United States Archives

Preparing to Cross the Border into Mexico

Today was a day to prepare to cross the border into Mexico tomorrow.

Travelodge San Ysidro

The Travelodge in San Ysidro is a perfect spot to launch into Mexico. I can even seen into Tijuna Mexico from my hotel room!

The hotel itself is cheap at $50 CDN. And with that you get a pretty good breakfast and free WiFi. The management here is awesome. very professional. Probably the best value hotel I have had to-date.

Preparations

I put all my original documents in one pouch for Mexico Immigration at the border. I didn’t want to be fumbling around. This included my Drivers License, Passport, Mexican Insurance and Vehicle Registration.

I can’t remember if I said this before, but I purchased just liability insurance through Mex Adventure. In Mexico you are only required to have liability insurance. I could have purchased collision etc but decided not to. I will just have to self finance any damage or theft. We’ll see if that was the right decision.

I also had $500 USD for my Tourist Permit, Temporary Vehicle Import Permit, and the $400 USD deposit that I would get back when I check my motorcycle out of the country.

From World Wide Ride I heard that official from other countries get confused with how British Columbia combines the vehicle registration and vehicle insurance on one document. Especially when you had in our insurance decals on our license plates.

I made colour copies of just the registration part of our document and took off the decals from the back of my motorcycle.

I am taking in $9,000 Mexican Pesos ($500 USD) across to last a little while.

Of course there was the hiding of emergency money. I am hoping I remember where I hid it all! After my last long trip I was finding hidden money months after I got back ha ha.

And there was the usual doing laundry.

After the preparation was done I had time to wander around the town.

San Ysidro

Just down from the Travelodge is a really nice outlet mall.

This time I was able to actually enjoy my frap at Starbucks.

The other parts of the town appear to cater to people crossing the border. There are lots of Mexican Insurance companies and currency exchange stores.

I guess I am as ready as I ever will be. For me this is the real start of my adventure.

My Location for September 29, 2016

Frustrating Day Preparing for Riding Mexico

Today was a frustrating day preparing for riding Mexico and making my way from Los Angeles to San Ysidro.

Los Angeles to San Ysidro

My goal today was to ride from Los Angeles to San Ysidro where I would spend a day preparing for my ride through Mexico. I had booked the Travelodge Motel there.

Office Depot

On the way I stopped off at Office Depot to look for a small case to put my original documents in for the border crossing. Mission accomplished.

Next was Best Buy. This is where things started to go off the rails.

Best Buy #1

I realized that I had left my point and shoot camera extra battery in the charger in Laughlin grrrrrrrrr. so I needed to buy a new battery and charger. I got the charger but it turned out that they don’t make stock the battery anymore because it is old.

While looking around I found a cable I had been looking for for awhile now to charge my computer from my Antigravity battery. To make sure it was the right cable I turned on my computer. Wouldn’t you know it had updates. And they took forever. Rather than wait I just closed my computer thinking it would all work and I could leave.

Radio Shack

Nope, radio Shack didn’t have the battery for my camera either. I should be able to get it on Amazon. But of course delivery would be an issue. Perhaps when I am home in January. In the meantime I will just have one battery.

Banks

Next stop was a bank to get $500 USD for the border crossing. I stopped at one bank and it said I didn’t have sufficient funds! What???!!! I went to another and the same thing. time to chill out at Starbucks.

Starbucks

At Starbucks I planned on Skyping with Canada Trust to see why I couldn’t withdraw money.

I don’t have a phone on this trip as the roaming charges are too much. My last trip I got an international SIM and used that. But on this trip I planned on just buying local SIMS along the way. Most of the calls I need to make are to 1-800 numbers so I can use Skype for this.

Anyways … when I opened my computer I had a message that said that I was disconnected and to use my last password. What???!!! I tried using my password and it wouldn’t work. I couldn’t get into my computer!!! I knew it had to do something with the update where I just closed my computer thinking it would take care of itself. Just what I needed.

