A trip to Mexico from here

 It’s an easy 30 miles or so from our house to the border crossing at Progresso.  Plenty of parking right at the border. It’s not especially busy. This is one of the few border crossings that are still considered “safe” by our government.  No travel advisories against it. A walk across the bridge…  …and we’re right in town; Nuevo Progresso. It’s a small Border Town. Most everything is on the main street.  It’s full of shops; jewelry, souvenirs, dentists, pharmacies… …and photobombs. A stop for some street tacos (and a Mexican Coke), can result in an impromptu serenade. http://youtu.be/3GPTNGeMdU0 An easy return through customs. And we’re back in the U.S.A.  Altogether a charming experience.  It’s an easy passage, the food is yummy, it doesn’t cost much, the vendors are more friendly than pushy, and we get to practice a smattering of Spanish. 

The quick trip

 …was.  An easy drive north; we saw the doctor, ate fish and chips, diverted to see a bird (which we didn’t find), diverted to look at some new RVs (which we did find), and drove home by dark (with one more stop along the way at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard).  A successful trip. Judy didn’t get any treatment on her knee, but we got to discuss her options.  We’ve already tried doing nothing and that hasn’t worked out really well.  She got the cortisone shot and that helped some.  It turns out there is another intermediate option before knee replacement.  It’s a gel (called Synvisc) that can be injected into the knee which should provide some cushioning and lubrication for 6 months or so at a time.  It takes a series of three injections spread out over three weeks.  We should be able to start the first round in early June.  

A quick trip

 We’ll drive to Corpus tomorrow to see the orthopedic doctor about Judy’s knee.  A year ago he said the problem was arthritis and there was nothing he could do about it.  Judy can move around okay if she doesn’t go very far, but she can’t go on walks with me anymore.  We’re going to tell the doctor we didn’t like his first opinion a year ago, so we want a second one. We ought to be able to make the drive, have Snoopy’s for lunch, maybe even test drive a motorhome, then drive back home by dark.  

Change in plans

 We’re not going to get the motorhome on Saturday.  With the long Memorial Day weekend coming up, the deal just wasn’t coming together easily.  We’re going the middle of next week instead.  This isn’t a solid commitment either.  We think this is what we want; we’re going to go take a look at it and make sure.  It’s a 2011 Georgetown 327DS. http://www.ronhoover.com/RVShowroom/tabid/1747/Type/View/ID/56385/2011-Fifth-Wheel-FOREST-RIVER-GEORGETOWN-327DS.aspx (It’s not really a fifth-wheel.  That’s a typo on their website.)  Low mileage, so there should be a lot of life left in it.  They’re holding it for us.  We’re going to look at it and drive it.  If we like it we’ll give them money and drive it away.  

Less is more

 We’re going to downsize.  No more big bus for us.  We’ll get something small and tow it behind the minivan.  Uh-oh.  The only things we can tow behind the minivan are single axle trailers and they’re too small; too claustrophobic. No problem.  Less is still more.  We can go a little bigger and still be way downsized.  We’ll get a class B; a big van.  That will still be a giant downsize.  Uh-oh.  Even in a big van, there isn’t room to pass each other moving front to back.  One of us has to sit down for the other to stand up.  That’s a little tight.  We’re not traveling full-time any more but we still need to be prepared to go out for a month or two at a time just to visit the kids in Colorado.  No problem.  We’ll get something with a slide for more room. Darn.  Can’t seem to find just what we want.  We’ll need to look at at least a Class C motorhome.  Can’t get a small one though; they all have corner beds.  We need a walk-around.  A walk-around bed, a dinette table, and a couch or chair.  There have to be places to sit.  We found some Class Cs we like, but to get what we want they’re so long; they’re at the maximum a Class C can be built to.  They seem cumbersome.  Okay.  A small Class A motorhome.  Not too big. We put a deposit down on a 33 foot Class A gas motorhome in Houston.  It’s still “something” of a downsize; it’s smaller and lighter than the 40 footer we just gave up.  We’re scheduled to go pick it up this weekend. Less can be more, but in the words of our friend Brandon, “Sometimes less is just less.”