Driving Your Vehicle Into Mexico

If you plan to drive your vehicle into Mexico, be sure to plan ahead. There are several things that need to be done well in advance of your trip. A relatively new, but most important requirement is a passport. Every individual traveling into Mexico must have a valid passport. Another important requirement is your vehicle insurance. Your US/Canadian insurance policy does not fill the bill. It is best to go through your existing insurance company to steer you to an affiliated Mexican insurance company. Mexican insurance can be obtained over the Internet, but one wrong click and you are ‘off to the races’. It is also recommended that you register with the American consulate.
If you are traveling further into Mexico than a few miles, you may be required to get more involved with permits and other legal requirements. The Internet is a great source of information for your trip. I recommend spending several hours researching for your trip. At all costs, plan ahead so you can enjoy your trip.

Prepare for Emergencies

Be prepared! Remember the Boy Scout motto. Everyone should be prepared for emergency situations and especially those who live in remote areas. This message was driven home to me during our recent December, 2008 snowstorm. We live in the Coastal Range Mountains of Oregon. Since we are at a low altitude of 400 or 500 feet and are only 12 miles from the beach, we don’t expect much in the way of snow. The December storm dropped nearly three feet of heavy snow on us in a matter of a couple of days. Then, the trees started falling and limbs started falling and we had one of the biggest messes I had ever seen.We have an all-electric home so when the power went out, we lost power, phones, water and heat. We have a long driveway, about an eighth of a mile, and it is very steep. We couldn’t even get down the driveway and if we could have our road was closed with fallen trees and limbs. We did have food but we also have an electric range. We have an RV with a propane stove, but no propane. In other words, we were almost completely unprepared.We do have a small generator and we had about 15 gallons of fuel. About two and a half days later, we ran out of fuel. I began to feel a bit desperate. My wife is frail and can barely walk and I am recuperating from a knee replacement. I got on my old Kubota tractor and started down the driveway with my empty gas cans. I drove over, under and around fallen trees to get down my driveway and headed to town. The state road department had one lane passable by that time. Four hours later, I got back to our driveway with 10 gallons of gas for the generator. I started up the driveway but soon spun out so I left the tractor and began to climb the hill, carrying the two gas cans. I soon gave that up and continued with one can. Because of the deep snow and my bad knee, it was move the can and take a step, move the can and take a step. I finally got up to the house, gassed up the generator and we had limited power. By that time, the house was down to 49 degrees, so my wife welcomed the heat. One-half hour later, the power came on. I was both frustrated and relieved.I spent three days clearing the trees and limbs from the driveway, all the time afraid I would fall, knowing I could not get up. I was near the end of the drive when UPS showed up. I asked the driver to get help for us. A couple hours later, our Good Samaritan neighbor showed up with a big 4-wheel drive tractor. He cleared our driveway sufficiently for us to get in and out.I, for one, will be prepared for the next storm. I will have a supply of water, plenty of fuel for the generator, propane for the RV, first aid kit and anything else I can think of. I would advise one and all to be prepared, regardless of your circumstances. Research for advice on how to be prepared. Snow is not our only danger.

Start Early Preparation for Retirement

It's never too early to start saving for retirement. The moment you begin earning an income, it's time to put money away for retirement.

If you're in your 20s, you're probably still saddled with school loans and carrying your share of debt. While it's tempting to put off worrying about retirement for a decade or two, now is really the time when the foundation for a successful retirement needs to be set. Begin by learning the facts. Study the intricacies of 401(k) plans and read up on tax laws. Information is power.

Once you've learned the lay of the land, create a written retirement plan. Establish goals and figure out what it will take to achieve them. Your goals will likely change over time, but having a blueprint in place will help you along your way.

The next step is to start saving. Set aside 10% from your gross pay each month. To make things easier, it's wise to schedule automatic payments to your 401(k) plan. It will save a lot of hassle and remove the temptation of spending the money.

Now that you're saving money, don't undermine your financial situation by running up huge credit card debts. Spend within your means. Being responsible now will strengthen your retirement down the road.

Finally, don't rely on the government to bail you out. People are living longer these days, meaning they're retired longer too. Social Security won't always be there to save the day. Your retirement is in your own hands.

Retirement: How Did I Get Here?

