Sunglasses, Bread, Bologna and a Cookie (Sunday, October 21st, 2018)

We got a call yesterday that Steve's new glasses are  ready, so today we are going to Costco to pick them up.

When we caught the buses to Costco in the past, we have always caught the "El Centro" buses that drive through the lower part of town, but today the first bus that came by was a "Tunel" (tunnel) bus, so we decided to give it a try.  

It ended up to be a much quicker and smoother ride than the El Centro buses because the route is shorter, and it's on a paved highway instead of the cobble stone streets.  Another lesson learned!

We picked up Steve's new sun glasses at Costco.  Unfortunately the regular pair wasn't ready yet.  Another issue caused by the language barrier.  We didn't realize that only one pair was ready.  And to their defense, the sunglasses were actually ready early (4-days).  Steve put them on and walked around the store, and he is super happy!  He says the new prescription is perfect.



Then we walked across the parking lot to La Comer to pick up a few groceries that we need. We went back to the bakery to get some more of the amazing Pan Cristal.  And while we were there we decided to try this chocolate frosted cookie.  

We have not had great luck buying sweet treats in Mexico.  They just aren't sweet, but we're trying again.  

I just had to throw in this picture of the deli.  They have about 100 different kinds of bologna, but that's it.  There is no other deli meat to choose from.  No beef, no turkey, no chicken, no ham, only bologna.  What type of  bologna can I get you today? Just different again!

When we left La Comer we hopped on a bus back home.  We decided to be brave and use another "Tunel" bus (you know, for the speed and smooth ride).  We really weren't sure that it would take us back to our usual bus stop, but we decided to take a chance.  Steve followed our progress on his phone, and once again a successful trip!  We're finally starting to understand the buses, and we love them.  They are so predictable, convenient and cheap!

And now for the verdict on the cookie....

Doesn't this look like a lot of chocolate yumminess?

The taste test.....drum roll please.....

Not so good!  The chocolate frosting is not sweet, and it kind of reminds me of the chocolate frosted hostess mini donuts.  Very waxy!!! Oh well, we'll keep trying.  So far the orange mini loaf from Super Ley is the winner of the sweet treats!

We made it back home before the rain started.  It is typically nice during the day, and rains every evening.  Today the rains started early at abut 2:30, and they are going strong.  We are very happy to have a really comfortable space where we can spread out, cook, lounge or do whatever we want while the rain comes down.

It sounds like this might be just the beginning of the rain for us for the next week or so.  Hurricane Willa is out in the Pacific making it's way toward us.  It is expected to hit hard just a little bit north of us.  Stay tuned.  More to come.

New Eye Glasses at Costco, Puerto Vallarta (Wednesday, October 10th, 2018)

Steve has been in need of new eye glasses and sun glasses for a bit now.  His prescription really doesn't change, so he doesn't consider it a necessity, and doctors are hard to get in to in Lake Havasu. He had an eye exam done at Kaiser before we moved to Lake Havasu but never bought new glasses. He brought the results of that exam with him when we came down this time.

So today, in Puerto Vallarta, he went in for an eye exam and new glasses.  We called on Monday and made an appointment over the phone.  That went very smoothly.

This morning we showed up to the Costco Optical center about 10 minutes early, and they got Steve right in.  The office was very clean and nice.  The doctor spoke some English, but not a lot, so we were hoping it wouldn't be an issue.  

Steve went back with her, and was impressed by the equipment in the exam room.  All was fully computerized with old school stuff as a back-up. It was the most modern equipment Steve has ever seen. Given that Steve is pretty tall the doctor had to adjust the equipment significantly.  She asked him if it was OK and Steve thinks he must have responded that it was in her mind so they began the exam.  As the exam continued it became apparent that the machine was a little too high, so Steve couldn't really get his head properly placed in the equipment.   He tried to tell the doctor that it needed to be adjusted. She didn't really understand him, so he kept trying to tell her in different ways but since the equipment was so computerized she was a few feet away and couldn't see it wasn't properly aligned.  Anyway, to make a long story short, she continued with the eye exam, and told Steve that his eyes had changed a lot.  He said that he disagreed.  He then gave her his recent prescription from his previous exam.  She also put his current glasses under a tool she had that showed it was very different from what she was showing. 

