Roma, Texas – Day 3

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical and personal business issues. She has made her airline reservations to join me at Harlingen, Texas on January 3, 2013.

The motorhome is parked at VFW Post #9175 in Roma, Texas. I expected to depart yesterday but the windshield glass chip repair service said the repair man couldn’t make it until yesterday. Now I’m expecting to depart here tomorrow.

Yesterday the first event of the day was the windshield rock chip repairman showing up to accomplish the job…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

In yesterday’s Blog entry I discussed meeting my new friend Horatio. He introduced me to his dentist Dr. Alma Lidia Cantu de Graza. She lives in Roma, but her office is across the border in Ciudad Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas, Mexico, population about 27,000. She met me in a nearby parking lot in Roma and we crossed the bridge over the Rio Grande. Pick-up trucks pay $3 for a one way passage. Pedestrians pay $.25 to walk across the bridge…

The Rio Grande River looking west-northwest as seen from the bridge…

And into the city…

Her office is about one mile from the bridge and looks more like a house on the outside rather than an office…

It has a large waiting area…

With three dental rooms…

She cleaned my teeth and repaired a damaged tooth. Here’s a banner for her services…

I shot this next photo through the glass window in her front door looking towards the outside…

She had one other patient which took about an hour. Then she went with me to the pharmacy and help me buy my sinus medication for which she had to write a prescription. The 40 tablets I purchased cost me $22.40…in the United States they would cost $275.00! Then we went to a small local eatery for lunch and then back to the bridge to return to the United States…

The Rio Grande River looking east-southeast…

I have crossed back into the United States from Mexico many times over the years. I have never seen tighter security than yesterday. You can read of drug-related shootings in 2011 in Miguel Aleman by clicking this link…
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-04-25/politics/30059508_1_drug-violence-border-city-cartels

Fortunately we had no problems yesterday in Miguel Aleman.

Enjoying getting dental work done and buying medications in Mexico is another joy of the full-time RVing lifestyle!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

We Return To The Scene Of The Crime…

Last night we parked at American Legion Post #19 in Yuma, Arizona…the place where about one year ago Mary had her bicycle stolen If you missed my Blog about the event…here’s the link… http://wp.me/pDCku-18L

When her bike was stolen we were parked at the end in the back packing lot of the legion along the street where there was little lighting. Last night we parked in their side parking lot bathed in night lighting and this morning our bicycles were still there!

In other news…yesterday was kind of a harried day for us. Fortunately we have very few of those kind of days. First business of the day was to arrive at Mary’s dentist office in Los Algodones, Sonora, Mexico for her second appointment. She had her first appointment last Friday. If you missed the report…here’s the link… http://wp.me/pDCku-3n0

As always you may click upon a photo to see and enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

While there I took a couple more photos of her dentist’s office. A beautiful brand-new building…right next to a junkyard! But…that’s Mexico!

Here’s the waiting area…

What got me started taking photos there was this brick travel trailer in the junkyard…

Directly across the street from the dentist office was this long line of cars. That’s the line for vehicles entering the United States about one mile away…

We had an appointment for 1:00 PM in Yuma, Arizona…about 1/2 hour drive…to have our motorhome and Bronco washed an waxed. Knowing we had at least a 1/2 hour wait standing in line to get back into the United States, at 11:45 AM I left Mary to finish her appointment and went to get into that line. By time Mary joined me and we got back to the motorhome it was 12:32 PM. Being close to being late for our appointment we decided not to take the time to hook-up the Bronco to the motorhome. I drove the motorhome and Mary followed me in the Bronco. Along the way Mary got a ticket for failing to stop for a stop sign…only her fifth ticket in all her years of driving.

We arrived at the appointed wash and wax atop at 1:20 PM…and no washers and waxers were there. They did not arrive until 2:30 PM!

Two hard-working Mexicans got the job done in two hours and did a good job.

We arrived at the American Legion Post #19 just before 5:00 PM.

After some miscellaneous stops this morning we will finally depart Yuma, Arizona to begin the Great Adventure. What is the Great Adventure? Click this link to find out… http://wp.me/pDCku-3pp

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Los Algodones, Sonora, Mexico

Yesterday Mary and I walked across the border into Los Algodones, Sonora, Mexico. Why did we do that…you ask? So Mary could visit her dentist.

It’s reputed that within a four block radius there are more pharmacies, doctors, dentists and opticians here, than a similar four block area anywhere else in the world! Daily thousands of American and Canadian Snowbirds visit Los Algodones. I’ve been here a number of times…Mary first went there with me in 2009.

It can take as long as 2-3 hours later in the day to wait in line to cross back into the United States. The secret is to go early…get your business done…leave early. I abandoned Los Algodones dentists a number of years ago. My dentist is now in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico…about 20 miles south of Yuma, Arizona. I visited him about one month ago.