Best Buy #2

So it was back to Best Buy to see if I could get my computer fixed now.

At the Geek Squad desk the technician said it would take 3 to 5 days to fix it!!! I explained that I was leaving for Mexico and couldn’t wait. He was nice enough to look at the error message and said that he thought if I connected to the internet it would work. So I connected the the Best Buy WiFi and sure enough it all worked!!! YAY!!!

Next was to Skype with Canada Trust to see why I can’t withdraw money. The recording said a 5 minute wait. 5 minutes turned into 20 🙁

Finally I got through. It turned out that when I made 2 withdraws a few days prior, $500 USD for emergency money and $500 USD to convert into pesos, I had basically reached my weekly withdrawal limit. I knew I had a daily one but was unaware there was a weekly one too. Luckily it was no problem to raise both limits.

Travelodge

After a short ride but a long day, it was nice to finally get to my motel.

Definitely learned a few lessons today.

My Route for September 28, 2016

The Happiest Place on Earth – Disneyland

I just had to go to the Happiest Place on Earth – Disneyland!

Childhood Memories

As a child I dreamt of going to Disneyland. I remember staring at a map of Disneyland that friends of my parents gave us. When we finally went it was so exciting.

It was an awesome trip.

Later I dreamt of going to Disney World. As a parent I was able to take my kids there. An amazing experience. I wish I had the memory of every second of the trip with them. I need to scan those pictures.

So needless to say I am a Disney fan. I even bought stocks for my son ha ha.

Disneyland

From the Sahara Motel I took the bus down Ball St. and then walked to the the Main Gate. Tickets were $95 for the day.

First stop was … you guessed it … Starbucks! One of my favorite parts of the day was relaxing in the coolness of the morning, having my coffee and banana bread as I waited for the park to open.

When the park opened I hit Indiana Jones. It was closed to to technical issues. Pirates of the Caribbean was next door. Off I went. Next was the Log Ride.

Going to Disneyland is not near as much fun as going with a partner, friends or family. It is meant to be enjoyed with others. A place where you can laugh together and let your hair down. However, one of the advantages of being a single it that on some of the rides you go right to the front of the line! That is what happened on the Log Ride.

I spent the day going on rides, and people watching.

In the line up to the Haunted Mansion I made friends with a little girl about 3 years old. She kept mistaking my leg for her Dad’s ha ha.

Here are some of my pictures of the day.

I had planned to stay to closing at 9 pm. But as I said, while Disneyland is fun, it is not near as much fun by yourself. So I left at 6. I thought about having dinner at Downtown Disney, but hte prices were way too high for my budget.

So off I went on the bus and enjoyed some cold ones at the Sahara Motel. They are actually making Disneyland bigger!

Sahara Motel

The Sahara Motel is a true budget hotel. I paid $44 CDN a night for it. Not a place I would stay if I was on vacation.

The rooms are relatively clean. I am guessing it is owned and run by a family. The front desk is always locked and you have to ring a buzzer to get someone.

When I arrived back my key didn’t work. I rang and rang the buzzer. No answer. Finally I saw the guy emerge from a hotel room with a woman. He shirt was untucked huuuummm. At least he got me a new key.

My Bus Route for September 27, 2016

Searching for Charlie’s Angel and my Favorite Cop

My servicing at Long Beach BMW finished early so I was able to search out Charlie’s Angel and my favorite cop.

My service appointment at Long Beach BMW was for 7:15 am. That meant setting the alarm as I wasn’t sure about LA traffic that time of day.

Having a motorcycle serviced is like going to the Doctor. You just pray there won’t be anything majorly wrong. Especially when it is time for a major service. And I am already way over budget after my repairs in Alaska.

I was quoted a price of $511 USD. Not bad at all. But I knew that was just the opening price. Once it started I would need this and that and the price would double.