With this additional information she started the exam again from the beginning.  This time she got the machine positioned correctly so that Steve could actually see into it and the exam went very well.  He ended up with a very slight change in his vision, which is what he was expecting as he still sees very well out of existing glasses.  When she got his new prescription figured out, she put him in some lenses to walk around in for a few minutes to make sure that they were right for him.  This is something that he has never had done before and thought it was great.  

As a part of the exam they looked into Steve's eyes with a magnifying tool.  She studies each eye very carefully.  She spent much longer on each eye than Steve had ever had done in any of his previous exams so Steve said he was getting  a little worried.  She then announce that both eyes looked really healthy and good!

While Steve was in having his eye exam, I was sitting in the waiting room, which gave me the opportunity to review the credentials of all the doctors that worked at Costco optical.  There were four doctors in all.  Two men, both which graduated in January of 2018.  One from the University of Mexico, the other from Agua Caliente University.  The two women graduated in 2006 and 2009, both from the University of Mexico. Steve had the doctor that had graduated in 2009. It was reassuring to see their certificates on the wall.  

Steve liked the lenses he had been walking around in, so the next step was to go out and pick out his new frames.  He wanted two frames, one for regular glasses and one for sunglasses.

Another appointment started with a different patient and different doctor in the exam room once we left.

Steve's same doctor continued to work with us as Steve picked out his new frames.    

While we were waiting for Steve, I asked her if she could tighten my glasses for me because they constantly slip down my face.  She said "Of course", and took my sun glasses.  She tightened up all the screws and then heated the frames and bent them.  She had me try them on and I asked if she could do just a little more, so she did.  They are perfect now and stay in place.

Once Steve decided on his new frames, she worked up the cost with the frames and lenses for him and he was happy with the price, but when she started putting it into the computer, the numbers started getting really weird.  They were higher than he thought they should be.  But then she said that since he bought two pairs of glasses in one day that there was a 600 peso discount plus some other related discounts, and then since he was using his Costco visa, there would not be the usual 2.3% credit card fee, which is usually charged for using a credit card.  A supervisor had to come to the optical department to approve the discounts and override the transaction. It is a bit different to have the doctor so involved in the entire process. Like so many things we learn as we travel we aren't sure if this is good or bad it is just different!

By the end of the calculations, it all worked out great, and the price was good, but it was quite an experience getting to the right price.  Once all was said and done, Steve got an eye exam and two new pairs of glasses, the frames were Oakley and Jaguar (same ones that Costco sells in the US we think), polarized sun glasses and lenses with all the protective coating for about $350.

Heading to Phoenix (Wednesday, June 28th and Thursday, June 29th, 2017)

We really wanted to see the girls over the 4th of July holiday, so our first thought was to head to Colorado for a long weekend.  But as we thought more about it, we thought that it might be fun for the girls to come see us instead.

Since there isn't a commercial airport in Lake Havasu City, it gets a little interesting when people want to come for a short stay.  They can fly into Las Vegas, rent a car and make the 2 1/2 hour drive, or if we need to pick them up, we have to make the 2 1/2 hour drive each was to pick them up and again to drop them back off.  That can get to be a lot of driving for a weekend.

So we decided it would make things a whole lot easier if we drove to Phoenix and stayed at my parents house for a few days.  Then the girls could fly into Sky Harbor which is only about 1/2 an hour from my parents house.

This time of year, when the weather really heats up, dust devils form everywhere.  They are like mini tornadoes, but they really aren't destructive.  They might bend up an awning or easy-up, but other than that, you don't hear of any damage from them.  But I think they are still interesting to watch.  Sometimes they only last for a minute or two, and other times they can really get going.  We saw a lot of them on our trip to Phoenix.

Once we arrived in Phoenix, we took our time getting the house set up.  We typically take all of our own sheets, bath towels, wash clothes, dish rags and dish towels.  That way we don't have to worry about washing my parents before we leave.  We just pack ours up with us and wash it all when we get back home.  It's so much easier.  We switch out my parents sheets for ours, and then just switch them back before we leave.

