DePoe Bay and I will post about it with photos soon (or later).

Dod is still going strong with "0" problems after 3,000 miles of travel.  I have decided that I will have to beef up the power system though while at my brother's house in Bakersfield.  I am thinking a minimum of two house batteries and 100 watts of solar.  My normal schedule is to read for about 1 hour after the sun sets and wake up with the dawn.  Right now that gives me 8-9 hours of sleep.  When the time changes and Winter shows up, it will be dark 14-15 hours daily and I need to find something to do for the 6-7 extra hours of darkness.

My brother asked me if I ever get lonely.  I had to think about it but the answer is definitely NO.  I do however get bored but not too often.  It usually only happens when I run out of books.  I counted yesterday and I have read 24 books since August 20th.  I am out right now so I will hit a few thrift stores on my way down the coast today.

Bye for now!

Paying for the night

It was easy to review my total expenses for campsites.  June - $17.  July - $9.  August had been totally free up till then so I decided to splurge and spend $15. for a site at the Barview Jetty county park.  It is right on the beach and among the amenities listed in my book were showers.  I hadn't used a regular shower since July.  The camp/solar shower works great but the real shower at the park was wonderful!  The cost was only $1.00 for 8 minutes which is more than enough time.  The water was the perfect temperature and it felt sooo good!  I took a second shower the next day before I left.

Jesse got to visit his first beach and wasn't too sure about all the water.  He really enjoyed running along the  beach and playing with other dogs but he wouldn't go near the surf.  One of the great walks we took was right along a jetty that had been build in 1914.  There is a river on one side and a tidal marsh on the other.

Jesse came up to this tidal stream and refused to cross with me.  I just kept walking and eventually he went for it and splashed across with 3 big jumps.  When he got to the other side he was very proud on himself and went for a long run to dry off.

The posts above are actually trees that were planted along the jetty almost one hundred years ago.  From the size of the trunks I would guess that they made it for 20 years or so.  Each of them is still rooted but the tops were all snapped off at about the same height.  Must  have been quite a storm!