I sat in the waiting room trying not to think about the results. Other times I have waited all day as one thing after another has come up.

By 10 am the Doctor, I mean mechanic, appeared. My bike was done! And the price? $504.31 Total!! Under quote! I knew there was a reason I chose Long Beach BMW ha ha.

I was now off to search for Charlie’s Angel and my favorite cop.

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetary

Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcett and Don Knotts who played Barney Fife in Andy of Mayberry, were buried st Westwood Village Memorial Cemnetery. Like most young boys my age when Charlie’s Anglels was on, we were infatuated with the Farrah Fawcett poster she put out.

And growing up, and now too, I loved Barney Fife.

When I arrived at the address, all I could see was high rises and parking lots. I rode around looking for a cenetary but couldn’t find one.

I went to my GPS and put in cemetery and went to the closest one about 10 km away. As I walked around I realized this wasn’t the right one. Fortunately, they had WiFi there. I googled the cemetary several different ways and they all came up with the same address i had been at. Soooooo back I went.

I circled around and around. On one pass I saw an ally and decided to go down it. Sure enough there was a small cemetary bordered by high rises. Weird place for a cemetery.

I quickly found that this was no ordinary cemetery though. Despite being small and bordered by high rises, it contained the burial sites of some legendary people besides Farrah Fawcett and Don Knotts. Here are my photos.

The cemetery was so small it was easy to find the graves.

After a bit it was time to head to the Sahara Motel where I would be spending 2 nights at.

Heat and Lane Splitting to the Sahara Motel

When I got back on the highway to go to the Sahara Motel, that traffic came to an almost stand still. And it was HOT! The external temperature on my motorcycle showed 45 degrees! Way too hot to be stuck in traffic.

I was aware that lane splitting was no legal in California. I watched several motorcycles do it. I have to say I was a bit nervous as the gap between lanes isn’t that big for a big BMW 1200GS. But I watched how the motorcycles did it. They sort of went from lane to lane and down the middle. A lot of cars moved over for them.

I decided to go for it. It didn’t take long and I got the hang of it. I wasn’t goinf fast, only 20 kmh or so, but at least I was moving and not standing still in the stifling heat. Wasn’t too long before I was at the Sahara Motel.

My Route for September 26, 2016

Sunday NFL Football. Finish Line Sports Grill.

It is Sunday and you know what that means. Sunday NFL Football! Yes I do love my NFL Football. I love the hype around it just as much as the games itself. So I watch all the pregame broadcasts as well.

Finish Line Sports Grill

Across the street from the KOA in Pomona is the Finish Line Sports Grill. Sorry Bikini Bar, but THIS is a real Sports Bar.

I have been here a few times before and was another reason I chose the Pomona KOA. I was there right at opening – 9 am.

The Finish Line Sports Grill has a huge horse betting area as well as the bar. Sunday is busy here because of NFL Football and all the horse races that are on. One big screen is dedicated to football and the other to horse racing. As you can see, TVs line the walls and include every football game and horse race.

It was like I was in heaven ha ha. Well … until I had the bacon and egg burrito.

For some reason it effected my stomach. But not to worry. After going outside to lay on the grass for a bit it went away.

Oh yeah … before leaving on this adventure I ended up in the hospital a couple of times for stomach pains. I now take medication 🙁 I took one of these as well which helped. Just another medication I carry around in my pannier. Most of one pannier contains medication for the trip.

Anyways … Finish Line Sports Grill was awesome. Although I am not sure who chose the games to be on thee big screen. Everyone seemed to be watching the games on one the TVs lining the walls. Of course the Seattle Seahawks game was relegated to one of these TVs.

Sadly, eventually, it was time to head off to my hotel in Buena Park closer to Long Beach where I was to have my motorcycle serviced at 7 am!

My Route for September 25,2016

The KOA in Pomona California has a Nice Pool. That is about it.