Once we were settled in, we took some time to enjoy big city life. There isn't a lot of shopping in Lake Havasu City, since it is a fairly small town, so we have to take advantage of outlet stores and Costco when we have the chance.  We each got a new pair of tennis shoes for our work outs (we were way past due), and a few pieces of new clothing at the Tanger outlet mall in Glendale.  

Then off to a produce market that one of the gentlemen in Leisure World told us about.  It called the Superstition Ranch Market.  They have everything, and some of it is very well priced.  Other stuff wasn't a deal at all.  The one thing he told us was not to buy more than we could eat in a few days, because it usually doesn't last very well.

The selection was amazing!  We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to check it out and see what they had.

Our final outing of the day was to look at some model homes that are in the Phoenix area.  We love to look at the outdoor spaces, and just see what is available.  One of the things that drives us crazy about most of the newer communities is that the developers take out bonds to pay for the infrastructure of neighborhood.  It is then paid back by an extra tax imposed on the home owners in that neighborhood.  It makes the taxes in these neighborhoods much higher than it should be.

But we did find a few really nice outdoor spaces.  We better start saving.  These would be really fun to have.

Behind the door is a bathroom for the pool.  What a great outdoor area!

Now back to the homestead to get ready for our girls to come.  We are so excited!

18 Tires (May 4th, 2016)

We just finished a terrific month in Lake Havasu City, as part of our quest to go places and stay a little longer.  It really gave us a chance to relax a little more and enjoy the little things; something that we haven't taken advantage of for many years.

However, it wasn't all relaxation and enjoying this trip as luck really wasn't on our side.  On a high note though, we have learned a lot about buying tires!  But with that said, let me start at the beginning.

The night before we were leaving for Lake Havasu City, we had planned on going to Fort Collins to visit our youngest daughter.  As we headed north, we got a little too close to the shoulder, and Pop! Pop!  Not one, but two tires hit a pot hole.  We got out to assess the damage and quickly realized that we weren't going to make it home on one spare tire, so we called a tow truck, who graciously (and for a small fee, of course) towed our car home and put it in the garage for us.  As Steve looked further, the rims were also badly bent, so we would also need two new rims.  Not great timing since we needed to leave for Lake Havasu City the next day, but we decided we would make it work.

The good news in all of this is that our youngest daughter decided that if we couldn't come up to see her, she would come down and see us.  So we got to spend an wonderful evening with both of our girls before we left for our little get away.

Steve got up early the next morning and headed to Costco because that's where we originally purchased the car tires.  The guy at Costco said that he had good news and bad news.  The good news was that Costco has automatic road hazard warranty on all their tires, so he gauged our tires and said that there was 75% tread remaining.  That means that we would only have to pay 25% for the two tires that hit the pot holes.

The bad news was..... They no longer carried the tire that we needed, and since our car is all wheel drive, all four tires have to match, so we were going to have to get four new tires, not just two. But then the guy at Costco continued and said he had more good news..... since they no longer carry our tires, they would cover the cost of the other two tires that have to be replaced as well as the mounting and balancing.  The bottom line, we paid $88 for four new tires.  Crazy!  A huge shout out to Costco Tire Center!!!

So at this point, the count is four tires and two rims.  Not what we had planned on, but not so bad.

So the next day, after stopping off with our oldest daughter to look at the progress on her house (see our post from Saturday, April 9th), we headed out for Lake Havasu in the truck, leaving the car behind in the garage, to wait for some help once we returned home.

We left our daughter's new house in the afternoon, which meant that we would be driving late into the night, so we took the well traveled route of I-25 south to I-40, and I-40 west to the Lake Havasu City turn off.  The entire trip was uneventful, as we like it, until we got just past Flagstaff, AZ.  As we were coming down the hill west of Flagstaff, we noticed that the truck was starting to shimmy.  I was driving so that Steve could rest a little bit, so I decided to change lanes and see if it was just the road, but unfortunately, changing lanes didn't help.  So we got out and looked, and sure enough, we had developed a bulge on one of the rear tires.  We had a spare along, so we decided to lower our speed and see how far we could make it.  To our surprise, the tire made it clear into Lake Havasu City and didn't leave us changing a tire on the side of the road in the middle of the night.