Mine was a long career of stumbling from job to job. Upon graduation from high school, I had no idea what I would do. In my senior year, I decided to join the Oregon National Guard, partially because it gave me some direction in life and partially to avoid the draft into the Korean Conflict. While this may not sound very patriotic, I assure you that I am a gung-ho, dyed in the wool patriot. I guess an over-protective mother who did not want her sons in the war influenced me. I had an older brother in Korea and things did not seem to go well with him. He later died in Viet Nam. As we now know, joining the National Guard is not necessarily an effective way of avoiding the draft.

The National Guard offered me the opportunity to attend “Fire Control School” in Fort Bliss, Texas. I did not want to learn about fighting fires, but I was soon informed that fire control school was about a weapon control system. I agreed to go to Texas and get educated. This led a 28-year career in electronics.

The second stumble was a 9-year stint as a corporate comptroller and the third, 7-year as a security administrator in Washington, DC.

In 2000, I retired to a 5-acre plot of woodland in Oregon, upon which we placed a triple-wide manufactured home. For four years I was content to putter around our 5-acre resort in the woods, but then began to get a wanderlust. We purchased a 26-year-old motorhome and began to refurbish it. I soon discovered I had bit off more than I could chew. After a short stint working as a supermarket courtesy clerk, I took a most enjoyable job as a school-bus driver. After three years with the school kids, my wife and I began developing minor health problems so I re-retired.

I now putter with a computer writing articles like this one for a little extra income and “sumpthin to do” as my young son used to say. My point is—you need sumpthin to do in retirement, whether it be puttering around, traveling or working part time. Retirement to the "old rockin' chair” will getcha. Most of us have a tendency to put on weight and just get lazy. This is not good for your health and a long retirement.

So, find sumpthin to do and enjoy retirement. It just might get you out of your spouse’s hair and make her retirement better, too.

Senior Traveling

Traveling seems to be a favorite pastime for senior citizens. However, as we grow older and more frail, it gets more and more difficult. We find that driving is so tiresome; but if we limit ourselves to driving only for a comfortable time, we can manage. I would suggest driving a shorter distance each day; perhaps a limit of 300 miles per day. We can't handle those 24-hour marathons like we did when we were 25. It's a wonder we didn't kill ourselves and others.

It is also a good idea to stop and rest frequently; perhaps 5 to 10 minutes every hour. If you get sleepy, pull over. It's not worth the risk of driving while fighting to stay awake. All those tips about running the wipers, turning the radio up, etc. just don't work for more than a few seconds. When you are tired, you may not even realize you are getting sleepy until you wake up, if you are lucky. It's better to be careful and arrive safely than to push it and risk an accident.

If driving is out of the question, there is always the bus, train, or plane. Each has its good and bad points. Flying gets you there quickly, if you can tolerate getting through security. The train allows more freedom of movement while traveling. The bus is less expensive, but is very confining.

FIRST RV Continued

Day three (and four and five): We awoke fairly early, fixed some breakfast, and prepared to travel. Shortly afterward, a young mechanic showed up and went to work to try to find our problem. The engine would start up and run normally until you turned on an accessory such as turn signals or wipers. It would then die. The mechanic began checking and replacing items. We relaxed and watched movies as the mechanic toiled. After a few hours, he pronounced it repaired. We paid the bill and resumed our journey. We then got back on highway 99 and headed south. We traveled without incident for all of three miles and the engine quit cold. We parked on the shoulder with our flashers on, the passing trucks rocking us to sleep, and called back to the garage. You guessed it, Friday evening, it's closing time and they don't work on weekends. They could not do anything for us before Monday because they were going to their Christmas party. Merry Christmas to us.