I left Laughlin for the KOA in Pomona because I knew it had a nice swimming pool to relax around. Having stayed there before, I also knew that the tent sites back onto the Fairplex parking lot where they hold the LA County Fair. What I didn’t know, and I should have checked, was that the LA County Fair was from September 2 to 25!

Laughlin to Pomona

The ride to Pomona was uneventful. I took the freeway again 🙁 I thought about taking another route but it added too much time to the day. To be truthful, I am getting tired of riding through the US. And I am anxious to get into Mexico. For me, getting into Mexico will be the real start of the adventure.

KOA Pomona

This was likely my last KOA. By staying at KOAs I had accumulated enough points to get $25 US off of a second night. So I booked 2 nights at the KOA in Pomona.

When I arrived the place was packed and that is when I discovered the LA County fair was on. If you plan on going to the fair this is a perfect place. You can walk right to it. And the KOA sells discounted tickets. I guess that is what a lot of people were doing.

My little tent was sandwiched between 2 big tents. And right behind me was the entrance to the parking lot.

Until 10 pm the cars were coming into the fair parking lot. And right after that they were leaving until about 1 am! Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep the 2 nights I was there. The close quarters was also irritating.

The only thing I can say positive is that I did enjoy the pool. I spent most of the day there. And in the evening I sat in the hot tub. Since everyone appeared to be at the fair, I was the only one at the pool most of the time.

My Route on September 23, 2016

I spent September 24 at the Pomona KOA.

Three Days and Four Nights in Laughlin

I spent three days and four nights in Laughlin. I needed it. I wish I could have stayed longer. But as I mentioned in my last post, the hotel rates go way up on the weekends.

Age

One thing evident as soon as I got to the Edgewater Resort in Laughlin was the age of people. At 58 years old, I was one of the youngest people there! And I have never seen so many walkers in one place. And speaking of walking, it is like everyone is in slow motion as they walk down the hall. So this is what an old folks home will feel like 🙂

Cleaning and Re-Packing

I spent more time cleaning and packing that I expected during my stay.

Part of this is my fault. It isn’t my favorite thing to do so I would clean for a bit and then watch TV for a bit. That’s ok … I was enjoying it. Everything got a good wash thanks to the shower.

I did brave the heat outside to go to the laundromat which is always a cultural experience ha ha.

WiFi

Finding free Wifi is one of the chores of travel bloggers. It isn’t as easy as you would think. I spent a few hours searching the hotel and neighbouring hotels for it. It wasn’t free at McDonald’s or In-N-Out burger. There was only one place to get it. That was at Coco’s Bakery at the bottom of the Edgewater Resort.

Now I could park myself just outside of the restaurant and lay on the floor to work, but I decided nah. So each morning I had breakfast at Coco’s and worked on my blogs 🙂

Monday Night NFL Football

I was in Laughlin for Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football. For Monday night I tried the Sports Bar at the Edgewater, but it was way too smoky. Yes, you are allowed to smoke anywhere here. In the Vegas hotels where I have stayed the exhaust system seems to do a good job of getting rid of the smoke. But not here.

I then went to the The Hickory Pit next door which is an expensive steak restaurant. In the lounge they were played the game. So I splurged on an expensive salad, appetizer and a couple of beer.

Now Thursday Night Football, that was an experience.

Thursday Night NFL Football

As I was walking around town I saw a bar at the outlet mall across the street. The signs said, Bikini Bar – Bikers Welcome – Best Sports Bar. How could I go wrong going here for Thursday Night Football?!

The game started at 5:30 and I was there at 5 to make sure I got a good seat.

As I walked in, no one was there. Uuummmm. However, I did notice the bar tender was wearing a bikini. Wasn’t expecting that, but I guess it made sense since the place was called Bikini Bar.

I sat down at the bar, and Randy the bar tender assured me they would put the football game on and turn up the sound for me. In the end they did do that but only on one small TV that wasn’t even HD. I was the only one watching it. Best Sports Bar? huuummm.