Shortly after we got into Lake Havasu City, Steve headed to Discount Tires (where we had purchased the truck tires), to see what they would do for us on this tire.  Unlike Costco tire road hazard warranty isn't included in the price so Steve had elected to not get it.  This just left the manufactures warranty.  The manufactures warranty gave us about 20% the price of a single tire and of course we needed at least two to keep the tire size the same on a given axle so Steve purchased two tires.  He complained a bit (he's not a complainer!) and Discount ended up giving us the mount and balance price off of one of the tires.  In contrast, if we would have purchased these tires from Costco we believe the second tire would have been totally free!!!  We wouldn't have purchased from Discount Tires and gone to Costco but the closest one is in Henderson, NV about 2 hours away and we just couldn't face the drive!

At this point, the count is now six tires and two rims.  Again, not what we had planned, but at least this tire didn't strand us on the side of the highway, in the middle of no where, in the middle of the night, so that was great!

A few days later, we took the boat out for a few hours and then put it back in the garage for the night. We had friends coming to visit (see our post from April 19th), so after a few weeks of sitting in the garage, we just wanted to make sure that the boat was running well for our friends.  And it was.....we love our boat! No problems at all.

So the next day, after a morning of hiking with our friends, we got the boat all loaded up for an afternoon on the lake. We started to pull it out of the garage, and quickly noticed that one of the tires on the boat trailer was flat.  No way, are you kidding?  Another flat tire?

So we aired it up, threw the air compressor into the back of the truck, and headed to the lake anyway. We weren't going to let this stop us!  We had a great day out on the lake, and when I walked up to get the boat trailer, the tire still had air in it.  I was so excited! So I pulled the trailer down and we loaded up the boat, and made it clear back to the house on that silly tire with no problem!

The next day, Steve started pulling the boat tires off, and realized that they were starting to crack and had chunks of rubber coming off of them.  They still had great tread, but we think the heat and dryness in Havasu must have taken a toll on them.  They were just rotting away.

Then, as Steve started looking at the wheels, he noticed that although the outside of them looked great, the insides were really rusted and were corroding.  That's not good.  So once again, it looked like we were going to be replacing more tires.  The more he looked, the more problems he found. And since it is a tri-axle trailer, it requires six tires plus the spare, which makes seven.

At this point, the count is now thirteen tires and nine rims.  Again, not what we had planned, but at least we had a great time with our friends, and the one flat tire on the boat trailer didn't ruin our day!

We went through the rest of our time in Havasu without any more tire problems.  We took time to enjoy the small stuff like sunset and lightening storms, and truly enjoyed our stay.

As we got ready to leave Havasu and return home, Steve started getting our utility trailer ready for the trip home.  We are bringing it home so that we can help our kids move once their new house is ready.  Steve checked all of the tires on the utility trailer and surprising, they all looked great, no cracks, no chunks falling out, and the rims looked good too.  But since our luck so far this month had not been great, we ran out and picked up a bottle jack just in case.  Steve threw the bottle jack in the back of the truck, and off we went again.  Pulling the trailer behind us, back to Colorado.

Our entire trip home was uneventful, until we got just past Trinidad, in southern Colorado, and poof! There went one of the trailer tires.  So we got to the side of the road as quickly as we could, and sure enough, it wasn't only flat, it was shredded.  Steve mumbled a few choice words under his breath, but managed to stay impressively calm.  He pulled out his brand spanking new bottle jack and jacked up the utility trailer and put on the spare.  We still had about 170 miles to go to get home, so this wasn't good.  Once again, we reduced our speed (since we no longer had a spare trailer tire), and continued on our way, as everyone whipped by us on I-25.  Steve didn't talk much the rest of the trip.  The only thing he said was.  I'm not kidding around this time!  I'm replacing all of the tires on this trailer when we get home.  I'm not taking a chance of another flat tire while we are moving the kids.
    