Here are some photos I took while Los Algodones…

As always you may click upon a photo to see and enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Walking towards the border crossing…

If you bring guns or ammunition into Mexico…you may never be seen again…

Immediately after crossing into Los Algodones…

There are LOTS of signs like these all over Los Agodones…

Here’s photo of Mary in 2009 standing in front of her then dentist’s office…

Thanks to Mary and her oldest son Ken, her dentist now has a nice, new office…

Right next door to her dentist’s office is Maria’s Factory…

A pretty painted restaurant…

With a nice courtyard…

A typical street scene…

In a small central plaza…

Trinkets of all sorts can be found…

You can also watch artistic painters working with spray cans painting pretty scenes on satellite dishes…

We stopped at our favorite eating place. You can see Mary in the background…

You cannot beat the house policy…

After you are done eating you can step in the back to wash your hands…

Lots of places to buy booze…

Lots of pharmacies…

Another typical street scene…

And then you get in line to return to the United States. It wasn’t too bad…only about a twenty-minute wait…

Unfortunately Mary needs one more appointment…so next Monday we’ll once again return to Los Algodones, Sonora, Mexico. Hopefully that will conclude Mary’s dental activity and we can head on out to the Great adventure on Tuesday. If you do not know what the Great Adventure is…you can find out by clicking this link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-3lE

To find out all about Los Algodones, click this Wikipedia link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Algodones

Here’s a good description of Los Algodones…

http://gosw.about.com/od/southwestmiscellaneous/a/Algodones.htm

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

I Walk To Mexico…

Well…okay…actually I drove to the border and walked into Mexico for my annual visit with my dentist. He’s located in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico…about 20 miles south of Yuma, Arizona. I parked the Bronco in a small city park and within a two minute walk I’m crossing into Mexico.As always you may click on the photos to see them in an enlarged view.

Here’s looking at the entry into Mexico…

Only about 1/2 small city block and I arrive at his office…

I arrived at just 9:00 AM so I’m first in line…no waiting…no appointment necessary. For only $20 I get an oral examination and a thorough cleaning.

The below photo shows Dr. Sergio Bernal who is a dental surgeon with his assistant…

I’ve been going to Dr. Bernal now for several years and have been most pleased with his services. He advised me all my teeth are looking just fine. See you next time Sergio…Mucho Gracias!

Oh…I almost forgot to show you this beautiful sunrise from two morning’s ago.

This photo is about 45 minutes before sunrise…

This photo is about five minutes before the sun comes over the horizon…

Yesterday was a delightful 71 degrees…a clear sky with a gentle breeze. Now you know why I’m here. As I’ve said a number of times in the past…it’s a lousy job, but someone’s got to do it!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

A Visit To My Dentist In Mexico…

Jim says:

Yesterday I drove the about 23 miles South on U.S. Highway 95 to San Luis, Arizona. I parked the Bronco in a small free city parking lot and walked into San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico.

You do not have to show any papers…you just walk through a gate and there you are…in Mexico. I crossed the street and walked about 250 feet and I arrived at his dental office at 118 First Street. I’ve been coming here since 2005.

Dr. Sergio Bernal and his two assistants.

Dr. Bernal is a Dental Surgeon. He is a very affable fellow, good-natured, friendly, outgoing and speaks good English. He is a graduate of the University of Guadalajara Dental School and the minute he puts his hands in your mouth you get the feeling this guy really knows what he is doing. Everything is clean, all utensils, sealed in plastic, etc… He also wears a face mask and latex gloves.

His is a two-chair office. The other chair is on the other side of the wall to the right.

I had my teeth cleaned and a filling done for a grand total of $40.00. He provides a lifetime guarantee…you ever have a problem with his work…come back and he will fix it for free.

Here are some of his prices…
$15 – Cleaning
$30 – filling
$130 – Porcelain Crown
$250 – Complete Dentures
$300 – Porcelain dentures
$250 – Partial Metal Plate

His hours…
Monday – Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Sundays 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

From the United States you can call him at:
011-52(653)534-66-51

You can Email him at FAMILYDENTAL_DR.BERNAL@HOTMAIL.COM

If you’ve ever considered going to a Mexican Dentist, I can highly recommend him to you.

The wait to get through U.S. Border Patrol returning to the United States is only about 5 minutes.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

I SHALL WEAR PURPLE AND HAVE FUN AT THE DENTIST

It struck me as funny when I saw one of the gals at my dentist, Dr. Paul Berger’s office, walking around with a handful of teeth. I meant to get her name and didn’t, but she smiled and let me take her picture.

Then one of the dental techs stepped into the room, and clowned around as well. This was my first visit to Dr. Berger, so his staff members are still strangers to me, and obviously fun to be around. The proof is in the pictures. These two beautiful women with a sense of humor made getting a filling a lot less stressful.

It was late in the day, and with mouth still slightly swollen, I dashed home, changed and headed for a party at the Murphys Hotel for the Calaveras Arts Council.  I walked in and there were the Red Hats enjoying a party of their own at the bar.

My good friend, Joellyn Gano was the first person I saw, outfitted in her gorgeous red hat and purple dress.

Several years ago,  I expected when I had “time”, as though I could simply catch some, I would join the Red Hats because they have a lot of fun. I can always sit home and quilt when I’m old, which somehow is ten or more years beyond  my curent age.

I know nothing about the Red Hats organization, but I do know what inspired it, the poem: When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple.
I expect everyone has heard of, or read the poem, but just on the off chance, I copied it from the poem’s author’s book by the same name. She is Jenny Joseph.

WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.