Randy said they would have specials during the game. When I was ready to order she said that had chicken fingers, chicken strips, chicken wings . . . then she stopped and said, “I am trying to make this sound fancy,basically we have chicken.” I ordered 4 chicken strips for $6.75.

Moments later I saw a guy with a bag of frozen chicken fingers place them in some sort of small oven on the counter. I waited and waited and waited. Finally I saw Randy turn the chicken strips over. She came to me and whispered that she had forgotten about them and they were a bit burnt. She would only charge me $5 for them. She promised she wouldn’t forget this this time.

I waited and waited some more. I could smell them burning ha ha. The burning must of reminded her and she fished them out and gave them to me. She whispered again to me that she was actually half drunk and forgot about them. She also said that she use to dance here (??? huuummm) and just returned to bar tend. She had never done it before. She ended up giving the chicken strips to me for free. They were burnt a bit but with some beer and ranch sauce it didn’t really matter to me ha ha.

Perhaps her dancing comment explained why there was this weird little bathtub/swimming pool in the room. Something told me I wasn’t in Kansas anymore 🙂

The New England Patriots were killing Huston. So when the strobe lights came on I made a hasty exit. Perhaps I should have stayed for some culture. Maybe this is where the under 60 crowd comes.

My Location for September 20, 21 and 22, 2016

I was sad to see my time here end. I could have used another 2 days. But i am anxious to get to Mexico. I am excited about being in a different culture. The goal is to really slow down when I am there.

Onto the Edgewater Resort and Casino in Laughlin Nevada for some Rest and Relaxation

I was so looking forward to getting to the Edgewater Resort and Casino today. But fefore leaving for Laughlin, Nevada, I had an all you can eat pancake breakfast at the KOA. For some reason pancakes now upset my stomach. I think I just eat them too fast ha ha.

Outside of the eating area they had a petrified tree. It reminded me of Namibia where my son (Nick) and I went to a petrified tree forest while on a mini vacation.

Expedia

Over a year or so I have accumulated points with Expedia by booking trips with them. I like Expedia. On a couple of occasions, I have had problems with hotels and they have reimbursed me the money paid. Great service.

I was looking for a cheap place to spend a few days at for R&R. I originally looked at Las Vegas. However, the places were above my budget, and if I used my Expedia points I could only stay for a couple of nights. Soooo I started looking at other places in Nevada. In Laughlin I found the Edgewater Resort and Casino for $22 Canadian a night from Monday to Thursday. With my Expedia points it would all be paid for! Of course I booked it. So excited to spend time at a resort and save money at the same time! I would have stayed longer, however, as soon as the weekend hits the hotel rates sky rocket.

Heat

As I headed into Nevada it got hotter and hotter. Soon it was 40 degrees Centigrade. The comfortable riding temperature for me is between 22 and 28 degrees. At 40 degrees the cooling effect of the wind is lost. The wind becomes a blast furnace instead.

I have heard that some people zip up their riding suit vents to encourage sweating to keep them cool. Others have told me to take off the riding suit.

All I know is that no matter what the heat adversely effects my riding.

My plan was to stop at Walmart in Bullhead City outside of Laughlin to pick up some supplies for my stay. When I reached Walmart, my motorcycle temperature gauge was showing 43 degrees outside. Walmart became a place of heat refuge just as much as a place to buy stuff.

Edgewater Resort and Casino

After Walmart it was a short ride to Edgewater Resort and Casino. Thank goodness.

I checked in … filled up my sink with ice to chill the beer I bought at Walmart … and the made multiple trips to my motorcycle to bring up all my belongings. One of the goals for my stay here was to go through everything, clean, rearrange things for Mexico, and repack it all better. By the time I finished I was heat exhausted.

I can’t tell you how good the beer tasted, as was the air-conditioning, and TV.