Since the utility trailer has dual axles, it requires four tires.  So at this point, the count is now seventeen tires and nine rims.  Again, not what we had planned, but at least we got home safe and sound. And shortly after we got home, we bought four new tires for the utility trailer.  And the best news....we've replaced every tire on every vehicle we own, so we can't have any more flat tires, Right?

Well, you've probable figured out from the title of this post that there must be one more tire somewhere.

A few days after we got home from Havasu, our son (in-law) moved back home with the help of his dad.  They made it all the way from Georgia to Colorado with no problems.  But as our son (in-law) and daughter were heading out for their first dinner date in almost a year, it happened.  Tire number 18 decided to give out. Our son (in-law) quickly changed the tire and they were once again off to their much deserved dinner date.  Unfortunately the tire was destroyed so it also needed to be replaced!

The count is now eighteen tires and nine rims.  Again, not what any of us had planned, but at least our son (in-law) and his dad made it home safe from Georgia before that last tire decided to blow.  We didn't want to replace 18 tires in less than a month, but sometimes life isn't fair.  We're just glad that no one was ever stranded and our son (in-law) didn't have to unload all of his worldly belongings on the side of a lonesome highway, in the middle of no where, to get to his spare tire as he was trying to get home to Colorado.  Life is good!

Getting to Colorado (Wednesday, September 30th, 2015)

We traveled back to Colorado so I could get some work done, and of course to see everyone!  Even though Steve is retired, I'm still working part-time, and that means being flexible with our location. 

So we made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Las Vegas to catch a flight on Southwest Airlines.  We have been flying on Southwest for as long as I can remember, so we have built up a lot of points with them, and luckily for us, this trip was booked completely on points for both of us.   

We planned to get to Las Vegas early so we could have time for a trip to Costco and a quick lunch before heading to the economy lot. 

There isn't a Costco in Lake Havasu City, so everyone goes to either Las Vegas or Phoenix for their big shopping trips.  We had never visited the Costco in Las Vegas, so we stopped on our way into town in the suburb of Henderson.  It was a zoo!  It is one of the most heavily used Costcos we have ever been to.  It took us quite awhile to find a parking spot, and then the store was just as crowded.  There was also a line of about 10 cars per lane waiting to fill up with gas, which we learned was about $.35 per gallon cheaper than the other gas stations in town!

We also wanted to find something new and healthy for lunch.  As we were driving down Tropicana Boulevard on the way to the airport, Steve looked over and saw a cute little restaurant called El Fish Taco.  So we turned around and headed back to see what they had.  

We were very pleasantly surprised.  They had a nice selection on their menu, and the service was great.  Our server brought out a courtesy sample of one of their soups for us to try, and then we each ordered their lunch special which was any two tacos (except for lobster) and a drink for $4.99.  So we each had a fish taco and a shrimp taco and a horchata (a rice and cinnamon drink).  It was very good!  The owner came over and talked to us when we had finished our tacos, and said that they had been open for two months.  

Cute new restaurant in Las Vegas, on Tropicana Boulevard

After lunch we still had a few minutes, so we walked over to a Mercado, called Marketon, that was in the same parking lot.  They had so much nice looking produce, but one thing really caught our eye.  When we were in Puerto Rico about a year ago, a guide that we hired at Cuava De Indio introduced us to these little fruits that he called sea grapes.  They are tiny little fruit that you peel and then suck on until the seed is clean.  There isn't much meat on them, but they are pretty fun and tasty.  And to our amazement, they were selling them at the Mercado.  

Sea Grapes, you sure can't find these just anywhere in Las Vegas

Then off to the airport we went.  As we were sitting in traffic, a jumbo jet flew right over the UCLA stadium, and looked like it was going to land on it.  And then a few minutes later a smaller jet flew over the road we were on.

Not as big as the first one we saw, but still fun to see while sitting in traffic

The flight from Las Vegas to Denver usually takes just under 2 hours, but this time we made it in 1 hour 35 minutes.  Our oldest daughter was waiting for us at the airport.  What a great day and easy way to get home!