We called AAA again and they towed us to the next town and the local Dodge dealership (another $260 down the drain). We could park on their lot but of course they could not help us until Monday.
We unhooked the VW and moved to a motel for the weekend. We had a fairly comfortable weekend, watching TV and checking out the local restaurants. It was a small town and not much else to do. But we were anxious to get on the road to Las Vegas. During the weekend, we discovered that the VW turn signals and flashers had failed. Fortunately, there was a VW dealership nearby and our VW was still in warranty. They replaced the flasher, but it is an expensive module instead of the old three or four dollar can most of us are used to. They said it was burned out because of the towing wiring we had added, but they would overlook that and fix it under warranty. By that time, the motor home was repaired and we hooked up the VW in preparation for travel. We resumed our journey and made it all of 10 feet. The mechanic had gone to lunch so we had to wait for him to return. He came back on a dead run and said I'm going to find this problem if it's the last thing I do. He completely rewired one under-dash plug that had melted down, but insisted that the problem still was not solved. After much poking, prodding and testing he finally found the problem. The rubber sheath on a battery cable was hiding the problem. The connection had broken and was just lying there barely making contact so that when additional load was put on it by the turn signals or wipers, it would break contact. He repaired that and it has performed like a champ ever since.

When we pass a motor home beside the road, my wife now yells out "Check the battery cables." We soon got underway and finally, after six days on the road, got to Las Vegas in time for Christmas. Oh yes, Arlene got on the phone and upgraded our AAA benefits to include the motor home. She says that's why we haven't had any more trouble with the motor home.

FIRST RV Continued

Back to that 24-inch refrigerator and the 24-inch door opening. Friends from the East coast arrived for a visit, saw our motorhome and wanted a tour. Little did the poor man know what he was getting into. To make a long story short, he looked, saw my problem and volunteered to help. He hadn't even gone into our house. Not too many friends are that friendly. We removed the fridge and had a great visit for the next couple days, reminiscing about our times together in the Bahamas and in Maryland/Virginia.

The fridge was tested and then hauled off to the dump. New RV fridges sell for $1100 and up (outside our budget). We had planned a trip to Las Vegas to visit my daughters for Christmas. We purchased a large cooler and temporarily mounted it in the vacancy made by the departed fridge. I reinstalled the door frame and front door and prepared for our maiden voyage with the old relic.

On our first day out, we journeyed down Interstate 5 to Southern Oregon. In our car, I had never realized how steep the mountain grades are. As we ground it out at 40 miles per hour, I noticed the temperature gage climbing. So I stopped, popped the hood and saw no indication of overheating. I touched the radiator which is normally hot under best of conditions. I could lay my hand on the radiator and it barely felt warm. I checked the temperature gage again and it indicated overheating. Mystery #1-never solved. We made it over the mountain pass and down into Yreka, California for our first night. I learned the joys of setting up a motorhome for the night in the rain.

Second day: we uneventfully proceeded on down I-5 to Redding, California, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Mount Shasta and surroundings. I noticed one time a 5-second, or so, skip in the engine. I held my breath for a while but it didn't reoccur as we continued on. During the afternoon, Arlene said she would like some KFC for dinner so we kept an eye out for a KFC. We saw a couple during the afternoon but always just as we passed the exit. Finally, as it was getting late, we just randomly picked an exit and began to search for a KFC. Oh, yes, we were towing our VW and it was pouring rain so you can imagine the stress of cruising around a strange town with a 40 foot train. We finally saw a KFC sign but it was on the wrong side of a divided street, so we began maneuvering around thru an industrial area to get back to KFC. Finally, we were making the last turn toward KFC when the engine died. We were straddling the lane dividing line, effectively blocking both lanes of a busy thorofare. I could not believe the rudeness. Drivers were driving up on the curbs on both sides of us, honking their horns, yelling at us and making obscene gestures. Finally a good samaritan stopped and he, his teen-age son and I pushed the motorhome and VW over to the curb with my wife steering. Quite a chore for her 100-pounds with no power steering or power brakes. The good sams would accept no reward and left. We called AAA who stated it would be at least an hour. Meanwhile a second good samaritan stopped and towed us to the next side street so we wouldn't be such a traffic hazzard. It was hard to believe the generosity after so much rudeness.

We went into KFC to wait and have some dinner. We had barely begun to eat when AAA called and wanted to know where we were. I told him we were at KFC as we had told him we would be. He was at our motorhome and we weren't there. I hoofed it down to the motorhome and he agreed to tow us to a truck shop that was still open. That was when we discovered that AAA did not cover RVs without a special endorsement. There went $120 down the drain.

The truck shop was still open but getting ready to close so they parked us in their truck wash bay, hooked us up to their electricity and promised to get on it first thing in the morning. We spent a comfy night in our motorhome in spite of our strange surrounding

Day three: Next posting