CREDIT CARD COMPROMISED!!

THIS ONE SIMPLE BACK YARD PHOTO SUMS UP OUR CRAPPY DAY

Our late Friday afternoon blue skies didn’t last long & we woke up to a heavy overcast Saturday morning.  So heavy in fact the clouds finally sank to ground level & we found ourselves in a drizzly fog.  Kelly took Pheebs for a quick walk.  I refused to go out of the house & stuck close to my electric heater under my chair.  Temps got down into the mid 30’s overnight & barely got over 40 today.  Predicted highs next week….85F.  Oh really!!

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Kelly was out the door early & headed over to North Ranch for their annual big March garage sale.  I remember it was a year ago when Kelly cruised that sale & came home with a Jeep load of stuff.  Those were some of the earliest furnishing we had for the house. 

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In fact it was 1 year ago today we drove to Prescott & inked our offer on the house with the Real Estate agent.  I remember it as a very stressful day.  Phone calls to Canada had to be made, faxes sent, an American bank account opened, etc. etc.  Just the kind of stuff I dislike so much & just the kind of stuff Kelly has the patience & smarts to do so well.

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It would be another week or so before we knew the house deal was final but we had already begun making changes to the property.  I had a big full scale clean-up underway.   The Real Estate agent never did know that we would soon be in the house painting & moving in a few bits of furniture etc.   And he never did know that we had the whole house stuccoed either.  It was a ‘huge gamble’ we took but we were confident the deal would swing in our favor…..and it did:))

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Bob from THE CARETAKER CHRONICLES had a few questions awhile back about our experience with purchasing a vehicle in the States.  Well, it’s been quite an experience alright & it isn’t over yet.  We still have to get this vehicle across the border next month.  Kelly is confident there will be no problem because everything we are doing is above board.  Despite that, because of the way things have gone, I see ourselves hanging from iron shackles on an old brick wall in a dark & dank border dungeon for the next 10 years.  

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Having never purchased a vehicle in the United States before we have found the whole thing very confusing, tiring, & frustrating.  And the dealership we bought if from has not made things any easier for us.  Everything is done much differently here in the States.  What I can tell you right now though is about…..insurance coverage. This unsuspected Monster really blindsided us.

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In Ontario Canada, one has 14 days to get a purchased vehicle from the States across the border into Canada.  Insurance companies will cover you for those 14 days & that’s it.  We did not know that & thought it was our insurance company who was jerking us around when we tried to switch our policy from the sold Damon to the newly purchased Sunseeker.  But, after many inquiries to other Ontario insurance companies we finally found out this is a Government regulation, not an individual Insurance company regulation.  After that 14 day travel limit has expired a vehicle is not eligible for insure in Ontario until it is properly registered in Ontario.

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After buying the Sunseeker & getting it back to our digs in Congress we suddenly realized we did not have insurance coverage & the only way to get it insured was to go with an American insurance policy.  Well, we ran into some horror stories right off the bat.  State Farm wanted over a thousand dollars for 6 months.  What!!!!  We only needed coverage to get the RV from Congress to the border.  Luckily, through Kelly’s patience & the honesty & integrity of a State Farm insurance broker, she was able to track down another insurance agent in Yarnell representing the FOREMOST INSURANCE COMPANY out of Grand Rapids Michigan.  Phone calls were made, faxes were sent back & forth & a policy was issued.  Price was reasonable & we are now insured to get the rig back to Canada.  The Yarnell insurance lady said to then cancel the policy upon our return.  She said this is how it is normally done for Canadians who are over their 14 day limit in getting a vehicle back to Ontario.  Our American insurance coverage came into effect one day before we took off for Borrego Springs last week.  Before that, we were grounded:((

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Once we are securely back in Canada next month I will consider posting ‘the rest of the story’ about this whole Sunseeker deal.  We are glad to have the unit but it has been a real ordeal for us, & extremely stressful to say the least.  And would we buy another vehicle in the States?  Judging from the way things have gone, my answer to that is a resounding ‘NO’!!  And we haven’t even got to the border yet.  I’m already having nightmares about old brick walls & iron shackles:((

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Darlene in our Shout Box wondered what we use in our rig’s toilet system to keep it trouble free.  I think if you asked 10 people this question you might get 10 different answers.  Some folks use no chemicals but I think most people do.  We use ‘the blue chemical’ & to this I add a generous couple squirts of Dawn dish detergent & Calgon water softener if we can find it.  Those last two go a long way in keeping the walls of the black tank & sensors sludge free.  It’s the first chemical that keeps it odor free & breaks down bacteria.  I also add an extra bucket of water to the black tank so there is always lots of sloshing action going on in their.  It is important not to be stingy with the water when flushing.  This system has proved trouble free for us the past 5 years or so.  Here’s a LINK to lots of good info on the topic. 

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Forgot to mention a couple other reasons why we head back to Ontario in early April.  As reader’s know, neither Kelly or I are hot or cold weather people.  By April it is already getting too hot for us in Congress with temps charging up over the 80 degree mark.  The other reason is Spring clean-up in Bayfield.  Depending on the severity of the winter storms our property can be littered with broken limbs, sticks & twigs.  Also on the ground are about 3 good full utility loads of pine needles that have to be raked up.  Flower beds need to be cleaned out so our Spring flowers can begin to bloom etc.  And of course our many birds will anxiously be waiting in the tree tops for me to get the bird feeders out.  And for sure the Squirrels will be awaiting that blessed day as well:((  Spring clean-up is an old habit stemming from many bad years of winter.  I always loved getting outside in that crisp Spring air each year.   It is something I enjoy every Spring & will be something I will enjoy in Congress each Fall.

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And an infuriating development this morning.  Kelly stopped for gas on the way home from North Ranch & her credit card was declined.  A quick check of our on-line bank account showed our card has been compromised.  Last time we used the card was a couple days ago at Love’s Truck stop in Quartzsite Arizona.  The very same day 3 transactions on our card took place to the tune of $1,200.00.  We suspect it is even more than that.  Those 3 transactions all took place at a ‘Toys R Us’ store in Nashville, Tennessee.  We have been in touch with our bank in Canada & new cards are being issued.  Kelly called the truck stop to give them a head’s up but the manager guy did not seem concerned.  The pump we used there, which by the way did not ask for a zip code, was pump #20. 

 

SPENCER & PHEEBS…..BEST PALS:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A guy walks into a bar, and buys a mug of beer. Then he sees someone he knows, and decides to go and say Hi ! to them, but he does not want to take his beer mug with him. So he keeps it on a table, along with a note "I spit in this beer" thinking that no one will drink it.  Upon return, he sees another note saying "Me too!"

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.