The Drive to Puerto Vallarta

Surprisingly, the drive was uneventful. Which of course is what we all want right? We were unable to leave our house till after 2PM so much for getting an early start. Thank you Lawely's. I am still very upset with the way things were handled at Laweless and I doubt I will ever take my car there again.
Ken took it in on Wednesday the 24th for a service check. They said we needed the transmission flushed and the coolant flushed. No problemo, gave the go ahead, plus an oil change. After the coolant was flushed, my check coolant light was coming on. Never had that before, so we took it back. The mechanic said that the coolant resevoir was cracked and we needed a new one. No problemo put one in says I.
He returns to say that they did not have one in stock. The inventory showed one, but they didn't have it. So he would have to get one tomorrow after 10AM. I said no way, can't you get one off a new caddy, since I think they had something to do with this. He comes back after awhile and says, it's not the resevoir anymore but the coolant sensor. hmmmm so the cracked resevoir miraculously repaired itself!
Oh, yeah and the reason I returned to begin with was, when I left after the maintenance check, I did not have A/C. I had A/C when I took my car there to begin with! Apparently when they did some of the maintenance I think they cracked the high pressure line or just loosened up the bolt, Adam my son said it looked like it was leaking out of the bolt. So anyway, he claims its the line. Kaching $400 more to fix that! I am starting to feel like I am hemmoraging money at Lawely's. What can you do though, they know we have to get out of town, they know we need A/C and a reliable vehicle. They want me to upgrade my Cadi, are they kidding? I will never own another Cadi! Unless of course it's free.

Oh just remembered we had some seals replaced on the suspension too. Guess what, our coolant light is on. Service engine light is on and the Service supsension light it on. Is there a pattern  beginning here?

Driving to Mexico

Somewhere along the road I misplaced the San Carlos pictures. That's okay, it was evening and we were tired. We stopped the second day in Mazatlan arriving around 5PM.
We stayed at the hotel Pueblo Bonito. It was very nice. Had several restaurants, two pools, valet parking and all sorts of entertainment. Especially the children's programs. For around $20 your children could be entertained for the entire day.

Swimming area, note the waterslide for children.

We stayed in a junior suite. It was pretty nice for a Mexican hotel. We had a great view of the pool and ocean from our room.

Junior suite at Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan hotel

We left Mazatlan around 9AM on Thursday, expecting to arrive in PV around 2PM. Well there was a wrench thrown in, during the drive on the jungle road around one of the treacherous curves was an accident involving three cars. It took some time to get the traffic moving around that so we did not arrive in PV until 6PM. We stopped and had dinner, called Gary the condo manager and met him around 8:30pm. Slept fairly good that night.

Jungle road

First meal in PV. Chicken fajitas. Ken had grilled Tuna and it was very good.

Ants in the Pants!

I have ants in my pants! Only five days till we depart for our 5 month trip to Puerto Vallarta. I still have not packed a stitch of clothing. I do have my electronics stuff packed. I was going to take card making stuff but it's to stressful trying to figure out what to take! I wish I had a U-haul truck. Maybe next time we can take the RV. Then we could take everything. In the meantime, no cardmaking stuff... Can't mail anything from Mexico anyway, from what I have read the mail system is not reliable. I will take my sewing machine. I want to make some pillowcase dresses for the girls for the summer. I am sure I will find things to keep me busy.

Of couse we know what Ken will be doing the whole time.

Train from Los Mochis to Chihuahua

Neccesities

We are driving our car to Mexico, so this meant I had to purchase Mexican auto insurance. I found a great deal and bought some for around $350, it is good for 6 months.

I also decided to purchase Masa Assist insurance it covers us in the event one of us were to get sick and have to be evacuated to the United States, it pays for Air evacuation, as well as for the entire family to be transported from Mexico. It also pays for our car to be driven by a professional driver back to the US. This insurance runs $360 per year. Not bad if you ask me.

We spent about $2000 getting Sarah over to Paris so she could fly home with me, when I was sick over there. Then I had to be ambulanced from the airport in Dallas to a hospital there. Thank God for good insurance then. I don't have that good insurance any longer so I am taking all the precautions needed to ensure a safe and fun trip.

Our Home away from Home for 5 Months!!!

Finally we have put down our deposit and have the contract in our hands! Our condo is located near the Amapas/ Conchas Chinas area of Puerto Vallarta. We are just across the main road from the beach. Not very far from Los Muertos which is the popular beach in that area. It's nowhere near as breathtaking as the Villa we lost out on. : (   There is a balcony that sweeps across the front, I will be able to see the bay. I will feel the fresh salt air and take it in day after day!

The kitchen is very modern with nice appliances. The table will seat up to 6 people.

The guest bedroom looks comfortable and it has a bathroom. Most homes in Mexico have more bathrooms then bedrooms. Now I know why everyone has a maid.

The living area looks comfortable. It has a television and cable tv. Plus highspeed wireless internet, which is always the first thing I ask about no matter where I go!

I just know I will enjoy going to sleep and waking up to this beautiful view. If you notice, the short wall, I don't think my babies will be able to jump over that!

The kitchen has dual sinks which is kind of rare in Mexico. I likey.

This is the view I will enjoy each evening, glass of wine in hand.

Mexico, here we come again!

Once again we will be headed to Mexico. This time by car. We plan on driving from Nogales, Mexico to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Will start posting when the trip begins.